Synthesis and N.m.r. studies of bis-trisubstituted phosphine platinum(o) and palladium(o) complexes with push-pull olefins

Summary Platinum(0) and palladium(0) complexes of the type: P₂M(R₁R₂C=CR₃R₄) (P=trisubstituted phosphine; R₁, R₂, R₃ and R₄ are different groups having electron acceptor or electron donor properties; M=Pt or Pd) with so called pushpull olefins, have been prepared and characterized. In some cases unusual patterns in the n.m.r. spectra of olefinic protons were observed. The spectra were analyzed by computer simulation and general rules for ABMX patterns for this type of complexes are given.     

Regio- and stereoselective lithiation and electrophilic substitution reactions of N-Alkyl-2,3-diphenylaziridines: solvent effect

[structure: see text]. The lithiation reaction of cis- and trans-N-alkyl-2,3-diphenylaziridines has been investigated. While cis-diphenylaziridines do not undergo any lithiation upon treatment with organolithiums, the lithiation reaction of the trans counterparts is completely alpha-regioselective and the stereochemical course of the lithiation-trapping sequence is solvent dependent: inversion of configuration in coordinating solvents (THF or toluene/crown ether) and retention in hexane, ether, or toluene. The preparation of stereodefined functionalized N-alkyl-2,3-diphenylaziridines is described.     

A multireference perturbation theory study on the vertical electronic spectrum of thiophene

The vertical electronic spectrum of the thiophene molecule is investigated by means of second and third order multireference perturbation theory (NEVPT). Single-state and quasi-degenerate NEVPT calculations of more than 25 singlet excited states have been performed. The study is addressed to the theoretical characterization of the four lowest-energy valence states, as well as the 3s, 3p and 3d Rydberg states. In addition, the excitation energies of two and valence states are also reported. For almost all the excited states, coupled cluster calculations (CCSD and CCSDR(3)) have been also carried out, using the same geometry and basis set used for the NEVPT ones, in order to make the comparison between the results of the two methods meaningful. A remarkable accordance between the NEVPT and CC excitation energies is found. The present results, over all, confirm the experimental assignments but, above all, represent an important contribution to the assignments of some low-energy states, valence and Rydberg, for which a firm interpretation is not available in the literature.     

The first pure LambdaHT rotamer of a complex with a cis-[metal(nucleotide)2] unit: a cis-[Pt(amine)2(nucleotide)2] LambdaHT rotamer with unique molecular structural features

cis-[PtA2(nucleotide)2] complexes (A2 stands for two amines or a diamine) have been extensively investigated as model compounds for key cisplatin-DNA adducts. All cis-[metal(nucleotide/nucleoside)2] complexes with guanine and related purines characterized in the solid state thus far have the DeltaHT conformation (head-to-tail orientation of the two bases and right-handed chirality). In sharp contrast, the LambdaHT conformation (left-handed chirality) dominates in acidic and neutral aqueous solutions of cis-[PtA2(5'-GMP)2] complexes. Molecular models and solution experiments indicate that the LambdaHT conformer is stabilized by 5'-phosphate/N1H hydrogen-bond interactions between cis nucleotides with the normal anti conformation. However, this evidence, while compelling, is indirect. At last, conditions have been defined to allow crystallization of this elusive conformer. The structure obtained reveals three unique features not present in all other cis-[PtA2(nucleotide)2] solid-state structures: a LambdaHT conformation, very strong hydrogen-bond interactions between the phosphate and N1H of cis nucleotides, and a very small dihedral angle between the planes of the two guanines lying nearly perpendicular to the coordination plane. These new results indicate that, because there are no local base-base repulsions precluding the LambdaHT conformer, global forces rather than local interactions account for the predominance of the DeltaHT conformer over the LambdaHT conformer in the solid state and in both inter- and intrastrand HT crosslinks of oligonucleotides and DNA.     

