Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (71)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (71)
Year of publication
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (71) (remove)
Language
- English (71) (remove)
Keywords
- Übergangsmetallkomplexe (6)
- Bor (5)
- Borylierung (5)
- DFT (5)
- Übergangsmetall (5)
- Dichtefunktionalformalismus (4)
- Fluoreszenz (4)
- Konjugierte Polymere (4)
- Rhodium (4)
- Triarylborane (4)
Institute
- Institut für Anorganische Chemie (71) (remove)
Sonstige beteiligte Institutionen
- Fraunhofer Insitut für Silicatforschung ISC (1)
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Chemische Technologie (ICT) (1)
- Institut Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia (1)
- Institut für Organische Chemie, RWTH Aachen (1)
- Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan (1)
- Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (1)
π-Conjugated oligomers and polymers with tricoordinate boron centers incorporated into the main chain have attracted considerable attention as the interaction of the vacant p orbital on boron with an adjacent π system of the chain leads to conjugated materials with intriguing optical and electronic properties. This enables applicability in organic electronics and optoelectronics (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics) or as sensory materials.
The potential of our B–C coupling protocol using metal-free catalytic Si/B exchange condensation is demonstrated by the synthesis of a series of π-conjugated monodisperse (het)aryl oligoboranes. Variation of the (het)aryl moieties allowed for tunability of the optoelectronic properties of the materials. Additionally, catalytic C–C cross-coupling strategies were applied to synthesize oligofuryl-based mono- and bisboranes, as well as polymers. These studies led to very robust and highly emissive compounds (f up to 97 %), which allow for tuning of their emission color from blue to orange. Furthermore, this work includes investigations of reaction routes to a kinetically stabilized tetraoxaporphyrinogen.
Being a key aspect of this work, a full investigation of the mechanism of the catalytic Si/B exchange was carried out. Additionally, this work presents the use of borenium cations to perform B–C coupling via intermolecular electrophilic borylation. Similar to the Si/B exchange, this route is capable of giving access to diaryl(bromo)boranes.
Organoboron compounds, such as benzyl-, allyl-, allenyl-, vinyl-, and 2-boryl allyl-boronates, have been synthesized via metal-catalyzed borylations of sp3 C-O and C-H bonds. Thus, Cu-catalyzed borylations of alcohols and their derivatives provide benzyl-, allyl-, allenyl-, vinyl-, and 2-boryl allyl-boronates via nucleophilic substitution. The employment of Ti(OiPr)4 turns the OH moiety into a good leaving group (‘OTi’). The products of Pd-catalyzed oxidative borylations of allylic C-H bonds of alkenes were isolated and purified, and their application in the one-pot synthesis of stereodefined homoallyl alcohols was also investigated. Chapter 2 presents a copper-catalyzed synthesis of benzyl-, allyl-, and allenyl-boronates from benzylic, allylic, and propargylic alcohols, respectively, employing a commercially available catalyst precursor, [Cu(CH3CN)4]2+[BF4-]2, and Xantphos as the ligand. The borylation of benzylic alcohols was carried out at 100 oC with 5-10 mol % [Cu(CH3CN)4]2+[BF4-]2, which afforded benzylic boronates in 32%-95% yields. With 10 mol % [Cu(CH3CN)4]2+[BF4-]2, allylic boronates were provided in 53%-89% yields from the borylation of allylic alcohols at 60 or 100 oC. Secondary allylboronates were prepared in 72%-84% yields from the borylation of primary allylic alcohols, which also suggests that a nucleophilic substitution pathway is involved in this reaction. Allenylboronates were also synthesized in 72%-89% yields from the borylation of propargylic alcohols at 40 or 60 oC. This methodology can be extended to borylation of benzylic and allylic acetates. This protocol exhibits broad reaction scope (40 examples) and high efficiency (up to 95% yield) under mild conditions, including the preparation of secondary allylic boronates. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that nucleophilic substitution is involved in this reaction. Chapter 3 reports an efficient methodology for the synthesis of vinyl-, allyl-, and (E)-2-boryl allylboronates from propargylic alcohols via copper-catalyzed borylation reactions under mild conditions. In the presence of a commercially available catalyst precursor (Cu(OAc)2 or Cu(acac)2) and ligand (Xantphos), the reaction affords the desired products in up to 92% yield with a broad substrate scope (43 examples). Vinylboronates were synthesized in 50%-83% yields via Cu-catalyzed hydroboration of mono-substituted propargylic alcohols. With 1,1-disubstituted propargylic alcohols as the starting materials and Cu(OAc)2 as the catalyst precursor, a variety of allylboronates were synthesized in 44%-83% yields. The (E)-2-boryl allylboronates were synthesized in 54%-92% yields via the Cu-catalyzed diboration of propargylic alcohols. The stereoselectivity is different from the Pd(dba)2-catalyzed diboration of allenes that provided (Z)-2-boryl allylboronates predominantly. The isolation of an allenyl boronate as the reaction intermediate suggests that an SN2’-type reaction, followed by borylcupration, is involved in the mechanism of the diboration of propargylic alcohols. In chapter 4, a Pd-catalyzed allylic C-H borylation of alkenes is reported. The transformation exhibits high regioselectivity with a variety of linear alkenes, employing a Pd-pincer complex as the catalyst precursor, and the allylic boronate products were isolated and purified. This protocol can also be extended to one-pot carbonyl allylation reactions to provide homoallyl alcohols efficiently. An interesting mechanistic feature is that the reaction proceeds via a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalytic cycle. Formation of the Pd(IV) intermediate occurs by a unique combination of an NCNpincer complex and application of F-TEDA-BF4 as the oxidant. An important novelty of the present C-H borylation reaction is that all allyl-Bpin products can be isolated with usually high yields. This is probably a consequence of the application of the NCN-pincer complex as catalyst, which selectively catalyzes C-B bond formation avoiding subsequent C-B bond cleavage based side-reactions
The theoretical work presented in this thesis is concerned with the highest possible oxidation states of the 5d transition metal row. Based on a validation study of several DFT functionals against accurate coupled-cluster CCSD(T) methods we will present calculations on a series of new high oxidation state HgIV species. Quantum-chemical calculations have also been applied to various fluoro complexes of gold in oxidation states +V through +VII to evaluate the previously claimed existence of AuF7. The calculations indicate clearly that the oxidation state (+V), e.g., in [AuF5]2, remains the highest well-established gold oxidation state. Further calculations on iridium in oxidation state (+VII) show that IrF7 and IrOF5 are viable synthetic targets, whereas higher oxidation states of iridium appear to be unlikely. Structures and stabilities of several osmium fluorides and oxyfluorides were also studied in this thesis. It is shown that homoleptic fluorides all the way up to OsF8 may exist. Combining the results of the most accurate quantum-chemical predictions of this thesis and of the most reliable experimental studies, we observe a revised trend of the highest oxidation states of the 5d transition metal row. From lanthanum (+III) to osmium (+VIII), there is a linear increase of the highest oxidation states with increasing atomic number. Thereafter, we observe a linear descent from osmium (+VIII) to mercury (+IV). We will also present a short outlook to the transition metals of the 3d and 4d row and their highest reachable oxidation states.
This theses deals with the syntheses and the coordination behaviour of polyimidosulfur anions like S(NR)32–, S(NR)42–, RS(NR)2– or RS(NR)3–, the nitrogen analogues of the well known oxo-anions SO32–, SO42–, RSO2– and RSO3–. The first aim was the synthesis of a triimidosulfite with three different NR-substituents, a so called asymmetrical triimidosulfite. In all reactions, that have been carried out to obtain a triimidosulfite with three (or two) different residues at nitrogen, the final product was always the dilithium sulfide adduct. The syntheses of chiral alkylenediimidosulfites was successful. Similar to Corey’s S-ylides (R2(O)S+––CR2) and Wittig’s phosphonium ylides (R3P+––CR2) these molecules contain a positively charged sulfur atom next to a carbanionic centre. The structures of the alkylenediimidosulfites are not influenced by the different substituents at nitrogen and carbon, respectively. In each case a doublecubic structure is received. The first members of a completely new class of compounds were synthesised: the aryl-bis-(diimidosulfinates). In this compounds two SN2 units are connected via a heteroaromatic linker, containing a potential donor centre in metal coordination. They represent, like the known alkyldiimidosulfinates, dipodal monoanionic ligands. In the field of sulfur (VI) chemistry the syntheses of aryltriimidosulfonates were successful. Hitherto it was believed, that only spatial less demanding lithium organics could be added to a S=N double bond in S(NtBu)3. This assumption was confirmed by the fact that methyl- and phenylacetylene-triimidosulfonate were the only known alkylsulfonates. Nevertheless, the addition of several lithiumheteroarenes to sulfurtriimide worked without difficulties. If the shape of the nucleophile permits to slot in between the NtBu substituents and to approach the electrophilic sulfur in the sulfurtriimide from the side rather than in an orthogonal angle, the addition reaction works smoothly. Although the steric demand of the tris(tert.-butyl)triimidosulfonate unit is very high, the synthesis of thiophene-bis-(triimidosulfonate) worked. The sulfonate moieties function as dipodal ligands.
Bisdiynes undergo Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclization, forming azulene and naphthalene products. When dibenzylideneacetone is present in the reaction, it undergoes a [2+2+2] cyclization with the bisdiyne, forming cyclohexadiene derivatives. Ni(0) catalyzes the [2+2+2] cycloaddition of diynes with tolanes towards alkynylated o-terphenyl derivatives. The D-A substituted products are solvatochromic, fluorescent dyes with high quantum yields and short lifetimes. Bis-triarylborane tetrayne dyes were synthesized in both neutral and tetracationic forms, as potential DNA/RNA sensor. Both molecules are weakly fluorescent in solution and exhibit characteristic alkyne absorptions in the Raman spectra. Tributyl phosphine catalyzes the trans-hydroboration of 1,3-butadiynes with HBpin. We confirmed experimentally via NMR and HRMS experiments, that phosphine attack on the diyne is a key step in the catalytic cycle.
The first Borono-Strecker reaction has been developed to synthesize α-aminoboronates via a multicomponent reaction of readily available carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones), amines and B2pin2. The preparation of α-amino cyclic boronates can be achieved via multicomponent coupling of salicylaldehydes, amines, and B2(OH)4. In addition, the diazaborole-based PBP pincer palladium chloride and the diazaborole-based PBP pincer palladium trifluoromethanesulfonate complexes were synthesized and fully characterized for the first time, and used as catalysts for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions.
This thesis concerns (i) the synthesis and olfactory characterisation of silicon-containing analogues of the musk odourant phantolide, (ii) the synthesis and pharmacological investigation of silicon-containing analogues of retinoids of the EC23 and TTNN type and (iii) the attempted syntheses of silicon-containing analogues of the antipsychotic penfluridol and the antidiarrhoeal agent loperamide. All target compounds and intermediates were characterised by multinuclear NMR studies (1H, 13C, 15N, 19F, 29Si) and elemental analyses or high-resolution mass spectrometry. Additionally, some of these compounds were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.
The present work describes the synthesis of sila-venlafaxine, disila-bexarotene, disila-AG-045572 (disila-CMPD1), a series of silicon-based allosteric modulators of muscarinic receptors, and a partial synthesis of sila-gabapentin. Crystal structure data of rac-sila-venlafaxine hydrochloride, (R)-sila-venlafaxine hydrobromide, bexarotene, disila-bexarotene, and disila-AG-045572 (disila-CMPD1) are included. Studies on the biological activities of sila-venlafaxine and of silicon-based allosteric modulators of muscarinic receptors are discussed. The Si-2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl (Si-2,4,6-TMOP) moiety is described as a novel, acid-labile protecting group in organosilicon chemistry. The synthesis of chlorotris(chloromethyl)silane and tris(chloromethyl)methoxysilane is described.
Novel manganese(I) tricarbonyl complexes based on the tridentate bis(pyrazolyl)ethylamine (bpea) ligand with pendant functionalized phenyl groups were synthesized and conjugated to biological carrier systems like peptides and dendrimers. Their dark stability establishes them as CORM prodrugs. The monomers show a faster CO-release compared to the peptide and dendrimer conjugates. However, both monomers and peptide conjugates release two equivalents of CO upon photoactivation at 365 nm. The dendrimer conjugates can deliver up to seven equivalents of CO due to the higher number of Mn(CO)3 moieties per molecular unit. In the future, the biological activity of the conjugates needs to be further explored to establish the targeted delivery of CO to cells and tissues.
This work involves the synthesis and reactivity of pseudohalide-substituted boranes and borylenes. A series of compounds of the type (CAAC)BR2Y (CAAC = cyclic alkyl(amino)carbene; R = H, Br; Y = CN, NCS, PCO) were prepared first. The two-electron reduction of (CAAC)BBr2Y (Y = CN, NCS) in the presence of a second Lewis base L (L = N-heterocyclic carbene) resulted in the formation of the corresponding doubly Lewis base-stabilized pseudohaloborylenes (CAAC)(L)BY. These borylenes show versatile reactivity patterns, including their oxidation to the corresponding radical cations, coordination via the respective pseudohalide substituent to group 6 metal carbonyl complexes, as well as a boron-centered protonation with Brønsted acids to boronium cations. Reduction of (CAAC)BBr2(NCS) in the absence of a second donor ligand, led to the formation of boron-doped thiazolothiazoles via reductive dimerization of two isothiocyanatoborylenes. These B,N,S-heterocycles possess a low degree of aromaticity as well as interesting photophysical properties and can furthermore be protonated as well as hydroborated. Additionally, CAAC adducts of the parent boraphosphaketene (CAAC)BH2(PCO) could be prepared, which readily reacted with boroles [Ph4BR'] (R' = aryl) via decarbonylation in a ring expansion reaction. The obtained 1,2-phosphaborinines represent B,P-isosteres of benzene and consequently could be coordinated to metal carbonyl complexes of the chromium triade via η6-coordination, resulting in new half-sandwich complexes thereof.
The photochemistry and photophysics of transition metal complexes are of great interest, since such materials can be exploited for a wide range of applications such as in photocatalysis, sensing and imaging, multiphoton-absorption materials and the fabrication of OLEDs. A full understanding of the excited state behavior of transition metal compounds is therefore important for the design of new materials for the applications mentioned above. In principle, the luminescence properties of this class of compounds can be tuned by changing the metal or subtle changes in the ligand environment.
Furthermore, transition-metal complexes continue to play a major role in modern synthetic chemistry. In particular, they can realize selective transformations that would either be difficult or impossible by conventional organic chemistry. For example, they enable the efficient and selective formation of carbon–carbon bonds. One famous example of these types of transformations are metal-catalyzed cyclization reactions. Herein, metallacyclopentadiene complexes are considered as key intermediates in a number of metal-mediated or -catalyzed cyclization reactions, i.e. the [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization of alkynes. Recent research has focused on the synthesis and characterization of these metallacyclic intermediates such as MC4 ring systems. Metallacyclopentadienes are structurally related to main group EC4 systems such as boroles, siloles, thiophenes and phospholes. Overall, this group of compounds (EC4 analogues) is well known and has attracted significant attention due to their electron-transport and optical properties. Unlike transition metal analogues, however, these EC4 systems show no phosphorescence, which is due to inefficient SOC compared to 2nd and 3rd row transition metals, which promoted us to explore the phosphorescence potential of metallacyclopentadienes.
