Bimetallic amine-bridged bis(phenolate) lanthanide aryloxides and alkoxides: synthesis,characterization, and application in the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide and rac-β-butyrolactone

A series of neutral bimetallic lanthanide aryloxides p-C6H4[OLnL(THF)n]2 [Ln = Y(1), Yb(2), Sm(3)(n = 1) and La(4)(n = 2), L = Me2NCH2CH2N{CH2-(2-O–C6H2–tBu2-3,5)}2] and alkoxides p-C6H4CH2[OLnL(THF)]2 [Ln = Y(5), Yb(6)] supported by an amine-bridged bis(phenolate) ligand have been synthesized through one-pot reactions of Ln(C5H5)3(THF), LH2 with p-benzenediol and 1,4-benzenedimethanol, respectively. All complexes have been fully characterized by elemental analyses, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and IR and multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy(in the cases of 1, 4 and 5). Study of their catalytic behavior revealed that, in general, all complexes are efficient initiators for the polymerization of rac-lactide(LA) and rac-β-butyrolactone(BBL), except for 3 and 4 in the case of BBL. The influence imposed by lanthanides of different ionic radii and initiating groups of different structures on the activity, controllability, and stereoselectivity of polymerization were systematically studied and compared. Highly heterotactic PLA(Pr up to 0.99) and syndiotactic PHB(Pr ≈ 0.81) with high molecular weight and narrow polydispersity formed and were automatically capped with hydroxyl functionality at both ends.     

Rational Tuning of the Reactivity of Three-Membered Heterocycle Ring Openings via SN2 Reactions

The development of small-molecule covalent inhibitors and probes continuously pushes the rapidly evolving field of chemical biology forward. A key element in these molecular tool compounds is the “electrophilic trap” that allows a covalent linkage with the target enzyme. The reactivity of this entity needs to be well balanced to effectively trap the desired enzyme, while not being attacked by off-target nucleophiles. Here we investigate the intrinsic reactivity of substrates containing a class of widely used electrophilic traps, the three-membered heterocycles with a nitrogen (aziridine), phosphorus (phosphirane), oxygen (epoxide) or sulfur atom (thiirane) as heteroatom. Using quantum chemical approaches, we studied the conformational flexibility and nucleophilic ring opening of a series of model substrates, in which these electrophilic traps are mounted on a cyclohexene scaffold (C₆H₁₀Y with Y=NH, PH, O, S). It was revealed that the activation energy of the ring opening does not necessarily follow the trend that is expected from C−Y leaving-group bond strength, but steeply decreases from Y=NH, to PH, to O, to S. We illustrate that the HOMO_Nu–LUMO_Substrate interaction is an all-important factor for the observed reactivity. In addition, we show that the activation energy of aziridines and phosphiranes can be tuned far below that of the corresponding epoxides and thiiranes by the addition of proper electron-withdrawing ring substituents. Our results provide mechanistic insights to rationally tune the reactivity of this class of popular electrophilic traps and can guide the experimental design of covalent inhibitors and probes for enzymatic activity.     

β-二亚胺配体支持的铝胺化合物的制备及其催化ε-己内酯开环聚合的高效性能

成功合成了由β-二亚胺配体(L)支持的铝胺化合物(L)AlH(NMe2)2(L=HC(C(Me)NAr)2,Ar=2,6-iPr2C6H3)(1)。该化合物采用分步合成法进行制备,以n-BuLi与HNMe2反应生成的锂盐LiNMe2作为前驱体,进一步与(L)AlH2溶液共混通过消除LiH得到目标产物。通过核磁共振谱、元素分析、红外漫反射光谱和X射线单晶衍射确定了铝胺化合物(L)AlH(NMe2)2的组成与结构。该铝胺化合物中,金属Al中心同时形成Al-H和Al-NMe2基团,在催化ε-己内酯的开环聚合的反应中展现出了优异的催化活性。通过高效凝胶渗透色谱测定了所得聚合物的分子量和分子量分布。     

含氮原子桥联吡咯基稀土金属双核配合物的合成及催化ε-己内酯的开环聚合反应

RE(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)2和1.5 equiv.(C4H3NHCH2)2NCH3(1)反应合成得到含氮原子桥联吡咯基稀土金属双核配合物[η1∶η1∶η1-(C4H3NCH2)2NCH3]RE{μ-η5∶η5∶η1-(C4H3NCH2)2NCH3}RE[η1∶η1∶η1-(C4H3NCH2)2NCH3](THF)[RE=Y(2),Er(3),Yb(4)],所得配合物经过核磁共振、红外和元素分析表征,配合物2和4经单晶X-Ray进一步确认结构.同时研究了稀土配合物作为单一组分催化剂催化ε-内酯的开环聚合反应.     

