Substituted γ-Lactones. 35 . Reduction of 4-aroyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanones

The reduction of 4-aroyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanons 1a-c was investigated using different reducing agents. Sodium borohydride reacts with type 1 compounds by loss of water to yield 4-(arylmethylene)-2,3(4H,5H)-furandiones 2a-c . Platinum or charcoal supported by pallodium chloride transforms 1a to 4-benzyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone ( 3). Compounds 2a and 2b react with o-phenylenediamine to give 3-(E-(1′-hydroxymethyl-2′-aryl)ethenyl]-2-quinoxalinones 4a and 4b . The lactone 3 under the same conditions splits out formaldehyde and forms 3-(2′-phenylethyl)-2-quinoxalinone ( 6 ). The structure assignments of the novel compounds are based on elemental analysis and nmr as well as ir spectroscopic data.     

The reactions of [Fe(CO)5-n(CNAr)n] (n = 1 or 2; Ar = aryl) with dicyclopentadiene

Although [Fe(CO)₃(CNAr)₂] complexes fail to react with dicyclopentadiene at 140°C, under the same conditions [Fe(CO)₄(CNAr)] complexes give high yields of [Fe₂(η-C₅H₅(CO)₃(CNAr)] and [Fe₂(η-C₅H₅)₂(CO)₂-(CNAr)₂], with the product ratios depending very much on the aryl group (Ar).     

Supramolecular Diblock Copolymers Featuring Well‐defined Telechelic Building Blocks

We report supramolecular AB diblock copolymers comprised of well‐defined telechelic building blocks. Helical motifs, formed via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) or anionic polymerization, are assembled with coil‐forming and sheet‐featuring blocks obtained via atom‐transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Interpolymer hydrogen bonding or metal‐coordination achieves dynamic diblock architectures featuring hybrid topologies of coils, helices, and/or π‐stacked sheets that, on a basic level, mimic protein structural motifs in fully synthetic systems. The intrinsic properties of each block (e.g., circular dichroism and fluorescence) remain unaffected in the wake of self‐assembly. This strategy to develop complex synthetic polymer scaffolds from functional building blocks is significant in a field striving to produce architectures reminiscent of biosynthesis, yet fully synthetic in nature. This is the first plug‐and‐play approach to fabricate hybrid π‐sheet/helix, π‐sheet/coil, and helix/coil architectures via directional self‐assembly.     

Selenoether macrocyclic chemistry--syntheses and properties of new potentially tridentate and hexadentate Se/O-donor macrocycles

Treatment of O(CH2CH2SeCN)2 with Na in NH3(l), followed by dropwise addition of a thf solution of o-C6H4(CH2Br)2 at -40 degrees C leads to formation of three mixed Se/O-donor macrocycles which are separable by column chromatography, the [1 + 1] species L1, the [2 + 2] ring L2 and the [3 + 3] ring L3, of which L2 is by far the major species. Using the same starting materials, but in a high dilution cyclisation at room temperature with NaBH4 in thf/EtOH gives exclusively the [1 + 1] ring, L1. The saturated ring Se/O-donor macrocycles, L4 and L5 are obtained by simultaneous dropwise addition of solutions of O(CH2CH2SeCN)2 and Br(CH2)3Br to NaBH4 suspended in thf/EtOH. The small tridentate Se2O-donor ring, L4, is again the dominant product under these conditions (71%), although the more flexible precursors in this reaction also give rise to the larger Se4O2-donor ring, L5, as a by-product in 8% yield. These compounds are readily separated and purified by column chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexane, 1:19). The new macrocycles have been characterised by 1H, (13)C{1H} and (77)Se{1H} NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, together with crystal structures of L1 and L2. Complexes of L1 and L2 with late transition metals (Pd(II), Pt(II), Cu(I) and Ag(I)) are also described.