In 2001, Marder et al. developed a one-pot high-yield synthesis of luminescent 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes by reductive coupling of 1,4-diarylbuta-1,3-diynes at a suitable rhodium(I) precursor. Over the past years, a variety of ligands (e.g. TMSA, S,S’ diethyldithiocarbamate, etc.) and 1,4-bis(p-R-phenyl)-1,3-butadiynes or linked , bis(p-R-arylethynyl)alkanes (R = electron withdrawing or donating groups) were investigated and always provided a selective formation of 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes, which were reported to be fluorescent despite presence of the heavy atom. To examine the influence of the ligand sphere around the rhodium center on the intersystem-crossing (ISC) processes in the above-mentioned fluorescent rhodacyclopentadienes and to increase the metal character in the frontier orbitals by destabilizing the Rh filled d-orbitals, a -electron donating group was introduced, namely acetylacetonato (acac). Interestingly, in 2010 Tay reacted [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(PMe3)2] with ,-bis(p-R-arylbutadiynyl)alkanes and observed not only the fluorescent 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes, but also rhodium 2,2’-bph complexes as products, which were reported to be phosphorescent in preliminary photophysical studies.
In this work, the reaction behavior of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(L)2] (L = PMe3, P(p-tolyl)3) with different ,-bis(p-R-arylbutadiynyl)alkanes was established. Furthermore, the separation of the two isomers 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes (A) and rhodium 2,2’-bph complexes (B), and the photophysical properties of those were explored in order to clarify their fundamentally different excited state behaviors.
Reactions of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(P(p-tolyl3)2)] with ,-bis(arylbutadiynyl)alkanes gives exclusively weakly fluorescent 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes. Changing the phosphine ligands to PMe3, reactions of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(PMe3)2] and , bis(arylbutadiynyl)alkanes afford two isomeric types of MC4 metallacycles with very different photophysical properties, as mentioned before.
As a result of a normal [2+2] reductive coupling at rhodium, 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes (A) are formed, which display intense fluorescence. Rhodium 2,2’-bph complexes (B), which show phosphorescence, have been isolated as a second isomer originating from an unusual [4+2] cycloaddition reaction and a subsequent -H-shift. Control of the isomer distribution, of 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes (A) and rhodium biphenyl complexes (B), is achieved by modification of the linked , bis(arylbutadiynyl)alkane.
Changing the linker length from four CH2 to three CH2 groups, dramatically favors the formation of the rhodium biphenyl isomer B, providing a fundamentally new route to access photoactive metal biphenyl compounds in good yields. This is very exciting as the photophysical properties of only a limited number of bph complexes of Ir, Pd and Pt had been explored. The lack of photophysical reports in the literature is presumably due to the limited synthetic access to various substituted 2,2’-bph transition metal complexes.
On the other hand, as the reaction of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(P(p-tolyl)3)2] with , bis(arylbutadiynyl)alkanes provides a selective reaction to give weakly fluorescent 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene complexes with P(p-tolyl)3 as phosphine ligands, a different synthetic access to 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene complexes with PMe3 as phosphine ligands was developed, preventing the time-consuming separation of the isomers. The weak rhodium-phosphorus bonds of 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene complexes bearing P(p tolyl)3 as phosphine ligands, relative to those of related PMe3 complexes, allowed for facile ligand exchange reactions. In the presence of an excess of PMe3, a stepwise reaction was observed, giving first the mono-substituted, mixed-phosphine rhodacyclopentadiene intermediates and, subsequently, full conversion to the highly fluorescent 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)-rhodacyclopentadienes bearing only PMe3 ligands (by increasing the reaction temperature).
With spectroscopically pure 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene complexes A (bearing PMe3 as phosphine ligands) and rhodium 2,2-bph complexes B in hand, photophysical studies were conducted. The 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes (A) are highly fluorescent with high quantum yields up to 54% and very short lifetimes (τ = 0.2 – 2.5 ns) in solution at room temperature. Even at 77 K in glass matrices, no additional phosphorescence is observed which is in line with previous observations made by Steffen et al., who showed that SOC mediated by the heavy metal atom in 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes and 2,5 bis(arylethynyl)iridacyclopentadienes is negligible. The origin of this fluorescence lies in the pure intra-ligand (IL) nature of the excited states S1 and T1. The HOMO and the LUMO are nearly pure and * ligand orbitals, respectively, and the HOMO is energetically well separated from the filled rhodium d orbitals. The absence of phosphorescence in transition metal complexes due to mainly IL character of the excited states is not unusual, even for heavier homologues than rhodium with greater SOC, resulting in residual S1 emission (fluorescence) despite ISC S1→Tn being sufficiently fast for population of T1 states. However, there are very few complexes that exhibit fluorescence with the efficiency displayed by our rhodacyclopentadienes, which involves exceptionally slow S1→Tn ISC on the timescale of nanoseconds rather than a few picoseconds or faster.
In stark contrast, the 2,2’-bph rhodium complexes B are exclusively phosphorescent, as expected for 2nd-row transition metal complexes, and show long-lived (hundreds of s) phosphorescence (Ф = 0.01 – 0.33) at room temperature in solution. As no fluorescence is detected even at low temperature, it can be assumed that S1→Tn ISC must be faster than both fluorescence and non-radiative decay from the S1 state. This contrasts with the behavior of the isomeric 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes for which unusually slow ISC occurs on a timescale that is competitive with fluorescence (vide supra). The very small values for the radiative rate constants, however, indicate that the nature of the T1 state is purely 3IL with weak SOC mediated by the Rh atom. The phosphorescence efficiency of these complexes in solution at room temperature is even more impressive, as non-radiative coupling of the excited state with the ground state typically inhibits phosphorescence. Instead, the rigidity of the organic -system allows the ligand-based excited triplet state to exist in solution for up to 646 s and to emit with high quantum yields for biphenyl complexes. The exceptionally long lifetimes and small radiative rate constants of the rhodium biphenyl complexes are presumably a result of the large conjugated -system of the organic ligand. According to TD DFT studies, the T1 state involves charge-transfer from the biphenyl ligand into the arylethynyl moiety away from the rhodium atom. This reduces the SOC of the metal center that would be necessary for fast phosphorescence. These results show that the π-chromophoric ligand can gain control over the photophysical excited state behavior to such an extent that even heavy transition metal atoms like rhodium participate in increasing the fluorescence such as main-group analogues do. Furthermore, in the 2,2’-bph rhodium complexes, the rigidity of the organic -system allows the ligand-based excited triplet state to exist in solution for up to hundreds of s and to emit with exceptional quantum yields.
Therefore, investigations of the influence of the ligand sphere around the rhodium center have been made to modify the photophysical properties and furthermore to explore the reaction behavior of these rhodium complexes. Bearing in mind that the P(p-tolyl)3 ligands can easily be replaced by the stronger -donating PMe3 ligands, ligand exchange reactions with N heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as even stronger -donors was investigated. Addition of two equivalents of NHCs at room temperature led to the release of one equivalent of P(p-tolyl3) and formation of the mono-substituted NHC rhodium complex. The reaction of isolated mono-NHC complex with another equivalent of NHC at room temperature did not result in the exchange of the second phosphine ligand. Moderate heating of the reaction to 60 °C, however, resulted in the formation of tetra-substituted NHC rhodium complex [Rh(nPr2Im)4]+[acac]-. To circumvent the loss of the other ligands in the experiments described above, a different approach was investigated to access rhodacyclopentadienes with NHC instead of phosphine ligands.
Reaction of the bis-NHC complex [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(nPr2Im)2] with , bis(arylbutadiynyl)alkanes at room temperature resulted 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)-rhodacyclopentadienes with the NHC ligands being cis or trans to each other as indicated by NMR spectroscopic measurements and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Isolation of clean material and a fundamental photophysical study could not be finished for reasons of time within the scope of this work.
Furthermore, shortening of the well conjugated -system of the chromophoric ligand (changing from tetraynes to diynes) was another strategy to examine the reaction behavior of theses ligands with rhodium(I) complexes and to modify the excited state behavior of the formed rhodacyclopentadienes. The reaction of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(PMe3)2] with 1,7 diaryl 1,6-heptadiynes (diynes) leads to the selective formation of 2,5 bis(aryl)rhodacyclopentadienes. These compounds, however, are very weakly fluorescent with quantum yields ФPL < 1, and very short emission lifetimes in toluene at room temperature. Presumably, vibrational modes of the bis(phenyl)butadiene backbone leads to a higher rate constant for non-radiative decay and is thus responsible for the low quantum yields compared to their corresponding PMe3 complexes with the bis(phenylethynyl)butadiene backbone at room temperature. No additional phosphorescence, even at 77 K in the glass matrix is observed.
Chancing the phosphine ligands to P(p-tolyl)3, reactions of [Rh(κ2-O,O-acac)(P(p-tolyl3)2)] with 1,7-diaryl-1,6-heptadiynes, however, resulted in a metal-mediated or -catalyzed cycloaddition reaction of alkynes and leads to full conversion to dimerization and trimerization products and recovery of the rhodium(I) starting material. This is intuitive, considering that P(Ar)3 (Ar = aryl) ligands are considered weaker -donor ligands and therefore have a higher tendency to dissociate. Therefore, rhodium(I) complexes with aryl phosphines as ligands have an increasing tendency to promote catalytic reactions, while the stronger -donating ligands (PMe3 or NHCs) promote the formation of stable rhodium complexes.
Finally, in Chapter 4, the findings of the work conducted on N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs) is presented. These compounds have unique electronic and steric properties and are therefore of great interest as ligands and organo-catalysts. In this work, studies of substitution reactions involving novel carbonyl complexes of rhodium and nickel are reported. For characterization and comparison of CAACmethyl with the large amount of data available for NHC and sterically more demanding CAAC ligands, an overview on physicochemical data (electronics, sterics and bond strength) is provided.
The reaction of [Rh(-Cl)(CO)2]2 with 2 equivalents of CAACmethyl at low temperature afforded the mononuclear complex cis-[(RhCl(CO)2(CAACmethyl)]. However, reacting [Rh( Cl)(CO)2]2 with CAACmethyl at room temperature afforded a mixture of complexes. The mononuclear complex [(RhCl(CO)(CAACmethyl)2], the chloro-bridged complexes [(Rh2( Cl)2(CO)3(CAACmethyl)], [Rh(-Cl)(CO)(CAACmethyl)]2 and a carbon monoxide activation product were formed. The carbon monoxide activation product is presumably formed via the reaction of two equivalents of the CAAC with CO to give the bis-carbene adduct of CO, and subsequent rearrangement via migration of the Dipp moiety. While classical N-heterocyclic carbenes are not electrophilic enough to react with CO, related diamidocarbenes and alkyl(amino)carbenes undergo addition reactions with CO to give the corresponding ketenes. Consequently, to obtain the CAAC-disubstituted mononuclear complex selectively, 8 equivalents of CAACmethyl were reacted with 1 equivalent of [Rh(-Cl)(CO)2]2. For the evaluation of TEP values, [Ni(CO)3(CAAC)] was synthesized in collaboration with the group of Radius. With the complexes [(RhCl(CO)(CAACmethyl)2] and [Ni(CO)3(CAAC)] in hand, it was furthermore possible to examine the electronic and steric parameters of CAACmethyl. Like its bulkier congeners CAACmenthyl and CAACcy, the methyl-substituted CAAC is proposed to be a notably stronger -donor than common NHCs. While it has a very similar TEP value of 2046 cm-1, it additionally possess superior -acceptor properties (P = 67.2 ppm of phosphinidene adduct).
CAACs appear to be very effective in the isolation of a variety of otherwise unstable main group and transition metal diamagnetic and paramagnetic species. This is due to their low-lying LUMO and the small singlet-triplet gap. These electronic properties also allow free CAACs to activate small molecules with strong bonds. They also bind strongly to transition metal centers, which enables their use under harsh conditions. One recent development is the use of CAACs as ligands in transition metal complexes, which previously were only postulated as short-lived catalytic intermediates.[292,345] The availability of these reactive species allows for a better understanding of known catalytic reactions and the design of new catalysts and, moreover, new applications. For example Radius et al.[320] prepared a CAAC complex of cobalt as a precursor for thin-film deposition and Steffen et al.[346] reported a CAAC complex of copper with very high photoluminescent properties, which could be used in LED devices. With the development of cheap and facile synthetic methods for the preparation of CAACs and their corresponding transition metals complexes, as well as the knowledge of their electronic properties, it is safe to predict that applications in and around this field of chemistry will continue to increase.
Synthesis and Investigation of Borylene Complexes: from Borylene Transfer to Borylene Catenation
(2012)
Within the scope of this thesis, the area of borylene transfer has been broadened by including transition-metal alkynyl complexes and metal-carbon double bonds as borylene acceptors. In addition to double salt elimination, halide abstraction and dehydrogenation processes, a novel high-yield synthetic procedure for terminal borylene complexes was established, i.e. salt elimination and subsequent silylhalogenide liberation. Accordingly, it was possible to prepare [(OC)3(Me3P)Fe=BDur] as a rare example of a neutral arylborylene species. Moreover, this compound has been demonstrated to possess great potential for metathesis reactions and the functionalization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene. Moreover, it could undergo a phosphine-borylene exchange reaction, yielding the iron bis(borylene) complex [(OC)3Fe(BDur){BN(SiMe3)2}], which has turned out to be applicable for preparation of 1,4-diboracyclohexadiene and unprecedented 1,4-dibora-1,3-butadiene complexes, thus establishing a new type of borylene transfer. Most interestingly, upon transfer of further borylene moieties into the coordination sphere of iron, borylene-catenation was accomplished in a highly controlled manner.
Synthesis and biological activity of molybdenum carbonyl complexes and their peptide conjugates
(2012)
Molybdenum carbonyl complexes with different polypyridyl coligands were prepared and conjugated to peptides by mild bioorthogonal coupling reactions like the oxime ligation and a catalyst-free azide-alkyne click reaction utilized for the first time in such a context. The biological activity of some of the new complexes and conjugates, including their CO release properties, cytotoxicity on human cancer cells, and mode of induction of cell death was studied.
After implementing a reliable mass spectrometry based kinetic study the indole conjugation with different organometallic indoles led to questions about the electronical and sterical influences on reactivity. The substitution pattern of the ferrocene functionalized indoles at the six-membered ring determines the electron density on the C3 atom, which reacts with the formed Schiff base. Since the experimental results showed the exact opposite trend, covalent docking studies were performed elucidating the importance of surface interactions. These studies were in harmony with the experimental results and determined lysine 33 as most preferable conjugation site as well as substitution in 6-position as most favourable pattern. The amine motif in compounds 6, 7 and 8 proofed to be easily fragmented by the ESI method used. The amide linker in 10 remains intact but shows a lower conversion. Those two inherent characteristics are however preferable for well-defined and site-specific bioconjugation. The synthesis and evaluation of piano stool complex derivatives with manganese and rhenium metal centre 15, 16, 18 and 22 gave additional guidance by the interpretation of applicable structural motifs. The electron-withdrawing carbonyl groups lead to the hindrance of fulvene formation and thus to no fragmentation as seen with the ferrocene group. The total conversion is low compared to 8, only 22 shows a good enough conversion to mainly monoconjugate of 45% and a possible radio-labelling application as 99mTc analogue. As consequence manganese complexes with a stable facial tricarbonyl unit and a tridentate chelator with 4-, 5- and 6-substituted aminomethylindole conjugated through an amide bond were synthesized and consecutively evaluated. The resulting organometallic indole derivatives 29, 30 and 31 all showed a total conversion around 40% similar to 16, but at the same time a rate constant in the range of 10-4 s-1 like the organic indole. Besides the similar conversion, the rate constants followed the trend of the 6-substituted derivative as fastest and then 5- and 4- substituted derivative with decreasing reactivity. For underlining the usage as technetium label for the best out of the series 31, a rhenium analogue was prepared. The resulting compound 32 was especially interesting, because the conversion was even higher than the 70% of 8 with a total of 88%. Additionally, the rate constant was a tenfold higher as well. This rendered compound 32 as best possible 99mTc analogue for further application as radio-label. After the success of 32 and realizing the sterical benefits resulting from the flexible tridentate ligand-system, substitution at the five-membered ring was explored. The complexes 33, 34 and 35 are based on indole-2-carboxylic acid and with the difference of the length of the alkyl spacer between amide and complex to probe for the influence and sterical hindrance, but all three derivatives showed no conjugation which excludes functionalization in 2-position. As the C3 is used for the actual bioconjugation, the last possible derivatization was realized on the indole-N1 by using 1-(3-bromopropyl)indole as building block during the synthesis of the ligand-system. The corresponding manganese 36 and rhenium 37 complexes both showed similar properties of a moderate conversion like 22 and a rate constant in the range of 10-5 s-1. In conclusion the rhenium complex 32 with the 6-substitution pattern at the tridentate indole-bearing ligand remains the most promising structure.
