Energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents

We investigate the energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents for charge separation and charge recombination reactions. In polar solvents, the reaction coordinate is given in terms of the electrostatic potentials from solvent permanent dipoles at solutes. In nonpolar solvents, the energy fluctuation due to solvent polarization is absent, but the energy of the ion pair state changes significantly with the distance between the ions as a result of the unscreened strong Coulomb potential. The electron transfer occurs when the final state energy coincides with the initial state energy. For charge separation reactions, the initial state is a neutral pair state, and its energy changes little with the distance between the reactants, whereas the final state is an ion pair state and its energy changes significantly with the mutual distance; for charge recombination reactions, vice versa. We show that the energy gap law of electron-transfer rates in nonpolar solvents significantly depends on the type of electron transfer.     

Reactions of aromatic sulphonyl chlorides with anilines : Studies of solvent effects by the approach of multiparameter empirical correlations

The reaction kinetics of 5-substituted 2-thiophenesulphonyl chlorides with anilines were studied in fourteen pure solvents (protic and aprotic) and in mixed solvents at 25°. The approach of multiparameter equations to describe solvent effects according to the Palm-Koppel and Krygowski-Fawcett models was unsuccessful. Instead satisfactory single parameter linear correlations, one for protic solvents with positive slope and another for aprotic solvents with negative slope, were found by using the dielectric constant ?. An S_AN mechanism for these reactions was proposed, bond-making being the rate-determining step for protic solvents and bond-breaking for aprotic ones. The analysis of some data for the reactions of benzenesulphonyl chloride showed that the mechanism is analogous also for this substrate and the rate-determining step is depending on both solvent and nucleophile. Hammett ρ-values for the reactions of substituted 2-thiophenesulphonyl chlorides with aniline are in accord with the proposed mechanism. ?-Values for the reactions of 2-thiophenesulphonyl chloride with substituted anilines are related to the solvent effects by equation ? = ? 15.7 f(?) + 0.113E + 3.94. The solvent effects on these values can be interpreted by the effect of the dielectric constant and the influence of H-bonding. Mixed solvents are characterized by the presence of a maximum rate.     

Continuous Consecutive Reactions with Inter‐Reaction Solvent Exchange by Membrane Separation

Pharmaceutical production typically involves multiple reaction steps with separations between successive reactions. Two processes which complicate the transition from batch to continuous operation in multistep synthesis are solvent exchange (especially high‐boiling‐ to low‐boiling‐point solvent), and catalyst separation. Demonstrated here is membrane separation as an enabling platform for undertaking these processes during continuous operation. Two consecutive reactions are performed in different solvents, with catalyst separation and inter‐reaction solvent exchange achieved by continuous flow membrane units. A Heck coupling reaction is performed in N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) in a continuous membrane reactor which retains the catalyst. The Heck reaction product undergoes solvent exchange in a counter‐current membrane system where DMF is continuously replaced by ethanol. After exchange the product dissolved in ethanol passes through a column packed with an iron catalyst, and undergoes reduction (>99 % yield).     

Quantification of residual solvents in antibody drug conjugates using gas chromatography

The detection and quantification of residual solvents present in clinical and commercial pharmaceutical products is necessary from both patient safety and regulatory perspectives. Head-space gas chromatography is routinely used for quantitation of residual solvents for small molecule APIs produced through synthetic processes; however residual solvent analysis is generally not needed for protein based pharmaceuticals produced through cultured cell lines where solvents are not introduced. In contrast, antibody drug conjugates and other protein conjugates where a drug or other molecule is covalently bound to a protein typically use solvents such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), N,N?dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or propylene glycol (PG) to dissolve the hydrophobic small molecule drug for conjugation to the protein. The levels of the solvent remaining following the conjugation step are therefore important to patient safety as these parental drug products are introduced directly into the patients bloodstream. We have developed a rapid sample preparation followed by a gas chromatography separation for the detection and quantification of several solvents typically used in these conjugation reactions. This generic method has been validated and can be easily implemented for use in quality control testing for clinical or commercial bioconjugated products.     

The solvent effect on the reaction constants of tert-butyl radical addition to 2-substituted allyl chlorides

The ρ values of free radical S_H2′ reactions have been determined in various solvents. The correlation of Hammett ρ with Taft's π* gives a W value of 0.70. The W value is a measure of susceptibility of the reaction constant to change in solvent polarity. However, the W value is 2.64 in the dissociation reactions of substituted benzoic acids. The free radical reactions are less susceptible to the solvent effect than ionic reactions and this could be rationalized in terms of the partial charge formed in the transition state of free radical reaction is less than that of heterolytic reaction. The ρ values in S_H2′ reactions might not reflect truly the partial charge separation at transition state, however, it might be a measure of the susceptibility of the reaction to the electronic effect of the substituents.     

