Anna Makal

The Doping Effect of Fluorinated Aromatic Solvents on the Rate of Ruthenium‐Catalysed Olefin Metathesis

A study concerning the effect of using a fluorinated aromatic solvent as the medium for olefin metathesis reactions catalysed by ruthenium complexes bearing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands is presented. The use of fluorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (FAH) as solvents for olefin metathesis reactions catalysed by standard commercially available ruthenium pre-catalysts allows substantially higher yields of the desired products to be obtained, especially in the case of demanding polyfunctional molecules, including natural and biologically active compounds. Interactions between the FAH and the second-generation ruthenium catalysts, which apparently improve the efficiency of the olefin metathesis transformation, have been studied by X-ray structure analysis and computations, as well as by carrying out a number of metathesis experiments. The optimisation of reaction conditions by using an FAH can be regarded as a complementary approach for the design of new improved ruthenium catalysts. Fluorinated aromatic solvents are an attractive alternative medium for promoting challenging olefin metathesis reactions.

Studies on Electronic Effects in O‐, N‐ and S‐Chelated Ruthenium Olefin‐Metathesis Catalysts

A short overview on the structural design of the Hoveyda-Grubbs-type ruthenium initiators chelated through oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms is presented. Our aim was to compare and contrast O-, N- and S-chelated ruthenium complexes to better understand the impact of electron-withdrawing and -donating substituents on the geometry and activity of the ruthenium complexes and to gain further insight into the trans-cis isomerisation process of the S-chelated complexes. To evaluate the different effects of chelating heteroatoms and to probe electronic effects on sulfur- and nitrogen-chelated latent catalysts, we synthesised a series of novel complexes. These catalysts were compared against two well-known oxygen-chelated initiators and a sulfoxide-chelated complex. The structures of the new complexes have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and analysed to search for correlations between the structural features and activity. The replacement of the oxygen-chelating atom by a sulfur or nitrogen atom resulted in catalysts that were inert at room temperature for typical ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and cross-metathesis reactions and showed catalytic activity only at higher temperatures. Furthermore, one nitrogen-chelated initiator demonstrated thermo-switchable behaviour in RCM reactions, similar to its sulfur-chelated counterparts.

Is the Hoveyda–Grubbs Complex a Vinylogous Fischer‐Type Carbene? Aromaticity‐Controlled Activity of Ruthenium Metathesis Catalysts

Three naphthalene-based analogues (4 a-c) of the Hoveyda-Grubbs metathesis catalyst exhibited immense differences in reactivity. Systematic structural and spectroscopic studies revealed that the ruthenafurane ring present in all 2-isopropoxyarylidene chelates possesses some aromatic character, which inhibits catalyst activity. This aromatic stabilization within the chelate ring may be controlled by variation of the polycyclic core topology as was demonstrated for tetraline and phenanthrene derivatives (4 d, e). General conclusions about a new mode of ligand-structure tuning in catalytic systems are presented.

The development of Laue techniques for single-pulse diffraction of chemical complexes: time-resolved Laue diffraction on a binuclear rhodium metal-organic complex

A modified Laue method is shown to produce excited-state structures at atomic resolution of a quality competitive with those from monochromatic experiments. The much faster data collection allows the use of only one or a few X-ray pulses per data frame, which minimizes crystal damage caused by laser exposure of the samples and optimizes the attainable time resolution. The method has been applied to crystals of the α-modification of Rh(2)(μ-PNP)(2)(PNP)(2) (BPh(4))(2) [PNP = CH(3)N(P(OCH(3))(2))(2), Ph = phenyl]. The experimental results show a shortening of the Rh-Rh distance in the organometallic complex of 0.136 (8) Å on excitation and are quantitatively supported by quantum-mechanical (QM)/molecular-mechanics (MM) theoretical calculations which take into account the confining effect of the crystal environment, but not by theoretical results on the isolated complex, demonstrating the defining effect of the crystal matrix.

Statistical analysis of multipole-model-derived structural parameters and charge-density properties from high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments.

