An improved procedure for the two carbon homologation of esters to α, β-unsaturated esters

Treatment of esters with diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL) in the presence of lithio-trialkylphosphonoacetate results in improved yields of the homologated α, β-unsaturated esters. The problematic overreduction, which has previously observed in the half reduction of esters using DIBAL, is minimal (<3%) under these conditions.     

Solvent effects on competitive intramolecular electron transfer and energy transfer in a covalently linked porphyrin-phthalocyanine heterodimer

Photophysical properties of a porphyrin-phthalocyanine heterodimer covalently linked with a dipentoxy chain have been studied.Absorption spectra show that there is weak exciton coupling between the two chromophores in the ground state.Fluorescence spectra show that intramolecular energy transfer from porphyrin to phthalocyanine moiety occurs in competition with electron transfer.The efficiency of these two processes depends upon the mutual orientation of the two chromophores.The effect of solvent polarity on the intramolecular processes is also discussed.     

Energy transfer processes in phycobilisome model complex at 77 K

Ultra time-resoived huorescence spectra were used to study the energy transter processes and mechanism of complex PEC/PC/APC at 77 K, which was reconstructed with phycobiliproteins (PEC, PC and APC) of Anabaena variabilis, and has intact light-harvesting system and single terminal emitter. The energy transfer relationships between different chromophores especially between rod and core were also discussed based on fluorescence decay kinetic under different detected wavelengths. As a result, we got the possible energy transfer pathways and transfer time constants to be 29 ps between two PEC trimers, 12 ps between PEC and C-PC, 51 ps between rod and core.     

Impact of substituent position in monosubstituted α-cyclodextrins on enantioselectivity in capillary electrophoresis

In this study, our three recently synthesized regiospecifically monosubstituted carboxymethyl-α-cyclodextrins (CMACDs) were successfully applied for the enantiomeric separation of several biologically important low-molecular weight compounds by capillary electrophoresis. The enantioselectivity of the individual monosubstituted CMACDs added into the background electrolyte (BGE) was studied and compared with the mixture of three monosubstituted CMACDs and with native α-cyclodextrin at pH of the BGE ranging from 2.5 to 11. Our experiments revealed a significant influence of the position of the carboxymethyl group on the α-cyclodextrin skeleton on the enantioselectivity for all the studied analytes. Interestingly, the least common 3(I)-O regioisomer was revealed as the most effective chiral selector.     

Electron transfer through α-peptides attached to vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays: a mechanistic transition

The mechanism of electron transfer in α-aminoisobutyric (Aib) homoligomers is defined by the extent of secondary structure, rather than just chain length. Helical structures (Aib units ≥3) undergo an electron hopping mechanism, while shorter disordered sequences (Aib units <3) undergo an electron superexchange mechanism.     

Non-superaromatic reference for carbon nanotube as a quasi-one-dimensional π-bonding model for graphite

A non-superaromatic reference defined for an armchair tubule is proposed as a simple model for the graphite -electron system. This kind of reference structure is easy to deal with because of its quasi-one-dimensional character. We found that even the non-superaromatic reference for a relatively thin armchair tubule has essentially the same -binding energy per carbon atom as graphite. The accurate -binding energy per carbon atom of graphite turned out to be 1.57459724.     

Stereochemistry of transition metal catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular allyl transfer in chiral α-sulfinyl allylic esters

The stereochemistry of palladium or nickel catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular allyl transfer in chiral α-sulfinyl allylic esters was determined. The participation of the catalyst and the chiral sulfinyl functionality in these transformations, presumably by the coordination of the sulfinyl group to the catalyst, is discussed, and a novel mechanism is proposed for the rationalization of the results obtained.     

Chiral inversion of 2-arylpropionyl-CoA esters by human α-methylacyl-CoA racemase 1A (P504S)--a potential mechanism for the anti-cancer effects of ibuprofen

Metabolic chiral inversion of 2-arylpropanoic acids (2-APAs;'profens'), such as ibuprofen, is important for pharmacological activity. Several 2-APA-CoA esters were good racemisation substrates for human AMACR 1A, suggesting a common chiral inversion pathway for all 2-APAs and an additional mechanism for their anti-cancer properties.     

