Platinum‐Catalyzed Friedel–Crafts‐Type C−H Coupling–Allylic Amination Cascade to Synthesize 3,4‐Fused Tricyclic Indoles

A novel platinum‐catalyzed cascade cyclization reaction was developed by intramolecular Friedel–Crafts‐type C?H coupling of aniline derivatives with a propargyl carbonate unit‐allylic amination sequence. Treatment of various propargyl carbonates tethered to meta‐aniline derivatives with a Pt(dba)₃/DPEphos catalyst system afforded the corresponding 3,4‐fused tricyclic 3‐alkylidene indolines in 42–99 % yield, which were transformed into 3,4‐fused indole derivatives by reaction with trifluoroacetic acid. The reaction products exhibited antiproliferative activities against cancer cells, but not normal cells, revealing the potential usefulness of this reaction for medicinal chemistry.     

Capillary condensation in mesoporous silica with surface roughness

We construct an atomistic silica pore model mimicking templated mesoporous silica MCM-41, which has molecular-level surface roughness, with the aid of the electron density profile (EDP) of MCM-41 obtained from X-ray diffraction data. Then, we present the GCMC simulations of argon adsorption on our atomistic silica pore models for two different MCM-41 samples at 75, 80, and 87 K, and the results are compared with the experimental adsorption data. We demonstrate that accurate molecular modeling of the pore structure of MCM-41 by using the experimental EDP allows the prediction of experimental capillary evaporation pressures at all investigated temperatures. The experimental desorption branches of the two MCM-41 samples are in good agreement with equilibrium vapor–liquid transition pressures from the simulations, which suggests that the experimental desorption branch for the open-ended cylindrical pores is in thermodynamic equilibrium.     

One pot synthesis using supported reagents system KSCN/SiO2-RNH3OAc/Al2O3: synthesis of 2-aminothiazoles and N-allylthioureas

A simple and efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of 2-aminothiazoles and N-allylthioureas from commercially available materials in one pot by using a supported reagents system, KSCN/SiO₂-RNH₃OAc/Al₂O₃, in which α-halo ketone reacts first KSCN/SiO₂ and the product, α-thiocyanatoketone, reacts with RNH₃OAc/Al₂O₃ to give the final product, 2-aminothiazoles, in good yield and allyl bromide reacts with KSCN/SiO₂ and the product, allyl isothiocyanate, reacts with RNH₃OAc/Al₂O₃ to give N-allylthiourea.     

Vinylogous Urea—Urethane Vitrimers: Accelerating and Inhibiting Network Dynamics through Hydrogen Bonding

Vinylogous urethane (VU_O) based polymer networks are widely used as catalyst-free vitrimers that show rapid covalent bond exchange at elevated temperatures. In solution, vinylogous ureas (VU_N) undergo much faster bond exchange than VU_O and are highly dynamic at room temperature. However, this difference in reactivity is not observed in their respective dynamic polymer networks, as VU_O and VU_N vitrimers prepared herein with very similar macromolecular architectures show comparable stress relaxation and creep behavior. However, by using mixtures of VU_O and VU_N linkages within the same network, the dynamic reactions can be accelerated by an order of magnitude. The results can be rationalized by the effect of intermolecular hydrogen bonding, which is absent in VU_O vitrimers, but is very pronounced for vinylogous urea moieties. At low concentrations of VU_N, these hydrogen bonds act as catalysts for covalent bond exchange, while at high concentration, they provide a pervasive vinylogous urea - urethane (VU) network of strong non-covalent interactions, giving rise to phase separation and inhibiting polymer chain dynamics. This offers a straightforward design principle for dynamic polymer materials, showing at the same time the possible additive and synergistic effects of supramolecular and dynamic covalent polymer networks.     

Morpholine-Substituted Rhodamine Analogue with Multi-Configurational Switches for Optical Sensing of pH Gradient under Extreme Acidic Environments

Superior pH-responsive molecules are required for the development of functional materials applicable to advanced molecular technologies. Despite having been widely developed, many rhodamine-based pH-responsive molecules exhibit a single configurational switch for “turn-on”. Herein, we report a new type of rhodamine-based pH-responsive molecule with multi-configurational switches displaying stable two-step structural and color conversion in response to pH. This rhodamine analogue could be successfully applied to optical sensing of pH gradient under extreme acidic environments both in solution and on hydrogel through high-contrast color change. We demonstrated that this multi-responsive character enabled optical memory of different pH information.     

