S. M. Aldoshin

A density functional theory study of the zero-field splitting in high-spin nitrenes

This work presents a detailed evaluation of the performance of density functional theory (DFT) for the prediction of zero-field splittings (ZFSs) in high-spin nitrenes. A number of well experimentally characterized triplet mononitrenes, quartet nitrenoradicals, quintet dinitrenes, and septet trinitrenes have been considered. Several DFT-based approaches for the prediction of ZFSs have been compared. It is shown that the unrestricted Kohn-Sham and the Pederson-Khanna approaches are the most successful for the estimation of the direct spin-spin (SS) interaction and the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) parts, respectively, to the final ZFS parameters. The most accurate theoretical predictions (within 10%) are achieved by using the PBE density functional in combination with the DZ, EPR-II, and TZV basis sets. For high-spin nitrenes constituted from light atoms, the contribution of the SOC part to ZFS parameters is quite small (7%-12%). By contrast, for chlorine-substituted septet trinitrenes, the contribution of the SOC part is small only to D value but, in the case of E value, it is as large as the SS part and has opposite sign. Due to this partial cancellation of two different contributions, SS and SOC, the resulting values of E in heavy molecules are almost two times smaller than those predicted by analysis of the widely used semiempirical one-center spin-spin interaction model. The decomposition of D(SS) into n-center (n=1-4) interactions shows that the major contribution to D(SS) results from the one-center spin-spin interactions. This fact indicates that the semiempirical SS interaction model accurately predicts the ZFS parameters for all types of high-spin nitrenes with total spin S=2 and 3, if their molecules are constructed from the first-row atoms.

Functional models of [Fe—S] nitrosyl proteins

The review surveys methods for the synthesis, as well as structures and properties of sulfur-containing iron nitrosyl complexes serving as models of active sites of [Fe—S] nitrosyl proteins, which are potential donors of nitrogen monoxide.

Synthesis and X-ray and Spectral Study of the Compounds [Q4N]2[Fe2(S2O3)2(NO)4] (Q = Me, Et, n-Pr, n-Bu)

Iron nitrosyl complexes with general formula [Q4N]2[Fe2(S2O3)2(NO)4] (Q = Me, Et, n-Pr, n-Bu) were synthesized by the exchange reaction of K2[Fe2(S2O3)2(NO)4] with tetraalkylammonium bromides. The molecular and crystal structure of [(CH3)4N]2[Fe2(S2O3)2(NO)4] were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. The iron atom in the four-membered cycle of the [2Fe–2S] anion is bound to another Fe atom and to two sulfur atoms and is coordinated by two nonequivalent NO groups, each bridging sulfur atom being bound to the SO3group. The structurally equivalent iron atoms are in the state Fe1–(S= 1/2). The Mössbauer spectroscopy method shows that the complexes are diamagnetic due to the strong Fe–Fe bond. It is found that the SO3group provides higher stability of the thiosulfate anion than the anion in Roussins red salt [Fe2S2(NO)4]2–.

[Fe2(μ-SC5H4N)2(NO)4] as a New Potential NO Donor: Synthesis, Structure, and Properties

A new potential donor of nitrogen monoxide, a binuclear iron sulfur nitroso complex, was prepared by exchange reaction of Na2Fe2(S2O3)2(NO)4 with pyridine-2-thiol in the presence of sodium thiosulfate at pH 12. The molecular and crystal structures of [Fe2(μ-SC5H4N)2(NO)4] were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. The type of iron coordination by pyridine-2-thiol in the presence of a coordinated NO molecule was determined. In vacuum, the structure of the complex is destroyed, which is accompanied by NO evolution, while exposure to UV radiation results in decomposition of the complex and in a release of N2O.

Photochemistry of arylhydrazides in solution

The photochemical reactions of arylhydrazides ArCONHN=CHR in solution were studied. The main photochemical process was shown to betrans-cis isomerization with a quantum yield of 0.2–0.8 and an activation energy of 21–24 kcal mol−1.

