Synthesis,Structure, and Fluxionality of Strained Hypercoordinate Silicon‐Bridged [1]Ferrocenophanes

The first hypercoordinate sila[1]ferrocenophanes [fcSiMe(2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂)] ( 5 a ) and [fcSi(CH₂Cl)(2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂)] ( 5 b ) (fc=(η⁵‐C₅H₄)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)) were synthesized by low‐temperature (?78 °C) reactions of Li[2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂] with the appropriate chlorinated sila[1]ferrocenophanes ([fcSiMeCl] ( 1 a ) and [fcSi(CH₂Cl)Cl] ( 1 d ), respectively). Single‐crystal Xray diffraction studies revealed pseudo‐trigonal bipyramidal structures for both 5 a and 5 b , with one of the shortest reported Si???N distances for an sp³‐hybridized nitrogen atom interacting with a tetraorganosilane detected for 5 a (2.776(2) Å). Elongated Si? C_ipso bonds trans to the donating NMe₂ arms (1.919(2) and 1.909(2) Å for 5 a and 5 b , respectively) were observed relative to both the non‐trans bonds ( 5 a : 1.891(2); 5 b : 1.879(2) Å) and the Si? C_ipso bonds of the non‐hypercoordinate analogues ([fcSiMePh] ( 1 b ): 1.879(4), 1.880(4) Å; [fcSi(CH₂Cl)Ph] ( 1 e ): 1.881(2), 1.884(2)). Solution‐state fluxionality of 5 a and 5 b , suggestive of reversible coordination of the NMe₂ group to silicon, was demonstrated by means of variable‐temperature NMR studies. The ΔG^≠ of the fluxional processes for 5 a and 5 b in CD₂Cl₂ were estimated to be 35.0 and 37.6 kJ mol^?1, respectively (35.8 and 38.3 kJ mol^?1 in [D₈]toluene). The quaternization of 5 a and 5 b by MeOTf, to give [fcSiMe(2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₃)][OTf] ( 7 a‐ OTf) and [fcSi(CH₂Cl)(2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₃)][OTf] ( 7 b‐ OTf), respectively, supported the reversibility of NMe₂ coordination at the silicon center as the source of fluxionality for 5 a and 5 b . Surprisingly, low room‐temperature stability was detected for 5 b due to its tendency to intramolecularly cyclize and form the spirocyclic [fcSi(cyclo‐CH₂NMe₂CH₂C₆H₄)]Cl ( 9 ‐Cl). This process was observed in both solution and the solid state, and isolation and Xray characterization of 9 ‐Cl was achieved. The model compound, [Fc₂Si(2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂)₂] ( 8 ), synthesized through reaction of [Fc₂SiCl₂] with two equivalents of Li[2‐C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂] at ?78 °C, showed a lack of hypercoordination in both the solid state and in solution (down to ?80 °C). This suggests that either the reduced steric hindrance around Si or the unique electronics of the strained sila[1]ferrocenophanes is necessary for hypercoordination to occur.     

Link between the kinetic‐ and exchange‐energy functionals in the generalized gradient approximation

An approximate kinetic‐energy functional of the generalized gradient approximation form was derived following the “conjointness conjecture” of Lee, Lee, and Parr. The functional shares the analytical form of its gradient dependency with the exchange‐energy functionals of Becke and Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof. The two free parameters of this functional were determined using the exact values of the kinetic energy of He and Xe atoms. A set of 12 closed‐shell atoms was used to test the accuracy of the proposed functional and more than 30 others taken from the literature. It is shown that the conjointness conjecture leads to a very good class of kinetic‐energy functionals. Moreover, the functional developed in this work is shown to be one of the most accurate despite its simple analytical form. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Detection of proline,arginine, and lysine using iodine‐azide reaction in TLC and HPTLC

The application of a modified iodine‐azide procedure for the detection of proline, arginine, and lysine is described. Phenyl isothiocyanate was used to transform amino acids into phenyl thiocarbamyl derivatives (derivatization in situ). The developed plates were sprayed with a mixture of sodium azide and starch solution, adjusted to pH 5.5, and exposed to iodine vapour. Due to the catalytic effect of the C? S bond, the spots appeared white on a violet‐grey background and were stable for 20 minutes. The detection limits were found to lie in the pmole range. The iodine‐azide test is compared with other procedures (iodine, UV, ninhydrin).     

Solubility Measurements of Surfactants and Dissolution of Cytochrome c in 1,1,1,2‐Tetrafluoroethane Modified with Organic Solvents

The solubilities of four surfactants, sodium bis‐2‐ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate (AOT), cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide, and n‐dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride in liquid refrigerant 1,1,1,2‐tetrafluoroethane (R134a) modified with methanol, ethanol, and 2‐propanol were measured. The measurements were performed under 25 and 50 bar at 25 °C. The solubility of AOT was as high as 92 mM in R134a with addition of 2% ethanol. Cytochrome c molecules were then verified to be soluble in the AOT‐containing and ethanol‐modified R134a solution. Accordingly, liquid R134a is suggested as a potential extraction solvent for hydrophilic compounds.     

Tuning of the alpha-terthiophene radical cation coupling reaction using mixed micelles with varying charge density.

