Nitrile-amidine coupling at Pt(IV) and Pt(II) centers. An easy entry to imidoylamidine complexes

Treatment of trans-[PtCl4(RCN)2] (R = Me, Et, Ph, NEt2) with 2 equiv of the amidine PhC(=NH)NHPh in a suspension of MeCN (R = Me), CHCl3 (R = Et, Ph), or in CHCl3 solution (R = NEt2) results in the formation of the imidoylamidine complexes trans-[PtCl4{NH=C(R)N=C(Ph)NHPh}2] (1-4) isolated in good yields (66-84%). The reaction of soluble complexes 3 and 4 with 2 equiv of Ph3P=CHCO2Me in CH2Cl2 (40 degrees C, 5 h) leads to dehydrochlorination resulting in a chelate ring closure to furnish the platinum(IV) chelates [PtCl2{NH=C(R)NC(Ph)=NPh}2] (R = Ph, 5; R = NEt2, 6), accordingly, and the phosphonium salt [Ph3PCH2CO2Me]Cl. Treatment of 5 with 3 equiv of Ph3P=CHCO2Me at 50 degrees C for 5 d resulted in only a 30% conversion to the corresponding Pt(II) complex [Pt{NH=C(NEt2)NC(Ph)=NPh}2] (15). The reduction can be achieved within several minutes, when Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2 in CDCl3 is used. When the platinum(II) complex trans-[PtCl2(RCN)2] is reacted with 2 equiv of the amidine, the imidoylamidinato complexes [PtCl(RCN){NH=C(R)NC(Ph)=NHPh}] (8-11) and [PhC(=NH)NHPh] x HCl (7) are formed. The reaction of trans-[PtCl2(RCN)2] with 4 equiv of the amidine under a prolonged reaction time or treatment of [PtCl(RCN){NH=C(R)NC(Ph)=NHPh}] (8-11) with 2 more equiv of the amidine yields the complex bearing two chelate rings [Pt{NH=C(R)NC(Ph)=NHPh}2] (12-15). The treatment of cis-[PtCl2(RCN)2] (R = Me, Et) with the amidine gives ca. 50-60% yield of [PtCl2{NH=C(R)NHC(Ph)=NHPh}] (16 and 17). All of the platinum compounds were characterized by elemental analyses; FAB mass spectrometry; IR spectroscopy; 1H, 13C{1H}, and 195Pt NMR spectroscopies, and four of them (4, 6, 8, and 15) were also characterized by X-ray crystallography. The coupling of the Pt-bound nitriles and the amidine is metal-mediated insofar as RCN and PhC(=NH)NHPh do not react in the absence of the metal centers in conditions more drastic than those of the observed reactions. The nitrile-amidine coupling reported in this work constitutes a route to the synthesis of imidoylamidine complexes, some of them exhibiting luminescent properties.     

Evaluation of Ptitsyn-Eizner λ parameter in dilute solutions of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) and its variation in conformational transitions of poly(methyl methacrylate)

The Ptitsyn-Eizner λ flexibility parameter for poly(N-vinylcarbozole) solutions under theta conditions has been found to be 6.31, demonstrating the rigidity imparted to the polymer chain by the carbazole group. A study has been made of the variation of this parameter with solvent and temperature. A study has been made of the variation of λ in a conformational transition of poly(methyl methacrylate).     

Reactions oftrans-[Mo(CNMe)2(PMe2Ph)4] andmer-[W(CNMe)3(PMe2Ph)3] complexes with methanol and with mineral acids to give amines,ammonia and hydrocarbons

Summary Treatment oftrans-[Mo(CNMe)₂(PMe₂Ph)₄] andme-[W(CNMe)₃(PMe₂Ph)₃] with sulphuric or hydrochloric acids in methanol or ethanol, or in methanol alone, under irradiation, gives methylamine, ammonia and hydrocarbons (mainly methane). The complex [W₂(CNMe)₄(-CNHMe)₂(PMe₂Ph)₄]²⁺ cation has been obtained by the treatment ofmer-[W(CNMe)₃(PMe₂Ph₃] with H₂SO₄ or [Et₂OH][BF₄] and gives methylamine, ammonia and methane on further acid treatment.     

