Compound-Specific Carbon Isotope Compositions of Aldehydes and Ketones in the Murchison Meteorite.

Compound-specific carbon isotope analysis (δ13C) of meteoritic organic compounds can be used to elucidate the abiotic chemical reactions involved in their synthesis. The soluble organic content of the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite has been extensively investigated over the years, with a focus on the origins of amino acids and the potential role of Strecker-cyanohydrin synthesis in the early solar system. Previous δ13C investigations have targeted α-amino acid and α-hydroxy acid Strecker products and reactant HCN; however, δ13C values for meteoritic aldehydes and ketones (Strecker precursors) have not yet been reported. As such, the distribution of aldehydes and ketones in the cosmos and their role in prebiotic reactions have not been fully investigated. Here, we have applied an optimized O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) derivatization procedure to the extraction, identification and δ13C analysis of carbonyl compounds in the Murchison meteorite. A suite of aldehydes and ketones, dominated by acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde and acetone, were detected in the sample. δ13C values, ranging from -10.0‰ to +66.4‰, were more 13C-depleted than would be expected for aldehydes and ketones derived from the interstellar medium, based on interstellar 12C/13C ratios. These relatively 13C-depleted values suggest that chemical processes taking place in asteroid parent bodies (e.g. oxidation of the IOM) may provide a secondary source of aldehydes and ketones in the solar system. Comparisons between δ13C compositions of meteoritic aldehydes and ketones and other organic compound classes were used to evaluate potential structural relationships and associated reactions, including Strecker synthesis and alteration-driven chemical pathways.

Synthesis, properties, and bishomoaromaticity of the first tetrahalogenated derivative of a 1, 5-diphosphadithiatetrazocine: a combined experimental and computational investigation.

The first example of a tetrahalogenated derivative of a diphosphadithiatetrazocine, 1,5-Cl(2)P(NSN)(2)PCl(2) (3), was synthesized by cyclocondensation of a 2:1 mixture of SCl(2) and SO(2)Cl(2) with Cl(2)P(NSiMe(3))N(SiMe(3))(2) in CH(2)Cl(2). The heterocycle 3 was isolated as an orange, moisture-sensitive, thermally labile solid and characterized by mass spectrometry, (31)P NMR, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The low-field (31)P NMR chemical shift (93.7 ppm) is indicative of a cross-ring S-S interaction in the eight-membered P(2)N(4)S(2) ring, and this conclusion is supported by density-functional computations. Compound 3 exhibits unusual physical properties compared with those of the known tetraalkyl or aryl derivatives; mild heating (90 degrees C) produces an orange rubbery material. The bishomoaromatic character of the diphosphadithiatetrazocine 1,5-R(2)P(NSN)(2)PR(2) (R = Me, Cl, F) is evinced by the negative nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) values, and the through-space bishomoconjugation in the eight-membered ring decreases with increasing electronegativity of the substituents attached to the P atoms.

Complexes of Multifunctional Phosphorus Ligands. Rhenium(V) Complexes of the Multidentate Phenoxyphosphine Ligands Bis(o-trimethylsilyloxyphenyl)phenylphosphine and Tris(o-trimethylsilyloxyphenyl)phosphine. Stepwise Elimination of Me(3)SiX (X = Cl, OEt) from the Metal-Ligand System.

The silylated aryloxo ligands bis(o-silyloxyphenyl)phenylphosphine (abbreviated PhP{OT}(2)) and tris(o-trimethylsilyloxyphenyl)phosphine (abbreviated P{OT}(3), where T = Me(3)Si) were prepared. Complexation reactions with O=ReCl(2)(OEt)(PPh(3))(2) and O=ReCl(3)(PPh(3))(2) proceed by displacement of one PPh(3) and the subsequent stepwise replacement of the OEt and/or Cl substituents. The new complex Re(O)Cl(2)[kappa(2)-(P,O)-(PhP{O}{OT})](PPh(3)), formed by elimination of Me(3)SiOEt, exists in diastereomeric cis and trans forms. Elimination of a second equivalent of Me(3)SiCl gives Re(O)Cl[kappa(3)-(P,O,O)-(PhP{O}(2))](PPh(3)). Similarly P{OT}(3) converts Re(O)Cl(2)(OEt)(PPh(3))(2) to ReOCl(2)[kappa(2)-(P,O)-(P{O}{OT}(2))](PPh(3)) (5) (structurally characterized as 5.0.875CH(2)Cl(2)): crystal data; triclinic P&onemacr;, a = 14.302(4) Å, b = 18.734(2) Å, c = 17.639(4) Å, alpha = 80.950(12) degrees, beta = 80.12(2) degrees, gamma = 81.76(2) degrees, Z = 4. Final R(1) and wR(2) values are 0.0852 and 0.1525, respectively on F(o)(2) > 2sigma(F(o)(2)) data (or 0.1948 and 0.2019 on all data). The phenoxy phosphine ligand in 5 is bound via P and one O to Re. The P atoms are mutually cis to each other and to the terminal oxygen on Re. Two ortho-trimethylsiloxy substituted phenyl rings dangle from the coordinated phosphorus atom. Complex 5 can be converted to Re(O)Cl[kappa(3)-(P,O,O)-(P{O}(2){OT})](PPh(3)) (6) by treatment with PPN(+) Cl(-) and 6 was also obtained by direct reaction of Re(O)Cl(3)(PPh(3))(2) with P{OT}(3) at higher temperatures. The complex 6 has been structurally characterized: crystal data triclinic, P&onemacr;, a = 10.1509(6) Å, b = 12.1123(8) Å, c = 16.2142(14) Å, alpha = 97.851(7) degrees, beta = 94.852(7) degrees, gamma = 96.889(6) degrees, Z = 2. Final R(1) and wR(2) values were 0.0303 and 0.0721 on F(o)(2) > 2sigma(F(o)(2)) data (or 0.0348 and 0.0742 on all data). The phenoxyphosphine ligand in 6 is bound facially to Re through P and two of the phenoxy oxygens. The Ph(3)P group and terminal oxygen atoms are cis to the oxygen atoms of the phenoxy ligands and the Cl lies trans to P. One trimethylsiloxyphenol group dangles. Careful hydrolysis of 6 gave Re(O)Cl[kappa(3)-(P,O,O)-(P{O}(2){OH})](PPh(3)) which was also formed during complexation reactions in moist solvent. Solution (31)P{(1)H} NMR demonstrated cis- or trans-(P,P) geometry for the complexes, which was confirmed in the two aforementioned cases by structure determinations.

Origin and evolution of prebiotic organic matter as inferred from the Tagish Lake meteorite.

The complex suite of organic materials in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites probably originally formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar protoplanetary disk, but was subsequently modified in the meteorites' asteroidal parent bodies. The mechanisms of formation and modification are still very poorly understood. We carried out a systematic study of variations in the mineralogy, petrology, and soluble and insoluble organic matter in distinct fragments of the Tagish Lake meteorite. The variations correlate with indicators of parent body aqueous alteration. At least some molecules of prebiotic importance formed during the alteration.