Mikko Muuronen

Modeling the Charging of Highly Oxidized Cyclohexene Ozonolysis Products Using Nitrate-Based Chemical Ionization.

Several extremely low volatility organic compounds (ELVOCs) formed in the ozonolysis of endocyclic alkenes have recently been detected in laboratory and field studies. These experiments have been carried out with chemical ionization atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometers (CI-APi-TOF) with nitrate ions as reagent ions. The nitrate ion binds to the detected species through hydrogen bonds, but it also binds very strongly to one or two neutral nitric acid molecules. This makes the measurement highly selective when there is an excess amount of neutral nitric acid in the instrument. In this work, we used quantum-chemical methods to calculate the binding energies between a nitrate ion and several highly oxidized ozonolysis products of cyclohexene. These were then compared with the binding energies of nitrate ion-nitric acid clusters. Systematic configurational sampling of the molecules and clusters was carried out at the B3LYP/6-31+G* and ωB97xD/aug-cc-pVTZ levels, and the final single-point energies were calculated with DLPNO-CCSD(T)/def2-QZVPP. The binding energies were used in a kinetic simulation of the measurement system to determine the relative ratios of the detected signals. Our results indicate that at least two hydrogen bond donor functional groups (in this case, hydroperoxide, OOH) are needed for an ELVOC molecule to be detected in a nitrate ion CI-APi-TOF. Also, a double bond in the carbon backbone makes the nitrate cluster formation less favorable.

Effect of mutual position of electron donor and acceptor on photoinduced electron transfer in supramolecular chlorophyll-fullerene dyads.

In this study we have explored the influence of mutual position of chlorin electron donor and fullerene C60 electron acceptor on photoinduced electron transfer. Two zinc-chlorin-aza-[18]crown-6 compounds and three pyrrolidino[60]fullerenes with alkyl aminium and varying coordinative moieties were synthesized and used for self-assembling of a set of complexes via two-point binding. The aza[18]crown6 moieties were connected to chlorins via amide linker either at 13(4) or 17(4) position, hence, being attached on different sides of the chlorin plane. Furthermore, in the former case, the linker holds the crown closely spaced, whereas, in the latter, the linker gives more space and conformational freedom for the crown with respect to the chlorin macrocycle. The coordinative moieties at fullerene site, 3-pyridine, 4-pyridine, and 3-furan, were built by utilizing the Prato reaction. The two-point binding drove the molecules into specific complex formation by self-assembling; aminium ion was chelated by crown ether, while zinc moiety of chlorin was coordinated by pyridine and furan. Such pairing resulted in distinct supramolecular chlorin-fullerene dyads with defined distance and orientation. The performed computational studies at DFT level in solution, with TPSS-D3/def2-TZVP//def2-SVP, indicated different geometries and binding energies for the self-assembling complexes. Notably, the computations pointed out that for all the studied complexes, the donor-acceptor distances and binding energies were dictated by chirality of pyrrolidino ring at C60. The selective excitation of chlorin chromophore revealed efficient emission quenching in all dyads. The ultrafast spectroscopy studies suggested a fast and efficient photoinduced charge transfer in the dyads. The lifetimes of the charge separated states range from 55 to 187 ps in o-dichlorobenzene and from 14 to 60 ps in benzonitrile. Expectedly, the electron transfer rate was found to be critically dependent on the donor-acceptor distance; additionally, the mutual orientation of these entities was found to have significant contribution on the rate.

Regioselectivity of Intermolecular Pauson–Khand Reaction of Aliphatic Alkynes: Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Effect of Alkyne Polarization

Generally judged poor electronic regioselectivity of alkyne insertion in intermolecular Pauson-Khand reaction (PKR) has severely restricted its synthetic applications. In our previous rational study concerning diarylalkynes (Fager-Jokela, E.; Muuronen, M.; Patzschke, M.; Helaja, J. J. Org. Chem. 2012, 77, 9134-9147), both experimental and theoretical results indicated that purely electronic factors, i.e., alkyne polarization via resonance effect, induced the observed modest regioselectivity. In the present work, we substantiate that the alkyne polarization via inductive effect can result notable, synthetically valuable regioselectivity. Computational study at DFT level was performed to disclose the electronic origin of the selectivity. Overall, the NBO charges of alkynes correlated qualitatively with regioisomer outcome. In a detailed computational PKR case study, the obtained Boltzmann distributions of the transition state (TS) populations correlate closely with experimental regioselectivity. Analysis of the TS-structures revealed that weak interactions, e.g., hydrogen bonding and steric repulsion, affect the regioselectivity and can easily override the electronic guidance.

