The design of polymers and oligomers that mimic the complex structures and remarkable biological properties of proteins is an important endeavor with both fundamental and practical implications. Recently, a number of nonnatural peptides with designed sequences have been elaborated to provide biologically active structures; in particular, facially amphiphilic peptides built from ␤-amino acids have been shown to mimic both the structures as well as the biological function of natural antimicrobial peptides such as magainins and cecropins. However, these natural peptides as well as their ␤-peptide analogues are expensive to prepare and difficult to produce on a large scale, limiting their potential use to certain pharmaceutical applications. We therefore have designed a series of facially amphiphilic arylamide polymers that capture the physical and biological properties of this class of antimicrobial peptides, but are easy to prepare from inexpensive monomers. The design process was aided by molecular calculations with density functional theory-computed torsional potentials. This new class of amphiphilic polymers may be applied in situations where inexpensive antimicrobial agents are required.

This report compares biomimetic HER catalysts with and without the amine cofactor (adtNH): Fe2(adtNH)(CO)2(dppv)2 (1NH) and Fe2(pdt)(CO)2(dppv)2 (2; (adtNH)2− = (HN(CH2S)22−, pdt2− = 1,3-(CH2)3S22−). These compounds are spectroscopically, structurally, and stereodynamically very similar but exhibit very different catalytic properties. Protonation of 1NH and 2 each give three isomeric hydrides beginning with the kinetically favored terminal hydride, which converts sequentially to sym and unsym isomers of the bridging hydrides. In the case of the amine, the corresponding ammonium-hydrides are also observed. In the case of the terminal amine hydride [t-H1NH]BF4, the ammonium/amine-hydride equilibrium is sensitive to counteranions and solvent. The species [t-H1NH2](BF4)2 represents the first example of a crystallographically characterized terminal hydride produced by protonation. The NH--HFe distance of 1.88(7) Å indicates dihydrogen bonding. The bridging hydrides [µ-H1NH]+ and [µ-H2]+ reduce near −1.8 V, about 150 mV more negative than the reductions of the terminal hydride [t-H1NH]+ and [t-H2]+ at −1.65 V. Reductions of the amine hydrides [t-H1NH]+ and [t-H1NH2]2+ are irreversible. For the pdt analog, the [t-H2]+/0 couple is unaffected by weak acids (pKaMeCN 15.3) but exhibits catalysis with HBF4•Et2O, albeit with a TOF around 4 s−1 and an overpotential greater than 1 V. The voltammetry of [t-H1NH]+ is strongly affected by relatively weak acids and proceeds at 5000 s−1 with an overpotential of 0.7 V. The ammonium-hydride [t-H1NH2]2+ is a faster catalyst with an estimated TOF of 58,000 s−1 and an overpotential of 0.5 V.

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The structural characterization and physical properties of [Cp*M(pentalene)M'Cp*]"+ (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadiene; M, M' = Fe, Fe (la); Co, Co (lb); Ni, Ni (lc); Ru, Ru (Id); Fe, Ru (le); Fe, Co (If); n = 0, 1,2) and [Cp*M(s-indacene)M'Cp*]"+ (s = symmetric) and [Cp*M(as-indacene)M'Cp*]"+ (M, M' = Fe, Fe (2a, 3a); Co, Co (2b, 3b); Ni, Ni (2c, 3c); n = 0, 1, 2) (as = asymmetric) are reported. The local molecular structure of the organometallic complex does not change significantly with oxidation state; in all cases the Cp*M moieties reside on opposite faces of the fused ^-bridging ring systems, reflecting the dominance of steric effects. These complexes generally exhibit behavior consistent with significant electronic interactions between metal centers, including large electrochemical potential separations between successive one-electron redox events, and for the mixed valent (n = 1+) complexes, intervalent charge transfer absorption bands. The magnetic susceptibility data are consistent with intramolecular ferromagnetic coupling of spins for la2+ and 2c2+ and antiferromagnetic coupling of spins for lc, lc2+, lb, 2b, lc+, 2c+, and 3c+. In general, the paramagnetic complexes exhibit Curie-Weiss behavior, except for 2c and 3c, which possess singlet ground states and high spin excited states that are 0.036 and 0.056 eV (290 and 524 cm"1) above the ground state, respectively. Mixed-valent la+ and 2a+ are fully detrapped on the Mossbauer time scale (i.e., electron transfer rates >107 s-1) above 1.5 K, consistent with a negligible energy barrier to intramolecular electron transfer or complete delocalization. The EPR spectra of la+, 2a+, and le+ exhibit significantly reduced g-factor ansiotropies and more intense spectral features at ambient temperature compared to [FeCp*2]*+, implying intramolecular electron transfer rates >1010 s_1.