The here developed liquid chromatography coupled mass spectrometry-based assay for the determination of inhibitory activity of drug candidates against the 3CLpro of the sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 was successfully implemented and especially designed to give, due to the available absorption spectra and corresponding mass traces, further insight in the otherwise through fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based assays neglected influences on the inhibition results. Starting with a literature-known quinolone containing covalent inhibitor 42 an N1-methylated derivative 43 and their analogues 44 and 45 in which the benzoic acid was exchanged for ferrocene carboxylic acid were synthesized. The inhibition of 3CLpro was evaluated by the concentration of initial 15mer peptide left after incubation and for that purpose the for 280 nm defined molar attenuation coefficient of (26.41±0.59) L*mol-1*cm-1 determined and used. The results showed a reaction of DL dithiothreitol with the less stable benzoic acid esters leading to a moderate inhibitory effect. The methylation in N1-position showed an increase in stability. The methylated and with ferrocene carboxylic acid functionalized derivative showed a complete inhibition during the timeframe of the assay. In search of a fluorescent and therefore traceable inhibitor, 4 hydroxycoumarin was used to synthesize the analogue with benzoic acid 49 and ferrocene carboxylic acid 50. Both derivatives were less stable than their analogues but exhibited the same trend of a more stable ferrocene-derived compound, which exerted a higher inhibition as well. After preparing and testing the model thioester 53 and showing an inactivation of the established inhibitor ebselen, it was concluded that the reaction with DL dithiothreitol reduces the concentration of active intact inhibitor and therefore decreases the inhibition rate during the assay. The next step was proofing the reducing agent as non-essential for the fast assay conducted in a timeframe of 5 min to circumvent the negative influence of DL dithiothreitol. By excluding every inhibition-altering part, the resulting method is the perfect tool for precise statements in relation of inhibitory activity. Then the inhibition assay was repeated for ebselen and the best out of the here introduced organometallic inhibitors 45. Both give equivalent results of a complete inhibition during the measurement. The implemented liquid chromatography coupled mass spectrometry-based assay has many advantages over the fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based assays in which all the information and insight accumulated by the evaluation of uv/vis traces and mass spectra are not available leading to wrong or deviating results regarding the inhibitory capacity of inhibitor candidates.
The first part of the present work provides an insight into the chemistry of iridium complexes bearing the bis(phosphinite) pincer ligand tBuPOCOP (k3-C6H3-1,3-(OPtBu2)2) towards primary boranes and phosphines as well as phosphine-borane Lewis adducts. It furthermore encloses some more detailed studies on their application as catalyst for the dehydrogenative coupling of the latter compounds. The results presented herein can be divided into three sections:
I. synthesis and characterization of aryl dihydroborate ligated iridium(III) complexes
II. and aryl phosphine coordinated iridium(I) and dihydrido iridium(III) complexes,
III. as well as studies on the reactivity of the parent iridium pincer complexes towards BH3 adducts of primary phosphines, which led to first results in the homogeneous catalytic dehydrocoupling of P-aryl substituted phosphine boranes mediated by such iridium pincer complexes.
The second part of the present work provides an insight into the chemistry of cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbene-stabilized nickel complexes as well as it encloses some more detailed studies on the properties and reactivity of the free carbenes itself. The results presented herein can be divided into four sections:
I. synthesis and characterization of cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbene-stabilized nickel carbonyl complexes,
II. which allow the evaluation and quantification of the steric and electronic properties of these cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbenes,
III. first studies on the reactivity of these novel nickel complexes, and
IV. investigations on C–F and C–H bond activation at the carbene center of cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbenes.
Chapter 1
N-Heterocyclic olefins (NHOs), relatives of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), exhibit high nucleophilicity and soft Lewis basic character. To investigate their π-electron donating ability, NHOs were attached to triarylborane π-acceptors (A) giving donor(D)-π-A compounds 1-3. In addition, an enamine π-donor analogue (4) was synthesized for comparison.
UV-visible absorption studies show a larger red shift for the NHO-containing boranes than for the enamine analogue, a relative of a CAAC. The red shifted absorption of NHO-containing boranes indicate smaller energy gaps of NHO-containing boranes than CAAC-containing boranes. Solvent-dependent emission studies indicate that 1-4 have moderate intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) behavior.
Electrochemical investigations reveal that the NHO-containing boranes have extremely low reversible oxidation potentials (e.g., for 3, E1/2ox = –0.40 V vs. Fc/Fc+ in THF) which indicate the electron rich property of NHOs.
Furthermore, TD-DFT calculations were carried out on these four D-π-A boranes. The results show that the LUMOs of 1-4 only show a small difference, but the HOMOs of 1-3 are much more destabilized than that of the enamine-containing 4, which is in agreement with the electrochemical investigations and confirms the stronger donating ability of NHOs.
Chapter 2
Since the beginning of this century, the chemistry of (hetero)arene-fused boroles has attracted increasing interest. (Hetero)arene-fused boroles exhibit strong Lewis acidity, distinct fluorescence properties, strong electron accepting abilities, etc. However, their chemistry been only very briefly reviewed either as part of reviews on “free” boroles or on boron-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this chapter, we addressed the chemistry of (hetero)arene-fused boroles from fundamentals to their widely varying applications. It includes:
1) Synthetic methodology Both historical and recently developed strategies for the synthesis of fused boroles.
2) Stabilities A comparison of different kinetic protection strategies.
3) 9-Borafluorenes with a fluorinated backbone Application as Lewis acids, forming ion pairs with Cp2Zr(CH3)2 and applied as activators for polymerization, activators of H2, and other related applications.
4) Donor-acceptor 9-borafluorenes Applications as F– “turn on” sensors, potential applications as electron accepting units for organic (opto)electronics, bipolar transporting materials, TADF materials, and different functionalization strategies.
5) Heteroarene-fused boroles Enhanced antiaromaticity, unique coordination mode and their interesting properties.
6) Intramolecular dative bonding in 9-borafluorenes Bond-cleavage-induced intramolecular charge transfer (BICT), BICT-induced large Stoke shifts and dual emissions, application as a ratiometric sensor.
7) 9-Borafluorene-based main chain polymers Application in polymer chemistry and their distinct properties, e.g., as a sensor for gaseous NH3.
8) Electrochemistry A comparison of electron-accepting ability of different functionalized fused boroles through electrochemical studies.
9) Chemical reduction of fused boroles Stable radical anions and dianions of fused boroles and their properties.
10) Three-coordinate borafluorenium cations Cationic 9-borafluorenes and their interesting properties, e.g., in THF, reversible thermal colour switching properties.
Finally, a conclusion and outlook regarding the chemistry, properties and applications, and suggestions for areas which require further study was provided.
Chapter 3
Interested in fusing electron-poor arene onto boroles, two electron-poor phenylpyridyl-fused boroles, [TipPBB1]4 and TipPBB2 were prepared. [TipPBB1]4 is a white solid adopting a unique coordination mode, which forming a tetramer with a cavity in both the solid state and solution (1H DOSY). The boron center of TipPBB2 is 4-coordinate in the solid state, evidenced by a solid-state 11B{1H} RSHE/MAS NMR study, but the system dissociates in solution, leading to 3-coordinate borole species.
[TipPBB1]4 exhibits two reduction processes which are attributed to the phenylpyridyl cores. TipPBB2 also exhibits two reduction processes with the first half-reduction potential of E1/2red = –1.94 V. The electron accepting ability of TipPBB2 is largely enhanced and comparable to that of FMesBf. This enhanced electron accepting ability is attributed to the electron withdrawing property of the pyridyl group.
TipPBB2 exhibits concentration- and temperature-dependent dual fluorescence in solution. With the temperature is lowered, the emission intensity decreases (Figure 6.4, left). We suggested that the dual fluorescence is caused by an equilibrium between 3-coordinate TipPBB2 and a weak intermolecular adduct of TipPBB2 via a B–N bond. This hypothesis was further supported by lifetime measurements at different concentrations, low temperature excitation spectra low temperature 1H NMR spectra and lifetime measurements upon addition of DMAP to a solution of TipPBB2 to simulate the 4-coordiante TipPBB2 species. Interestingly, the ratio of the relative percentages of the two lifetimes shows a linear relationship with temperature; thus, TipPBB2 could serve as a fluorescent thermometer.
Furthermore, theoretical studies were carried out on TipPBB2, and two models, ((BMe3)TipPBB1(NMe3) and (BMe3)TipPBB2(NMe3)), which utilize a BMe3 group as the Lewis acid coordinated to pyridine and an NMe3 group as the Lewis base coordinated to the boron center of the borole, were used to simulate the [TipPBB1]4 and intermolecular 4-coordinate TipPBB2, respectively. Theoretical studies indicate that the HOMO of TipPBB2 is located at the Tip group, which is in contrast to its borafluorene derivatives for which the HOMOs are located on the borafluorene cores.
Chapter 4
Two derivatives of phenylpyridyl-fused boroles were prepared via functionalization of the pyridyl groups in two different directions, namely an electron-rich dihydropyridine moiety (compound 10) and an electron-deficient N-methylpyridinium cation (compound 11). Both compounds were fully characterized. The 11B NMR signal of compound 10 was observed at 58.8 ppm in CDCl3, which suggests strong conjugation between the boron atom and dihydropyridine moiety. Compound 11 shows a reversible coordination to THF which was confirmed by NMR studies. Compared to other 2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl protected 9-borafluorenes which only coordinate to CH3CN or DMF, the coordination of the weaker and bulkier THF to compound 11 indicates an extremely electron-deficient boron center in compound 11.
The electron-rich property of the dihydropyridine moiety of compound 10 was confirmed by its oxidation potential (Epc = +0.37 V). Due to the strong conjugation of the dihydropyridine moiety with the boron atom, the reduction potential of compound 10 shifts cathodically and is more negative than –2.5 V. Compound 11 exhibits three reduction processes with the first reversible reduction potential at Ered1/2 = –1.23 V, which is significantly anodically shifted compared to that of its precursor (TipPBB2) or its framework 1-methyl-2-phenylpyridin-1-ium triflate (12). This significantly anodically shifted reduction potential confirms an extremely electron-deficient property of compound 11.
Photophysical studies indicate that the lowest energy transition of compound 10 is more likely a locally-excited (LE) transition and compound 11 exhibits a polarized ground state.
Furthermore, we performed theoretical studies for both compounds. The electron cloud distribution of the HOMO of compound 10 supports the strong conjugation between the boron atom and the dihydropyridine moiety in the ground state. An extremely low LUMO energy was determined by theoretical studies which confirmed the extremely electron-deficient property of compound 11.
Chapter 5
Inspired by the enhancement of electron accepting ability with increasing numbers of electron withdrawing groups at boron, we tried to study the properties of a bis(pyridyl)arylboranes. In our attempt to synthesize a bis(pyridyl)arylborane, we obtained a bis(2-pyridyl)methoxyborate Li+ complex which is as a dimer both in solution and the solid state.
In the solid state, compound [16]2 is a dimer containing two bis(2-pyridyl)methoxyborate which are linked by two lithium cations. Each lithium cation coordinates to one methoxy group and two pyridyl groups, one from each of the two bis(2-pyridyl)methoxyborate anions. The parameters of [16]2 were compared with other bis(2-pyridyl)methoxyborate stabilized Pt(IV) complex, bis(2-pyridyl)hydroxylborate stabilized Ru(II) complex and the dimer of EtAl(OMe)(2-pyridyl)2Li.
To confirm the coordination mode in solution, 1H DOSY spectroscopy was carried out in CD2Cl2. The van der Waals radius obtained by 1H DOSY nicely matches with the result from the solid state and thus proves the dimer of 16 is persistent in solution.
Finally, different Lewis acids (e.g., TMSCl, BF3•Et2O, AlCl3, HCl) were used to attempt to detach the methoxy group of [16]2. However, we observed either decomposition or selective cleavage of the Tip group, or no reaction at all, rather than cleavage of the methoxy group from boron.
Industrially used semiconducting materials, building blocks of modern electronics and computer industry, are mostly based on inorganic, crystalline solids, which have the drawback of relatively high production costs. As an alternative, organic pi-conjugated systems show enhanced flexibility and processability as well as the opportunity to obtain light-weight materials. They have emerged as attractive candidates, especially since elements beyond hydrogen and carbon can be used to create pi-conjugated frameworks. In recent years, pi-conjugated oligomers and polymers with tricoordinate boron centers incorporated into the main chain of such organic polymers have attracted considerable attention as the interaction of the vacant p orbital on boron with an adjacent pi system of the chain leads to extended conjugated materials. These materials show intriguing optical and electronic properties and potential applications in organic electronics and optoelectronics (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics) or as sensory materials.
In this thesis, a catalytic Si/B exchange reaction protocol is used as a facile and highly effective B-C bond formation method to synthesize organoboron molecules, oligomers, polymers and macrocycles. This reaction is applied to synthesize a series of thienyl- and furylborane based materials. Special focus is on furylborane based materials, which, in general, have been only scarcely explored so far. This is mainly due to synthetic challenges since furan decomposes readily in the presence of light and oxygen. Our mild and highly selective reaction protocol in combination with sufficient kinetic protection of the boron centers gives access to a series of extended organoboranes featuring furylborane units in the main chain. Furthermore, kinetically stabilized furylboranes are established as highly robust and versatile building blocks for pi conjugated materials. The obtained materials reveal remarkable luminescence properties. The scope of potential starting materials was investigated by a catalyst screening, demonstrating that the Si/B exchange reaction can also be performed for less reactive aryldichloroboranes. Furthermore, borazine-based hybrid cyclomatrix microspheres have been synthesized via a Si/B exchange condensation reaction under precipitation polymerization conditions. Finally, synthetic routes to tetrabora- and diboraporphyrinogens were attempted in a multi-step reaction procedure. In the case for tetraboraporphyrinogens, the final macrocyclization reaction under pseudo high-dilution conditions afforded a mixture of macrocycles with different ring sizes. UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopic analysis indicated significant differences in comparison to their linear congeners.
