Low-temperature thermodynamic properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-cysteine

Heat capacity C _p(T) of the orthorhombic polymorph of L-cysteine was measured in the temperature range 6–300 K by adiabatic calorimetry; thermodynamic functions were calculated based on these measurements. At 298.15 K the values of heat capacity, C _p; entropy, S _m⁰(T)-S _m⁰(0); difference in the enthalpy, H _m⁰(T)-H _m⁰(0), are equal, respectively, to 144.6±0.3 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹, 169.0±0.4 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹ and 24960±50 J mol⁻¹. An anomaly of heat capacity near 70 K was registered as a small, 3–5% height, diffuse ‘jump’ accompanied by the substantial increase in the thermal relaxation time. The shape of the anomaly is sensitive to thermal pre-history of the sample.     

Novel approaches to model-free analysis of lanthanide-induced shifts, targeted to the investigation of contact term behavior

Three novel equations were proposed to perform graphical model-free analysis of lanthanide-induced shifts in NMR spectra of axially symmetrical complexes within Bleaney's T(-2) expansion. Application and efficiency of these newly developed approaches were demonstrated on the example of heteroleptic triple-decker crown-phthalocyaninates (Pc)M[(15C5)(4)Pc]M(Pc), where (15C5)--15-crown-5, (Pc(2-))--phthalocyaninato-dianion, M = Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Y as diamagnetic reference. By construction of these equations, the proposed analytical techniques are more sensitive to variations of hyperfine coupling terms throughout lanthanide series, in comparison with previously developed approaches, becoming a valuable tool for the investigation of structural and electronic characteristics of lanthanide complexes.     

Mutable Lewis and Brønsted acidity of aluminated SBA-15 as revealed by NMR of adsorbed pyridine-15N

(1)H and variable-temperature (15)N NMR techniques have been used to study the effect of the gradual alumination of SBA-15 on the structure and adsorption properties of this mesoporous material. The interpretation of experimental spectra suggests that aluminum chlorhydrol most effectively reacts with silica surfaces in the confinement of the cavities of rough mesopore walls, instead of forming a homogeneous aluminum film. This first leads to a gradual filling of the cavities and finally results in aluminum islands on the inner surfaces of mesopores. In the sample with a Si/Al atomic ratio of 4.1, up to half of the inner surface area of the mesopores is covered with aluminum. The alumination produces Br?nsted acid sites attributed to silanol groups interacting with aluminum but does not affect the proton-donating ability of isolated silanol groups. At high Si/Al ratios, the surface contains only one type of Lewis site attributed to tetracoordinated aluminum. At lower Si/Al ratios, Lewis acid sites with a lower electron-accepting ability appear, as attributed to pentacoordinated aluminum. The numerical values of the surface densities of all chemically active sites have been estimated after annealing at 420 and 700 K. We were surprised to observe that gaseous nitrogen can occupy Lewis acid sites and hinder the interaction of the aluminum with any other electron donor. As a result, aluminated surfaces saturated with nitrogen do not exhibit any Br?nsted or Lewis acidity. At room temperature, it takes days before pyridine replaces nitrogen at the Lewis acid sites.     

A highly reactive mononuclear non-heme manganese(IV)-oxo complex that can activate the strong C-H bonds of alkanes

A mononuclear non-heme manganese(IV)-oxo complex has been synthesized and characterized using various spectroscopic methods. The Mn(IV)-oxo complex shows high reactivity in oxidation reactions, such as C-H bond activation, oxidations of olefins, alcohols, sulfides, and aromatic compounds, and N-dealkylation. In C-H bond activation, the Mn(IV)-oxo complex can activate C-H bonds as strong as those in cyclohexane. It is proposed that C-H bond activation by the non-heme Mn(IV)-oxo complex does not occur via an oxygen-rebound mechanism. The electrophilic character of the non-heme Mn(IV)-oxo complex is demonstrated by a large negative ρ value of -4.4 in the oxidation of para-substituted thioanisoles.     

