Oscillatory electrodeposition of metal films at liquid/liquid interfaces induced by the large surface energy of growing deposits

Electrodeposition of zinc (Zn) at an aqueous ZnSO4/n-butylacetate (BuAc) interface (liquid/liquid (LL) interface) showed a potential oscillation in the region of the current density exceeding the diffusion-limited one, accompanied by formation of two-dimensional Zn film with a concentric pattern at the LL interface. In-situ optical microscopic inspections revealed that the oscillatory growth of the Zn film synchronized with meniscus oscillation of the LL interface. The vigorous growth of the deposits occurs only when the shape of the meniscus becomes hollow on the negative potential side of the potential oscillation. On the other hand, on the positive side, the meniscus becomes almost flat and the deposits formed in the preceding stage are thickened. A mechanism is proposed to explain the oscillatory Zn electrodeposition coupled with the meniscus oscillation, on the basis of the fact that the interfacial tension at the growing metal/aqueous solution interface is extremely large.     

A shuttling molecular machine with reversible brake function

Design, synthesis, and demonstration of a prototype of a shuttling molecular machine with a reversible brake function are reported. It is a photochemically and thermally reactive rotaxane composed of a dianthrylethane-based macrocycle as the ring component and a dumbbell shaped molecular unit with two, secondary ammonium stations separated by a phenylene spacer as the axle component. The rate of shuttling motion was shown to be reduced to less than 1 % (from 340 to <2.5 s(-1)) by reducing the size of the ring component from 30-crown-8 to 24-crown-8 macrocycles upon photoirradiation. The ring component was turned back to 30-crown-8 by thermal ring opening, thus establishing a reversible brake function that works in response to photochemical and thermal stimuli.     

Total synthesis and determination of the absolute configuration of guadinomines B and C2

This article describes the determination of the absolute configurations of the guadinomines, which are novel cyclic guanidyl natural products that are inhibitors of the type III secretion system (TTSS) of bacteria. Any compound that interrupts the TTSS of bacteria is potentially an ideal anti-infectious drug. The reliable asymmetric synthesis of guadinomines has revealed their absolute configurations, which could not have been defined without this synthetic approach. Our report not only describes the asymmetric total synthesis of the title compounds, but also demonstrates the novel concise synthesis of tri-substituted piperazinone cores as optically pure forms. The novel feature of our method is an intramolecular S(N)2 cyclization that uses PPh(3) and I(2) to construct the unique 5-membered cyclic guanidine substructure.     

Cyclophane-type imidazolium salts with planar chirality as a new class of N-heterocyclic carbene precursors

Cyclophane-type imidazolium salts with planar chirality were synthesized from enantiopure 2-amino alcohols, of which the N(1) and N(3) positions were connected with a bridge. The structural profiles of the imidazolium salts and their derivative N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) were investigated by means of several analyses. The chiral NHCs derived from these imidazolium salts were found to catalyze the asymmetric cross-annulation of an alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde with a ketone by means of the "conjugated" umpolung of the enal to give the target gamma-lactone with good to excellent enantioselectivity (up to 94% ee). Based on the expected structure of the NHCs and their intermediates, together with the absolute configuration of the products, a plausible mechanism for the stereocontrol was proposed.     

Determination of the 15N/14N, 17O/16O, and 18O/16O ratios of nitrous oxide by using continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry

We developed a rapid, sensitive, and automated analytical system to determine the delta15N, delta18O, and Delta17O values of nitrous oxide (N2O) simultaneously in nanomolar quantities for a single batch of samples by continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS) without any cumbersome and time-consuming pretreatments. The analytical system consisted of a vacuum line to extract and purify N2O, a gas chromatograph for further purification of N2O, an optional thermal furnace to decompose N2O to O2, and a CF-IRMS system. We also used pneumatic valves and pneumatic actuators in the system so that we could operate it automatically with timing software on a personal computer. The analytical precision was better than 0.12 per thousand for delta15N with >4 nmol N2O injections, 0.25 per thousand for delta18O with >4 nmol N2O injections, and 0.20 per thousand for Delta17O with >20 nmol N2O injections for a single measurement. We were also easily able to improve the precision (standard errors) to better than 0.05 per thousand for delta15N, 0.10 per thousand for delta18O, and 0.10 per thousand for Delta17O through multiple analyses with more than four repetitions with 190 nmol samples using the automated analytical system. Using the system, the delta15N, delta18O, and Delta17O values of N2O can be quantified not only for atmospheric samples, but also for other gas or liquid samples with low N2O content, such as soil gas or natural water. Here, we showed the first ever Delta17O measurements of soil N2O.     

