Deuterium NMR studies of inositol liquid crystals [1]

Deuterium NMR investigations are presented on members of two new mesogenic series derived from the naturally occurring stereoisomers myo- and scW/o-inositol. Tetraethers of these two series exhibit thermotropic columnar phases in which the columns are apparently formed by stacked hydrogen bonded dimers of these molecules which chemically are vicinal diols. Deuterium NMR measurements were performed on the tetraoctyl homologues 2e (a cis diol) and 3e (a trans diol) of these series. We have investigated mixtures of these diols with small amounts of benzene-d₆ as probe molecules as well as samples of the neat diol compounds deuteriated at their hydroxyl groups. The results obtained show that the mesophases of both compounds are uniaxial and align partially in a magnetic field upon slow cooling from their isotropic liquids. The alignment is with the director parallel to the field direction indicating that the anisotropic magnetic susceptibility of this mesophase is positive. The deuterium quadrupole splitting of the benzene-d₆ probe in both systems is temperature dependent and in the trans diol 3e it even changes sign. This is interpreted in terms of a model in which the benzene-d₆ probe equilibrates rapidly between two (or more) solvation sites with quadrupole splittings of opposite signs The deuterium spectra of the neat deuterium labelled cis diol 2e exhibit two different signals due to the two deuterons which are located at the axial and equatorial hydroxyl groups. This indicates that there is no fast intra- or intermolecular exchange of the hydroxyl hydrogens. The overall quadrupole splittings of the hydroxyl deuterons in this compound are highly reduced compared to their static values and this is interpreted in terms of motional modes involving both reorientation of the hydroxyl deuterons about their C-O axis and overall reorientation of the molecules (or pairs of molecules) around the columnar axes. The corresponding spectra of the neat deuteriated trans diol 3e exhibit a single spectrum indicating that both hydroxyl deuterons in this compound are equivalent, or very nearly so. Within the mesophase region the spectrum undergoes gradual changes due to the increase in the molecular mobility, but the overall motional narrowing is less than in the cis isomer 2e. Apparently due to stronger hydrogen bonding in the trans isomer 3e the precession of the hydroxyl groups is hindered and a fast molecular reorientation is only possible at high temperatures.     

Synthesis and Diels-Alder Reactivity of 5,6,7,8-Tetramethylidene-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octanol and -octanone. Selective Oxidations of the Corresponding Bis(irontricarbonyl) Complexes

Hydroboration of the syn, anti-[Fe(CO)₃]₂ double complex 24 of the readily available 5,6,7,8-tetramethylidene-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octene ( 22 ) gave the corresponding doubly complexed 2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octanol 25. CrO₃-oxidation furnished ketone 27 . The syn-Fe(CO)₃-groups in 25 and 27 were oxidized selectively with trimethyl-amine oxide and yielded the corresponding anti-Fe(CO₃)-monocomplexed tetraenes 26 and 28. The anti-Fe(CO)₃-group in 28 could be removed, and 5,6,7,8-tetramethylidene-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octanone ( 11 ) was obtained. NaBH₄-reduction of 11 afforded tetraenol 10. TCE-cycloadditions to 10 and 11 (k₁) were at least 10 times as fast as those (k₂) to the corresponding monoadducts 35/36 and 34 , respectively. This Diels-Alder reactivity difference vanishes (k₁ ≈ k₂) with methyl propynoate. The latter dienophile added to the anti-Fe(CO)₃-monocomplexed tetraenone 28 with ‘para’-regioselectivity.     

Mesomorphism,isomerization, and dynamics in a new series of pyramidic liquid crystals

