Sterically crowded organic molecules: synthesis, structure and properties

Illuminating the multiple Lewis acidity of triaryl-boranes via atropisomeric dative adducts

Using the principle that constrained conformational spaces can generate novel and hidden molecular properties, we challenged the commonly held perception that a single-centered Lewis acid reacting with a single-centered Lewis base always forms a single Lewis adduct. Accordingly, the emergence of single-centered but multiple Lewis acidity among sterically hindered and non-symmetric triaryl-boranes is reported. These Lewis acids feature several diastereotopic faces providing multiple binding sites at the same Lewis acid center in the interaction with Lewis bases giving rise to adducts with diastereomeric structures. We demonstrate that with a proper choice of the base, atropisomeric adduct species can be formed that interconvert via the dissociative mechanism rather than conformational isomerism. The existence of this exotic and peculiar molecular phenomenon was experimentally confirmed by the formation of atropisomeric piperidine-borane adducts using state-of-the-art NMR techniques in combination with computational methods.

Molecular-Scale Visualization of Steric Effects of Ligand Binding to Reconstructed Au(111) Surfaces

Direct imaging of single molecules at nanostructured interfaces is a grand challenge with potential to enable new, precise material architectures and technologies. Of particular interest are the structural morphology and spectroscopic signatures of the adsorbed molecule, where modern probes are only now being developed with the necessary spatial and energetic resolution to provide detailed information at the molecule-surface interface. Here, we directly characterize the adsorption of individual m-terphenyl isocyanide ligands on a reconstructed Au(111) surface through scanning tunneling microscopy and inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy. The site-dependent steric pressure of the various surface features alters the vibrational fingerprints of the m-terphenyl isocyanides, which are characterized with single-molecule precision through joint experimental and theoretical approaches. This study provides molecular-level insights into the steric-pressure-enabled surface binding selectivity as well as its effect on the chemical properties of individual surface-binding ligands.

Influence of Steric and Dispersion Interactions on the Thermochemistry of Crowded (Fluoro)alkyl Compounds

ConspectusAlkanes play a pivotal role in industrial, environmental, and biological processes. They are characterized by their carbon-carbon single-bond structure, remarkable stability, and conformational diversity. Fluorination of such compounds imparts unique physicochemical properties that often enhance pharmacokinetic profiles, metabolic stability, and receptor interactions while keeping beneficial properties. However, such per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) show a persistent presence in the environment and potential adverse health effects, which propelled them to the forefront of global environmental and health discussions. Alkyl compounds are also prototypical for stereoelectronic (SE) effects that are widely applied in chemistry. Substituents are typically described as electron-density-donating/withdrawing and/or responsible for sterically interacting with reagents or strategic groups in the molecule. That alkane branching can result in higher stability compared to less-branched isomers has been investigated in detail also by testing quantum chemical methods, in particular density functional theory (DFT). Alkane branching results in spatially compact structures with close intramolecular contacts so that at a specific size the detailed balance of attractive London dispersion and covalent versus repulsive Pauli exchange interactions shifts to new, chemically unfragile situations. This may lead to dissociation at room temperature and opens the central question: what is the smallest crowed alkane that cannot be made synthetically? In this Account, we try to shed light on the interplay among the various (free) energy components for crowded (fluoro)alkane dissociation. In this context, homolytic cleavage of the central C-C bond in a series of model alkanes of increasing size with tert-butyl (tBu), adamantyl (Ad), and [1.1.1]propellanyl (Prop) substituents is investigated. Reference energies are calculated at the PNO-LCCSD(T)-F12b level and used to benchmark the performance of contemporary DFT functionals. In line with previous conclusions, the application of dispersion corrections to density functionals is mandatory. For crowed structures, the accurate description of the midrange correlation effects, specifically repulsive van der Waals interactions, is crucial, and we observed that the density-dependent VV10 correction is superior to D4 in this context, although the asymptotic region is better described by the latter. The best available dispersion-inclusive functionals show systematic and reasonably small residual errors and can be safely applied to large systems (>100 atoms), for which coupled cluster methods with large basis sets are not computationally feasible anymore. For qualitatively correct predictions of synthetic accessibility under equilibrium conditions (free energy), the inclusion of thermostatistical (entropy) contributions is also essential. According to our results, tetra-tert-butylmethane (C17tBu) is the largest and most crowded system with a positive dissociation free energy and should be synthesizable. The difference between hydrogenated and perfluorinated systems originates from the increase in the steric repulsion of spatially close substituents, which is not compensated to the same extent by attractive orbital and dispersion interactions. A sometimes-assumed similar steric demand for fluorine and hydrogen atoms is not corroborated by our investigations on crowded systems. Perfluorination is found to substantially decrease thermal stability, rendering perfluorinated hexamethylethane (C8tBuF) the last potentially stable representative.

