A HF Loaded Lewis-Acidic Aluminium Chlorofluoride for Hydrofluorination Reactions.

The very strong Lewis acid aluminium chlorofluoride (ACF) was loaded with anhydrous HF. The interaction between the surface of the catalyst and HF was investigated using a variety of characterization methods, which revealed the formation of polyfluorides. Moreover, the reactivity of the HF-loaded ACF towards the hydrofluorination of alkynes was studied.

Activation of pentafluoropropane isomers at a nanoscopic aluminum chlorofluoride: hydrodefluorination versus dehydrofluorination.

The hydrofluorocarbon 245 isomers, 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane, 1,1,1,2,2- pentafluoropropane, and 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoropropane (HFC-245fa, HFC-245cb, and HFC-245eb) were activated through C-F bond activations using aluminium chlorofluoride (ACF) as a catalyst. The addition of the hydrogen source Et3SiH is necessary for the activation of the secondary and tertiary C-F bonds. Multiple C-F bond activations such as hydrodefluorinations and dehydrofluorinations were observed, followed by hydroarylation and Friedel-Crafts-type reactions under mild conditions.

Fluorolytic Sol-Gel Route and Electrochemical Properties of Polyanionic Transition-Metal Phosphate Fluorides.

Fluorine-containing polyanionic compounds have attracted much attention in the last few years as potential positive electrode materials for rechargeable batteries. With their formula Aa Mb Xc O4 Yd (A=Li, Na…; M=Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni…; X=P or S, and Y=F, OH, O), they offer a very rich chemistry and their electrochemical properties can be tuned by carefully choosing the different constituting elements. However, synthesis approaches that allow these materials to be obtained at low temperature are almost nonexistent. In this paper, the use of a nonaqueous fluorolytic sol-gel approach is reported to synthesize a tavorite-type LiFePO4 F material and its electrochemical characterization was performed. The obtained material displays an electrochemical performance that positively compares with the literature with an excellent cycling stability (115 mA h-1 g-1 after 100 cycles at C/2 rate). A slight change in the synthesis parameters allowed Li2 CoPO4 F to be successfully obtained, demonstrating the versatility of the reported route, which can be adapted to synthesize other fluorine-containing polyanionic compounds, which are of great interest for energy storage applications.

Novel Synthesis of Anhydrous and Hydroxylated CuF2 Nanoparticles and Their Potential for Lithium Ion Batteries.

Anhydrous nanoscopic CuF2 is synthesized from alkoxides Cu(OR)2 (R=Me, tBu) by their reaction either in pure liquid HF at -70 °C, or under solvothermal conditions at 150 °C using excess HF and THF as solvent. Depending on the synthesis method, nanoparticles of sizes between 10 and 100 nm are obtained. The compound is highly hygroscopic and forms different hydrolysis products under moist air, namely CuF2 ⋅2 H2 O, Cu2 (OH)F3 , and Cu(OH)F, of which only the latter is stable at room temperature. CuF2 exhibits an electrochemical plateau at a potential of ≈2.7 V when cycled versus Li in half cell Li-ion batteries, which is attributed to a non-reversible conversion mechanism. The cell capacity in the first cycle depends on the particle size, being 468 mAh g-1 for ≈8 nm crystallite diameter, and 353 mAh g-1 for ≈12 nm crystallite diameter, referred to CuF2 . However, such a high capacity cannot be sustained for several cycles and the capacity rapidly fades out. The cell voltage decreases to ≈2.0 V for CuF2 ⋅2 H2 O, Cu2 (OH)F3 , and Cu(OH)F. As all the compounds studied in this work show irreversible conversion reactions, it can be concluded that copper-based fluorides are unsuitable for Li-ion battery applications.

A Combined 25 Mg Solid-State NMR and Ab Initio DFT Approach to Probe the Local Structural Differences in Magnesium Acetate Phases Mg(CH3 COO)2 ⋠nH2 O (n=0, 1, 4).

Multinuclear (1 H, 13 C, 25 Mg) solid-state NMR data is reported for a series of magnesium acetate phases Mg(CH3 COO)2 ⋅ nH2 O (n=0 (two polymorphs), 1, 4). The central focus here is 25 Mg as this set of compounds provides an expanded range of local magnesium coordinations compared to what has previously been reported in the literature using NMR. These four compounds provide 10 distinct magnesium sites with varying NMR interaction parameters. One of the anhydrous crystal structures (α) has an MgO7 site which is reported, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time. For those phases with a single crystal structure, a combination of magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR at high magnetic field (20 T) and first principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrates the value of including 25 Mg in NMR crystallography approaches. For the second anhydrate phase (ß), where no single crystal structure exists, the multinuclear NMR data clearly show the multiplicity of sites for the different elements, with 25 Mg satellite transition (ST) MAS NMR revealing four inequivalent magnesium environments, which is new information constraining future refinement of the structure. This study highlights the sensitivity of 25 Mg NMR to the local environment, an observation important for several sub-disciplines of chemistry where the structural chemistry of magnesium is likely to be crucial.