Nona-alkanoyloxy tribenzocyclononene (CTV-n, where n is the number of carbons in the side chains) were prepared for n = 2 to 14. The homologues of this series appear in two stable isomeric forms, rigid crown and flexible saddle. We report on their isomerization equilibria and dynamics in solution and on their mesomorphic properties in the neat state. The crown-saddle equilibrium and interconversion kinetics of the CTV-8 isomers were studied in dimethyl formamide solutions using high-resolution (1)H NMR in the temperature range from 50 to 130 degrees C. At lower temperatures, the isomerization is too slow to measure. In this range the equilibrium saddle fraction increases from approximately 0.40 to approximately 0.65, whereas the isomerization rate increases from approximately 10(-)(4) to approximately 1 s(-)(1). The saddle isomer undergoes fast pseudorotation at room temperature, but below about -50 degrees C, it becomes slow enough to affect the NMR line width. The rate parameters for this process were estimated from the carbon-13 spectra in methylene chloride solutions to be, k(p)(-100 degrees C) approximately 1.7 x 10(3) s(-)(1) and E(a) approximately 9.6 kJ/mol. The slow crown-saddle isomerization at room temperature (half-life of about one year) allows quantitative separation (by chromatography) of the two isomers and their separate investigation. When the alkanoyloxy side chains are sufficiently long both isomers are mesogenic (n >or= 4 for the saddle and n >or= 5 for the crown), exhibiting hexagonal columnar mesophases. The structure, dynamics, and mesomorphic properties of these mesophase were investigated by X-ray diffraction, optical polarizing microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and NMR. The lattice parameters of the crown and saddle mesophases of corresponding homologues are almost identical and increase monotonically with increasing length of the side chains. The clearing temperatures of the saddle isomers are consistently lower than those of the corresponding crowns. Within each series, the clearing temperatures are almost independent of the length of the side chains (156 to 170 degrees C for the crown and 115 to 148 degrees C for the saddle). The thermal and kinetic properties of the neat compounds lead to peculiar phase sequences, as observed in the polarizing microscope and in the DSC thermogram, involving repeated, back and forth, interconversion between the two isomers. Carbon-13 MAS NMR measurements of the crown and saddle mesophases of several homologues were carried out. The spectra of the crown mesophase exhibit dynamic features consistent with planar 3-fold molecular jumps about the column axes. A quantitative analysis for the CTV-8 crown homologue yielded the following Arrhenius parameters, A = 3.1 x 10(22)s(-)(1) and E(a) = 130.1kJ/mol. These unusually high values suggest that the barrier to the jump process is temperature dependent, decreasing with increasing temperature. The rate of this 3-fold jump process is slower for the lower homologues and faster for the higher ones. In contrast, the saddle isomers in the mesophase do not show dynamic effects in their carbon-13 MAS spectra. They do not undergo pseudorotation, and it appears that the molecules remain locked within the columns in a saddle conformation, up to the clearing temperature. However, on (super-)cooling to room temperature and below, selective line broadening is observed in their carbon-13 MAS spectra. This suggests that the saddle conformation is twisted in the mesophase and undergoes fast high-amplitude jumps between the twisted forms. On cooling, these high-amplitude librations freeze out to give an orientationally disordered state. On a very long time scale (of the order of days at 100 degrees C), the saddle mesophase transforms into that of the crown, apparently by sublimation.     

Stereoselective Double Functionalization of Iron-Carbonyl Complexes of 5,6,7,8-Tetramethylidenebicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene. Crystal Structure and Absolute Configuration of (–)-trans-μ-[(2S,5R,7S)-C,5,6,C-η:C,7,8,C-η-(6,7,8-trimethylidene-5-((Z)-2-oxopropylidene)-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl acetate)]-bis(tricarbonyliron)

The Friedel-Crafts monoacylation of trans-η-[(1RS,2RS,4SR,5SR,6RS,7SR,8SR)-C,5,6,C-η:C,7,8,C-η-(5,6,7,8-tetramethylidene-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl acetate)]-bis(tricarbonyliron) ((±)- 5 ) is highly stereoselective and yields trans-η-[(1RS,2RS,4RS,5SR,6RS,7RS,8SR)-C,6-η,oxo-σ:C,7,8,C-η-(6,7,8-trimethylidene-5-((Z)-2-oxopropylidene)-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl acetate)]-bis(tricarbonyliron) ((±)- 8 ) which equilibrates with the trans-η-[(1RS,2RS,4RS,5SR,6RS,7RS,8SR)-C,5,6,C-η:C,7,8,C-η-(6,7,8-trimethylidene-5-((Z)-2-oxopropylidene)-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl acetate)]-bis(tricarbonyliron) ((±)- 9 ) on heating. Optically pure (–)- 9 has been prepared from the corresponding optically pure alcohol (+)- 4 . The structure and absolute configuration of (–)- 9 was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Time-Reverse ODESSA. A 1D Exchange Experiment for Rotating Solids with Several Groups of Equivalent Nuclei

A one-dimensional exchange experiment is proposed for magic-angle-spinning samples with several groups of equivalent nuclei undergoing internal exchange, such as pure reorientation, as opposed to mutual exchange. The method, which we term time-reverse ODESSA, is an extension of the recently proposed 1D ODESSA experiment for a single group of exchanging nuclei. When several different groups of spins are present, as is usually the case for carbon-13 in polymers and molecular crystals, the normal ODESSA spectrum yields phase-twisted spectra which are difficult to analyze quantitatively. This problem is solved in the time-reverse ODESSA experiment which yields pure absorption spectra for all families of side bands, as long as only internal exchange need be considered. The experiment consists of the usual three pulse sequence of 2D exchange,P1—t₁—P2—τ_m—P3—t₂(acquisition), except that the evolution time is fixed at half a rotation period,t₁= T_R/2, the mixing time is set to an odd number of half rotation periods, τ_m= (2G− 1)T_R/2, and the acquisition starts att₂= T_R/2 after the detection pulse,P3. The method is demonstrated using the carbon-13 spectra of dimethyl sulfone and an enriched sample of tropolone, and is applied to the study of the π flip of the inner benzene ring of 1,4-diphenoxybenzene. The scope and limitations of the method are discussed.     