A comprehensive analysis of various properties derived from multiple high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments is reported. A total of 13 charge-density-quality data sets of α-oxalic acid dihydrate (C2H2O4·2H2O) were subject to Hansen-Coppens-based modelling of electron density. The obtained parameters and properties were then statistically analysed yielding a clear picture of their variability across the different measurements. Additionally, a computational approach (CRYSTAL and PIXEL programs) was utilized to support and examine the experimental findings. The aim of the study was to show the real accuracy and interpretation limits of the charge-density-derived data. An investigation of raw intensities showed that most of the reflections (60-70%) fulfil the normality test and the lowest ratio is observed for weak reflections. It appeared that unit-cell parameters are determined to the order of 10(-3) Å (for cell edges) and 10(-2) ° (for angles), and compare well with the older studies of the same compound and with the new 100 K neutron diffraction data set. Fit discrepancy factors are determined within a 0.5% range, while the residual density extrema are about ±0.16 (3) e Å(-3). The geometry is very well reproducible between different data sets. Regarding the multipole model, the largest errors are present on the valence shell charge-transfer parameters. In addition, symmetry restrictions of multipolar parameters, with respect to local coordinate systems, are well preserved. Standard deviations for electron density are lowest at bond critical points, being especially small for the hydrogen-bonded contacts. The same is true for kinetic and potential energy densities. This is also the case for the electrostatic potential distribution, which is statistically most significant in the hydrogen-bonded regions. Standard deviations for the integrated atomic charges are equal to about 0.1 e. Dipole moments for the water molecule are comparable with the ones presented in various earlier studies. The electrostatic energies should be treated rather qualitatively. However, they are quite well correlated with the PIXEL results.

On the Biexponential Decay of the Photoluminescence of the Two Crystallographically-Independent Molecules in Crystals of [Cu(I)(phen)(PPh3)2][BF4]

[Cu(I)(phen)(PPh3)2][BF4] crystallizes with two nonsymmetry-related molecules in the asymmetric unit. Synchrotron time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments have shown that the two independent molecules distort differently on MLCT excitation. The luminescence decay of the crystals is biexponential with two different Stokes-shifts, the more rapid decay corresponding to the shorter wavelength emission. Its amplitude diminishes rapidly with an increase in temperature, indicating that this emission is not due to a thermal activation to a higher state. The double emission is attributed to the presence of two independent molecules with drastically different packing environments. It is concluded that the solid-state environment must be analyzed whenever photochemical properties of molecular solids are reported.

Time-resolved Laue diffraction of excited species at atomic resolution: 100 ps single-pulse diffraction of the excited state of the organometallic complex Rh2(μ-PNP)2(PNP)2·BPh4

The polychromatic Laue technique has been applied in 100 ps delay synchrotron pump-probe experiments of the triplet excited state of a Rh(I) dinuclear complex. The observed contraction of the Rh-Rh distance of 0.154 (13) Å is less than predicted by a series of theoretical calculations, a difference attributed to the constraining effect of the crystal lattice.

A new class of pyrenyl solid-state emitters: 1-pyrenyl ynones. Synthesis via the Friedel–Crafts route, molecular and electronic structure and photophysical properties

Friedel–Crafts acylation of pyrene with alkynoic acids in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride and triflic acid constitutes a direct and efficient route to 1-pyrenyl ynones. These compounds in chloroform solution emit fluorescence at longer wavelengths, with higher quantum yields and longer lifetimes than a typical saturated acylpyrene derivative, 1-acetylpyrene. Moreover, in contrast to 1-acetylpyrene, they are moderate solid-state emitters. Comparative DFT studies revealed strong stabilization of the LUMOs of 1-pyrenyl ynones in comparison to the LUMO of 1-acetylpyrene. The single-crystal X-ray structure of 1-(pyren-1-yl)but-2-yn-1-one showed π-interactions of pyrenyl moieties in the crystal lattice. Investigations of the solid-state fluorescence of this compound revealed emission from long-lived excited states, including excimer species.

Nanosized alkali-metal-doped ethoxotitanate clusters.

The synthesis and crystallographic characterization of alkali-metal-doped ethoxotitanate clusters with 28 and 29 Ti atoms as well as a new dopant-free Ti28 cluster are presented. The light-metal-doped polyoxotitanate clusters in which the alkali-metal atom is the critical structure-determining component are the largest synthesized so far. Calculations show that doping with light alkali atoms narrows the band gap compared with the nondoped crystals but does not introduce additional energy levels within the band gap.

The LaueUtil toolkit for Laue photocrystallography. I. Rapid orientation matrix determination for intermediate-size-unit-cell Laue data

A new method for determination of the orientation matrix of Laue X-ray data is presented. The method is based on matching of the experimental patterns of central reciprocal lattice rows projected on a unit sphere centered on the origin of the reciprocal lattice with the corresponding pattern of a monochromatic data set on the same material. This technique is applied to the complete data set and thus eliminates problems often encountered when single frames with a limited number of peaks are to be used for orientation matrix determination. Application of the method to a series of Laue data sets on organometallic crystals is described. The corresponding program is available under a Mozilla Public License-like open-source license.