Ring-closing olefin metathesis on ruthenium carbene complexes: model DFT study of stereochemistry

Ring-closing metathesis (RCM) is the key step in a recently reported synthesis of salicylihalamide and related model compounds. Experimentally, the stereochemistry of the resulting cycloolefin (cis/trans) depends strongly on the substituents that are present in the diene substrate. To gain insight into the factors that govern the observed stereochemistry, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been carried out for a simplified dichloro(2-propylidene)(imidazole-2-ylidene)ruthenium catalyst I, as well as for the real catalyst II with two mesityl substituents on the imidazole ring. Four model substrates are considered, which are closely related to the systems studied experimentally, and in each case, two pathways A and B are possible since the RCM reaction can be initiated by coordination of either of the two diene double bonds to the metal center. The first metathesis yields a carbene intermediate, which can then undergo a second metathesis by ring closure, metallacycle formation, and metallacycle cleavage to give the final cycloolefin complex. According to the DFT calculations, the stereochemistry is always determined in the second metathesis reaction, but the rate-determining step may be different for different catalysts, substrates, and pathways. The ancillary N-heterocyclic carbene ligand lies in the Ru-Cl-Cl plane in the simplified catalyst I, but is perpendicular to it in the real catalyst II, and this affects the relative energies of the relevant intermediates and transition states. Likewise, the introduction of methyl substituents in the diene substrates influences these relative energies appreciably. Good agreement with the experimentally observed stereochemistry is only found when using the real catalyst II and the largest model substrates in the DFT calculations.     

Immobilized plant cells

Plant cells have been immobilized in alginate, where they have been shown to retain their biological activity. Such systems can be utilized for bioconversions.     

Trace analysis of volatile polar organics by direct aqueous injection gas chromatography

Summary Procedures for the quantitative analysis of industrial effluents which involve concentration by solvent extraction or the purge-and-trap method are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to error. Direct aqueous injection gas chromatography using an electron-capture detector for the analysis of volatile halocarbons at the ppb level is in routine use in many laboratories. We now discuss the development of a similar protocol for the analysis of volatile polar organics such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and tretrahydrofuran using a flame-ionization detector.     

Effect of 4f-shell excitation of Eu(fod)3 on its complex formation with alicyclic ketones

The complex formation of alicyclic ketones, viz., camphor, cyclohexanone, menthone, and cytisine, with the Eu(fod)₃ chelate (fod is 7,7-dimethyl-1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluorooctane-4,5-dione) in the ground and excited states was studied by chemiluminescence and kinetic luminescence spectroscopy, respectively. The stability constants and thermodynamic parameters of complex formation were determined. An increase in the stability of the electron-excited complexes [Eu(fod)₃*·Ketone] is explained by the enhancement of the acceptor ability of the Eu³⁺ chelate due to an increase in the fraction of the covalent component caused by the involvement of 4f-orbitals. The results obtained give direct evidence for the effect of the 4f-shell excitation of Eu(fod)₃ on complex formation due to the involvement of f-electrons in the chemical bonds.     

Stereocontrol in Organic Synthesis Using the Diphenylphosphoryl Group

In 1959, Horner showed that metalated alkyldiphenylphosphane oxides react with aldehydes or ketones to give alkenes. With this reaction, the diphenylphosphoryl (Ph₂PO) group made its entrance into synthetic organic chemistry. In the thirty-six years since that date, extensive research has shown that this olefination, the Horner–Wittig reaction, has unique properties that make it much more than simply the phosphane oxide cousin of the more famous phosphorus-based olefinations—the Wittig reaction (based on phosphonium salts) and the Wadsworth–Emmons reaction (based on phosphonate esters). Early work on the Horner–Wittig reaction concentrated on the reactivity of phosphane oxides and the regioselectivity of their reactions, but more recently the power of the Ph₂PO group to control the stereochemistry of alkenes, and to produce “on demand” either stereoisomer in high stereochemical purity, has emerged. From the study of these stereocontrolled Horner–Wittig reactions arose the realization that the Ph₂PO group is useful not only for the control of the two-dimensional stereochemistry of alkenes, but also of three-dimensional stereochemistry in general. After a brief introduction to phosphane oxide chemistry, this review will examine the Horner–Wittig reaction, in both its original and “stereocontrolled” varieties. From there, we will move on to an account of the stereoselective construction of molecules containing the Ph₂PO group, concentrating on the stereochemical directing effects of the Ph₂PO group and on the role of its unique combination of attributes—steric bulk, electronegativity, and Lewis basicity—in controlling these reactions. Finally, we will present what is intended as a practical guide to this chemistry, covering the type of functionalized alkenes that have been made with the help of the Ph₂PO group and giving guidelines that we hope will help the organic chemist to make the most of the chemistry the Ph₂PO group has to offer.     

Catalytic olefination reaction of carbonyl compounds. A study on stereoselectivity of alkene formation

The mechanism of formation of alkene stereoisomers in the catalytic olefination reaction of carbonyl compounds was studied. 4-Chlorobenzaldehyde hydrazone 1 stereoselectively reacts with a number of F-, Cl-, Br-, and I-containing polyhaloalkanes in the presence of catalytic amounts of CuCl to give -substituted styrenes 2 with the more thermodynamically stable alkene isomer being the major product. A model for the formation of the stereoisomers of alkenes 2 in the olefination reaction is proposed. Stereoselectivity of the reaction is determined by elimination of copper(ii) halides from the lowest-lying conformers of organocopper intermediates II. According to quantum-chemical calculations, the elimination should involve the staggered conformations with antiperiplanar arrangement of C—Hal and C—Cu bonds and proceed by the E2 anti-elimination mechanism. The results of quantum-chemical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental E/Z alkene isomer ratios.     

All-glass open-split interface for capillary GC/MS

This paper describes a design for an all-glass GC/MS interface. The design has advantages due to low dead volume, lack of column effluent adsorption and degradation, simple interface production and installation, and ease of column mounting/dismounting.     

Synthesis of β-amino carbonyl compounds via a Zn(OTf)2-catalyzed cascade reaction of anilines with aromatic aldehydes and carbonyl compounds

A Zn(OTf)₂-catalyzed cascade reaction of anilines with aromatic aldehydes and carbonyl compounds was described. This one-pot three-component reaction afforded the corresponding β-amino carbonyl compounds, β-amino esters, and β-amino ketones in good to excellent yields. The reaction was also applied for the liquid-phase synthesis of β-amino carbonyl compound library using PEG as a support.     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with pseudo-Sadtler retention indices, for the identification of components in the essential oil of Curcuma longa L.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was applied to the cyclohexane extract of Curcuma longa L. The chromatographic conditions generated retention indices very close i.e., greater than 99.9%, to those reported for structures in the Sadtler Standard Gas Chromatography Retention Index Library. In addition to the extensively reported sesquiterpene ketones, this essential oil extract contained a series of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Wiley mass spectra library matching for the free fatty acids, their trimethylsilyl esters and methyl esters narrowed their identity down to a few candidates. Combining this information with the retention indices of the fatty acid methyl esters in the Sadtler library allowed the identification of some of the double bond positions.