Intermolecular oxidative dehydrogenative 3,3′-coupling of benzo[b]furans and benzo[b]thiophenes promoted by DDQ/H+: total synthesis of shandougenine B

With an excess of a strong acid, 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-quinone (DDQ) is shown to promote metal-free intermolecular oxidative dehydrogenative (ODH) 3,3′-coupling of 2-aryl-benzo[b]furans and 2-aryl-benzo[b]thiophenes up to 92% yield as demonstrated with 9 substrates. Based on the analysis of oxidation potentials and molecular orbitals combined with EPR, NMR and UV-Vis observations, the studied reaction is initiated by a DDQ-substrate charge transfer complex and presumably proceeds via oxidation of the substrate into an electrophilic radical cation that further reacts with another molecule of a neutral substrate. The coupling reactivity can easily be predicted from the oxidation potential of the substrate and the morphology of its frontier molecular orbitals. The intermolecular ODH coupling reaction allowed a concise total synthesis of the natural product shandougenine B.

Gold(III)-Catalyzed Enynamine–Cyclopentadiene Cycloisomerization with Chirality Transfer: An Experimental and Theoretical Study Indicating Involvement of Dual Au(III) Push–Pull Assisted cis–trans Isomerism

A synthetic approach for asymmetric ring-fused cyclopentadienes (Cps) with a chiral carbon at the ring junction has been established from chiral enynamines by achiral Au(III) catalysis. On the basis of experimental and theoretical data, the proposed mechanistic pathway from enynamines to Cps occurs via a Au(III) ene cis-trans isomerization step. Computational studies at DFT and NEVPT2 levels advocate that the cis-trans isomerization step proceeds via a dual Au(III) push-pull assisted intermediate with a low computed rotation barrier. The chirality transfer occurs through a helical-shaped transition state with allenic character. The scope of the catalysis encompasses sterically bulky enynamines including terpene natural products.

Photoinduced Charge Transfer in a Conformational Switching Chlorin Dimer–Azafulleroid in Polar and Nonpolar Media

In the present study, a biomimetic reaction center model, that is, a molecular triad consisting of a chlorin dimer and an azafulleroid, is synthesized and its photophysical properties are studied in comparison with the corresponding molecular dyad, which consists only of a chlorin monomer and an azafulleroid. As evidenced by (1) H NMR, UV/Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy, the chlorin dimer-azafulleroid folds in nonpolar media into a C2 -symmetric geometry through hydrogen bonding, resulting in appreciable electronic interactions between the chlorins, whereas in polar media the two chlorins diverge from contact. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy studies reveal longer charge-separated states for the chlorin dimer-azafulleroid; ≈1.6 ns in toluene, compared with the lifetime of ≈0.9 ns for the corresponding chlorin monomer-azafulleroid in toluene. In polar media, for example, benzonitrile, similar charge-separated states are observed, but the lifetimes are inevitably shorter: 65 and 73 ps for the dimeric and monomeric chlorin-azafulleroids, respectively. Nanosecond transient absorption and singlet oxygen phosphorescence studies corroborate that in toluene, the charge-separated state decays indirectly via the triplet excited state to the ground state, whereas in benzonitrile, direct recombination to the ground state is observed. Complementary DFT studies suggest two energy-minima conformations, that is, a folded chlorin dimer-azafulleroid, which is present in nonpolar media, and another conformation in polar media, in which the two hydrophobic chlorins wrap the azafulleroid. Inspection of the frontier molecular orbitals shows that in the folded conformation, the HOMO on each chlorin is equivalent and is shared owing to partial π-π overlap, resulting in delocalization of the conjugated π electrons, whereas the wrapped conformation lacks this stabilization. As such, the longer charge-separated lifetime for the dimer is rationalized by both the electron donor-acceptor separation distance and the stabilization of the radical cation through delocalization. The chlorin folding seems to change the photophysical properties in a manner similar to that observed in the chlorophyll dimer in natural photosynthetic reaction centers.

Chlorophyll tailored 20-trifluoroacetamide and its azacrown derivative as pH sensitive colorimetric sensor probe with response to AcO−, F− and CN− ions

Chlorophyll derivatives were functionalized with a trifluoroamide (TFA) group to obtain colorimetric ion sensors. Prior to this, a NO2BF4*pyridine based, chlorin nitration method was developed. The base strength dependent sensing of AcO−, F− and CN− ions was detected in aqueous media, which was enhanced in nonprotic solvents by an integration of the ditopic chelation capable amine crown-6 moiety.