Ni(III) vs. Ni(II)-thiyl radical: charge-delocalisation in a binuclear Ni(III)Ni(II)-dithiolate complex

Multi-frequency EPR spectroscopy on 61Ni-labelled samples of [Ni2(L)]3+ confirms extensive charge-delocalisation between the Ni(III) centre and thiolate donors in the Ni(II)Ni(III) complex.     

Tailoring the cavities of hydrogen-bonded amphidynamic crystals using weak contacts: towards faster molecular machines

This work describes the use of C–H⋯F–C contacts in the solid-state from the stator towards the rotator to fine-tune their internal motion, by constructing a set of interactions that generate close-fitting cavities in three supramolecular rotors 1–3I. The crystal structures of these rotors, determined by synchrotron radiation experiments at different temperatures, show the presence of such C–H⋯F–C contacts between extended carbazole stators featuring fluorinated phenyl rings and the 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) rotator. According to the ²H NMR results, using deuterated samples, and periodic density functional theory computations, the rotators experience fast angular displacements (preferentially 120° jumps) due to their low rotational activation energies (E_a = 0.8–2.0 kcal mol⁻¹). The higher rotational barrier for 1 (2.0 kcal mol⁻¹) is associated with a larger number of weak C–H⋯F–C contacts generated by the stators. This strategy offers the possibility to explore the correlation among weak intermolecular forces, cavity shape, and internal dynamics, which has strong implications in the design of future fine-tuned amphidynamic crystals.

This work describes the use of C–H⋯F–C contacts in the solid-state from the stator towards the rotator to fine-tune their internal motion, by constructing a set of interactions that generate close-fitting cavities in three supramolecular rotors 1–3I.     

Reconstruction of the free energy in the metastable region using the path ensemble

By quenching into the metastable region of the three-dimensional Ising model, we investigate the paths that the magnetization (energy) takes as a function of time. We accumulate the magnetization (energy) paths into time-dependent distributions from which we reconstruct the free energy as a function of the magnetic field, temperature, and system size. From the reconstructed free energy, we obtain the free-energy barrier that is associated with the transition from a metastable state to the stable equilibrium state. Although mean-field theory predicts a sharp transition between the metastable and the unstable region where the free-energy barrier is zero, the results for the nearest-neighbor Ising model show that the free-energy barrier does not go to zero.     

Unprecedented single-pot synthesis of nitrile-derived ketoimino platinum(II) complexes by ring opening of Delta4-1,2,4-oxadiazolines

[PtCl2(RCN)2] (1a R=CH2CO2Me, 1b R=CH2Cl) prepared upon EtCN replacement at [PtCl2(EtCN)2] by the appropriate organonitrile, react with a cyclic nitrone -O-+N=CHCH2CH2C(Me)2, under mild conditions, to give, in an unprecedented single-pot synthesis involving spontaneous N-O bond cleavage, the ketoimino complexes trans-[PtCl2[RC(=O)N=CN(H)C(Me)2-CH2CH2]2 (2a, 2b) with two (pyrrolidin-2-ylidene)amino ligands. The analogous 2c (R=Et) and 2d (R=Ph) are formed by treatment with H2, in the absence of any added catalyst, of the Delta4-1,2,4-oxadiazoline complexes trans-[PtCl2[N=C(R)ONC(Me)2CH2CH2CH]2] (3a R=Et, 3b R=Ph) derived from the [2 + 3]-cycloaddition of the cyclic nitrone with the appropriate organonitrile complex of type 1. The compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, IR, 1H, (13C and 195Pt NMR spectroscopies, FAB mass spectrometry and X-ray structure analyses for 2a and 2d.     

