Fusing triazoles: toward extending aromaticity

A novel method to extend aromaticity by one benzene and two triazole rings was developed and optimized. This two-step route employs the copper-catalyzed azide-haloalkyne cycloaddition reaction of an ortho-bis(iodoacetylene) system and the subsequent intramolecular homocoupling fusion of the neighboring iodotriazoles, a process in which an additional benzene ring is formed. This versatile methodology allows one to extend the core size of chromophores and, consequently, to tune the material's properties.     

A dissected ring current model for assessing magnetic aromaticity: a general approach for both organic and inorganic rings

A model based on classical electrodynamics is used to measure the strength of ring currents of different molecular orbitals, i.e., σ- and π-orbitals, and characteristics of ring current loops, i.e., ring current radii and height of current loops above/below the ring planes, among a number of organic as well as inorganic molecules. For the π-current, the present model represents an improvement of previous approaches to determine ring current intensity. It is proven that the present model is more precise than previous models as they could not explain presence of the minimum in the plot of NICS(πzz) versus distance close to the ring plane. Variations in the charge of molecules and the types of constituent atoms of each species affect the ring current radii of both σ- and π-current loops as well as the height of π-current loops above/below the ring plane. It is suggested that variation in the distribution of the one-electron density in different systems is the main source of differences of the ring current characteristics.     

Resonance and aromaticity: an ab initio valence bond approach

Resonance energy is one of the criteria to measure aromaticity. The effect of the use of different orbital models is investigated in the calculated resonance energies of cyclic conjugated hydrocarbons within the framework of the ab initio Valence Bond Self-Consistent Field (VBSCF) method. The VB wave function for each system was constructed using a linear combination of the VB structures (spin functions), which closely resemble the Kekulé valence structures, and two types of orbitals, that is, strictly atomic (local) and delocalized atomic (delocal) p-orbitals, were used to describe the π-system. It is found that the Pauling-Wheland's resonance energy with nonorthogonal structures decreases, while the same with orthogonalized structures and the total mean resonance energy (the sum of the weighted off-diagonal contributions in the Hamiltonian matrix of orthogonalized structures) increase when delocal orbitals are used as compared to local p-orbitals. Analysis of the interactions between the different structures of a system shows that the resonance in the 6π electrons conjugated circuits have the largest contributions to the resonance energy. The VBSCF calculations also show that the extra stability of phenanthrene, a kinked benzenoid, as compared to its linear counterpart, anthracene, is a consequence of the resonance in the π-system rather than the H-H interaction in the bay region as suggested previously. Finally, the empirical parameters for the resonance interactions between different 4n+2 or 4n π electrons conjugated circuits, used in Randi?'s conjugated circuits theory or Herdon's semi-emprical VB approach, are quantified. These parameters have to be scaled by the structure coefficients (weights) of the contributing structures.     

Glycomimetics: a programmed approach toward neoglycopeptide libraries

A programmed synthesis of neoglycopeptides has been developed in which two, similar or different, glycoside moieties could be attached either (i) at the N-terminal of short peptides or (ii) one at the N-internal and the other(s) at the N-terminal site, in a highly flexible and controlled manner. A stepwise branching of N-terminal peptides has been achieved by glycoside aldehyde reductive amination followed by the glycoside carboxylic acid coupling (model 1). In another approach, after N-alkylation with glycoside aldehyde, the N-glycosylated derivative is subjected to peptide synthesis. This is then followed by the attachment of the second glycoside moiety at the N-terminal using either glycoside aldehyde or glycoside carboxylic acid derivative (model 2). Alternatively, the attachment of second and third glycoside derivatives could be achieved simultaneously, by reductive amination/carboxylic acid couplings (model 3). The methodologies presented here are highly versatile and combine diversity in both peptides/pseudopeptides and glycoside moieties.     