Photolysis and E. S. R. Studies on Triphenylphosphinecarbethoxymethylene

Although several different groups have studied the photolysis of phosphorus ylides, none have utilized e. s. r. to support the postulated decomposition mechanisms. The fundamental question which awaits a definitive answer is which bond breaks first upon photolysis. Tschesche¹ and de Silva² utilizing the ylides (1) and (2) suggested that the carbon-phosphorus double bond was initially broken while Nagao³ using (3) proposed phenyl-phosphorus bond cleavage.     

Magnetic resonance lineshape in the presence of slow motion

The effect on the magnetic resonance lineshape of slow molecular motion is considered. The molecules are assumed to undergo diffusive jumps of angle ε described by the distribution function W(ε)=(N/τ) exp (λ cos ε), where τ is the mean lifetime between jumps and λ a parameter describing the width of the distribution. As λ is varied from zero to infinity this distribution describes diffusion models that change continuously from the strong collision limit to Brownian rotational diffusion. Magnetic resonance lineshapes are calculated by Freed's method using the asymptotic expansion technique, and results are presented for an axially symmetric (secular) Zeeman hamiltonian.

An exact expression for the magnetic resonance lineshape is derived in the strong collision limit for any secular hamiltonian and a few examples are presented. It is also shown how this technique can be used as a basis for lineshape calculations in the presence of moderately large jumps.     

Optical microscopy and deuterium N.M.R. of non-ionic amphiphiles which exhibit thermotropic and aqueous lyotropic mesophases

Tetrabenzocyclododecatetraene (I) substituted with eight methoxy-mono-, di-, and triethyleneoxide side chains exhibit the same highly ordered thermotropic mesophase, M. In the methoxydiethyleneoxide (I-2), and methoxytriethyleneoxide (I-3) derivatives this mesophase is also lyotropic and can sustain (at room temperature) up to 40 wt per cent water. The homologue (I-2) exhibits at higher water content another lyomesophase, M_F, which is more fluid and nematic-like. Optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and deuterium N.M.R. of both labelled (I-2) and water as well as of the water ¹⁷O were used to construct the (I-2)-water phase diagram and to characterize the various mesophases. It is found that both M and M_F are uniaxial with negative birefringence and negative anisotropic magnetic susceptibility. The M_F phase readily aligns in a magnetic field and is characterized by fast (∼ 10⁷ s^-1) reorientation of the mesogen molecules about the director. The M phase is apparently columnar, highly ordered and is not readily aligned by a magnetic field. The rate of molecular reorientation in this mesophase is much slower (∼ 10³ s^-1) compared with M_F.     

The mesophases of octa-alkanoyloxy-9,10-anthraquinone

Nine members of the octa-n-alkanoyloxy-9,10-anthraquinone series, ranging from octanoyloxy (n = 8) to hexadecanoyloxy (n = 16) (where n is the number of carbon atoms per chain), were prepared and their mesomorphic properties studied by differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy. All the compounds studied are mesomorphic with the higher homologues exhibiting two (for n ≧ 12) or even three (for n ≧ 14) columnar mesophases. For n = 8 to 11, the phase sequence is C-D_B-I, where D_B is an optically biaxial mesophase with a two-dimensional pgg symmetry. For n = 12, 13, the phase sequence is C-M₃-D_B-I, where M₃ is a highly ordered phase whose structure has not been identified. Finally for n = 14 to 16, the phase sequence is C-M₃-D_B-D_A-I, where D_A is an hexagonal phase. In all cases, the phases change from high to low order with increasing temperature and all transitions are first order. Compared with the corresponding hexa-substituted naphthoquinones the present series generates larger mesomorphic ranges and the higher homologues exhibit a uniaxial phase which is lacking in the hexa-substituted series. The increase in volume occupied by the aliphatic chains in the octa-substituted series is evidently sufficient to reduce the interaction between the aromatic cores of the different columns to permit the stability of a uniaxial phase.