Site-Selectivity in the Fe+-Mediated C?H/C?C Bond Activation of Aldimines Short Communication

It is demonstrated for the first time that the site-selectivity for the Fe⁺-mediated C? H bond activation of aldimines R¹N?CHR² (R¹, R² = alkyl) involves the alkyl chain R¹ by a factor ≥ 12 in comparison to the alkenyl part R². This finding explains previous observations that dehydrogenation of intermediates formed by alkene loss from either R¹ or R² of R¹N?CHR²/Fe⁺ preferentially involves the alkyl part.     

Sulfur- and Selenium-Containing Compounds Potentially Exhibiting Al Ion Conductivity

We have created a set of crystalline model structures exhibiting straight lines of Al³⁺ connected to chalcogenides (O²⁻, S²⁻, and Se²⁻) connected to metal cations of varying valence (Sr²⁺, Y³⁺, Zr⁴⁺, Nb⁵⁺, and Mo⁶⁺). They were relaxed with density functional theory computations and analysed by Bader partitioning. As Al³⁺ ions are supposed to strongly interact with their atomic environment, we studied the electron density topology induced by higher-valent cations in the extended chemical neighbourhood of Al. In fact, we found a general decrease of ionic charges and an increasing displacement of the chalcogenides towards higher-valent ions for the heavier chalcogens. Therefore, we comprehensively screened S- and Se-containing compounds for candidates theoretically exhibiting low migration barriers for Al³⁺ ions by using Voronoi–Dirichlet partitioning and bond valence site energy calculations. The basis for this search is the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database. Indeed, we could extract six promising candidates with low Al³⁺ migration barriers. which are even lower than the barriers for any other element inside of these materials. This will encourage efforts towards preparing suitable Al³⁺ conductors.     

High resolution electron attachment to CO₂ clusters

Electron attachment to CO? clusters performed at high energy resolution (0.1 eV) is studied for the first time in the extended electron energy range from threshold (0 eV) to about 10 eV. Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to single molecules yields O(-) as the only fragment ion arising from the well known (2)Π(u) shape resonance (ion yield centered at 4.4 eV) and a core excited resonance (at 8.2 eV). On proceeding to CO? clusters, non-dissociated complexes of the form (CO?)(n)(-) including the monomer CO?(-) are generated as well as solvated fragment ions of the form (CO?)(n)O(-). The non-decomposed complexes appear already within a resonant feature near threshold (0 eV) and also within a broad contribution between 1 and 4 eV which is composed of two resonances observed for example for (CO?)(4)(-) at 2.2 eV and 3.1 eV (peak maxima). While the complexes observed around 3.1 eV are generated via the (2)Π(u) resonance as precursor with subsequent intracluster relaxation, the contribution around 2.2 eV can be associated with a resonant scattering feature, recently discovered in single CO? in the selective excitation of the higher energy member of the well known Fermi dyad [M. Allan, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2001, 87, 0332012]. Formation of (CO?)(n)(-) in the threshold region involves vibrational Feshbach resonances (VFRs) as previously discovered via an ultrahigh resolution (1 meV) laser photoelectron attachment method [E. Leber, S. Barsotti, I. I. Fabrikant, J. M. Weber, M.-W. Ruf and H. Hotop, Eur. Phys. J. D, 2000, 12, 125]. The complexes (CO?)(n)O(-) clearly arise from DEA at an individual molecule within the cluster involving both the (2)Π(u) and the core excited resonance.     

From dysfunction to bis-function: on the design and applications of functionalised ionic liquids

Some of the recent developments concerning the synthesis, properties and applications of functionalised ionic liquids are highlighted. Various strategies are presented, including functionalisation of the cation, anion or both cation and anion in the same ionic liquid, leading to what has been termed dual-functionalised ionic liquids. Particular attention is given to the application of functionalised ionic liquids as reaction media, to stabilise nanoparticles/modify surfaces and to generate porous materials.     