New method for the synthesis of β-tropolones : Structures of condensation products of o-quinones with 2-methylquinolines and the mechanism of their formation

A new method was developed for the synthesis of functionalized β-tropolones based on acid-catalyzed condensation of 2-methylquinoline derivatives with 3,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,2-benzoquinone and 4,6-di(tert-butyl)-3-nitro-1,2-benzoquinone (14). The mechanism of the multistep reaction giving rise to β-tropolones and their tautomerism were studied by quantum chemical methods (DFT B3LYP/6-31G**). The reaction of 2-methylquinoline derivatives containing the tertiary amino group at position 4 with quinone 14 is accompanied by the formation of derivatives of a new heterocyclic system, viz., 4,6-dioxo-2-azabicyclo[3.3.0]octa-2,7-diene N-oxide. The molecular and crystal structures of two 5,7-di(tert-butyl)-3-hydroxy-2-(quinolin-2-yl)tropolones and two dioxoazabicyclooctadiene N-oxides, as well as of the preparatively isolated intermediate of the first condensation step and of the by-product of the reaction were established by X-ray diffraction.

Synthesis, structure, NO donor activity of iron–sulfur nitrosyl complex with 2-aminophenol-2-yl and its antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells

A new tetranitrosyl binuclear iron complex, [Fe2(SC6H6N)2(NO)4] (1), has been synthesized by two methods. Molecular and crystalline structure of 1 were determined by X-ray analysis; the complex is binuclear of “μ-S” type with ~2.7052(4) Å between the irons. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic, space group P21/n, Z = 2; parameters of the unit cell: a = 6.6257(2) Å, b = 7.9337(2) Å, c = 16.7858(4) Å, β = 96.742(2)°, V = 876.26(4) Å3. Parameters of Mössbauer spectrum for 1 are: isomer shift δFe = 0.096(1) mm/s, quadrupole splitting ΔEQ = 1.122(1) mm/s, line width 0.264(1) mm/s at 293 K. As follows from the electrochemical analysis of aqueous solutions of 1, it generates NO in protonic media without additional activation. NO amount and the rate of its activation are much higher in acidic solutions than in neutral and alkali ones. The constants of hydrolytic decomposition of 1 were calculated. The geometry and electronic structure of isolated 1 were studied using the density functional theory. Differential sensitivity of four lines of human tumor cells of various genesis to 1 has been determined (ovarian carcinoma (SCOV3), large intestine cancer (LS174T), mammary gland carcinoma (MCF7), and non-small cell carcinoma of lung (A549)); dependence of tumor cells amount on the complex concentration has been studied in order to use the complex as a promising antitumor agent for trials in vivo.

Cation–π and Lone Pair–π Interactions Combined in One: The First Experimental Evidence of (H3O‐lp)+⋅⋅⋅π‐System Binding in a Crystal

