Formation of Radical Anions in the Reaction of p-Benzoquinone and C60 with Alkoxide Ions

Reductive Catalytic Difluorocarbene Transfer via Palladium Catalysis

A palladium-catalyzed reductive difluorocarbene transfer reaction that tames difluorocarbene to couple with two electrophiles has been developed, representing a new mode of difluorocarbene transfer reaction. The approach uses low-cost and bulk industrial chemical chlorodifluoromethane (ClCF2 H) as the difluorocarbene precursor. It produces a variety of difluoromethylated (hetero)arenes from widely available aryl halides/triflates and proton sources, featuring high functional group tolerance and synthetic convenience without preparing organometallic reagents. Experimental mechanistic studies reveal that an unexpected Pd0/II catalytic cycle is involved in this reductive reaction, wherein the oxidative addition of palladium(0) difluorocarbene ([Pd0 (Ln )]=CF2 ) with aryl electrophile to generate the key intermediate aryldifluoromethylpalladium [ArCF2 Pd(Ln )X], followed by reaction with hydroquinone, is responsible for the reductive difluorocarbene transfer.

Anion-π Complexes of Halides with p-Benzoquinones: Structures, Thermodynamics, and Criteria of Charge Transfer to Electron Transfer Transition

Interchange of complex formation and electron-transfer reactions between halide anions and p-benzoquinones were established via UV-vis spectral and X-ray structural measurements and computational analysis. Solution-phase interaction of the p-benzoquinone acceptors with Cl^-, Br^-, or I^- donors led to the formation of anion-π complexes showing strong absorption bands in the UV-vis range. Formation constants and calculated interaction energies of these complexes increased, and donor/acceptor separations decreased with increasing reduction potentials of p-benzoquinones. Mulliken correlation and NBO analysis indicated a charge-transfer nature of these anion-π associates. Most notably, the increase of the acceptor strength led to a transition between the formation of the persistent anion-π complexes and electron-transfer reactions. Thermodynamic analysis accounted for the experimental observations of anion radicals and trihalide anions in solutions of p-benzoquinones with iodide or (for the strongest acceptor) bromide donors. Kinetics of these processes indicated that anion-π complexes represent critical intermediates of the redox reactions. In contrast to Cl^-, Br^-, or I^- anions, interaction of p-benzoquinones with F^- anions led to the formation of σ-complexes, and the appearance of anion radicals in such systems was related to the follow-up reactions of these complexes.

Synthesis and reactivity of tetraalkoxyl[60]fullerene epoxides, C60(O)(OR)4

Hexachloro[60]fullerene, C60Cl6, was reacted with a mixture of ROH/H2O (R = Me, Et, n-Pr, (CH2)2C≡CH) to form both C60Cl(OH)(OR)4 and C60Cl(OR)5. Only the C60Cl(OH)(OR)4 were isolated with bulky alcohols, ROH (R = (CH2)3C≡CH, (CH2)4C≡CH). Tetrahydro[60]fullerene epoxides, C60(O)(OR)4, were prepared by treating C60Cl(OH)(OR)4 with CuI. The epoxy moiety could be hydrolyzed to the vicinal diol derivatives, C60(OH)2(OR)4, and then oxidized to form dicarbonyl open-cage fullerenes, C60O2(OR)4. CuI was found to convert the terminal alkynyl addends into iodoalkynyl addends on the C60 cage.

Reverse Catalase Reaction: Dioxygen Activation via Two-Electron Transfer from Hydroxide to Dioxygen Mediated By a Manganese(III) Salen Complex

Although atmospheric dioxygen is regarded as the most ideal oxidant, O2 activation for use in oxygenation reactions intrinsically requires a costly sacrificial reductant. The present study investigated the use of aqueous alkaline solution for O2 activation. A manganese(III) salen complex, Mn(III)(salen)(Cl), in toluene reacts with aqueous KOH solution under aerobic conditions, which yields a di-μ-oxo dimanganese(IV) salen complex, [Mn(IV)(salen)]2(μ-O)2. The (18)O isotope experiments show that (18)O2 is indeed activated to give [Mn(IV)(salen)]2(μ-(18)O)2 via a peroxide intermediate. Interestingly, the (18)OH(-) ion in H2(18)O was also incorporated to yield [Mn(IV)(salen)]2(μ-(18)O)2, which implies that a peroxide species is also generated from (18)OH(-). The addition of benzyl alcohol as a stoichiometric reductant selectively inhibits the (18)O incorporation from (18)OH(-), indicating that the reaction of Mn(III)(salen)(Cl) with OH(-) supplies the electrons for O2 reduction. The conversion of both O2 and OH(-) to a peroxide species is exactly the reverse of a catalase-like reaction, which has a great potential as the most efficient O2 activation. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the reaction of Mn(III)(salen)(Cl) with OH(-) generates a transient species with strong reducing ability, which effects the reduction of O2 by means of a manganese(II) intermediate.