Organoboron compounds are important building blocks in organic synthesis, materials science, and drug discovery. The development of practical and convenient ways to synthesize boronate esters attracted significant interest. Photoinduced borylations originated with stoichiometric reactions of arenes and alkanes with well-defined metal-boryl complexes. Now photoredox-initiated borylations, catalyzed either by transition-metal or organic photocatalysts, and photochemical borylations with high efficiency have become a burgeoning area of research. In this chapter, we summarize research in the field of photocatalytic C-X borylation, especially emphasizing recent developments and trends, based on transition-metal catalysis, metal-free organocatalysis and direct photochemical activation. We focus on reaction mechanisms involving single electron transfer (SET), triplet energy transfer (TET), and other radical processes.
We developed a highly selective photocatalytic C-F borylation method that employs a rhodium biphenyl complex as a triplet sensitizer and the nickel catalyst [Ni(IMes)2] (IMes = 1,3-dimesitylimidazolin-2-ylidene) for the C-F bond activation and defluoroborylation process. This tandem catalyst system operates with visible (400 nm) light and achieves borylation of a wide range of fluoroarenes with B2pin2 at room temperature in excellent yields and with high selectivity. Direct irradiation of the intermediary C-F bond oxidative addition product trans-[NiF(ArF)(IMes)2] leads to fast decomposition when B2pin2 is present. This destructive pathway can be bypassed by indirect excitation of the triplet states of the nickel(II) complex via the photoexcited rhodium biphenyl complex. Mechanistic studies suggest that the exceptionally long-lived triplet excited state of the Rh biphenyl complex used as the photosensitizer allows for efficient triplet energy transfer to trans-[NiF(ArF)(IMes)2], which leads to dissociation of one of the NHC ligands. This contrasts with the majority of current photocatalytic transformations, which employ transition metals as excited state single electron transfer agents. We have previously reported that C(arene)-F bond activation with [Ni(IMes)2] is facile at room temperature, but that the transmetalation step with B2pin2 is associated with a high energy barrier. Thus, this triplet energy transfer ultimately leads to a greatly enhanced rate constant for the transmetalation step and thus for the whole borylation process. While addition of a fluoride source such as CsF enhances the yield, it is not absolutely required. We attribute this yield-enhancing effect to (i) formation of an anionic adduct of B2pin2, i.e. FB2pin2-, as an efficient, much more nucleophilic {Bpin-} transfer reagent for the borylation/transmetalation process, and/or (ii) trapping of the Lewis acidic side product FBpin by formation of [F2Bpin]- to avoid the formation of a significant amount of NHC-FBpin and consequently of decomposition of {Ni(NHC)2} species in the reaction mixture.
We reported a highly selective and general photo-induced C-Cl borylation protocol that employs [Ni(IMes)2] (IMes = 1,3-dimesitylimidazoline-2-ylidene) for the radical borylation of chloroarenes. This photo-induced system operates with visible light (400 nm) and achieves borylation of a wide range of chloroarenes with B2pin2 at room temperature in excellent yields and with high selectivity, thereby demonstrating its broad utility and functional group tolerance. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the borylation reactions proceed via a radical process. EPR studies demonstrate that [Ni(IMes)2] undergoes very fast chlorine atom abstraction from aryl chlorides to give [NiI(IMes)2Cl] and aryl radicals. Control experiments indicate that light promotes the reaction of [NiI(IMes)2Cl] with aryl chlorides generating additional aryl radicals and [NiII(IMes)2Cl2]. The aryl radicals react with an anionic sp2-sp3 diborane [B2pin2(OMe)]- formed from B2pin2 and KOMe to yield the corresponding borylation product and the [Bpin(OMe)]•- radical anion, which reduces [NiII(IMes)2Cl2] under irradiation to regenerate [NiI(IMes)2Cl] and [Ni(IMes)2] for the next catalytic cycle.
A highly efficient and general protocol for traceless, directed C3-selective C-H borylation of indoles with [Ni(IMes)2] as the catalyst was achieved. Activation and borylation of N-H bonds by [Ni(IMes)2] is essential to install a Bpin moiety at the N-position as a traceless directing group, which enables the C3-selective borylation of C-H bonds. The N-Bpin group which is formed is easily converted in situ back to an N-H group by the oxidiative addition product of [Ni(IMes)2] and in situ-generated HBpin. The catalytic reactions are operationally simple, allowing borylation of of a variety of substituted indoles with B2pin2 in excellent yields and with high selectivity. The C-H borylation can be followed by Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of the C-borylated indoles in an overall two-step, one-pot process providing an efficient method for synthesizing C3-functionalized heteroarenes.
Luminescent organotransition metal complexes are of much current interest. As the large spin-orbit coupling of 2nd and 3rd row transition metals usually leads to rapid intersystem crossing from S1 to T1, which enables phosphorescence, there is a special interest in using triplet-emitting materials in organic or organometallic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Marder et al. have found that, reductive coupling of both para-R-substituted diarylbutadiynes and diaryldodecatetraynes on Rh(PMe3)4X leads to quantitative yields of bis(arylethynyl)-rhodacyclopentadienes with complete regiospecificity (R = BMes2, H, Me, OMe, SMe, CF3, CN, CO2Me, NMe2, NO2, C≡C-TMS and X = -C≡C-TMS, -C≡C-C6H4-4-NMe2, -C≡C-C≡C-C6H4-4-NPh2, Me, Cl).47,49 Unexpectedly, these compounds show intense fluorescence rather than phosphorescence (ɸf = 0.33-0.69, t = 1.2 3.0 ns). The substituent R has a significant influence on the photophysical properties, as absorption and emission are both bathochromically shifted compared to R = H, especially for R = π-acceptor.
To clarify the mechanism of the formation of the rhodacyclopentadienes, and to investigate further their unique photophysical properties, a series of novel, luminescent rhodacyclopentadienes with dithiocarbamate as a bidentate ligand at the rhodium centre has been synthesised and characterised (R = NO2, CO2Me, Me, NMe2, SMe, Ar = C6F4-4-OMe). The rhodacyclopentadienes have been formed via reductive coupling of diaryl undecatetraynes with [Rh(k2-S,S`-S2CNEt2)(PMe3)2]. The structures of a series of such compounds were solved by single crystal X-ray diffraction and are discussed in this work. The compounds were fully characterised via NMR, UV/Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as by elemental analysis, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and X-ray diffraction.
When heating the reactions, another isomer is formed to a certain extent. The so-called dibenzorhodacyclopentadienes already appeared during earlier studies of Marder et al., when acetylacetonate (acac) was employed as the bidentate ligand at the Rh-centre. They are probably formed via a [4+2] cycloaddition reaction and C-H activation, followed by a β-H shift.
Use of the perfluorinated phenyl moiety Ar = C6F4-4-OMe provided a total new insight into the mechanism of formation of the rhodacyclopentadiene isomers and other reactions. Besides the formation of the expected rhodacyclopentadiene, a bimetallic compound was generated, isolated and characterised via X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and high resolution mass spectrometry.
For further comparison, analogous reactions with [Rh(k2 S,S` S2CNEt2)(PPh3)2] and a variety of diaryl undecatetraynes (R = NO2 CO2Me, Me, NMe2, SMe, Ar = C6F4-4-OMe) were carried out. They also yield the expected rhodacyclopentadienes, but quickly react with a second or even third equivalent of the tetraynes to form, catalytically, alkyne cyclotrimerisation products, namely substituted benzene derivatives (dimers and trimers), which are highly luminescent. The rhodacyclopentadienes (R = NO2, CO2Me, Me, SMe, Ar = C6F4-4-OMe) are stable and were isolated. The structures of a series of these compounds were obtained via single crystal X-ray crystallography and the compounds were fully characterised via NMR, UV/Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as by elemental analysis and HRMS.
Another attempt to clarify the mechanism of formation of the rhodacyclopentadienes involved reacting a variety of diaryl 1,3-butadiynes (R = CO2Me, Me, NMe2, naphthyl) with [Rh(k2 S,S` S2CNEt2)(PMe3)2]. The reactions stop at an intermediate step, yielding a 1:1 trans π-complex, confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy. Only after several weeks, or under forcing conditions (µw / 80 °C, 75 h), the formation of another major product occurs, having bound a second diaryl 1,3-butadiyne. Based on earlier results of Murata, the product is identified as an unusual [3+2] cycloaddition product, ϭ-bound to the rhodium centre.
S=N versus S+-N-
(2002)
The main aim of this thesis was to characterise structurally four sulfur-nitrogen compounds in terms of their experimental electron density distribution: Sulfurdiimide S(NtBu)2 (I), sulfurtriimide S(NtBu)3 (II), methyl(diimido)sulfinic acid H(NtBu)2SMe (III) and methylene-bis(triimido)sulfonic acid CH2{S(NtBu)2(HNtBu)}2 (IV). The electron density was determined by multipole refinements on high-resolution X-ray data at low temperatures. The refined densities were analysed by means of Bader’s theory of ‘Atoms in Molecules’ to get information about the bonding types (shared/ closed shell), bond strengths, and the extent of polarisation. The distributions of the static deformation densities, which already showed the most important electronical features as lone-pairs and bonding densities, were calculated for all compounds. The spatial distributions provided a first impression about the bonding properties. The nitrogen lone-pair densities were found to be inclined towards the electropositive sulfur atoms. In II, III and IV the spatial distributions already suggested sp3 hybridisation of the nitrogen atoms. In I gradual differences between the E/Z and Z/Z oriented NtBu groups were visualised. The charge density distribution was analysed along the bond paths, which showed some of the S,N bonds to be considerably bent. In the central part of the thesis detailed topological analyses of the electron density distributions were performed. All BCPs and the related electronical properties as the electron density, the negative Laplacian, the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix, and several values, which can be deduced from these, were calculated. Due to the low number of comparable published compounds, internal scaling facilitated by III and IV led to system-specific ranking of the S-N and S-C bonds in terms of bond type (shared vs. closed shell), bond order, and bond strength. To quantify bond polarisation a criterion was developed which relates shifts in the BCPs to electron transfer from the electropositive to the electronegative bonding partner. The distributions of the Laplacian were determined for all S-E (E = N, C) bonds because of their fundamental importance for the classification of atomic interactions. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the negative Laplacian with respect to all important bonds was determined around the central sulfur and nitrogen atoms. The analyses led to detailed information about the S,N interactions. A calculation of the reactive surfaces where the Laplacian equals zero revealed possible reaction pathways of nucleophilic attacks to the central sulfur atoms. All nitrogen atoms in H(NtBu)2SMe (III) as well as in CH2{S(NtBu)2(HNtBu)}2 (IV) are predominantly sp3 hybridised. The S,N bonds should therefore be formulated as S+–N– single bonds, strengthened and shortened by electrostatic reinforcement. In S(NtBu)2 (I) the sp2 hybridisation of the nitrogen atoms was verified. All topological criteria unearthed the inequality of the formally equivalent S=N double bonds. The differences were assigned to the molecular E/Z conformation in the solid state. Interaction between the in-plane lone-pair density of the nitrogen and the sulfur atom located at the same side causes the non-bonding charge concentration at the sulfur atom to be dislocated into the second S–N bond. The existence of a delocalised 3-centres-2-electrons system within the planar SN2 core was assumed to be formed by non-hybridised p-orbitals. An effective delocalisation was found to be possibly disturbed by a weak intermolecular S...S interaction. The interpretation of the S,N interaction in S(NtBu)3 (II) was not straightforward, since the electron density distribution showed both, indicators for multiple bonding as well as for sp3 hybridisation of the nitrogen atoms, which verifies the formulation of a S+–N– bonding mode. The bonding situation in S(NtBu)3 was identified as an intermediate state between that of a delocalised 4-centres-6-electrons system formed by non-hybridised p-orbitals within the planar SN3 unit and that of a S+–N– system.
Persistent room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) luminophores have gained remarkable interest recently for a number of applications in security printing, OLEDs, optical storage, time-gated biological imaging and oxygen sensors. We report the first persistent RTP with lifetimes up to 0.5 s from simple triarylboranes which have no lone pairs. We also have prepared 3 isomeric (o, m, p-bromophenyl)-bis(2,6-dimethylphenyl)boranes. Among the 3 isomers (o-, m- and p-BrTAB) synthesized, the ortho-one is the only one which shows dual phosphorescence, with a short lifetime of 0.8 ms and a long lifetime of 234 ms in the crystalline state at room temperature. At last, we checked the RTP properties from the boric acid. We found that the pure boric acid does not show RTP in the solid state.
Chapter 1 deals with the reaction of [Rh(acac)(PMe3)2] with para-substituted 1,4-diphenylbuta-1,3-diynes at room temperature, in which a complex containing a bidentate organic fulvene moiety, composed of two diynes, σ-bound to the rhodium center is formed in an all-carbon [3+2] type cyclization reaction. In addition, a complex containing an organic indene moiety, composed of three diynes, attached to the rhodium center in a bis-σ-manner is formed in a [3+2+3] cyclization process.
Reactions at 100 °C reveal that the third diyne inserts between the rhodium center and the bis-σ-bound organic fulvene moiety. Furthermore, the formation of a 2,5- and a 2,4-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene is observed. The unique [3+2] cyclization product was used for the synthesis of a highly conjugated organic molecule, which is hard to access or even inaccessible by conventional methods. Thus, at elevated temperatures, reaction of the [3+2] product with para-tolyl isocyanate led to the formation of a purple organic compound containing the organic fulvene structure and one equivalent of para-tolyl isocyanate.
The blue and green [3+2+3] complexes show an unusually broad absorption from 500 – 1000 nm with extinction coefficients ε of up to 11000 M-1 cm-1. The purple organic molecule shows an absorption spectrum similar to those of known diketopyrrolopyrroles.
Additionally, the reaction of [Rh(acac)(PMe3)2] with para-tolyl isocyanate was investigated. A cis-phosphine complex of the form cis-[Rh(acac)(PMe3)2(isocyanate)2] with an isocyanate dimer bound to the rhodium center by one carbon and one oxygen atom was isolated.
Replacing the trimethylphosphine ligands in [Rh(acac)(PMe3)2] with the stronger σ-donating NHC ligand Me2Im (1,3-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene), again, drastically alters the reaction. Similar [3+2] and [3+2+3] products to those discussed above could not be unambiguously assigned, but cis- and trans-π-complexes, which are in an equilibrium with the two starting materials, were formed.
Chapters 2 is about the influence of the backbone of the α,ω-diynes on the formation and photophysical properties of 2,5-bis(aryl)rhodacyclopentadienes. Therefore, different α,ω-diynes were reacted with [Rh(acac)(PMe3)2] and [Rh(acac)(P(p-tolyl)3)2] in equimolar amounts. In general, a faster consumption of the rhodium(I) starting material is observed while using preorganized α,ω-diynes with electron withdrawing substituents in the backbone. The isolated PMe3-substituted rhodacyclopentadienes exhibit fluorescence, despite the presence of the heavy atom rhodium, with lifetimes τF of < 1 ns and photoluminescence quantum yields Φ of < 0.01 as in previously reported P(p-tolyl)-substituted 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes. However, an isolated P(p-tolyl)-substituted 2,5-bis(aryl)rhodacyclopentadiene shows multiple lifetimes and different absorption and excitation spectra leading to the conclusion that different species may be present.
Reaction of [Rh(acac)(Me2Im)2] with dimethyl 4,4'-(naphthalene-1,8-diylbis(ethyne-2,1-diyl))dibenzoate, results in the formation of a mixture trans- and cis-NHC-substituted 2,5-bis(aryl)rhodacyclopentadienes.
