Molecular Structures of the Metastable Charge-Transfer Complexes of Benzene (and Toluene) With Bromine as the Pre-Reactive Intermediates in Electrophilic Aromatic Bromination

Successful crystallization and X-ray crystallographic analyses of the highly metastable (1∶1) complexes of bromine with benzene and toluene establish the unique (localized) structure B that differs in notable ways from the long-accepted (delocalized) structure A. Furthermore, we demonstrate the (highly structured) charge-transfer complexes [C6H6,Br2] and [CH3C6H5,Br2] to be the pre-reactive intermediates that are converted (via an overall Br+ transfer) to the Wheland intermediates in electrophilic aromatic bromination. The role of the dative ion pairs [C6H6˙+ Br2˙−] and [CH3C6H5˙+ Br2˙−] in the rate-limiting activation processes is underscored

Novel bis-arene (Sandwich) Complexes with NO\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e Acceptor. Isolation, X-ray Crystallography and Electronic Structure

The unusual charge-transfer complexes of various arene donors (ArH) with the nitrosonium cation (NO+) resulting from bimolecular [1 ∶ 1] associations can be extended at suitably high ArH concentrations to termolecular processes leading to the analogous [2 ∶ 1] complexes. Spectral analyses of the intense color changes accompanying the arene interaction with NO+ provide optimum conditions for the isolation of pure crystalline ternary complexes. Single crystal X-ray crystallographic determinations establish the unique sandwich structure consisting of the NO moiety interposed (parallel) between a pair of cofacial arene donors—reminiscent of the well-known transition metal sandwich complexes with aromatic ligands. The electronic structure associated with the arene binding to NO in the ternary complex is analyzed by the application of the semi-empirical LCAO molecular-orbital methodology and the Mulliken (charge-transfer) formulation of the electronic (UV–VIS–NIR) transitions. The resultant evaluation of the electronic coupling (matrix) elements HAB indicates strong donor/acceptor interactions of the frontier orbitals of the arene donor (HOMO) and nitrosonium acceptor (LUMO) that are only slightly less than those extant in the corresponding binary [1 ∶ 1] complexes

Noncovalent Binding of the Halogens to Aromatic Donors. Discrete Structures of Labile Br\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Complexes with Benzene and Toluene

Precise molecular structures resulting from the noncovalent interaction of Br2 with benzene (and toluene) reveal the unusual localized bonding to specific (one or two) carbon centers in prereactive complexes leading directly to the transition states for electrophilic aromatic brominations

Electrophilic Aromatic Nitrosation. Isolation and X-ray Crystallography of the Metastable NO\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e Complex With Nitrosoarene

Isolation of the unstable 1∶1 complex of 4-nitrosoanisole with NO+PF6− allows its precise X-ray structural characterization. The charge-transfer crystal is formed via strong N⋯N coordination [the distance of 1.938(5) Å corresponding to a σ-bond order of ≈0.2] in the mean plane of the planar 4-nitrosoanisole donor. Thorough analysis of its molecular geometry in terms of valence resonance and MO schemes reveals a strong charge polarization with a local negative charge localized on the nitroso group and a local positive charge distributed over the adjacent p-methoxybenzyl moiety. Such a charge distribution accommodates the well-known passivation of nitrosoarenes to multiple nitrosation and explains the ease of demethylation of the complex. Comparison of a variety of nitroso- and nitroarene structures has shown that the nitrosoarene experiences a much stronger quinoidal distortion of the aromatic ring as compared with the latter. This indicates a stronger electron-withdrawing effect of the nitroso group relative to that of the nitro group. The weakened aromatic resonance in the nitrosoarenes could be responsible for the observed slower rate and the measurable isotope effect in electrophilic nitrosation as opposed to nitration

Molecular Recognition of NO/NO\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e via Multicenter (Charge-Transfer) Binding to Bridged Diarene Donors. Effect of Structure on the Optical Transitions and Complexation Thermodynamics

Bridged diarenes form very strong [1:1] complexes with nitrosonium/nitric oxide in which the NO moiety is optimally sandwiched in the cleft between a pair of cofacial aromatic rings which act as a molecular “Venus flytrap”. The spectral features of these associates are generally similar to those for [1:1] and [2:1] nitrosonium complexes with mononuclear alkyl-substituted benzenes, and they are appropriately described within the LCAO molecular-orbital methodology and the Mulliken (charge-transfer) formulation of donor/acceptor electronic transitions. The thermodynamics study indicates that the efficient binding is determined by (i) the close matching of the donor/acceptor redox potentials and (ii) the ability of bridged diarenes for multicentered interactions with a single NO moiety. The best fit of the electronic and structural parameters is provided by a calixarene host that allows the interacting centers to be arranged in a manner similar to those extant in [2:1] nitrosonium complexes with analogous (nonbridged) aromatic donors; this results in its very strong noncovalent binding with nitrosonium/nitric oxide with the formation constant of KB ≈ 108 M-1 and free-energy change of −ΔG° = 45 kJ mol-1. Such strong, selective, and reversible bindings of nitrosonium/nitric oxide by (cofacial) aromatic centers thus provide the basis for the development of efficient NO sensors/absorbents and also suggest their potential relevance to biochemical systems

The Charge-Transfer Motif in Crystal Engineering. Self-Assembly of Acentric (Diamondoid) Networks from Halide Salts and Carbon Tetrabromide as Electron-Donor/Acceptor Synthons