The photophysics and photochemistry of alpha-terthiophene (alphaT), compartmentalized in mixed nonionic/anionic micelles, have been investigated with focus on the influence of the micellar surface charge density on the formation of the radical coupling product alpha-hexathiophene (alphaH). By varying the ratio of nonionic-to-anionic surfactants, and assuming ideal mixing, the charge density of the mixed micelles was varied. From Poisson-Boltzmann calculations, performed using the cell model, the electrostatic potential and the counterion activity were estimated as a function of the distance from the micellar surface. Upon excitation, the triplet state of alphaT is formed, from which the alphaT radical cation can be formed by absorption of a second photon. The radical cation can form alphaH if it encounters another alphaT radical cation. Under the experimental conditions used, this implies that the alphaH formation only occurs if the compartmentalized radical cation is able to migrate from its host micelle to another micelle, either via the surrounding bulk or by fusion of two micelles followed by mixing of their contents before micellar fission. The formation yield of the radical cation depends on the charge density of the mixed micelle; a lower charge density, that is, an increased amount of nonionic surfactant, lowers the yield. The yield of the coupling product alphaH, however, does not follow the same trend. A maximum yield of alphaH is found at intermediate nonionic surfactant molar ratios. This behavior is understood in terms of the Poisson-Boltzmann simulation results and by comparing charge-density changes as a function of molar fraction with the changes in counterion activity. The alphaH yield is a result of the balance between an increased possibility of radical cation bulk migration and a lowered electrostatic stabilization of the radical.     

Voltammetric Determination of Antibacterial Nitro‐Compounds at Activated Carbon Fibre Microelectrodes

The electrochemical behavior of the nitrofuran antibiotics nitrofurantoin (NFA) and nitrofurazone (NFZ), as well as the related nitroimidazole drug, metronidazole (MNZ) at electrochemically activated carbon fibre microelectrodes (CFMEs) is reported. These nitrofurans have been widely used in the form of feed additives for the treatment of gastrointestinal infections in cattle, pigs and poultry. Electrochemical activation of CFMEs by repetitive square‐wave (SW) voltammetric scans between 0.0 and +2.6 V, produced an unexpected high cathodic response from these compounds. This is attributed to the increase of the carbon fibre surface area due to its fracture and the appearance of deep fissures along the main fibre axis. Penetration of the nitroderivative compounds into the micro‐channels of the activated fibres was profited to develop a sensitive and selective method for NFA based on stripping SW voltammetry. The metabolite of NFA, 1‐aminohydantoin (AHD), did not exhibit cathodic response in the potential range between ?0.9 and +0.1 V. However, AHD gave a SW oxidation signal at activated CFMEs, with a potential of +0.95 V, which did not appear at non‐activated microelectrodes. Based on this finding, the simultaneous determination of NFA and AHD was performed by amperometry using two activated CFMEs in a parallel configuration connected to a multichannel detector. This methodology was also used to carry out degradation studies of NFA in acidic and basic media under photodegradation or thermal degradation conditions.     

Electrochemical Determination of Ascorbic Acid in Room Temperature Ionic Liquid BPPF6 Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

A room temperature ionic liquid N‐butylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (BPPF₆) was used as a binder to make an ionic liquid modified carbon paste electrode (IL‐CPE), which showed good characteristics such as simple preparation procedure, fast electrochemical response and good conductivity. The electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) on the new IL‐CPE was carefully studied. The oxidation peak potential of AA on the IL‐CPE appeared at 109 mV (vs. SCE), which was about 338 mV decrease of the overpotential compared to that obtained on the traditional carbon paste electrode (CPE) and the oxidation peak current was increased for about four times. The electrochemical parameters of AA on the IL‐CPE were calculated with the charge transfer coefficient (α) and the electrode reaction rate constant (k_s) as 0.87 and 0.800 s^?1, respectively. Based on the relationship of the oxidation peak current and the concentration of AA a sensitive analytical method was established with cyclic voltammetry. The linear range for AA determination was in the range from 1.0×10^?5 to 3.0×10^?3 mol/L with the linear regression equation as I_p (μA)=?2.52–0.064C (μmol/L) (n=13, γ=0.9942) and the detection limit was calculated as 8.0×10^?6 mol/L (3σ). The proposed method was free of the interferences of coexisting substances such as dopamine (DA) and amino acids etc., and successfully applied to the vitamin C tablets determination.     

Stereochemical analysis of N-cyclohexylidene-N-(1-phenylethyl)amine derivatives

The configurational properties of a series of cyclohexylidene imines are discussed on the basis of their 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectral data.     

A two-stage approach to automatic determination of 1H NMR coupling constants

(1)H NMR scalar coupling constants are a rich source of information on molecular structure, but their extraction from spectra can be less than straightforward. Previous approaches to J extraction include methods proposed by Hoye, Golotvin, and the 'modified J-doubling' method. Here we describe the ACCA method, currently implemented in the NMR package MestReC, which allows a high degree of automation in the extraction of coupling patterns even in the case of complex multiplets with sublinewidth splitting. The new approach is illustrated by application to strychnine, for which it has detected previously unreported couplings.     

Effect of the coordination sphere of d<Superscript>0</Superscript> metallocene on triplet-triplet energy transfer

The triplet nature of rare long-lived states of d⁰ metallocenes formed upon ligand-to-metal energy transfer was confirmed by studies of triplet-triplet charge transfer in biscyclopentadienyl complexes Cp₂MCl₂ (M = Zr (1), Hf (2)). The interaction between precatalysts and substrates of catalytic polymerization systems, viz., complexes 1 and 2 and unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkenes and dienes), was studied in the region of concentrations close to catalytic values. For organometallic π-complexes, it has been shown for the first time that, in the case of the unsaturated hydrocarbons, the efficiency of energy transfer obeys the Perrin equation. The process occurs at distances R ₀ close to the diameter of the interacting molecules and is well described by the exchange-resonant mechanism of interaction. In the case of the cyclopentadiene-Cp₂MCl₂ (M = Zr, Hf) systems, R ₀ = 14.6 Å. A linear relationship between the critical radius of the quenching sphere R ₀ and the number of carbon atoms in a linear α-olefin has been revealed for the first time and evidences the formation of a π-complex between the precatalyst and substrate molecules. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 35–39, January, 2007.