In addition to hydrogen bonding and p–p stacking, two types of interactions involving aromatic systems have been recently recognized as strong noncovalent binding forces in supramolecular chemistry. These are the interactions of a p cloud with an electron lone pair (lp) contributed by a neutral or an anionic moiety (lp–p interactions) and cation–p interactions (where the cation is an alkali metal or an alkali-earth metal, but may be any onium ion); 7] both having great implications for small organic molecules and biological macromolecules. With the aromatic fragment acting as an acceptor of electron density in one case and its donor in the other, these interactions can nevertheless coexist and even enhance each other when present in the same system. 9] Cationic species with free electron lone pairs, such as the oxonium-type ions H3O + , H5O2 + , H7O3 + , etc. , 11] are of importance in various fields of physical chemistry, materials science, and biology; among them, the proton conductivity in the solid state 13] and proton-transfer processes in chemical and biochemical systems are particularly interesting. The main type of interactions an oxonium moiety is involved in are H bonds with different proton acceptors, p systems included. 15] Having a high proton-donating ability, H3O + is a very poor acceptor: although its faint energetic preference for O H···OH3 + binding was theoretically predicted, the corresponding non-directional contacts rarely occur in crystals. Such a behavior of an oxonium moiety was shown to be the result of a “compact” character of the lp of its oxygen atom. At the same time, recent investigations 19] on H3O and H5O2 -containing salts have shown that due to the formation of interionic H bonds the positive charge of these species is significantly reduced; this may appear sufficient to involve an oxonium cation into the lp–p binding. Although such interactions are well-known for neutral and negatively charged species, those involving cations as the lp donors have—to the best of our knowledge—not been observed or even proposed yet in the literature. Although DFT and MP2 calculations 20] carried out on the model oxonium–benzene complex (H3O···C6H6) + always lead to O H···p or C H···O interactions instead of the awaited (H3O lp) ···p binding, there is a system—bis(oxonium) 4-hydroxy-1,3-benzenedisulfonate (1)—where the latter might occur. (The Cambridge Structural Database, release 2010, contains several structures where the same type of contacts with aromatics might also be expected: their ref. codes SODFOG (benzene), TIJKAZ (pyrazine) and YUYRAL (triazine), just to name a few.) According to our X-ray diffraction (XRD) data for 1, the oxygen atom of one of the two oxonium cations [both with the typical flattened geometry: the sum of the HOH bond angles is 330.6(13) and 326.9(13)8] points to the aromatic moiety of the dianion; the smallest O···C distance being 3.0639(6) . With numerous proton-donor and -acceptor groups in the molecule (Figure 1), the crystal structure of 1 is

Influence of aromatic ligand on the redox activity of neutral binuclear tetranitrosyl iron complexes [Fe2(μ-SR)2(NO)4]: experiments and quantum-chemical modeling

Reduction of neutral binuclear nitrosyl iron complexes of “μ-S” structural type [Fe2(SR)2(NO)4] with R = 3-nitro-phenol-2-yl, 4-nitro-phenol-2-yl, 5-nitropyridine-2-yl and pyridine-2-yl in aprotic solution has been studied by a cyclic voltammetry (CVA) method at a wide range of potential scan rates. A complex with R = 3-nitro-phenol-2-yl was synthesized for the first time; therefore it was studied by X-ray and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The parameters of the Mossbauer spectrum are: isomer shift δFe = 0.115(1) mm s−1, quadrupole splitting ΔEQ = 1.171(1) mm s−1, and line width = 0.241(1) mm s−1 at 85 K. From the current–voltage curve, the transfer of the first electron was found to be reversible, and the redox-potentials of these reactions were determined. The further reduction of the complexes was determined to be irreversible because the product of the second electron addition is instable and decomposes partially during the potential scan. Calculations of geometric and electronic structures of monoanions and dianions of the complexes under study and their theoretical redox-potentials were performed by DFT methods. Introduction of the electron-acceptor NO2 group into the phenyl and pyridine rings of sulfur-containing ligands of the nitrosyl iron complexes was found to affect the geometry of the anions and the distribution of the additional negative charge, as well as to increase the redox-potential and to facilitate reduction of these complexes.

Structures of bis(1-methyltetrazole-5-thiolato)(tetranitrosyl)diiron and its intermediates in solutions

Single crystals of an iron complex with 1-methyltetrazole-5-thiol of the formula [Fe2(SC2H3N4)2(NO)4] (I) were obtained and examined by X-ray diffraction. According to electrochemical data, tetranitrosyl binuclear complex I rapidly decomposes in protic solvents with elimination of NO. The maximum amount of NO generated by complex I in 1% aqueous DMSO is ∼900 nmol. This amount is reduced by half 15 min after the beginning of the decomposition under anaerobic conditions. The dinitrosyl mononuclear intermediates [Fe(SC2H3N4)2(NO)]− and [Fe(SC2H3N4)2(NO)2]− were detected in solutions and identified by EPR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The low number of spins per complex in solutions indicates that the mononuclear complexes undergo further decomposition into NO and the species [Fe(SC2H3N4)3]−, [SC2H3N4]−, and [Fe4S3(NO)7]−. Complex I was found to be substantially more stable in DMSO than in methanol and 1% aqueous DMSO.