Oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to Pd. An ab initio benchmark and DFT validation study

We have computed a state-of-the-art benchmark potential energy surface (PES) for the archetypal oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to the palladium atom and have used this to evaluate the performance of 24 popular density functionals, covering LDA, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid density functionals, for describing this reaction. The ab initio benchmark is obtained by exploring the PES using a hierarchical series of ab initio methods [HF, MP2, CCSD, CCSD(T)] in combination with a hierarchical series of five Gaussian-type basis sets, up to g polarization. Relativistic effects are taken into account either through a relativistic effective core potential for palladium or through a full four-component all-electron approach. Our best estimate of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters is -10.8 (-11.3) kcal/mol for the formation of the reactant complex, 19.4 (17.1) kcal/mol for the activation energy relative to the separate reactants, and -4.5 (-6.8) kcal/mol for the reaction energy (zero-point vibrational energy-corrected values in parentheses). Our work highlights the importance of sufficient higher angular momentum polarization functions for correctly describing metal-d-electron correlation. Best overall agreement with our ab initio benchmark is obtained by functionals from all three categories, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid DFT, with mean absolute errors of 1.5 to 2.5 kcal/mol and errors in activation energies ranging from -0.2 to -3.2 kcal/mol. Interestingly, the well-known BLYP functional compares very reasonably with a slight underestimation of the overall barrier by -0.9 kcal/mol. For comparison, with B3LYP we arrive at an overestimation of the overall barrier by 5.8 kcal/mol. On the other hand, B3LYP performs excellently for the central barrier (i.e., relative to the reactant complex) which it underestimates by only -0.1 kcal/mol.     

Polymorphism in mercury(I) selenite(IV): preparation, crystal structures of α-, β-and γ-Hg2SeO3, and thermal behavior of the α- and β-modification

Mercury(I) selenite(IV) is polymorphic and crystallizes at least in three modifications, named α-, β-and γ-Hg₂SeO₃. Polycrystalline β-Hg₂SeO₃ was prepared by precipitation of a concentrated mercurous nitrate solution with selenous acid. Hydrothermal treatment of the colorless β-Hg₂SeO₃ powder in demineralized water at 250°C (10 days) yields light-yellow single crystals of α-Hg₂SeO₃ which show the highest density of the three modifications. Colorless needle-shaped single crystals of β-Hg₂SeO₃ and very few single crystals of γ-Hg₂SeO₃ co-crystallize from strongly diluted Hg₂(NO₃)₂ and H₂SeO₃ solutions and were grown by a diffusion technique. All crystal structures were solved and refined from single crystal diffractometer data sets and are based on Hg₂²⁺ dumbbells and trigonal pyramidal SeO₃²⁻ anions as the main building units. A common structural feature of all modifications is the formation of open channels extending parallel to the shortest crystallographic axis. The non-bonding orbitals of the Se^IV atoms are stereochemically active and protrude into the channels. Upon heating in an open system under N₂ atmosphere, both α- and β-Hg₂SeO₃ decompose in a well-separated three-step mechanism. The first step (T > 250°C) involves disproportionation into elementary mercury and α-HgSeO₃ which at ca. 400°C subsequently transforms into β-HgSeO₃. The second step between T = 400 and 500°C is accompanied by a loss of Hg and SeO₂ and the formation of the basic salt Hg₃SeO₆. In the third step, at temperatures between T = 500° and 600°C, this material decomposes completely. Upon heating in a closed system (sealed silica capillaries), β-Hg₂SeO₃ transforms between 320-340°C into the more dense α-Hg₂SeO₃ which on further heating likewise converts into elementary mercury and β-HgSeO₃.     

Multicomponent coupling reactions for organic synthesis: chemoselective reactions with amide-aldehyde mixtures

The acid-catalyzed condensation chemistry of simple amides and aldehydes provides a highly prolific source of diverse reactants for irreversible follow-up reactions. Amide-aldehyde mixtures have been successfully employed in multicomponent syntheses of N-acyl alpha-amino acids (via palladium-catalyzed amidocarbonylation) and various cyclohexene, cyclohexadiene, and benzene derivatives (via the amide-aldehyde-dienophile (AAD) reaction).     

