Pyrylium Mediated Transformations of Primary Amino Groups into Other Functional Groups. New Synthetic Methods (41)

The first pyrylium salt was isolated some 80 years ago, yet up to the 1950s only moderate interest was taken in the preparation, properties and uses of such salts. However, the past thirty years has seen a phenomenal growth in the literature pertinent to this area of chemistry: the importance of pyrylium salts as intermediates has been realized. They are readily prepared by a variety of generally applicable routes, and they are highly reactive towards nucleophiles. Together, this enables the convenient synthesis of a great variety of acyclic and heterocyclic compounds. We have used highly substituted pyrylium salts for the two-step conversion of the amino group in alkylamines RNH₂ into numerous other functionalities. In the first step, the pyrylium salts are converted with the amines into N-substituted pyridinium salts, which, in the second step, react with Nu^? to give the desired products RNu. In some cases the R moiety is also changed, e.g. by elimination. Studies of the reactions of these pyridinium salts have allowed interesting insights into the mechanisms of nucleophilic substitution, in addition to rendering aliphatic amines important synthetic intermediates. Thus, the method complements the diazotization procedure for the transformation of arylamines.     

Preconcentration and Separation Procedures for the Spectrochemical Determination of Platinum and Palladium

Low concentrations of Pt and Pd in industrial (µgg^–1 level) and environmental samples (ngg^–1 level) together with the complexity of the matrix causing many interferences during the determination of noble metals often require elaboration and application of pre-concentration/matrix separation procedures before detection of the analyte. Different pre-concentration/matrix separation procedures applied prior to the determination of Pt and Pd by atomic spectrometric techniques are reviewed and critically compared taking into account potential interferences. The methods studied are divided into 5 groups including precipitation and coprecipitation, liquid–liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, electrochemical pre-concentration and biosorption. The main analytical problems occuring during sample preparation and storage are discussed.     

Investigation of parameters affecting the on-line combination of supercritical fluid extraction with capillary gas chromatography

Two different injectors, a split/splitless injector and a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) injector were investigated as the interface in on-line supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)-capillary gas chromatography (cGC). The parameters affecting the chromatographic peak shapes as well as the quantitative performance of the interfaces in on-line SFE-cGC were identified and studied. Particular attention was paid to the case where modified extraction fluids were used. Experiments were performed on two different samples. The first sample consisted of PAHs spiked on sand at different concentration levels. The other sample was a polymeric material.     

Direct Identification of the Carbon Skeleton of Organic Compounds using Double Quantum Coherence 13C-NMR Spectroscopy. The INADEQUATE Pulse Sequence

NMR spectroscopy plays an important part in the determination of the structures of organic compounds. The parameters of importance here are the chemical shifts of the ¹H and ¹³C nuclei and the spin-spin interactions both between ¹H nuclei and between ¹H and ¹³C nuclei. Couplings between ¹³C nuclei were almost completely neglected until a few years ago, since they were extremely difficult to observe because of the low natural abundance of ¹³C. However, it is these couplings which afford information directly on the carbon-carbon connectivities in the molecule. It is now possible to use a special NMR pulse sequence to make these couplings more readily visible: the result of using this sequence is a ¹³C-NMR spectrum from which the carbon skeleton concerned can be directly read off. Two-dimensional spectra in particular are very easy to evaluate. The pulse sequence involved, which bears the somewhat puzzling name INADEQUATE, produces double-quantum coherences from which the NMR signals of the coupled carbon nuclei can be obtained. In this article the principle of double-quantum coherence is described and a number of examples for the application of the INADEQUATE pulse sequences to problems in synthetic organic chemistry, biosynthesis and natural products chemistry are presented; in addition, the possibility of applying the INADEQUATE method to other nuclei is considered.     

