Supramolecular Interactions Involved in the Solid State Structure of N,N\u27-[bis(pyridin-2-yl)formylidene]ethane-1,2-diamine

The structure of the symmetrical Schiff base, N,N\u27-[bis(pyridin-2-yl)formylidene]ethane-1,2-diamine (bpfd) has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The non-covalent supramolecular chemistry involved in the crystal structure of this ligand has been carefully investigated. The structure adopted different motifs of nitrogen-hydrogen interactions that led to the formation of centrosymmetric dimers. In addition, edge-edge and face-face nitrogen-nitrogen interactions were ob-served and reported. The Schiff base (bpfd) ligand crystallizes in a monoclinic space group C12/c1 with a = 19.128(2) Å; b = 5.8776(6) Å; c = 13.1403(15) Å; α = 90o; β = 121.970o(4); γ = 90o and z = 4. This structure is an example of compounds with many symmetry-independent molecules in the asymmetric unit cell (Z > 2)

Catalytic enantioselective syn hydration of enones in water using a DNA-based catalyst

The enantioselective addition of water to olefins in an aqueous environment is a common transformation in biological systems, but was beyond the ability of synthetic chemists. Here, we present the first examples of a non-enzymatic catalytic enantioselective hydration of enones, for which we used a catalyst that comprises a copper complex, based on an achiral ligand, non-covalently bound to (deoxy)ribonucleic acid, which is the only source of chirality present under the reaction conditions. The chiral β-hydroxy ketone product was obtained in up to 82% enantiomeric excess. Deuterium-labelling studies demonstrated that the reaction is diastereospecific, with only the syn hydration product formed. So far, this diastereospecific and enantioselective reaction had no equivalent in conventional homogeneous catalysis