Experimental and Theoretical Approach to Variable Chlorination-Promoted Skeletal Transformations in Fullerenes: The Case of C102.

The first example of three alternative chlorination-promoted skeletal transformation pathways in the same fullerene cage is presented. Isolated-pentagon-rule (IPR) C102(19) undergoes both Stone-Wales rotations to give non-IPR #283794C102Cl20 and C2 losses to form nonclassical C98 and non-IPR C96. X-ray structural characterization of the transformation products and a theoretical study of their formation pathways are reported.

Rebuilding C60: Chlorination-Promoted Transformations of the Buckminsterfullerene into Pentagon-Fused C60 Derivatives.

In recent years, many higher fullerenes that obey the isolated pentagon rule (IPR) were found capable of rearranging into molecules with adjacent pentagons and even with heptagons via chlorination-promoted skeletal transformations. However, the key fullerene, buckminsterfullerene I h-C60, long seemed insusceptible to such rearrangements. Now we demonstrate that buckminsterfullerene yet can be transformed by chlorination with SbCl5 at 420-440 °C and report X-ray structures for the thus-obtained library of non-IPR derivatives. The most remarkable of them are non-IPR C60Cl24 and C60Cl20 with fundamentally rearranged carbon skeletons featuring, respectively, four and five fused pentagon pairs (FPPs). Further high-temperature trifluoromethylation of the chlorinated mixture afforded additional non-IPR derivatives C60(CF3)10 and C60(CF3)14, both with two FPPs, and a nonclassical C60(CF3)15F with a heptagon, two FPPs, and a fully fused pentagon triple. We discuss the general features of the addition patterns in the new non-IPR compounds and probable pathways of their formation via successive Stone-Wales rearrangements.

Skeletal Transformation of a Classical Fullerene C88 into a Nonclassical Fullerene Chloride C84Cl30 Bearing Quaternary Sequentially Fused Pentagons.

A classical fullerene is composed of hexagons and pentagons only, and its stability is generally determined by the Isolated-Pentagon-Rule (IPR). Herein, high-temperature chlorination of a mixture containing a classical IPR-obeying fullerene C88 resulted in isolation and X-ray crystallographic characterization of non-IPR, nonclassical (NC) fullerene chloride C84(NC2)Cl30 (1) containing two heptagons. The carbon cage in C84(NC2)Cl30 contains 14 pentagons, 12 of which form two pairs of fused pentagons and two groups of quaternary sequentially fused pentagons, which have never been observed in reported carbon cages. All 30 Cl atoms form an unprecedented single chain of ortho attachments on the C84 cage. A reconstruction of the pathway of the chlorination-promoted skeletal transformation revealed that the previously unknown IPR isomer C88(3) is converted into 1 by two losses of C2 fragments followed by two Stone-Wales rearrangements, resulting in the formation of very stable chloride with rather short C-Cl bonds.

Chloro Derivatives of Isomers of a Giant Fullerene C104 : C104 (234)Cl16/18 , C104 (812)Cl12/24 , and C104 (811)Cl28.

The chemistry of a giant fullerene, C104 , has been extended by the synthesis and structural study of several chloro derivatives of three isolated pentagon rule (IPR) isomers of C104 nos. 234, 812, and 811. In the structure of C104 (234)Cl16/18 , two molecules with 16 and 18 attached Cl atoms occupy the same crystallographic site with an occupancy ratio of 61/39. The structures of C104 (812)Cl12 and C104 (812)Cl24 demonstrate substructure relationships of their chlorination patterns with single and double Cl attachments to 12 cage pentagons. The structure of C104 (811)Cl28 is compared with the known C104 (811)Cl24 thus revealing dramatic changes in the chlorination pattern, which occur with relatively small increases in the degree of chlorination.

On the Morphology of Group II Metal Fluoride Nanocrystals at Finite Temperature and Partial Pressure of HF.

