Siloxanediolates of the Rare Earth Elements – An Eight‐Membered Inorganic Ring System containing Ytterbium

Treatment of anhydrous YbCl₃ with LiN(SiMe₃)₂ followed by reaction with 1 equivalent of 1,1,3,3,5,5‐hexaphenyl‐1,3,5‐trisiloxanediol afforded the first mono(trisiloxanediolate) complex of a rare earth element. The compound [Ph₂Si(OSiPh₂O)₂]Yb(THF)(μ‐Cl)₃Li₂(THF)₃ ( 1 ) was isolated in the form of colorless crystals in very high yield (93%). A single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction study confirmed the presence of an eight‐membered inorganic ring system containing ytterbium. Coordination of one THF ligand and retention of two equivalents of lithium chloride lead to formation of an “ate” complex.     

Strukturen von polaren Magnesiumorganylen: Synthese und Struktur von Basen‐Addukten des Bis(cyclopentadienyl)magnesiums

Structures of Polar Magnesium Organyls: Synthesis and Structure of Base Adducts of Bis(cyclopentadienyl)magnesium Eight donor‐acceptor complexes of bis(cyclopentadienyl)magnesium ( 1 ) with N‐ and O‐donor Lewis bases have been synthesized and characterized by X‐ray structure analysis. With acetonitrile, dimethoxyethane, diethyleneglycoldimethylether, dioxane, and tetramethylethylenediamine simple 1:1 adducts are formed ( 2 – 6 ). In some cases a change of the hapticity of one cyclopentadienylring from η⁵ to η² or η¹ is observed ( 4 – 6 ). In the adduct with pentamethyldiethylenetriamine ( 7 ) one C₅H₅‐ring is removed from the magnesium atom forming the cation [Mg(C₅H₅)(PMDTA)]⁺ and an uncoordinated five‐ring anion. With the crown ether 15‐crown‐5 the two ionic Mg compounds 8 and 9 are formed which have a [Mg(15‐crown‐5)L₂]²⁺‐cation [L = pyridine, THF] and two uncoordinated cyclopentadienyl anions. Cyclopentadienyl‐methyl‐magnesium reacts with 15‐crown‐5 to the salt [Mg(CH₃)(15‐crown‐5)]⁺ C₅H₅^? ( 10 ) which has also a free cyclopentadienyl anion.     

Komplexe der Alkalimetalltetraphenylborate mit makrocyclischen Kronenethern

Complexes of the Alkali Metal Tetraphenylborates with Macrocyclic Crown Ethers Alkali metal tetraphenylborates, MB(C₆H₅)₄ (M = Li to Cs), react in tetrahydrofuran with macrocyclic crown ethers to give complexes of the general formula MB(C₆H₅)₄(crown)_m(THF)_n. Suitable single crystals for X‐ray structure analysis were grown from a solvent mixture of tetrahydrofuran and n‐hexane. The salt like complexes [Li(12‐crown‐4)(thf)][B(C₆H₅)₄] ( 1 ), [Na(15‐crown‐5)(thf)][B(C₆H₅)₄] ( 2 ), and [Cs(18‐crown‐6)₂][B(C₆H₅)₄] · THF ( 6 ), the mononuclear molecular complexes [KB(C₆H₅)₄(18‐crown‐6)(thf)] ( 3 ), [RbB(C₆H₅)₄(18‐crown‐6)] ( 4 ), and [CsB(C₆H₅)₄(18‐crown‐6)] · THF ( 5 ), and the compound [CsB(C₆H₅)₄(18‐crown‐6)]₂[Cs(18‐crown‐6)₂][B(C₆H₅)₄] ( 7 ), which contains a binuclear molecule ([CsB(C₆H₅)₄(18‐crown‐6)]₂) beside a [Cs(18‐crown‐6)₂]⁺ cation and a [B(C₆H₅)₄]^? anion, are described. All compounds are charactarized by infrared spectra, elemental analysis, NMR‐spectroscopy, and X‐ray single crystal structure analysis.     

Effectiveness of teacher education

Teacher-education research lacks a common theoretical basis, which prevents a convincing development of instruments and makes it difficult to connect studies to each other. Our paper models how to measure effective teacher education in the context of the current state of knowledge in the field. First, we conceptualize the central criterion of effective teacher education: “professional competence of future teachers”. Second, individual, institutional, and systemic factors are modeled that may influence the acquisition of this competence during teacher education. In doing this, we turn round the perspective taken by Cochran-Smith and Zeichner (Studying teacher education. The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah 2005), who mainly take an educational-sociological perspective by focusing on characteristics of teacher education and looking for their effects. In contrast, we take an educational-psychological perspective by focusing on professional competence of teachers and examining influences on this. Challenges connected to an assessment of teacher-education outcomes are discussed as well.     

