Direct 2-Arylation of Thiophene Using Low Loading of a Phosphine-Free Palladium Catalyst

The direct coupling of aryl halides with thiophene would be a considerable advantage for sustainable development because of only HBr associated with a base as by-product is formed and the number of steps to prepare these compounds is less than in more classical coupling reactions. We observed that through the use of only 0.2 mol% Pd(OAc)₂ as the catalyst, a range of aryl bromides undergoes coupling via a C-H bond activation/functionalization reaction with thiophene to give 2-arylated thiophenes in good yields. In most cases, only traces of polyarylated thiophenes were detected when a large excess of thiophene was employed. This air-stable catalyst can be used with a wide variety of aryl bromides.      

Application of isotopic labeling,and gas chromatography mass spectrometry,to understanding degradation products and pathways in the thermal-oxidative aging of Nylon 6.6

Nylon 6.6 containing ¹³C isotopic labels at specific positions along the macromolecular backbone has been subjected to extensive thermal-oxidative aging at 138 °C for time periods up to 243 days. In complementary experiments, unlabeled Nylon 6.6 was subjected to the same aging conditions under an atmosphere of ¹⁸O₂. Volatile organic degradation products were analyzed by cryofocusing gas chromatography mass spectrometry (cryo-GC/MS) to identify the isotopic labeling. The labeling results, combined with basic considerations of free radical reaction chemistry, provided insights to the origin of degradation species, with respect to the macromolecular structure. A number of inferences on chemical mechanisms were drawn, based on 1) the presence (or absence) of the isotopic labels in the various products, 2) the location of the isotope within the product molecule, and 3) the relative abundance of products as indicated by large differences in peak intensities in the gas chromatogram. The overall degradation results can be understood in terms of free radical pathways originating from initial attacks on three different positions along the nylon chain which include hydrogen abstraction from: the (CH₂) group adjacent to the nitrogen atom, at the (CH₂) adjacent the carbonyl group, and direct radical attack on the carbonyl. Understanding the pathways which lead to Nylon 6.6 degradation ultimately provides new insight into changes that can be leveraged to detect and reduce early aging and minimize problems associated with material degradation.     

A New Photochemical Reaction of Sulfonic Acid Esters

Abstract

In 1968 Zen and coworkers reported that thep-tolylsulfonyl group could be removed from carbohydrate systems by photochemical reaction (eq 1).¹ Since then other investigators have used this deprotection process in carbohydrate synthesis.^2-10 Mechanistic studies^11-16 have shown that tosylate photolysis is promoted by compounds (e.g., triethylamine) that donate an electron to an excitedp-toluenesulfonate to generate a radical anion (1). This intermediate then fragments to form the anion of the deprotected sugar (Scheme 1). Since generating a radical anion is the central element in this photochemical process, structural changes that impact radical anion formation should influence the reaction. Replacing the p - tolylsulfonyl group with the pentafluorophenylsulfonyl group generates a more stable radical anion (2) because the electronegative fluorine atoms can help stabilize the negative charge. Since we have a continuing interest in the photochemistry of sulfonic acid esters, we synthesized the pentafluorobenzenesulfonates (pentaflates) 3-6 and studied their photochemistry under electron transfer conditions.     

A New Class of Remote N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes with Exceptionally Strong σ‐Donor Properties: Introducing Benzo[c]quinolin‐6‐ylidene

We make the case for benzo[c]quinolin‐6‐ylidene ( 1 ) as a strongly electron‐donating carbene ligand. The facile synthesis of 6‐trifluoromethanesulfonylbenzo[c]quinolizinium trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 2 ) gives straightforward access to a useful precursor for oxidative addition to low‐valent metals, to yield the desired carbene complexes. This concept has been achieved in the case of [Mn(benzo[c]quinolin‐6‐ylidene)(CO)₅]⁺ ( 15 ) and [Pd(benzo[c]quinolin‐6‐ylidene)(PPh₃)₂(L)]²⁺ L=THF ( 21 ), OTf ( 22 ) or pyridine ( 23 ). Attempts to coordinate to nickel result in coupling products from two carbene precursor fragments. The CO IR‐stretching‐frequency data for the manganese compound suggests benzo[c]quinolin‐6‐ylidene is at least as strong a donor as any heteroatom‐stabilised carbene ligand reported.     

