Cobalt‐Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Enabled by Organophotoredox Catalysis

Co‐catalyzed allylic substitution reactions have received little attention, arguably because of the lack of any known advantage of Co catalysis over either Rh or Ir catalysis. Described here is a general and regioselective Co‐catalyzed allylic alkylation using an in situ catalyst activation by organophotoredox catalysis. This noble‐metal‐free catalytic system exhibits unprecedentedly high reactivities and regioselectivities for the allylation with an allyl sulfone, for the first time, representing the unique synthetic utility of the Co‐catalyzed method compared to the related Rh‐ and Ir‐catalyzed reactions.     

Synthesis of zinc oxide crystals with different shapes from zincate aqueous solutions stabilized with triethanolamine

ZnO crystals were synthesized from basic aqueous solutions including zincate ions stabilized with triethanolamine (N(C₂H₄OH)₃, teaH₃) by heating at 60°C. The influence of the basicity of the solutions on the morphology of the ZnO crystals was examined. The aqueous solutions were prepared using ZnSO₄·7H₂O, N(CH₃)₄OH (TMAOH), and teaH₃ as a zinc source, a base, and a stabilizer, respectively, at a zinc concentration of 0.2 M at a teaH₃ / Zn molar ratio of 4. Clear solutions were obtained at a molar ratio of TMAOH / Zn ≥ 3.0. When the clear solutions, in which glass or polyester substrates were placed, were heated at 60°C, agglomerates of ZnO crystals were deposited on the substrates in the TMAOH / Zn range from 3.0 to 3.6. With increasing the TMAOH / Zn ratio, the shape of the resulting ZnO crystals changed from a short asymmetric column with a hexagonal flat edge and a rounded one, through a rocket‐like shape formed by intergrowth, to a hexagonal rod. Although no films of ZnO were formed, ZnO crystals with different shapes were synthesized. When the glass substrates pre‐coated with a ZnO thin film by a sol‐gel method were used, highly oriented, dense ZnO films were formed. The films consisted of rod‐like crystals aligned normal to the substrate surface. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Enhanced nucleophilicity of ambiphilic silylene and silylenoid bearing 8-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthyl group

Some new aspects of intramolecularly amine-coordinated silylenes, ammonium silaylide, and amine-coordinated magnesium (chloro)silylenoids are summarized. The divalent silicon species bearing the 8-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthyl group, generated by the thermal degradation of a pseudo-pentacoordinated ethoxy- or fluoro-disilane, behaves as a nucleophilic ammonium silaylide as well as the amine-coordinated silylene, whose electrophilic character is weakened in comparison with that of free silylenes in some reactions in the presence of trapping agents such as 1,3-diene, diphenyl acetylene (in the absence or presence of water), and phenylacetylene, and in the absence of any trapping agent. The amine-coordinated silylenoid also behaves as an ambiphile, but the reaction courses are different from those observed with the amine-coordinated silylene and silaylide. A novel amino-group migration from naphthyl carbon to silicon has been observed in both species.     

Functionalities of one-dimensional dynamic ultramicropores in nickel(II) coordination polymers

Ni(II) coordination polymers with a 4,4'-azobis(pyridine) (azpy) ligand, {[Ni2(NCX)4(azpy)4].G}n (X = S, G (guest molecule) = MeOH (1.MeOH); X = S, G = EtOH (1.EtOH); X = S, G = H2O (1.H2O); X = S, G = no guest (1); X = Se, G = MeOH (2.MeOH); X = Se, G = H2O (2.H2O); X = Se, G = no guest (2)), have been synthesized and structurally characterized with their porosity. These compounds have one-dimensional periodic ultramicropores that contain the small guest molecules, H2O, MeOH, or EtOH, whose hydroxy groups interact with the S or Se atoms of isothiocyanate or isoselenocyanate, respectively, via -S(Se)...HO- hydrogen bonds. Although the molecular dimensions of the MeOH guest are considerably larger than the window size of the ultramicropore, 1.MeOH and 2.MeOH easily release their guest molecules without decomposition of the framework to form 1 and 2 without any guest molecules. This shows that 1 and 2 have dynamic ultramicropores constructed from the interpenetrating framework. The guest desorption experiments using 1.MeOH and 1.EtOH reveal that the difference in the desorption behavior is due to van der Waals interactions that depend on the molecular shape of the guest molecule in the ultramicropores and/or an entrance blocking effect that depends on the minimum dimensions of the guest molecule for the pore windows. A marked difference in the N2 and CH4 adsorption isotherms was observed and is associated with the strength of the host-guest interaction.     

