Curtis E. Moore

Evolution of iridium-based molecular catalysts during water oxidation with ceric ammonium nitrate.

Organometallic iridium complexes have been reported as water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) in the presence of ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN). One challenge for all WOCs regardless of the metal used is stability. Here we provide evidence for extensive modification of many Ir-based WOCs even after exposure to only 5 or 15 equiv of Ce(IV) (whereas typically 100-10000 equiv are employed during WOC testing). We also show formation of Ir-rich nanoparticles (likely IrO(x)) even in the first 20 min of reaction, associated with a Ce matrix. A combination of UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction is used. Even simple IrCl(3) is an excellent catalyst. Our results point to the pitfalls of studying Ir WOCs using CAN.

Retention or Inversion in Stereospecific Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Benzylic Carbamates with Arylboronic Esters: Control of Absolute Stereochemistry with an Achiral Catalyst

Stereospecific coupling of benzylic carbamates and pivalates with aryl- and heteroarylboronic esters has been developed. The reaction proceeds with selective inversion or retention at the electrophilic carbon, depending on the nature of the ligand. Tricyclohexylphosphine ligand provides the product with retention, while an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand provides the product with inversion.

Pd-catalyzed enantioselective C-H iodination: asymmetric synthesis of chiral diarylmethylamines.

An enantioselective C-H iodination reaction using a mono-N-benzoyl-protected amino acid has been developed for the synthesis of chiral diarylmethylamines. The reaction uses iodine as the sole oxidant and proceeds at ambient temperature and under air.

Catalytic Reduction of Dioxygen to Water with a Monomeric Manganese Complex at Room Temperature

There have been numerous efforts to incorporate dioxygen into chemical processes because of its economic and environmental benefits. The conversion of dioxygen to water is one such example, having importance in both biology and fuel cell technology. Metals or metal complexes are usually necessary to promote this type of reaction and several systems have been reported. However, mechanistic insights into this conversion are still lacking, especially the detection of intermediates. Reported herein is the first example of a monomeric manganese(II) complex that can catalytically convert dioxygen to water. The complex contains a tripodal ligand with two urea groups and one carboxyamidopyridyl unit; this ligand creates an intramolecular hydrogen-bonding network within the secondary coordination sphere that aids in the observed chemistry. The manganese(II) complex is five-coordinate with an N(4)O primary coordination sphere; the oxygen donor comes from the deprotonated carboxyamido moiety. Two key intermediates were detected and characterized: a peroxo-manganese(III) species and a hybrid oxo/hydroxo-manganese(III) species (1). The formulation of 1 was based on spectroscopic and analytical data, including an X-ray diffraction analysis. Reactivity studies showed dioxygen was catalytically converted to water in the presence of reductants, such as diphenylhydrazine and hydrazine. Water was confirmed as a product in greater than 90% yield. A mechanism was proposed that is consistent with the spectroscopy and product distribution, in which the carboxyamido group switches between a coordinated ligand and a basic site to scavenge protons produced during the catalytic cycle. These results highlight the importance of incorporating intramolecular functional groups within the secondary coordination sphere of metal-containing catalysts.

Stereospecific Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Alkyl Grignard Reagents and Identification of Selective Anti-Breast-Cancer Agents†

Alkyl Grignard reagents that contain β-hydrogen atoms were used in a stereospecific nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction to form C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) bonds. Aryl Grignard reagents were also utilized to synthesize 1,1-diarylalkanes. Several compounds synthesized by this method exhibited selective inhibition of proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

A Labile and Catalytically Active Imidazol‐2‐yl Fragment System

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and their complexes are excellent catalysts for a broad array of organic transformations, where the NHC ligands impart useful electronic and steric properties to metal centers. In these systems, with commonly used ancilliary NHC ligands that are substituted at nitrogen atom(s) by alkyl, aryl, or other groups, all catalytic transformations take place at the metal center, which is stabilized and/or activated by the NHC ligand. However, transformations that may possibly involve both the metal center and at one ring nitrogen of the NHC ligand are much less common, 5c,e–g] and are limited to protic NHC complexes or their conjugated bases. Thus, the N H function of a protic NHC complex (A or D ; Scheme 1) could

Asymmetric syntheses of sceptrin and massadine and evidence for biosynthetic enantiodivergence.