Platinum(IV)-mediated nitrile-sulfimide coupling: a route to heterodiazadienes

Pt(IV)-mediated addition of the sulfimide Ph2S = NH and the mixed sulfide/sulfimides o- and p-[PhS(=NH)](PhS)-C6H4 by the S=NH group to the metal-bound nitriles in the platinum(IV) complexes [PtCl4(RCN)2] proceeds smoothly at room temperature in CH2Cl2 and results in the formation of the heterodiazadiene compounds [PtCl4[NH=C(R)N=SR'Ph]2] (R' = Ph, R = Me, Et, CH2Ph, Ph; R' = o- and p-(PhS)C6H4; R = Et). While trans-[PtCl4(RCN)2] (R = Et, CH2Ph, Ph) reacting with Ph2S=NH leads exclusively to trans-[PtCl4[NH=C(R)N=SPh2]2], cis/trans-[PtCl4(MeCN)2] leads to cis/trans mixtures of [PtCl4[NH=C(Me)N=SPh2]2] and the latter have been separated by column chromatography. Theoretical calculations at both HF/HF and MP2//HF levels for the cis and trans isomers of [PtCl4[NH=C(Me)N=SMe2]2] indicate a higher stability for the latter. Compounds trans-[PtCl4[E-NH=C(R)N=SPh2]2] (R = Me, Et) and cis-[PtCl4[E-NH=C(Me)N=SPh2][Z-NH=C(Me)N=SPh2]] have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The complexes [PtCl4[NH=C(R)N=SPh2]2] undergo hydrolysis when treated with HCl in nondried CH2Cl2 to achieve the amidines [PtCl4[NH=C(NH2)R]2] the compound with R = Et has been structurally characterized) and Ph2SO. The heterodiazadiene ligands, formed upon Pt(IV)-mediated RCN/sulfimide coupling, can be liberated from their platinum(IV) complexes [PtCl4[NH=C(R)N=SR'Ph]2] by reaction with Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2 (dppe) giving free NH=C(R)=SR'Ph and the dppe oxides, which constitutes a novel route for such rare types of heterodiazadienes whose number has also been extended. The hybrid sulfide/sulfimide species o- and p-[PhS(=NH)](PhS)C6H4 also react with the Pt(II) nitrile complex [PtCl2(MeCN)2] but the coupling--in contrast to the Pt(IV) species--gives the chelates [PtCl2[M-I=C(Me)N=S(Ph)C6H4SPh]]. The X-ray crystal structure of [PtCl2[M-I=C(Me)N=S(Ph)C6H4SPh-o]] reveals the bond parameters within the metallacycle and shows an unusual close interaction of the sulfide sulfur atom with the platinum.     

Screening of acetogenin-producing plants in Brazilian flora

The acetogenins are strongly bioactive natural compounds present in the bark, roots, leaves, and seeds of manyAnnonaceae plants. They are modified fatty acids and their cytotoxicities have been determined for different biological models including the in vitro growth inhibition of several human cancer cell lines. Very low acetogenin yield (< 0.1 g%) has been found previously in native phytobiomass, and we have now investigated the nonpredatory exploitation of the seeds as acetogenin sources characterizing the seed triacylglycerols (dominant fraction; > 90% of the whole lipid extracts) as potential valuable by-products.     

The first examples of metal-mediated addition of a phosphorus imine to nitriles; the preparation and X-ray crystal structures of [PtCl4{NH=C(Et)N=PPh3}2] and [PtCl2(EtCN){NH=C(Et)N[double bond, length as m-dash]PPh3}

Imino(triphenyl)phosphorane, Ph3P=NH (1), reacts with nitrile complexes of Pt(IV) to generate hydrolytically sensitive [PtCl4{NH=C(R)N=PPh3}2](R=Me 2a, Et 2b, Ph 2c), and with the Pt(II) complex [PtCl2(EtCN)2] to give [PtCl2(EtCN){NH=C(Et)N=PPh3}](3) and [PtCl2{NH=C(Et)N=PPh3}2](4); X-ray crystallography performed upon (2b) and (3) confirms the presence of an imine/nitrile addition ligand bound by the terminal nitrogen.