The Role of Ion Pairs in the Second‐Order NLO Response of 4‐X‐1‐Methylpiridinium Salts

A series of 4‐X‐1‐methylpyridinium cationic nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores (X=(E)‐CH?CHC₆H₅; (E)‐CH?CHC₆H₄‐4′‐C(CH₃)₃; (E)‐CH?CHC₆H₄‐4′‐N(CH₃)₂; (E)‐CH?CHC₆H₄‐4′‐N(C₄H₉)₂; (E,E)‐(CH?CH)₂C₆H₄‐4′‐N(CH₃)₂) with various organic (CF₃SO₃^?, p‐CH₃C₆H₄SO₃^?), inorganic (I^?, ClO₄^?, SCN^?, [Hg₂I₆]^2?) and organometallic (cis‐[Ir(CO)₂I₂]^?) counter anions are studied with the aim of investigating the role of ion pairing and of ionic dissociation or aggregation of ion pairs in controlling their second‐order NLO response in anhydrous chloroform solution. The combined use of electronic absorption spectra, conductimetric measurements and pulsed field gradient spin echo (PGSE) NMR experiments show that the second‐order NLO response, investigated by the electric‐field‐induced second harmonic generation (EFISH) technique, of the salts of the cationic NLO chromophores strongly depends upon the nature of the counter anion and concentration. The ion pairs are the major species at concentration around 10^?3 M , and their dipole moments were determined. Generally, below 5×10^?4 M , ion pairs start to dissociate into ions with parallel increase of the second‐order NLO response, due to the increased concentration of purely cationic NLO chromophores with improved NLO response. At concentration higher than 10^?3 M , some multipolar aggregates, probably of H type, are formed, with parallel slight decrease of the second‐order NLO response. Ion pairing is dependent upon the nature of the counter anion and on the electronic structure of the cationic NLO chromophore. It is very strong for the thiocyanate anion in particular and, albeit to a lesser extent, for the sulfonated anions. The latter show increased tendency to self‐aggregate.     

Asymmetric Catalytic Aziridination of Cyclic Enones

The first catalytic method for the asymmetric aziridination of cyclic enones is described. The presented organocatalytic strategy is based on the use of an easily available organocatalyst that is able to convert a wide range of cyclic enones into the desired aziridines with very high enantiomeric purity and good chemical yield. Such a method may very well open up new opportunities to stereoselectively prepare complex chiral molecules that possess an indane moiety, a framework that is found in a large number of bioactive and pharmaceutically important molecules     

Chirality in the Absence of Rigid Stereogenic Elements: The Absolute Configuration of Residual Enantiomers of C3‐Symmetric Propellers

Two new tris(aryl)phosphane oxides existing as configurationally stable residual enantiomers have been synthesised and their racemates resolved by semipreparative HPLC on a chiral stationary phase (CSP HPLC). One of them, recognised as a conglomerate, could be resolved by fractional crystallisation at a preparative scale level. In this case, the absolute configuration of the propeller‐shaped molecule was determined by anomalous X‐ray scattering. The problem of the correlative assignment of the absolute configuration to all known C₃‐symmetric three‐bladed propeller‐shaped molecules existing as stable residual enantiomers is discussed. The configurational stability of the new chiral phosphane oxides and of the corresponding phosphanes was evaluated by CD signal decay kinetics and dynamic ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The racemisation barriers in phosphanes were found about 10 kcal mol^?1 lower than those found for the corresponding oxides, though geometry and inter‐ring gearing would be very similar in the two series. Configurational stability of residual tris(aryl)phosphanes was found to be influenced by the electronic availability of the phosphorus centre, as evaluated by electrochemical CV experiments.     

Chemo-enzymatic approach to the synthesis of the antithrombotic clopidogrel

The (S)-2-chlorophenylglycine moiety is well recognized in the structure of (S)-clopidogrel, a known antithrombotic drug. We prepared an enantiomerically pure chiral building block via an enzyme-catalyzed resolution of (RS)-N-Boc-2-chlorophenylglycine methylester. The best results were obtained by means of an immobilized subtilisin, the cross-linked enzyme aggregate (Alcalase-CLEA®). The high enantiomeric excess of the synthon obtained remained the same over the course of clopidogrel synthesis; the simplicity of the process makes this pathway suitable for large-scale preparation.     

Multienzymatic preparation of 3-[(1R)-1-hydroxyethyl]benzoic acid and (2S)-hydroxy(phenyl)ethanoic acid

The use of two oxidoreductases (an aldoketo reductase from Escherichia coli JM109 and an alcohol dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus brevis) has demonstrated that it is possible to prepare enatiomerically pure diols in a one-pot operation. The reactions were applied to the synthesis of (1R)-1-[3-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl]ethanol and (1S)-1-phenylethane-1,2-diol, using a two-step procedure. The yield is nearly quantitative and the enantiomeric purity is greater than 95%. A third step has been introduced by adding a cell biocatalyst showing dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activity from Pseudomonas fluorescens N3. This allows for the preparation of 3-[(1R)-1-hydroxyethyl]benzoic acid and (2S)-hydroxy(phenyl)ethanoic acid.     

Colourants and opacifiers in seventh and eighth century glass investigated by spectroscopic techniques

Glass fragments dating from the seventh and eighth century AD were excavated in the Crypta Balbi in Rome. They were studied to detect agents involved in colour development and opacification. Reflectance spectra recorded on powdered samples revealed the contribution of Fe(II), Fe(III), Mn(III), Cu(II), and Co(II) ions in determining colour hues. The effect of the Mn/Fe atomic ratio on glass colour is discussed. It is apparent that medieval glassmakers in Italy could obtain a wide range of colours by exploiting the presence of iron and manganese as contaminants of sand and flux and controlling the amount of oxygen let into the furnace. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis were used to study opaque fragments. The presence of calcium antimonate was detected in white, blue, and blue-green fragments, and elemental copper was detected in a red glass.     

Mechanism for large first hyperpolarizabilities of phosphonic acid stilbene derivatives

This paper presents calculations of dipole moments (mu), static polarizabilities (alpha), and first hyperpolarizabilities (beta) of phosphonic acid stilbene derivatives calculated in the framework of density functional theory. These calculations were performed using a finite field approach implemented in the density functional program ALLCHEM and were of an all-electron type using local exchange-correlation functional and specially designed basis sets. The molecular structures have been fully optimized using the semiempirical program MSINDO. Some of the investigated stilbenes have been synthesized very recently while others are described for the first time. Donor and acceptor groups of these analogues have been modified and the influence of these changes on the first hyperpolarizabilities has been investigated. This work demonstrates that the nonlinear optical response beta of these compounds increases dramatically when the acceptor moiety is displaced by analogues containing alkali metal groups. A general mechanism for the design of novel nonlinear optical materials with large first hyperpolarizabilities is described.