Grafted metallocalixarenes as single-site surface organometallic catalysts

Metallocalixarenes were grafted onto silica using a surface organometallic approach and shown to be active and selective catalysts for epoxidation of alkenes using organic hydroperoxides. Calixarene-Ti(IV) precursors were anchored at surface densities from 0.1 to near-monolayer coverages (0.025-0.25 calixarene nm(-2)). Several spectroscopic methods independently detected calixarene-Ti(IV) connectivity before and after epoxidation catalysis. Kinetic analyses of cyclohexene epoxidation confirmed that the active sites were anchored on the silica surface and were significantly more active than their homogeneous analogues. The steric bulk and multidentate binding of the calixarenes led to structural stability and to single-site behavior during epoxidation catalysis. Rate constants were independent of surface density for cyclohexene epoxidation with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (11.1 +/- 0.3 M(-2) s(-1)) or cumene hydroperoxide (25 +/- 2 M(-2) s(-1)). The materials and methods reported here allow the assembly of robust surface organometallic structures in which the active sites behave as isolated species, even near saturation monolayer coverages. In turn, this makes possible the rational design and synthesis of a class of heterogeneous oxide catalysts with atomic-scale precision at the active site.     

The assignment of the benzene first-ionization rydberg spectrum via J-T splittings involving linearly inactive modes

In this paper we report the first identification of a Jahn-Teller (J-T) splitting (≈ 160 cm^?1) arising via quadratic vibronic coupling in a mode which is non-active in the linear J-T coupling. This splitting has been detected in the hot-band structure of the out-of-plane mode v₂₀(e_2u) in the Rydberg spectrum of benzene converging to the first ionization limit. This observation enables us to resolve the long-standing controversy with respect to the assignment of the relevant Rydberg spectrum.     

Functionalizations of [6]- and [7]helicenes at their most sterically hindered positions

Although the reactions of enol ethers of aryl methyl ketones with benzoquinone make it easy to prepare nonracemic helicenes that are substituted by hydroxyl groups at their 1,omega-positions, the hydroxyl groups fail to facilitate the introduction of electrophiles ortho to them. However, ethers of [6]- and [7]helicenols prepared in this way, seemingly because of the activation by the alkoxyl groups at the 6-positions, combine with electrophilic reagents to introduce bromines and acyl groups exactly into these positions. Moreover, these bromine and acyl groups can be transformed into other functional groups (including phosphine oxides and acetylenes), the ether functions adjacent to these functional groups can then be removed, and the phenols can be oxidized to quinone-acetals. An alternative way to introduce functional groups next to the phenols is to rearrange their phosphate esters. Two reactions that differentiate the ends of the helicenes are also described.     

A [5]HELOL analogue that senses remote chirality in alcohols, phenols, amines, and carboxylic acids

A route is developed to a structural analogue of [5]HELOL, a previously reported helically grooved sensor of remote chirality. It gives the material enantiomerically pure and in multigram quantities. The enantiomers of alcohols, phenols, amines, and carboxylic acids, even when their centers of chirality are remote from any functional groups, can be differentiated by 31P NMR spectroscopic analyses of their reaction products with the chlorophosphite of this material.     

Magneto-switchable electrocatalytic and bioelectrocatalytic transformations

Magnetic switching of redox reactions and bioelectrocatalytic transformations is accomplished in the presence of relay-functionalized magnetite particles (Fe(3)O(4)). The electrochemistry of a naphthoquinone (1), pyrroloquinoline quinone (2; PQQ), microperoxidase-11 (3), a ferrocene derivative (4) and a bipyridinium derivative (5), functionalized magnetic particles, is switched "ON" and "OFF" by an external magnet upon the attraction of the magnetic particles to an electrode or their retraction from the electrode, respectively. The magneto-switchable activation and deactivation of the electrochemical oxidation of the ferrocene-functionalized magnetic particles and the electrochemical reduction of the bipyridinium-functionalized magnetic particles are used for the triggering of mediated bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of glucose, in the presence of glucose oxidase (GOx), and bioelectrocatalytic reduction of nitrate (NO(3) (-)), in the presence of nitrate reductase (NR), respectively. Magnetic particles functionalized with a PQQ-NAD(+) dyad are used for the magnetic switching of the bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of lactate in the presence of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The coupling of these particles with a ferrocene-monolayer-functionalized electrode allows the dual and selective sensing of lactate and glucose in the presence of LDH and GOx, respectively, by using an external magnet to switch the detection mode.     

Biomaterial engineered electrodes for bioelectronics

A series of single-cysteine-containing cytochrome c, Cyt c, heme proteins including the wild-type Cyt c (from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and the mutants (V33C, Q21C, R18C, G1C, K9C and K4C) exhibit direct electrical contact with Au-electrodes upon covalent attachment to a maleimide monolayer associated with the electrode. With the G1C-Cyt c mutant, which includes the cysteine residue in the polypeptide chain at position 1, the potential-induced switchable control of the interfacial electron transfer was observed. This heme protein includes a positively charged protein periphery that surrounds the attachment site and faces the electrode surface. Biasing of the electrode at a negative potential (-0.3 V vs. SCE) attracts the reduced Fe(II)-Cyt c heme protein to the electrode surface. Upon the application of a double-potential-step chronoamperometric signal onto the electrode, where the electrode potential is switched to +0.3 V and back to -0.3 V, the kinetics of the transient cathodic current, corresponding to the re-reduction of the Fe(III)-Cyt c, is controlled by the time interval between the oxidative and reductive potential steps. While a short time interval results in a rapid interfacial electron-transfer, ket1 = 20 s-1, long time intervals lead to a slow interfacial electron transfer to the Fe(III)-Cyt c, ket2 = 1.5 s-1. The fast interfacial electron-transfer rate-constant is attributed to the reduction of the surface-attracted Fe(III)-Cyt c. The slow interfacial electron-transfer rate constant is attributed to the electrostatic repulsion of the positively charged Cyt c from the electrode surface, resulting in long-range electron transfer exhibiting a lower rate constant. At intermediate time intervals between the oxidative and reductive steps, two populations of Cyt c, consisting of surface-attracted and surface-repelled heme proteins, are observed. Crosslinking of a layered affinity complex between the Cyt c and cytochrome oxidase, COx, on an Au-electrode yields an electrically-contacted, integrated, electrode for the four-electron reduction of O2 to water. Kinetic analysis reveals that the rate-limiting step in the bioelectrocatalytic reduction of O2 by the integrated Cyt c/COx electrode is the primary electron transfer from the electrode support to the Cyt c units.     

Azasteroids. v. approaches to the 14,16-diazasteroidal ring system

Making use of Reissert compound II and Reissert compound analogue VI, benzo [f]quinoline has been converted into the 14,16-diazasteroidal ring system. A number of reactions in this ring system are discussed.