Safer solvents for reactive organometallic reagents

This paper describes the use of poly(α -olefin)s (PAOs) as safer alternatives to cyclohexane, hexanes, and heptane as solvents for alkyllithium reagents. While PAOs like any alkane are flammable, PAOs do not readily catch on fire because they contain 20 or more carbon atoms, a low volatility, and have a high flash point vis-à-vis alkanes like hexane. Also unlike conventional alkanes, PAOs can be quantitatively separated from polar organic solvents and polar organic products either by a simple gravity separation or by an extraction after a reaction. Any leaching of the PAO solvent into a polar phase during such a separation can be minimized by addition of small amounts of water to the polar phase. However, while these PAO solvents have some physical differences from conventional low molecular weight volatile alkanes, they otherwise behave like alkanes and alkyllithium reagents in these PAO solvents can used in their conventional reactions in these PAO solvents.     

The role of solvent in some oxygen-transfer reactions of peroxy compounds

Solvent–solute interactions in the peroxyacid oxidations are believed to be specific rather than electrostatic in nature. The kinetic solvent effects reported for the oxidations of organic sulfides, olefins, acetylenes, nitrosobenzenes, thioketones, and aryl sulfines reveal that in each case the rates are fast in nonbasic solvents (e.g., benzene, nitrobenzene, and halogenated hydrocarbons) relative to those in basic solvents such as DMF, dioxane, and alcohols. The rates in CF₃CH₂OH and aqueous or partially aqueous media are again higher than those in the basic solvents. This remakably similar pattern of sensitivity of rates to changes in the solvent nature appears to be characteristic of these oxidations as demonstrated by the existence of linear free-energy relationship. The behavior is best understood in terms of cyclic transition states for these oxidations in which charge separation is avoided by intra- or intermolecular hydrogen bonding depending on the nature of the solvent. Solvent effects on sulfoxide oxidation and on oxidations by hydrogen peroxide and t-butylhydroperoxide are also briefly discussed.     

Ultrafast Intercalation Enabled by Strong Solvent–Host Interactions: Understanding Solvent Effect at the Atomic Level

Solvents play an essential role in many areas of chemistry and is the cornerstone of understanding reactivity in solution‐phase reactions. Solvent effects have been widely observed in intercalation reactions; however, understanding of the influence of solvents on the thermodynamics and kinetics remains largely elusive in intercalation chemistry. Now, the solvent‐dependent kinetics of ferrocene intercalation into a layered vanadyl phosphate (VOPO₄?2 H₂O) host is presented, with a special focus on primary alcohols. From methanol to 1‐hexnaol, the intercalation rate peaks in 1‐propanol (80 times faster than the slowest case in methanol). Similar kinetics of exfoliation are also found in these solvents without ferrocene. The correlation between intercalation and exfoliation is understood at atomic level by DFT calculations, which reveal the role of pre‐intercalated solvent molecules play in intralayer interactions, interlayer expansion, and layer sliding.     

Combining the benefits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis with tunable solvents and nearcritical water

The greatest advantage of heterogeneous catalysis is the ease of separation, while the disadvantages are often limited activity and selectivity. We report solvents that use tunable phase behavior to achieve homogeneous catalysis with ease of separation. Tunable solvents are homogeneous mixtures of water or polyethylene glycol with organics such as acetonitrile, dioxane, and THF that can be used for homogeneously catalyzed reactions. Modest pressures of a soluble gas, generally CO?, achieve facile post-reaction heterogeneous separation of products from the catalyst. Examples shown here are rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene and p-methylstyrene and palladium catalyzed C-O coupling to produce o-tolyl-3,5-xylyl ether and 3,5-di-tert-butylphenol. Both were successfully carried out in homogeneous tunable solvents followed by separation efficiencies of up to 99% with CO? pressures of 3 MPa. Further examples in tunable solvents are enzyme catalyzed reactions such as kinetic resolution of rac-1-phenylethyl acetate and hydrolysis of 2-phenylethyl acetate (2PEA) to 2-phenylethanol (2PE). Another tunable solvent is nearcritical water (NCW), whose unique properties offer advantages for developing sustainable alternatives to traditional processes. Some examples discussed are Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation, hydrolysis of benzoate esters, and water-catalyzed deprotection of N-Boc-protected amine compounds.     

