Caesium carbonate promoted regioselective O-functionalization of 4,6-diphenylpyrimidin-2(1H)-ones under mild conditions and mechanistic insight.

A facile one-step catalyst free methodology has been developed for the regioselective functionalization of 4,6-diphenylpyrimidin-2(1H)-ones under mild conditions. Selectivity towards the O-regioisomer was achieved by using Cs2CO3 in DMF without use of any coupling reagents. A total of 14 regioselective O-alkylated 4,6-diphenylpyrimidines were synthesized in 81-91% yield. In the DFT studies it was observed that the transition state for the formation of the O-regioisomer is more favourable with Cs2CO3 as compared to K2CO3. Furthermore, this methodology was extended to increase the O/N ratio for the alkylation of 2-phenylquinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives.

Acid-induced nitrite reduction of nonheme iron(ii)-nitrite: mimicking biological Fe-NiR reactions.

Nitrite reductase (NiR) catalyzes nitrite (NO2 -) to nitric oxide (NO) transformation in the presence of an acid (H+ ions/pH) and serves as a critical step in NO biosynthesis. In addition to the NiR enzyme, NO synthases (NOSs) participate in NO production. The chemistry involved in the catalytic reduction of NO2 -, in the presence of H+, generates NO with a H2O molecule utilizing two H+ + one electron from cytochromes and is believed to be affected by the pH. Here, to understand the effect of H+ ions on NO2 - reduction, we report the acid-induced NO2 - reduction chemistry of a nonheme FeII-nitrito complex, [(12TMC)FeII(NO2 -)]+ (FeII-NO2 -, 2), with variable amounts of H+. FeII-NO2 - upon reaction with one-equiv. of acid (H+) generates [(12TMC)Fe(NO)]2+, {FeNO}7 (3) with H2O2 rather than H2O. However, the amount of H2O2 decreases with increasing equivalents of H+ and entirely disappears when H+ reaches ≅ two-equiv. and shows H2O formation. Furthermore, we have spectroscopically characterized and followed the formation of H2O2 (H+ = one-equiv.) and H2O (H+ ≅ two-equiv.) and explained why bio-driven NiR reactions end with NO and H2O. Mechanistic investigations, using 15N-labeled-15NO2 - and 2H-labeled-CF3SO3D (D+ source), revealed that the N atom in the {Fe14/15NO}7 is derived from the NO2 - ligand and the H atom in H2O or H2O2 is derived from the H+ source, respectively.

Oxygen atom transfer promoted nitrate to nitric oxide transformation: a step-wise reduction of nitrate → nitrite → nitric oxide.

Nitrate reductases (NRs) are molybdoenzymes that reduce nitrate (NO3 -) to nitrite (NO2 -) in both mammals and plants. In mammals, the salival microbes take part in the generation of the NO2 - from NO3 -, which further produces nitric oxide (NO) either in acid-induced NO2 - reduction or in the presence of nitrite reductases (NiRs). Here, we report a new approach of VCl3 (V3+ ion source) induced step-wise reduction of NO3 - in a CoII-nitrato complex, [(12-TMC)CoII(NO3 -)]+ (2,{CoII-NO3 -}), to a CoIII-nitrosyl complex, [(12-TMC)CoIII(NO)]2+ (4,{CoNO}8), bearing an N-tetramethylated cyclam (TMC) ligand. The VCl3 inspired reduction of NO3 - to NO is believed to occur in two consecutive oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reactions, i.e., OAT-1 = NO3 - → NO2 - (r1) and OAT-2 = NO2 - → NO (r2). In these OAT reactions, VCl3 functions as an O-atom abstracting species, and the reaction of 2 with VCl3 produces a CoIII-nitrosyl ({CoNO}8) with VV-Oxo ({VV[double bond, length as m-dash]O}3+) species, via a proposed CoII-nitrito (3, {CoII-NO2 -}) intermediate species. Further, in a separate experiment, we explored the reaction of isolated complex 3 with VCl3, which showed the generation of 4 with VV-Oxo, validating our proposed reaction sequences of OAT reactions. We ensured and characterized 3 using VCl3 as a limiting reagent, as the second-order rate constant of OAT-2 (k 2 /) is found to be ∼1420 times faster than that of the OAT-1 (k 2) reaction. Binding constant (K b) calculations also support our proposition of NO3 - to NO transformation in two successive OAT reactions, as K b(CoII-NO2 -) is higher than K b(CoII-NO3 -), hence the reaction moves in the forward direction (OAT-1). However, K b(CoII-NO2 -) is comparable to K b{CoNO}8 , and therefore sequenced the second OAT reaction (OAT-2). Mechanistic investigations of these reactions using 15N-labeled-15NO3 - and 15NO2 - revealed that the N-atom in the {CoNO}8 is derived from NO3 - ligand. This work highlights the first-ever report of VCl3 induced step-wise NO3 - reduction (NRs activity) followed by the OAT induced NO2 - reduction and then the generation of Co-nitrosyl species {CoNO}8.

Exceptionally Plastic/Elastic Organic Crystals of a Naphthalidenimine-Boron Complex Show Flexible Optical Waveguide Properties.

The design of molecular compounds that exhibit flexibility is an emerging area of research. Although a fair amount of success has been achieved in the design of plastic or elastic crystals, realizing multidimensional plastic and elastic bending remains challenging. We report herein a naphthalidenimine-boron complex that showed size-dependent dual mechanical bending behavior whereas its parent Schiff base was brittle. Detailed crystallographic and spectroscopic analysis revealed the importance of boron in imparting the interesting mechanical properties. Furthermore, the luminescence of the molecule was turned-on subsequent to boron complexation, thereby allowing it to be explored for multimode optical waveguide applications. Our in-depth study of the size-dependent plastic and elastic bending of the crystals thus provides important insights in molecular engineering and could act as a platform for the development of future smart flexible materials for optoelectronic applications.

Nitric oxide monooxygenation (NOM) reaction of cobalt-nitrosyl {Co(NO)}8 to CoII-nitrito {CoII(NO2 -)}: base induced hydrogen gas (H2) evolution.

Here, we report the nitric oxide monooxygenation (NOM) reactions of a CoIII-nitrosyl complex (1, {Co-NO}8) in the presence of mono-oxygen reactive species, i.e., a base (OH-, tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) or NaOH/15-crown-5), an oxide (O2- or Na2O/15-crown-5) and water (H2O). The reaction of 1 with OH- produces a CoII-nitrito complex {3, (CoII-NO2 -)} and hydrogen gas (H2), via the formation of a putative N-bound Co-nitrous acid intermediate (2, {Co-NOOH}+). The homolytic cleavage of the O-H bond of proposed [Co-NOOH]+ releases H2 via a presumed CoIII-H intermediate. In another reaction, 1 generates CoII-NO2 - when reacted with O2- via an expected CoI-nitro (4) intermediate. However, complex 1 is found to be unreactive towards H2O. Mechanistic investigations using 15N-labeled-15NO and 2H-labeled-NaO2H (NaOD) evidently revealed that the N-atom in CoII-NO2 - and the H-atom in H2 gas are derived from the nitrosyl ligand and OH- moiety, respectively.