Synthesis of a Sterically Demanding Dispiropiperidine and Its Application in Monoamidodialkyl Zincate Complexes

The new sterically hindered piperidine analog, dispiro[cyclohexane-2,2'-piperidine-6',2″-cyclohexane] (CPC(H), 2), and its N-methylated derivative CPC(Me) (3) were synthesized from commercially available starting materials in short steps. The N-lithiated amide LiCPC (4) was also isolated from 2 as a cyclictrimer in single crystals and showed slightly larger steric hindrance than that of lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (LiTMP) in the competitive methylation reaction with methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate. In addition, the heterobimetallic heteroleptic zincate complexes [Li(μ-NR₂)(μ-Et)Zn(Et)] (NR₂ = CPC, 5, and NR₂ = TMP, 6) were obtained as THF- and TMEDA-coordinated monomer 5·(THF)₂, 6·(THF)₂, 5·TMEDA, and 6·TMEDA (THF = tetrahydrofuran, TMEDA = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine). These molecular structures bearing different amido ligands in single crystals showed little structural differences from crystallographic studies. Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) revealed that the solution structures of the zincate complexes 5·(THF)₂ and 6·(THF)₂ only differ in the number of coordination THF molecules. In the deprotonation reactions with tert-butyl 3-bromobenzoate, the zincate complexes containing the CPC ligand [Li(μ-CPC)(μ-R)Zn(R)] (R = Et (5), tBu) showed moderately improved regioselectivity for the 6 position in comparison to those containing the TMP ligand [Li(μ-TMP)(μ-R)Zn(R)] (R = Et (6), tBu).

Structural Diversity in Alkali Metal and Alkali Metal Magnesiate Chemistry of the Bulky 2,6-Diisopropyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)anilino Ligand

Bulky amido ligands are precious in s-block chemistry, since they can implant complementary strong basic and weak nucleophilic properties within compounds. Recent work has shown the pivotal importance of the base structure with enhancement of basicity and extraordinary regioselectivities possible for cyclic alkali metal magnesiates containing mixed n-butyl/amido ligand sets. This work advances alkali metal and alkali metal magnesiate chemistry of the bulky arylsilyl amido ligand [N(SiMe3 )(Dipp)]- (Dipp=2,6-iPr2 -C6 H3 ). Infinite chain structures of the parent sodium and potassium amides are disclosed, adding to the few known crystallographically characterised unsolvated s-block metal amides. Solvation by N,N,N',N'',N''-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) or N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) gives molecular variants of the lithium and sodium amides; whereas for potassium, PMDETA gives a molecular structure, TMEDA affords a novel, hemi-solvated infinite chain. Crystal structures of the first magnesiate examples of this amide in [MMg{N(SiMe3 )(Dipp)}2 (μ-nBu)]∞ (M=Na or K) are also revealed, though these breakdown to their homometallic components in donor solvents as revealed through NMR and DOSY studies.

Synthetic and reactivity studies of hetero-tri-anionic sodium zincates

The blue, red and green spheres represent three different anions present within a series of novel hetero-trianionic sodium zincates. The syntheses and structures of the complexes are reported as well as their reactivities with important organic molecules.

Accurate molecular weight determination of small molecules via DOSY-NMR by using external calibration curves with normalized diffusion coefficients

Determination of the aggregation and solvation numbers of organometallic complexes in solution is an important task to increase insight in reaction mechanisms. Thus knowing which aggregates are formed during a reaction is of high interest to develop better selectivity and higher yields. Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), which separates NMR signals according to the diffusion coefficient, finds increasing use to identify species in solution. However, there still is no simple relationship between diffusion coefficient and molecular weight (MW). Some methods have been developed to estimate the MW but still with a significant error of ±30%. Here we describe a novel development of MW-determination by using an external calibration curve (ECC) approach with normalized diffusion coefficients. Taking the shape of the molecules into account enables accurate MW-predictions with a maximum error of smaller than ±9%. Moreover we show that the addition of multiple internal references is dispensable. One internal reference (that also can be the solvent) is sufficient. If the solvent signal is not accessible, 16 other internal standards (aliphatics and aromatics) are available to avoid signal overlapping problems and provide flexible choice of analytes. This method is independent of NMR-device properties and diversities in temperature or viscosity and offers an easy and robust method to determine accurate MWs in solution.

The Donor-Base-Free Aggregation of Lithium Diisopropyl Amide in Hydrocarbons Revealed by a DOSY Method

Lithium diisopropyl amide (LDA) is a very prominent reagent that plays a key role in organic synthesis, serving as a base par excellence for a broad range of deprotonation reactions. However, the state of aggregation in solution in the absence of donor bases was unclear. In this paper we solved this problem by employing DOSY NMR experiments based on a newly elaborated external calibration curve (ECC) approach with normalized diffusion coefficients.