γ‐Fe2O3@Cu3Al‐LDH‐TUD as a new Amphoteric,Highly Efficient and Recyclable Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Solvent‐free Synthesis of Dihydropyrano[3,2‐c]pyrazoles and dihydropyrano[3,2‐c]chromens

Thiourea dioxide was immobilized on γ‐Fe₂O₃@Cu₃Al‐LDH magnetic nanoparticles to prepare the γ‐Fe₂O₃@Cu₃Al‐LDH‐TUD MNPs. The structure and properties of these magnetic nanoparticles were established by FT‐IR, EDX, SEM, XRD, and hystogram of particle size analytical methods. The results obtained from these analytical methods confirmed the successful immobilization of the thiourea dioxide onto the magnetic support. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibited high catalytic activity in one‐pot three‐component reactions under mild and solvent‐free conditions for the synthesis of diverse ranges of dihydropyrano[3,2‐c]pyrazoles and dihydropyrano[3,2‐c]chromens. All the reactions proceeded smoothly to furnish the respective products in excellent yields. Simple isolation of the products, avoidance of harmful organic solvents, versatility of the catalyst and its easy magnetic separation and reusability with no significant loss of activity are the main advantages of the present method.     

Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of 3‐Oxoglutaric Acid Derivatives: A Study of Unconventional Solvent and Substituent Effects

A series of 3‐oxoglutaric acid derivatives have been hydrogenated in different solvents in the presence of [RuCl(benzene)(S)‐SunPhos]Cl (SunPhos=(2,2,2′,2′‐tetramethyl‐[4,4′‐bibenzo[d][1,3]dioxole]‐5,5′‐diyl)bis(diphenylphosphine)). Unlike simple β‐keto acid derivatives, these advanced analogues can be readily hydrogenated in uncommon solvents such as THF, CH₂Cl₂, acetone, and dioxane with high enantioselectivities. Two possible catalytic cycles have been proposed to explain the different reactivities of these 1,3,5‐tricarbonyl substrates in the tested solvents. The C‐2 and C‐4 substituents had notable but irregular influence on the reactivity and enantioselectivity of the reactions. More pronounced solvent effects were observed: the ee values increased from around 20 % in EtOH or THF to 90 % in acetone. Inversion of the product configuration was observed when the solvent was changed from EtOH to THF or acetone, and a mixed solvent system can lead to better enantioselectivity than a single solvent.     

Screening Metal–Organic Frameworks for Separation of Binary Solvent Mixtures by Compact NMR Relaxometry

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential as an efficient alternative to current separation and purification procedures of a large variety of solvent mixtures—a critical process in many applications. Due to the huge number of existing MOFs, it is of key importance to identify high-throughput analytical tools, which can be used for their screening and performance ranking. In this context, the present work introduces a simple, fast, and inexpensive approach by compact low-field proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry to investigate the efficiency of MOF materials for the separation of a binary solvent mixture. The mass proportions of two solvents within a particular solvent mixture can be quantified before and after separation with the help of a priori established correlation curves relating the effective transverse relaxation times T_2eff and the mass proportions of the two solvents. The new method is applied to test the separation efficiency of powdered UiO-66(Zr) for various solvent mixtures, including linear and cyclic alkanes and benzene derivate, under static conditions at room temperature. Its reliability is demonstrated by comparison with results from ¹H liquid-state NMR spectroscopy.     

Dynamical arrest of electron transfer in liquid crystalline solvents

We argue that electron transfer reactions in slowly relaxing solvents proceed in the nonergodic regime, making the reaction activation barrier strongly dependent on the solvent dynamics. For typical dielectric relaxation times of polar nematics, electron transfer reactions in the subnanosecond time scale fall into nonergodic regime in which nuclear solvation energies entering the activation barrier are significantly lower than their thermodynamic values. The transition from isotropic to nematic phase results in weak discontinuities of the solvation energies at the transition point and the appearance of solvation anisotropy weakening with increasing solute size. The theory is applied to analyze experimental kinetic data for the electron transfer kinetics in the isotropic phase of 5CB liquid crystalline solvent. We predict that the energy gap law of electron transfer reactions in slowly relaxing solvents is characterized by regions of fast change of the rate at points where the reaction switches between the ergodic and nonergodic regimes. The dependence of the rate on the donor-acceptor separation may also be affected in a way of producing low values for the exponential falloff parameter.     

Electroinitiated polymerization of arylvinyl monomers

The electroinitiated polymerizations of styrene, 2-vinylnaphthalene, and 9-vinylanthracene were compared in sulfolane and acetone solvents in the presence of ZnCl₂. The relative orders of polymerization rates and polymerization efficiencies, in both solvents, were 9-vinylanthracene > 2-vinylnaphthalene > styrene, with faster rates and higher efficiencies occurring in sulfolane. Data obtained from viscosity and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) studies indicate that the molecular weights of the polymers produced in these systems are extremely low, <5000. Chemical composition and infrared (IR) spectral data suggest that abnormal transfer reactions (possibly from solvent) may be occurring in the electroinitiated 9-vinylanthracene polymerizations. The polymerization mechanism appears to be cationic in these monomer–solvent systems with ZnCl₂.     