Conformational properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">ortho</Emphasis>-nitrobenzenesulfonamide in gas and crystalline phases. Intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bond

A combined gas-phase electron diffraction and quantum chemical (B3LYP/6-311+G**, B3LYP/cc-pvtz, MP2/cc-pvtz) study of molecular structure of 2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide (2-NBSA) was carried out. Quantum chemical calculations showed that 2-NBSA has four conformers, two of which are stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bond. The latter (with the S–N bond in a close to orthogonal position around the phenyl ring and differing from each other by staggered or eclipsed positions of the N–H and S=O bonds in the SO₂NH₂ group) presented in a saturated vapor over 2-NBSA at T = 433 (3) K in commensurable amounts. Experimental internuclear distances (Ǻ) for the staggered conformer are (?): r _h1(C–H)_av. = 1.071(9), r _h1(C–C)_av. = 1.390(4), r _h1(C–S) = 1.789(8), r _h1(S=O)_av. = 1.427(6), r _h1(S–N) = 1.644(6), r _h1(N–O)_av. = 1.221(4), r _h1(C′–N) = 1.487(8), r _h1(N–H)_av. = 1.014. Calculations at B3LYP/cc-pvtz level were performed to determine the structure and the energies of the transition states between conformers. It was shown that the conformer structures of free molecule differ from those of a molecule stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds in a crystal. Influence of a substituent X (X = –CH₃, –NO₂) on conformational features of the ortho-substituted benzenesulfonamide was established.     

Experimental Charge Density Evidence for Pnicogen Bonding in a Crystal of Ammonium Chloride

Chemical binding in crystalline ammonium chloride, a simple inorganic salt with an unexpectedly complex bonding pattern, was studied by using a topological analysis of electron density function derived from high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction. Supported by periodic quantum chemical calculations, it provided experimental evidence for weak σ‐hole bonds (1.5 kcal mol^?1) that involve ammonium cations in a crystal. Our results show this type of supramolecular interaction to be more numerous than has been found to date by using gas‐phase calculations or statistical analysis of CSD.     

Self‐Assembled Cage‐Like Protein Structures

Proteins and protein‐based assemblies represent the most structurally and functionally diverse molecules found in nature. Protein cages, viruses and bacterial microcompartments are highly organized structures that are composed primarily of protein building blocks and play important roles in molecular ion storage, nucleic acid packaging and catalysis. The outer and inner surface of protein cages can be modified, either chemically or genetically, and the internal cavity can be used to template, store and arrange molecular cargo within a defined space. Owing to their structural, morphological, chemical and thermal diversity, protein cages have been investigated extensively for applications in nanotechnology, nanomedicine and materials science. Here we provide a concise overview of the most common icosahedral viral and nonviral assemblies, their role in nature, and why they are highly attractive scaffolds for the encapsulation of functional materials.     

A concise approach to CF3-containing furan-3-ones, (bis)pyrazoles from novel fluorinated building blocks based on 2,3-butanedione

1,1,1-Trifluoro-4,5,5-trimethoxyhex-3-en-2-one and lithium (2Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-5,5-dialkoxy-4-oxohex-2-en-2-olate were synthesized for the first time via direct trifluoroacetylation of 2,3-butanedione acetal derivatives. A simple and effective approach to acetal or acyl substituted CF₃-pyrazoles, 5,5′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-3,3′-bipyrazole, and, to 5-trifluoromethylfuran-3-ones is presented.     

Versatile Cycloaddition Reactions of 1-Alkyl-1,2-Diphospholes

Abstract

The reactivity of 1-alkyl-1,2-diphospholes in cycloaddition reactions with dienes, dienophiles or 1,3-dipoles was examined. 1-Alkyl-1,2-diphospholes (2 ) exhibit dual reactivity and act as diene toward maleic acid derivatives or as dienophiles with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene. The 1-alkenyl-1,2-diphospholes (4 ) are readily involved in intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions leading to cage phosphines (5 ). Interaction of 1-alkyl-1,2-diphospholes (2) with 1,3-dipolar reagents (diphenyldiazomethane and nitrones) results in formation of the bicyclic phosphiranes (8) and dimers of 1-alkyl-1,2-diphosphole oxides (9) or bicyclic phosphine oxides (10) with a β-lactam moiety depending on temperature.