Selective mono-acylation of 1,2- and 1,3-diols using (α,α-difluoroalkyl)amines

In the reaction of N,N-diethyl-α,α-difluorobenzylamine (DFBA) with 1,2- or 1,3-diols, selective mono-benzoylation occurs to afford mono-esters of the diols in good yield. The reaction is completed under mild conditions in a short reaction time. Further, prim-, sec-, and tert-diols and catechol can be converted to the corresponding mono-benzoates. DFBA is used for the protection of the hydroxy group in sugars. The selective mono-nicotinylation, formylation and pivaloylation of diols are also performed by using the corresponding difluoroalkylamines.     

An efficient synthetic methodology of chiral isoquinuclidines by the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1,2-dihydropyridines using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine catalyst

High purity chiral isoquinuclidines (97% ee) were obtained from the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1-phenoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine with 1-benzyl-2-acryloylpyrazolidin-3-one using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine (Pd-POZ) catalyst. The obtained DA adduct was easily converted to the chiral piperidine derivative bearing three stereogenetic centers in the structure.     

Solvation Structure and Complexation of the Manganese(II) Ion in N,N-Dimethylpropionamide and N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethylurea Studied by Means of Titration Calorimetry and Raman Spectroscopy

Aprotic N,N-dimethylpropionamide (DMPA) and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylurea (TMU) are both strong donor solvents and coordinate to metal ions through the carbonyl oxygen atom. These solvents show a different conformational aspect in the bulk phase, i.e., DMPA exists as either a planar cis or a nonplanar staggered conformer, while TMU exists in a single planar cis conformer. It has been established that the manganese(II) ion is solvated by five molecules in both solvents. Interestingly, although the planar cis conformer of DMPA is more favorable than the nonplanar staggered one in the bulk phase, the reverse is the case in the coordination sphere of the metal ion, i.e., a conformational change occurs upon solvation. To reveal the thermodynamic aspect of this conformational change, the complexation of Mn(II) with bromide ions in DMPA and TMU has been studied by titration calorimetry at 298 K. It was found that the Mn(II) ion forms mono-, di- and tri-bromo complexes in both solvents, and their formation constants, enthalpies and entropies were obtained. The Δ H∘₁ value for MnBr⁺ strongly depends on the solvent, i.e., it is positive (19.4 kJ-mol⁻¹) in DMPA and negative (−8.7 kJ-mol⁻¹) in TMU, whereas the Δ H^∘₂ and Δ H∘₃ values for the stepwise formation of MnBr₂ and MnBr₃⁻ are both small and negative. The enthalpy of transfer Δ_tH^∘ from DMPA to TMU, which is evaluated on the basis of the extrathermodynamic TATB assumption, is 25.5 kJ-mol⁻¹ for Mn²⁺ and −3.6 kJ-mol⁻¹ for MnBr⁺. These values indicate that the difference between the formation enthalpy of MnBr⁺ in the two solvents, Δ H^∘₁ (DMPA) – Δ H∘₁ (TMU), is mainly ascribed to the value of Δ_tH^∘(Mn²⁺). It is found that the metal ion is also five-coordinated in the monobromo complex, MnBr(DMPA)₄⁺ . The enthalpy for the conformational change of DMPA from its planar cis to the nonplanar staggered form is evaluated to be −11 and −5.5 kJ-mol⁻¹ for Mn(DMPA)₅^{2 +} and MnBr(DMPA)₄⁺, respectively. Note that these values are significantly smaller than the corresponding value (5.0 kJ-mol⁻¹) in the bulk phase. We thus conclude that, although steric hindrance among solvent molecules is reduced by replacing one DMPA of Mn(DMPA)₅^{2 +} with the relatively small bromide ion, DMPA molecules are still sterically hindered in the MnBr(DMPA)₄⁺ complex.