Photocatalyzed [2 + 2 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitriles with acetylene: an effective method for the synthesis of 2-pyridines under mild conditions

The photocatalyzed [2 + 2 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitriles with 2 equiv of acetylene to 2-pyridines can be carried out under mild conditions and represents a valuable extension to common synthetical methods. For the ideal wavelength range (350-500 nm), lamps as well as sunlight can be used. Working at room temperature and in organic solvents such as toluene or hexane as well as in water gives satisfying results in many cases. However, it is also possible to vary the solvent and the reaction temperature of the photocatalyzed synthesis and to choose, with respect to the specific substrate, specific requirements for this particular reaction and general requirements of the method. This simple and selective method derives its potential mainly from the large variety of applicable nitriles. Suitable substrates include (functionalized) aliphatic and aromatic nitriles as well as cyanamides derived from secondary amines.     

Multiple time scale Hartree–Fock molecular dynamics

This is the first application of a rigorous, established multiple time-step method to ab initio molecular dynamics. The resulting algorithm is conceptually simple and easy to implement, but very effective. It translates the large mass differences present in ab initio molecular dynamics into substantial savings in computer time while retaining high accuracy. This transforms ab initio molecular dynamics from a desirable but prohibitively expensive possibility into a viable method, at least for short-time phenomena in small systems or for otherwise inaccessibly complicated potential energy surfaces. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tetrakis(trifluormethyl)tellur (CF3)4Te [1]

(CF₃)₄Te is formed from the reaction of (CF₃)₂TeCl₂ with (CF₃)₂Cd·glyme in CH₃CN at ?10°C via the intermediate (CF₃)₃TeCl as a yellow liquid and identified by n.m.r. and mass spectra.     

Selective determination of alkylmercury compounds in solid matrices after subcritical water extraction,followed by solid‐phase microextraction and GC–MS

A method for the extraction and determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in solid matrices is presented. Combining the advantages of two extraction techniques—subcritical water extraction (subWE) and solid‐phase microextraction (SPME)—selective separation of MeHg from soils is possible. The procedure is based on extraction with subcritical water without using organic solvents, followed by in situ aqueous‐phase derivatization with sodium tetraethylborate and headspace SPME with a silica fiber coated with poly(dimethylsiloxane). The optimization of the extraction parameters is described. The identification and quantification of the extracted alkylmercury compounds from spiked soil samples is performed by GC–MS after thermal desorption. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hierarchical porous silica materials with a trimodal pore system using surfactant templates

Porous silica exhibiting a hierarchically ordered trimodal pore system with a well-defined reverse opal microstructure and bimodal mesoporosity in the walls has been prepared by using polystyrene latex spheres, a novel block copolymer and an ionic liquid surfactant as templates. The resulting materials exhibit hierarchical order at three length scales (small mesopores: 2-3 nm; large mesopores: 11-12 nm; macropores: 360 nm).     

Mechanism of Reppe's nickel-catalyzed ethyne tetramerization to cyclooctatetraene: a DFT study

In this B3 LYP model study, homoleptic nickel(0) ethyne complexes have been predicted as the catalyst resting state for the title reaction. Ethyne ligand coupling of Ni(C(2)H(2))(3) yields monoethyne nickelacyclopentadiene in the rate-determining step. Ethyne coordination is followed by insertion of an ethyne ligand into the Ni--C sigma bond. A highly strained monoethyne trans-nickelacycloheptatriene is formed. This trans intermediate is unable to reductively eliminate benzene without prior isomerization to a cis-structure. Instead, it rapidly collapses to a nickelacyclononatetraene. Ethyne coordination induces reductive elimination to the cyclooctatetraene complex Ni(eta(2)-C(2)H(2))(eta(2)-C(8)H(8)), followed by facile ligand exchange. Other ethyne coupling pathways have been computed to be less favored. The cyclooctatetraene ligand binds significantly weaker to nickel(0) than ethyne, both for mononuclear, and for dinuclear species. For this reason, C--C bond formation steps at Ni(2)(micro-cot) fragments have been predicted to feature prohibitively high overall reaction barriers.     

Si-E (E = N, O, F) bonding in a hexacoordinated silicon complex: new facts from experimental and theoretical charge density studies

The concept of hypervalency in molecules, which hold more than eight valence electrons at the central atom, still is a topic of constant debate. There is general interest in silicon compounds with more than four substituents at the central silicon atom. The dispute, whether this silicon is hypervalent or highly coordinated, is enlightened by the first experimental charge density determination and subsequent topological analysis of three different highly polar Si-E (E = N, O, F) bonds in a hexacoordinated compound. The experiment reveals predominantly ionic bonding and much less covalent contribution than commonly anticipated. For comparison gas-phase ab initio calculations were performed on this compound. The results of the theoretical calculations underline the findings of the experiment.