Organomercury compounds XX Reactions of lithium polyfluorobenzenesulphinates with mercuric salts

The lithium polyfluorobenzenesulphinates, Li O₂SR (R = C₆F₅, $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄, or $\text{o}$-HC₆F₄), and the dilithium tetrafluorobenzenedisulphinates, $\text{p}$- and $\text{o}$-(LiO₂S)₂C₆F₄, have been prepared by reaction of the appropriate polyfluoroaryllithium compounds with sulphur dioxide. All compounds were isolated as hydrates and gave the corresponding $\text{S}$-benzylthiouronium salts on treatment with $\text{S}$-benzylthiouronium chloride. From reactions of the lithium sulphinates with suitable mercuric salts in water, generally at room temperature, the derivatives RHgX (R = C₆F₅, X = Cl, Br, CH₃CO₂, or PhSO₂; R = $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl, Br, or CH₃CO₂; R = $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl or Br; R = $\text{o}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl), $\text{p}$-(XHg)₂C₆F₄ (X = Cl, Br, or CH₃CO₂), and $\text{o}$-(XHg)₂C₆X₄ (X = Cl or Br) have been prepared. Similarly, the bispolyfluorophenylmercurials R₂Hg (R = C₆F₅, $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, or $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄) have been prepared from the corresponding lithium sulphinates and either mercuric salts or polyfluorophenylmercuric halides in aqueous $\text{t}$-butanol. A possible mechanism for the sulphur dioxide elimination reactions is discussed.     

The first example of a liquid crystalline side-chain polymer with bent-core mesogenic units: ferroelectric switching and spontaneous achiral symmetry breaking in an achiral polymer

A dimethylsiloxane diluted polysiloxane side chain co-polymer with non-chiral banana-shaped mesogenic units shows an optically isotropic ferroelectric switching polar smectic C phase (SmCPF) consisting of a conglomerate of homogeneously chiral domains with opposite handedness.     

The different steric environments of the 5-exo- and 5-endo- substituent for a pair of isomeric tricarbonyl(methoxycyclohexa-1,-diene)irons

A shift reagent has been employed to demonstrate the sterically-hindered environment of the methoxy group in tricarbonyl(5-endo-methoxycyclohexa-1,-diene)iron relative to that of the methoxy group in the 5-exo analogue.     

Synthesis of 5,12-diazadibenz[a,h]anthracene

5, 12-Diazadibenz[a,h]anthracene ( 20 ) was synthesized in 21% overall yield for seven steps. Salient features of the synthesis include the initial, one-step conversion of trans, trans-1,4-bis-(β-nitrovinyl)benzene into 2,2″-dinitro-p-terphenyl by Diels-Alder condensation plus elimination, monocyclization of the derived 2,2″-diformylamino-p-terphenyl to give 8-(2-amino-1-phenyl)-phenanthridine ( 10 ) in the presence of fortified polyphosphoric acid, and accomplishment of a second cyclization step only after reduction of the heteroring in 10 (by means of diisobutyl-aluminum hydride) plus formylation. The 6-methyl and 6,13-dimethyl derivatives of 20 were prepared similarly.     

SCF-π-electron calculations using orthogonalised atomic orbitals

Modifications of the SCF-LCAO-π-MO method analysed in the previous paper are described in which provision is made for the incorporation of Variable Bond Order and Variable Electronegativity procedures. A comparison is made with the results of other π-electron calculations and values are reported for twenty hydrocarbon systems.     

On the mathematical formulation and interpretation of LACO MO theory

The mathematical basis of LCAO MO theory is studied, both within the Hartree-Fock approximation and in more exact formulations. The basic LCAO expansion for molecular orbitals ¦> in terms of atomic orbitals ¦x> is conveniently written ¦> = ¦x> S ^–1 B where S is the overlap matrix for atomic orbitals and B is the matrix of atomic orbital-molecular orbital overlaps. It is suggested that matrices P and Q, defined by P=B B and Q=BnB where n is the matrix of molecular orbital occupation numbers, are appropriate to the interpretation of molecular calculations in terms of atomic orbital components, electronic populations and the degree of bonding. Implications for Hartree-Fock calculations are investigated.     

The absolute stereochemistry of grenadamide

3-(2S-Heptylcycloprop-1S-yl)propanoic acid 2-phenylethanamide was synthesised from cis-cyclopropan-1,2-dimethanol via enzymatic desymmetrisation of the dibutyrate; it gave identical NMR spectroscopic data to those reported for grenadamide but had an equal and opposite absolute rotation, indicating that the latter is the 2R,1R-enantiomer.     

Teaching Operational Research Technique

Good technique, i.e. competence in carrying out operational research, is as vital for the practitioner to acquire as competence in the traditional ‘techniques’. It is suggested that universities should teach students how to conduct simple projects prior to alerting them to more sophisticated methodological issues.As an aid to this task, the traditional five or six parts of an operational research project are broken down and extended into 39 steps, and regrouped into three phases. Also, five skills are identified as being conceptually essential to "good" operational research, which students can develop through tackling suitable case studies.     

Beyond the Roger Brown rearrangement: long-range atom topomerization in conjugated polyynes

Long-range carbon atom topomerization in a 1,3-diyne has been demonstrated for the first time. 1-Phenyl-4-p-tolyl-1,3-butadiyne, (13)C-enriched at C-1, was synthesized and subjected to flash vacuum pyrolysis. At 800 degrees C and 0.01 Torr, this resulted in nearly complete (13)C label equilibration between C-1 and C-2, as seen by NMR analysis. Pyrolysis at 900 degrees C further led to ca. 35% of the label migrating about equally to C-3 and C-4. These results demonstrate that both intrabond and interbond atom exchange processes are operative, with the former having a lower activation barrier. DFT and Moller-Plesset calculations support a mechanism that passes through Brown rearrangement (1,2-shift), closure to trialene (bicyclo[1.1.0]-1,3-butadiene), bond-shift isomerization to exchange C-2 and C-3, and ring opening. The resulting vinylidene can rearrange to a butadiyne with the isotopic label at C-3 or C-4. Consistent with earlier calculations, trialene is predicted to have alternating peripheral bonds, with a weak central sigma bond and significant diradical character. Trialene is predicted [(B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p)] to lie 64.6 kcal/mol above butadiyne, with barriers of 2.2 and 4.4 kcal/mol, respectively, for ring opening or bond-shift isomerization. Other potential rearrangement mechanisms which pass through tetrahedrene (E(rel) = 167.2 kcal/mol) or 1,2,3-cyclobutatriene (E(rel) = 161.1 kcal/mol) lie at much higher energies.     

Preparation and photoelectron spectrum of the glycine molecular anion: assignment to a dipole-bound electron species with a high-dipole moment, non-zwitterionic form of the neutral core

We report the gas-phase preparation of negatively charged glycine as well as the Gly(H(2)O)(1,2) (-) complexes by entrainment of the neutral precursor into an ionized supersonic expansion tuned to optimize the (H(2)O)(n) (-)Ar(m) clusters. The photoelectron spectrum of Gly(-) displays the signature of a dipole-bound species, with sufficient vibrational fine structure to characterize the core neutral as a higher energy, non-zwitterionic isomer of the amino acid.