No abstract

The CO-releasing ability of a diverse library of primary metal carbonyl complexes has been assessed using a deoxymyoglobin-carbonmonoxymyglobin assay. A wide spectrum of rates for the CO-release process was observed in aqueous systems. For octahedral d(6) complexes, the rate was found to decrease in the sequence FeI(2)(CO)(4) > [NEt(4)][V(CO)(6)] > MnBr(CO)(5) > Cr(CO)(6) implying that CO-release is not controlled by the metal-carbon bond strengths. Within the series, [NEt(4)][MX(CO)(5)] (M = Cr, Mo, W; X =Cl, Br, I), the rate of CO-release was found to decrease down the group (Cr > Mo > W), whilst within the chromium series a similar trend was observed for the halide (Cl > Br > I). The d(4) complexes [NEt(4)][MI(3)(CO)(4)] (M = Mo, W) exhibit faster release than their d(6) congeners. A mechanistic investigation into the [NEt(4)][MX(CO)(5)] series revealed the intermediacy of [[M(CO)(5)](2)(mu-X)](-) in the CO-release process and that the hydrolysis of the M-X bond, rather than the intrinsic strength of M-CO bonds, controls the rate of CO-release in aqueous systems.

A range of N-donor ligands based on the 1H-pyridin-(2E)-ylidene (PYE) motif have been prepared, including achiral and chiral examples. The ligands incorporate one to three PYE groups that coordinate to a metal through the exocyclic nitrogen atom of each PYE moiety, and the resulting metal complexes have been characterised by methods including single-crystal X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy to examine metal-ligand bonding and ligand dynamics. Upon coordination of a PYE ligand to a proton or metal-complex fragment, the solid-state structures, NMR spectroscopy and DFT studies indicate that charge redistribution occurs within the PYE heterocyclic ring to give a contribution from a pyridinium-amido-type resonance structure. Additional IR spectroscopy and computational studies suggest that PYE ligands are strong donor ligands. NMR spectroscopy shows that for metal complexes there is restricted motion about the exocyclic C-N bond, which projects the heterocyclic N-substituent in the vicinity of the metal atom causing restricted motion in chelating-ligand derivatives. Solid-state structures and DFT calculations also show significant steric congestion and secondary metal-ligand interactions between the metal and ligand C-H bonds.

Pd/Cu-mediated direct arylation of 2'-deoxyadenosine with various aryl iodides provides 8-arylated 2'-deoxyadenosine derivatives in good yields. Following significant reaction optimization, it has been determined that a substoichiometric quantity of piperidine (secondary amine) in combination with cesium carbonate is necessary for effective direct arylation. The general synthetic protocol allows lower temperature direct arylations, which minimizes deglycosylation. The origin of the piperidine effect primarily derives from the in situ generation of Pd(OAc)(2)[(CH(2))(5)NH](2). Various copper(I) salts have been evaluated; only CuI provides good yields of the 8-arylated-2'-deoxyadenosines. Copper(I) appears to have a high binding affinity for 2'-deoxyadenosine, which explains the mandatory requirement for stoichiometric amounts of this key component. The conditions are compared with more general direct arylation protocols, e.g., catalytic Pd, ligand, acid additives, which do not employ copper(I). In each case, no detectable arylation of 2'-deoxyadenosine was noted. The conformational preferences of the 8-aryl-2'-deoxyadenosine products have been determined by detailed spectroscopic (NMR) and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Almost exclusively, the preferred solution-state conformation was determined to be syn-C2'-endo (ca. 80%). The presence of a 2-pyridyl group at the 8-position further biases the solution-state equilibrium toward this conformer (ca. 88%), due to an additional H-bond between H1' and the pyridyl nitrogen atom. The Pd/Cu catalyst system has been found to be unique for adenosine type substrates, the reactivity of which has been placed into context with the reported direct arylations of related 1H-imidazoles. The reactivity of other purine nucleosides has been assessed, which has revealed that both 2'-deoxyguanosine and guanosine are incompatible with the Pd/Cu-direct arylation conditions. Both substrates appear to hinder catalysis, akin to the established inhibitory effects in Suzuki cross-couplings with arylboronic acids.

Complexes of molecular iodine with alkoxystilbazoles are liquid crystals with unusually high mesophase stability, predicated on an intermolecular I···I contact. Attempts to prepare analogous complexes with bromine led to an unexpected electrophilic substitution product.