Structure of coexisting liquid phases of supercooled water: analogy with ice polymorphs

The structural changes occurring in supercooled liquid water upon moving from one coexisting liquid phase to the other have been investigated by computer simulation using a polarizable interaction potential model. The obtained results favorably compare with recent neutron scattering data of high and low density water. In order to assess the physical origin of the observed structural changes, computer simulation of several ice polymorphs has also been carried out. Our results show that there is a strict analogy between the structure of various disordered (supercooled) and ordered (ice) phases of water, suggesting that the occurrence of several different phases of supercooled water is rooted in the same physical origin that is responsible for ice polymorphism.     

Synthesis of 1,3-dihydrobenzo[c]furans from ortho-lithiated aryloxiranes

A general method for the synthesis of hydroxyalkyl 1,3-dihydrobenzo[c]furans from ortho-lithiated aryloxiranes and carbonyl compounds is described.     

Synthesis of Ni-Ru alloy nanoparticles and their high catalytic activity in dehydrogenation of ammonia borane

We report the synthesis and characterization of new Ni(x)Ru(1-x) (x = 0.56-0.74) alloy nanoparticles (NPs) and their catalytic activity for hydrogen release in the ammonia borane hydrolysis process. The alloy NPs were obtained by wet-chemistry method using a rapid lithium triethylborohydride reduction of Ni(2+) and Ru(3+) precursors in oleylamine. The nature of each alloy sample was fully characterized by TEM, XRD, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We found that the as-prepared Ni-Ru alloy NPs exhibited exceptional catalytic activity for the ammonia borane hydrolysis reaction for hydrogen release. All Ni-Ru alloy NPs, and in particular the Ni(0.74)Ru(0.26) sample, outperform the activity of similar size monometallic Ni and Ru NPs, and even of Ni@Ru core-shell NPs. The hydrolysis activation energy for the Ni(0.74)Ru(0.26) alloy catalyst was measured to be approximately 37?kJ?mol(-1). This value is considerably lower than the values measured for monometallic Ni (≈70?kJ?mol(-1)) and Ru NPs (≈49?kJ?mol(-1)), and for Ni@Ru (≈44?kJ?mol(-1)), and is also lower than the values of most noble-metal-containing bimetallic NPs reported in the literature. Thus, a remarkable improvement of catalytic activity of Ru in the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane was obtained by alloying Ru with a Ni, which is a relatively cheap metal.     

Metal-catalyzed reduction of HCONR'2, R' = Me (DMF), Et (DEF), by silanes to produce R'2NMe and disiloxanes: a mechanism unraveled

We demonstrate that using Mo(CO)(6), Mo(CO)(5)NMe(3), and (η(5)-C(5)H(5))Mn(CO)(3) as catalysts for the silane, R(3)SiH, reduction of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and N,N-diethylformamide (DEF), we can observe, intercept, and isolate, the important siloxymethylamine intermediates, R(3)SiOCH(2)NR'(2), R' = Me, Et, for the first time. In the presence of excess DMF such intermediates thermally react with a variety of silanes to form the corresponding disiloxanes in the absence of a metal catalyst. We also show that the germanium hydrides, Et(3)GeH and Bu(3)GeH, also reduce DMF to form trimethylamine and the corresponding digermoxane but observe no intermediates R(3)GeOCH(2)NMe(2). Bu(3)SnH reduces DMF, but along with the low yields of Bu(3)SnOSnBu(3) (but no Bu(3)SnOCH(2)NMe(2)) significant side products are obtained including (Bu(3)Sn)(2) and Bu(4)Sn. In the absence of DMF the siloxymethylamines can undergo metal-catalyzed reactions with silanes, germanes and stannanes to form disiloxanes, and R(3)SiOER(3) E = Ge, Sn, respectively. To date, the most efficient catalyst for this latter process is (η(5)-C(5)H(5))Mo(CO)(3)CH(3) via a photochemical reaction.