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1. Non-metal-templated approaches to bis(borane) derivatives of macrocyclic dibridgehead diphosphines via alkene metathesis

   https://doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.14.211  

   Fiedler, Tobias; Barbasiewicz, Michał; Stollenz, Michael; Gladysz, John A (January 2018, Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry)

   Two routes to the title compounds are evaluated. First, a ca. 0.01 M CH 2 Cl 2 solution of H 3 B·P((CH 2 ) 6 CH=CH 2 ) 3 ( 1 ·BH 3 ) is treated with 5 mol % of Grubbs' first generation catalyst (0 °C to reflux), followed by H 2 (5 bar) and Wilkinson's catalyst (55 °C). Column chromatography affords H 3 B·P( n- C 8 H 17 ) 3 (1%), H 3 B· P ((CH 2 ) 13 C H 2 )( n -C 8 H 17 ) (8%; see text for tie bars that indicate additional phosphorus–carbon linkages, which are coded in the abstract with italics), H 3 B· P ((CH 2 ) 13 C H 2 )((CH 2 ) 14 ) P ((CH 2 ) 13 C H 2 )·BH 3 ( 6 ·2BH 3 , 10%), in,out -H 3 B·P((CH 2 ) 14 ) 3 P·BH 3 ( in,out - 2 ·2BH 3 , 4%) and the stereoisomer ( in,in / out,out )- 2 ·2BH 3 (2%). Four of these structures are verified by independent syntheses. Second, 1,14-tetradecanedioic acid is converted (reduction, bromination, Arbuzov reaction, LiAlH 4 ) to H 2 P((CH 2 ) 14 )PH 2 ( 10 ; 76% overall yield). The reaction with H 3 B·SMe 2 gives 10 ·2BH 3 , which is treated with n -BuLi (4.4 equiv) and Br(CH 2 ) 6 CH=CH 2 (4.0 equiv) to afford the tetraalkenyl precursor (H 2 C=CH(CH 2 ) 6 ) 2 (H 3 B)P((CH 2 ) 14 )P(BH 3 )((CH 2 ) 6 CH=CH 2 ) 2 ( 11 ·2BH 3 ; 18%). Alternative approaches to 11 ·2BH 3 (e.g., via 11 ) were unsuccessful. An analogous metathesis/hydrogenation/chromatography sequence with 11 ·2BH 3 (0.0010 M in CH 2 Cl 2 ) gives 6 ·2BH 3 (5%), in,out - 2 ·2BH 3 (6%), and ( in,in / out,out )- 2 ·2BH 3 (7%). Despite the doubled yield of 2 ·2BH 3 , the longer synthesis of 11 ·2BH 3 vs 1 ·BH 3 renders the two routes a toss-up; neither compares favorably with precious metal templated syntheses. 

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2. Cesium carbonate mediated C–H functionalization of perhalogenated 12-vertex carborane anions

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cc00173j  

   Lovera, Sergio O.; Bagsdasarian, Alex L.; Guo, Juchen; Nelson, Hosea M.; Lavallo, Vincent (March 2022, Chemical Communications)

   C–H functionalization of undecahalogenated carborane anions, [HCB 11 X 11 − ] (X = Cl, Br, I), is performed with Cs 2 CO 3 in acetonitrile. We show that the requisite Cl, Br and I carborane dianions can all be efficiently accessed with Cs 2 CO 3 . The utilization of Cs 2 CO 3 eliminates the complications associated with competing E2 elimination reactions providing an efficient, more functional group tolerant, and broader scope than previously reported. The ensuing functionalized cages provide potential synthons for constructing advanced materials and other molecular architectures for various applications. 

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3. A surprise landing on the terra incognita of macrocyclic dibridgehead diorganoarsines: syntheses, structures, and reactivities

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cc03235j  

   Zarcone, Samuel R.; Verardi, Peter J.; Bhuvanesh, Nattamai; Gladysz, John A. (July 2022, Chemical Communications)

   Reactions of trans-[[upper bond 1 start]Fe(CO)2(NO)(As((CH2)n)3As[upper bond 1 end])]+ BF4− (n = 10, 12, 14) and Bu4N+ Cl− afford the title compounds As((CH2)n)3As, which upon reaction (n = 14) with MCl2 (M = Pt, Ni), Rh(CO)(Cl), and Fe(CO)3 sources reconstitute cage like complexes trans-[upper bond 1 start]MLn(As((CH2)14)3A[upper bond 1 end]s). Reactions with H2O2 and BH3 give the corresponding arsine oxides and boranes. Crystal structures of metal-free species reveal out,out isomers, but cage complex formation is proposed to entail homeomorphic isomerization to in,in isomers with endo directed lone pairs. 