In chapter 3 the reaction of various acac- and diethyldithiocarbamate-substituted rhodium(I) catalysts bearing (chelating)phosphines with α,ω-bis(arylethynyl)alkanes (α,ω-diynes), yielding luminescent dimers and trimers, is described. The photophysical properties of dimers and trimers of the α,ω-diynes were investigated and compared to para-terphenyl, showing a lower quantum yield and a larger apparent Stokes shift.
Furthermore, a bimetallic rhodium(I) complex of the form [Rh2(ox)(P(p-tolyl)3)4] (ox: oxalate) was reacted with a CO2Me-substituted α,ω-tetrayne forming a complex in which only one rhodium(I) center reacts with the α,ω-tetrayne. The photophysical properties of this mixed rhodium(I)/(III) species shows only negligible differences compared to the P(p-tolyl)- and CO2Me-substituted 2,5-bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadiene, previously synthesized by Marder and co-workers.
Photosynthesis is the most fundamental process of life on earth. The biological production of oxygen in plant photosynthesis occurs in photosystem II (PSII). Here two water molecules are coupled in a four-electron oxidation to one O2 molecule, catalyzed by a tetranuclear manganese complex, known as the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). In this thesis, density-functional theory (DFT) methods were validated and subsequently employed to study structures, spin-density distributions and EPR parameters of mono-, di-, and tetranuclear complexes with regard to the OEC. The goal was to draw conclusions on the molecular and electronic structure of the OEC.
The hydrophosphination reaction offers an important synthesis method for the building of primary, secondary and tertiary phosphines. In this work we report the syntheses of different primary phosphine complexes of iron and ruthenium. Also their reactivity in hydrophosphination reaction and the influence of diverse ligands, for example bidentate phosphine ligand and hemilablie ligand, were studied.
Sensitivity and selectivity remain the central technical requirement for analytical devices, detectors and sensors. Especially in the gas phase, concentrations of threat substances can be very low (e.g. explosives) or have severe effects on health even at low concentrations (e.g. benzene) while it contains many potential interferents. Preconcentration, facilitated by active or passive sampling of air by an adsorbent, followed by thermal desorption, results in these substances being released in a smaller volume, effectively increasing their concentration.
Traditionally, a wide range of adsorbents, such as active carbons or porous polymers, are used for preconcentration. However, many adsorbents either show chemical reactions due to active surfaces, serious water retention or high background emission due to thermal instability. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a hybrid substance class, composed inorganic and organic building blocks, being a special case of coordination polymers containing pores. They can be tailored for specific applications such as gas storage, separation, catalysis, sensors or drug delivery.
This thesis is focused on investigating MOFs for their use in thermal preconcentration for airborne detection systems. A pre-screening method for MOF-adsorbate interactions was developed and applied, namely inverse gas chromatography (iGC). Using this pulse chromatographic method, the interaction of MOFs and molecules from the class of explosives and volatile organic compounds was studied at different temperatures and compared to thermal desorption results.
In the first part, it is shown that archetype MOFs (HKUST-1, MIL-53 and Fe-BTC) outperformed the state-of-the-art polymeric adsorbent Tenax® TA in nitromethane preconcentration for a 1000 (later 1) ppm nitromethane source. For HKUST-1, a factor of more than 2000 per g of adsorbent was achieved, about 100 times higher than for Tenax. Thereby, a nitromethane concentration of 1 ppb could be increased to 2 ppm. High enrichment is addressed to the specific interaction of the nitro group as by iGC, which was determined by comparing nitromethane’s free enthalpy of adsorption with the respective saturated alkane. Also, HKUST-1 shows a similar mode of sorption (enthalpy-entropy compensation) for nitro and saturated alkanes.
In the second part, benzene of 1 ppm of concentration was enriched with a similar setup, using 2nd generation MOFs, primarily UiO-66 and UiO-67, under dry and humid (50 %rH) conditions using constant sampling times. Not any MOF within the study did surpass the polymeric Tenax in benzene preconcentration. This is most certainly due to low sampling times – while Tenax may be highly saturated after 600 s, MOFs are not. For regular UiO-66, four differently synthesized samples showed a strongly varying behavior for dry and humid enrichment which cannot be completely explained. iGC investigations with regular alkanes and BTEX compounds revealed that confinement factors and dispersive surface energy were different for all UiO-66 samples. Using physicochemical parameters from iGC, no unified hypothesis explaining all variances could be developed.
Altogether, it was shown that MOFs can replace or add to state-of-the-art adsorbents for the enrichment of specific analytes with preconcentration being a universal sensitivity-boosting concept for detectors and sensors. Especially with iGC as a powerful screening tool, most suitable MOFs for the respective target analyte can be evaluated. iGC can be used for determining “single point” retention volumes, which translate into partition coefficients for a specific MOF × analyte × temperature combination.
In summary, structure-activity relationships in peptide and dendrimer carriers modified with different organometal complexes were studied on a human breast cancer cell line. Variation of the organometal cargo and carrier can significantly influence their biological properties and might open the way to new approaches in chemotherapy. Furthermore, the incorporation of complexes with different C≡O vibrational signatures in a model peptide was explored to examine information encoding in biomolecules in a barcoding strategy for potential imaging applications. In particular for the latter, additional stable metal-carbonyl markers need to be prepared in future work to expand the pool of vibrational labels available.
Since its discovery as a small signaling molecule in the human body, researchers have tried to utilize the beneficial cytoprotective properties of carbon monoxide in therapeutic applications. Initial work focused on the controlled direct application of CO gas. However, to circumvent the disadvantages of this method such as requirement for special equipment, hospitalization of the patient and the risk of overdosing, metal-carbonyl complexes were developed as CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) which are able to deliver CO in a tissue-specific manner. However, upon the release of CO from the metal coordination sphere, complex fragments termed inactivated CORMs (iCORMs) with free coordination sites remain which can undergo nonspecific follow-up reactions under physiological conditions.
Thus, the first aim of the present thesis was the coordination of tetradentate ligands such as tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (tpa), bis(2-pyridylmethyl)(2-quinolylmethyl)amine (bpqa), bis(2-quinolylmethyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (bqpa) and tris(2-quinolylmethyl) amine (tmqa) in a tridentate facial manner to a fac-Mn(CO)3 moiety previously established as a photoactivatable CO-releasing molecule (PhotoCORM). The desired coordination of the pedant donor group upon photolytic CO release at 365 nm was demonstrated by UV/Vis-, IR- und 1H NMR experiments and verified by DFT calculations. All complexes of the series showed long-term dark stability in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), but released between two and three equivalents of carbon monoxide with half-lives of around 5-10 minutes upon illumination at 365 nm. Although the photolytic properties of the complexes were quite similar besides the differences in type of hetereoaromatic ligands, the determination of the logP values showed an increase of lipophilicity with the number of quinoline groups, which might enable tissue-specific uptake. A significant cellular manganese uptake as well as the binding of CO released upon photolysis to the cytochrome c oxidases in E. coli cells was demonstrated for [Mn(CO)3(tpa)]+. Furthermore, this complex exhibited photoinduced bactericidal activity when the cells were grown in succinate-containing medium and thus unable to change their metabolism to mixed acid fermentation.
In the second part of the project, the hexadentate ligand 1,4,7-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane (py3tacn) was coordinated to a facial Mn(CO)3 moiety. The resulting [Mn(CO)3(py3tacn-3N)]+ complex has one pedant donor group per labile carbonyl ligand and thus is a significant improvement over the 1st generation tpa-complexes. The metal-coligand inactivated CORM (iCORM) fragment expected to be generated upon complete photolytic CO release, [Mn(py3tacn-6N)]2+, was synthesized independently and will serve as a well-defined negative control in upcoming biological tests. The corresponding CORM has long-term dark stability in pure dimethylsulfoxide or phosphate-buffered myoglobin solution, with three equivalents of CO released with a half-life of 22 minutes upon illumination at 412 nm. The photolysis was also followed by IR spectroscopy and the intermediates, in line with a stepwise release of carbon monoxide, and occupation of vacated sites by the pedant pyridine group were verified by DFT calculations.
Due to possible tissue damage by energy-rich light and the inverse correlation of tissue penetration depth and illumination wavelength, the absorption maxima of PhotoCORMs should ideally be in the phototherapeutic window between 600 and 1200 nm. Thus, in the third part of this work, a series of heterobinuclear Mn(CO)3/Ru(bpy)2 PhotoCORMs was prepared to shift the absorption of these compounds into the red region of the UV/Vis spectrum. For the synthesis of such Mn(I)/Ru(II) complexes, the bridging ligands 2,3-di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline (dpx) and 3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazine[5,6-f]-1,10-phenanthroline (pytp) were prepared and the two binding pockets subsequently filled with a Ru(bpy)2 and a fac-Mn(CO)3 moiety. The resulting two heterobinuclear metal complexes [Ru(bpy)2(dpx)MnBr(CO)3]2+ and [Ru(bpy)2(pytp)MnBr(CO)3]2+ as well as [Ru(etx)(tbx)MnBr(CO)3]2+ with etx = ethyl(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine)-4'-carboxylate and tbx = N-((2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridin)-4’-yl)2,2’-bipyridine-5-carboxamide which was prepared by a metal precursor provided by the group of Prof. Dr. Katja Heinze showed a significant shift of the main absorption bands to higher wavelengths as well as two times higher extinction coefficients than the analogous mononuclear Mn(I) compounds. However, both the Mn(I)/Ru(II) and Mn(I) complexes had a reduced stability in phosphate-buffered myoglobin solution even in the absence of light. The efficiency of the CO-release from [Ru(etx)(tbx)MnBr(CO)3]2+ and [Ru(bpy)2(dpx)MnBr(CO)3]2+ could be controlled by proper choice of the excitation wavelength. A change from 468 to 525 nm or even 660 nm led to a decrease of the number of CO equivalents released from two to one and an elongation of the half-lives.
Finally, since nitric oxide also serves as a small messenger molecule in the human body with its signaling pathways interacting with those of CO, a mixed-ligand CO/NO metal complex was sought. [Mo(CO)2(NO)(iPr3tacn)]+ with iPr3tacn = 1,4,7-triisopropyl-1,4,7-triazacyclonane was selected from the literature and its molecular structure determined by single crystal diffraction, demonstrating the presence of an NO+ ligand in the coordination sphere as indicated by a MO-N-O angle close to 180°. Photolysis of [Mo(CO)2(NO)(iPr3tacn)]+ required high-energy UV light, which prevented a quantification of the CO release due to photolytic decomposition of the myoglobin. However, solution IR experiments showed that the complex lost the two carbon monoxide ligands upon illumination at 254 nm while the NO remained tightly bound to the metal. The structures observed of the intermediates were also verified by DFT calculations.
In conclusion, in this project, four different classes of novel transition metal-based photoactivatable CO-releasing molecules (PhotoCORMs) were prepared and studied. The first group incorporated one additional free donor group per LMn(CO)3 moiety but varied in the number of coordinated pyridyl and quinolinyl groups which allows the control of the lipophilicity of these compounds. As an extension of this concept, the second series incorporated one free donor group per labile carbonyl ligand which gives rise to well-defined photolysis products that can be independently prepared and assayed. The third class was based on a Ru(II) photosensitizer unit connected to a MnBr(CO)3 PhotoCORM moiety. This shifts the absorption maximum from 500 nm to about 585 nm in [Ru(bpy)2(dpx)MnBr(CO)3]2+. Finally, a first mixed-ligand CO/NO carrier molecule was evaluated for its photolytic behavior. However, while the carbonyl ligands were photolabile at low excitation wavelengths, release of the NO ligand was not observed under the conditions studied.
In a next step, detailed studies on the bioactivity of the different classes of PhotoCORMs need to be carried out with partner groups from biochemistry to fully explore their biomedical potential.
Priority task of the thesis was to replace oxygen atoms in sulfur oxoanions SOnm– or imido groups in sulfur polyimido anions S(NR)nm– isoelectronically by R2C-methylene groups. This would open a wide avenue to new target molecules containing a formally double bonded carbon next to formally double bonded nitrogen atoms in highly charged sulfur-centred anions like S(CR2)x(NR)ym–. They clearly are reminiscent to sulfur ylides. Both, alkylendiimidosulfites and alkylentriimidosulfates are accessible via deprotonaton of the corresponding alkyldiimidosulfinates and alkyltriimidosulfonates with methyllithium. The reactivity of the novel compounds is dominated by the carbanionic centre. Addition reactions to another SN formal doubble bond are feasible and are leading to the yet unknown imidoanalogues compounds alkyl-bis-(diimidosulfinates) and alkyl-bis-(triimidosulfonates).
N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are utilized for the stabilization of reactive compounds, for the activation of strong bonds, and as ligands in transition metal chemistry. In contrast to neutral NHCs, few examples of anionic or even dianionic NHCs are known. One approach for the synthesis of anionic carbenes is the deprotonation of neutral or anionic precursors, bearing Lewis acids instead of alkyl or aryl substituents. Following this strategy, novel anionic and dianionic NHCs, featuring weakly coordinating fluorinated borane and phosphorane substituents or coordinating tricyanoborane substituents were synthesized within the scope of this thesis. These carbenes possess unprecedented stabilities compared to related species. Furthermore, their electronic and steric properties can be directly adjusted by the type of Lewis acid attached. Their potential as ligands with highly shielding weakly coordinating substituents next to the carbene coordination center was demonstrated by the syntheses of the respective NHC selenium adducts and NHC gold(I) complexes. In contrast anionic NHCs with coordinating tricyanoborane moieties have an outstanding potential as ditopic ligands with coordination being possible at the carbene center and via the cyano groups. Their beneficial ligand properties were demonstrated by the syntheses of the respective NHC selenium adducts and NHC nickeltricarbonyl complexes. The combination of electronic properties, the large buried volume, the negative charge, the possibility to act as ditopic or ligands with weakly coordinating groups, and the ease of accessibility render borane- and phosphorane functionalized NHCs unique novel ligands. A further project of this PhD thesis deals with the steric properties of Lewis acids. Therefore, an easy-to-apply model was designed to quantify the steric demand of Lewis acids. Using the results of this evaluation, a second model was developed which judges the steric repulsion in Lewis acid/base adduct formation for arbitrary sets of acids and bases.
This thesis describes the synthesis and reactivity of NHC-stabilized Lewis-acid/Lewis-base adducts of alanes and gallanes (NHC = Me2ImMe, iPr2Im, iPr2ImMe, Dipp2Im, Dipp2ImH). As this field of research has developed tremendously, especially in the last five years, the first chapter provides an overview of the current state of knowledge.
The influence of electronegative π-donor-substituents on the stability of the NHC alane adducts is examined in chapter 2. For this purpose, the carbene stabilized alanes (NHC)∙AlH3 (NHC = iPr2Im, Dipp2Im) were reacted with secondary amines of different steric demand and with phenols. The π-donor substituents saturate the Lewis acidic aluminium center and coordination of a second NHC-ligand was not observed. The strongly electronegative N and O substituents increase the Lewis acidity of the aluminium atom, which leads to stronger Al-CNHC as well as Al-H bonds, which inhibits the insertion of the carbene into the Al-H bond.
In Chapter 3 the development of the synthesis and reactivity of carbene-stabilized gallanes is presented. The synthesis of NHC gallane adducts (NHC)∙GaH3, (NHC)∙GaH2Cl and (NHC)∙GaHCl2 and their reactivity towards NHCs and cAACMe were investigated in detail. The reaction of the mono- and dichlorogallanes (NHC)∙GaH2Cl and (NHC)∙GaHCl2 (NHC = iPr2ImMe, Dipp2Im) with cAACMe led to insertion of the cAACMe with formation of chiral and achiral compounds depending on the sterically demand of the used NHC. Furthermore, the formation of bis-alkylgallanes was observed for the insertion of two equivalents of cAACMe with release of the NHC ligand.
