Switching in molecular shapes: main chain length driven rod-circle transition of isolated helical polysilanes.

Unique conformations such as rod, semicircle, and circle structures of isolated semi-flexible helical polysilanes were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM); the chain topology was significantly related to the chain length (molecular weight) on the surfaces.

Alkynes as activators in the nickel-catalysed addition of organoboronates to aldehydes.

Alkynes act not as substrates but as co-catalysts in the presence of a nickel catalyst, an organoboronate and an aldehyde to promote the addition reaction between the substrates in combination with H2O.

Nickel-catalysed addition of organoboronates to 1,3-dienes.

Aryl- and alkenylboronates were found to add to 1,3-dienes in the presence of a catalytic amount of bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)nickel, where a proton source in combination with a solvent considerably controls the regioselectivity.

Indium triflate-catalysed double addition of heterocyclic arenes to alkynes.

Indium triflate was found to be a prominent catalyst for addition of heterocyclic arenes to alkynes to afford 2:1 adducts, where two heterocyclic arenes regioselectively attacked the same carbon atom of alkynes.

Cooperative C-F...Si interaction in optically active helical polysilanes.

Cooperative amplification of the C-F...Si weak interaction between side chains and the main chain was found to afford rigid rodlike helical polysilanes with a preferential screw sense.

Palladium-catalysed dimerization of vinylarenes using indium triflate as an effective co-catalyst.

A palladium-indium triflate catalyst was found to be much more active for the dimerization of vinylarenes compared with generally used cationic palladium(II) catalysts.

Reversible self-assembly of dendrimer based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS).

An acid-base switchable dendritic complex was constructed by self-assembly between dibenzo-24-crown-8 terminated T(10)-POSS dendrimer and dibenzylammonium hexafluorophosphate salt based on T(8)-POSS. The formation and its threading-dethreading property were characterized by (1)H NMR and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy.

Octa, deca, and dodeca(4-nitrophenyl) cage silsesquioxanes via 4-trimethylsilylphenyl derivatives.

Pure octa, deca, and dodeca(4-nitrophenyl) cage silsesquioxanes were obtained by regio-selective 4-nitration of octa, deca, and dodeca(4-trimethylsilylphenyl) cage silsesquioxanes via ipso-substitution of trimethylsilyl-phenyl bonds by fuming nitric acid. 3-Nitration of octa(4-methylphenyl)octasilesquioxane was also described. The starting octa(4-methyl-, 4-isopropyl- and 4-trimethylsilylphenyl)octasilsesquioxanes were selectively formed in 9-21% isolated yield in the presence of hydrochloric acid. Mixtures of octa, deca and dodecasilsesquioxanes, with decasilsesquioxane as the main component, were formed in the presence of tetrabutylammmonium fluoride as a catalyst. All the cage compounds could be separated mainly by crystallization.

Synthesis and characterization of core-shell type Fe3O4 nanoparticles in poly(organosilsesquioxane).

The core-shell type Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles in poly(organosilsesquioxane) (Fe(3)O(4)@OcTS) were prepared by one-pot synthesis using reverse micelle method. The as-prepared ferrofluid droplets with average size 4-15 nm were in situ encapsulated via polycondensation of molecularly self-assembled octenyltrimethoxysilane (OcTS). The dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy investigations on coated magnetite nanoparticles revealed uniform size of spherical shape and having thin and transparent shells. These nanoparticles showed redispersibility in non-polar solvents without agglomerations due to coated by a layer of hydrophobic shells. The thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy suggested the existence of core-shell type. X-ray diffraction confirmed magnetite cores. The superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) showed that they exhibited superparamagnetic behavior at 300 K and ferromagnetic at 3 K.

Synthesis and characterization of highly pure azido-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS).

Novel azido-functionalized POSS were synthesized, which could serve as nanoprecursors for higher-order molecular construction of organic-inorganic hybrids via"click" chemistry.

Synthesis of multisubstituted 1,3-butadienes using the ruthenium-catalysed double addition of trimethylsilyldiazomethane to alkynylboronates.

The ruthenium-catalysed double addition of trimethylsilyldiazomethane to alkynes developed by Dixneuf and co-workers was applied to the synthesis of 2-alkyl- or 2-aryl-3-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,3-butadienes by use of alkynylboronates instead of alkynes. Di- and tetrasubstituted 1,3-butadienes were prepared from a 2-boryl-1,4-disilyl-1,3-butadiene, using the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction, iodolysis of the alkenylsilane moieties with N-iodosuccinimide and hydrolysis of the carbon-silicon bonds with trifluoroacetic acid. The same compound was converted also to a bicyclic compound, a trisubstituted 1,3-butadiene and a dienone through the Diels-Alder reaction, oxidation of the alkenylboronate moiety and the Mukaiyama aldol reaction.

Enantiopure spiro[3.3]heptane-2,6-dicarboxylic acid.

Using chiral HPLC and 13C NMR analyses, the optical purity of (+)-spiro[3.3]heptane-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (1) obtained by the known diastereomer method with brucine was first clarified to be 90% e.e., which was conventionally considered to be 100% e.e. Among the ester derivatives synthesized, dicinnamyl spiro[3.3]heptane-2,6-dicarboxylate (2) was found to show high optical separation ability on the chiral HPLC with cellulose phenyl carbamate stationary phase eluting with hexane/2-propanol (10/1, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min at 35 degrees C (separation factor, a, 1.14), and the isolated optically pure (+)- and (-)-2 show [alpha]D26 of + 1.84 degrees (c = 1.74, CHCl3) and -1.84 degrees (c = 1.74, CHCl3), respectively. Acidic hydrolysis of optically pure (+)-/(-)-2 without racemization yielded optically pure (+)-/(-)-1, exhibiting [phi]405(270 = + 21.1 degrees ([phi]D27 = +9.1 degrees) (c = 5.33, acetone) and [phi]405(27) = -21.1 degrees ([phi]D27 -9.1 degrees) (c = 5.32, acetone), respectively.

