Dinuclear adducts of di-o-iminoquinone ligands with CoII diketonates: computational insights into two-step valence tautomeric rearrangements.

Density functional theory (DFT) computational modeling [B3LYP*/6-311++G(d,p)] of a series of potentially valence tautomeric (VT) dinuclear 2:1 adducts of CoII bis-acetylacetonate, bis-trifluoroacetylacetonate and bis-hexafluoroacetylacetonate with redox-active tetradentate di-o-iminoquinone ligands has been performed. The significant energy preference of the low-spin electromeric forms of the complexes on the basis of CoII bis-acetylacetonate points to a low probability of VT in these compounds. Electron-withdrawing CF3-groups in the diketonate moiety of the mixed-ligand complexes promote narrowing of the energy gaps between the electronic states, which allows one-step VT rearrangements to be expected in the adducts of CoII bis-trifluoromethylacetylacetonate. The most suitable energy parameters for the occurrence of two-step VT conversion (stability of the adduct with respect to dissociation into the components, small relative energies of electromeric forms and thermally achievable energy barriers to intramolecular electron transfers estimated as minimum energy crossing points) are found for the adduct of di-o-iminoquinone with CoII bis-trifluoroacetylacetonates comprising a diphenylene linker.

Study of µ- and δ-Opioid Activities in Agents with Various κ-Receptor Selectivity.

A putative opioid agonist RU-1205 was ineffective within in vitro model of electrically induced contractions of rat ileum assessing the µ- and δ-opioid receptor pathways, while morphine inhibited these contractions in a dose-dependent and naloxone-reversible manners with EC50=2.6×10-7 M. In vivo experiments revealed no significant effects of RU-1205 on respiration and gastrointestinal tract contractile activity. In contrast, butorphanol decreased respiration rate by 25% (25-100 mg/kg) and slowed down the transit of labeled particles along the small intestine by 77.1% (1 mg/kg) and by 45.5% (10 mg/kg). Morphine-induced inhibition of peristalsis was dose-dependent with maximum effect (by 68.6%) observed in the dose of 10 mg/kg. It was concluded that the effects of RU-1205 are not related to activation µ- and δ-opioid receptors known to mediate the effects of non-selective opioid agonist morphine and agonist-antagonist butorphanol.

Quantum chemical modeling of magnetically bistable metal coordination compounds. Synchronization of spin crossover, valence tautomerism and charge transfer induced spin transition mechanisms.

It has been shown that the computationally designed bimetallic complexes formed as the adducts of Co(II) diketonates and salicylaldiminates with Fe(II) chelates of 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione are susceptible to the synchronized thermally induced intramolecular rearrangements between their electromeric forms LSCo(III)-SQ-LSFe(II), LSCo(III)-SQ-HSFe(II), HSCo(II)-BQ-LSFe(II), HSCo(II)-BQ-HSFe(II) and also HSCo(II)-SQ-LSFe(III), which are governed by the spin-crossover (SCO), valence tautomerism (VT) and charge-transfer-induced spin transition (CTIST) mechanisms of spin-state switching. Stability of the adducts with respect to dissociation into components, relative energies and magnetic properties of the electromers and energy barriers against VT and unprecedented one-step (SCO + VT) rearrangements (estimated as minimum energy crossing points on the seams of the intersection of the corresponding potential energy surfaces) were calculated using the DFT (B3LYP*/6-311++G(d,p)) method. The calculations showed that all these characteristics of the system as well as the energy preferred spin-state switchable mechanisms are very sensitive to the structure of the cobalt diketonate (salicylaldiminate) fragment and can be varied and interchanged by the introduction of electron withdrawing substituents into the ligands.

Theoretical modeling of valence tautomeric dinuclear cobalt complexes. Adducts of Co(II) diketonates with cyclic redox-active tetraone ligands.

The approach to the employment of the mechanism of valence tautomerism (VT) for the design of molecular 2-qubit quantum gates has been extended to adducts 5-8 of Co(II) bis-(malonates), bis-(acetylacetonates), bis-(hexafluoroacetylacetonates) and bis-(trifluoroacetylacetonates) with tetradentate tetraone (cyclic di-o-quinones) redox-active piperazine-2,3,5,6-tetraone L5 (X = NH), 3,3,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexane-1,2,4,5-tetraone L5 (X = C(CH3)2), cyclopenta[fg]acenaphthylene-1,2,5,6-tetraone L6, cyclopenta[fg]acenaphthylene-3,4,7,8-tetraone L7 and pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone L8 and computationally studied using the B3LYP*/6-311++G(d,p) method. The calculations reveal ferromagnetic ordering of unpaired electrons in the low-spin electromeric forms of complexes 8 (R1, R2 = H, CH3, CF3) on the basis of L8, which provides for the paramagnetic character of all three interconverting electromers of 8 and makes it possible to realize the two-step mechanism of thermally driven migration of paramagnetic centers between the pyrene-tetraone fragment and metal ions. Through the structural variation of the ancillary diketonate ligands the energy gaps between the electromeric forms of adducts 8 and energy barriers for their interconversion were adjusted to the range of values typical of thermal VT rearrangements. The best energy parameters for the occurrence of thermal two-step VT rearrangements involving all three paramagnetic electromeric forms can be achieved for complex 8 (R1 = CH3, R2 = CF3), which was shown to meet the principal conditions for compounds with a potential role of spin qubit carriers: thermal stability with respect to dissociation into the components, thermally accessible energy barriers for the interconversion of the electromers and weak coupling between their paramagnetic centers.