Cycloaddition is an essential tool in chemical synthesis. Instead of using light or heat as a driving force, marine sponges promote cycloaddition with a more versatile but poorly understood mechanism in producing pyrrole–imidazole alkaloids sceptrin, massadine, and ageliferin. Through de novo synthesis of sceptrin and massadine, we show that sponges may use single-electron oxidation as a central mechanism to promote three different types of cycloaddition. Additionally, we provide surprising evidence that, in contrast to previous reports, sceptrin, massadine, and ageliferin have mismatched chirality. Therefore, massadine cannot be an oxidative rearrangement product of sceptrin or ageliferin, as is commonly believed. Taken together, our results demonstrate unconventional chemical approaches to achieving cycloaddition reactions in synthesis and uncover enantiodivergence as a new biosynthetic paradigm for natural products. Syntheses of two natural products reveal a surprising divergence in the plausible biosynthetic precursors of their class. Sceptrin goes through the looking glass Marine sponges produce a trio of compounds—sceptrin, massadine, and ageliferin—that have intrigued chemists because they seemed to result from ring-forming reactions outside the standard repertoire of enzyme catalysis. Ma et al. now report laboratory syntheses of the first two compounds that uncover a surprising twist: It turns out the real structure of sceptrin is the mirror image of the originally reported structure. The work partially bolsters the prevailing biosynthetic hypothesis, though its revelation of enantiodivergence (the emergence of distinct mirror-image motifs in one compound class) is a rare event in natural product chemistry. Science, this issue p. 219

Isocyano Analogues of [Co(CO)4]n: A Tetraisocyanide of Cobalt Isolated in Three States of Charge

The encumbering m-terphenyl isocyanide ligand, CNAr(Mes2) (Mes = 2,4,6-Me(3)C(6)H(2)), is used to stabilize homoleptic tetraisocyanide complexes of cobalt in the 1-, 0, and 1+ charge state. Most importantly, these complexes serve as isolable analogues of the binary carbonyl complexes [Co(CO)(4)](-), Co(CO)(4), and [Co(CO)(4)](+). Sodium amalgam reduction of CoCl(2) in the presence of CNAr(Mes2) provides the salt Na[Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4)], which can be oxidized with 1 equiv of ferrocenium triflate (FcOTf) to the neutral complex, Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4). X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and low-temperature EPR spectroscopy reveal that Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4) modulates between D(2d)- and C(2v)-symmetric forms. DFT calculations are used to rationalize this structural modulation in terms of thermal access to low-energy b(2)-symmetric C-Co-C bending modes. Treatment of Na[Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4)] with 2 equiv of FcOTf, followed by addition of Na[BAr(F)(4)], provides the salt [Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4)]BAr(F)(4), which contains a diamagnetic, square planar monovalent cobalt center. The molecular and electronic structures of [Co(CNAr(Mes2))(4)]BAr(F)(4) are compared and contrasted to the reported properties of the carbonyl cation, [Co(CO)(4)](+).

Exploring the reactivity of white phosphorus with electrophilic carbenes: synthesis of a P4 cage and P8 clusters

The reaction of cyclic di(amido)- and (alkyl)(amino)-carbenes with white phosphorus in benzene afford P8 clusters supported by four carbenes, or a novel type of carbene-P4 adduct.

Bottleable (Amino)(Carboxy) Radicals Derived from Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino) Carbenes

Monomeric (amino)(carboxy) radicals were synthesized in two steps: the addition of a stable cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbene to an acyl chloride, followed by a one-electron reduction. Their stability toward dimerization also allows for the synthesis of related bi- and triradicals.