The Role of Copper Salts and O2 in the Mechanism of C≡N Bond Activation for Facilitating Nitrogen Transfer Reactions.

C≡N bond scission can be a potential avenue for the functionalization of chemical bonds. We have conducted a computational study, using density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio multireference CASSCF methods, to unravel the intricate mechanistic pathways traversed in the copper-promoted, dioxygen-assisted reaction for the formation of aryl isocyanate species from aryl aldehyde. This aryl isocyanate species acts as an active species for C≡N bond cleavage of coordinated cyanide anion enabling nitrogen transfer to various aldehydes. Electronic structure analysis revealed that under all the reaction conditions radical-based pathways are operative, which is in agreement with the experimental findings. The major driving force is a CuII/I redox cycle initiated by single-electron transfer from the carbon center of the nitrile moiety. Our study reveals that the copper salts act as the "electron pool" in this unique nitrogen transfer reaction forming an aryl isocyanate species from aryl aldehydes.

Understanding the Role of Solvents and Spin-Orbit Coupling in an Oxygen-Assisted SN 2-Type Oxidative Transmetalation Reaction.

The aerial oxidation of PdII to PdIV has emerged as an integral component of sustainable catalytic C-H functionalization processes. However, a proper understanding of the factors that control the viability of this oxidative process remains elusive. An investigation of the intricate mechanism of the transmetalation reaction of the aerial oxidative transformation of [(Me3 tacn)PdII Me2 ] (Me3 tacn=N,N',N''-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) to [(Me3 tacn)PdIV Me3 ]+ has been conducted by using DFT, along with multireference methods, such as second-order n-electron valence-state perturbation theory (NEVPT2) with complete active space self-consistent field theory (CASSCF). The present endeavor predicts that the thermodynamics and kinetics of the oxygen activation step are primarily dictated by the polarity of the solvents, which determine the amount of charge transfer to the oxygen molecule from the PdII center. Additionally, it is observed that the presence of a protic solvent has a significant effect on the spin-orbit coupling term at the minimum energy crossing point of the triplet and singlet surfaces. Moreover, it is shown that the intermetal ligand-transfer phenomenon is an important instance of an oxygen-assisted SN 2 reaction.

Understanding the Unexpected Product Distribution in the Aerial Oxidation of Carbene-Stabilized Diphosphorus Complex.

Oxidation of nonmetallic singlet molecules by oxygen has its own share of intricacies. Herein, by means of DFT and ab initio techniques, mechanistic details of the aerial oxidation of an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) stabilized diphosphorus complex are revealed. This particular oxidation process is known to produce an unexpected P-P bond containing diphosphorus tetroxide complex, instead of the more thermodynamically stable oxo-bridged (P-O-P) compound. These findings suggest that the P-P bond containing less stabilized species is a kinetically controlled product (KCP) and obtained due to the presence of lower lying transition states (TSs) in the pathway leading to its formation, relative to the higher lying corresponding minimum-energy crossing points (MECPs) present in the pathway involved in the formation of the oxo-bridged species, which is the thermodynamically controlled product (TCP). Thus, an intriguing variant of the well-known KCP/TCP phenomenon is presented here, in which the KCP is formed not by merely traditionally known lower barrier heights of TSs involved in the formation of KCP, but by faster transmission of a system through a low barrier TS relative to a higher lying MECP. Additionally, the faster kinetics of an irreversible unimolecular O-O dissociation step, which avoids the formation of the TCP is a contributing factor in dictating the fate of the reaction. The insights provided herein may help to understand the oxidation of other P-P-containing species, such as black phosphorene.

Lewis Acid Promoted Hydrogenation of CO2 and HCOO- by Amine Boranes: Mechanistic Insight from a Computational Approach.

