Solvation of H3O+ by phenol: hydrogen bonding vs pi complexation

Ab initio calculations at the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theoretic level have been carried out to study the solvation of protonated water by phenol molecules. The results show that in addition to classical O-H...O hydrogen bonds, C-H...O, pi...H-O, and pi...H-C bonds are also formed, thus stabilizing the H3O+(C(6)H(5)OH)3 complex.     

Reactions of 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) dianion, ABTS2-, with *OH, (SCN)2*-, and glycine or valine peroxyl radicals

ABTS2-, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) dianion, was used as a reference to compare the reactivity of peroxyl radicals of two amino acids, glycine and valine, in aqueous solutions at natural pH. Peroxyl radicals were produced by pulse radiolysis and the product of their reaction with ABTS2- the ABTS*- radical was observed spectrophotometrically. Experimental kinetic traces were fitted using chemical simulation. The rate constants of reactions of glycine and valine peroxyl radicals with ABTS2- were (6.0+/-0.2)x10(6) and (1.3+/-0.1)x10(5) M-1.s-1, respectively. Moreover, it was found that only 60% of glycine radicals formed upon its reaction with *OH radicals reacted with molecular oxygen to yield peroxyl radicals. Comparison of experimental data with simulations of chemical reactions in irradiated ABTS and ABTS/NaSCN solutions showed that ABTS*- forms in the reaction with *OH with a yield of 43% and rate constant of (5.4+/-0.2)x10(9) M-1.s-1 and in the reaction with (SCN)2*- with a yield of 57% and rate constant of (8.0+/-0.2)x10(8) M-1.s-1.     

Electronic structure and bonding of {Fe(PhNO2)}6 complexes: a density functional theory study

Reduction of nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) proceeds through intermediates with a partial electron transfer into the nitro group from a reducing agent. To estimate the extent of such a transfer and, therefore, the activity of various model ferrous-containing reductants toward NAC degradation, the unrestricted density functional theory (DFT) in the basis of paired L?wdin-Amos-Hall orbitals has been applied to complexes of nitrobenzene (NB) and model Fe(II) hydroxides including cationic [FeOH]+, then neutral Fe(OH)2, and finally anionic [Fe(OH)3]-. Electron transfer is considered to be a process of unpairing electrons (without the change of total spin projection Sz) that reveals itself in a substantial spin contamination of the unrestricted solution. The unrestricted orbitals are transformed into localized paired orbitals to determine the orbital channels for a particular electron-transfer state and the weights of idealized charge-transfer and covalent electron structures. This approach allows insight into the electronic structure and bonding of the {Fe(PhNO2)}6 unit (according to Enemark and Feltham notation) to be gained using model nitrobenzene complexes. The electronic structure of this unit can be expressed in terms of pi-type covalent bonding [Fe+2(d6, S = 2) - PhNO2(S = 0)] or charge-transfer configuration [Fe+3(d5, S = 5/2) - {PhNO2}- ((pi*)1, S = 1/2)].     

Systematic effect of benzo-annelation on oxo-hydroxy tautomerism of heterocyclic compounds. Experimental matrix-isolation and theoretical study

Oxo-hydroxy tautomerism and phototautomerism of 2-quinolinone, 1-isoquinolinone, 3-hydroxyisoquinoline, 2-quinoxalinone, and 4-quinazolinone were studied using the matrix-isolation technique. These compounds contain a benzene ring fused with a heterocyclic ring of 2-pyridinone, 2-pyrazinone, or 4-pyrimidinone. It turned out that direct attachment of a benzene ring to a heterocycle leads to a very pronounced increase of the relative stability of oxo tautomers (in comparison with the tautomerism of the parent compounds 2-pyridinone, 2-pyrazinone, and 4-pyrimidinone). The only exception concerns 3-hydroxyisoquinoline, where fusion with a benzene ring enforces rearrangement of the double- and single-bond system in the oxo tautomer. This destabilizes substantially the oxo form with respect to the hydroxy tautomer. The ratios of population of the oxo and hydroxy tautomers observed in Ar matrixes correspond to the tautomeric equilibria of the compounds in the gas phase. These equilibria were well reproduced by theoretical calculations carried out at the QCISD and QCISD(T) levels. The combined experimental and theoretical results reveal links between aromaticity and tautomerism. Moreover, a UV-induced phototautomeric reaction transforming the oxo forms into the hydroxy tautomers was observed for all (except 3-hydroxyisoquinoline) studied compounds. This photoeffect allowed separation of the IR spectra of the tautomers in question.     

1H, 13C and 15N NMR coordination shifts in gold(III), cobalt(III), rhodium(III) chloride complexes with pyridine, 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline

Au(III), Co(III) and Rh(III) chloride complexes with pyridine (py), 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) of the general formulae [M1LCl3], trans-[M2L4Cl2]+, mer-[M2L3Cl3], [M1(LL)Cl2]+, cis-[M2(LL)2Cl2]+, where M1=Au; M2=Co, Rh; L=py; LL=bpy, phen, were studied by 1H--13C HMBC and 1H--15N HMQC/HSQC. The 1H, 13C and 15N coordination shifts (the latter from ca-78 to ca-107 ppm) are discussed in relation to the type of metal, electron configuration, coordination sphere geometry and the type of ligand. The 13C and 15N chemical shifts were also calculated by quantum-chemical NMR methods, which reproduced well the experimental tendencies concerning the coordination sphere geometry and the ligand type.     

