Palladium(II)–rare-earth metal(III) paddlewheel carboxylate complexes: Easy total acetate to pivalate metathesis

Bis-paddlewheel heterobimetallic complexes in which palladium(II) is connected to the rare-earth metals(III) [Pd(μ-OOCMe)₄Ln(OH₂)(μ,η²-OOCMe)]₂ × 2HOOCMe (Ln = Nd, Sm, Eu, Yb and Tm) by four acetate bridges were synthesised by the reaction of Pd₃(μ-OOCMe)₆ with the Ln^III acetates. The tetraacetate-bridged complexes were unexpectedly found to be readily transformed by the stoichiometric amount of pivalic acid into the mono-paddlewheel tetrapivalate-bridged analogues in which the paddlewheel structure [Pd(μ-OOCR)₄Ln] maintains as established by X-ray crystallography. The role of the intra- and intermolecular H-bonding in these complexes is discussed.     

Lewis acid catalyzed reactions of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with 1- and 2-pyrazolines: formation of substituted 2-pyrazolines and 1,2-diazabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes

The reaction of 2-substituted cyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylates with 1- and 2-pyrazolines is efficiently catalyzed by scandium or ytterbium triflates to give N-substituted 2-pyrazolines or 1,2-diazabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes. The reactions of 2-pyrazolines give diazabicyclooctanes as the major products. In contrast, the reactions starting from 1-pyrazolines predominantly give N-substituted 2-pyrazolines, which become the major compounds obtained if an equimolar amount of GaCl₃ is used. A possible reaction mechanism is suggested.     

Aluminum carbenoids in allene cyclopropanation

The reactions of aluminum carbenoids with alkyl- and phenyl-substituted allenes and cyclic allenes are studied. An efficient method for the synthesis of substituted spiropentanes was developed. 1,2-Cyclononadiene was selectively converted into bicyclo[7.1.0]dec-1-ene. An unusual transformation of α-methylphenylallene into a spiroindane derivative under the action of Et₃Al-CH₂I₂ was found.     

Pyrazolate-bridged binuclear zinc complexes Zn<Subscript>2</Subscript>(μ-dmpz)<Subscript>2</Subscript>(Hdmpz)<Subscript>2</Subscript>(OOCR)<Subscript>2</Subscript> (R = Me,Ph; Hdmpz = 3,5-dimethylpyrazole)

Triethylamine reacts with aqueous zinc acetate and the product of its thermolysis in the presence of benzoic acid to yield the complexes [Zn₇(μ₄-O)(μ-OOCMe)₁₀][η-OC(Me)OHNEt₃]₂ (1) and [Zn₂(μOOCPh)₄][η-OC(Me)OHNEt₃]₂ (2), respectively. The reactions of 1 and 2 with 3,5-dimethylpyrazole at room temperature in benzene yield pyrazolate-bridged binuclear complexes Zn₂(μdmpz)₂(Hdmpz)₂(OOCR)₂ (R = Me (3), Ph (4)). The structures of complexes 1–4 have been determined by X-ray crystallography.     

Reactions of diazo esters with electron-deficient alkenes in the presence of Lewis acids

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of diazo esters to electron-deficient dipolarophiles to yield the corresponding 1- or 2-pyrazolines was found to be significantly accelerated with Lewis acids (Yb(OTf)₃, Sc(OTf)₃, GaCl₃, EtAlCl₂). The use of GaCl₃ as the catalyst leads to the acceleration not only of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction, but also subsequent insertion of the CHCO₂Me electrophilic fragment of methyl diazoacetate into the N-H bond of 2-pyrazolines formed. Such Lewis acids as SnCl₄, BF₃, TiCl₄, and In(OTf)₃ are not efficient in the described processes, since they rapidly decompose starting diazo compounds.     

N-Substituted hepta(methoxycarbonyl)-3a,7a-dihydroindazoles as new sources for the generation of nitrile imines

Thermal decomposition of N-substituted hepta(methoxycarbonyl)-3a,7a-dihydroindazoles proceeds through the elimination of hexamethyl benzenehexacarboxylate and results in the generation of l-aryl-3-methoxycarbonylnitrile imines, which are intercepted by both the electron-withdrawing and electron-releasing olefins, for example, methyl acrylate, cyclopentene, vinylcyclopropane, or ethyl vinyl ether, to form the corresponding pyrazolines and pyrazoles. In the presence of propan-2-ol, the main process proceeds through the addition of nitrile inline to the O—H bond to form methyl 2-isopropoxy-2-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)hydrazono]acetate.     

Asymptotic approximation of the moving spike-type contrast structure in reaction-diffusion equations

The asymptotic approximation of a moving spike-type contrast structure for the reaction-diffusion equation is constructed. The results were applied for an important case of cubic nonlinearity.     

Strong field localization in subwavelength metal-dielectric optical waveguides

Detailed calculations of eigenmodes of waveguiding structures made of silver and glass and containing coaxial cables with a nanoscale cross section of different configurations are conducted. In particular, the study focuses on optical coaxial waveguides with the core made in the form of a thin metallic cylinder filled with a dielectric. We show that these waveguides support relatively low-loss propagation of radiation that is strongly localized in the central region, has phase velocity approaching the speed of light and predominant electric-field orientation (dipole type). Optical characteristics of such waveguides are compared with those of coaxial-type waveguides containing a continuous central filament made of metal and with a multilayer structure. Using numeric modeling, we established that the proposed type of the waveguide enables the transmission of an optical image with relatively low losses with a submicron resolution over a distance considerably longer than its cross section. A typical propagation length in the waveguides based on silver and glass with the refractive index of about 1.5 at a wavelength of 500 nm is about 1700 nm.