In the golden age of organocatalysis

The term "organocatalysis" describes the acceleration of chemical reactions through the addition of a substoichiometric quantity of an organic compound. The interest in this field has increased spectacularly in the last few years as result of both the novelty of the concept and, more importantly, the fact that the efficiency and selectivity of many organocatalytic reactions meet the standards of established organic reactions. Organocatalytic reactions are becoming powerful tools in the construction of complex molecular skeletons. The diverse examples show that in recent years organocatalysis has developed within organic chemistry into its own subdiscipline, whose "Golden Age" has already dawned.     

Improving MCM‐41 as a Nitrosamines Trap through a One‐Pot Synthesis

Copper oxide was incorporated into MCM‐41 by a one‐pot synthesis under acidic conditions to prepare a new mesoporous nitrosamines trap for protection of the environment. The resulting composites were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption, and H₂ temperature‐programmed reduction techniques, and their adsorption capabilities were assessed in the gaseous adsorption of N‐nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR). The adsorption isotherms were consistent with the Freundlich equation. The copper salt was deposited onto MCM‐41 during the evaporation stage and was fixed on the host in the calcination process that followed. MCM‐41 was able to capture NPYR in air below 373 K but not at 453 K. Loading of copper oxide on MCM‐41 greatly improved its adsorption capability at elevated temperatures. The influence of the incorporation of copper into MCM‐41 samples and the adsorption behavior of these samples are discussed in detail.     

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions (AMCRs): the new frontier

Asymmetric multicomponent reactions involve the preparation of chiral compounds by the reaction of three or more reagents added simultaneously. This kind of addition and reaction has some advantages over classic divergent reaction strategies, such as lower costs, time, and energy, as well as environmentally friendlier aspects. All these advantages, together with the high level of stereoselectivity attained in some of these reactions, will force chemists in industry as in academia to adopt this new strategy of synthesis, or at least to consider it as a viable option. The positive aspects as well as the drawbacks of this strategy are discussed in this Review.     

Quasi‐random integration in quantum chemistry: Efficiency,stability, and application to the study of small atoms and molecules constrained in spherical boxes

This project consists of two parts. In the first part, a series of test calculations is performed to verify that the integrals involved in the determination of atomic and molecular properties by standard self‐consistent field (SCF) methods can be obtained through Halton, Korobov, or Hammersley quasi‐random integration procedures. Through these calculations, we confirm that all three methods lead to results that meet the levels of precision required for their use in the calculation of properties of small atoms or molecules at least at a Hartree–Fock level. Moreover, we have ensured that the efficiency of quasi‐random integration methods that we have tested is Halton=Korobov>Hammersley?pseudo‐random. We also find that these results are comparable to those yielded by ordinary Monte Carlo (pseudo‐random) integration, with a calculation effort of two orders of smaller magnitude. The second part, which would not have been possible without the integration method previously analyzed, contains a first study of atoms constrained in spherical boxes through SCF calculations with basis functions adapted to the features of the problem: Slater‐type orbitals (STOs) trimmed by multiplying them by a function that yields 1 for 0 < r < (R‐δ), polynomial values for (R‐δ) < r < R and null for r > R, R being the radius of the box and δ a variationally determined interval. As a result, we obtain a equation of state for electrons of small systems, valid just in the limit of low temperatures, but fairly simple. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Differential pulse voltammetric determination of trace Te(IV) at a poly(3,3′-diaminobenzidine) film modified gold electrode in flow systems

Electropolymerization of 3,3′-diaminobenzidine on a gold surface gave an adherent, stable film of poly(3,3′-diaminobenzidine) (PDAB). This polymer film retained the complexational functionalities of its monomer, demonstrating preconcentration abilities for several ions, including Se(IV) and Te(IV). In particular, in this work, continuous flow and flow injection methods were developed for the sensitive and selective determination of Te(IV). The optimized method for the continuous flow mode had a detection limit of 5.6×10⁻⁹ mol l⁻¹ for 10 min preconcentration. Typical relative standard deviations for six consecutive determinations were 1.82 and 2.56% for Te(IV) concentrations of 1.0×10⁻⁶ and 5.0×10⁻⁸ mol l⁻¹, respectively (10 min preconcentration). The method was applied to the determination of Te(IV) in real samples.     

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.