Cyclic aromatic systems with hypervalent centers.

Strong attractive intramolecular X<--Y(S, NR') interactions of 1,5-type occurring between terminal electron-rich main-group 15-17 centers (X = pnictogen, chalcogen, or halogen) and carbonyl, thione, or imine groups (Y = O, S, NR') incorporated into the conjugated -X-CH=CH-CH=Y fragments result in significant stabilization of cis-s-cis structure of these molecules, which may be viewed as the five-membered pseudo-heterocycles with the hypervalent arrangements across the pnictogen, chalcogen, or halogen centers. In derivatives of beta-chalcovinylaldehydes and isoelectronic chloronium cations, one of two lone electron pairs at X = S, Se, Te, Cl+ possesses pure p character and is involved in conjugation with the pi-system of the rest of the molecule, which leads to an appreciable contribution of the aromatic stabilization of the 6 pi-electron ring closed by the X<--Y bond. The aromaticity of these structures evaluated through calculation of the homodesmotic stabilization energies (HSE) increases in parallel with an increase in the strength of the intramolecular coordination bonds, i.e., in the order X = S, Se, Te and with an increase in electronegativity of a substituent attached to the chalcogen atom. Clear manifestation of the aromatic character of the cis-s-cis isomers of beta-chalcovinylaldehydes, their imines, as well as congeneric thiones and chloronium cations comes from the theoretical and experimental evidence for the pronounced equalization (as compared with the open trans-s-trans isomers) of the CC bond lengths. The cooperative effects of the hypervalent bonding and aromaticity are most distinct in the bicyclic structures of 1,6,6a lambda 4-trichalcapentalenes, their 1,6-dioxa(aza) analogues, and 1,6-dioxa-3a-aza-6a lambda 4-pnictapentalenes, in which two conjugated -X-CH=CH-CH=Y fragments are fused together via the symmetric -Y-X-Y- triad. The assessments based on the HSE values indicate that the aromaticity of these 10 pi-electron compounds is estimated as about 30-50% of the aromatic character of the most aromatic bicyclic structure of naphthalene. As shown by extensive ab initio calculations, substantial hypervalent bonding effects also operate in the case of beta-pnictovinylaldehydes formed by second and lower row pnictogen atoms (X = P, As, Sb, Bi), providing for the enhanced stability of their cis-s-cis configuration with respect to the free-of-strain trans-s-trans structures. The bicyclic 1,6,6a lambda 5-dioxapnictapentalene structure is also the most energy favorable form of these compounds. However, by contrast with the chalcogen and halonium analogues, the pseudo-cyclic structure of beta-pnictovinylaldehydes and the bicyclic structure of 1,6,6a lambda 5-dioxapnictapentalenes are maintained through primarily the occurrence of the hypervalent bonding across the pnictogen centers, whereas pi-delocalization is not (or weakly) operative in these compounds. A possible explanation for this finding is the low p character of the single lone electron pair at the pnictogen and orientation of the axis of its orbital, which is unfavorable for the optimal overlap with the pi-system of the rest of a molecule. As first proposed by Arduengo and Dixon, configurational isomerizations at the second and lower row tricoordinate pnictogen centers may proceed through the T-shaped hypervalent structures. Such a structure is strongly stabilized in the aromatic 1,6-dioxa-3a-aza-6a lambda 4-pnictapentalenes. It was found by calculations that the aromatic stabilization of the T-shaped hypervalent arrangement at the tricoordinate pnictogen center in 2H-1,3,2-dioxaphosphole and arsole arising due to withdrawal of two electrons from the pi-system of the ring onto the hypervalent electron-excessive center facilitates the rearrangement and directs it along the reaction path with the aromatic transition-state structure. Investigation of the influence of cooperative effects of hypervalent bonding and aromaticity on stability and mechanisms of reactions of main-group 14-17 compounds not considered in this review is the subject of our continuing research.