Chapter 4 describes investigations concerning the synthesis and reactivity of NHC-stabilized iodoalanes and iodogallanes, which are suitable for the formation of cationic aluminium and gallium dihydrides. The reaction of (NHC)∙EH2I (E = Al, Ga) stabilized by the sterically less demanding NHCs (NHC = Me2ImMe, iPr2Im, iPr2ImMe) with an additional equivalent of the NHC led to the formation of the cationic bis-NHC aluminium and gallium dihydrides [(NHC)2∙AlH2]+I- and [(NHC)2∙GaH2]+I-. Furthermore, the influence of the steric demand of the used NHC was investigated. The adduct (Dipp2Im)∙GaH2I was reacted with an additional equivalent of Dipp2Im. Due to the bulk of the NHC used, rearrangement of one of the NHC ligands from normal to abnormal coordination occurred and the cationic gallium dihydride [(Dipp2Im)∙GaH2(aDipp2Im)] was isolated.
Chapter 5 of this thesis reports investigations concerning the reduction of cyclopentadienyl-substituted alanes and gallanes with singlet carbenes. NHC stabilized pentamethylcyclopentadienyl aluminium and gallium dihydrides (NHC)∙Cp*MH2 (E = Al, Ga) were prepared by the reaction of (AlH2Cp*)3 with the corresponding NHCs or by the salt elimination of (NHC)∙GaH2I with KCp*. The gallane adducts decompose at higher temperatures with reductive elimination of Cp*H and formation of Cp*GaI. . The reductive elimination is preferred for sterically demanding NHCs (Dipp2Im > iPr2ImMe > Me2ImMe). In addition, NHC ring expansion of the backbone saturated carbene Dipp2ImH was observed for the reaction of the NHC with (AlH2Cp*)3, which led to (RER-Dipp2ImHH2)AlCp*. Furthermore, the reactivity of the adducts (NHC)∙Cp*EH2 (E = Al, Ga) towards cAACMe was investigated. The reaction of the alane adducts stabilized by the sterically more demanding NHCs iPr2ImMe and Dipp2Im afforded the exceptionally stable insertion product (cAACMeH)Cp*AlH V-10 with liberation of the NHC. The reaction of the gallium hydrides (NHC)∙Cp*GaH2 with cAACMe led to the reductive elimination of cAACMeH2 and formation of Cp*GaI.
A variety of neutral and cationic carbene-stabilized alanes and gallanes are presented in this work. The introduction of electronegative π-donor substituents (Cl-, I-, OR-, NR2-) and the investigations on the thermal stability of these compounds led to the conclusion that the stability of alanes and gallanes increased significantly by such a substitution. Investigations on the reactivity of the NHC adducts towards cAACMe resulted in various insertion products of the carbene into the Al-H or Ga-H bonds and the first cAACMe stabilized dichlorogallane was isolated. Furthermore, a first proof was provided that carbenes can be used specifically for the (formal) reduction of group 13 hydrides of the higher homologues. Thus, the synthesis of Cp*GaI from the reaction of (NHC)∙Cp*GaH2 with cAACMe was developed. In the future, this reaction pathway could be of interest for the preparation of other low-valent compounds of aluminium and gallium.
This thesis describes the synthesis and reactivity of bis-NHC ligated nickel(0)-complexes and their application in catalytic cyclization and borylation reactions of alkynes. The focus of the presented work lies on the investigation of the electronic and steric impact of different NHC ligands on the reactivity and catalytic activity of [Ni(NHC)2] complexes. Since d10 ML2 complexes play a decisive role for numerous catalytic reactions, such as the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling, the first chapter provides an overview about the general properties of NHCs and the chemistry of NHC-ligated nickel complexes, their synthesis, characterization, reactivity, and application in catalysis.
The thesis is mainly about the reactivities of borylene complexes. Including the investigation of the reaction of base stabilized terminal borylene with elemental chalcogens. On the other hand the are also the reactivity of borylene with bipyridine species is also studies. A C-H activation of the Cp2WH2 using borylene is also discovered. Finally the reaction of a borylene with Lewis acids such as GaCl3 and InBr3 is also studied.
This thesis reports on the applications of a particular N-heterocyclic silylene, Dipp2NHSi (1), as an ambiphilic reagent in main group chemistry and as a ligand in transition metal chemistry. One focus of the work lies in the evaluation of the differences in the reactivity of N-heterocyclic silylenes in main group element and transition metal chemistry in comparison with the in these areas nowadays ubiquitous N-heterocyclic carbenes. The first chapter gives an insight into the reactivity of Dipp2NHSi with respect to different types of main group element compounds. Silylene 1 was reacted with group 13 compounds. Adduct formation was observed with AlI3, Al(C6F5)3 and B(C6F5)3 which led to isolation of Dipp2NHSi·AlI3 (2), Dipp2NHSi·Al(C6F5)3 (3) and Dipp2NHSi·B(C6F5)3 (4). Furthermore, the reactivity of Dipp2NHSi (1) with respect to different elementhalide bonds was investigated. The reaction with elemental bromine and iodine leads to the dihalosilanes Dipp2NHSiBr2 (5) and Dipp2NHSiI2 (6). Utilizing methyl iodide, benzyl chloride and benzyl bromide, the insertion products Dipp2NHSi(I)(Me) (10), Dipp2NHSi(Cl)(benzyl) (11) and Dipp2NHSi(Br)(benzyl) (12) are obtained. Thus, insertion is preferred to reductive coupling with formation of RH2C–CH2R (R = H, Ph) and the corresponding dihalosilane. The reaction of 1 with Me3SnCl leads to the diazabutene {(Me3Sn)N(Dipp)CH}2 (9). The reaction of 1 with Ph2SnCl2 gives exclusively Dipp2NHSiCl2 (8) and cyclic polystannanes (Ph2Sn)n. The reactivity of 1 towards selected 1,3-dipolar compounds was also examined and Dipp2NHSi was reacted with azides of different size. The reaction with adamantyl azide led to the formation of the tetrazoline 13. For the reaction with the sterically less demanding trimethylsilyl azide the azido silane Dipp2NHSi(N(SiMe3)2)(N3) (14) and the degradation product 14* was isolated. The cyclosilamine 15 was formed from the reaction of 1 with 2,6-(diphenyl)phenyl azide. The bonding situation and ligation properties of Dipp2NHSi in transition metal complexes was assessed in the second part of the thesis by means of theoretical calculations and experimental investigations. Calculations on the main electronic features of Me2Im/Me2NHSi and Dipp2NHSi/Dipp2Im revealed significant differences in the frontier orbital region of these compounds, which affect the ligation properties of NHSis in general. It was demonstrated that NHSis show significantly different behaviour concerning their coordination chemistry. In particular, one energetically low lying π-acceptor orbital seems to determine the coordination chemistry of these ligands. To provide experimental support for these calculations, the silylene complexes [M(CO)5(Dipp2NHSi)] (M = Cr 16, Mo 17, W 18) were synthesized from Dipp2NHSi and [M(CO)6] (M = Cr, Mo, W) and the tungsten NHSi complex 18 was compared to the NHC complexes [W(CO)5(iPr2Im)] (19), [W(CO)5(iPr2ImMe)] (20) and [W(CO)5(Me2ImMe)] (21). The bonding of Me2Im and Me2NHSi (= L) to transition metal complexes has been assessed with DFT calculations for the model systems [Ni(L)], [Ni(CO)3(L)], and [W(CO)5(L)]. These studies revealed some common features in the difference between M–NHSi and M–NHC bonding which largely affect the bonding situation in transition metal complexes. NHSis show a propensity for bridging two metal atoms which was demonstrated on three different examples. Dipp2NHSi reacts with [Ni(CO)4] to form the dinuclear silylene-bridged complex [{Ni(CO)2(μ-Dipp2NHSi)}2] (22) upon CO elimination. The reduction of [Ni(η5-C5H5)2] with lithium naphthalenide in the presence of Dipp2NHSi yielded the NHSi-bridged Ni(I) dimer [{(η5 C5H5)Ni(µ-Dipp2NHSi)}2] (23). The dimeric half-sandwich complex [{(η5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2}2] led upon reaction with Dipp2NHSi to the formation of the dinuclear, NHSi-bridged complex [{(η5-C5H5)Fe(CO)}2(µ-CO)(µ-Dipp2NHSi)] (24). The insertion of Dipp2NHSi into metal halide bonds was investigated in a series of manganese complexes [Mn(CO)5(X)] (X = Cl, Br, I). The reaction of Dipp2NHSi with [Mn(CO)5(I)] led to substitution of two carbonyl ligands with Dipp2NHSi (1) to afford the tricarbonyl complex [Mn(CO)3(Dipp2NHSi)2(I)] (25). In 25, the iodide ligand is aligned in the {Mn(CO)3} plane, located between both NHSi silicon atoms. Treatment of [Mn(CO)5(Br)] with two equivalents of Dipp2NHSi afforded the complex [Mn(CO)3(Dipp2NHSi)2(Br)] (26), in which the bromide ligand is distorted towards one of the NHSi ligands. The reaction of the silylene ligand with [Mn(CO)5(Cl)] at room temperature afforded a mixture of two products, [Mn(CO)3(Dipp2NHSi)2(Cl)] (27*) and the insertion product [Mn(CO)4(Dipp2NHSi)(Dipp2NHSi-Cl)] (27). Complete transfer of a halide to the silylene was achieved for the reaction of Dipp2NHSi with [(η5-C5H5)Ni(PPh3)(Cl)] to yield [Ni(PPh3)(η5-C5H5)(Dipp2NHSi-Cl)] (28). Similarly, the reaction with [(η5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2(I)] led to the formation of [(η5 C5H5)Fe(CO)2(Dipp2NHSi-I)] (29).
The substitution of selected CC units by their isoelectronic and isosteric BN units in π−conjugated organic compounds (BN/CC isosterism), especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has emerged as a viable strategy to produce novel organic–inorganic hybrid materials with structural similarities to their all-carbon congeners, but in many cases with intriguing properties and functions.
In the first two chapters the synthesis and properties of novel BNB-doped phenalenyls, dithienoazadiborepins and dithienooxadiborepins are presented. The optoelectronic properties of these new building blocks can be effectively tuned by variation of the incorporated Ar (Mes, Tip, FMes) and R groups (H, Me, i-Pr, t-Bu, Ph). Theoretical investigations, including NICS (Nucleus Independent Chemical Shift) scans and AICD (Anisotropy of the Induced Current Density) calculations, have been performed which provide insight into their aromatic or antiaromatic character, respectively.
The incorporation of BP units, on the other hand, which are valence isoelectronic with BN and CC, into unsaturated organic compounds, has been scarcely studied, though the potential of the resulting BCP hybrid materials for electronic applications has been recognized quite recently. Main chain conjugated polymers featuring BP fragments in the backbone are unknown so far. The first molecular model compounds for a BP analogue of the conjugated polymer poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) are presented in chapter 3. Theoretical investigations revealed that the Mes* group to fully planarizes the phosphorus center, increasing the B=P double bond character and enabling conjugation over the BP unit. Different synthetic approaches to the molecular model compounds have been investigated and a viable synthetic strategy was found.
The purpose of the present work was, in the first part, to investigate the potential of iron-based metal complexes in catalytic borylation reactions with alkyl halides as substrates and B2pin2 as the borylation reagent. Moreover, extended studies of the recently reported, copper mediated borylation reactions of aryl halides were performed, including the screening of substrates and alkoxy bases as well as ligand-screening. Investigations were undertaken on the role of Cu-nanoparticles, which might be involved in this catalytic reaction. Furthermore, Cu-phosphine complexes were synthesized as precursors, but attempts to isolate Cu-boryl species which are intermediates in the proposed catalytic cycle were unsuccessful, although 11B NMR evidence for a Cu-boryl complex was obtained.
In the second part of this work, the alternative, Lewis-acidic diboron(4) compound bis(ethylene glycolato)diboron (B2eg2) was synthesized to compare its reactivity with the reactivity of other diboron(4) compounds (e.g. B2neop2, B2cat2, B2pin2 and B2(NMe2)4). Therefore, reactions of B2eg2 with different Lewis-bases, such as NHCs and phosphines, were performed to investigate the possible formation of sp2-sp3 or sp3-sp3 adducts and ring-expansion reactions (RERs).
The aim was to obtain a better general insight into the reactivity of diboron(4) compounds with Lewis-bases because they are both used as reactants in transition metal-catalyzed and metal-free borylation reactions. Understanding the B–B bond activation process promoted by Lewis-bases provides a new perspective on the reaction pathways available for various borylation reactions.