Evaluation of absolute configuration of naphthylphenyl-substituted oligosilanes by CD exciton chirality method.

Absolute configurations of methylnaphthylphenyl-substituted oligosilanes, MeNpPhSi*SiMeR(1)R(2) [2 (R(1), R(2)=Me), 3 (R(1)=Me, R(2)=Ph), 4 (R(1), R(2)=Ph), and 5 (R(1)=Me, R(2)=SiMe(3))] were predicted by circular dichroism (CD) exciton chirality method. The sigma-pi conjugation effect of oligosilylene units (sigma-linkage) with pi-electron systems caused an intense red-shift of (1)L(a,Ph) transition band of the oligosilanes as shown in UV/VIS and made it possible to observe clear CD exciton chirality between the two aromatic chromophores on chiral silicon atom.

Ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogenation of alkynylstannanes with migration of the stannyl group.

Molecular hydrogen adds to aliphatic and aromatic alkynylstannanes in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst, pushing the stannyl group to the adjacent carbon atom to give alpha-substituted vinylstannanes. This is the first achievement of hydrogenation of alkynylstannanes, which is applicable also to the deuteration affording precursors for an important class of deuterium-labeled compounds.

Stereoselective synthesis of optically active disilanes and selective functionalization by the cleavage of silicon-naphthyl bonds with bromine.

Optically active disilanes with one chiral silicon center, (R)-1,2-dimethyl-1-(naphth-1-yl)-1,2,2-triphenyldisilane and (R)-1,2,2-trimethyl-2-(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl)-1-(naphth-1-yl)-1-phenyldisilane, were obtained by the reaction of (S)-methyl(naphth-1-yl)phenylchlorosilane (> 99% ee) with methyldiphenylsilyllithium or by the reaction of methyldiphenylchlorosilane with optically active (S)-methyl(naphth-1-yl)phenylsilyllithium and by the reaction of (S)-methyl(naphth-1-yl)phenylchlorosilane (> 99% ee) with dimethyl(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl)silyllithium. Under the optimized conditions, the reactions proceeded with almost complete inversion for the cholorosilanes and retention for the silyl anions. Optically active disilanes with two chiral centers, (1R,2R)-1,2-dimethyl-1,2-di(naphth-1-yl)-1,2-diphenyldisilane and (1S,2S)-1,2-di(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl)-1,2-dimethyl-1,2-diphenyldisilane, were obtained in high optical purity by the reactions of corresponding optically active halogenosilanes (Cl or F) with optically active silyllithiums. The silicon-silicon bond and the silicon-naphthyl bond of (R)-1,1,2-trimethyl-1,2-di(naphth-1-yl)-2-phenyldisilane and (1R,2R)-1,2-dimethyl-1,2-di(naphth-1-yl)-1,2-diphenyldisilane were cleaved without selectivity on bromination. The silicon-(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl) bond of (R)-1,2,2-trimethyl-2-(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl)-1-(naphth-1-yl)-1-phenyldisilane was regiospecifically cleaved, followed by the stereoselective cleavage of the remaining chiral silicon-naphthyl bond (94% inversion). Although the silicon-(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl) bonds of (1S,2S)-1,2-di(4-methoxynaphth-1-yl)-1,2-dimethyl-1,2-diphenyldisilane (> 99% ee) were regioselectively cleaved without silicon-silicon bond scission, remarkable racemization could not be avoided during the one-pot reaction.

Exciton coupling effects and conformational change of perhexyloligosilanes with optically active methyl(1-naphthyl)phenylsilyl terminals.

Perhexyloligosilanes (R,R)-(+)-MeNpPhSi*(Hex(2)Si)(n)Si*PhNpMe (n = 2; (R,R)-(+)-4a, n = 4; (R,R)-(+)-6a, n = 6; (R,R)-(+)-8a) with chiral methyl(1-naphthyl)phenylsilyl terminals were synthesized and characterized. The absorption wavelengths lambda(max) by (1)L(a,Ph) transition of phenyl chromophore conjugated with oligosilane units in (R,R)-(+)-4a - (R,R)-(+)-8a show bathochromic shift of about 3-4 nm compared with those of the alpha,omega-phenyl substituted perhexyloligosilanes Ph(Hex(2)Si)(m)Ph (m = 4; 4b, m = 6; 6b, m = 8; 8b) having the same silicon chain length. Longer chain length induces the separated lambda(max) of (1)L(a,Ph) from (1)B(b,Np) of naphthyl chromophore with positive exciton chiralities. In (R,R)-(+)-8a, although the extremum wavelengths lambda(ext) of exciton coupling between (1)B(b,Np) and (1)L(a,Ph) are separated by about 80 nm, the compound retains the positive exciton chirality, which provides definite information on the absolute configuration of terminal chiral silicon atoms. Bulky terminal substituents and lowering the temperature affect the conformation of the main chain, inducing extended silicon backbone structure.