Circuit resonance energy: a key quantity that links energetic and magnetic criteria of aromaticity

Energetic and magnetic criteria of aromaticity are different in nature and sometimes make different predictions as to the aromaticity of a polycyclic pi-system. Thus, some charged polycyclic pi-systems are aromatic but paratropic. We derived the individual circuit contributions to aromaticity from the magnetic response of a polycyclic pi-system and named them circuit resonance energies (CREs). Each CRE has the same sign and essentially the same magnitude as the corresponding cyclic conjugation energy (CCE) defined by Bosanac and Gutman. Such CREs were found to play a crucial role in associating the energetic criteria for determining the degree of aromaticity with the magnetic ones. We can now interpret both energetic and magnetic criteria of aromaticity consistently in terms of CREs. Ring-current diamagnetism proved to be the tendency of a cyclic pi-system to retain aromatic stabilization energy (ASE) at the level of individual circuits.     

Local aromaticity in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: electron delocalization versus magnetic indices

The local aromaticity of benzenoid rings is examined by means of the Polansky index (P) and generalized population analysis (GPA). The results are found to agree very well with recently published circuit-condensed ring currents and magnetic-energetic aromaticity indices, but no correlation is found with nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS). This is usually seen as a manifestation of the more general multidimensional nature of aromaticity. This paper examines the sources for the observed correlations, showing that some indices give conflicting results because they inherently reflect different phenomena.     

Correlation between the out-of-plane components of magnetizability and central magnetic shielding in unsaturated cyclic molecules

A simple classical model of magnetic-field induced π-electron flow is discussed, showing that the contribution to the σ(∥) out-of-plane component of the virtual magnetic shielding provided by π-ring currents, at points P along the C(n) axis of cyclic planar unsaturated hydrocarbons C(n)H(n) with D(nh) symmetry, in the presence of a magnetic field B(ext) at right angles to the σ(h) plane, is, with good approximation, connected with the π-electron contribution to the out-of-plane component of the magnetizability, ξ(∥). The relationship is σ(∥)(h) = -(μ(0)/2π)(s(2) + h(2))(-3/2)ξ(∥), where s is the distance of a C nucleus from the center of the carbon ring, and h is the distance of P from σ(h). The ring current susceptibility, that is, the strength of the π currents, expressed in nA/T (nano ampe?re per tesla) within the SI system of units, is given by ?I/?B(ext) = -ξ(∥)/(πs(2)), which can be used as a reliable virtual measure of magnetotropicity and relative π-electron mobility in isoelectronic systems. Criteria for the practicality of the proposed ring current model are discussed.     

Supramolecular coordination chemistry of aromatic polyoxalamide ligands: A metallosupramolecular approach toward functional magnetic materials

The impressive potential of the metallosupramolecular approach in designing new functional magnetic materials constitutes a great scientific challenge for the chemical research community that requires an interdisciplinary collaboration. New fundamental concepts and future applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology will emerge from the study of magnetism as a supramolecular function in metallosupramolecular chemistry. Our recent work on the rich supramolecular coordination chemistry of a novel family of aromatic polyoxalamide (APOXA) ligands with first-row transition metal ions has allowed us to move one step further in the rational design of metallosupramolecular assemblies of increasing structural and magnetic complexity. Thus, we have taken advantage of the new developments of metallosupramolecular chemistry and, in particular, the molecular-programmed self-assembly methods that exploit the coordination preferences of paramagnetic metal ions and suitable designed polytopic ligands. The resulting self-assembled di- and trinuclear metallacyclic complexes with APOXA ligands, either metallacyclophanes or metallacryptands, are indeed ideal model systems for the study of the electron exchange mechanism between paramagnetic metal centers through extended π-conjugated aromatic bridges. So, the influence of different factors such as the topology and conformation of the bridging ligand or the electronic configuration and magnetic anisotropy of the metal ion have been investigated in a systematic way. These oligonuclear metallacyclic complexes can be important in the development of a new class of molecular magnetic devices, such as molecular magnetic wires (MMWs) and switches (MMSs), which are major goals in the field of molecular electronics and spintronics. On the other hand, because of their metal binding capacity through the outer carbonyl-oxygen atoms of the oxamato groups, they can further be used as ligands, referred to as metal–organic ligands (MOLs), toward either coordinatively unsaturated metal complexes or fully solvated metal ions. This well-known “complex-as-ligand” approach affords a wide variety of high-nuclearity metal–organic clusters (MOCs) and high-dimensionality metal–organic polymers (MOPs). The judicious choice of the oligonuclear MOL, ranging from mono- to di- and trinuclear species, has allowed us to control the overall structure and magnetic properties of the final oxamato-bridged multidimensional (nD, n = 0–3) MOCs and MOPs. The intercrossing between short- (nanoscopic) and long-range (macroscopic) magnetic behavior has been investigated in this unique family of oxamato-bridged metallosupramolecular magnetic materials expanding the examples of low-dimensional, single-molecule (SMMs) and single-chain (SCMs) magnets and high-dimensional, open-framework magnets (OFMs), which are brand-new targets in the field of molecular magnetism and materials science.     

