Search

Classical halides of the heavier Group 14 homologues germanium, tin, and lead are common precursors for the synthesis of exciting compounds, such as polyhedral clusters. To get access to larger metalloid cluster compounds of Group 14, the disproportionation reaction of metastable monohalide solutions, accessible through a preparative co‐condensation reaction, proved to be quite successful. As the identity of the subvalent halides within the metastable solutions were yet unknown the reaction course from a monohalide precursor to a metalloid cluster was mostly unidentified. This might change now, as a first subhalide cluster [Ge14Br8(Et3P)4] could be characterized, being the first trapped intermediate of the disproportionation reaction of Group 14 subhalides. All these aspects are included within this Minireview, together with a short historical overview, dealing with the development of the preparative co‐condensation technique out of the matrix isolation technique, being the essential first step of the synthesis of metastable monohalide solutions of the heavier Group 14 elements Ge and Sn. Metastable solutions of monohalides of germanium and tin open the door for the synthesis of element‐rich metalloid clusters by means of a disproportionation reaction. In this Minireview recent developments are discussed, highlighting the first structurally characterized metalloid subhalide cluster of Group 14—[Ge14Br8(Et3P)4]—giving first insight into the complex reaction mechanism of the disproportionation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The reaction of a pentamethylcyclopentadienyl‐substituted dialane with a variety of Lewis bases results in unexpected disproportionation of the dialane into AlI and AlIII species. Use of a transition‐metal Lewis base allows for the formation of metal‐only Lewis pairs. Furthermore, the synthesis of a Lewis base bis‐adduct was successful with the Lewis base 4‐dimethylaminopyridine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major breakthrough reported in this work is the discovery of likely halogen bond-driven self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE). Taking into account that the halogen-bonding interactions can be rationally designed and can match, or even exceed, the strength of the more familiar hydrogen bond, this discovery clearly opens an unexpected new direction of research in the areas of molecular chirality and the SDE phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed decamethyltitanocene(III) isonitrile alkynyl complex ( 7) was synthesized by the sequential introduction of the isonitrile and alkynyl ligands. Direct synthesis results in the formation of the diamagnetic decamethyltitanocene bis(isonitrile) ( 2) and bis(alkynyl) ( 3) complexes. Compound 7 undergoes disproportionation at room temperature to give 2 and 3. All complexes were fully characterized by IR, NMR, and EPR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Molecular structures for complexes 2 and 7 are reported. The stability and reactivity of these complexes are rationalized by DFT computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The termination mechanism of radical polymerization, that is, disproportionation (Disp) versus combination (Comb), determines the chain length and end-group structure of the resulting polymer as well as polymer properties, and yet factors governing the mechanism are still unclear. Furthermore, no attempts have been made to control the mechanism. Here, the effects of temperature and viscosity on the termination of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) polymerization were elucidated by using small molecular model-radicals and the corresponding polymer radicals in various solvents. The results showed that Disp was preferred over Comb if the temperature was decreased and the viscosity of the media was increased for all the radicals examined. Although the temperature effect on the Disp/Comb selectivity is counterintuitive because Disp should be favored entropically over Comb considering the decrease in the number of polymer chains in Comb, the results clearly showed that the observed inverse temperature effect was a result of the viscosity effect. Disp was favored over Comb at lower temperatures and in more viscous solvents because the transition state leading to Disp is more flexible than that for Comb. Because of the significant viscosity effect, Disp selectively occurred in highly viscous solvents; the Disp/Comb selectivity was 97/3 in both MMA and St termination. For the first time, the termination mechanism was intentionally controlled and such a high Disp selectivity was observed. In particular, the termination mechanism in St is described as Comb in textbooks, but nearly complete inversion of the selectivity from Comb to Disp is realized by simply changing the viscosity of the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed quantum-chemical study on the amine-induced disproportionation reaction of perchlorinated silanes to neo-Si5Cl12 is reported. The key intermediate in the resulting mechanistic scenario is a dichlorosilylene amine adduct, which is in tune with recent experimental findings. Yet, at variance with the generally accepted notion of silicon-chain growth by concerted silylene insertion into Si−Cl bonds of lower silanes, the formation of neo-Si5Cl12 follows more complex pathways. The reactivity is dominated by the Lewis-base character of the dichlorosilylene amine adduct and characterized by three elementary steps that bear close resemblance to the key elementary steps identified earlier for the chloride-induced disproportionation of Si2Cl6. NBO and QTAIM analyses of the key reactive species SiCl2 ⋅NMe3 and SiCl3− provide a rationale for these striking similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disulfide bonds have frequently been incorporated into synthetic materials to promote sensitivity of the systems towards different redox environments. Although many strategies have been developed to rationally tune the stability of disulfide linkers, methods to tune their responsiveness towards different redox environments remain elusive. In this work we have developed and explored a disulfide linker bearing two independent disulfide bonds, referred to as a twin-disulfide linker. We have demonstrated that the twin-disulfide linker displays an ultrahigh stability at lower concentrations of reducing agent or in weakly reducing environments without a significant compromise in the sensitivity of its response to highly reducing environments such as cytoplasm, a feature that is in remarkable contrast to the traditional single disulfide bonds. Such an extraordinary responsiveness arises from the cooperativity of the twin-disulfide bonds, which should be of particular interest for applications such as controlled drug delivery and sensing, because relatively large differences in disulfide stability in different redox environments is desired in these applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From an EtOH/H2O solution, 0.3m each of Ni2+ and cyclic triamine tacn (2; tacn=1,4,7-triazacyclononane), after 10 min refluxing and cooling at room temperature, copious and comparable amounts of blue crystals (containing the complex [Ni(tacn)(H2O)3]2+) and pink crystals (containing in the same cell both [Ni(H2O)6]2+ and [Ni- (tacn)2]2+) precipitated. This unusual behaviour is ascribed to the fact that at the refluxing temperature the three species are present at the equilibrium in similar concentrations, which are frozen on cooling, due to the inertness of the macrocyclic complexes [Ni(tacn)(H2O)3]2+ and [Ni- (tacn)2]2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wide variety of 2,5-di(2-pyridyl)pyrroles (dppHs) substituted at the C3 and C4 positions of the pyrrole core were obtained by direct condensation of a 2-pyridylcarboxaldehyde (2 equiv), an α-methylene ketone with at least one electron-withdrawing substituent and ammonium acetate. A novel 2,5-di(1,10-phenanthrolin-2-yl)pyrrole was also characterised. The dppHs provide a direct, quick entry to dipyridylpyrrolato (dpp−)-metal complexes. The meridial tridentate dpp− ligand is a useful anionic analogue of the terpyridyl ligand. The first (dpp)Ru complexes are described; the 3,4-substitution of the central pyrrole significantly perturbs the potentials of the redox processes of these complexes. A [(dpp)Ru(bpy)(MeCN)]+ (bpy=2,2′-bipyridine) complex is an electrocatalyst for the reductive disproportionation of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and the carbonate ion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first detailed experimental study of the deactivation of cationic gold was conducted, and the influence of each component in the reaction system (substrate, counterion, solvent) on the decay process was examined. It was found that a substrate (alkyne/allene/alkene)-induced disproportionation of gold(I) may play a key role in the decay process. Our mechanism is supported by kinetic, XPS, voltammetry studies, and high-resolution ESI-MS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]