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Developing new methods to control the size and shape of the helical structures adopted by foldamers is highly important as the secondary structure displayed by these supramolecular scaffolds often dictates their activity and function. Herein, we report on a systematic study demonstrating that the helical pitch of ortho-azobenzene/2,6-pyridyldicarboamide foldamers can be readily controlled through the nature of the terminal functionality. Remarkably, simply through varying the end group of the foldamer, and without modifying any other structural features of the scaffold, the helical pitch can be over doubled in magnitude (from 3.4 Å to 7.3 Å). Additionally, crystallographic analysis of a library ten foldamers has identified general trends in the influence of a range of terminal functionalities, including carboxylbenzyl (Cbz), diphenylcarbamyl (N(Ph)2), ferrocene (Fc) and tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), in controlling the folding behaviour of these supramolecular scaffolds. These studies could prove useful in the future development of functional foldamers which adopt specific sizes and shapes., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

We report on dual, light-responsive and redox-active foldamers that demonstrate reversible and robust stimuli-induced behaviour. Herein, UV/Vis, 1H NMR and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry have been used to establish the reversibility and highly robust nature of the light- and redox-driven behaviour of these new foldamers with minimal levels of fatigue observed even upon multiple cyclic treatments with irradiative/non-irradiative and oxidative/reductive conditions. This proof-of-concept work paves the way towards the creation of novel stimuli-responsive foldamers of increasing sophistication capable of demonstrating reversible and robust responses to multiple distinct stimuli., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The regiodivergent synthesis of 4- and 5-sulfenyl oxazoles from 1,4,2-dioxazoles and alkynyl thioethers has been achieved. Gold-catalysed conditions are used to favour the formation of 5-sulfenyl oxazoles via β-selective attack of the nitrenoid relative to the sulfenyl group. In contrast, 4-sulfenyl oxazoles are formed by α-selective reaction under Brønsted acid conditions from the same substrates. The nature of stabilising gold-sulfur interactions have been investigated by natural bond orbital analysis, showing that the S→Au interactions are significantly stronger in the intermediate that favours the 5-sulfenyl oxazoles. A kinetic survey identifies catalyst inhibition processes. This study into the regiodivergent methods includes the development of telescoped annulation-oxidation protocols for regioselective access to oxazole sulfoxides and sulfones., (© 2024 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The conceptual replacement of nitrogen with phosphorus in common organic functional groups unlocks new properties and reactivity. The phosphorus-containing analogues of triazenes are underexplored but offer great potential as flexible and small bite-angle ligands. This manuscript explores the synthesis and characterisation of a family of air-stable azophosphine-borane complexes, and their subsequent deprotection to the free azophosphines. These compounds are structurally characterised, both experimentally and computationally, and highlight the availability of the phosphorus lone pair for coordination. This is confirmed by demonstrating that neutral azophosphines can act as ligands in Ru complexes, and can coordinate as monodentate or bidentate ligands in a controlled manner, in contrast to their nitrogen analogues., (© 2024 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Metal-organic cages (MOCs) are popular host architectures assembled from ligands and metal ions/nodes. Assembling structurally complex, low-symmetry MOCs with anisotropic cavities can be limited by the formation of statistical isomer libraries. We set out to investigate the use of primary coordination-sphere engineering (CSE) to bias isomer selectivity within homo- and heteroleptic Pd n L 2n cages. Unexpected differences in selectivities between alternative donor groups led us to recognise the significant impact of the second coordination sphere on isomer stabilities. From this, molecular-level insight into the origins of selectivity between cis and trans diastereoisomers was gained, highlighting the importance of both host-guest and host-solvent interactions, in addition to ligand design. This detailed understanding allows precision engineering of low-symmetry MOC assemblies without wholesale redesign of the ligand framework, and fundamentally provides a theoretical scaffold for the development of stimuli-responsive, shape-shifting MOCs., (© 2023 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The dolabellane-type diterpene dictyoxetane represents a significant challenge to synthetic organic chemistry. Methodology directed towards the total synthesis of naturally occurring (+)-dictyoxetane is reported. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the trans-hydrindane ring system is achieved through chemoselective deoxygenation of the Hajos-Parrish ketone. An alternative to the Garst-Spencer furan annulation is developed for the synthesis of a 2,5-dimethyl, tetrasubstituted furan, employing a tandem 5-exo-dig alcohol to alkyne cyclisation/aromatisation reaction as a key step. The (4+3) cycloaddition reaction of an oxyallyl cation with a tetrasubstituted furan is established on a cyclohexanone-derived model system, and a range of related (4+3) cycloadditions investigated on a homochiral, trans-hydrindane-fused furan, where regio- and diastereoselectivity is required for the natural product synthesis. In an alternative (4+2) Diels-Alder approach, a C 2 -symmetric vinyl sulfoxide-based chiral ketene equivalent is used to prepare oxanorbornenes with the same oxygen bridge stereochemistry found in the 2,7-dioxatricyclo[4.2.1.0 3,8 ]nonane ring system of the natural product., (© 2022 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Herein, a library of trifluoroethyl substituted aminomaleimide derivatives are reported with small size and enhanced emissions in both solution and solid-state. A diCH 2 CF 3 substituted aminochloromaleimide exhibits the most efficient dual-state emission (Φ f >50 % in solution and solid-state), with reduced quenching from protic solvents. This is attributed to the reduction of electron density on the maleimide ring and suppressed π-π stacking in the solid-state. This mechanism was explored in-depth by crystallographic analysis, and modelling of the electronic distribution of HOMO-LUMO isosurfaces and NCI plots. Hence, these dual-state dyes overcome the limitations of single-state luminescence and will serve as an important step forward for this rapidly developing nascent field., (© 2022 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Dual detection systems are of interest for rapid, accurate data collection in sensing systems and in vitro testing. We introduce an Ir III complex with a boronic acid receptor site attached to the 2-phenylpyridine ligand as an ideal probe with photo- and electrochemical signals that is sensitive to monosaccharide binding in aqueous solution. The complex displays orange luminescence at 618 nm, which is reduced by 70 and 40 % upon binding of fructose and glucose, respectively. The electro-chemiluminescent signal of the complex also shows a direct response to monosaccharide binding. The Ir III complex shows the same response upon incorporation into hydrogel matrices as in solution, thus demonstrating the potential of its integration into a device, as a nontoxic, simple-to-use tool to observe sugar binding over physiologically relevant pH ranges and saccharide concentrations. Moreover, the complex's luminescence is responsive to monosaccharide presence in cancer cells., (© 2021 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

(NH 4 ) 2 [Zn 2 (O 3 PCH 2 CH 2 COO) 2 ]⋅5 H 2 O (BIRM-1) is a new metal phosphonate material, synthesized through a simple hydrothermal reaction between zinc nitrate and 3-phosphonopropionic acid, using urea and tetraethylammonium bromide as the reaction medium. In common with other metal-organic framework materials, BIRM-1 has a large three-dimensional porous structure providing potential access to a high internal surface area. Unlike most others, it has the advantage of containing ammonium cations within the pores and has the ability to undergo cation exchange. Additionally, BIRM-1 also exhibits a reversible dehydration behavior involving an amorphization-recrystallization cycle. The ability to undergo ion exchange and dynamic structural behavior are of interest in their own right, but also increase the range of potential applications for this material. Here the crystal structure of this new metal phosphonate and its ion exchange behavior with K + as an exemplar are studied in detail, and its unusual structure-reviving property reported., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Blue- and green-emitting cyclometalated liquid-crystalline iridium complexes are realized by using a modular strategy based on strongly mesogenic groups attached to an acetylacetonate ancillary ligand. The