Ascorbate-induced oxidation of formate by peroxodisulfate: product yields,kinetics and mechanism

The slow reaction between peroxodisulfate and formate is significantly accelerated by ascorbate at room temperature. The products of this induced oxidation, CO₂ and oxalate (C₂O^2– ₄), were analyzed by several methods and the kinetics of this reaction were measured. The overall mechanism involves free radical species. Ascorbate reacts with peroxodisulfate to initiate production of the sulfate radical ion (SO^– ₄), which reacts with formate to produce carbon dioxide radical ion (CO^– ₂) and sulfate. The carbon dioxide radical reacts with peroxodisulfate to form CO₂ or self-combines to form oxalate. Competition occurring between these two processes determines the overall fate of the carbon dioxide radical species. As pH decreases, protonation of the carbon dioxide radical ion tends to favor production of CO₂.     

Nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure in the microwave spectrum of HCl-N2O: electric field gradient perturbation of N2O by HCl

The microwave spectra of six isotopomers of HCl-N(2)O have been obtained in the 7-19 GHz region with a pulsed molecular beam, Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure due to all quadrupolar nuclei is resolved and the spectra are analyzed using the Watson S-reduced Hamiltonian with the inclusion of nuclear quadrupole coupling interactions. The spectroscopic constants determined include rotational constants, quartic and sextic centrifugal distortion constants, and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants for each quadrupolar nucleus. Due to correlations of the structural parameters, the effective structure of the complex cannot be obtained by fitting to the spectroscopic constants of the six isotopomers. Instead, the parameters for each isotopomer are calculated from the A and C rotational constants and the chlorine nuclear quadrupole coupling constant along the a-axis, chi(aa). There are two possible structures; the one in which hydrogen of HCl interacts with the more electronegative oxygen of N(2)O is taken to represent the complex. The two subunits are approximately slipped parallel. For H (35)Cl-(14)N(2)O, the distance between the central nitrogen and chlorine is 3.5153 A and the N(2)O and HCl subunits form angles of 72.30 degrees and 119.44 degrees with this N-Cl axis, respectively. The chlorine and oxygen atoms occupy the opposite, obtuse vertices of the quadrilateral formed by O, central N, Cl, and H. Nuclear quadrupole coupling constants show that while the electric field gradient of the HCl subunit remains essentially unchanged upon complexation, there is electronic rearrangement about the two nitrogen nuclei in N(2)O.     

Photocrystallographic structure determination of a new geometric isomer of [Ru(NH3)4(H2O)(eta1-OSO)][MeC6H4SO3]2

The structure of a new metastable geometric isomer of [Ru(NH3)4(H2O)(SO2)][MeC6H4SO3]2 in which the SO2 group is coordinated through a single oxygen in an eta1-OSO bonding mode has been determined at 13 K; the new isomer was obtained as a 36% component of the structure within a single crystal upon irradiation using a tungsten lamp.     

Mechanism of cycloisomerisation of 1,6-heptadienes catalysed by [(tBuCN)2PdCl2]: remarkable influence of exogenous and endogenous 1,6- and 1,5-diene ligands

The mechanism of the highly regioselective cycloisomerisation of dimethyl hept-1,6-dienyl-4,4-dicarboxylate (1) by a neutral pre-catalyst, [(tBuCN)(2)PdCl(2)] (8), to generate dimethyl 3,4-dimethylcyclopent-2-ene-1,1-dicarboxylate (3) has been investigated by isotopic labelling (reactions involving single and mixed samples of 1,1,2,6,7,7-[(2)H(6)]-1; 3,3,5,5-[(2)H(4)]-1; 1,7-(Z,Z)-[(2)H(2)]-1; [1,3-(13)C(1),5,7-(13)C(1)]-1 and [1,3-(13)C(1),6-(2)H(1)]-1) and by study of the reactions of dimethyl 1-aryl-hept-1,6-dienyl-4,4-dicarboxylates (9 a-e, where aryl is p-C(6)H(4)-X; X=H, OMe, Me, Cl, CF(3)) and dimethyl hept-1,5-dienyl-4,4-dicarboxylate (14), a 1,5-diene isomer of 1. The mechanism proposed involves the generation of a monochloro-bearing palladium hydride which undergoes a simple hydropalladation, carbopalladation, Pd/H dyotropy, beta-H elimination sequence to generate 3. A key point that emerges is that chelation of the 1,6-diene 1 at various stages in the mechanism plays an important role in determining the regioselectivity of the reaction. The selective generation of 3 with pre-catalysts of the form L(2)PdCl(2), as compared to the generation of dimethyl 3-methylene-4-methyl-cyclopentane-1,1-dicarboxylate (2) with pre-catalysts of the form [(MeCN)(2)Pd(allyl)]OTf (5) is ascribed to the absence of chloride ion in the latter, which makes an additional coordination site available throughout turnover. Liberation of the product 3 when [(tBuCN)(2)PdCl(2)] (8) is employed as pre-catalyst, is proposed to proceed via a mono- to bidentate switch in the pi-coordination of diene 1 (eta(2) to bis-eta(2)) displacing pi-coordinated 3 from Pd. When 1-aryl-1,6-dienes 9 are employed as substrates, the electron-donor property of the aryl group is found to influence the regioselectivity of cyclisation. Electron-withdrawing groups favour dimethyl 3-arylmethyl-4-methylcyclopent-2-ene-1,1-dicarboxylates (10), whilst electron-donating aryl groups favour 3-arylidene-4-methyl-cyclopentane-1,1-dicarboxylates (11). The regioselectivity (10/11) correlates with the Hammett sigma(+) values (rho(+)=1.3, r (2)=0.975) indicative of a strong pi-resonance contribution from the aryl ring rather than a simple sigma-inductive effect. Intermolecular modulation of regioselectivity is observed and the net effect proposed to arise through the (pi-->d) donation ability of the vinyl arene in the diene displacing product (10/11) via a mono- to bidentate switch in coordination. The isomerisation process increasingly sequesters Pd as turnover proceeds leading to a powerful inhibition mechanism and ultimately a limitation in turnover number to about 80.     

The gas-phase decomposition of methylsilane. Part III. Kinetics

The homogeneous gas-phase decomposition kinetics of methylsilane and methylsilane-d₃ have been investigated by the comparative-rate-single-pulse shock-tube technique at total pressures of 4700 torr in the 1125–1250 K temperature range. Three primary processes occur: CH₃SiH₃ → CH₃SiH + H₂ (1), CH₃SiH₃ → CH₄ + SiH₂ (2), and CH₃SiH₃ → CH₂ = SiH₂ + H₂ (3). The high-pressure rate constants for the primary processes in CH₃SiH₃ obtained by RRKM calculations are log (k₁ + k₃) (s^?1) = 15.2 - 64,780 Cal/θ and log k₂ (s^?) = 14.50 - 67,600 → 2800 Cal/θ. For CH₃SiD₃ these same rate constants are log k₁ (s^?) = 14.99 - 64,700 cal/θ log k₂ (s^?) = 14.68 – 66,700 → 2000 cal/θ, and log k₃ (s^?) = 14.3 ? 64,700 cal/θ.