Theoretical Investigations of the Influence of Pressure on the Selectivity of the Michael Addition of Diphenylmethaneamine to Stereogenic Crotonates

Relating atomic energy, radius and electronegativity through compression

Trends in atomic properties are well-established tools for guiding the analysis and discovery of materials. Here, we show how compression can reveal a long sought-after connection between two central chemical concepts - van-der-Waals (vdW) radii and electronegativity - and how these relate to the driving forces behind chemical and physical transformations.

Non-Bonded Radii of the Atoms Under Compression

We present quantum mechanical estimates for non-bonded, van der Waals-like, radii of 93 atoms in a pressure range from 0 to 300 gigapascal. Trends in radii are largely maintained under pressure, but atoms also change place in their relative size ordering. Multiple isobaric contractions of radii are predicted and are explained by pressure-induced changes to the electronic ground state configurations of the atoms. The presented radii are predictive of drastically different chemistry under high pressure and permit an extension of chemical thinking to different thermodynamic regimes. For example, they can aid in assignment of bonded and non-bonded contacts, for distinguishing molecular entities, and for estimating available space inside compressed materials. All data has been made available in an interactive web application.

Solvation effects drive the selectivity in Diels-Alder reaction under hyperbaric conditions

High pressure effects on the Diels-Alder reaction in condensed phase are investigated by means of theoretical methods, employing advanced multiscale modeling approaches based on physically grounded models. The simulations reveal how the increase of pressure from 1 to 10 000 atm (10 katm) does not affect the stability of the reaction products, modifying the kinetics of the process by lowering considerably the transition state energy. The reaction profile at high pressure remarkably differs from that at 1 atm, showing a submerged TS and a pre-TS structure lower in energy. The different solvation between endo and exo pre-TS is revealed as the driving force pushing the reaction toward a much higher preference for the endo product at high pressure.

A new polymer-anchored chiral catalyst for asymmetric Michael addition reactions

[figure: see text] Monomer (R,R)-3-aza-3-(p-vinylbenzyl)-1,5-diphenyl-1,5-dihydroxypentane (2) when polymerized with styrene and divinylbenzene affords polymers, onto which lithium and aluminum are incorporated via reaction with lithium aluminum hydride. The resulting insoluble polymers containing chiral lithium and aluminum active centers are quite effective for asymmetric Michael addition of nitro compounds, thiols, and amines. The optimized reaction conditions yield Michael adducts in good yield with high enantiomeric excesses.