The two-parameter linear free energy treatment of the substituent effects on the half-wave reduction potentials and n,π triplet energies of aromatic ketones. A test of the validity of the approach.

The half-wave reduction potentials of fluoro- and thiomethyl-substituted benzophenones and the n,π triplet energies of the fluoro-substituted derivatives are found to agree quite closely with values predicted using empirical relations comprised of Hammett σ values and σ· values; the lowest triplet states of the thiomethyl-substituted derivatives are shown to be π,π.     

A tracer study of the hydrolysis of methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate units in homopolymers and copolymers

Homopolymers and copolymers were prepared from methyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, and styrene by radical reactions at 60°C. Monomers suitably labeled with carbon-14 were used so that it was possible to monitor the hydrolysis of ester groups in the polymers during treatment under alkaline conditions. It was found that methyl acrylate units were hydrolyzed completely whatever their environment in a polymer chain. Under the same conditions only about 9% of the ester groups in a homopolymer of methyl methacrylate reacted; the proportion was increased by the introduction of comonomer units into the polymer chain. For copolymers of methyl methacrylate with methyl acrylate the extent of reaction may be correlated with the lengths of the sequences of methyl methacrylate units.     

Determination of the rate constant for ring opening of an alpha-cyclopropylvinyl radical

The rate constant for ring opening of the 1-(trans-2-phenylcyclopropyl)ethen-1-yl radical, 4, generated by photolysis of the corresponding vinyl iodide 2, is reported. The value of the rate constant was determined by the tin hydride method and was found to be (1.6+/-0.2)x10(10) s-1, one order of magnitude smaller than the rate constant for rearrangement of the trans-2-phenylcyclopropylcarbinyl radical.     

Facile synthesis of luminescent benzo-1,2-dihydrophosphinines from a phosphaalkene

The addition of 4-trifluoromethyl-1-ethynylbenzene, phenylacetylene, or 4-ethynylanisole to P-mesityldiphenylmethylenephosphine, 1, produced photoluminescent 1,2-dihydrophosphinines 4a-c, respectively, in quantitative yield via a [4 + 2] cycloaddition. Limited reactivity was observed between 1 and non-aromatic alkynes. P-[Bis(trimethylsilyl)amino][(trimethylsilyl)methylene]phosphine, 2, and P-mesityl[(t-butyl)(trimethylsiloxy)methylene]phosphine, 3, showed extremely limited reactivity with all alkynes examined. The reactivity of phosphaalkenes toward terminal alkynes is compared to that of alkenes as well as silenes and germenes.     

Addition of cyclopropyl alkynes to a Brook silene: definitive evidence for a biradical intermediate

The addition of three newly developed mechanistic probes, (trans-2-phenylcyclopropyl)ethyne, (trans,trans-2-methoxy-3-phenylcyclopropyl)ethyne, and (trans,trans-2-methoxy-1-methyl-3-phenylcyclopropyl)ethyne, 1a-c, to a Brook silene, 2-tert-butyl-2-trimethylsiloxy-1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1-silene, 10, was examined. When alkyne 1a was added to silene 10 products derived from a formal ene reaction were obtained. When alkynes 1b-c were added to silene 10, in addition to the typical silacyclobutenes, a variety of silacycloheptenes were obtained in which the cyclopropyl ring had clearly opened. Formal ene-addition products were also produced from the addition of 1b to 10. Based on the relative positions of the phenyl and methoxy substituents within the seven-membered ring of the silacycloheptenes and the known behavior of the alkyne probes under both radical and ionic conditions, it was concluded that a biradical intermediate was formed during the addition of alkynes 1b-c to silene 10. In the addition of alkynes 1a-b to silene 10, the ene products are most likely formed by a competitive pericyclic reaction. We also present a straightforward method for the unambiguous determination of the regiochemistry of silacyclobutenes derived from the cycloaddition of terminal alkynes to silenes.     

Cationic cryptand complexes of tin(II)

A series of cationic cryptand complexes of tin(II), [Cryptand[2.2.2]SnX][SnX(3)] (10, X = Cl; 11, X = Br; 12, X = I) and [Cryptand[2.2.2]Sn][OTf](2) (13), were synthesized by the addition of cryptand[2.2.2] to a solution of either tin(II) chloride, iodide, or trifluoromethanesulfonate. The complexes could also be synthesized by the addition of the appropriate trimethylsilyl halide (or pseudohalide) reagent to a solution of tin(II) chloride and cryptand[2.2.2]. The complexes were characterized using a variety of techniques including NMR, Raman, and temperature-dependent M?ssbauer spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction.