A calorimetric titration study of the reaction of several organic ammonium cations with 18-crown-6 in methanol

Studying Cation Exchange in {Cr7Co} Pseudorotaxanes: Preparatory Studies for Making Hybrid Molecular Machines

In the design of dynamic supramolecular systems used in molecular machines, it is important to understand the binding preferences between the macrocycle and stations along the thread. Here, we apply 1H NMR spectroscopy to investigate the relative stabilities of a series of linear alkylammonium templated pseudorotaxanes with the general formula [H2NRR'][Cr7CoF8(O2CCH2 tBu)16] by exchanging the cation in solution. Our results show that the pseudorotaxanes are able to exchange threads via a dissociative mechanism. The position of equilibrium is dependent upon the ammonium cation and solvent used. Short chain primary ammonium cations are shown to be far less favourable macrocycle stations than secondary ammonium cations. Collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (CID-MS) has been used to look at disassembly of the pseudorotaxanes in a solvent-free environment and stability trends compared to those in acetone-d6. The energy needed to induce 50 % of the precursor ion loss (E50) is used and shows a similar trend to the equilibria measured by NMR. The relative stabilities of these hybrid inorganic-organic pseudo-rotaxanes are different to those of host-guest compounds involving crown ethers and this may be valuable for the design of molecular machines.

In-situ noncovalent interaction of ammonium ion enabled C-H bond functionalization of polyethylene glycols

The noncovalent interactions of ammonium ion with multidentate oxygen-based host has never been reported as a reacting center in catalytic reactions. In this work, we report a reactivity enhancement process enabled by non-covalent interaction of ammonium ion, achieving the C-H functionalization of polyethylene glycols with acrylates by utilizing photoinduced co-catalysis of iridium and quinuclidine. A broad scope of alkenes can be tolerated without observing significant degradation. Moreover, this cyano-free condition respectively allows the incorporation of bioactive molecules and the PEGylation of dithiothreitol-treated bovine serum albumin, showing great potentials in drug delivery and protein modification. DFT calculations disclose that the formed α-carbon radical adjacent to oxygen-atom is reduced directly by iridium before acrylate addition. And preliminary mechanistic experiments reveal that the noncovalent interaction of PEG chain with the formed quinuclidinium species plays a unique role as a catalytic site by facilitating the proton transfer and ultimately enabling the transformation efficiently.

Cycling a Tether into Multiple Rings: Pt-Bridged Macrocycles for Differentiated Guest Recognition, Pseudorotaxane Transformations, and Guest Capture and Release

Macrocycle engineering is a key topic in supramolecular chemistry. When synthesizing a ring, one can obtain either complex mixtures of macrocycles of different sizes or a single ring if a template is utilized. Here, we unite these approaches along with post-synthetic modifications to transform a single tether into multiple rings-up to five per tether. The macrocycles contain two bridged phenylpyridine ligands that are connected through a Pt atom, which defines the rings' shape, size, and host activity. All rings undergo redox reactions (between Pt^II and Pt^IV ) that allow for large conformational changes. Their reactivity, together with their host performance, is a convenient way to control the capture and release of guests, to mediate ring transformations, and to control pseudorotaxane-to-pseudorotaxane conversions. This novel approach could serve to assemble other libraries of small ring molecules, create cyclic polymers bridged by responsive-at-metal nodes, and produce processable mechanically interlocked molecules.

Conformation of Benzo-12-Crown-4 Complexes with Ammonium Ions Investigated by Cold Gas-Phase Spectroscopy

In this study, we examined the conformation and intermolecular interactions of benzo-12-crown-4 (B12C4) complexes with NH₄⁺, CH₃NH₃⁺ (MeNH₃⁺), CH₃CH₂NH₃⁺ (EtNH₃⁺), and CH₃CH₂CH₂NH₃⁺ (PrNH₃⁺) using cold gas-phase spectroscopy. All of the B12C4 complexes showed sharp vibronic features in the UV photodissociation spectra, and the position of the 0-0 band was close to that of the B12C4 complex with an isotropic K⁺ guest. This result suggests that the conformation of B12C4 is maintained despite oriented interactions with ammonium guests via anisotropic N-H···O interactions. Further, we measured the IR-UV double-resonance spectra of these complexes in the NH stretching region. In the IR-UV spectra of the EtNH₃⁺ and PrNH₃⁺ complexes, two distinct IR fingerprints were observed depending on the UV probe wavelength selected, indicating the existence of another (second) conformer for these complexes. Quantum chemical calculations clarified that the second conformer of the EtNH₃⁺ and PrNH₃⁺ complexes was partially stabilized by the C-H···π hydrogen bond. The conformation of B12C4 complexes with ammonium ions is strongly affected by the interaction between the alkyl chain of the ion guest and the benzene ring of the B12C4 host, although the main intermolecular interaction occurs between the NH₃⁺ group and crown cavity through the N-H···O hydrogen bonds.

Cationic Effects on the Structural Dynamics of the Metal Ion-Crown Ether Complexes Investigated by Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy

It is usually believed that the binding affinity and selectivity of an alkali metal ion with crown ether are defined by the size matching model. However, the underlying mechanism of the specific host-guest interactions and the structural dynamics of the metal ions confined in the cavity of the crown ethers in the solutions are still not clear. In this report, a series of alkali thiocyanate salts (XSCN; X = Li, Na, K, and Cs) complexed with 18-crown-6 (a typical crown ether) in the chloroform solutions were studied by the polarization-selective infrared pump-probe spectroscopy and the ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy. The SCN^- counteranions were employed as the local vibrational probe to reveal the specific host-guest interactions in the crown ether complexes. The rotational dynamics and spectral diffusion of SCN^- vibration were both measured by ultrafast IR spectroscopy, and it was found that the metal cations hosted by the crown ethers can have a pronounced effect on the rotational dynamics of the counteranions. The reorientational time constants of the SCN^- vibration in the complexation follow the order Li⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺ ≃ Cs⁺. More importantly, the spectral diffusion dynamics of SCN^-, which quantifies the decay of the correlation of the frequency fluctuations in the complexation, was also affected by the metal ions but showed a different order of cationic effect. A detailed analysis of the 2D IR data showed that the spectral diffusion of SCN^- counteranion clearly decayed with two different time scales in the complex of 18-crown-6 with K⁺. The 3-4-fold slowdown in spectral diffusion indicated that the fluctuation of SCN^- vibrational transition frequency was strongly affected by the K⁺ cation due to the geometric constraint imposed by the crown ether. The results should help the researchers to unravel the specific host-guest interactions and further reveal the origination of the binding selectivity of crown ether for metal cations in the condensed phases from the perspective of structural dynamics.

Direct synthetic routes to functionalised crown ethers

Crown ethers are macrocyclic hosts that can complex a wide range of inorganic and organic cations as well as neutral guest species. Their widespread utilization in several areas of fundamental and applied chemistry strongly relies on strategies for their functionalisation, in order to obtain compounds that could carry out multiple functions and could be incorporated in sophisticated systems. Although functionalised crown ethers are normally synthesised by templated macrocyclisation using appropriately substituted starting materials, the direct addition of functional groups onto a pre-formed macrocyclic framework is a valuable yet underexplored alternative. Here we review the methodologies for the direct functionalisation of aliphatic and aromatic crown ethers sporadically reported in the literature over a period of four decades. The general approach for the introduction of moieties on aliphatic crown ethers involves a radical mediated cross dehydrogenative coupling initiated either by photochemical or thermal/chemical activation, while aromatic crown ethers are commonly derivatised via electrophilic aromatic substitution. Direct functionalization routes can reduce synthetic effort, allow the later modification of crown ether-based architectures, and disclose new ways to exploit these versatile macrocycles in contemporary supramolecular science and technology.

Dual-stimuli pseudorotaxane switches under kinetic control

Dual-stimuli pseudorotaxane switches: Threaded complexes dissociate upon deprotonation or oxidation. A mechanical bond changes the influence of a ‘speed bump’ on the outcome of a switching event.

Specific Host-Guest Interactions in the Crown Ether Complexes with K+ and NH4+ Revealed from the Vibrational Relaxation Dynamics of the Counteranion

The specific host-guest interactions in the corresponding complexes of K⁺ and NH₄⁺ with typical crown ethers were investigated by using FTIR and ultrafast IR spectroscopies. The counteranions, i.e., SCN^-, were employed as a local vibrational probe to report the structural dynamics of the complexation. It was found that the vibrational relaxation dynamics of the SCN^- was strongly affected by the cations confined in the cavities of the crown ethers. The time constant of the vibrational population decay of SCN^- in the complex of NH₄⁺ with the 18-crown-6 was determined to be 6 ± 2 ps, which is ∼30 times faster than that in the complex of K⁺ with the crown ethers. Control experiments showed that the vibrational population decay of SCN^- depended on the size of the cavities of the crown ethers. A theoretical calculation further indicated that the nitrogen atom of SCN^- showed preferential coordination to the K⁺ ions hosted by the crown ethers, while the NH₄⁺ can form hydrogen bonds with the oxygen atoms in the studied crown ethers. The geometric constraints formed in the complex of crown ethers can cause a specific interaction between the NH₄⁺ and SCN^-, which can facilitate the intermolecular vibrational energy redistribution of the SCN^-.

Specific Binding of Primary Ammonium Ions and Lysine-Containing Peptides in Protic Solvents by Hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arenes

The binding of ammonium ions by two homooxacalix[3]arene-based receptors was studied using NMR spectroscopy and in silico methods. Both receptors are shown to endocomplex, even in a protic environment, a large variety of primary ammonium ions, including biomolecules. The binding mode is similar for all guests with the ammonium ion deeply inserted into the polyaromatic cavity and its NH₃⁺ head nearly in the plane defined by the three oxygen atoms of the 18-crown-3 moiety, thus enabling it to establish three H-bonds with the ethereal macrocycle. The remarkable electronic, size, and shape complementarity between primary ammonium ions and the two cavity-based receptors leads to an unprecedented specificity for primary ammonium ions over secondary, tertiary, and quaternary ones. These binding properties were exploited for the selective liquid-liquid extraction of primary ammonium salts from water and for the selective recognition of lysine-containing peptides, opening new perspectives in the field of peptide sensing.

Induced Fit of Crown Cavity to Ammonium Ion Guests and Photoinduced Intracavity Reactions: Cold Gas-Phase Spectroscopy of Dibenzo-18-Crown-6 Complexes with NH4+, CH3NH3+, and CH3CH2NH3. J Phys Chem A 2020;124:3228-3241. [PMID: 32255649 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c02341]

Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) spectra of dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) complexes with NH₄⁺, CH₃NH₃⁺ (MeNH₃⁺), and CH₃CH₂NH₃⁺ (EtNH₃⁺) [NH₄⁺(DB18C6), MeNH₃⁺(DB18C6), and EtNH₃⁺(DB18C6), respectively] were observed under cold gas-phase conditions. We also measured the infrared (IR)-UV double-resonance spectra of these complexes in the NH stretching region to examine the encapsulation structure. The UVPD and IR-UV spectra were analyzed using quantum chemical calculations. All the ammonium complexes show sharp 0-0 bands at positions close to that of the K⁺(DB18C6) complex; the conformation of the DB18C6 component in the ammonium complexes is similar to that in K⁺(DB18C6). In addition, the ammonium complexes each have another type of isomer that the K⁺(DB18C6) complex does not show in the gas phase. In these isomers, the conformation of the DB18C6 cavity changes, and the strength of the NH···O hydrogen bond increases. During the UVPD, the NH₄⁺(DB18C6) complex provides various photofragment species, such as the C₈H₉O₂⁺ ion, resulting from cleavage of the DB18C6 component, whereas the dominant fragment ion for the MeNH₃⁺(DB18C6) and EtNH₃⁺(DB18C6) complexes is the ammonium ion itself. The UVPD investigation of deuterated systems suggests that after UV excitation of the NH₄⁺(DB18C6) complex, the dissociation process is initiated by proton transfer from NH₄⁺ to DB18C6, followed by the migration of hydrogen atoms in the crown cavity and the cleavage of the ether ring.

