Quantum Chemical Insights into the Mechanism of the TADDOL−TiCl2 Catalyzed Diels−Alder Reactions

Asymmetric Diels-Alder and Ficini reactions with alkylidene β-ketoesters catalyzed by chiral ruthenium PNNP complexes: mechanistic insight

Hydride abstraction from the β-position of the enolato ligand of the previously reported complex [Ru(3a-H)(PNNP)]PF(6) (5a; 3a-H is the enolate of 2-tert-butoxycarbonylcyclopentanone) with (Ph(3)C)PF(6) gives the dicationic complex [Ru(6a)(PNNP)](2+) (7a) as a single diastereoisomer, which contains the unsaturated β-ketoester 2-tert-butoxycarbonyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one (6a) as a chelating ligand. The methyl analogue 2-methoxycarbonylcyclopentanone (3b) gives [Ru(3b-H)(PNNP)]PF(6) as a mixture of noninterconverting diastereoisomers (ester group of 3b trans to P, 5b; or to N, 5c), which were separated by column chromatography. Hydride abstraction from 5b (or 5c) yields diastereomerically pure [Ru(6b)(PNNP)](2+) (7b or 7c). Complexes 7b and 7c do not interconvert at room temperature in CD(2)Cl(2) and form opposite enantiomers of the Diels-Alder adduct upon reaction with Dane's diene (1 equiv). X-ray studies of 7a, 5b, and 5c give insight into the origin of enantioselection and the sense of asymmetric induction in the previously reported asymmetric Diels-Alder and Ficini cycloaddition reactions with 2,3-disubstituted butadienes and ynamides, respectively. Stoichiometric reactions (substrate coordination, cycloaddition, and product displacement) between [Ru(OEt(2))(2)(PNNP)](2+) (2), 6b (or 6a), and Dane's diene (15, to give estrone derivatives) or N-benzyl-N-(cyclohexylethynyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (17, to give cyclobutenamides) suggest that product displacement from the catalyst is turnover limiting.

Nonlinear time-dependent density functional theory studies of the ionization of CO2 by ultrashort intense laser pulses

Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) studies of the ionization of CO2 by intense laser pulses (3.50 × 1014, 1.40 × 1015, 2.99 × 1015, and 1.25 × 1016 W/cm2) at 800 nm (ω = 0.0584 au) are presented in the nonlinear nonpertubative regime. Special emphasis is placed on elucidating molecular orbital orientation and various peak-intensities effects on the ionization processes. The results reveal that molecular orbital ionizations are strongly sensitive to their symmetry and the laser intensities. Most notably, we found that with a proper choice of the laser intensity (3.5 × 1014 W/cm2), the sensitivity is strong enough such that the nature and symmetry of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) can be directly probed and visualized from the angular dependence of laser-induced ionization. At higher intensities, ionization is found to occur also from inner orbitals, thus complicating the imaging of simple orbitals. A time-dependent electron-localization function (TDELF) is used to get a visual insight on the time evolution process of the electron density.

Catalytic asymmetric cyclopropanation of allylic alcohols with titanium-TADDOLate: scope of the cyclopropanation reaction

A substoichiometric amount of titanium-TADDOLate complex was effective at catalyzing the cyclopropanation reaction of allylic alcohols in the presence 1 equiv of bis(iodomethyl)zinc. After initial optimization of the catalyst structure, excellent yields and enantiomeric ratios were obtained for 3-aryl- or 3-heteroaryl-substituted allylic alcohols (up to 97:3). Alkyl-substituted allylic alcohols gave modest yields and enantiomeric ratios (up to 87:13) but these compare favorably with those observed with other substoichiometric chiral ligands. The full synthetic scope of the reaction is presented in this paper.