Unusual strength and directionality for the charge-transfer motif (established in solution) are shown to carry over into the solid state by the facile synthesis of a series of robust crystals of the [1:1] donor/acceptor complexes of carbon tetrabromide with the electron-rich halide anions (chloride, bromide, and iodide). X-ray crystallographic analyses identify the consistent formation of diamondoid networks, the dimensionality of which is dictated by the size of the tetraalkylammonium counterion. For the tetraethylammonium bromide/carbon tetrabromide dyad, the three-dimensional (diamondoid) network consists of donor (bromide) and acceptor (CBr4) nodes alternately populated to result in the effective annihilation of centers of symmetry in agreement with the sphaleroid structural subclass. Such inherently acentric networks exhibit intensive nonlinear optical properties in which the second harmonics generation in the extended charge-transfer system is augmented by the effective electronic (HOMO−LUMO) coupling between contiguous CBr4/halide centers

Charge-Transfer Probes for Molecular Recognition \u3cem\u3evia\u3c/em\u3e Steric Hindrance in Donor-Acceptor Pairs

Molecular association of various aromatic hydrocarbons (D, including sterically hindered donors) with a representative group of diverse acceptors (A = quinone, trinitrobenzene, tetracyanoethylene, tropylium, tetranitromethane, and nitrosonium) is visually apparent in solution by the spontaneous appearance of distinctive colors. Spectral (UV−vis) analyses of the colored solutions reveal their charge-transfer origin (λCT), and they provide quantitative information of the intermolecular association in the form of the KDA and εCT values for the formation and visualization, respectively, of different [D,A] complexes. Importantly, such measurements establish charge-transfer absorption to be a sensitive analytical tool for evaluating the steric inhibition of donor−acceptor association. For example, the steric differences among various hindered aromatic donors in their association with quinone are readily dramatized in their distinctive charge-transfer (color) absorptions and verified by X-ray crystallography of the charge-transfer crystals and/or QUANTA molecular modeling calculations of optimum intermolecular separations allowed by van der Waals contacts

Silver(I) Complexation of (Poly)aromatic Ligands. Structural Criteria for Depth Penetration into \u3cem\u3ecis\u3c/em\u3e-Stilbenoid Cavities

Silver(I) complexes with aromatic donors are thoroughly analyzed (with aid of the Cambridge Crystallographic Database) to identify the basic structural factors inherent to the bonding of an arene ligand. Most strikingly, the distance parameter d (which simply measures the normal separation of Ag from the mean aromatic plane) is singularly invariant at d = 2.41 ± 0.05 Å for all silver/arene complexes, independent of the hapticity (η1 or η2), hybridization, or multiple coordination. As such, a systematic series of stilbenoid ligands has been successfully designed to precisely modulate the penetration of silver(I) into the ligand cleft, and a multicentered poly(arene) ligand (X) designed to form a one-dimensional assembly of Ag/arene units. Simply stated, the depth penetration of silver(I) into the aromatic cavities of various cis-stilbenoid donors can be precisely predicted with a single parameter γ that measures the separation of the two cofacial aryl groups comprising the cleft. This simple geometric consideration must be taken into account in any successful design of novel (poly)aromatic ligands for silver(I) complexation to constitute new molecular architectures

X-ray Structure Analysis and the Intervalent Electron Transfer in Organic Mixed-Valence Crystals with Bridged Aromatic Cation Radicals

X-ray crystallography identifies the aromatic donor group D = 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl to be a suitable redox center for the construction of organic mixed-valence crystals owing to its large structural change attendant upon 1e oxidation to the cation−radical (D•+). The combination of cyclic voltammetry, dynamic ESR line broadening, and electronic (NIR) spectroscopy allows the intervalence electron transfer between the redox centers in the mixed-valence system D-br-D•+ [where br can be an aliphatic trimethylene or an aromatic (poly)phenylene bridge] to be probed quantitatively. Independent measures of the electronic coupling matrix element (H) for D/D•+ electron exchange via Mulliken−Hush theory accord with the X-ray crystallographic databoth sufficient to consistently identify the various D-br-D•+ according to the Robin−Day classification. Thus, the directly coupled biaryl D−D•+ is a completely delocalized cation in class III with the charge distributed equally over both redox centers. The trimethylene- and biphenylene-bridged cations D(CH2)3D•+ and D(ph)2D•+ with highly localized charge distributions are prototypical class II systems involving moderately coupled redox centers with H ≈ 400 cm-1. The borderline region between class II/III is occupied by the phenylene-bridged cation D(ph)D•+; and the X-ray, CV, and NIR analyses yield ambivalent H values (which we believe to be) largely a result of an unusually asymmetric (20/80) charge distribution that is polarized between the D/D•+ redox centers

X-ray Crystal Structures and the Facile Oxidative (Au−C) Cleavage of the Dimethylaurate(I) and Tetramethylaurate(III) Homologues

Dimethylaurate(I) has been prepared as the crystalline tetrabutylammonium salt for comparison with the known tetramethylaurate(III) analogue. The linear structure of dimethylaurate(I) and the square-planar structure of tetramethylaurate(III) have both been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. One-electron oxidation of dimethylaurate(I) by either ferrocenium or arenediazonium cations produces the metastable dimethylgold(II) intermediate, which can be trapped as the paramagnetic 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ) adduct. Otherwise, dimethylgold(II) is subject to rapid reductive elimination of ethane and affords metallic gold (mirror). The analogous oxidation of tetramethylaurate(III) by ferrocenium, arenediazonium, or nitrosonium cations also proceeds via electron transfer to generate the putative tetramethylgold(IV) intermediate. The highly unstable (CH3)4AuIV spontaneously undergoes homolytic cleavage to produce methyl radical and the coordinately unsaturated trimethylgold(III), which can be intercepted by added triphenylphosphine to afford Me3AuIIIPPh3