Pressure effect on proton jumps in dioxane-water mixtures at 25°C

The limiting molar conductances ^o of hydrochloric acid and potassium chloride in 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 mol% 1,4-dioxane-water mixtures were determined at 25°C as a function of pressure up to 196.1 MPa from the conductances measured in the dilute concentration range. The value of ^o(HCl) was two to three times larger than that of ^o(KCl) in each solvent mixture as well as in pure water. The excess proton conductance, as estimated by the equation [ _E ^o =^o(HCl)–^o(KCl)], increased with pressure in each solvent mixture, although the value of _E ^o itself decreased rapidly with an increase in the dioxane content. The rate of increase in _E ^o with pressure was not so large in dioxane-water mixtures as in pure water, and became smaller with an increase in the dioxane content in contrast to the cases of ethanol-water and t-butyl alcohol (TBA)-water mixtures. These results are discussed in terms of the difference between a dioxane and an ethanol or a TBA molecule in ability to stabilize the hydrogen-bonded networks of water in the water-rich region.     

Recognition of mandelate stereoisomers by chiral porphyrin hosts: prediction of stereopreference in guest binding a priori using a simple binding model?

Rigid porphyrin hosts that mimic the spatial arrangement of mandelate recognition motifs lead to stereoselective receptors and illustrate how subtle structural differences in host design have significant impact on guest recognition. The porphyrin hosts are obtained with minimal synthetic effort from readily available chiral amine precursors and are modular in design. The chiral recognition properties of the porphyrin-based hosts with chiral carboxylate-containing guests and chiral amines are described. UV/vis and ¹H NMR spectroscopic results indicate some of these porphyrin hosts undergo an induced fit conformational change upon guest binding.     

Structural variation, π-charge transfer, and transmission of electronic substituent effects in (E)-β-substituted styrenes: a quantum chemical study

The nature and transmission mechanism of substituent effects in (E)-β-substituted styrenes, C₆H₅–CH=CH–X, have been investigated from the structural changes induced by a variable substituent on the phenyl group. The molecular structures of 46 (E)-β-substituted styrenes were determined from MO calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory. The structural variation of the phenyl probe is best represented by two orthogonal linear combinations of the internal ring angles, S _F ^STY and S _R ^STY . Regression analysis of S _F ^STY using appropriate explanatory variables reveals a composite field effect, the main component of which originates from the long-range effect of the substituent enhanced by field-induced π-polarization of the vinylene spacer and resonance-induced field effects. The electronegativity of the substituent also plays a role in determining the value of S _F ^STY . Comparison with coplanar 4-substituted biphenyls reveals that the components of the field effect in the two molecular systems are of the same nature (apart from the electronegativity contribution, which is not present in biphenyl derivatives). However, the structural variation of the phenyl probe is more pronounced in (E)-β-substituted styrenes due to the shorter distance between substituent and probe. Analysis of π-charge distribution shows that the aptitude of the substituents to exchange π-electrons with the styrene and coplanar biphenyl frames is nearly the same. Nevertheless, the π-charge variation on the phenyl probe of (E)-β-substituted styrenes is 57 % greater than the corresponding quantity in coplanar 4-substituted biphenyls. Thus, the vinylene spacer is more effective than the phenylene spacer in transmitting π-charges. The S _R ^STY parameter is related to the amount of π-charge transferred from the –CH=CH–X moiety into the π-system of the benzene ring, or vice versa, due to the resonance effect of the variable substituent and, to a lesser extent, to field-induced π-polarization.     

Homolytic displacement at carbon: First example of α-attack in the allenyl and propargyl cobaloximes

The reactions of allenyl and propargyl cobaloximes with organosulphonyl chlorides under anaerobic and photochemical conditions form sulphones by a novel homolytic attack at the α carbon to the metal.     

Pressure and isotope effects on the proton jump of the hydroxide ion at 25°C

The limiting molar conductances Λ⁰ of potassium deuteroxide KOD in D₂O and potassium hydroxide KOH in H₂O were determined at 25°C as a function of pressure to disclose the difference in the proton-jump mechanism between an OH^? (OD^?) and a H₃O⁺ (D₃O⁺) ion. The excess conductance of the OD^? ion in D₂O λ _E ^O (OD ^-), as estimated by the equation $$\lambda _E^O (OD^ - ) = \Lambda ^O (KOD/D_2 O) - \Lambda ^O (KCl/D_2 O)$$ increases a little with pressure as well as the excess conductance of the OH^? ion in H₂O $$\lambda _E^O (OH^ - ) = \Lambda ^O (KOH/H_2 O) - \Lambda ^O (KCl/H_2 O)$$ However, their rates of increase with pressure are much smaller than those of the excess deuteron and proton conductances, λ _E ^O (D ⁺) and λ _E ^O (H ⁺). With respect to the isotope effect on the excess conductance, λ _E ^O (OH ^-)/λ _E ^O (D ⁺) decreases with presure as in the case of λ _E ^O (H ⁺)/λ _E ^O (D ⁺), but the value of λ _E ^O (OH ^-)/λ _E ^O (OD ^-) itself is much larger than that of λ _E ^O (H ⁺)/λ _E ^O (D ⁺) at each pressure. These results are ascribed to the difference in the pre-rotation of water molecules, which is brought about by the difference in the intial orientation of the rotating water molecule adjacent to the OH^? (OD^?) or the H₃O⁺ (D₃O⁺) ion.     

