Transition-Metal Catalysis of Triene 6π Electrocyclization: The π-Complexation Strategy Realized

Triene 6π electrocyclization, wherein a conjugated triene undergoes a concerted stereospecific cycloisomerization to a cyclohexadiene, is a reaction of great historical and practical significance. In order to circumvent limitations imposed by the normally harsh reaction conditions, chemists have long sought to develop catalytic variants based upon the activating power of metal–alkene coordination. Herein, we demonstrate the first successful implementation of such a strategy by utilizing [(C₅H₅)Ru(NCMe)₃]PF₆ as a precatalyst for the disrotatory 6π electrocyclization of highly substituted trienes that are resistant to thermal cyclization. Mechanistic and computational studies implicate hexahapto transition-metal coordination as responsible for lowering the energetic barrier to ring closure. This work establishes a foundation for the development of new catalysts for stereoselective electrocyclizations.     

Longitudinal 3D Blood Flow Distribution Provided by Diffuse Correlation Tomography during Bone Healing in a Murine Fracture Model

Noninvasive monitoring of vascularization can potentially diagnose impaired bone healing earlier than current radiographic methods. In this study, a noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (DCT) technique was employed to measure longitudinal blood flow changes during bone healing in a murine femoral fracture model. The three-dimensional distribution of the relative blood flow was quantified from one day pre-fracture to 48 days post-fracture. For three mice, frequent DCT measurements were performed every other day for one week after fracture, and then weekly thereafter. A decrease in blood flow was observed in the bone fracture region at one day post-fracture, followed by a monotonic increase in blood flow beyond the pre-injury baseline until five to seven days post-fracture. For the remaining 12 mice, only weekly DCT measurements were performed. Data collected on a weekly basis show the blood flow for most mice was elevated above baseline during the first two post-fracture weeks, followed by a subsequent decrease. Torsional strength of the excised femurs was measured for all 15 mice after 7 weeks of healing. A metric based on the early blood flow changes shows a statistically significant difference between the high strength group and the low strength group.     

Effect of polymer and ion concentration on mechanical and drug release behavior of gellan hydrogels using factorial design

Developing optimized hydrogel products requires an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that drive hydrogel tunability. Here, we performed a full 4 × 4 factorial design study investigating the impact of gellan, a naturally derived polysaccharide (1%, 2%, 3%, or 4% w/v) and CaCl₂ concentration (1, 3, 7, or 10 mM) on the viscoelastic, swelling, and drug release behavior of gellan hydrogels containing a model drug, vancomycin. These concentrations were chosen to specifically provide insight into gellan hydrogel behavior for formulations utilizing polymer and salt concentrations expanding beyond those commonly reported by previous studies exploring gellan. With increasing gellan and CaCl₂ concentration, the hydrogel storage moduli (0.1–100 kPa) followed a power-law relationship and on average these hydrogels had higher liquid absorption capability and greater total drug release over 6 days. We suggest that the effects of gellan and CaCl₂ concentration and their interactions on hydrogel properties can be explained by various phenomena that lead to increased swelling and increased resistance to network expansion.     

Intramolecular proton transfer in the isomerization of hydroxyacetone: Characterization based on reaction force analysis and the bond fragility spectrum

The mechanism of isomerization of hydroxyacetone to 2-hydroxypropanal is studied within the framework of reaction force analysis at the M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Three unique pathways are considered: (a) a step-wise mechanism that proceeds through the formation of the Z-isomer of their shared enediol intermediate, (b) a step-wise mechanism that forms the E-isomer of the enediol, and (c) a concerted pathway that bypasses the enediol intermediate. Energy calculations show that the concerted pathway has the lowest activation energy barrier at 45.7 kcal mol⁻¹. The reaction force, chemical potential, and reaction electronic flux are calculated for each reaction to characterize electronic changes throughout the mechanism. The reaction force constant is calculated in order to investigate the synchronous/asynchronous nature of the concerted intramolecular proton transfers involved. Additional characterization of synchronicity is provided by calculating the bond fragility spectrum for each mechanism.     

Rhodium-Catalyzed ortho-Bromination of O-Phenyl Carbamates Accelerated by a Secondary Amide-Pendant Cyclopentadienyl Ligand

It has been established that a newly developed cyclopentadienyl rhodium(III) [Cp^ARh^III] complex, bearing an acidic secondary amide moiety on the Cp ring, is able to catalyze the ortho-bromination of O-phenyl carbamates with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) at room temperature. The presence of the acidic secondary amide moiety on the Cp^A ligand accelerates the bromination by the hydrogen bond between the acidic NH group of the Cp^A ligand and the carbonyl group of NBS.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel epoxy monomers and liquid crystal thermosets

Four new epoxy monomers have been synthesized and characterized as part of a program to prepare novel liquid crystal thermoset (LCT) materials. Three of the new epoxy monomers contained a biphenyl mesogen and were not liquid crystalline (LC). The remaining epoxy monomer, which contained a 1,4-dibenzoyloxybenzene mesogen, was synthesized in an overall yield of 30% and displayed a broad (83°C) nematic liquid crystalline phase. The new liquid crystalline epoxy monomer was cured at 120°C and postcured at 175°C with a stoichiometric amount of 1,4-phenylenediamine. The thermal transitions of the resulting LCT were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light optical microscopy (POM), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and wide angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) as a function of cure time and temperature. A process characterization diagram was constructed which shows that LCTs based on this new LC monomer can be processed in the liquid crystalline phase over a broad range of times and temperatures. Qualitative agreement with previous epoxy LCT results was found, as LCT's with smectic phases and without clearing temperatures were observed at long cure times (high crosslink densities), whereas nematic phases with clearing temperatures predominated in networks at short cure times (low crosslink densities). © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Boiling Temperature and Reversed Deliquescence Relative Humidity Measurements for Mineral Assemblages in the NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O System