The asymmetric addition of alkyl groups to aldehydes catalyzed by BINOLate-titanium complexes has become the testing grounds to evaluate the potential of new BINOL-based ligands. We have investigated the mechanism of this reaction and report our findings here. Model systems for the open form of the catalyst, (BINOLate)[Ti(O-i-Pr)(3)](2), based on mono-oxygen-alkylated BINOL ligands have been examined. Comparison of the reactivity and enantioselectivity of the mono-alkyl BINOL derivatives with those of BINOL indicate that the open form of the catalyst, (BINOLate)[Ti(O-i-Pr)(3)](2), is not active in the asymmetric addition reaction. Several BINOLate-titanium complexes have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. These include the dinuclear (BINOLate)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2).Ti(O-i-Pr)(4), which contains a bridging naphtholate and isopropoxy group, trinuclear (BINOLate)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2).[Ti(O-i-Pr)(4)](2), and trimeric [(BINOL)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)](3). The solid-state and solution structures reported here indicate that (BINOLate)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2) prefers to bind to titanium tetraisopropoxide rather than to itself, explaining why no nonlinear effects are observed in the catalytic reaction. Additionally, experimental evidence suggests that the BINOLate-titanium species responsible for the catalytic and stoichiometric asymmetric addition reactions are different, indicating that the proposed intermediate, (BINOLate)Ti(R)(aldehyde)(O-i-Pr), is not involved in either of these processes. Reactions were examined using different sources of the alkyl group [ZnMe(2) or MeTi(O-i-Pr)(3)]. Under similar conditions, it was found that the product ee's were the same, independent of whether ZnMe(2) or Me-Ti(O-i-Pr)(3) was used as the source of the alkyl groups. This indicates that the role of the dialkylzinc is not to add the alkyl group to the carbonyl but rather to transfer the alkyl group to titanium. On the basis of these results, we hypothesize that the intermediate in the asymmetric addition involves (BINOLate)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)(aldehyde).MeTi(O-i-Pr)(3).

Luminescent Ce(III) complexes, Ce[N(SiMe3)2]3 (1) and [(Me3Si)2NC(RN)2]Ce[N(SiMe3)2]2 (R = (i)Pr, 1-(i)Pr; R = Cy, 1-Cy), with C(3v) and C(2v) solution symmetries display absorptive 4f → 5d electronic transitions in the visible region. Emission bands are observed at 553, 518, and 523 nm for 1, 1-(i)Pr, and 1-Cy with lifetimes of 24, 67, and 61 ns, respectively. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) studies on 1 and 1-(i)Pr revealed the (2)A1 excited states corresponded to singly occupied 5d(z(2)) orbitals. The strongly reducing metalloradical character of 1, 1-(i)Pr, and 1-Cy in their (2)A1 excited states afforded photochemical halogen atom abstraction reactions from sp(3) and sp(2) C-X (X = Cl, Br, I) bonds for the first time with a lanthanide cation. The dehalogenation reactions could be turned over with catalytic amounts of photosensitizers by coupling salt metathesis and reduction to the photopromoted atom abstraction reactions.

We synthesize and characterize derivatives of the two-dimensional hybrid perovskite (2DHP) phenethylammonium lead iodide ((PEA)2PbI4) in which the para H on the cation is replaced with F, Cl, CH3, or Br. These substitutions increase the length of the cation but leave the cross-sectional area unchanged, resulting in structurally similar PbI4 2– frameworks with increasing interlayer spacing. Longer cations result in broader, blue-shifted excitonic absorption spectra with reduced or eliminated structure, indicating greater energetic disorder. Photoluminescence spectra are largely invariant and insensitive to cation length, suggesting polaron formation stabilizes a structural and electronic minimum. Temperature-dependent line width analysis reveals excitons couple to a vibration on the organic framework that is weakly sensitive to these cation substitutions, and Raman spectra and electronic structure calculations support the presence of such a cationic mode. Despite carriers being confined to the inorganic framework, the length of the organic cation alters the optical and electronic properties of 2DHPs.

Two complete mixed-ligand series of luminescent Ce(III) complexes with the general formulas [(Me3Si)2NC(N(i)Pr)2]xCe(III)[N(SiMe3)2]3-x (x = 0, 1-N; x = 1, 2-N, x = 2, 3-N; x = 3, 4) and [(Me3Si)2NC(N(i)Pr)2]xCe(III)(OAr)3-x (x = 0, 1-OAr; x = 1, 2-OAr, x = 2, 3-OAr; x = 3, 4) were developed, featuring photoluminescence quantum yields up to 0.81(2) and lifetimes to 117(1) ns. Although the 4f → 5d absorptive transitions for these complexes were all found at ca. 420 nm, their emission bands exhibited large Stokes shifts with maxima occurring at 553 nm for 1-N, 518 nm for 2-N, 508 nm for 3-N, and 459 nm for 4, featuring yellow, lime-green, green, and blue light, respectively. Combined time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations and spectroscopic studies suggested that the long-lived (2)D excited states of these complexes corresponded to singly occupied 5dz(2) orbitals. The observed difference in the Stokes shifts was attributed to the relaxation of excited states through vibrational processes facilitated by the ligands. The photochemistry of the sterically congested complex 4 was demonstrated by C-C bond forming reaction between 4-fluoroiodobenzene and benzene through an outer sphere electron transfer pathway, which expands the capabilities of cerium photosensitizers beyond our previous results that demonstrated inner sphere halogen atom abstraction reactivity by 1-N.