Stereodivergent synthesis of new amino sugars, furanodictines A and B, starting from d-glucuronolactone

An efficient and divergent strategy for the total synthesis of the first 3,6-dihydroaminosugars, furanodictines A (2-acetamido-3,6-anhydro-2-deoxy-5-O-isovaleryl-d-glucofuranose) and B (2-acetamido-3,6-anhydro-2-deoxy-5-O-isovaleryl-d-mannofuranose), has been developed. The synthetic process is featured by readily accessible and stereodefined manipulation of highly functionalized bicyclic tetrahydrofuran derivatives incorporating the glucuronolactone (common starting material)-derived skeleton.     

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of key intermediates for NET inhibitors using atropisomeric lactam chemistry

An atropisomeric lactam which was prepared with high enantioselectivity by catalytic asymmetric intramolecular N-arylation, was efficiently converted to synthetic intermediates for NET inhibitors through highly diastereoselective α-alkylation followed by hydration and trans-tert-butylation.     

Photodegradation mechanisms in poly(2,6-butylenenaphthalate-co-tetramethyleneglycol) (PBN-PTMG), Part III: Photodegradation induced by the carbonyl group in n, π excited states

In order to identify the initiation step in the photodegradation of poly(2,6-butylenenaphthalate)-block-poly(tetramethyleneglycol) (PBN-PTMG), we undertook its photolysis with monochromatic irradiation. We discuss the initiation reaction on the basis of the analytical results for the PBN-PTMG in the presence or absence of 2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone as a UV absorber, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone as a UV absorber, β-carotene as a quencher of singlet oxygen or methylene blue as a photosensitiser, respectively.The PBN-PTMG containing 2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone exhibits better resistance to the incident light of ca. 370 nm corresponding to the absorption of the n, π^* transition of the carbonyl group in the PBN block than the PBN-PTMG containing 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone. The PBN-PTMG containing β-carotene shows similar photodegradation tendencies as that of the PBN-PTMG without β-carotene. In contrast, the PBN-PTMG with methylene blue is not degraded by monochromatic radiation in the range λ = 600-690 nm. These facts indicate that singlet oxygen does not participate in the initiation reaction of the photodegradation of the PBN-PTMG. Therefore, we concluded that the photodegradation of the PBN-PTMG is induced through the hydrogen abstraction by carbonyl groups in n, π^* excited states.     

Hydrogen peroxide formation following the vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation of water ice films at 90 K

The production of gaseous OH radicals from the 300-350 nm photodissociation of H(2)O(2) that was photolytically produced on a water ice surface following the 157 nm photolysis of water ice at 90 K was directly monitored using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The translational energy distribution estimated by the time-of-flight spectrum of the OH products is represented by a Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution with a translational temperature of 3750+/-250 K. The rotational temperature was estimated by a spectral simulation to be 225+/-25 K. Surface defects produced by HCl deposition on the water ice contributed to the higher production rate of H(2)O(2) in the 157 nm photoirradiation of water ice while surface coverage caused by CD(3)OH deposition decreased the H(2)O(2) production rate.     

Mechanistic studies on the catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction with dihydroisoquinolines and development of oxidative Mannich-type reactions starting from tetrahydroisoquinolines

Detailed mechanistic studies on our recently reported asymmetric addition reactions of malonates to dihydroisoquinolines (DHIQs) catalyzed by chiral Pd(II) complexes were carried out. It was found that an N,O-acetal was generated in situ by the reaction of DHIQ with (Boc)2O, and cooperative action of the Pd(II) complex as an acid-base catalyst allowed the formation of a chiral Pd enolate and a reactive iminium ion via alpha-fragmentation. The iminium ion was also accessible via oxidation with DDQ as an oxidant, and a catalytic asymmetric oxidative Mannich-type reaction was achieved with tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) as starting materials. This oxidation protocol was applicable to N-acryloyl-protected THIQs, allowing the efficient synthesis of optically active tetrahydrobenzo[a]quinolizidine derivatives via intramolecular Michael reaction.