We have investigated the bulk and surface properties of the group II metal fluorides CaF 2 , SrF 2 and BaF 2 using periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations and surface thermodynamics. Our bulk results show that the best agreement with experiment is achieved with the B3LYP and PBE functionals. We determined the relative importance of the low index surfaces in vacuum and found that an fluoride microcrystal exposes only the (111) surface in which the undercoordinated cations are sevenfold coordinated. With methods of ab initio surface thermodynamics, we analyzed the stability of different surfaces under hydrogen fluoride (HF) pressure and determined the presumable shape of the crystals with respect to different HF concentrations and temperatures. In the case of CaF 2 and SrF 2 , the calculated shapes of the crystals agree well with TEM images of fluorolytic sol-gel synthesized nanocrystals at room temperature and high HF concentration.

Consecutive Transformations of Tetrafluoropropenes: Hydrogermylation and Catalytic C-F Activation Steps at a Lewis Acidic Aluminum Fluoride.

Functionalization reactions of the refrigerants HFO-1234yf (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene) and HFO-1234ze (1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene) were developed. The selectivity and reactivity towards CF3 groups of C-F activation reactions can be controlled by employing either a germane or a silane as the hydrogen source. Unique transformations were designed to accomplish consecutive hydrogermylation and C-F activation steps. This allowed for an unprecedented transformation of an olefinic C-F bond into a C-H bond by heterogeneous catalysis. These reactions are catalyzed by nanoscopic aluminum chlorofluoride (ACF) under very mild conditions.

The First Experimentally Confirmed Isolated Pentagon Rule (IPR) Isomers of Higher Fullerene C98 Captured as Chlorides, C98(248)Cl22 and C98(116)Cl20.

High-temperature chlorination of pristine C98 fullerene isomers separated by HPLC from the fullerene soot afforded crystals of C98Cl22 and C98Cl20. An X-ray structure elucidation revealed, respectively, the presence of carbon cages of the most stable C2-C98(248) and rather unstable C1-C98(116), which represent the first isolated pentagon rule (IPR) isomers of fullerene C98 confirmed experimentally. The chlorination patterns of the chlorides are discussed in terms of the formation of isolated C=C bonds and aromatic substructures on the fullerene cages.

Stepwise Regioselective Hydrogenation of cis-2-C60 (CF2 )2 Homofullerene with [6,6]-Open/Closed Valence Tautomerism.

The homofullerene compound cis-2-C60 (CF2 )2 , which has an unusual kind of open/closed valence tautomerism undergoes consecutive regioselective hydrogenation at bridgehead carbon atoms upon reduction with Zn/Cu couple in H2 O-toluene mixture. The tautomerism barrier in cis-2-C60 (CF2 )2 is negligible in the neutral state, whereas negative charging both impedes tautomeric transformation and promotes regioselective addition of electrophilic species at the bridgehead carbon atoms. In light of this observation, two novel homofullerene derivatives, mixed [6,6]-open/closed C60 (CF2 )2 H2 and [6,6]-open cis-2-C60 (CF2 )2 H4 , were synthesized and their structures were unambiguously determined by means of single crystal X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy.

New Giant Fullerenes Identified as Chloro Derivatives: Isolated-Pentagon-Rule C108(1771)Cl12 and C106(1155)Cl24 as well as Nonclassical C104Cl24.

High temperature chlorination of HPLC fractions of higher fullerenes followed by single crystal X-ray diffraction with the use of synchrotron radiation resulted in the structure determination of IPR C106(1155)Cl24 and IPR C108(1771)Cl12. C106(1155)Cl24 is cocrystallized with C104Cl24, a chloride of the nonclassical isomer of C104. The moderately stable isomer C106(1155) and the most stable C108(1771) represent so far the largest pristine fullerenes with known cages.

New Isolated-Pentagon-Rule and Skeletally Transformed Isomers of C100 Fullerene Identified by Structure Elucidation of their Chloro Derivatives.

High-temperature chlorination of C100 fullerene followed by X-ray structure determination of the chloro derivatives enabled the identification of three isomers of C100 from the fullerene soot, specifically numbers 18, 425, and 417, which obey the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). Among them, isomers C1-C100 (425) and C2-C100 (18) afforded C1-C100 (425)Cl22 and C2-C100 (18)Cl28/30 compounds, respectively, which retain their IPR cage connectivities. In contrast, isomer C2v -C100 (417) gives Cs -C100 (417)Cl28 which undergoes a skeletal transformation by the loss of a C2  fragment, resulting in the formation of a nonclassical (NC) C1-C98 (NC)Cl26 with a heptagon in the carbon cage. Most probably, two nonclassical C1-C100 (NC)Cl18/22 chloro derivatives originate from the IPR isomer C1-C100 (382), although both C1-C100 (344) and even nonclassical C1-C100 (NC) can be also considered as the starting isomers.

