Dicoordinate copper(I) silanechalcogenolates

The copper silanechalcogenolates tBu3PCuESiPh3 (1, E = O; 2, E = S; 3, E = Se) were prepared from the reaction of [tBu3PCu(CH3CN)3]BF4 with [Ph3SiELi(THF)2]2 in acetonitrile. The compounds were obtained as colorless, crystalline, but thermally labile solids. X-ray crystallography shows that complexes 1-3 are monomeric in the solid state with no Cu...Cu interactions. The Cu atoms have either a linear or a near-linear coordination geometry in all three complexes. Interestingly, the O atom in complex 1 is also linear, which is in contrast to the highly bent S (2) and Se analogues (3). Density functional theory calculations suggest that both the linear geometry of 1 and an associated extremely short Cu-O distance [1.769(4) A] are not the result of pi delocalization but are the result of a fine balance of electrostatic interaction and Pauli repulsion.     

Conformational Studies of Substituted Chromans: Crystal Structures of 2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(2,3-Dimethylchroman-2,4-diyl)bis(Azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(Methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)Diphenol (I) and 2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(2-Ethyl-3-Methylchroman-2,4-diyl)bis(Azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(Methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)Diphenol (II)

Abstract  

The title compounds C₂₅H₂₄N₂O₃ (I) and C₂₆H₂₆N₂O₃ (II) crystallize in the triclinic space group P-1 with cell parameters a = 8.981(1), b = 9.933(1), c = 12.369(2) ?, α = 78.537(2), β = 84.515(2), γ = 73.561(2)° Z = 2 (I) and a = 11.4630(9), b = 12.955(1), c = 16.154(1) ?, α = 70.425(1), β = 87.403(1), γ = 71.850(1)°, Z = 4 (II). In both compounds the phenolic groups in the Schiff base substituents form intramolecular hydrogen bonds with the imine nitrogen atoms thereby rendering these substituents nearly planar. A detailed analysis of the amount by which the heterocyclic ring deviates from planarity (extent of puckering) in these and a series of related molecules shows that the extent of the deviation is largely unaffected by the number, size and placement of substituents on this ring.