Heterocyclic Synthesis of Crowded Aposafranones: Structure of 1-Methyl-8-dimethylamino-10-phenylphenazin-2-(10H)one and Related Compounds

Oxidative condensation of three p-phenylenediamines with 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-N-(phenylamino)benzene gives new coloured aposafranones. 2-Methylresorcinol is easy to convert into the asymmetric building block 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-N-(phenylamino)benzene with aniline. The aposafranones are sterically crowded because of the 1-methyl and N-phenyl groups. The UV/Vis absorption maxima are in the range 530-545 nm.

Diradical Character as a Guiding Principle for the Insightful Design of Molecular Nanowires with an Increasing Conductance with Length

In recent years, a considerable interest has grown in the design of molecular nanowires with an increasing conductance with length. The development of such nanowires is highly desirable because they could play an important role in future molecular-scale circuitry. Whereas the first experimental observation of this nonclassical behavior still has to be realized, a growing number of candidate wires have been proposed theoretically. In this Letter, we point out that all the wires with an anti-Ohmic increasing conductance with length proposed so far share a common characteristic: their diradical character increases with length. The conceptual connection between diradical character and conductance enables a systematic design of such anti-Ohmic wires and explains the difficulty in their syntheses. A strategy is proposed to balance the stability and conductance so that this nonclassical phenomenon can be observed.

Isolation of diborenes and their 90°-twisted diradical congeners

Molecules containing multiple bonds between atoms-most often in the form of olefins-are ubiquitous in nature, commerce, and science, and as such have a huge impact on everyday life. Given their prominence, over the last few decades, frequent attempts have been made to perturb the structure and reactivity of multiply-bound species through bending and twisting. However, only modest success has been achieved in the quest to completely twist double bonds in order to homolytically cleave the associated π bond. Here, we present the isolation of double-bond-containing species based on boron, as well as their fully twisted diradical congeners, by the incorporation of attached groups with different electronic properties. The compounds comprise a structurally authenticated set of diamagnetic multiply-bound and diradical singly-bound congeners of the same class of compound.

Substituent effects on regioselectivity in the autoxidation of nonconjugated dienes

Free radical oxidation of several 1,4-dienes was carried out in the presence of variable concentrations of alpha-tocopherol to investigate the effect of diene structure on product distribution. Oxidations carried out at low tocopherol concentration gave only C-1 and C-5 conjugated diene hydroperoxides, while higher concentrations of the antioxidant resulted in formation of substantial amounts of the nonconjugated C-3 diene hydroperoxide. Increasing size of the substituents at C-1 and C-5 of the diene favors kinetic products arising from oxygen addition at the nonconjugated position, C-3, of the pentadienyl radical intermediate. Substituents at C-1 or C-5 of the pentadienyl radical also have a significant effect on the regioselectivity of the conjugated diene hydroperoxides formed, larger substituents directing oxygen addition to the pentadienyl radical at the site of least steric hindrance. This trend is also observed in oxidations of omega-3 and omega-6 linolenate fatty acid esters. Groups at C-1 and C-5 of the diene can influence product distribution based upon (a) steric demand in the oxygen-radical reaction and (b) the influence of substituents on the rearrangement of the C-3 peroxyl radical to give conjugated diene products.

Abstraction of Iodine from Aromatic Iodides by Alkyl Radicals: Steric and Electronic Effects,

Abstraction of the iodine atom from aryl iodides by alkyl radicals takes place in some cases very efficiently despite the unfavorable difference in bond dissociation energies of C-I bonds in alkyl and aryl iodides. The abstraction is most efficient in iodobenzenes, ortho-substituted with bulky groups. The ease of abstraction can be explained by the release of steric strain during the elimination of the iodine atom. The rate of abstraction correlates fairly well with the strain energy, calculated by density functional theory (DFT) and Hartree-Fock (HF) methods as a difference in the total energy of ortho and para isomers. However, besides the steric bulk, the presence of some other functional groups in an ortho substituent also influences the rate. The stabilization of the transition state, resembling a 9-I-2 iodanyl radical, by electron-withdrawing groups seems to explain a positive sign of the Hammett rho value in the radical abstraction of halogen atoms.