Quantum chemical modeling of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameters, in combination with data from the modern high-field/high-frequency EPR (HF-EPR) techniques, constitutes an invaluable analytical tool for gaining insight into radical-protein interactions, which determine the specificity and directionality of the radical-mediated biochemical processes. This thesis reports a series of density functional (DFT) studies on EPR parameters of several biologically relevant radicals and a series of molecular devices inspired by radical-protein interaction in photosystem I (PS-I). We demonstrate our methodology’s accuracy and capacity to provide insight into the in vivo environment and reactivity of bioradicals. Our DFT approach for the calculation of electronic g-tensors has been applied to semiquinone radical anions in the different protein environments of photosynthetic reaction centers. Supermolecular models have been constructed, based on combined crystallographic and quantum chemical structure data, for the QA and QB active sites of bacterial reaction centers, for the A1 site of PS-I, as well as for ubisemiquinone in frozen 2-propanol. After scaling of the computed gx components by 0.92, both gx and gy components computed at gradient-corrected DFT level with accurate spin-orbit operators agree with HF-EPR reference data essentially to within experimental accuracy in all four systems studied. The influence of the various semiquinone-protein non-covalent interactions has been studied by successive removal of individual residues from the models. The effects of hydrogen bonding to the two carbonyl oxygen atoms of the semiquinones was found to be nonadditive, due to compensating spin-polarization effects. The effects of tryptophan-semiquinone -stacking are different for QA and A1 sites. This may be traced back to a different alignment of the interacting fragments and to differential spin polarization. In the next part of this work our DFT methodology has been applied to the semiquinone in the environment of the “high-affinity” binding site of quinol oxidase (QH site). Recent multi-frequency EPR studies of the QH binding site of quinol oxidase have suggested a very asymmetric hydrogen-bonding environment for the semiquinone radical anion state. Single-sided hydrogen bonding to the O1 carbonyl position was one of the proposals, which contrasts with some previous experimental indications. The density functional calculations of the EPR parameters (g-tensors, 13C, 1H, and 17O hyperfine tensors) for a wide variety of supermolecular model complexes have been used to provide insight into the detailed relations between structure, environment and EPR parameters of ubisemiquinone radical anions. A single-sided binding model is not able to account for the experimentally observed low gx component of the g-tensor nor for the observed magnitude of the asymmetry of the 13C carbonyl hyperfine coupling (HFC) tensors. Based on the detailed comparison between computation and experiment, a model with two hydrogen bonds to O1 and one hydrogen bond to O4 was suggested for the QH site, but a model with one more hydrogen bond on each side could not be excluded. Additionally, several general conclusions on the interrelations between EPR parameters and hydrogen bond patterns of ubisemiquinones in proteins were provided. The computational studies related to the mechanism of electron transfer in PS-I gave an impetus to the theoretical design, based on quantum-chemical calculations, of relatively small rotational molecular motors made up from intramolecularly connected dyads consisting of a quinone unit and a pyrrole or indole moiety. It was shown computationally for several systems, depending on the length and attachment points of the interconnecting chains, that a reduction of the quinone to the semiquinone radical anion or quinolate dianion states leads to a reversible intramolecular reorientation from a -stacked to a T-stacked arrangement. In the rearranged structures, a hydrogen bond from the pyrrole or indole N-H function to the semiquinone or quinolate -system is created upon reduction. In some systems, hydrogen bonds to the semiquinone or quinolate oxygen atoms are partly feasible and will be preferred over T-stacking. It was shown that the intramolecular interactions modify the quinone redox potentials. The electronic g-tensors computed for the semiquinone states reflected characteristically the presence and nature of hydrogen bonds to the semiquinone and were suggested as suitable EPR spectroscopic probes for the preferred structures. Intramolecular proton transfer was observed to be possible in the dianionic state. In contrast to semiquinones, which represent paramagnetic states of enzyme cofactors, glycyl radicals are genuine protein radicals. As a step towards an in-depth understanding of the EPR parameters of glycyl radicals in proteins, the hyperfine- tensors and, particularly, the g-tensor of N-acetylglcyl in the environment of a single crystal of N-acetylglycine have been studied by systematic state-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations on various suitable model systems. The quantitative computation of the g-tensors for such glycyl-derived radicals is a veritable challenge, mainly due to the very small g-anisotropy combined with a non-symmetrical, delocalized spin-density distribution and several atoms with comparable spin-orbit contributions to the g-tensors. The choice of gauge origin of the magnetic vector potential, and of approximate spin-orbit operators, both turn out to be more critical than found in previous studies of g-tensors for organic radicals. Environmental effects, included by supermolecular hydrogen-bonded models, were found to be moderate, due to a partial compensation between the influences from intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The largest effects on the g-tensor are caused by the conformation of the radical. The DFT methods employed systematically overestimate both the gx and gy components of the g-tensor. This is important for investigations on the protein-glycyl radicals (see next paragraph). The 1H and 13C hyperfine couplings depend only slightly on the supermolecular model chosen and appear less sensitive probes of detailed structure and environment. The number of enzymes that require a glycyl-based radical for their function is growing. Here we provide systematic quantum-chemical studies of spin-density distributions, electronic g-tensors, and hyperfine couplings of various models of protein-bound glycyl radicals. Similarly to what was found for N-acetylglycyl (see previous paragraph), the small g-anisotropy for this delocalized, unsymmetrical system presents appreciable challenges to state-of-the-art computational methodology. This pertains to the quality of structure optimization, as well as to the choice of spin-orbit Hamiltonian and gauge origin of the magnetic vector potential. Environmental effects due to hydrogen bonding are complicated and depend in a subtle fashion on the different intramolecular hydrogen bonding for different conformations of the radical. Indeed, the conformation has the largest overall effect on the computed g-tensors (less so on the hyperfine-tensors). We discuss this in the context of different g-tensors obtained by recent HF-EPR measurements for three different enzymes. Based on results of calibration study for N-acetylglycyl, we support that the glycyl radical observed for E.coli anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase (ARNR) has a fully extended conformation, which differs from those of the corresponding radicals in pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) or benzylsuccinate synthase (BSS).
The introductory chapter reviews the current state of mechanistic understanding of the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction. With the rapid development of the HDDA reaction from its first discovery in 1997, the question of whether a concerted or stepwise mechanism better describes the thermally activated formation of ortho-benzyne from a diyne and a diynophile has been debated. Mechanistic and kinetic investigations were able to show that this is not a black or white situation, as minor changes can tip the balance. In chapter 2 of this thesis, the catalytic process leading from 1,11-bis(p-tolyl)undeca-1,3,8,10-tetrayne to fully-substituted naphthalene and azulene derivatives, by two different platinum-catalyzed dimerization pathways, was investigated. In chapter 3, the cannibalistic self-trapping reaction of an ortho-benzyne derivative generated from 1,11-bis(p-tolyl)undeca-1,3,8,10-tetrayne in an HDDA reaction was investigated. Without adding any specific trapping agent, the highly reactive benzyne is trapped by another bisdiyne molecule in at least three different modes. In chapter 4 direct UV/VIS spectroscopic evidence for the existence of an o-benzyne in solution is reported, and the dynamics of its formation in a photo-induced reaction are established. For this purpose, 1,11-bis(p-tolyl)undeca-1,3,8,10-tetrayne was investigated, using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the ultraviolet/visible region. In chapter 5, following the isolation and characterization of the reaction products discussed in chapter 3, further species resulting from reactions of the highly reactive ortho-benzyne derivative were identified.
1. Bis(1-(4-tolyl)-carboran-2-yl)-(4-tolyl)-borane, a new bis(o-carboranyl)-(R)-borane 1 was synthesised by lithiation of the o-carboranyl precursor and subsequent salt metathesis reaction with (4-tolyl)BBr2. Cyclic voltammetry experiments on 1 show multiple distinct reduction events with a one-electron first reduction. In a selective reduction experiment the corresponding paramagnetic radical anion 1•− was isolated and characterized. Single-crystal structure analyses allow an in-depth comparison of 1, 1•−, their calculated geometries, and the S1 excited state of 1.
2. The choice of backbone linker for ortho-bis-(9-borafluorene)s has a great influence on the LUMO located at the boron centers and therefore the reactivity of the respective compounds. Herein, we report the room temperature rearrangement of 1,2-bis-(9-borafluorenyl-)-ortho-carborane, C2B10H10-1,2-[B(C12H8)]2 ([2a]) featuring o-carborane as the inorganic three-dimensional backbone and the synthesis of 1,2-bis-(9-borafluorenyl-)benzene, C6H4-1,2-[B(C12H8)]2 (2b) its phenylene analog. DFT calculations on the transition state for the rearrangement support an intramolecular C–H bond activation process via an SEAr-like mechanism in [2a], and predicted that the same rearrangement would take place in 2b, but at elevated temperatures, which indeed proved to be the case.
3. We synthesized 4 a julolidine-like pyrenyl-o-carborane, with pyrene substituted at the 2,7-positions on the HOMO/LUMO nodal plane, continuing our research. Using solid state molecular structures, photophysical data, cyclic voltammetry, DFT and TD-DFT calculations we compare o-carborane and the B(mes)2 (mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2) as acceptor groups and confirm the julolidine-like donor strength.
π-Conjugated organic polymers have attracted tremendous attention in the last decades, and the interest in these materials is mainly driven by their applicability in next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics). The partial or complete replacement of carbon atoms by main group elements in conjugated polymers can significantly change the characteristics and applications of these macromolecules. In this work, a class of inorganic polymers comprising a backbone of exclusively boron and nitrogen atoms (poly(iminoborane)s, PIBs) and their monodisperse oligomers is described. In addition, novel inorganic–organic hybrid polymers containing BN units in their polymer backbone were synthesized and characterized.
In chapter 2.1, the development of catalytic B–N coupling routes for the controlled synthesis of macromolecular materials is described. While the reaction of an N-silyl-B-chloro-aminoborane with the electrophilic reagent trimethylsilyl triflate led to effective B–N coupling, the reaction with a silver(I) salt resulted in an intramolecular Cl/Me exchange between the boron and silicon centers.
In chapter 2.2-2.4, the study of oligo- and poly(iminoborane)s is discussed. Monodisperse and cyclolinear oligo(iminoborane)s based on diazaborolidines with up to 7 boron and 8 nitrogen atoms were synthesized by successively extending the B-N main chain. However, the use of benzodiazaborolines only led to limited BN catenation. Furthermore, the redistribution processes resulting from the reaction of longer oligomers with non-stoichiometric amounts of (di)halogenated boranes is reported.
In chapter 2.5-2.6, the synthesis of 1,2,5-azadiborolanes as building blocks for the synthesis of poly(iminoborane)s and inorganic-organic hybrid polymers is described. While the attempt to apply an azadiborolane with sterically demanding groups on the boron-bridging ethylene unit for the construction of PIB was unfeasible, it was successfully incorporated in inorganic-organic hybrid polymers. Photophysical studies indicated π-conjugation along the polymer chain. A first attempt to synthesize PIBs based on azadiborolanes with unsubstituted ethylene units showed promising results.
In chapter 2.7-2.8, a comprehensive study of poly(arylene iminoborane)s, which are BN analogs of poly(arylene vinylene)s is described, and the properties of four polymers as well as twelve monodisperse oligomers were investigated. Photophysical investigations of the monomers, dimers and polymers showed a systematic bathochromic shift of the absorption maximum with increasing chain length and thiophene content. Based on TD-DFT calculations of the model oligomers, the lowest-energy absorption band could be assigned to HOMO to LUMO transitions with π-π* character. The oligo- and poly(arylene iminoborane)s showed only very weak to no emission in solution but they were emissive in the solid state. For four oligomers the aggregation induced emission (AIE) in a THF/water mixture was investigated and DLS studies confirmed the formation of nanoaggregates.
In chapter 2.9, oligo- and polymerizations of sulfur-containing building blocks and subsequent pH-triggered degradation of the products is described. While a sulfilimine-containing oligomer could not be isolated, the sulfone-, sulfoximine-, and sulfoxide-containing molecular oligomers and polymers could be successfully synthesized by B=N or B–O bond formation reactions. The sulfur-containing building blocks were successfully released under acidic or basic conditions, which was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.
This dissertation describes the synthesis of an unsymmetrically-substituted triarylborane. This term describes a three-coordinate boron atom that is bound to three different aromatic systems, namely 2,6-dimethylphenyl, mesityl, and 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-2,6-dimethylphenyl. It is also demonstrated that the amine functionality can be converted with methyl triflate into an ammonium moiety. The investigation of photophysical and electrochemical properties of this compound in comparison with the non-aminated and di-aminated analogues of the triarylborane is described besides other investigations of e. g. singlet oxygen sensitization, rotational barriers, and fundamental DFT calculations. Based on these investigations, selectively mono-, bis- and tris-dimethylamino- and trimethylammonium-substituted bis-triarylborane bithiophene chromophores were synthesized and their photophysical, and electrochemical properties were investigated together with the water solubility and singlet oxygen sensitizing efficiency of the cationic compounds Cat1+, Cat2+, Cat(i)2+, and Cat3+. Comparing these properties with the results obtained for the mono-triarylboranes reveals a large influence of the bridging unit on the investigated properties of the bis-triarylboranes. In addition, the interaction of the cationic bis-triarylboranes with different polynucleotides were investigated in buffered solutions as well as the ability of these selectively charged compounds to enter and localize within organelles of human lung carcinoma and normal lung cells. All these investigations demonstrate that the number of charges and their distribution influences the interactions and staining properties as well as most of the other properties investigated.
In addition, preliminary investigations on H2O2-cleavable boronate esters in the presence of stochiometric amounts of H2O2 are described for three different aryl boronate esters.
This thesis describes the inclusion of dynamical effects in the theoretical calculation of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopic parameters. The studies were performed using Density Functional Theory (DFT) methodology and a perturbation-theoretical approach to g-tensor calculations. Hydrogen atoms trapped in octasilasesquioxane cages display unexpectly high, positive g-values. Computational simulation of these systems successfully reproduced the positive g-values and found them to arise from spin-orbit coupling around the oxygen nuclei. Dynamical effects were estimated by calculating the potential well in which the hydrogen atom moves. Semiquinone radical anions are important bioradicals that play a role in photosynthesis and respiration. The simplest and most prototypical, benzosemiquinone anion, was simulated both in the gas phase and in aqueous solution by Car-Parrinello Molecular Dynamics (CPMD). The neutral benzoquinone was also simulated for comparison. The solvation environments of both the anionic and neutral molecules were analysed and compared. EPR parameters were calculated for the semiquinone, providing the first example of full inclusion of dynamic effects in g-tensor calculation. The effects of different solvation interactions on the g-tensor and hyperfine interactions were extensively examined. Additionally, static calculations (i.e., calculations not incorporating any dynamical effects) were performed. Comparison between these (and prior computational studies) and the dynamical system allowed an assessment of the effects of dynamics on solvation and EPR parameters. Ubisemiquinone radical anion, one of the most widely-occurring semiquinone radicals, was simulated in the aqueous phase using CPMD. The solvation environment was analysed and EPR parameters were calculated. The motion of the side-chain, and its effects on solvation and EPR parameters, were examined.
