Mixed nitrosyl/phosphinidene and nitrene/phosphinidene clusters of ruthenium

Reaction of the aminophosphinidene complex [Ru5(CO)15(mu 4-PNPri2)] 1 with [PPN][NO2] (PPN = Ph3P=N=PPh3) led to the mixed nitrosyl/phosphinidene cluster complex [PPN][Ru5(CO)13(mu-NO)(mu 4-PNPri2)] 2 which is transformed into the novel nitrene/phosphinidene cluster [Ru5(CO)10(mu-CO)2(mu 3-CO)(mu 4-NH)(mu 3-PNPri2)] 3 via treatment with triflic acid.     

Synthetic, structural and spectroscopic studies of (pseudo)halo(1,3-di-tert-butylimidazol-2-ylidine)gold complexes

A series of (pseudo)halo(1,3-di-tert-butylimidazol-2-ylidine)gold complexes [(But2Im)AuX](X = Cl, Br, I, CN, N3, NCO, SCN, SeCN, ONO2, OCOCH3, CH3) have been synthesized and characterised spectroscopically and structurally. 13C NMR chemical shifts for the carbene carbon vary widely with differing ancillary anion, correlating well with the sigma-donor ability of the latter and with the M-C(carbene) bond distance. These results reinforce the notion that N-heterocyclic carbene ligands are primarily sigma-donor ligands with little pi-acceptor ability.     

Reactions of triosmium clusters with organic azides; x-ray crystal structures of [Os3(CO)10(NCMe)(N3COPh)], [Os3(μ-H)(CO)10(HN3Ph)], and [Os3(μ-H)2(CO)9(μ3-NPh)]

Organic azides [N₃R] react with [Os₃(CO)₁₁(NCMe)] and with [Os₃(μ-H)₂(CO)₁₀] to form [Os₃(CO)₁₀(NCMe)(N₃COR)] (R  Ph) and [Os₃(μ-H)(CO)₁₀(HN₃R)] (R  Ph, n-Bu, CH₂Ph, cyclo-C₆H₁₁), respectively; the latter may be converted to [Os₃(μ-H)₂(CO)₉(μ₃-NR)] by thermolysis; the molecular structure of the phenyl derivative of each class of compound has been confirmed by x-ray analysis.     

The crystal structure of tetrakis(methyldiphenylphosphine)iridium(I) tetrafluoroborate with cyclohexane of solvation: Ir[P(C6H5)2CH3]4BF4 - C6H12

The crystal structure of tetrakis(methyldiphenylphosphine)iridium(I) tetrafluoroborate with cyclohexane of solvation, [Ir(PPh₂Me)₄]BF₄·C₆H₁₂, has been determined from a three-dimensional X-ray analysis. The compound has been analysed in space group C₂/c of the monoclinic system. There are twelve molecules (i.e. 1.5 molecules per asymmetric unit) in a cell of dimensions a = 36.804(8), b = 22.93(2), c = 21.676(4) Å, β = 121.41(1)°. Block-diagonal least-squares refinement has given a final R-factor of 0.060 for 7905 reflections having I > 3σ(I).The structure consists of two crystallographically distinct, but structurally similar molecules, one on a general position and one on a crystallographic two-fold axis. The phosphine ligands around the iridium atoms are in a very distorted square-planar arrangement. The reactions of the cation axe discussed in terms of this structure.     

Metal to ligand group transfer reactions : II. Reactions of some π-allylrhodium(I) complexes with trifluoroacetic acid and alkyl,acyl and trimethyltin halides

Rh(π-C₃H₅)(PF₃)₃ (I), reacts with trifluoroacetic acid to form propene and [Rh(CF₃COO)(PF₃)₂]₂ (II). I reacts with t-butyl bromide to give [RhBr(PF₃)₂]₂ and a mixture of propene and 2-methyl-1-propene and with n-propyl bromide to give propene and [RhBr(PF₃)₂]₂. Rh(π-C₃H₅)(PPh₃)₂ (III), and t-butyl bromide yield propene and 2-methyl-1-propene. In these reactions a mechanism involving β-hydrogen abstraction and hydrogen migration via the metal to carbon is proposed. When III reacts with Me₃SnCl the Me₃Sn—moiety migrates intact to the π-allyl group. I reacts with acetyl chloride to give propene, [RhCl(PF₃)₂]₂ and the carbonyl rhodium complex Rh₂Cl₂(PF₃)₃(CO). II does not apparently undergo phosphine ligand exchange unlike the analogous halogeno-bridged dimers.     

Discovery of O-GlcNAc transferase inhibitors

O-GlcNAcylation of serine and threonine residues is a dynamic and essential post-translational modification involved in signaling pathways in eukaryotes. Studies of O-GlcNAcylation would be aided by small-molecule inhibitors of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), the sole enzyme know to mediate this modification, but discovery of such molecules has been hampered by poor expression of cloned OGT and lack of suitable high-throughput screens. This Communication describes the development an expression system to access large amounts of the catalytic domain of OGT and the implementation of a fluorescence-based substrate analogue displacement assay that has led to the discovery of a set of OGT inhibitors. This work lays the foundation for both structural and functional analysis of the catalytic domain of OGT.     

Structure, bonding, and reactivity of Ti and Zr amidate complexes: DFT and X-ray crystallographic studies

Easily prepared and highly modular organic amide proligands have been used to synthesize a series of new bis(amidate)-bis(amido) Ti and Zr complexes via protonolysis. These complexes have been structurally characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The solid-state molecular structures of these complexes indicate that the amidate ligands bind to the metal centers in an exclusively bidentate fashion, resulting in discrete monomeric species. Geometric isomerism in these species is highly dependent upon the steric characteristics of the proligands utilized in the synthesis. In solution, these complexes are observed to isomerize on the NMR time scale, with one isomer being predominant. Bonding in the bis(amidate)-bis(amido) complexes was investigated by DFT calculations. The geometric isomers predicted by theory matched the experimentally observed results, within experimental error. The orbitals associated with amidate-metal bonding are energetically well below the frontier orbitals. The HOMO in these complexes is a pi orbital associated with amido ligand-to-metal bonding character, while the LUMO in all cases is a vacant d orbital on the metal center.     

Carbon nanohorns grown from ruthenium nanoparticles

A nanoscale ruthenium/gold bimetallic cluster of clusters has been used as a molecular precursor to produce pure ruthenium nanoparticles (seeds) as catalysts for the growth of carbon nanohorns (CNHs).     

Supramolecular isomerism in coordination compounds: nanoscale molecular hexagons and chains

A nanoscale supramolecular hexagon, 1, and its supramolecular isomeric chain structure, 2, have been prepared from self-assembly of 5-NO2-bdc and Cu(II) cations. The hexagon is neutral and soluble and has outer and inner diameters of 3.1 and 0.8 nm, respectively.     

Photoelectron Spectra of Nonmetal Compounds and Their Interpretation by MO Models

The results of (low energy) photoelectron spectroscopy render possible a better appreciation of the “Nature of the Chemical Bond”. The application of this new experimental method is demonstrated utilizing representative compounds of the nonmetal elements, and a close symbiosis delineated with molecular orbital models. In particular, general consequences are discussed concerning electron deficiency, σ- and π-interactions, electron pair delocalization, and substituent effects or geometric perturbations. Photoelectron spectroscopic ionization energies permit evaluation of parameters for specified molecular groups, allow correlation with numerous other experimental data, and are didactically valuable in the teaching of general chemistry.