Selection of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic columns with diverse selectivity towards the potential separation of impurities in drugs

To select appropriate stationary phases from the continuously expanding supply of potentially suitable HPLC columns, the properties of 28 frequently applied stationary phases were determined by measuring several chromatographic parameters. From these results, based on chromatographic expertise, eight stationary phases with different properties and selectivities were selected. The aim of this study is to apply chemometric tools to evaluate the initially selected set of columns, i.e. a more systematic approach for making such a selection is examined. Starting from the information obtained on the 28 stationary phases, the re-evaluation was performed independently based on the chemometric techniques Pareto-optimality, principal component analysis (PCA), and Derringer's desirability functions. The aim was to select a set of efficient columns exhibiting large selectivity differences. The chemometrically selected stationary phases were divided in groups based on hydrophobicity, a critical retention-determining property in reversed-phase chromatography. This allowed to further reducing the selection to three columns. It is demonstrated that the selection by the chemometric approaches in general is fairly comparable with the initial selection.     

2,2-Dioxo-1H-thieno[3,4-c][1,2]thiazines. Synthesis and some reactions of a new heterocycle

The first synthesis of substituted 2,2-dioxo-1-phenyl-1H-thieno[3,4-c][1,2]thiazines 2 and some of their reactions are achieved. Compounds 2 were prepared from the 3,5-dimethyl-1,1-dioxo-1,2-thiazine-4-carbaldehydes 1 by reaction with sulfur and triethyl amine in dimethylformamide under mild conditions. They were characterized spectroscopically and by X-ray structure analysis. The formylation, chlorination and oxidation of 2 are reported.     

Influence of peak measurement parameters on the quality of chiral electrophoretic separations

The effect of nine peak measurement/analysis parameters on chiral capillary electrophoresis (CE), followed by UV detection, was studied. The parameters pertained UV-detection (detection wavelength, reference wavelength, and wavelength bandwidths), signal processing (data acquisition rate, type and amount of filtering) and peak detection (detection threshold and peak width). The influence of these factors on the chiral separation of dimethindene enantiomers was studied at two different concentrations (i.e., at high and low signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio) by the means of experimental designs. The electropherogram characteristics considered were the resolution between the two enantiomers, the peak areas, and the S/N ratio. A D-optimal design was first used as screening design to identify the most critical parameters. Afterwards, a modelling of the different responses as a function of these critical parameters was performed based on the results of a face-centered central composite design. The results showed that the signal-processing parameters should be carefully selected when developing a CE separation since very important variations in the separation, the S/N ratio and the peak area of the substances can occur by setting these parameters at different levels. The detection wavelength should also be carefully chosen for optimal peak area measurement. The role of these parameters becomes more important with decreasing concentration of the analytes (i.e., low S/N ratio). This study showed that the peak measurement/analysis parameters should be optimized as the chemical and physical parameters of a method. They also should always be well specified in order to allow a good transfer of a method from one instrument to another.     

Chemistry of polyfunctional molecules-123. Reactions of BiBr3, SbI3 and AsI3 with LiN(PPh2)2; X-ray structure of a cyclophosphazene salt containing arsenic(I)

BiBr₃ or SbI₃ react at 20°C with LiN(PPh₂)₂ (1) to give elementary Bi or Sb and the P---P coupled phosphazene ligand Ph₂P---N=PPh₂---PPh₂=N---PPh₂ (2). The reaction of AsI₃ with 1 at room temperature formed yellow needles of the eight-membered heterocycle (3), whereas AsI₃ interacted at 80°C with 1 in the molar ratio of 1:3 to give elementary arsenic and 2. Treatment of AsI₃ and 1 at 20°C in a 1:2 stoichiometry yielded the seven-membered, cyclic arsenium(I) salt

Full-size image

I·4THF (5·4THF), which was characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity, mass, IR and NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structural analysis.