Optimization of Solvent Composition for High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

Abstract

The methodology of mixture experiments has been applied to optimize the multicomponent solvent composition for high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). In this study, a mixture of five solvents for the mobile phase was maximized for the separation of twelve structurally related B(a)P metabolites on normal phase HPTLC plates. Volume fractions (rather than absolute quantities) of the mobile phase solvents were constrained by upper bounds by considering solvent strength. These restrictions defined an experimental region that is an irregular polyhedron formed from a truncated 4-dimensional simplex. The optimization of the expected separation response over the experimental region was based on a second-order Scheffé polynomial estimated from twenty-five experimental runs. Six functions for measuring separation based on R_f values were evaluated. A new response function is proposed that overcomes the difficulties of previously published criteria.     

Thermal decompostion of dicyclopentadienyltitanium(IV) diaryl and dibenzyl compounds

The thermal decomposition of compounds of the type Cp₂TiR₂ (Cp = cyclopentadienyl, R = aryl or benzyl) in the solid state and in various solvents has been studied. In the solid state and in aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents the compounds decompose with quantitative formation of RH and a Ti-containing residue which has lost the Cp₂Ti structure. Experiments with deuterated compounds and solvents showed that decomposition proceeds via intramolecular abstraction of a hydrogen atom either from a cyclopentadienyl ring or from the other coordinated group R. Results of insertion reactions with tolane confirm these two reaction pathways. In tetrahydrofuran and tetrachloromethane, decomposition proceeds in a more complex way, with participation of the solvent.     

A New Quaternary Mobile Phase System for Optimization of TLC Separations of Alkaloids Using Mixture Designs and Response Surface Modelling

Abstract

A new combination of four organic solvents is proposed for the optimization of TLC separations of basic drugs and alkaloids. The solvents are diethylamine (DEA), methanol (MeOH), chloroform (CHCl₃) and ethylacetate (EtAc). They were selected from a collection of ten solvents used in Normal Phase TLC mobile phases recommended for the separation of alkaloids and basic drugs in the literature. The selection was based on the classification of solvents according to selectivity and solubility parameters. Excluded were apolar and weak solvents that show no selective (polar) properties and are used only for the adjustment of the solvent strength. Polar solvents from different selectivity groups were selected to combine as many as possible selective effects in one solvent system. The final choice was made considering the displacement theory for Liquid Solid Chromatography.     

Controlling the surface composition of PCBM in P3HT/PCBM blend films by using mixed solvents with different evaporation rates

The surface composition of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT/PCBM) blend films could be changed by controlling the film formation process via using mixed solvents with different evaporation rates. The second solvent, with a higher boiling point than that of the first solvent and much better solubility for PCBM than P3HT, is chosen to mix with the first solvent with a lower boiling point and good solubility for both PCBM and P3HT. The slow evaporation rate of the second solvent provides enough time for PCBM to diffuse upwards during the solvent evaporation. Thus, the weight ratio of PCBM and P3HT (m _PCBM/m _P3HT) at surface of the blend films was varied from ca. 0.1 to ca. 0.72, i.e., it increases about seven times by changing from single solvent to mixed solvents. Meanwhile, the mixed solvents were in favor to form P3HT naonofiber network and enhance phase separation of P3HT/PCBM blend films. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of the device from mixed solvents with slow evaporation process was about 1.5 times of the one from single solvents.     

Exploiting silver trifluoromethanesulfonate as efficient and reusable catalyst for the synthesis of dihydropyrimidine derivatives under different reaction environments

Different results were generated under different reaction conditions for the multicomponent reactions. Herein, an efficiently improved and mild protocol for the synthesis of dihydropyrimidine derivatives using cheap silver trifluoromethanesulfonate (CF₃SO₃Ag) as reusable catalyst is explained. With conventional heating and microwave irradiation method, the synthesis of substituted 3,4‐dihydropyrimidine‐2(1H)‐one and 3,4‐dihydropyrimidine‐2(1H)‐thione was achieved in different solvent environments like acetonitrile, water, and under solvent free neat condition. Moreover, the solvents (CH₃CN and H₂O) containing the CF₃SO₃Ag were reused for several times without loss of much catalytic activity after separation from the desired products. Thus, the method provides much improved and efficient alternative pathway to the original Biginelli reaction.