Single-crystal structures of polyphenylene dendrimers

A series of first-generation polyphenylene dendrimers based on three different cores were prepared by Diels-Alder cycloaddition and their single-crystal structures were determined. Consisting exclusively of interlocked, twisted phenyl rings, these polyphenylene nanostructures have exciting structural and dynamic properties. Single crystals of dendrimers, suitable for X-ray structure analysis, were grown from different solvent mixtures by slow evaporation at room temperature. It should be pointed out that one of the described polyphenylene dendrimers represents up to now the biggest oligophenylene nanostructure from which crystallographic data is available.     

Racematspaltung von chiralen Ferrocenderivaten durch Gegenstromverteilung

Optical resolution by counter-current distribution has been demonstrated on a preparative scale for two chiral ferrocene derivatives, e.g. 1.2-(α-oxotetramethylene)ferrocene (1), and 1.2-(α-butenylene)ferrocene (2), resp., in the system cyclohexane—(+)-diethyltartrate. The optical yields were 12 and 1%, resp., and are in good agreement with the values calculated from the partition coefficients of the enantiomers. The optical purity of1 could be increased to 40% by crystallization from cyclohexane. A resolution of1 with an optical yield of 14% was also possible by thin layer partition chromatography on silica gel using the same solvents.     

Hexaphosphapentaprismane: a new gateway to organophosphorus cage compound chemistry

Several independent synthetic routes are described leading to the formation of a novel unsaturated tetracyclic phosphorus carbon cage compound tBu4C4P6 (1), which undergoes a light-induced valence isomerization to produce the first hexaphosphapentaprismane cage tBu4C4P6 (2). A second unsaturated isomer tBu4C4P6 (9) of 1 and the bis-[W(CO)5] complex 13 of 1 are stable towards similar isomerization reactions. Another starting material for the synthesis of the hexaphosphapentaprismane cage tBu4C4P6 (2) is the trimeric mercury complex [(tBu4C4P6)Hg]3 (11), which undergoes elimination of mercury to afford the title compound 2. Single-crystal X-ray structural determinations have been carried out on compounds 1, 2, 9, 11, and 13.