Frontier orbitals aromaticity: A simple approach to the analysis of pericyclic reactions

A new and simple approach to the analysis of pericyclic reactions based on combination of the interaction of HOMO-LUMO molecular orbitals and Huckel-Mobius aromaticity concept in transition state is reported. This approach seems to be more powerful than the Woodward-Hoffmann approach which appears to be limited to reactions with sufficiently high symmetry, and the Huckel-Mobius that use the non-participating lowest basis set (Ψ₁). One important impact of the current approach is its capability in addressing the photochemical concerted reactions.     

Phthalocyanine-pyrene conjugates: a powerful approach toward carbon nanotube solar cells

In the present work, a new family of pyrene (Py)-substituted phthalocyanines (Pcs), i.e., ZnPc-Py and H(2)Pc-Py, were designed, synthesized, and probed in light of their spectroscopic properties as well as their interactions with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The pyrene units provide the means for non-covalent functionalization of SWNTs via π-π interactions. Such a versatile approach ensures that the electronic properties of SWNTs are not impacted by the chemical modification of the carbon skeleton. The characterization of ZnPc-Py/SWNT and H(2)Pc-Py/SWNT has been performed in suspension and in thin films by means of different spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical techniques. Transient absorption experiments reveal photoinduced electron transfer between the photoactive components. ZnPc-Py/SWNT and H(2)Pc-Py/SWNT have been integrated into photoactive electrodes, revealing stable and reproducible photocurrents with monochromatic internal photoconversion efficiency values for H(2)Pc-Py/SWNT as large as 15 and 23% without and with an applied bias of +0.1 V.     

Avoiding pitfalls of a theoretical approach: the harmonic oscillator measure of aromaticity index from quantum chemistry calculations

The concept of the harmonic oscillator measure of aromaticity (HOMA) is based on comparing the geometrical parameters of a studied molecule with the parameters for an ideal aromatic system derived from bond lengths of the reference molecules. Nowadays, HOMA is routinely computed combining the geometries from quantum chemistry calculations with the experimentally based parameterization. Thus, obtained values of HOMA, however, are bound to suffer from inaccuracies of the theoretical methods and strongly depend on computational details. This could be avoided by obtaining both the input geometries and the parameters with the same theoretical method, but efficiency of the error compensation achieved in this way has not yet been probed. In our work, we have prepared a benchmark set of HOMA values for 25 cyclic hydrocarbons, based on the all core CCSD(T)/cc-pCVQ(T)Z geometries, and used it to investigate the impact of different choices of the exchange–correlation functionals and basis sets on HOMA, calculated against the experimentally based (HOMA^EP) or the consistently calculated (HOMA^CCP) parameters. We show that using HOMA^EP leads to large and unsystematic errors, and strong sensitivity to the choice of XC functional, basis set, and the experimental data for the reference geometry. This sensitivity is largely, although not completely attenuated in the consistent approach. We recommend the most suitable functionals for calculating HOMA in both approaches (HOMA^EP and HOMA^CCP), and provide the HOMA parameters for 25 studied exchange–correlation functionals and two popular basis sets.     

