Visible Photodissociation Spectra of Gaseous Rhodamine Ions: Effects of Temperature and Tagging

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Mechanism of Gas Phase Ethene-Ozone Reaction and Concomitant Processes. Theoretical Study

A theoretical analysis of the gas phase ethene-ozone reaction is presented. A complete survey of low energy channels reveals several new intermediates, and provides a rationale for the efficient formation of OH radicals in the gas phase ozonolysis of ethene

Proton Affinities of Organocatalysts Derived from Pyridine N-oxide

Proton affinities of several efficient organocatalysts METHOX, QUINOX, ANETOX, KOTOX, FUREOX, and FUROOX bearing a pyridine N-oxide or 2,2′-bipyridyl N,N′-dioxide moiety were de-termined by using extended kinetic method and density functional theory calculations. Proton affinities are in the range of 1030–1060 kJ mol–1. Using isodesmic reactions, the effect of combining two pyridine N-oxide units in the neutral and the protonated molecule was studied: The combination of an unfavorable interaction in the former case and a favorable interaction in the latter accounts for the superbasic proper¬ties of 2,2′-bipyridyl N,N′-dioxides. Last but not least, the theoretically predicted pKa in ethanol are 0.1, –2.7, 0.9, 1.8, 1.9, and 2.3 for the METHOX, QUINOX, ANETOX, FUROOX, FUREOX, and KOTOX, respectively

Assembling Screws: Large Preference for the Homochiral Combination in the Proton-Bound Dimers of 1-Aza[6]helicene in the Gas Phase

By means of selective deuterium labeling combined with separation of enantiomers, chiral discrimination in the proton-bound dimers of 1-aza[6]helicene is probed by electrospray mass spectrometry. The analysis of the results reveals a pronounced preference for the formation of homochiral dimers (P,P and M,M) over the heterochiral variant (P,M)

Photochemistry of a 9-Dithianyl-Pyronin Derivative: A Cornucopia of Reaction Intermediates Lead to Common Photoproducts

Leaving groups attached to themeso-methyl position of many common dyes, such as xanthene, BODIPY, or pyronin derivatives, can be liberated upon irradiation with visible light. However, the course of phototransformations of such photoactivatable systems can be quite complex and the identification of reaction intermediates or even products is often neglected. This paper exemplifies the photochemistry of a 9-dithianyl-pyronin derivative, which undergoes an oxidative transformation at themeso-position to give a 3,6-diamino-9H-xanthen-9-one derivative, formic acid, and carbon monoxide as the main photoproducts. The course of this multi-photon multi-step reaction was studied under various conditions by steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to understand the effects of solvents and molecular oxygen on individual steps. Our analyses have revealed the existence of many intermediates and their interrelationships to provide a complete picture of the transformation, which can bring new inputs to a rational design of new photoactivatable pyronin or xanthene derivatives

Autocatalysis in Eschenmoser Coupling Reactions.

peer reviewedThe Eschenmoser coupling reaction (ECR) of thioamides with electrophiles is believed to proceed via thiirane intermediates. However, little is known about converting the intermediates into ECR products. Previous mechanistic studies involved external thiophiles to remove the sulfur atom from the intermediates. In this work, an ECR proceeding without any thiophilic agent or base is studied by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. ESI-MS enables the detection of the so-far elusive polysulfide species Sn , with n ranging from 2 to 16 sulfur atoms, proposed to be the key species leading to product formation. Integrating observations from ion mobility spectrometry, ion spectroscopy, and reaction monitoring via flow chemistry coupled with mass spectrometry provides a comprehensive understanding of the reaction mechanism and uncovers the autocatalytic nature of the ECR reaction

Kinetics of ligand exchange in solution: a quantitative mass spectrometry approach.

peer reviewedComplex speciation and exchange kinetics of labile ligands are critical parameters for understanding the reactivity of metal complexes in solution. We present a novel approach to determine ligand exchange parameters based on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The introduction of isotopically labelled ligands to a solution of metal host and unlabelled ligands allows the quantitative investigation of the solution-phase equilibria. Furthermore, ion mobility separation can target individual isomers, such as ligands bound at specific sites. As a proof of concept, we investigate the solution equilibria of labile pyridine ligands coordinated in the cavity of macrocyclic porphyrin cage complexes bearing diamagnetic or paramagnetic metal centres. The effects of solvent, porphyrin coordination sphere, transition metal, and counterion on ligand dissociation are discussed. Rate constants and activation parameters for ligand dissociation in the solution can be derived from our ESI-MS approach, thereby providing mechanistic insights that are not easily obtained from traditional solution-phase techniques

Gas-phase Fragmentation of Deprotonated p-Hydroxyphenacyl Derivatives

Electrospray ionization of methanolic solutions of p-hydroxyphenacyl derivatives HO-C6H4-C(O)-CH2-X (X = leaving group) provides abundant signals for the deprotonated species which are assigned to the corresponding phenolate anions −O-C6H4-C(O)-CH2-X. Upon collisional activation in the gas phase, these anions inter alia undergo loss of a neutral “C8H6O2” species concomitant with formation of the corresponding anions X−. The energies required for the loss of neutral roughly correlate with the gas phase acidities of the conjugate acids (HX). Extensive theoretical studies performed for X = CF3COO in order to reveal the energetically most favorable pathway for the formation of neutral “C8H6O2” suggest three different routes of similar energy demands, involving a spirocyclopropanone, epoxide formation, and a diradical, respectively

Spektroskopische Charakterisierung eines reaktiven [Cu2(μ‐OH)2]2+ Intermediates in Cu/TEMPO‐katalysierten aeroben Alkoholoxidationen

CuI/TEMPO-Katalysatorsysteme (TEMPO=2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidinoxyl) sind vielseitige Katalysatoren für aerobe Alkoholoxidationsreaktionen zur selektiven Synthese von Aldehyden. Jedoch sind mehrere Aspekte des Reaktionsmechanismus noch nicht aufgeklärt, was hauptsächlich daran liegt, dass bisher keine reaktiven Intermediate identifiziert werden konnten. Wir zeigen hier die Synthese und Charakterisierung eines dinuklearen Komplexes [L12Cu2]2+ (1), der in Gegenwart von TEMPO die katalytische 4 H+/4 e− Reduktion von O2 zu Wasser an die Oxidation von benzylischen und aliphatischen Alkoholen koppeln kann. Die Mechanismen der katalytischen O2-Reduktion und der Alkoholoxidation wurden sowohl durch spektroskopische Detektion der reaktiven Intermediate in der Gas- und der kondensierten Phase als auch durch kinetische Studien an jedem Reaktionsschritt in den Katalysezyklen aufgeklärt. Die intermediären Bis(μ-oxido)dikupfer(III)- (2) und Bis(μ-hydroxido)dikupfer(II)-Spezies (3) wurden als wichtige Reaktanden in beiden Reaktionen identifiziert. Die vorliegende Studie ermöglicht tiefgehende mechanistische Einblicke in die aerobe Alkoholoxidation, die eine wertvolle Grundlage bieten um übergangsmetallkatalysierte Reaktionen mit redoxaktiven Cokatalysatoren besser zu verstehen.DFG, 390540038, EXC 2008: Unifying Systems in Catalysis "UniSysCat"EC/H2020/682275/EU/Mass Spectrometry of Isomeric Ions/IsoM