Characterization of PLA Sheets Prepared by Stretching under Different Conditions: Influence of Reprocessing and Establishing Optimal Conditions.

Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most commonly used biomaterials nowadays, with many recognized benefits, particularly in the packaging and single-use products industries. However, little research has been conducted on its stretching behavior. This work investigates the optimal conditions of biaxial stretching of injection-molded PLA samples produced under different processing conditions (pressure, drying, and pre-processing by extrusion, to simulate a recycling step). The injection-molded samples were characterized to determine their mechanical, thermal and thermo-mechanical behavior, water absorption, thermal behavior, and crystallization kinetics. The extruded samples showed reduced thermal stability, lower viscosity, decreased mechanical properties, and higher crystallization rates due to thermal degradation. However, the stretched samples provided similar properties regardless of the materials pre-processing. Regarding the assessment of the biaxial stretching process, processing at lower temperatures provides the films with a higher yield and breaking strength, while the time and strain rates have little influence on such properties. It was then determined that 82 °C is the optimal temperature for stretching the PLA samples. An increase in the stretch ratio provided a higher elastic modulus and higher values of opacity due to an increased crystallinity induced by stress during the process. Films as thin as 50 µm can be obtained by biaxially stretching injection-molded preforms, producing a deformation over 150% and acquiring good mechanical properties: about 90 MPa for the yield and a breaking strength and elastic modulus of 4000 MPa.

Site-selective redox isomerizations of furanosides using a combined arylboronic acid/photoredox catalyst system.

In the presence of an arylboronic acid and a hydrogen atom transfer mediator under photoredox conditions, furanoside derivatives undergo site-selective redox isomerizations to 2-keto-3-deoxyfuranosides. Experimental evidence and computational modeling suggest that the transformation takes place by abstraction of the hydrogen atom from the 2-position of the furanoside-derived arylboronic ester, followed by C3-O bond cleavage via spin-center shift. This mechanism is reminiscent of the currently accepted pathway for the formation of 3'-ketodeoxynucleotides by ribonucleotide reductase enzymes.

Site-Selective and Stereoselective C-H Alkylations of Carbohydrates via Combined Diarylborinic Acid and Photoredox Catalysis.

Diphenylborinic acid serves as a cocatalyst for site- and stereoselective C-H alkylation reactions of carbohydrates under photoredox conditions using quinuclidine as the hydrogen atom transfer mediator. Products arising from selective abstraction of the equatorial hydrogens of cis-1,2-diol moieties, followed by C-C bond formation with net retention of configuration, are obtained. Computational modeling supports a mechanism involving formation of a tetracoordinate borinic ester, which accelerates hydrogen atom transfer with the quinuclidine-derived radical cation through polarity-matching and/or ion-pairing effects.

Author Correction: Amine hemilability enables boron to mechanistically resemble either hydride or proton.

During the revision of this Article prior to publication, a computational study was reported (Vallejos, M. M. & Pellegrinet, S. C. Theoretical study of the BF3-promoted rearrangement of oxiranyl N-methyliminodiacetic acid boronates. J. Org. Chem. 82, 5917-5925; 2017) that evaluates the nucleophilic boryl transfer mechanism predicted in this Article; this reference has now been added as number 19, and the subsequent references renumbered.

Amine hemilability enables boron to mechanistically resemble either hydride or proton.

Tetracoordinate MIDA (N-methyliminodiacetic acid) boronates have found broad utility in chemical synthesis. Here, we describe mechanistic insights into the migratory aptitude of the MIDA boryl group in boron transfer processes, and show that the hemilability of the nitrogen atom on the MIDA ligand enables boron to mechanistically resemble either a hydride or a proton. The first case involves a 1,2-boryl shift, in which boron migrates as a nucleophile in its tetracoordinate form. The second case involves a neighbouring atom-promoted 1,4-boryl shift, in which boron migrates as an electrophile in its pseudo-tricoordinate form. Density functional theory studies and in situ NMR measurements all suggest that MIDA can act as a dynamic switch. These findings encouraged the development of novel migration processes involving boron that exploit the chameleonic behaviour of boron by acting as both a nucleophile and an electrophile, including the first report of a compound with a boronate functionality bound to carbon in the carboxylic acid oxidation state.

Borinic Acid-Catalyzed, Regioselective Ring Opening of 3,4-Epoxy Alcohols.

Diarylborinic acids (Ar2BOH) catalyze the C3-selective ring opening of 3,4-epoxy alcohols with aniline, dialkylamine and arenethiol nucleophiles. The regiochemical outcome is consistent with a catalytic tethering mechanism in which the borinic acid interacts with both the electrophile and the nucleophile. The rate acceleration resulting from this induced intramolecularity effect is sufficient to overcome steric biases that would otherwise favor C4-selective opening of the substituted epoxy alcohols.

Site-Selective, Copper-Mediated O-Arylation of Carbohydrate Derivatives.