Für die Lösung der quantenmechanischen Bewegungsgleichungen, die komplexe, molekulare Systeme beschreiben, sind effiziente und verlässliche Näherungsverfahren erforderlich. Die Dichtefunktionaltheorie (DFT) stellt für die Behandlung der Elektronenwechselwirkung in vielen Fällen den besten Kompromiss zwischen Effizienz und Genauigkeit dar. Im Rahmen der DFT wird die gesamte nicht-klassische Elektron-Elektron-Wechselwirkung im so genannten Austausch-Korrelationsfunktional angenähert. Viele solcher Näherungen sind semi-empirischer Natur, andere wurden ausschließlich von physikalischen Überlegungen abgeleitet. In globalen Hybridfunktionale wird ein konstanter Anteil der integrierten DFT-Austauschenergiedichte durch exakten Austausch aus der Hartree-Fock Näherung ersetzt. Das populärste Funktional B3LYP enthält 20 % exakten Austausch und mehrere empirische Parameter. Der optimale Prozentsatz hängt allerdings sehr stark von den zu berechnenden Systemen und molekularen Eigenschaften ab. Eine Lösung dieses Problems sollten lokale Hybridfunktionale liefern, in denen die Beimischung der exakten Austauschenergiedichte über eine lokale Mischfunktion (LMF) gesteuert wird und daher positions- und molekülabhängig ist. In dieser Arbeit wird ein semi-empirischer Ansatz für die Entwicklung neuer lokaler Hybridfunktionale verfolgt: während die Energiedichten unverändert aus etablierten Näherungen zum Austauschkorrelationsfunktional übernommen werden, stehen parametrisierte LMFs im Zentrum der Untersuchungen. Die verschiedenen LMFs beinhalten neben mindestens einem empirischen Parameter eine Variable die vom Quotienten der von-Weizsäcker kinetischen Energiedichte und der korrelierten kinetischen Energiedichte (sogenannte t-LMFs) bzw. dem reduzierten Dichtegradienten (bezeichnet als t-LMFs) abhängt. Weitere LMFs werden durch zusätzliche Berücksichtigung der Spinpolarisation erhalten. Alle Parameter werden an Atomisierungsenergien bzw. Reaktionsbarrieren bekannter molekularer Testsätze gefittet. Durch Visualisierung der LMFs können zusätzlich Einblicke in den physikalischen Hintergrund und in Möglichkeiten der Weiterentwicklung gewonnen werden. Es wurde beispielsweise beobachtet, dass entlang einer gedehnten Bindung höhere Werte der LMF und damit größere Beimischungen exakter Austauschenergie in Übergangszuständen einhergehen. Dieser Effekt ist für t-LMFs am ausgeprägtesten und korreliert mit besseren Ergebnissen für Reaktionsbarrieren mit lokalen Hybridfunktionalen, die auf einer t-LMF basieren. Bis auf wenige Ausnahmen leiten sich die lokalen Hybridfunktionale in dieser Arbeit aus dem Austausch- und Korrelationsfunktional der lokalen Dichtenäherung (LSDA) ab und enthalten keine Gradientenkorrektur im Sinne der GGA (generalized gradient approximation). Die neuen Funktionale wurden zunächst nicht-selbstkonsistent in eine Entwicklerversion des quantenchemischen Programmpaketes Turbomole implementiert. Das bedeutet, für gegebene Molekülorbitale bzw. eine gegeben Elektronendichte kann lediglich die Gesamtenergie berechnet werden. Dies ist eine anerkannte Näherung, die vor allem für die Optimierung der Parameter eine große Zeitersparnis darstellt. Um letztlich orbitalabhängige, molekulare Eigenschaften berechnen zu können wird neben der Gesamtenergie auch noch das zugehörige lokale Hybridpotential benötigt. Für die selbstkonsistente Implementierung wird die funktionale Ableitung der Austauschkorrelationsenergie nach den Orbitalen bestimmt. Daraus resultierend müssen neben den üblichen lokalen Austauschkorrelationspotentialtermen auch Integrale berechnet werden, die das mit der LMF gewichtete nicht-lokale exakte Austauschpotential enthalten. Die entsprechenden Terme kann man, genauso wie die exakte Austauschenergiedichte an sich, nicht analytisch berechnen. Früheren Ansätzen folgend wurden sie in der vorliegenden Arbeit in einer Basissatzentwicklung angenähert, wobei der Einfachheit halber die atomaren Basisfunktionen verwendet wurden. Um die Genauigkeit dieser sogenannten RI (resolution of the identity)-Näherung validieren zu können und auch schon im Hinblick auf die Anpassung einer Hilfsbasis, wurde darüber hinaus die numerische Berechnung aller Integrale, die das exakte Austauschpotential und die entsprechende Energiedichte enthalten, implementiert. Unter Verwendung der RI-Näherung ist der Rechenaufwand lokaler Hybride vergleichbar mit dem globaler Hybridfunktionale: Während die formale Skalierung in Abhängigkeit der Systemgröße gleich ist, ergab sich ein etwas höherer Vorfaktor für die lokalen Hybride. Verschiedene Literaturbekannte Testsätze mit Atomisierungsenergien, Reaktionsbarrieren, Dissoziationsenergien oder Gleichgewichtsabständen, die teilweise einige Schwächen bisheriger Dichtefunktionalnäherungen aufdecken, wurden berücksichtigt. Für die 223 Atomisierungsenergien des G3 Testsatzes stellen alle unsere Funktionale eine signifikante Verbesserung gegenüber B3LYP dar. Atomisierungsenergien sind insofern ein sensibler Test, da alle Bindungen gebrochen werden und Fehlerkompensation eine untergeordnete Rolle spielt. Vor allem lokale Hybridfunktionale, deren LMFs neben der kinetischen Energiedichte explizit von der Spinpolarisation abhängen, lieferten hervorragende Resultate. Obwohl im Vergleich zu Atomisierungsenergien für die korrekte Berechnung von Reaktionsbarrieren im Allgemeinen mehr exakter Austausch benötigt wird, sind unsere Funktionale auch für zwei Testsätze mit jeweils 38 Reaktionsbarrieren besser als B3LYP. Zwar kann mit einem globalen Hybrid mit 50 % exaktem Austausch eine geringere Abweichung von den Richtwerten erzielt werden, aber ein solches Funktional ist für thermochemische Daten unzureichend. Hier wurde erstmals gezeigt, dass lokale Hybridfunktionale ohne Gradientenkorrektur sowohl für Thermochemie als auch für Kinetik zufrieden stellende Ergebnisse liefern können. Das Dissoziationsverhalten symmetrischer Radikalkationen stellt für die hier diskutierten Dichtefunktionale nach wie vor eine Herausforderung dar: Die Dissoziationsenergien von sieben Modellsystemen werden mit unseren Funktionalen stark überschätzt und Gleichgewichtsabstände unterschätzt. Insgesamt sind die Werte nur marginal besser als mit B3LYP. Neben Eigenschaften von Hauptgruppenverbindungen wurden zudem Übergangsmetalldimere und -monohydride untersucht. Für erstere ist eine gute Beschreibung dynamischer sowie statischer Elektronenkorrelation ausschlaggebend. In den Hydriden andererseits dominiert mit gängigen Dichtefunktionalen die unphysikalische Selbstwechselwirkung eines Elektrons mit sich selbst. Für die 3d-Übergangsmetalldimere sind die getesteten Funktionale genauso gut wie B3LYP und für die Hydride etwas besser. Atomare s-d Transferenergien von 3d Übergangsmetallen verbleiben auch für unsere lokalen Hybridfunktionale, die insgesamt schlechtere Ergebnisse erzielen als B3LYP, noch problematisch. Das hierfür geeignetste lokale Hybridfunktional basiert auf einer s-LMF und beinhaltet LYP Korrelation. Für die isotropen Hyperfeinkopplungskonstanten (HFCCs) kleiner Hauptgruppenverbindungen wurden zufriedenstellende Ergebnisse (ähnlich wie B3LYP) mit einem t-LMF basierten lokalen Hybrid erzielt. Die RI Näherung zum lokalen Hybridpotential wurde dem numerisch exakten Potential für die Berechnung von Gesamtenergien, isotrope HFCCs und Orbitalenergien für verschiedene Basissätze gegenübergestellt. Wie erwartet ist der Fehler für Gesamtenergien mit der RI-Näherungen vergleichsweise gering, vor allem relativ zu den verbleibenden Abweichungen von experimentellen Energien. Der Vergleich der mittleren absoluten Abweichung von experimentellen Werten für 26 isotrope HFCCs zeigt sogar für mittelgroße und kontrahierte IGLO Basissätze nur geringe Unterschiede zwischen dem RI-Potential und dem numerisch exakten lokalen Hybridpotential. Die Analyse der HFCCs einzelner Moleküle und der Orbitalenergien des CN Moleküls offenbart allerdings, dass Ungenauigkeiten aufgrund der RI-Näherung hier eine größere Rolle spielen, vor allem wenn zu kleine atomare Basissätze verwendet werden. Von den untersuchten lokalen Hybriden stellen sich einige als hervorragende Kandidaten für die Berechnung thermochemischer und kinetischer Eigenschaften heraus. Jeweils unterschiedliche Funktionale erzielen darüber hinaus mit den besten bekannten Funktionalen vergleichbare Ergebnisse für isotrope Hyperfeinkopplungskonstanten und ausgewählte Eigenschaften kleiner Übergangsmetallverbindungen. Die in dieser Arbeit präsentierten lokalen Hybridfunktionale stellen daher einen wichtigen Schritt in der Entwicklung universeller Näherungen zum Austauschkorrelationsfunktional dar. Zur akkuraten Beschreibung molekularer Eigenschaften von Übergangsmetallkomplexen und dem Dissoziationsverhalten von Radikal-Kation-Dimeren neben Thermochemie und Kinetik, werden in Zukunft wohl komplexere LMFs benötigt. Um konkurrenzfähige lokale Hybride mit gradientenkorrigierter Austausch- und Korrelationsenergiedichte zu entwickeln, müssen darüber hinaus weitere Studien zum Einfluss des abweichenden Eichursprungs der miteinander kombinierten Austauschenergiedichten durchgeführt werden. Eine andere Möglichkeit ist die Entwicklung speziell abgestimmter Korrelationsfunktionale für lokale Hybride. Außerdem sollte die Qualität der RI-Näherung zum lokalen Hybridpotential detaillierter untersucht werden. Hierfür könnten zum Beispiel Ionisierungsenergien und Elektronenaffinitäten herangezogen werden. Um zusätzliche Abweichungen oder sogar fälschlicherweise "zu gute" Ergebnisse bei Validierungsrechnungen zu vermeiden, sollten Hilfsbasen für die Entwicklung des nicht-lokalen exakten Austauschpotentials implementiert und optimiert werden. Einer der nächsten Implementierungsschritte sollte auch Gradienten bezüglich der Kernkoordinaten beinhalten, um die Validierung der neuen lokalen Hybridfunktionale auf Strukturoptimierungen auszuweiten.
In the context of this work, important trends in the influence of the metal center, coligand, and alkyne reaction partner on the iClick reaction of square-planar palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes with a N^N^N, C^N^N, or S^N^N coordination sphere and a number of internal as well as terminal alkynes were elaborated. Preliminary bioactivity studies on a human cancer cell line gave low micromolar EC50 values, for the most promising compound comparable to cisplatin serving as a reference drug. The further application of the iClick reaction to bioconjugation will be explored in future work.
Within the studies concerning metallo-silanols, halfsandwich-tungsten complexes have been silanol-functionalized at the cyclopentadienyl ligand. The stability and the condensation behavior have been investigated. Thus, it was shown that these complexes are stable enough for isolation but they are reactiv enough for time-effective condensation reactions with diverse chlorosilanes, chlorostannanes or metalhalogenides. These processes are characterized by an increased reactivity in contrast to metallo-silanols with a direct metal-bonded silanol group and proves that the separation of the silanol group has to be regarded as a successful manipulation. In addition, this modification allows a wide variation of the ligand sphere of the metal which was shown by H/Cl exchange, methylation, silylation or phosphine substitution. These changes evoke a small but significant influence on the silanol group. For example leads an introduced phosphine to an enhanced stability of the silanol function. A further separation of the silanol group from the metal by an additional alkylidene spacer leads to the complete lost of the stabilizing effect of the metal fragment and generates silanols which show a condensation behavior very similar to those of ordinary organosilanols.
It is generally acknowledged that polyfluoroarenes are important fluorinated structural units for various organic molecules, such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and organic materials. Polyfluorinated aryl alkynes and alcohols are also powerful building blocks in chemical synthesis because of their versatility to be transformed into various useful molecules and also their ubiquity in natural product synthesis. Efficient methods for the synthesis of polyfluorinated aryl alkynes and alcohols are presented in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. In addition, 3-amino-indoles have found a broad applications in medicinal chemistry as effective anticancer agents, compounds with analgesic properties and can function as potent inhibitors of tubulin polymerization, and agents for the prevention of type II diabetes. A simple method for the synthesis of 3-amino-indoles via the annulation reaction of polyfluorophenylboronates with DMF is reported in Chapter 4.
Chapter 2
In Chapter 2, a mild process for the copper-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of electron-deficient polyfluorophenylboronate esters with terminal alkynes (Scheme S-1) is reported. This method displays good functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope, generating cross-coupled alkynyl(fluoro)arene products in moderate to excellent yields. This copper-catalyzed reaction was conducted on a gram scale to generate the corresponding product in good yield (72%).
Scheme S-1. Copper-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of terminal alkynes with polyfluorophenylboronate esters.
Based on previous reports and the aforementioned observations, a plausible catalytic cycle for this oxidative cross-coupling reaction is shown in Scheme S-2. The first step involves the addition of an alkynyl anion to Cu leading to the formation of alkynylcopper(II) species B. Subsequent transmetalation between ArFBpin and intermediate B occurs to form intermediate C. The desired product 3a is generated by eductive elimination. Finally, the oxidation of Cu(0) to Cu(II) with DDQ and Ag2O regenerates A to complete the catalytic cycle.
Scheme S-2. Proposed mechanism of copper(II)-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling between terminal alkynes and polyfluorophenylboronate esters.
Chapter 3
In Chapter 3, A convenient and efficient protocol for the transition metal-free 1,2-addition of polyfluoroaryl boronate esters to aldehydes and ketones is reported, which provides secondary alcohols, tertiary alcohols, and ketones (Scheme S-3). The distinguishing features of this procedure include the employment of commercially available starting materials and the broad scope of the reaction with a wide variety of carbonyl compounds giving moderate to excellent yields.
Scheme S-3. Base-promoted 1,2-addition of polyfluorophenylboronates to aldehydes and ketones.
Control experiments were carried out to gain insight into the reaction mechanism. The reaction of 2a with pentafluorobenzene 5 under standard conditions was examined, yet 3a was not formed in any detectable amounts (Scheme S-4a), indicating that the C-Bpin moiety is essential and deprotonation of the fluoroarene or nucleophilic attack at the fluoroarene by the base is not a plausible pathway. Interestingly, for the standard reaction between 1a and 2a, the yield dropped dramatically if 18-crown-6 ether and K2CO3 were added (Scheme S-4b). This experimental result indicates that the presence of the potassium ion plays a crucial role for the outcome of the reaction. Furthermore, if the reaction of 1a and 2a was performed in the presence of only a catalytic amount of K2CO3 (20 mol%) (Scheme S-4c), reaction rates were reduced, and a week was required to produce 3a in good yield. This finding again indicates that the potassium ion (or the base) plays an important role in the reaction. Substituting ortho-fluorines by ortho-chlorines, using either C6Cl5Bpin 2,6-dichlorophenyl-1-Bpin as substrates, did not yield any product as shown by in situ GCMS studies.
Scheme S-4. Control experiments.
Based on DFT calculations, a mechanism for the 1,2-addition of polyfluorophenylboronates to aryl aldehydes in the presence of K2CO3 as base is proposed, as shown in Scheme S-5. K2CO3 interacts with the Lewis-acidic Bpin moiety of substrate 1 to generate base adduct A, which weakens the carbon-boron bond and ultimately cleaves the BC bond along with attachment of a potassium cation to the aryl group. The resulting ArF- anion adduct B undergoes nucleophilic attack at the aldehyde carbon atom of substrate 2 to generate methanolate C. The methanolate oxygen atom then attacks the electrophilic Bpin group to obtain compound D. Transfer of K2CO3 from intermediate D to the boron atom of the more Lewis-acidic polyfluorophenyl-Bpin 1 finally closes the cycle and regenerates complex A. Thus, the primary reaction product is the O-borylated addition product E, which was detected by HRMS and NMR spectroscopy for the perfluorinated derivative.
Scheme S-5. Proposed mechanism of the 1,2-addition of polyfluorophenylboronates to aldehydes and ketones.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 presents a novel protocol for the transition metal-free addition and annulation of polyfluoroarylboronate esters to DMF, which provides 3-aminoindoles and tertiary amines in moderate to excellent yields (Scheme S-6).
Scheme S-6. Annulation and addition reactions of polyfluorophenylboronates with DMF.
While exploring the application of this strategy in synthesis, perfluorophenylBpin reacted smoothly with ethynylarenes and DMF to afford propargylamines with moderate to excellent yields (Scheme S-7).
Scheme S-7. Three-component cross-coupling reaction for the synthesis of propargylamines.
The main aim of this work was the classification of highly polar E–N (E = Al, Si, P) and Li–E’ (E’ = C, N, O) bonds in terms of ionic (closed-shell) or covalent (shared) interactions. To answer this question the experimentally determined electron density was analyzed using Bader’s theory of ‘Atoms in Molecules’ (AIM). This allows a quantitative evaluation of properties derived from the electron density, such as the Laplacian, the ellipticitiy and the ratio of the highest charge concentration perpendicular to the bond path, to the largest charge depletion along the bonding vector. Most of these properties were monitored along the entire bonding region and not limited to the BCP as in former studies. The analyses are completed by the calculation of the electronic energy densities Hl at the BCPs and the integration of atomic basins also defined within the AIM theory. The electrostatic potential (ESP) was computed from the multipole parameters to reveal preferred reactive sites of the structures under investigation. Apart from that, the multipole formalism was applied to problematic crystal structures in order to open this method for twinned samples or those including disordered groups in the molecule.