Cyanide Binding to [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Stabilizes the Alternative Configuration of the Proton Transfer Pathway

Hydrogenases are H₂ converting enzymes that harbor catalytic cofactors in which iron (Fe) ions are coordinated by biologically unusual carbon monoxide (CO) and cyanide (CN⁻) ligands. Extrinsic CO and CN⁻, however, inhibit hydrogenases. The mechanism by which CN⁻ binds to [FeFe]-hydrogenases is not known. Here, we obtained crystal structures of the CN⁻-treated [FeFe]-hydrogenase CpI from Clostridium pasteurianum. The high resolution of 1.39 Å allowed us to distinguish intrinsic CN⁻ and CO ligands and to show that extrinsic CN⁻ binds to the open coordination site of the cofactor where CO is known to bind. In contrast to other inhibitors, CN⁻ treated crystals show conformational changes of conserved residues within the proton transfer pathway which could allow a direct proton transfer between E279 and S319. This configuration has been proposed to be vital for efficient proton transfer, but has never been observed structurally.     

Dependence of enantioselectivity on the ligand/metal ratio in the asymmetric Michael addition of indole to benzylidene malonates: electronic influence of substrates

Simple bis(oxazoline) ligands, especially azabis(oxazolines), can promote the copper(II)-catalyzed Michael addition of indoles to benzylidene malonates with up to >99 % ee (ee=enantiomeric excess), provided that the ligand/metal ratio is tuned meticulously with particular regard to the electronic properties of the substrate. Despite a common paradigm followed in many asymmetric catalyses, an excess of chiral ligand is not always beneficial. In fact any excess of ligand has to be avoided to reach excellent enantioselectivities when electron-rich benzylidene malonates are used. On the contrary, malonates carrying an electron-withdrawing group require an excess of ligand for an optimum ee value. A correlation of optical yields versus the sigma(I) values of several para substituents shows a sigmoid trajectory. In the presence of an additive, such as triflate, the significance of the ligand/metal ratio vanishes and very good enantioselectivities are achieved at any rate--no matter whether electron-donating or withdrawing substituents are present.     

Methyl proton contacts obtained using heteronuclear through-bond transfers in solid-state NMR spectroscopy

A two-dimensional proton-mediated carbon-carbon correlation experiment that relies on through-bond heteronuclear magnetization transfers is demonstrated in the context of solid-state NMR of proteins. This new experiment, dubbed J-CHHC by analogy to the previously developed dipolar CHHC techniques, is shown to provide selective and sensitive correlations in the methyl region of 2D spectra of crystalline organic compounds. The method is then demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the dimeric protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa). A total of 34 new proton-proton contacts involving side-chain methyl groups were observed in the J-CHHC spectrum, which had not been observed with the conventional experiment. The contacts were then used as additional distance restraints for the 3D structure determination of this microcrystalline protein. Upon addition of these new distance restraints, which are in large part located in the hydrophobic core of the protein, the root-mean-square deviation with respect to the X-ray structure of the backbone atom coordinates of the 10 best conformers of the new ensemble of structures is reduced from 1.8 to 1.1 A.     

Chiral tetranuclear mu3-alkoxo-bridged copper(II) complex with 2 + 4 cubane-like Cu4O4 core framework and ferromagnetic ground state

The sugar-modified Schiff base ligand benzyl 2-deoxy-2-salicylideneamino-alpha-D-glucopyranoside H 2L, prepared by condensation of salicylaldehyde and the monomeric chitosan analogue benzyl 2-deoxy-2-amino-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, reacts with copper(II) acetate to form a self-assembled, alkoxo-bridged tetranuclear homoleptic copper(II) complex [{Cu(L)}4] (4) with Cu4O4 heterocubane core. The chiral complex 4 crystallizes in the space group P2 12 12 1. The tetranuclear complex 4 is composed of two dinuclear {Cu(L)}2 entities linked by the four mu 3-bridging C-3 alkoxide oxygen atoms of the sugar backbone. The preorganization of the dimeric {Cu(L)}2 entities is enforced by strong hydrogen bonds between the phenolate oxygen atom and the C-4 hydroxy group of the two constituting chiral monomeric building blocks. Therefore the Cu4O4 core can be classified as a type I or 2 + 4 cubane. The chirality of the structure is confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) spectra, which reveal a significant dichroism associated with the copper centered transitions at around 600 nm. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate ferromagnetic exchange interactions in complex 4. Fitting of the experimental data with a two J model based on the 2 + 4 topology ( H = - J1(S1S3 + S2S4) - J2(S1 + S3)(S2 + S4)) leads to exchange coupling constants of J1 = 64 and J2 = 4 cm(-1). The observed ferromagnetic coupling can be attributed to the very small Cu-O-Cu bridging angles within the Cu2O2 core of the constituting dimeric entities, which are a result of the conformational requirements introduced by the sugar backbone. 4 is not only the first example of an alkoxo-bridged tetranuclear copper(II) complex with Cu4O4 core representing the 2 + 4 cubane class with ferromagnetic ground state but also a rare example for the class of molecules combining a ferromagnetic ground state with optical activity. The ferromagnetic S = 2 ground state of 4 is confirmed by magnetization measurements and ESR spectroscopy.