anti-Diradical Formation in 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions of Nitrile Oxides to Acetylenes.

By means of high level quantum chemical calculations (B2PLYPD and CCSD(T)), the mechanisms of the reaction of nitrile oxides with alkenes and alkynes were investigated. We were able to show that in the case of alkenes, regardless of the chosen substituents, the concerted mechanism is always energetically favored as compared to a two-step process, which runs through an anti-diradical species. In the case of alkynes, the concerted mechanism is favored only for the reaction of alkyl-substituted acetylenes. For aryl-substituted acetylenes, the activation barrier toward the anti-diradical is equal to or lower than the activation barrier of the concerted reaction. This reversal of the reaction paths is not only limited to nitrile oxides as dipolarophiles. Conditions favoring the anti-diradical path are the presence of a triple bond in both the 1,3-dipole and the dipolarophile and additionally an aryl substituent attached to the alkyne. The featured energy relationships between the reaction paths are able to explain the experimentally observed byproducts of the reaction of nitrile oxides with arylacetylenes. The discovered differences for the preferred reaction path of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to acetylenes should be of considerable interest to a broader field of chemists.

Encapsulated Guests in the Smallest Spaces: Shrinking Guests by Compression and Investigations under Solvent-Free Conditions.

Noncovalent interactions play a pivotal role in a variety of biological and chemical processes. The experimental determination and quantum chemical calculations of the forces driving these interactions are of utmost importance. Of special interest are interactions of molecules in small spaces which show phenomena different from conventional behavior in solution. An extension is the encapsulation of guests in smallest spaces: The guests are too large to be included under standard conditions and hence must be forced to intrude into the cavity. Here, we show the design of such a host-guest system which allows to directly compare the measured thermodynamic values to gas-phase quantum chemical calculations. Structural investigation of the complexes reveals that the encapsulation process causes not only an extension of the hollow space of the host but also a shrinking of the included guest by compression.

Light and chemically driven molecular machines showing a unidirectional four-state switching cycle.

The imitation of macroscopic movements at the molecular level is a key step in the development of nanomachines. The challenge is the synthesis of molecules that are able to transform external stimuli into a direction-controlled mechanical movement. The more complex such motion sequences are, the more difficult is the construction of the corresponding nanomachine. Here, we present a system that demonstrates a unidirectional, four-state switching cycle that bears similar characteristics to the arm movements of a human breaststroke swimmer. Like the latter, the molecules have a torso and two arms. The arms consist of bipyridine units and can be folded and stretched by addition and removal of copper ions. The unidirectional rotation of the arms is achieved by light-induced switching of an azo unit.

From eight-membered 10π electron sulfur-nitrogen cycles to bicycles and cages: a theoretical approach.

A simple way of rationalizing the structures of cyclic, bicyclic, and tricyclic sulfur-nitrogen species and their congeners is presented. Starting from a planar tetrasulfur tetranitride with 12π electrons, we formally derived on paper a number of heterocyclic eight-membered 10π electron species by reacting the 3p orbitals of two opposite sulfur centers with one radical each, or by replacing these centers by other atoms with five (P) or four (Si, C) valence electrons. This led to planar aromatic 10π electron systems, nonplanar bicyclic structures with a transannular S-S bond, and tricyclic structures by bridging the planar rings with an acceptor or donor unit. The final structures depend on the number of π electrons in the bridges. Intermediate biradicals are stabilized by Jahn-Teller distortion, giving transannular S-S bonds between the NSN units. This procedure may be summarized by two rules, which provide a rationale for the structures of a large number of sulfur-nitrogen-based molecules. The long bonds between the NSN units show a p character of >95 %. The qualitative results have been compared with known molecular structures and the results of B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations as well as CASSCF and CASVB calculations. B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations have also provided the UV/Vis spectra and the NICS values of the planar 10π systems.

4,4'-Bipyridine as a unidirectional switching unit for a molecular pushing motor.

A chirality switch in which the intrinsic chirality of a 4,4'-bipyridine is combined with a metal-ion-induced switching principle is described. In the uncomplexed state the 4,4'-bipyridine unit, which is linked to an S,S,S,S-configured cyclic imidazole peptide, is P-configured. The addition of zinc ions leads to a rotation around the C-C bond axis of the 4,4'-bipyridine and the M isomer of the metal complex is formed. By addition of a stronger complexing agent the metal ions are removed and the switch returns to its initial position. The combination of the chirality switch with a second switching unit allows the construction of a molecular pushing motor, which is driven chemically and by light.

Strongly underestimated dispersion energy in cryptophanes and their complexes.

Cryptophanes, composed of two bowl-shaped cyclotriveratrylene subunits linked by three aliphatic linker groups, are prototypal organic host molecules which bind reversibly neutral small guest compounds via London forces. The binding constants for these complexes are usually measured in tetrachloroethane and are in the range of 10(2)-10(3) M(-1). Here we show that tetrachloroethane is--in contrast to the scientific consensus--enclosed by the cryptophane-E cavity. By means of NMR spectroscopy we show that the binding constant for CHCl3@cryptophane-E is in larger solvents two orders of magnitudes higher than the one measured before. Ab initio calculations reveal that attractive dispersion energy is responsible for high binding constants and for the formation of imploded cryptophanes which seem to be more stable than cryptophanes with empty cavities.

A very stable complex of a modified marine cyclopeptide with chloroform.

Noncovalent interactions play a pivotal role in molecular recognition. These interactions can be subdivided into hydrogen bonds, cation-π interactions, ion pair interactions and London dispersion forces. The latter are considered to be weak molecular interactions and increase with the size of the interacting moieties. Here we show that even the small chloroform molecule forms a very stable complex with a modified marine cyclopeptide. By means of high-level quantum chemical calculations, the size of the dispersive interactions is calculated; the dispersion energy (approximately -40 kcal mol⁻¹) is approximately as high as if the four outer atoms of the guest form four strong hydrogen bonds with the host. This strong binding of chloroform to a modified marine cyclopeptide allows the speculation that the azole-containing cyclopeptides-haloform interaction may play some biological role in marine organisms such as algae.