Experimental and quantum-chemical studies of 1H, 13C and 15N NMR coordination shifts in Pd(II) and Pt(II) chloride complexes with methyl and phenyl derivatives of 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline

1H, 13C and 15N NMR studies of platinide(II) (M=Pd, Pt) chloride complexes with methyl and phenyl derivatives of 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline [LL=4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dmbpy); 4,4'-diphenyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dpbpy); 4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dmphen); 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dpphen)] having a general [M(LL)Cl2] formula were performed and the respective chemical shifts (delta1H, delta13C, delta15N) reported. 1H high-frequency coordination shifts (Delta1Hcoord=delta1Hcomplex-delta1Hligand) were discussed in relation to the changes of diamagnetic contribution in the relevant 1H shielding constants. The comparison to literature data for similar [M(LL)(XX)], [M(LL)X2] and [M(LL)XY] coordination or organometallic compounds containing various auxiliary ligands revealed a large dependence of delta1H parameters on inductive and anisotropic effects. 15N low-frequency coordination shifts (Delta15Ncoord=delta 15Ncomplex-delta15Nligand) of ca 88-96 ppm for M=Pd and ca 103-111 ppm for M=Pt were attributed to both the decrease of the absolute value of paramagnetic contribution and the increase of the diamagnetic term in the expression for 15N shielding constants. The absolute magnitude of Delta15Ncoord parameter increased by ca 15 ppm upon Pd(II)-->Pt(II) transition and by ca 6-7 ppm following dmbpy-->dmphen or dpbpy-->dpphen ligand replacement; variations between analogous complexes containing methyl and phenyl ligands (dmbpy vs dpbpy; dmphen vs dpphen) did not exceed+/-1.5 ppm. Experimental 1H, 13C, 15N NMR chemical shifts were compared to those quantum-chemically calculated by B3LYP/LanL2DZ+6-31G**//B3LYP/LanL2DZ+6-31G*, both in vacuo and in DMSO or DMF solution.     

Dialkylaminopyridine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanosphere as an efficient and highly stable heterogeneous nucleophilic catalyst

A new nucleophilic catalytic system comprised of dialkylaminopyridine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanosphere (DMAP-MSN) has been synthesized and characterized. We have demonstrated that this material is an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for Baylis-Hillman, acylation, and silylation reactions with good reactivity, product selectivity, and recyclability. We envision that this DMAP-functionalized mesoporous silica material can also serve as an effective heterogeneous catalyst for many other catalytic nucleophilic reactions.     

Remarkable influence of surface composition and structure of oxidized iron layer on orange I decomposition mechanisms

Although the decomposition of water pollutants in the presence of metallic iron is known, the reaction pathways and mechanisms of the decomposition of azo-dyes have been meagerly investigated. The interface phenomena taking place during orange I decomposition have been investigated with the use of infrared external reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The studies presented in this paper establish that there are close relationships between the composition and structure of the iron surface oxidized layers and the kinetics and reaction pathway of orange decomposition. The influence of the molecular structure of azo-dye on the produced intermediates was also studied. There are remarkable differences in orange I decomposition between pH 3 and pH 5 at 30 degrees C. Decomposition at pH 3 is very fast with pseudo-first-order kinetics, whereas at pH 5 the reaction is slower with pseudo-zero-order kinetics. At pH 3, only one amine, namely 1-amino-4-naphthol, was identified as an intermediate that undergoes future decomposition. Sulfanilic acid, the second harmful reduction product, was not found in our studies. At pH 3, the iron surface is covered only by a very thin layer of polymeric Fe(OH)(2) mixed with FeO that ensures orange reduction by a combination of an electron transfer reaction and a catalytic hydrogenation reaction. At pH 5, the iron surface is covered up to a few micrometers thick, with a very spongy and porous layer of lepidocrocite enriched in Fe(2+) ions, which slows the electron transfer process. The fastest decomposition reaction was found at a potential near -300 mV (standard hydrogen electrode). An addition of Fe(2+) ions to solution, iron preoxidation in water, or an increase of temperature all result in an increasing decomposition rate. There is no single surface product that would inhibit the decomposition of orange. This information is crucial to perform efficient, clean and low cost waste water treatment. The findings presented here make the treatment of wastewater in the presence of metallic iron a very promising solution.     

B12H11-containing guanidinium derivatives by reaction of carbodiimides with H3N-B12H11(1−). A new method for connecting boron clusters to organic compounds

The reaction of B₁₂H₁₁NH₃(1−) with carbodiimides can form guanidinium salts containing the boron cluster. Depending on the side chains of the carbodiimide, these derivatives of the B₁₂H₁₂(2−) cluster can be uncharged or can carry an overall positive or negative charge. This reaction allows the preparation of derivatives with aliphatic side chains, in contrast to the acylation reaction of and the formation of Schiff bases, both of which are successful only with aromatic acid chlorides or aromatic, respectively, α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The acylation of with benzoyl chloride gives an N-protonated form of an imidoacid, carrying a single overall charge.