Binding energies and 19F nuclear magnetic deshielding in paramagnetic halogen-bonded complexes of TEMPO with haloperfluorocarbons.

19F NMR measurements and theoretical calculations were performed to study paramagnetic complexes of iodoperfluorocarbons with stable nitroxide radicals. Contrary to what is usually measured for diamagnetic halogen-bonded complexes involving iodoperfluorocarbons, it was found that the formation of complexes with the 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl(piperidin-1-yloxyl) (TEMPO) radical determines downfield shifts in the 19F NMR spectra. The experimental finding was confirmed by calculating nuclear shielding using density functional theory and correcting the isotropic diamagnetic (19)F chemical shift with contact interactions evaluated from the hyperfine coupling tensor. The computational analysis of the interaction between CF3I and TEMPO, by using DFT and MP2 theories, showed that the occurrence of the halogen bond between the interacting partners is associated with a significant charge transfer to CF3I and that the measured downfield shift is due to the occurring spin transfer.

Hydroxylamines as oxidation catalysts: thermochemical and kinetic studies.

Bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE) of hydroxylamines containing alkyl, aryl, vinyl, and carbonyl substituents at the nitrogen atom have been determined by using the EPR radical equilibration technique in order to study the effect of the substituents on the O-H bond strength of these compounds. It has been found that substitution of an alkyl group directly bonded to the nitrogen atom with vinyl or aryl groups has a small effect, while substitution with acyl groups induces a large increase of the O-H BDE value. Thus, dialkyl hydroxylamines have O-H bond strengths of only ca. 70 kcal/mol, while acylhydroxylamines and N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI), containing two acyl substituents at nitrogen, are characterized by BDE values of ca. 80 and 88 kcal/mol, respectively. Since the phthalimide N-oxyl radical (PINO) has been recently proposed as an efficient oxidation catalyst of hydrocarbons or other substrates, the large BDE value found for the parent hydroxylamine (NHPI) justifies this proposal. Kinetic studies, carried out in order to better understand the mechanism of the NHPI-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of cumene, are consistent with a simple kinetic model where the rate-determining step is the hydrogen atom abstraction from the hydroxylamine by cumylperoxyl radicals.

A new, highly selective synthesis of aromatic aldehydes by aerobic free-radical oxidation of benzylic alcohols, catalysed by n-hydroxyphthalimide under mild conditions. Polar and enthalpic effects.

A new selective synthesis of aromatic aldehydes is described, based on catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols with molecular oxygen at rt and atmospheric pressure.

Aerobic oxidation of N-alkylamides catalyzed by N-hydroxyphthalimide under mild conditions. Polar and enthalpic effects.

The oxidation of N-alkylamides by O(2), catalyzed by N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) and Co(II) salt, leads under mild conditions to carbonyl derivatives (aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, imides) whose distribution depends on the nature of the alkyl group and on the reaction conditions. Primary N-benzylamides lead to imides and aromatic aldehydes at room temperature without any appreciable amount of carboxylic acids, while under the same conditions nonbenzylic derivatives give carboxylic acids and imides with no trace of aldehydes, even at very low conversion. These results are explained through hydrogen abstraction by the phthalimide-N-oxyl (PINO) radical, whose reactivity with benzyl derivatives is governed by polar effects, so that benzylamides are much more reactive than the corresponding aldehydes. The enthalpic effect is, however, dominant with nonbenzylic amides, making the corresponding aldehydes much more reactive than the starting amides. The importance of the bond dissociation energy (BDE) of the O-H bond in NHPI is emphasized.

Diverging Effects of Steric Congestion on the Reaction of Tributylstannyl Radicals with Areneselenols and Aryl Bromides and Their Mechanistic Implications.

The effects of bulky ortho,ortho' groups on the reactions of aryl bromides and areneselenols with tributylstannane have been studied. Bulky ortho,ortho' groups accelerate the reaction of the bromides with the stannane but retard the reactions of the selenols. On the other hand, ab initio and force field calculations show that introducing bulky ortho substituents into selenols causes a greater increase in strain than in the corresponding bromides. Two possible explanations for the divergent reactivity patterns are advanced. On one hand, it is possible that bromine abstraction by stannyl radicals from aryl bromides proceeds in a single step through a linear transition state whereas the abstraction of SeH from the selenols involves a T-shaped, hypervalent intermediate. Alternatively, it may be that both reactions are concerted with the bromine abstraction having a late transition state and the SeH abstraction an early one. Approximate second-order rate constants for the reaction of tributylstannane with a range of hindered aryl bromides are derived from competition reactions. 2,4,6-Tri-tert-butylbenzeneselenol is able to function moderately well as a catalyst for the stannane-mediated reactions of vinyl bromides. The X-ray crystal structure of bis(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl) diselenide is presented.