No abstract

The morphology and charged state of gold clusters play a crucial role in heterogeneous catalysis. The selection and optimization of theoretical approaches are necessary for the investigation of active sites on isolated and supported gold clusters. In the present paper, a study of the potential isomers of the Au12 cluster is performed within the DFT/PBE framework using a scalar-relativistic approach. We have found Au12 to be a dynamic cluster with at least 24 isomers due to the Jahn–Teller distortion. The majority of these isomers exhibit low symmetry, resulting in the formation of low-coordinated atoms, which are discussed in terms of frontier molecular orbitals and a Hirschfeld analysis of their atomic charges. The energy difference between the most energetically stable 2D (D 3h ) and 3D (C 2v ) isomers of Au12 is small (equal to 25 kJ/mol), which is evidence of their coexistence. The influence of the support on properties of the cluster is investigated using Au12/MgO(100). The 2D isomer of Au12 can interact with the surface either in an upright position, with two (E ads/atom = 24 kJ/mol) or three atoms (E ads/atom = 25 kJ/mol); the preferred position is planar (E ads/atom = 30 kJ/mol). The small deformation energy is required to distort a dynamic structure of Au12 compared to rigid gold clusters. The 3D isomer interacts with MgO(100) with two of its atoms (E ads/atom = 24 kJ/mol). The Au–Au distances across the surface increase, whereas the Au–Au distances at an angle to the surface are compressed with respect to the distances in the free clusters. The weak adsorption energies of Au12 on MgO and the low activation barriers for gold atom migration (15 kJ/mol) between oxygen sites facilitate the diffusion of nanoparticles on the MgO surface.

We propose anew concept of the triple role of protic ionic liquids with nucleophilic anions:a)aregenerable solvent, b) aB rønsted acid inducing diverse transformations via general acid catalysis,a nd c) as ource of an ucleophile.T he efficiency of this strategy was demonstrated using thiocyanatebased protic ionic liquids for the ring-opening of donoracceptor cyclopropanes.Awide variety of activated cyclopropanes were found to react with 1-methylimidazolium thiocyanate under mild metal-free conditions via unusual nitrogen attacko ft he ambident thiocyanate ion on the electrophilic center of the three-membered ring affording pyrrolidine-2-thiones bearing donor and acceptor substituents at the C(5) and C(3) atoms,r espectively,i nasingle timeefficient step.T he ability of 1-methylimidazolium thiocyanate to serve as at riplex reagent was exemplarily illustrated by (4+ +2)-annulation with 1-acyl-2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)cyclopropane,epoxidering-opening and other organic transformations.

Although all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is now a reality, today's HCV drugs are expensive, and more affordable drugs are still urgently needed. In this work, we report the identification of the 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-1H-indole chemical scaffold that inhibits cellular replication of HCV genotype 1b and 2a subgenomic replicons. The anti-HCV genotype 1b and 2a profiling and effects on cell viability of a selected representative set of derivatives as well as their chemical synthesis are described herein. The most potent compound 39 displayed EC50 values of 7.9 and 2.6 µM in genotype 1b and 2a, respectively. Biochemical assays showed that derivative 39 had no effect on HCV NS5B polymerase, NS3 helicase, IRES mediated translation and selected host factors. Thus, future work will involve both the chemical optimization and target identification of 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-1H-indoles as new anti-HCV agents.

A facile one-pot approach based on a thermally induced metal- and solvent-free 5-endo-dig cyclization reaction of the amino propargylic alcohols in combination with Dess-Martin periodinane-promoted oxidative dearomatization of 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindole intermediates provides an efficient and robust access to 5,6-dihydro-1H-indol-2(4H)ones. Green, relatively mild and operationally simple characteristics of the synthetic sequence are the major advantages, which greatly amplify the developed methodology. The utility of obtained indolones as unified key precursors is demonstrated by the application of these products to the formal total syntheses of a whole pleiad of Erythrina- and Lycorine-type alkaloids, namely (±)-erysotramidine, (±)-erysotrine, (±)-erythravine, (±)-γ-lycorane, and abnormal erythrinanes (±)-coccoline and (±)-coccuvinine.