Site-selective functionalization of hydroxy groups in sugar derivatives is a major challenge in carbohydrate synthesis. Methods for achieving this goal will provide efficient access to new sugar-derived chemical building blocks and will facilitate the preparation or late-stage modification of complex oligosaccharides for applications in glycobiology research and drug discovery. Here, we describe site-selective, copper-promoted couplings of boronic acids with carbohydrate derivatives. These reactions generate sugar-derived aryl ethers, a structural class that is challenging to generate by other means and has not previously been accessed in a site-selective fashion. Experimental evidence and computational modeling suggest that the formation of a sugar-derived boronic ester intermediate is crucial to the selectivity of these processes, accelerating the arylation of an adjacent hydroxy group. The results demonstrate how the interactions of sugars with boron compounds can be combined with transition metal catalysis to achieve new chemical reactivity.

Mechanism of an Organoboron-Catalyzed Domino Reaction: Kinetic and Computational Studies of Borinic Acid-Catalyzed Regioselective Chloroacylation of 2,3-Epoxy Alcohols.

A mechanistic study of the borinic acid-catalyzed chloroacylation of 2,3-epoxy alcohols is presented. In this unusual mode of catalysis, the borinic acid activates the substrate toward sequential reactions with a nucleophile (epoxide ring-opening by chloride) and an electrophile (O-acylation of the resulting alkoxide). Reaction progress kinetic analysis of data obtained through in situ FTIR spectroscopy is consistent with a mechanism involving turnover-limiting acylation of a chlorohydrin-derived borinic ester. This proposal is further supported by investigations of the effects of aroyl chloride substitution on reaction rate. The kinetics experiments also shed light on the effects of chloride concentration on reaction rate and indicate that the catalyst is subject to inhibition by the product of the chloroacylation reaction. Computational modeling is employed to gain insight into the effects of the organoboron catalyst on the regioselectivities of the epoxide ring-opening and acylation steps. The density functional theory calculations provide a plausible pathway for selective chlorinolysis at C-3 and benzoylation at O-1, as is observed experimentally.

Reversible covalent interactions of ß-aminoboronic acids with carbohydrate derivatives.

ß-Aminoalkylboronic acids are capable of binding to carbohydrate derivatives through reversible covalent interactions. An anthracene-bearing ß-aminoboronic acid has been synthesized, enabling determinations of association constants for binding of sugars by fluorescence spectroscopy. The diol-binding properties of ß-aminoboronic acids are also useful in catalysis: one such compound displays remarkably high activity for regioselective O-acylation of a pyranoside derivative.

Anion recognition by a bidentate chalcogen bond donor.

Perfluoroaryl-substituted tellurophenes act as anion receptors through noncovalent chalcogen bonding interactions. Linking two tellurophenes through an ethynylene group results in a significant level of chelate cooperativity, thus demonstrating that chalcogen bonding can be used to achieve multidentate anion recognition.

Chalcogen bonding in solution: interactions of benzotelluradiazoles with anionic and uncharged Lewis bases.

Chalcogen bonding is the noncovalent interaction between an electron-deficient, covalently bonded chalcogen (Te, Se, S) and a Lewis base. Although substantial evidence supports the existence of chalcogen bonding in the solid state, quantitative data regarding the strengths of the interactions in the solution phase are lacking. Herein, determinations of the association constants of benzotelluradiazoles with a variety of Lewis bases (Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), NO3(-) and quinuclidine, in organic solvent) are described. The participation of the benzotelluradiazoles in chalcogen bonding interactions was probed by UV-vis, (1)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopy as well as nano-ESI mass spectrometry. Trends in the free energy of chalcogen bonds upon variation of the donor, acceptor and solvent are evident from these data, including a linear free energy relationship between chalcogen bond donor ability and calculated electrostatic potential at the tellurium center. Calculations using the dispersion-corrected B97-D3 functional were found to give good agreement with the experimental free energies of chalcogen bonding.

Dissecting the mechanisms of a class of chemical glycosylation using primary ¹³C kinetic isotope effects.

Although arguably the most important reaction in glycoscience, chemical glycosylations are among the least well understood of organic chemical reactions, resulting in an unnecessarily high degree of empiricism and a brake on rational development in this critical area. To address this problem, primary (13)C kinetic isotope effects have now been determined for the formation of ß- and α-manno- and glucopyranosides using a natural abundance NMR method. In contrast to the common current assumption, for three of the four cases studied the experimental and computed values are indicative of associative displacement of the intermediate covalent glycosyl trifluoromethanesulfonates. For the formation of the α-mannopyranosides, the experimentally determined KIE differs significantly from that computed for an associative displacement, which is strongly suggestive of a dissociative mechanism that approaches the intermediacy of a glycosyl oxocarbenium ion. The application of analogous experiments to other glycosylation systems should shed further light on their mechanisms and thus assist in the design of better reactions conditions with improved stereoselectivity.

