Synthesis and cross coupling of a highly substituted 2-pyridylboronate: application to the large scale synthesis of a mineralocorticoid antagonist

The large scale synthesis of functionalized 2-pyridylboronate 8 and optimization of its Suzuki-Miyaura coupling to chloropyrazoline (R)-7 to provide a scalable synthesis of mineralocorticoid antagonist (R)-1 is described.     

[η6‐1‐Chloro‐2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)benzene](η5‐cyclopentadienyl)iron(II) hexafluoridophosphate and (η5‐cyclopentadienyl){2‐[η6‐2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)phenyl]phenol}iron(II) hexafluoridophosphate

In the complex salt [η⁶‐1‐chloro‐2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)benzene](η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl)iron(II) hexafluoridophosphate, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₀H₁₂ClN)]PF₆, (I), the complexed cyclopentadienyl and benzene rings are almost parallel, with a dihedral angle between their planes of 2.3 (3)°. In a related complex salt, (η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl){2‐[η⁶‐2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)phenyl]phenol}iron(II) hexafluoridophosphate, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₆H₁₇NO)]PF₆, (II), the analogous angle is 5.4 (1)°. In both complexes, the aromatic C atom bound to the pyrrolidine N atom is located out of the plane defined by the remaining five ring C atoms. The dihedral angles between the plane of these five ring atoms and a plane defined by the N‐bound aromatic C atom and two neighboring C atoms are 9.7 (8) and 5.6 (2)° for (I) and (II), respectively.     

Modeling the geometric, electronic, and redox properties of iron(III)-containing amphiphiles with asymmetric [NN'O] headgroups

Two iron(III)-containing amphiphiles 1 and 2 have been synthesized with the [NN'O] ligands HL(tBu-ODA) (2-((octadecyl(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)methyl)-4,6-di-tert-butylphenol) and HL(I-ODA) (2-((octadecyl(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)methyl)-4,6-diiodophenol), respectively. Compound 1 is monometallic, whereas EXAFS data suggest that 2 is a mixture of mono- and bimetallic species. The archetypical [Fe(III)(L(NN'O))(2)](+) complexes 3-9 have been isolated and characterized in order to understand the geometric, electronic, and redox properties of the amphiphiles. Preference for a monometallic or bimetallic nuclearity is dependent on (i) the nature of the solvent used for synthesis and (ii) the type of the substituent in the phenol moiety. In methanol, the tert-butyl-, methoxy-, and chloro-substituted 3, 4, and 5 are monometallic species, whereas the bromo- and iodo-substituted 6 and 7 form bimetallic complexes taking advantage of stabilizing methoxo bridges generated by solvent deprotonation. In dichloromethane, the bromo- and iodo-substituted 8 and 9 are monometallic species; however, these species favor meridional coordination in opposition to the facial coordination observed for the tert-butyl- and methoxy-substituted compounds. Molecular structures for species 5, 7, 8, and 9 have been solved by X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the electronic spectrum of the amphiphile 1 was expected to be similar to those of facial/cis archetypes with similar substituents, but close resemblance was observed with the profile for those meridional/cis species, suggesting a similar coordination mode. This trend is discussed based on DFT calculations, where preference for the meridional/cis coordination mode appears related to the presence of tertiary amine nitrogen on the ligand, as when a long alkyl chain is attached to the [NN'O] headgroup.     

Diffusive flux of nanoparticles through chemically modified alumina membranes

Surface chemistry plays an important role in determining flux through porous media such as in the environment. In this paper diffusive flux of nanoparticles through alkylsilane modified porous alumina is measured as a model for understanding transport in porous media of differing surface chemistries. Experiments are performed as a function of particle size, pore diameter, attached hydrocarbon chain length and chain terminus, and solvent. Particle fluxes are monitored by the change in absorbance of the solution in the receiving side of a diffusion cell. In general, flux increases when the membranes are modified with alkylsilanes compared to untreated membranes, which is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of the porous membranes and differences in wettability. We find that flux decreases, in both hexane and aqueous solutions, when the hydrocarbon chain lining the interior pore wall increases in length. The rate and selectivity of transport across these membranes is related to the partition coefficient (K(p)) and the diffusion coefficient (D) of the permeating species. By conducting experiments as a function of initial particle concentration, we find that K(p)D increases with increasing particle size, is greater in alkylsilane-modified pores, and larger in hexane solution than water. The impact of the alkylsilane terminus (-CH(3), -Br, -NH(2), -COOH) on permeation in water is also examined. In water, the highest K(p)D is observed when the membranes are modified with carboxylic acid terminated silanes and lowest with amine terminated silanes as a result of electrostatic effects during translocation.     

Chlorometallate and palladium cluster complexes of wide-span diimine and diamine ligands

Diimine and diamine ligands that are unable to coordinate to a single metal favour the formation of unusual, high-nuclearity Zn chlorometallate and palladium chloride complexes.     

Reversible luminescence switching of a redox-active ferrocene-europium dyad

The copper-catalyzed cycloaddition reaction between a propargyl-appended europium complex and azidomethylferrocene yields a d-f dyad whose photophysical properties can be reversibly switched by varying the oxidation state of the ferrocene chromophore.     

Ionic liquid effects on Mizoroki-Heck reactions: more than just carbene complex formation

Reaction profiles for a Mizoroki-Heck reaction in either an ionic liquid or a molecular solvent with different palladium sources demonstrate that the rate enhancements observed in ionic liquids cannot be solely attributed to Pd-carbene complex formation.     

Exploring the top and bottom of the quantum control landscape

A controlled quantum system possesses a search landscape defined by the target physical objective as a function of the controls. This paper focuses on the landscape for the transition probability P(i → f) between the states of a finite level quantum system. Traditionally, the controls are applied fields; here, we extend the notion of control to also include the Hamiltonian structure, in the form of time independent matrix elements. Level sets of controls that produce the same transition probability value are shown to exist at the bottom P(i → f)=0.0 and top P(i → f)=1.0 of the landscape with the field and/or Hamiltonian structure as controls. We present an algorithm to continuously explore these level sets starting from an initial point residing at either extreme value of P(i → f). The technique can also identify control solutions that exhibit the desirable properties of (a) robustness at the top and (b) the ability to rapidly rise towards an optimal control from the bottom. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the varied control behavior at the top and bottom of the landscape for several simple model systems.     

A self-assembling hexameric spheroid with variable degrees of hydration

The V-shaped racemic compound 4,12-dinitro-6,7,14,15-tetrahydro-6,14-methanocycloocta[1,2-b:5,6-b??]diquinoline 2 crystallises from solvents of differing water content as a centrosymmetric spheroidal hexamer in the form of a series of isostructural clusters (2)₆·(water) _x X-ray structures of these crystals in space group $ R\bar{3} $ show that they can exhibit an extent of hydration anywhere throughout the composition range x = 0 to 1.