Current density maps, magnetizability, and nuclear magnetic shielding tensors of bis-heteropentalenes. II. Furo-furan isomers

Magnetic susceptibility and nuclear magnetic shielding at the nuclei of bis-heteropentalenes formed by two furan units ([2,3-b], [3,2-b], [3,4-b], and [3,4-c] isomers) have been computed by several approximated techniques and a large Gaussian basis set to achieve near Hartree-Fock estimates. Ab initio models of the ring currents induced by a magnetic field normal to the molecular plane were obtained for the three isomeric systems of higher symmetry, showing that the pi electrons give rise to intense diamagnetic circulation. The pi currents are responsible for enhanced magnetic anisotropy and strong out-of-plane proton deshielding. The theoretical findings are used to build up a "diatropicity matrix" for two fused five-membered heterocyclic systems.     

A mathematical modeling approach toward magnetic fluid hyperthermia of cancer and unfolding heating mechanism

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)-induced hyperthermia is capable of heating the tumor without side effects. In this technique, the tumor temperature is...     

Self-assembly approach toward magnetic silica-type nanoparticles of different shapes from reverse block copolymer mesophases

In the present study poly(isoprene-block-ethylene oxide), PI-b-PEO, block copolymers are used to structure iron oxide and silica precursors into reverse mesophases, which upon dissolution of the organic matrix lead to well-defined nanoparticles of spheres, cylinders, and plates based on the original structure of the mesophase prepared. The hybrid mesophases with sphere, cylinder, and lamellar morphologies containing the inorganic components in the minority phases are characterized through a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). After heat treatments the respective nanoparticles on mica surfaces are characterized by scanning force microscopy (SFM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer measurements are performed to demonstrate that the heat treatment leads to the formation of a magnetic gamma-Fe2O3 crystalline phase within the amorphous aluminosilicate. The results pave the way to functional, i.e., magnetic nanoparticles where the size, shape, and iron oxide concentration can be controlled opening a range of possible applications.     

Enantiospecific approach toward pentalenolactone

[reaction: see text] The enantiospecific assembly of the pentalenolactones' carbon skeleton was achieved in 17 steps and 16% overall yield from methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside. The synthetic strategy relies on two highly efficient key steps: an exo-diastereoselective Diels-Alder reaction and a nonsymmetric ozonolysis.     

Synthetic studies toward the bryostatins: a substrate-controlled approach to the A-ring

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of a C1-C13 A-ring subunit of bryostatin 1 is detailed. The key features of the approach include the convergent fragment assembly with a highly stereoselective construction of the C7-C8 bond indicated above.     

Double aromaticity: aromaticity in orthogonal planes. The 3,5-dehydrophenyl cation.

The $\text{D}$_$\text{3h}$ 3,5-dehydrophenyl cation (I), which may represent the structure of C₆H₃ ions observed mass spectroscopically, illustrates $\text{double aromaticity}$: two different aromatic systems in orthogonal planes.     

Single-molecule magnets: a molecular approach to nanoscale magnetic materials

A brief survey is provided of single-molecule magnets (SMMs), or molecular nanomagnets. The [Mn₁₂O₁₂(O₂CR)₁₆(H₂O)₄] (Mn₁₂; R = various) family of SMMs continues to be the one with the highest blocking temperatures, and the one on which the most detailed studies are being performed within the chemistry and physics communities. For this reason, methods have been developed for their controlled modification in various ways, and these are summarized. In addition, new SMMs continue to be sought to improve knowledge of this phenomenon, and several representative examples of new synthetic procedures and the resulting products are described.