Dissociative electron attachment to furan, tetrahydrofuran, and fructose

We study dissociative electron attachment to furan (FN) (C(4)H(4)O), tetrahydrofuran (THF) (C(4)H(8)O), and fructose (FRU) (C(6)H(12)O(6)) using crossed electron/molecular beams experiments with mass spectrometric detection of the anions. We find that FN and THF are weak electron scavengers and subjected to dissociative electron attachment essentially in the energy range above 5.5 eV via core excited resonances. In striking contrast to that, FRU is very sensitive towards low energy electrons generating a variety of fragment ions via a pronounced low energy feature close to 0 eV. These reactions are associated with the degradation of the ring structure and demonstrate that THF cannot be used as surrogate to model deoxyribose in DNA with respect to the attack of electrons at subexcitation energies (<3 eV). The results support the picture that in DNA the sugar moiety itself is an active part in the initial molecular processes leading to single strand breaks.     

Fuzzy complex Grassmannians and quantization of line bundles

We construct by purely representation-theoretic methods fuzzy versions of an arbitrary complex Grassmannian M=Gr _n (ℂ ^n+m ), i.e., a sequence of matrix algebras tending SU(n+m)-equivariantly to the algebra of smooth functions on M. We also show that this approximation can be interpreted in terms of the Berezin-Toeplitz quantization of M. Furthermore, we use branching rules to prove that the quantization of every complex line bundle over M is given by a SU(n+m)-equivariant truncation of the space of its L ²-sections.     

Synthesis of oligothiophene-bridged bisporphyrins and study of the linkage dependence of the electronic coupling

A set of twelve porphyrin dimers has been prepared to give information on how the type of connectivity between a porphyrin core and a bridge can influence the interporphyrin electronic interaction. The new porphyrin systems are substituted directly at the meso position with an oligothiophene chain tethered either with a single C-C sigma bond, a trans ethylenyl group, or a acetylenyl group. The compounds are easily obtained by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions (Stille, Heck, and Sonogashira) between 5-iodo-10,15,20-(3,5-ditert-butylphenyl)porphyrin and the appropriate oligothiophene derivative. This synthetic approach is straightforward and very effective for preparing oligothiophene-based prophyrin systems. The absorption spectra and the fluorescence properties of the dimers demonstrated the crucial importance of the characteristics of the chemical bond used to connect the bridge to the porphyrin unit. The magnitude of the electronic communication can thus be significantly modulated by altering the type of bond connectivity used to link the chromophore to the bridge. The present work shows that an oligothiophene spacer is a viable class of linker for connecting porphyrins, and that a quaterthiophene appended with ethynyl linkages affords a high electronic interaction over a distance as large as 28 A. A detailed computational study of these dimers has clarified the conditions needed for a conjugated system to behave as a molecular wire. These conditions are full planarity of the molecule and proper energy matching between the frontier orbitals of the bridge and the porphyrin. Intermolecular energy transfer in asymmetrical dyads composed of a zinc porphyrin and a freebase porphyrin has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. In all systems, this process is more than 98% efficient, and its rate constant decreases steadily in the order 4ZH > 1ZH > 3ZH approximately 2ZH. Thus, the largest rate (kEnT = 1.2 x 10(11) s-1) was found in the dyad linked with bisethynyl quaterthiophene, which represents the longest bridge within the series. These results clearly demonstrate that strong communication and also efficient photoinduced processes can be promoted over a large distance if the electronic structure of the molecular connector is appropriately chosen.     

δ‐Peptide Analogues of Pyranosyl‐RNA,Part 1 , Nucleo‐δ‐peptides Derived from Conformationally Constrained Nucleo‐δ‐amino Acids: Preparation of Monomers

Cyclic nucleo‐δ‐amino acids that constitute monomers of a conformationally constrained nucleo‐δ‐peptide base‐pairing system have been prepared. Their synthesis starts with an enantioselectively catalyzed chirogenic Diels‐Alder reaction, proceeds via a regioselective ε‐iodolactamization process, and ends with a regio‐ as well as diastereoselective introduction of nucleobases through S_N2‐type opening of a transiently formed N‐acylaziridine ring. Extensive use of X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis has been made to support structure assignments.