Dinuclear cobalt(ii) and cobalt(iii) complexes of bis-bidentate napthoquinone ligands

Seven dinuclear cobalt complexes with bridging bis-bidentate naphthoquinone ligands reveal the steric influence of the ancillary capping ligand on the redox potential of the cobalt centres, with metal-catalysed derivatisation of the bridging ligand also observed.

Substituent effects on the reactivity of benzoquinone derivatives with thiols

Benzoquinone (BQ) is an extremely potent electrophilic contact allergen that haptenates endogenous proteins through Michael addition (MA). It is also hypothesized that BQ may haptenate proteins via free radical formation. The objective of this study was to assess the inductive effects (activating and deactivating) of substituents on BQ reactivity and the mechanistic pathway of covalent binding to a nucleophilic thiol. The BQ binding of Cys34 on human serum albumin was studied, and for reactivity studies, nitrobenzenethiol (NBT) was used as a surrogate for protein binding of the BQ and benzoquinone derivatives (BQD). Stopped flow techniques were used to determine pseudofirst order rate constants (k) of methyl-, t-butyl-, and chlorine-substituted BQD reactions with NBT, whereas electron pair resonance (EPR) studies were performed to investigate the presence of the free radical mediated binding mechanism of BQD. Characterization of adducts was performed using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The rate constant values demonstrated the chlorine-substituted (activated) BQD to be more reactive toward NBT than the methyl and t-butyl-substituted (deactivated) BQD, and this correlated with the respective EPR intensities. The EPR signal, however, was quenched in the presence of NBT suggesting MA as the dominant reaction pathway. MS and NMR results confirmed adduct formation to be a result of MA onto the BQ ring with vinylic substitution also occurring for chlorine-substituted derivatives. The binding positions on BQ and NBT/BQ(D) stoichiometric ratios were affected by whether the inductive effects of the substituents on the ring were positive or negative. The reactivity of BQ and BQD is discussed in terms of the potential relationship to potential allergenic potency.

Reactions of anionic oxygen nucleophiles with C60 revisited

Reactions of C(60) with oxygen nucleophiles of HO(-) and CH(3)O(-) are revisited in PhCN in the presence of PhCH(2)Br. Different from previous results that such reactions lead to the formation of complex mixtures, well-structured C(60) oxazolines are obtained when HO(-) is involved, while di- and tetraadducts with methoxy and benzyl addends are obtained when CH(3)O(-) is engaged. The reactions are followed by in situ vis-near-IR spectroscopy, which reveals further information for the reactions.

Hydrogen Bonds Not Only Provide a Structural Scaffold to Assemble Donor and Acceptor Moieties of Zinc Porphyrin−Quinone Dyads but Also Control the Photoinduced Electron Transfer to Afford the Long-Lived Charge-Separated States

A series of zinc porphyrin-quinone linked dyads [ZnP-CONH-Q, ZnP-NHCO-Q, and ZnP-n-Q (n = 3, 6, 10)] were designed and synthesized to investigate the effects of hydrogen bonds which can not only provide a structural scaffold to assemble donor and acceptor moieties but also control the photoinduced electron-transfer process. In the case of ZnP-CONH-Q and ZnP-NHCO-Q, the hydrogen bond between the N-H proton and the carbonyl oxygen of Q results in the change in the reduction potential of Q. The strong hydrogen bond between the N-H proton and the carbonyl oxygen of Q*- in ZnP-CONH-Q*-,ZnP-NHCO-Q*-, and ZnP-n-Q*- (n = 3, 6, 10) generated by the chemical reduction has been confirmed by the ESR spectra, which exhibit hyperfine coupling constants in agreement those predicted by the density functional calculations. In the case of ZnP-n-Q (n = 3, 6, 10), on the other hand, the hydrogen bond between two amide groups provides a structural scaffold to assemble the donor (ZnP) and the acceptor (Q) moiety together with the hydrogen bond between the N-H proton and the carbonyl oxygen of Q, leading to attainment of the charge-separated state with a long lifetime up to a microsecond.

