Water‐soluble metalated and non‐metalated A2B‐ and A3‐corrole/amino acid conjugates: syntheses,characterization and properties

In this study, novel water‐soluble corrole amino acid conjugates were synthesized and characterized. The coupling reaction of A₂B‐ and A₃‐corroles with glycine ethyl ester and taurine under strong basic conditions proved to be successful and yielded di‐ and trifunctionalized corrole amino acid conjugates in good yields. The subsequent metalation of the corrole/amino acid conjugates broadens the scope for applications considerably. As examples, we herein show the catalytic activity of the Mn(III) A₃‐corrole towards O₂ evolution. First we employed tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (t‐BuOOH) as oxidant to obtain the Mn(V)oxo species and tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (TBAH) as hydroxide donor agent. Furthermore, the binding properties of the non‐metalated and the Mn(III) A₃‐corrole/amino sulfonic acid conjugates and transport of proteins were investigated and the conjugates exhibited binding to human serum albumin (HSA). Finally, a novel Ga(III) A₃‐corrole/amino sulfonic acid derivative was synthesized and we briefly describe the photophysical properties of this compound. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transition Metal (Mn,Fe, Co,Ni)‐Doped Graphene Hybrids for Electrocatalysis

The development of electrocatalysts is crucial for renewable energy applications. Metal‐doped graphene hybrid materials have been explored for this purpose, however, with much focus on noble metals, which are limited by their low availability and high costs. Transition metals may serve as promising alternatives. Here, transition metal‐doped graphene hybrids were synthesized by a simple and scalable method. Metal‐doped graphite oxide precursors were thermally exfoliated in either hydrogen or nitrogen atmosphere; by changing exfoliation atmospheres from inert to reductive, we produced materials with different degrees of oxidation. Effects of the presence of metal nanoparticles and exfoliation atmosphere on the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of the hybrid materials were investigated using electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Doping of graphene with transition metal nanoparticles of the 4th period significantly influenced the electrocatalysis of compounds important in energy production and storage applications, with hybrid materials exfoliated in nitrogen atmosphere displaying superior performance over those exfoliated in hydrogen atmosphere. Moreover, nickel‐doped graphene hybrids displayed outstanding electrocatalytic activities towards reduction of O₂ when compared to bare graphenes. These findings may be exploited in the research field of renewable energy.     

Multinuclear NMR Studies of the Substitlent Effects in N-Phenyl-P,P,P-Triarylphospha-λ5-Azenes,Triaryl-Phosphines and Triarylphosphine Oxides

Abstract

A series of N-phenyl-P,P,P-triarylphospha-λ⁵-azenes (1) as well as their ^l5N labeled analogs was synthesized. The ¹³C, ³¹P, and ¹⁵N NMR spectra of this series and those of two other series of related compounds, namely triarylphosphines (2) and triarylphosphine oxides (3), were measured and are reported. Many satisfactory correlations using the mono-substituent parameter (MSP) and the Taft dual-substituent parameter (DSP) treatments with the ¹³C substituent chemical shifts (SCS), ³¹P SCS, ¹⁵N SCS and the one bond P-N, P-C and C-N coupling constants were observed and will be discussed. Thus, for example, the ³¹P and ¹⁵N chemical shifts in 1 correlated with [sgrave]^?with negative slopes while the ³¹P chemical shifts in 3 correlated with those in 1 with a slope of 2.0. The ¹³C chemical shifts in 1 correlated excellently with the corresponding ones in 3 with slopes very close to unity. The substituent effects on the chemical shifts of the various nuclei were shown to be mainly due to changes in the charge distribution on those nuclei. In 1 the one bond P-N and P-C coupling constants correlated with [sgrave]_p and [sgrave]_R respectively. The one bond P-C coupling constants of 1 correlated quite well with those of 3 with a slope of 0.93 while the corresponding correlation of 1 with 2 was quite poor. Taft DSP treatment of ¹J_PCin 1 and 3 were quite similar, ρI and ρR were both negative and ρR was much larger than ρI. Series 2 showed behavior which was different from that shown by 1 and 3 but similar to that shown by other systems with a lone electron pair on the atom bound to the phenyl ring. The substituent effects on the one bond P-N, P-C and C-N coupling constants will be discussed in terms of bonding and hybridization changes between the directly bonded nuclei.