Pseudorotaxanes in the gas phase: structure and energetics of protonated dibenzylamine–crown ether complexes

Barrier in the “slippage” process with 24C8 and dBAMH⁺ is lower than the dissociation threshold in the gas phase.

A supramolecular polymer gel with dual-responsiveness constructed by crown ether based molecular recognition

A supramolecular polymer gel was prepared from self-assembly of a heteroditopic A–B monomer based on benzo[18]crown-6. Such a gel shows interesting gel–sol transitions in response to dual-stimuli owing to the dynamically reversible complexation between benzo[18]crown-6 and primary alkylammonium salt moieties.

Molecular recognition of organic ammonium ions in solution using synthetic receptors

Ammonium ions are ubiquitous in chemistry and molecular biology. Considerable efforts have been undertaken to develop synthetic receptors for their selective molecular recognition. The type of host compounds for organic ammonium ion binding span a wide range from crown ethers to calixarenes to metal complexes. Typical intermolecular interactions are hydrogen bonds, electrostatic and cation-π interactions, hydrophobic interactions or reversible covalent bond formation. In this review we discuss the different classes of synthetic receptors for organic ammonium ion recognition and illustrate the scope and limitations of each class with selected examples from the recent literature. The molecular recognition of ammonium ions in amino acids is included and the enantioselective binding of chiral ammonium ions by synthetic receptors is also covered. In our conclusion we compare the strengths and weaknesses of the different types of ammonium ion receptors which may help to select the best approach for specific applications.

Synthesis, crystal structure, binding properies of a noncyclic crown-type receptor derived from diethoxycarbonyl glycoluril

A novel noncyclic crown-type diethoxycarbonyl glycoluril derivative receptor was synthesised and its crystal structure was obtained. The study of its binding behaviour towards neutral guests showed that it can bind hydroquinone, resorcinol and catechol.

1H NMR studies of homo and mixed ligand complexes of Tl+ ion with several polyazamacrocycles

Proton NMR was used as a probe to study the interaction of the Tl(+) ion with 9-18-membered macromonocyclic tri-, tetra-, and hexaamines in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution. A study of proton chemical shift of ligands as a function of Tl(+) ion to ligand mole ratio revealed that the complexation reactions occur in a stepwise manner. Formation of a 1:1 complex is followed by the addition of a second complexant molecule to form a homo-sandwich complex for triazamacrocycle ligands and a mixed ligand complex in the case of hexamethylhexacyclen (HMHCY) and 1,4,7-triazacyclononane ([9]aneN(3)). The formation constants of resulting 1:1 and 1:2 (homo and mixed ligand sandwich) complexes in DMF solution were evaluated from computer fitting of the chemical shift-mole ratio data. The mixed ligand complexes may be more stable than the parent complex in which both ligands are the same. The influence of cavity size and substitution of methyl groups on nitrogen atoms of the macrocyclic ring the stability of the resulting complexes is discussed. The geometries of the tri- and tetraazamacrocycle ligands and their Tl(+) ion complexes were optimized by an ab initio method, and the calculated binding energies of resulting complexes were compared. Both the experimental and theoretical studies revealed that, in the presence of methyl groups, the stability of triazamacrocycle complexes with Tl(+) ion was decreased.