Electron-Transfer-Induced Substitution of Alkylated C60Chlorides with Proton Sponge

A series of alkylated C(60) chlorides 1,4-RC(60)Cl (1) were found to undergo nucleophilic substitution with 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (2), affording 1,4-RC(60)Ar [3, Ar = 4,5-bis(dimethylamino)-1-naphthyl] in good yields. An S(RN)1 mechanism, initiated by a single-electron transfer from 2 to 1, is proposed on the basis of the enhanced rates compared with the rate of the S(N)1 reaction of 1 with anisole. The involvement of free radicals in the reaction is supported by the formation of a small amount of dimer RC(60)-C(60)R (4) as a byproduct. The enhanced ability of C(60) chlorides 1 to accept an electron, attributable to the inductive effect of the directly attached chlorine atom, was demonstrated by its reduction potential and calculated LUMO energy.

Selective Oxygenation of Ring-Substituted Toluenes with Electron-Donating and -Withdrawing Substituents by Molecular Oxygen via Photoinduced Electron Transfer

A ring-substituted toluene with an electron-withdrawing substituent, p-tolunitrile, is oxygenated by molecular oxygen to yield the corresponding aldehyde with tetrafluoro-p-dicyanobenzene as a photocatalyst under photoirradiation with an Hg lamp (lambda > 300 nm). The oxygenation of a ring-substituted toluene with an electron-donating substituent, p-xylene, by molecular oxygen is also achieved with 10-methyl-9-phenylacridinium ion as a photocatalyst under visible light irradiation, yielding p-tolualdehyde exclusively as the final oxygenated product. Both the oxygenation reactions are initiated by photoinduced electron transfer from the ring-substituted toluene to the singlet excited state of the photocatalyst. The reason for the high selectivity in the photocatalytic oxygenation of various toluene derivatives by molecular oxygen is discussed on the basis of the photoinduced electron transfer mechanism that does not involve the autoxidation process (radical chain reactions). The reactive intermediates in the photocatalytic cycle are successfully detected as the transient absorption spectra and the electron spin resonance spectra.

C70 vs. C60 in zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyads: prolonged charge separation and ultrafast energy transfer from the second excited singlet state of porphyrin

The second excited singlet (S2) state of porphyrin was efficiently quenched by the attached fullerene C70 moiety in a zinc porphyrin-C70 dyad. The quenching is largely explained by energy transfer to C70, but the possibility of additional reactions involving the S2 state of porphyrin is discussed. Singlet energy transfer was found to be an important decay pathway also for the first excited singlet (S1) state of porphyrin. In the polar solvent benzonitrile a charge-separated state was formed, and its lifetime was 890 ps, 50% longer than in the analogous porphyrin-C60 dyad.

Effects of hydrogen bonding on metal ion-promoted intramolecular electron transfer and photoinduced electron transfer in a ferrocene-quinone dyad with a rigid amide spacer

A ferrocene-quinone dyad (Fc-Q) with a rigid amide spacer and Fc-(Me)Q dyad, in which the amide proton acting as a hydrogen-bonding acceptor is replaced by the methyl group, are employed to examine the effects of hydrogen bonding on both the thermal and the photoinduced electron-transfer reactions. The hydrogen bonding of the semiquinone radical anion with the amide proton in Fc-Q(.-) produced by the electron-transfer reduction of Fc-Q is indicated by the significant positive shift of the one-electron reduction potential of Fc-Q. The hyperfine coupling constants of Fc-Q(.-) also indicate the existence of hydrogen bonding, agreeing with those predicted by the density functional calculation. The hydrogen-bonding dynamics in the photoinduced electron transfer from the ferrocene (Fc) to the quinone moiety (Q) in Fc-Q have been successfully detected in the femtosecond laser flash photolysis experiments. Thermal intramolecular electron transfer from Fc to Q in Fc-Q and Fc-(Me)Q also occurs efficiently in the presence of metal ions in acetonitrile at 298 K. The hydrogen bond formed between the semiquinone radical anion and the amide proton in Fc-Q results in remarkable acceleration of the rate of metal ion-promoted electron transfer as compared to the rate of Fc-(Me)Q in which hydrogen bonding is prohibited. The metal ion-promoted electron-transfer rates are well correlated with the binding energies of superoxide ion-metal ion complexes, which are derived from the g(zz) values of the ESR spectra.