Formation of p-phenylenediamine-crown ether-[PMo12O40]4- salts

Electron transfer from the electron donor of p-phenylenediamine (PPD) to the electron acceptor of (H+)3[PMo12O40]3- forms a one-electron-reduced Keggin cluster of [PMo12O40]4-, bearing a S = 1/2 spin, while proton transfer from the proton donor of (H+)3[PMo12O40]3- to the proton acceptor of PPD yielded mono- and diprotonated cations of 4-aminoanilinium (HPPD+) and p-phenylenediammonium (H2PPD2+). By introduction of crown ether receptors during the crystallization process, supramolecular cations of (HPPD+)(crown ethers) and/or (H2PPD2+)(crown ethers) were successfully introduced into three new alpha-[PMo12O40]4- salts of (H2PPD2+)2([12]crown-4)4[PMo12O40]4- (1), (HPPD+)4([15]crown-5)4[PMo12O40]4- (2), and (HPPD+)2(H2PPD2+)([18]crown-6)4[PMo12O40]4- (3) as the countercation. The protonated states of PPD and molecular-assembly structures of the supramolecular cations depended on the size of the crown ethers. In salt 3, a novel mixed-protonated state of HPPD+ and H2PPD2+ was confirmed to be complexed in the cation structure. According to the changes in the cation structures, the anion arrangements were modulated from those of the two-dimensional layer for salt 1 to the isolated cluster for salts 2 and 3. The temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibilities of salts 1-3 were consistent with the isolated spin arrangements of [PMo12O40]4-. The electronic spectra of salts 1-3 indicated the intervalence optical transition from pentavalent Mo(V) to hexavalent Mo(VI) ions within the [PMo12O40]4- cluster. Temperature-dependent electron spin resonance spectra of salt 2 revealed the delocalization-localization transition of the S = 1/2 spin at 60 K. The spin on the [PMo12O40]4- cluster was localized on a specific Mo(V) site below 60 K, which was thermally activated with an activation energy of 0.015 eV.     

The effect of the particle size on the kinetics of CO electrooxidation on high surface area Pt catalysts

Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), and electrochemical (EC) measurements, platinum nanoparticles ranging in size from 1 to 30 nm are characterized and their catalytic activity for CO electrooxidation is evaluated. TEM analysis reveals that Pt crystallites are not perfect cubooctahedrons, and that large particles have "rougher" surfaces than small particles, which have some fairly smooth (111) facets. The importance of "defect" sites for the catalytic properties of nanoparticles is probed in IRAS experiments by monitoring how the vibrational frequencies of atop CO (nu(CO)) as well as the concomitant development of dissolved CO(2) are affected by the number of defects on the Pt nanoparticles. It is found that defects play a significant role in CO "clustering"on nanoparticles, causing CO to decrease/increase in local coverage, which yields to anomalous redshift/blueshift nu(CO) frequency deviations from the normal Stark-tuning behavior. The observed deviations are accompanied by CO(2) production, which increases by increasing the number of defects on the nanoparticles, that is, 1 < or = 2 < 5 < 30 nm. We suggest that the catalytic activity for CO adlayer oxidation is predominantly influenced by the ability of the surface to dissociate water and to form OH(ad) on defect sites rather than by CO energetics. These results are complemented by chronoamperometric and rotating disk electrode (RDE) data. In contrast to CO stripping experiments, we found that in the backsweep of CO bulk oxidation, the activity increases with decreasing particle size, that is, with increasing oxophilicity of the particles.     

Effects of polarization of 1.4 microm femtosecond laser pulses on the formation and fragmentation of naphthalene molecular ions compared at the same effective ionization intensity

Naphthalene was ionized with 130 fs pulses of different polarizations at 1.4 microm. In contrast to the results of ionization by 0.8 microm pulses, fragmentation was dramatically suppressed and naphthalene molecular ions of up to 3+ were produced. The use of this simple model of ionization and large electron kinetic energy enabled us to study the electron-recollision-induced fragmentation and/or double ionization more precisely. The failure of the theoretical prediction of ion yield for the case of naphthalene prevented us from judging the electron recollision solely by a comparison with theoretical curves. Therefore, the effects of laser polarization on the ratios between differently charged states and between molecular and total ions were compared at the same effective (peak) intensity instead of average intensity. Comparison under the same effective intensity enabled us to identify the effects of ellipticity clearly. Evidence of the electron recollision was found in the doubly charged molecular ion formation but not in the fragmentation. The single-electron recollision event was not sufficient to induce fragmentation because of its low energy transfer efficiency. We concluded that the fragmentation originated in the unstable nature of the highly charged molecular ion itself and in the Coulomb explosion in the case of naphthalene.     

A highly efficient carbon-carbon bond formation reaction via nucleophilic addition to N-alkylaldimines without acids or metallic species

A nucleophilic addition reaction to N-methylaldimines without acid or metal species is described. A novel reagent, dicyanomethyl acetate, is used as a nucleophile to give alpha-(N-methyl-N-acetyl)amino acid methyl esters in excellent yield.     

Solid State Radical Recombination and Charge Transfer across the Boundary between Indomethacin and Silica under Mechanical Stress

A composite of indomethacin (IM) and SiO₂ was prepared in a solid state by cogrinding. Dehydration was observed as a consequence of a chemical reaction between silanol groups of SiO₂ and carboxyl groups of IM. Several specific radical species found on separately ground SiO₂ disappeared preferentially after cogrinding as a result of their recombination. These chemical interactions under mechanical stress bring about a charge transfer, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, leading to Si-O-C bridging bond formation at the IM/SiO₂ interface.