We employ quantum chemical calculations to study the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide by amine boranes, NMe3BH3 (Me3AB) and NH3BH3 (AB) weakly bonded to a bulkier Lewis acid, Al(C6F5)3 (LA). Additionally, computations have also been conducted to elucidate the mechanism of hydrogenation of carbon dioxide by Me3AB while captured between one Lewis base (P(o-tol3), LB) and two Lewis acids, Al(C6F5)3. In agreement with the experiments, our computational study predicts that hydride transfer to conjugated HCO2-, generated in the reaction of Me3AB-LA with CO2, is not feasible. This is in contrast to the potential hydrogenation of bound HCO2H, developed in the reduction of CO2 with AB-LA, to further reduced species like H2C(OH)2. However, the FLP-trapped CO2 effortlessly undergoes three hydride (H-) transfers from Me3AB to produce a CH3O- derivative. DFT calculations reveal that the preference for a H- abstraction by an intrinsically anionic formate moiety is specifically dependent on the electrophilicity of the 2 e- reduced carbon center, which in particular is controlled by the electron-withdrawing capability of the associated substituents on the oxygen. These theoretical predictions are justified by frontier molecular orbitals and molecular electrostatic potential plots. The global electrophicility index, which is a balance of electron affinity and hardness, reveals that the electrophilicity of the formate species undergoing hydrogenation is twice the electrophilicity of the ones where hydrogenation is not feasible. The computed activation energies at M06-2X/6-31++G(d,p) closely predict the observed reactivity. In addition, the possibility of a dissociative channel of the frustrated Lewis pair trapped CO2 system has been ruled out on the basis of predominantly high endergonicity. Knowledge of the underlying principle of these reactions would be helpful in recruiting appropriate Lewis acids/amine boranes for effective reduction of CO2 and its hydrogenated forms in a catalytic fashion.

Rational Design for Complementary Donor-Acceptor Recognition Pairs Using Self-Complementary Hydrogen Bonds.

An adaptable and efficient molecular recognition pair has been established by taking advantage of the complementary nature of donor-acceptor interactions together with the strength of hydrogen bonds. Such distinct molecular recognition propagates in orthogonal directions to effect extended alternating co-assembly of two different appended molecular entities. The dimensions of the assembled structures can be tuned by stoichiometric imbalance between the donor and acceptor building blocks. The morphology of the self-assembled material can be correlated with the ratio of the two building blocks.

Ligand-assisted acyl migration in Au-catalyzed isomerization of propargylic ester to diketone: a DFT study.

Gold-catalyzed isomerization of propargylic ester to a diketone derivative is a fascinating example for the generation of the C-C bond in organoaurate chemistry as it is one of the few reactions that exploit the nucleophilicity of organoaurates to a migrating acyl group. The proposed mechanistic pathway, involving the formation of a four-membered intermediate, has never been substantiated by any theoretical or experimental evidence. Detailed theoretical calculation suggests that the formation of an alkylideneoxoniumcyclobutene intermediate is highly unlikely. Instead, an acyl migration, assisted by the chlorine ligand in the square planar geometry of metal complex offers an alternative mechanism that can justify the reasonable activation barrier and the associated stereochemical feature involved in the reaction. The initial mandatory steps of the catalytic process such as allene formation (af) and rotamerization of allene-bound gold complex (ra) are found to be quite facile. However, the final step, acyl migration (am), that takes place through the formation of an intermediate with C-Cl bond, acts as the rate-determining step of the reaction. The mechanism also justifies the lack of sufficient activity of Au(I) salt to catalyze the isomerization process.

QM/MM Simulations for the Broken-Symmetry Catalytic Reaction Mechanism of Human Arginase I.

Human arginase I (HARGI) is a metalloprotein highly expressed in the liver cytosol and catalyzes the hydrolysis of l-arginine to form l-ornithine and urea. Understanding the reaction mechanism would be highly helpful to design new inhibitor molecules for HARGI as it is a target for heart- and blood-related diseases. In this study, we explored the hydrolysis reaction mechanism of HARGI with antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic coupling between two Mn(II) ions at the catalytic site by employing molecular dynamics simulations coupled with quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM). The spin states, high-spin ferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = 5/2), low-spin ferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 1/2, S Mn2 = 1/2), high-spin antiferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = -5/2), and low-spin antiferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 1/2, S Mn2 = -1/2) are considered, and the calculated energetics for the complex of the substrate and HARGI are compared. The results show that the high-spin antiferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = -5/2) is more stable than other spin states. The low-spin ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupled states are highly unstable compared with the corresponding high-spin states. The high-spin antiferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = -5/2) is stabilized by 0.39 kcal/mol compared with the ferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = 5/2). The reaction mechanism is independent of spin states; however, the energetics of transition states and intermediates are more stable in the case of the high-spin antiferromagnetic couple (S Mn1 = 5/2, S Mn2 = -5/2) than the corresponding ferromagnetic state. It is evident that the calculated coupling constants are higher for antiferromagnetic states and, interestingly, superexchange coupling is found to occur between Mn(II) ions via hydroxide ions in a reactant. The hydroxide ion enhances the coupling interaction and initiates the catalytic reaction. It is also noted that the first intermediate structure where there is no superexchange coupling is similar to the known inhibitor 2(S)-amino-6-boronohexanoic acid.