A Critical Appraisal of Dimolybdenum Tetraacetate Application in Stereochemical Studies of vic-Diols by Circular Dichroism

This critical appraisal is intended for users of the dimolybdenum method, well-established in electronic circular dichroism (ECD) to determine the absolute configuration of vic-diols and, in particular, for experimental researchers not being experts in chiroptical methods. The main goal is to demonstrate how to avoid misleading and ambiguous conclusions resulting from the rigorous application of the helicity rule by limiting the analysis to the vic-diol unit alone. We particularly focused on multichromophoric systems, especially those that may interfere with the absorption of an in situ formed dimolybdenum tetraacetate-diol complex. In this context, examples are presented of vic-diols for which stereochemical assignment based solely on the helicity rule is ambiguous and does not necessarily lead to correct results. The motivation for choosing these examples was to demonstrate the impact of the structure of the substrate on the complexation process with the metal core and its selectivity. For each selected case, results obtained are analyzed in detail together with a discussion of existing restrictions and choice of a support method to increase the credibility of the conclusion. Based on seven both educational and challenging examples, it was shown that the dimolybdenum methodology can also be effectively applied to complex chromophoric systems, provided that other chiroptical methods and/or computational support verify obtained results.

Twisted paddlewheel rhodium complexes: Contribution of central and axial chirality to ECD, VCD, and NMR spectra

Dirhodium complexes bearing N-substituted chiral amino acid ligands are investigated. These complexes have an unusual twisted paddlewheel structure, showing inherent chirality. We would like to demonstrate that parallel application of chiroptical spectroscopic methods (ECD and VCD) and NMR spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations constitutes a powerful tool to determine the configuration of the complexes unequivocally. Two chiroptical methods are needed to determine the absolute configuration: ECD for the coordinated nitrogen atom and VCD for the rhodium core. A quick to use NMR method is also presented: Upon the coordination of small molecules in the axial position, the relative configuration of both the rhodium core and the nitrogen atom can be determined simultaneously by studying spatial proximities provided by 1D NOE spectra.

Dimolybdenum tetracarboxylates as auxiliary chromophores in chiroptical studies of vic-diols

The aim of the present work was to check the suitability of dimolybdenum carboxylates, other than commonly used [Mo2(OAc)4], as auxiliary chromophores for determining the absolute configuration of optically active vic-diols by means of electronic circular dichroism (ECD). To this end, a set of dimolybdenum tetracarboxylates was synthesized, and subsequently, the two most promising compounds were selected, namely dimolybdenum tetrakis(μ-pivalate) and tetrakis(μ-isovalerate). The selection was based on their solubility in commonly used solvents, their stability in solution, their tolerance to air exposure, as well as their utility for dichroic studies. The stability of the obtained in situ chiral complexes was verified by measuring the dependence of ECD, UV-vis, and NMR spectra on time, temperature, and concentration. We have shown that the ECD spectra of diverse vic-diols with these complexes are suitable for configurational assignment based on the correlation between signs of Cotton effects (CEs) arising in the spectra and the stereostructure of the ligand. Furthermore, to aid in the interpretation of experimental results, a separate set of DFT calculations has been incorporated to provide additional insight into the structure of the chiral complexes involved. In contrast to the earlier assumptions, experiments showed that the chelating mode of ligation is preferred for the studied complexes.