The mechanism of radical-trapping antioxidant activity of plant-derived thiosulfinates.

It has long been recognized that garlic and petiveria, two plants of the Allium genus--which also includes onions, leeks and shallots--possess great medicinal value. In recent times, the biological activities of extracts of these plants have been ascribed to the antioxidant properties of the thiosulfinate secondary metabolites allicin and S-benzyl phenylmethanethiosulfinate (BPT), respectively. Herein we describe our efforts to probe the mechanism of the radical-trapping antioxidant activity of these compounds, as well as S-propyl propanethiosulfinate (PPT), a saturated analog representative of the thiosulfinates that predominate in non-medicinal alliums. Our experimental results, which include thiosulfinate-inhibited autoxidations of the polyunsaturated fatty acid (ester) methyl linoleate, investigations of their decomposition kinetics, and radical clock experiments aimed at obtaining some quantitative insights into their reactions with peroxyl radicals, indicate that the radical-trapping activity of thiosulfinates is paralleled by their propensity to undergo Cope elimination to yield a sulfenic acid. Since sulfenic acids are transient species, we complement our experimental studies with the results of theoretical calculations aimed at understanding the radical-trapping behaviour of the sulfenic acids derived from allicin, BPT and PPT, and contrasting the predicted thermodynamics and kinetics of their reactions with those of the parent thiosulfinates. The calculations reveal that sulfenic acids have among the weakest O-H bonds known (ca. 70 kcal mol(-1)), and that their reactions with peroxyl radicals take place by a near diffusion-controlled proton-coupled electron transfer mechanism. As such, it is proposed that the abundance of a thiosulfinate in a given plant species, and the ease with which it undergoes Cope elimination to form a sulfenic acid, accounts for the differences in antioxidant activity, and perhaps medicinal value, of extracts of these plants. Interestingly, while the Cope elimination of 2-propenesulfenic acid from allicin is essentially irreversible, the analogous reaction of BPT is readily reversible. Thus, in the absence of chain-carrying peroxyl radicals (or other appropriately reactive trapping agent), BPT is reformed.

The redox chemistry of sulfenic acids.

A persistent triptycenyl sulfenic acid is used as a model for cysteine-derived and other biologically relevant sulfenic acids in experiments which define their redox chemistry. EPR spectroscopy reveals that sulfinyl radicals are persistent and unreactive toward O(2), allowing the O-H bonding dissociation enthalpy (BDE) of the sulfenic acid to be readily determined by equilibration with TEMPO as 71.9 kcal/mol. The E° (RSO•/RSO(-)) and pK(a) of this sulfenic acid are also reported.

Leaving group assistance in the La3+-catalyzed cleavage of dimethyl (o-methoxycarbonyl)aryl phosphate triesters in methanol.

The catalytic methanolysis of a series of dimethyl aryl phosphate triesters where the aryl groups contain an o-methoxycarbonyl (o-CO2Me) substituent (4a-i) was studied at 25 degrees C in methanol containing La3+ at various concentrations and (s)(s)pH. Determination of the second-order rate constant for La3+(2)-catalyzed cleavage of substrate 4a (dimethyl (o-methoxycarbonyl)phenyl phosphate) as a function of (s)(s)pH was assessed in terms of a speciation diagram that showed that the process was catalyzed by La3+(2)(-OCH3)x dimers, where x = 1-5, that exhibit only a 5-fold difference in activity between all the species. The second-order catalytic rate constants (k2(La)) for the catalyzed methanolysis of 4a-i at (s)(s)pH 8.7 fit a Brønsted relationship of log k2(La) = (-0.82 +/- 0.11)(s)(s)pKa(lg) + (11.61 +/- 1.48), where the gradient is shallower than that determined for a series of dimethyl aryl phosphates that do not contain the o-CO2Me substituent, log k2(La) = (-1.25 +/- 0.06)(s)(s)pKa(lg) + (16.23 +/- 0.75). Two main observations are that (1) the o-CO2Me group preferentially accelerates the cleavage of the phosphate triesters with poor leaving groups relative to those with good leaving groups and (2) it provides an increase in cleavage rate relative to those of comparable substrates that do not have that functional group, e.g., k2(La)(dimethyl o-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl phosphate)/k2(La)(dimethyl phenyl phosphate) = 60. Activation parameters for the La3+(2)-catalyzed methanolysis of 4a and dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate show respective DeltaH(double dagger) (DeltaS(double dagger)) values of 3.3 kcal/mol (-47 cal/mol x K) and 0.7 kcal/mol (-46.5 cal/mol x K). The data are analyzed in terms of a concerted reaction where the catalytic complex (La3+(2)(-OCH3)(x-1)) binds to the three components of a rather loose transition state composed of a nucleophile CH3O-, a nucleofuge -OAr, and a central (RO)2P(2+)-O(-) in a way that provides leaving group assistance to the departing aryloxy group.