Bimodules in crossed products of von Neumann algebras

In this paper, we study bimodules over a von Neumann algebra M   in the context of an inclusion M⊆M_?αG$M\subseteq M{?}_{\alpha }G$, where G is a discrete group acting on a factor M by outer ?-automorphisms. We characterize the M  -bimodules X⊆M_?αG$X\subseteq M{?}_{\alpha }G$ that are closed in the Bures topology in terms of the subsets of G  . We show that this characterization also holds for w^?$w^{?}$-closed bimodules when G has the approximation property (AP  ), a class of groups that includes all amenable and weakly amenable ones. As an application, we prove a version of Mercer's extension theorem for certain w^?$w^{?}$-continuous surjective isometric maps on X.     

Acetals: a new organocatalysis chemotype for one-pot enantioselective α-amination

Conditions are described for one-pot Brønsted acid and organocatalysed enantioselective α-amination of acetals and associated functionalities. Of the organocatalysts screened, proline tetrazole gave the highest ee, while aqueous monochloroacetic acid proved to be the best Brønsted acid activator regarding minimizing racemization and maximizing product yield. The reaction opens up the way for using masked carbonyl functionalities in organocatalysis.     

Naphthalene Exchange in [Re(η6-napht)2]+ with Pharmaceuticals Leads to Highly Functionalized Sandwich Complexes [M(η6-pharm)2]+ (M=Re/99mTc)

Bis-arene sandwich complexes are generally prepared by the Fischer-Hafner reaction, which conditions are incompatible with most O- and N- functional groups. We report a new way for the synthesis of sandwich type complexes [Re(η⁶-arene)₂]⁺ and [Re(η⁶-arene)(η⁶-benzene)]⁺ from [Re(η⁶-napht)₂]⁺ and [Re(η⁶-napht)(η⁶-benzene)]⁺, with functionalized arenes and pharmaceuticals. N-methylpyrrolidine (NMP) facilitates the substitution of naphthalene with the incoming arene. A series of fully characterized rhenium sandwich complexes with simple arenes, such as aniline, as well as with active compounds like lidocaine and melatonin are presented. With these rhenium compounds in hand, the radioactive sandwich complexes [^99mTc(η⁶-pharm)₂]⁺ (pharm=pharmaceutical) can be unambiguously confirmed. The direct labelling of pharmaceuticals with ^99mTc through η⁶-coordination to phenyl rings and the confirmation of the structures with the rhenium homologues opens a path into molecular theranostics.     

Tuning Deazaflavins Towards Highly Potent Reducing Photocatalysts Guided by Mechanistic Understanding – Enhancement of the Key Step by the Internal Heavy Atom Effect

Deazaflavins are well suited for reductive chemistry acting via a consecutive photo-induced electron transfer, in which their triplet state and semiquinone – the latter is formed from the former after electron transfer from a sacrificial electron donor – are key intermediates. Guided by mechanistic investigations aiming to increase intersystem crossing by the internal heavy atom effect and optimising the concentration conditions to avoid unproductive excited singlet reactions, we synthesised 5-aryldeazaflavins with Br or Cl substituents on different structural positions via a three-component reaction. Bromination of the deazaisoalloxazine core leads to almost 100 % triplet yield but causes photo-instability and enhances unproductive side reactions. Bromine on the 5-phenyl group in ortho position does not affect the photostability, increases the triplet yield, and allows its efficient usage in the photocatalytic dehalogenation of bromo- and chloroarenes with electron-donating methoxy and alkyl groups even under aerobic conditions. Reductive powers comparable to lithium are achieved.