Boiling temperature measurements have been made at ambient pressure for saturated ternary solutions of NaCl + KNO₃ + H₂O, NaNO₃ + KNO₃ + H₂O, and NaCl + Ca(NO₃)₂ + H₂O over the full composition range, along with those of the single salt systems. Boiling temperatures were also measured for the four component NaCl + NaNO₃ + KNO₃ + H₂O and five component NaCl + NaNO₃ + KNO₃ + Ca(NO₃)₂ + H₂O mixtures, where the solute mole fraction of Ca(NO₃)₂, x{Ca(NO₃)₂}, was varied between 0 and 0.25. The maximum boiling temperature found for the NaCl + KNO₃ + H₂O system is ≈134.9 ^∘C; for the NaNO₃ + KNO₃ + H₂O system is ≈165.1 ^∘C at x(NaNO₃) ≈ 0.46 and x(KNO₃) ≈ 0.54; and for the NaCl + Ca(NO₃)₂ + H₂O system is 164.7 ± 0.6 ^∘C at x{NaCl} ≈ 0.25 and x{Ca(NO₃)₂} ≈ 0.75. The NaCl + NaNO₃ + KNO₃ + Ca(NO₃)₂ + H₂O system forms molten salts below their maximum boiling temperatures and the temperatures corresponding to the cessation of boiling (dry-out temperatures) of these liquid mixtures were determined. These dry-out temperatures range from ≈300 ^∘C when x{Ca(NO₃)₂} = 0 to ≥ 400 ^∘C when x{Ca(NO₃)₂} = 0.20 and 0.25. Mutual deliquescence/efflorescence relative humidity (MDRH/MERH) measurements were also made for the NaNO₃ + KNO₃ and NaCl + NaNO₃ + KNO₃ salt mixture from 120 to 180 ^∘C at ambient pressure. The NaNO₃ + KNO₃ salt mixture has a MDRH of 26.4% at 120 ^∘C and 20.0% at 150 ^∘C. This salt mixture also absorbs water at 180 ^∘C, which is higher than expected from the boiling temperature experiments. The NaCl + NaNO₃ + KNO₃ salt mixture was found to have a MDRH of 25.9% at 120 ^∘C and 10.5% at 180 ^∘C. The investigated mixture compositions correspond to some of the major mineral assemblages that are predicted to control brine composition due to the deliquescence of salts formed in dust deposited on waste canisters in the proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.     

Multidimensional infrared spectroscopy of water. I. Vibrational dynamics in two-dimensional IR line shapes

In this and the following paper, we describe the ultrafast structural fluctuations and rearrangements of the hydrogen bonding network of water using two-dimensional (2D) infrared spectroscopy. 2D IR spectra covering all the relevant time scales of molecular dynamics of the hydrogen bonding network of water were studied for the OH stretching absorption of HOD in D2O. Time-dependent evolution of the 2D IR line shape serves as a spectroscopic observable that tracks how different hydrogen bonding environments interconvert while changes in spectral intensity result from vibrational relaxation and molecular reorientation of the OH dipole. For waiting times up to the vibrational lifetime of 700 fs, changes in the 2D line shape reflect the spectral evolution of OH oscillators induced by hydrogen bond dynamics. These dynamics, characterized through a set of 2D line shape analysis metrics, show a rapid 60 fs decay, an underdamped oscillation on a 130 fs time scale induced by hydrogen bond stretching, and a long time decay constant of 1.4 ps. 2D surfaces for waiting times larger than 700 fs are dominated by the effects of vibrational relaxation and the thermalization of this excess energy by the solvent bath. Our modeling based on fluctuations with Gaussian statistics is able to reproduce the changes in dispersed pump-probe and 2D IR spectra induced by these relaxation processes, but misses the asymmetry resulting from frequency-dependent spectral diffusion. The dynamical origin of this asymmetry is discussed in the companion paper.     

Cycloarsanes (AsCF3)n (n = 4, 5) – Precursors for the Highly Reactive Diarsene F3CAs=AsCF3

Tetrakis(trifluoromethyl) cyclotetraarsane (F₃CAs)₄ ( 2 ) was used to repeat the UV initiated [4+2]‐cycloaddition reaction of the diarsene F₃CAs=AsCF₃ ( 1 ) with cyclohexa‐1,3‐diene (CHD) and to isolate single crystals of the cycloadduct 4 for a X‐ray diffraction analysis. 4 crystallizes in the space group and contains the diarsene group in its E‐configuration. 2 was also applied for [2+2]‐cycloaddition reactions of 1 with tBuC≡P and MeC≡CNⁱPr₂, but in contrast to positive results with (F₃CP)₄ the products were too labile for isolation. However, 2 was successfully used at room temperature as precursor for coordinating 1 as π‐donor ligand to the Pd(PPh₃)₂ complex fragment yielding η²‐bis(trifluoromethyl)diarsene‐bis(triphenylphosphane)‐palladium(0) 5 , which was characterized by X‐ray diffraction of single crystals and by spectroscopic investigations (NMR, IR, MS). Attempts to prove the existence of the diarsene 1 , generated by different methods, by spectroscopic studies very probably failed due to its extreme reactivity, not allowing the necessary concentrations for detection. Quantum chemical calculations of the stability of 1 with respect to dimerization, the stability of the [2+2]‐cycloadduct with 1‐di(isopropyl)aminopropyne and the energy difference between 4 and the 2,3‐dimethyl‐1,3‐butadiene cycloadduct of 1 were performed to understand the considerable differences between 1 and the related diphosphene F₃CP=PCF₃.