Cationic polymerization of cyclic dienes. X. Cationic polymerization of 1-vinylcyclohexene and 3-methyl-1,3-pentadiene

1-Vinylcyclohexene (VCH), which has one of the double bonds in the ring and the other outside the ring, was synthesized and polymerized by cationic catalysts. The reactivity of VCH was very large in the polymerizations catalyzed by boron trifluoride etherate (BF₃OEt₂) and stannic chloride–trichloroacetic acid complex. Similar to other cyclic dienes, the polymerization of VCH was a nonstationary reaction having a very fast initiation step. The polymerization proceeded by either a 1,2- or a 1,4-propagation mode in which vinyl group was always involved. Particularly when BF₃OEt₂ was used as a catalyst, an intramolecular proton or an intramolecular hydride ion transfer reaction took place, resulting in the formation of methyl groups in the polymer. The degree of polymerization of polymer formed was about 10. This indicates the preponderance of monomer transfer reaction. To investigate the reason for the high reactivity of cyclic dienes, cationic copolymerizations of VCH and 3-methyl-cis/trans-1,3-pentadiene (cis/trans-MPD) was carried out. The relative reactivity of monomers decreased in the order VCH > trans-MPD > cis-MPD. On the other hand, the resonance stabilization of monomers decreased in the order VCH > trans-MPD > cis-MPD. Therefore, it could be considered that the monomer reactivity is mainly determined by the stability of carbonium ion intermediate. The relative stability of carbonium ion must be VCH > trans-MPD > cis-MPD. Thus the influence of the conformation of ion on its stability was clearly demonstrated.     

Stereoelective cationic polymerization of propenyl ether by asymmetric catalysts

In order to elucidate the possibility of stereoelective cationic polymerization (asymmetric selective polymerization) of olefinic monomers, racemic cis- and trans-1-methylpropyl propenyl ether and racemic 1-methylpropyl vinyl ether were polymerized by asymmetric alkoxyaluminum dichlorides. In the polymerization of racemic cis-1-methylpropyl propenyl ether with (?)-menthoxyaluminum dichloride in toluene at ?78°C, the polymer obtained showed a positive optical activity, and the residual monomers were converted by BF₃OEt₂ into a polymer having a negative optical activity. Thus, the stereoelective polymerization of racemic cis-1-methylpropyl propenyl ether was beyond any doubt attained in homogeneous cationic polymerization. In the polymerization of the trans isomer by the same catalyst, an optically active polymer was hardly formed. In the polymerization of racemic 1-methylpropyl vinyl ether which has no β-methyl group, stereoelectivity was not observed at all. The cis-1-methylpropyl propenyl ether did not produce an optical active polymer in the polymerization catalyzed by (S)-1-methylpropoxyaluminum dichloride or (S)-2-methylbutoxyaluminum dichloride under the same polymerization conditions.     

Lipase-catalyzed resolution of (2R*,3S*)- and (2R*,3R*)-3-methyl-3-phenyl-2-aziridinemethanol at low temperatures and determination of the absolute configurations of the four stereoisomers

[reaction: see text] Lipase-catalyzed resolution of (2R*,3S*)-3-methyl-3-phenyl-2-aziridinemethanol, (+/-)-2, at low temperatures gave synthetically useful (2R,3S)-2 and its acetate (2S,3R)-2a with (2S)-selectivity (E = 55 at -40 degrees C), while a similar reaction of (2R*,3R*)-3-methyl-3-phenyl-2-aziridinemethanol, (+/-)-3, gave (2S,3S)-3 and its acetate (2R,3R)-3a with (2R)-selectivity (E = 73 at -20 degrees C). Compound (+/-)-2 was prepared conveniently via diastereoselective addition of MeMgBr to tert-butyl 3-phenyl-2H-azirine-2-carboxylate, (+/-)-1a, which was successfully prepared by the Neber reaction of oxime tosylate of tert-butyl benzoyl acetate 7a. The tert-butyl ester was requisite to promote this reaction. For determination of the absolute configuration of (2S,3R)-2a, enantiopure (2S,3R)-2 was independently prepared in three steps involving diastereoselective methylation of 3-phenyl-2H-azirine-2-methanol, (S)-10, with MeMgBr. The absolute configuration of (2S,3S)-3 was determined by X-ray analysis of the corresponding N-(S)-2-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)propanoyl derivative (S,S,S)-13.     