Hydrogen-bonding dynamics in photoinduced electron transfer in a ferrocene-quinone linked dyad with a rigid amide spacer

A newly designed ferrocene-quinone dyad with an amide space (Fc-Q) is employed to examine formation of the hydrogen bonding in the one-electron reduced form (Q*-) and the dynamics in the photoinduced electron-transfer reaction from the ferrocene to the quinone moiety. Photoexcitation of the Q moiety in Fc-Q in deaerated PhCN with 388 nm results in intramolecular electron transfer from Fc to the singlet excited state of Q to produce Fc+-Q*- without changing the conformation (<1 ps), followed by hydrogen bond formation with the amide proton of the spacer (tau = approximately 5 ps). The resulting radical ion pair decays via a back electron transfer to the ground state at a longer time scale with a rate constant of 2.6 x 108 s-1.

Charge-transfer emission of compact porphyrin-fullerene dyad analyzed by Marcus theory of electron-transfer

A porphyrin-fullerene dyad, which is characterized by a close proximity of the porphyrin donor and the fullerene acceptor, was found to undergo a photoinduced electron transfer both in solutions and in solid films. Near-infrared charge-transfer (CT) emission was observed and analyzed in frame of the semi-classical Marcus electron-transfer theory yielding values for the reaction free energy, -deltaG degrees = 1.75 eV, the internal reorganization energy, lambdav = 0.05 eV, and the donor-acceptor vibrational energy, hv(v) = 0.14 eV, both in solution and in solid film. The influence of the environment on the CT properties of the dyad is described by a single parameter, the outer-sphere reorganization energy, lambdas, which varies from 0.05 eV in non-polar solvents and films to 0.13 eV in solvents of moderate polarity. At low temperatures (T< 200 K), the CT emission consists of distinct bands shifted from each other by value hv(v). This is the first direct observation of the vibrational frequencies of a porphyrin-fullerene donor-acceptor system.

Competitive decay pathways of the radical ions formed by photoinduced electron transfer between quinones and 4,4'-dimethoxydiphenylmethane in acetonitrile

The reactivity of the cation radical of (4-MeOC6H4)2CH2 photosensitized by 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ), 2,5-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (Cl2BQ), and tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (chloranil, CA) was investigated in acetonitrile. The main photoreaction products obtained by steady-state irradiation were identified to be: (4-MeOC6H4)2-CHOC6H4OH, sensitized by BQ; (4-MeOC6H4)2CHCl, sensitized by Cl2BQ; (4-MeOC6H4)2CHOH, sensitized by CA. The mechanism of their formation was investigated by nanosecond laser flash photolysis that allowed transient species (radical ions, neutral radicals, and ions) to be detected and characterized in terms of absorption spectra, formation quantum yields, and decay rate constants. For all systems, the interaction between the triplet quinone (Q) and (4-MeOC6H4)2CH2 produced the corresponding radical ions (quantum yield phi > or = 0.72) which mainly decay by back electron transfer processes. Less efficient reaction routes for the radical ions Q*- and (4-MeOC6H4)2CH2*+ were also: i) the proton-transfer process with the formation of the radical (4-MeOC6H4)2CH* by use of Cl2BQ; ii) the hydrogen-transfer process with the formation of the cation (4-MeOC6H4)2CH+ in the case of CA. Instead. BQ sensitized a much higher yield of BOH* and (4-MeOC6H4)2CH*, mainly by the direct interaction of triplet BQ with (4-MeOC6H4)2CH2. It was also shown that the presence of salts decreases significantly the rate of the back electron transfer process and enhances the quantum yields of formation of the neutral radicals and ions when Cl2BQ and CA are used, respectively. The behavior of BQ*-, Cl2BQ*-, and CA*- appears to be mainly determined by the Mulliken charges on the oxygen atom obtained from quantum mechanical calculations with the model B3LYP/6-311G(d,p). Spin densities seem to be much less important.

Cleavage of Protecting Groups Catalysed by π-Acceptors

The cleavage of protecting groups is caused by the acidic adducts produced from the methanolysis of acceptors.