Transmission of substituent effects through unsaturated systems Part 71. Influence of substituent on infrared and 13C NMR properties in rigid cisoid and transoid Conformations of α-enones

Dual substituent parameter (DSP) analysis is applied to model substituent effects on ¹³C substituent chemical shifts (SCS) and ν_CO stretching frequencies in two series of α-enones with rigid cisoïd and transoïd conformations. The regression coefficients of DSP analysis for the ¹³C SCS of the conjugated systems are discussed in terms of the relative importance of the various mechanisms of transmission of electronic effects. The differences between the regression coefficients relative to the field and resonance effects for the cisoïd and transoïd systems reflect very well the variations of geometries between both series. Concerning the i.r. data, the DSP analysis leads to an apparently unprecedented observation since it appears that the stretching frequencies of the carbonyl group are more sensitive towards substituent effect in the aplanar cisoïd system than in the more planar transoïd system. This surprising result is discussed.     

Which is more likely in trichodiene biosynthesis: hydride or proton transfer?

The mechanisms proposed for enzyme-catalyzed formation of the sesquiterpene natural product trichodiene consistently include a step involving a 1,4-hydride transfer. Using quantum chemical methods (B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) and mPW1PW91/6-31+G(d,p)), we discovered two alternative pathways for transformation of the intermediate bisabolyl cation to the cuprenyl cation, one of which--a proton-transfer pathway--appears to be much more energetically favorable (by more than 10 kcal/mol) than the hydride transfer pathways usually proposed.     

Does Förster theory predict the rate of electronic energy transfer for a model dyad at low temperature?

The use of the F?rster model to predict the dynamics of resonant electronic energy transfer (RET) in a model donor-acceptor dyad (a terphenyl-bridged perylene diimide (PDI)-terrylene diimide (TDI) dyad molecule) embedded at low temperature in a PMMA matrix is tested against experiment. The relevant ingredients involved in the F?rster rate for RET, namely electronic coupling, spectral overlap, and screening effects, are accounted for in a quantitative manner. Electronic couplings are obtained from time-dependent density functional theory calculations, and the effect of the PMMA environment is included both on the transition densities and on their interaction through the IEFPCM model. We find that the presence of the terphenyl bridge induces a slight delocalization of the PDI and TDI transition densities over the bridge originating in a 56% increase in the coupling and in the breakdown of the dipole-dipole approximation. The spectral overlap is determined on the basis of a detailed simulation of the homogeneously broadened donor emission and acceptor absorption line shapes determined by fitting the single molecule spectra measured at 1.2 K. The corresponding distribution of spectral overlap throughout the ensemble is then estimated by assuming an uncorrelated inhomogeneous line broadening for the donor and acceptor. Combining the calculated electronic couplings and spectral overlaps sampled from Monte Carlo realizations of the energetic disorder, we obtain a mean RET time (approximately 8 ps) and a distribution in reasonable agreement with experiment.     

Temperature effects in carbon monoxide and methanol electrooxidation on platinum–ruthenium: influence of grain boundaries

The temperature dependence of methanol and CO monolayer oxidation is studied on carbon-supported PtRu (1:1 atomic ratio) electrodes with different metal percentages (5, 30, and 60 wt.%) in an aqueous H₂SO₄ electrolyte. High-resolution transmission microscopy confirms that at high (30 or 60 wt.%) metal percentage PtRu nanostructures with a high concentration of intercrystalline boundaries are formed. These nanostructures comprise multiple-twinned particles, particles with intersecting randomly oriented intergrain boundaries, or particles with parallel intergrain boundaries. Formation of such nanostructures leads to a decrease of the apparent activation energy of the methanol and CO monolayer oxidation, while the Tafel slope and the reaction order in methanol show minor dependence on the type of nanostructure. Materials with a high concentration of grain boundary regions may be of interest for practical applications in direct methanol or proton exchange fuel cells fed with reformate.