Base-stabilized formally zero-valent mono and diatomic molecular main group compounds

Various compounds are known for transition metals in their formal zero oxidation state, while similar compounds of main-group elements are recently realized and limited to only a few examples. Lewis...

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Mediated Organocatalysis Reactions

Arduengo et al., isolated the first ‘bottleable’ carbene, the first N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) 1,3-di(adamantyl)imidazol-2-ylidene resulted to an explosion of experimental and theoretical studies of novel NHCs being synthesized and analyzed have huge practical significance. These compounds emerged as successful ligands for coordinating transition metals, the complexes with NHC show diverse applications in the field of catalysis and organic transformation, NHC as ligand to main group elements and their properties and applications. Here this chapter provides the concise overview of N-heterocycle carbene as an organocatalyst that provides different organic transformation on to a carbonyl group. The majority of the NHC catalyzed reactions are employed in the phenomenon of reversing the electrophilic character of carbonyl carbon to nucleophilic carbon (umpolung activity) on coordination suggests benzoin, Stetter and hydroacylation reactions. Also, non-umpolung activity of bis-electrophile α,β-unsaturated acylazoliums reaction with suitable bis-nucleophiles in the organic synthesis have been studied.

I. Magnesium Promoted Coupling of Carbodiimides and Terminal Acetylenes, II. Bismuth Compounds Supported by Di(amido) Chelating Ligands

<p>The work presented in this thesis is divided into two parts, both of which investigate the chemistry of main group elements supported by N,N'-donor ligands. Part 1 investigates the use of Mg(mesC{NCy}₂)(N{SiMe₃}₂)(THF) (mes = 2,4,6- Me₃C₆H₃, Cy = C₆H₁₁) as a pre-catalyst for the coupling of terminal acetylenes to carbodiimides. A catalytic cycle for the reaction is proposed, based on a series of stoichiometric reactions. Ligand redistribution via Schlenk equilibria is a prominent feature of the proposed catalytic cycle. The scope of catalysis was also investigated, indicating a strong dependence on the sterics and electronics of both the carbodiimide and the terminal acetylene. Investigation of other magnesium species identified other pathways into the catalytic cycle. Part 2 explores the derivitisation of Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})Cl (Ar = 2,6-i-Pr₂C₆H₃) to form a number of novel bismuth(III) species of the general formula Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})X (X = alkyl, aryl, amide, aryloxide, phosphide). In addition, a number of cationic bismuth species have been isolated from the reaction of Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})Cl with ECl₃ (E = Al, Ga). Preliminary investigations reveal that the amide and aryloxide derivatives are active as initiators for the ring-opening polymerisation of lactide and ε-caprolactone. A number of bismuth(III) compounds bearing the related di(amido)ether ligands [O(Me₂Si{NAr})₂]²⁻ have also been synthesised.</p>

I. Magnesium Promoted Coupling of Carbodiimides and Terminal Acetylenes, II. Bismuth Compounds Supported by Di(amido) Chelating Ligands

<p>The work presented in this thesis is divided into two parts, both of which investigate the chemistry of main group elements supported by N,N'-donor ligands. Part 1 investigates the use of Mg(mesC{NCy}₂)(N{SiMe₃}₂)(THF) (mes = 2,4,6- Me₃C₆H₃, Cy = C₆H₁₁) as a pre-catalyst for the coupling of terminal acetylenes to carbodiimides. A catalytic cycle for the reaction is proposed, based on a series of stoichiometric reactions. Ligand redistribution via Schlenk equilibria is a prominent feature of the proposed catalytic cycle. The scope of catalysis was also investigated, indicating a strong dependence on the sterics and electronics of both the carbodiimide and the terminal acetylene. Investigation of other magnesium species identified other pathways into the catalytic cycle. Part 2 explores the derivitisation of Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})Cl (Ar = 2,6-i-Pr₂C₆H₃) to form a number of novel bismuth(III) species of the general formula Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})X (X = alkyl, aryl, amide, aryloxide, phosphide). In addition, a number of cationic bismuth species have been isolated from the reaction of Bi(Me₂Si{NAr})Cl with ECl₃ (E = Al, Ga). Preliminary investigations reveal that the amide and aryloxide derivatives are active as initiators for the ring-opening polymerisation of lactide and ε-caprolactone. A number of bismuth(III) compounds bearing the related di(amido)ether ligands [O(Me₂Si{NAr})₂]²⁻ have also been synthesised.</p>

NHC Ligated Oximes: Exploring the Electronic Structure and Properties

Compounds with (NHC)→E coordination bond are being generated and their chemistry is being explored over the past 15 years (NHC= N-heterocyclic carbenes, E = main group elements). Many examples of species with N-heterocyclic olefins (NHOs) are known, which exhibit umpolung chemistry. Increasing number of chemical species, which carry NHC as a functional unit, are being reported. There is a need to understand their electronic structure. Alkylated imidazole oximes (cationic, found useful in medicinal chemistry) ((NHC)-C(H)=N-OH(+)) carry NHC unit as a functional group. Similarly, the corresponding nitroso-N-heterocyclic olefins ((NHC)=C(R)-N=O) also carry NHC as a functional unit. It is important to establish the interaction between the NHC unit and the rest part of the molecule in these species. Density functional (DFT) study has been carried out to explore the electronic structure details of a few oximes and nitroso NHOs. The results indicate that a structure with NHC→C coordination interaction can be considered as one of the resonance structures of these species.

Computational data analysis shows that key developments towards the periodic system occurred in the 1840s

The periodic system arose from knowledge about substances, which constitute the chemical space. Despite the importance of this interplay, little is known about how the expanding space affected the system. Here we show, by analysing the space between 1800 and 1869, how the periodic system evolved until its formulation. We found that after an unstable period culminating around 1826, the system began to converge to a backbone structure, unveiled in the 1860s, which was clearly evident in the 1840s. Hence, contrary to the belief that the ``ripe moment'' to formulate the system was in the 1860s, it was in the 1840s. The evolution of the system is marked by the rise of organic chemistry in the first quarter of the nineteenth-century, which prompted the recognition of relationships among main group elements and obscured some of transition metals, which explains why the formulators of the periodic system struggled accommodating them. We also introduced an algorithm to adjust the chemical space according to different sets of atomic weights, which allowed for estimating the resulting periodic systems of chemists using one or the other nineteenth-century atomic weights. These weights produce orderings of the elements very similar to that of 1869, while providing different similarity relationships among the elements, therefore producing different periodic systems. By analysing these systems, from Dalton up to Mendeleev, we found that Gmelin's atomic weights of 1843 produce systems remarkably similar to that of 1869, a similarity that was reinforced by the atomic weights on the years to come.