cyclometalated ligand dictates the photophysical properties of the materials, which are identical to those of the parent complexes. High hole mobilities, up to 0.004 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), were achieved after thermal annealing, while amorphous materials show hole mobilities of only approximately 10(-7) -10(-6) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), similar to simple iridium complexes. The design strategy allows the facile preparation of phosphorescent liquid-crystalline complexes with fine-tuned photophysical properties., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In an approach to the biologically important 6-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane ring system, the scope of the tandem 4-exo-trig carbamoyl radical cyclization-dithiocarbamate group transfer reaction to ring-fused β-lactams is evaluated. β-Lactams fused to five-, six-, and seven-membered rings are prepared in good to excellent yield, and with moderate to complete control at the newly formed dithiocarbamate stereocentre. No cyclization is observed with an additional methyl substituent on the terminus of the double bond. Elimination of the dithiocarbamate group gives α,β- or β,γ-unsaturated lactams depending on both the methodology employed (base-mediated or thermal) and the nature of the carbocycle fused to the β-lactam. Fused β-lactam diols, obtained from catalytic OsO4-mediated dihydroxylation of α,β-unsaturated β-lactams, undergo semipinacol rearrangement via the corresponding cyclic sulfite or phosphorane to give keto-bridged bicyclic amides by exclusive N-acyl group migration. A monocyclic β-lactam diol undergoes Appel reaction at a primary alcohol in preference to semipinacol rearrangement. Preliminary investigations into the chemo- and stereoselective manipulation of the two carbonyl groups present in a representative 7,8-dioxo-6-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane rearrangement product are also reported., (© 2014 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

1,1'-Divinyl ferrocene (2) reacts with K(3)[Fe(CN)(6)] under basic biphasic conditions to give a [4]ferrocenophane (4) in good yield. Incorporating deuterium labels into the internal positions of the vinyl groups of 2 affects the chemoselectivity of the reaction; thus under identical reaction conditions, [D(2)]-2 reacts to provide a diol-functionalised [4]ferrocenophane, [D(2)]-D/L-6 in addition to the expected keto-alcohol, [D(1)]-4. Variants on this one-electron oxidative cyclisation methodology can be used to give other [4]ferrocenophanes; thus, the reaction of 2 with CuCl(2) in MeOH or iPrOH leads to dialkoxy [4]ferrocenophanes 19 and 20, respectively, whereas the reaction of 2 with benzyl carbamate in the presence of tBuOCl gives a bis(carbamate)[4]ferrocenophane, 21. Mechanisms to account for the formation of the products, the stereoselectivity, and the unusual isotope-dependent chemoselectivity in the reaction of 2 and [D(2)]-2 with K(3)[Fe(CN)(6)] are proposed.

Complexes [MoCp(#)(PMe(3))(2)H(3)] (Cp(#)=1,2,4-C(5)H(2)tBu(3), 2 a; C(5)HiPr(4), 2 b) have been synthesized from the corresponding compounds [MoCp(#)Cl(4)] (1 a, 1 b) and fully characterized, including by X-ray crystallography and by a neutron diffraction study for 2 a. Protonation of 2 a led to complex [Mo(1,2,4-C(5)H(2)tBu(3))(PMe(3))(2)H(4)](+) (3 a) in THF and to [Mo(1,2,4-C(5)H(2)tBu(3))(PMe(3))(2)(MeCN)H(2)](+) (4 a) in MeCN. Complex 4 b analogously derives from protonation of 2 b in MeCN, whereas the tetrahydride complex 3 b is unstable. One-electron oxidation of 2 a and 2 b by [FeCp(2)]PF(6) produces the EPR-active 17-electron complexes 2 a(+) and 2 b(+). The former is thermally more stable than the latter and could be crystallographically characterized as the PF(6) (-) salt by X-ray diffraction, providing evidence for the presence of a stretched dihydrogen ligand (H...H=1.36(6) angstroms). Controlled thermal decomposition of 2 a(+) yielded the product of H(2) elimination, the 15-electron monohydride complex [Mo(1,2,4-C(5)H(2)tBu(3))(PMe(3))(2)H]PF(6) (5 a), which was characterized by X-ray crystallography and by EPR spectroscopy at liquid He temperature. The compound establishes an equilibrium with the solvent adduct in THF. An electrochemical study by cyclic voltammetry provides further evidence for a rapid H(2) elimination process from the 17-electron complexes. In contrast to the previously investigated [MoCp*(dppe)H(3)](+) system (dppe=1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl), the decomposition of 2 a(+) by H(2) substitution with a solvent molecule appears to follow a dissociative pathway in MeCN.