Switchable Polymerization Triggered by Fast and Quantitative Insertion of Carbon Monoxide into Cobalt–Oxygen Bonds

A strategy that uses carbon monoxide (CO) as a molecular trigger to switch the polymerization mechanism of a cobalt Salen complex [salen=(R,R)‐N,N′‐bis(3,5‐di‐tert‐butylsalicylidene)‐1,2‐cyclohexanediamine] from ring‐opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of epoxides/anhydrides to organometallic mediated controlled radical polymerization (OMRP) of acrylates is described. The key phenomenon is a rapid and quantitative insertion of CO into the Co?O bond, allowing for in situ transformation of the ROCOP active species (Salen)Co^III‐OR into the OMRP photoinitiator (Salen)Co^III‐CO₂R. The proposed mechanism, which involves CO coordination to (Salen)Co^III‐OR and subsequent intramolecular rearrangement via migratory insertion has been rationalized by DFT calculations. Regulated by both CO and visible light, on‐demand sequence control can be achieved for the one‐pot synthesis of polyester‐b‐polyacrylate diblock copolymers (?<1.15).     

Cell Engineering with Functional Poly(oxanorbornene) Block Copolymers

Cell‐based therapies are gaining prominence in treating a wide variety of diseases and using synthetic polymers to manipulate these cells provides an opportunity to impart function that could not be achieved using solely genetic means. Herein, we describe the utility of functional block copolymers synthesized by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) that can insert directly into the cell membrane via the incorporation of long alkyl chains into a short polymer block leading to non‐covalent, hydrophobic interactions with the lipid bilayer. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these polymers can be imbued with advanced functionalities. A photosensitizer was incorporated into these polymers to enable spatially controlled cell death by the localized generation of ¹O₂ at the cell surface in response to red‐light irradiation. In a broader context, we believe our polymer insertion strategy could be used as a general methodology to impart functionality onto cell‐surfaces.     

酶促开环聚合与自缩合乙烯基共聚合相结合制取超支化聚合物

在Novozyme 435脂肪酶催化下, 甲基丙烯酸羟乙酯(HEMA)引发己内酯(ε-CL)开环聚合反应, 得到一端为双键, 另一端为羟基的直链聚己内酯(PCL)产物; 将其端羟基官能化得到大分子AB*型单体, 与苯乙烯以原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)反应形式进行自缩合乙烯基共聚合, 得到超支化结构聚苯乙烯-b-聚己内酯产物.     

窄分子量分布聚四氢呋喃的合成

以发烟硫酸-高氯酸为催化剂,通过四氢呋喃的阳离子开环聚合合成了窄分子量分布的聚四氢呋喃(PTHF)。研究了发烟硫酸和高氯酸用量、反应时间、反应温度等对PTHF分子量(Mn)及其分布(Mw/Mn)的影响。结果表明,减少发烟硫酸或增加高氯酸用量可使Mn上升;反应时间超过3 h后,反应时间对Mn及Mw/Mn的影响不大;于2℃反应Mn有最大值(11 760);反应时间5 h,在N2中聚合的Mw/Mn较小;低转化率(Mw/Mn小于1.2)时,通N2对Mn(4 000~5 500)及Mw/Mn(1.12~1.19)的影响不大。     

论咪唑啉还原开环反应在有机合成中的应用

结合乙二胺衍生物合成方法研究现状及存在的问题,本文讨论了咪唑啉还原开环反应在乙二胺衍生物合成中的重要作用及其反应机理,以及反应条件对产物收率的影响,并介绍了该反应在有机合成上的应用。