Generic Biocombinatorial Strategy to Select Tailor-Made Stabilizers for Sol-Gel Nanoparticle Synthesis.

A generic route for the selection of nanoparticle stabilizers via biocombinatorial means of phage display peptide screening is presented, providing magnesium fluoride nanoparticle synthesis as example. Selected sequence-specific MgF2 binders are evaluated for their adsorption behavior. Peptide-polymer conjugates derived from the best binding peptide are used for the stabilization of MgF2 sol nanoparticles, yielding fully redispersable dry states and improoving processability significantly.

Chlorination-Promoted Skeletal-Cage Transformations of C88 Fullerene by C2 Losses and a C-C Bond Rotation.

High-temperature chlorination of fullerene C88 (isomer 33) with VCl4 gives rise to skeletal transformations affording several nonclassical (NC) fullerene chlorides, C86 (NC1)Cl24/26 and C84 (NC2)Cl26 , with one and two heptagons, respectively, in the carbon cages. The branched skeletal transformation including C2 losses as well as a Stone-Wales rearrangement has been comprehensively characterized by the structure determination of two intermediates and three final chlorination products. Quantum-chemical calculations demonstrate that the average energy of the C-Cl bond is significantly increased in chlorides of nonclassical fullerenes with a large number of chlorinated sites of pentagon-pentagon adjacency.

C100 is Converted into C94 Cl22 by Three Chlorination-Promoted C2 Losses under Formation and Elimination of Cage Heptagons.

Chlorination of the C100 (18) fullerene with a mixture of VCl4 and SbCl5 gives rise to branched skeletal transformations affording non-classical (NC) C94 (NC1)Cl22 with one heptagon in the carbon cage together with the previously reported C96 (NC3)Cl20 with three heptagons. The three-step pathway to C94 (NC1)Cl22 starts with two successive C2 losses of 5:6 CC bonds to give two cage heptagons, whereas the third C2 loss of the 5:5 CC bond from a pentalene fragment eliminates one of the heptagons. Quantum-chemical calculations demonstrate that the two unusual skeletal transformations-creation of a heptagon in C96 (NC3)Cl20 through a Stone-Wales rearrangement and the presently reported elimination of a heptagon through C2 loss-are both characterized by relatively low activation energy.

Chlorination of IPR C100 fullerene affords unconventional C96 Cl20 with a nonclassical cage containing three heptagons.

Chlorination of C100 fullerene with a mixture of VCl4 and SbCl5 afforded C96Cl20 with a strongly unconventional structure. In contrast to the classical fullerenes containing only hexagonal and pentagonal rings, the C96 cage contains three heptagonal rings and, therefore, should be classified as a fullerene with a nonclassical cage (NCC). There are several types of pentagon fusions in the C96 cage including pentagon pairs and pentagon triples. The three-step pathway from isolated-pentagon-rule (IPR) C100 to C96(NCC-3hp) includes two C2 losses, which create two cage heptagons, and one Stone-Wales rotation under formation of the third heptagon. Structural reconstruction established C100 isomer no. 18 from 450 topologically possible IPR isomers as the starting C100 fullerene. Until now, no pristine C100 isomers have been confirmed based on the experimental results.

Synthesis, structure, and theoretical study of trifluoromethyl derivatives of C84(22) fullerene.

Trifluoromethylation of higher fullerene mixtures with CF(3)I was performed in ampoules at 400 to 420 and 550 to 560 °C. HPLC separation followed by crystal growth and X-ray diffraction studies allowed the structure elucidation of nine CF(3) derivatives of D(2)-C(84) (isomer 22). Molecular structures of two isomers of C(84)(22)(CF(3))(12), two isomers of C(84)(22)(CF(3))(14), four isomers of C(84)(22)(CF(3))(16), and one isomer of C(84)(22)(CF(3))(20) were discussed in terms of their addition patterns and relative formation energies. DFT calculations were also used to predict the most stable molecular structures of lower CF(3) derivatives, C(84)(22)(CF(3))(2-10). It was found that the addition of CF(3) groups to C(84)(22) is governed by two rules: additions can only occur at para positions of C(6)(CF(3))(2) hexagons and no additions can occur at triple-hexagon-junction positions on the fullerene cage.