End-Functionalized polymers by living cationic polymerization. IV. Poly(vinyl ethers) with acidic or basic terminal groups by functional initiator method

Carboxylic acid or primary amine-terminated poly(isobutyl vinyl ethers) were synthesized by living cationic polymerizations with functionalized initiators (CH₃CHIO? CH₂CH₂ ? X; X: that are the adducts of the corresponding vinyl ethers (CH₂ ? CH ? OCH₂CH₂? X) with hydrogen iodide. In the presence of iodine, these initiators induced living cationic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether to give polymers with the α-end group of X originating from the initiators. The polymer molecular weights were regulated by the monomer to initiator feed ratio and the molecular weight distributions were very narrow (M _w/M _n ≤ 1.15). Subsequent deprotection of the terminal group X led to polymers with a terminal carboxylic acid or primary amine. ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR analyses showed that the end functionalities of these polymers were all close to unity.     

Cationic polymerization of α,β-disubstituted olefins. XV. Stereospecific polymerization of butenyl ethers by cationic catalysts

Methyl, ethyl, and isopropyl butenyl ethers, CH₃CH₂CH?CHOR, were polymerized with homogeneous catalysts at ?78°C. Toluene, methylene chloride, and nitroethane were used as solvents, and BF₃O(C₂H₅)₂ and SnCl₄·CCl₃CO₂H were used as catalysts. The stereoregularity of the polymers were compared by x-ray diagrams and infrared absorption ratios. The stereoregularity of polymers increased with increasing content of the trans isomer in the monomer and with increasing polarity of the solvent. In the polymerization of methyl and ethyl butenyl ethers, crystalline polymers were obtained from both the trans and cis isomers. The crystalline polymer prepared from the trans isomer and that from the cis isomer had the same steric structure. This behavior is quite different from that observed in the polymerization of propenyl ethers. It is concluded that the bulkiness of the group on the olefinic β-carbon plays an important role in the stereospecific polymerization of α,β-disubstituted olefins.     

Intermolecular oxygen atom?π interaction in the crystal packing of chiral amino alcohol bearing a pentafluorophenyl group

Presence of an unique atom-to-face alcoholic oxygen atom?π interaction between a pentafluorophenyl group and alcoholic oxygen (O?π) has been demonstrated by X-ray analysis of the novel chiral amino alcohol instead of the well-known interaction between usual aromatic ring and alcoholic hydrogen atom (OH?π).     

Geometrical shapes of molecules by iterative extended Hückel method

The iterative extended Hückel method proposed by Harriset al. has been employed to calculate the shapes of 21 molecules consisting of H, C, N, and O. It has given fairly reasonable results, especially when it has been combined with a new formula; the formula regards the orbital energies and the wave functions of the Hückel method as those of the Hartree-Fock method.     

Improvement of fluorescence characteristics of coumarins: syntheses and fluorescence properties of 6-methoxycoumarin and benzocoumarin derivatives as novel fluorophores emitting in the longer wavelength region and their application to analytical reagents

To improve the fluorescence characteristics, especially emission wavelength, of coumarins, various 3-substituted-6-methoxycoumarin derivatives were synthesized, and then benzocoumarin derivatives were also synthesized in expectation of the shift to the longer wavelength region by the extension of the conjugated system. Their fluorescence properties were investigated spectrophotometrically in acetonitrile and evaluated from the viewpoint of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) between push- and pull-substituents in the ground and the excited states. Among them, benzocoumarin derivatives especially fluoresced in the longer wavelength around 540 nm with remarkably large Stokes shifts beyond 10,000 cm(-1). Using such fluorophores, some novel fluorescence derivatization reagents for carboxylic acids, alcohols, phenols, and amines were preliminarily prepared as an example, and their derivatized products were also found to fluoresce in the longer wavelength region with large Stokes shifts.     

Rational control of enantioselectivity of lipase by site-directed mutagenesis based on the mechanism

The enantioselectivity of a Burkholderia cepacia lipase toward secondary alcohols could be both increased and decreased rationally by introducing only a single mutation on the basis of the mechanism proposed previously.     

Migration of Cu ions in Cu2O---Al2O3---SiO2 glasses on heating in air

The behavior of copper ions in the Cu₂O·Al₂O₃·4SiO₂ (in moles) glass on heating in air at temperatures up to 500°C was studied. When the glass, in which about 90% of Cu was present as Cu⁺ ions, was heated in air above 300°C, a CuO layer was formed on the surface. The amount of CuO was increased with heating temperature and time, corresponding to the decrease in weight of the glass. Furthermore, the fraction of Cu²⁺ ions in the glass increased. These observations suggest that oxygens do not diffuse into the glass, but Cu⁺ ions migrate to the surface from the interior to balance the surplus positive charge produced by the oxidation of Cu⁺ to Cu²⁺ ions inside the glass. The following reaction scheme for the formation of the CuO layer was proposed; 2Cu⁺(interior) + ₂¹O₂(surface) → Cu²⁺(interior) + CuO(surface).