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4. Bridging cyanides from cyanoiron metalloligands to redox-active dinitrosyl iron units

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C8DT01761A  

   Ghosh, Pokhraj; Quiroz, Manuel; Pulukkody, Randara; Bhuvanesh, Nattamai; Darensbourg, Marcetta Y. (January 2018, Dalton Transactions)

   Cyanide, as an ambidentate ligand, plays a pivotal role in providing a simple diatomic building-block motif for controlled metal aggregation (M–CN–M′). Specifically, the inherent hard–soft nature of the cyanide ligand, i.e. , hard-nitrogen and soft-carbon centers, is due to electronic handles for binding Lewis acids following the hard–soft acid–base principle. Studies by Holm and Karlin showed structural and electronic requirements for cyanide-bridged (por)Fe III –CN–Cu II/I (por = porphyrin) molecular assemblies as biomimetics for cyanide-inhibited terminal quinol oxidases and cytochrome-C oxidase. The dinitrosyliron unit (DNIU) that exists in two redox states, {Fe(NO) 2 } 9 and {Fe(NO) 2 } 10 , draws attention as an electronic analogy of Cu II and Cu I , d 9 and d 10 , respectively. In similar controlled aggregations, L-type [(η 5 -C 5 R 5 )Fe(dppe)(CN)] (dppe = diphenyl phosphinoethane; R = H and Me) have been used as N-donor, μ-cyanoiron metalloligands to stabilize the DNIU in two redox states. Two bimetallic [(η 5 -C 5 R 5 )(dppe)Fe II –CN–{Fe(NO) 2 } 9 (sIMes)][BF 4 ] complexes, Fe-1 (R = H) and Fe*-1 (R = CH 3 ), showed dissimilar Fe II CN–{Fe(NO) 2 } 9 angular bends due to the electronic donor properties of the [(η 5 -C 5 R 5 )Fe(dppe)(CN)] μ-cyanoiron metalloligand. A trimetallic [(η 5 -C 5 Me 5 )(dppe)Fe II –CN] 2 –{Fe(NO) 2 } 10 complex, Fe*-2 , engaged two bridging μ-cyanoiron metalloligands to stabilize the {Fe(NO) 2 } 10 unit. The lability of the Fe II –CN–{Fe(NO) 2 } 9/10 bond was probed by suitable X-type (Na + SPh − ) and L-type (PMe 3 ) ligands. Treatment of Fe-1 and Fe*-1 with PMe 3 accounted for a reduction-induced substitution at the DNIU, releasing [(η 5 -C 5 R 5 )Fe(dppe)(CN)] and N-heterocyclic carbene, and generating (PMe 3 ) 2 Fe(NO) 2 as the reduced {Fe(NO) 2 } 10 product. 

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5. Syntheses, homeomorphic and configurational isomerizations, and structures of macrocyclic aliphatic dibridgehead diphosphines; molecules that turn themselves inside out

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC04724A  

   Zhu, Yun; Stollenz, Michael; Zarcone, Samuel R.; Kharel, Sugam; Joshi, Hemant; Bhuvanesh, Nattamai; Reibenspies, Joseph H.; Gladysz, John A. (November 2022, Chemical Science)

   The diphosphine complexes cis - or trans -PtCl 2 (P((CH 2 ) n ) 3 P) ( n = b/12, c/14, d/16, e/18) are demetalated by MCX nucleophiles to give the title compounds (P((CH 2 ) n ) 3 )P (3b–e, 91–71%). These “empty cages” react with PdCl 2 or PtCl 2 sources to afford trans -MCl 2 (P((CH 2 ) n ) 3 P). Low temperature 31 P NMR spectra of 3b and c show two rapidly equilibrating species (3b, 86 : 14; 3c, 97 : 3), assigned based upon computational data to in , in (major) and out , out isomers. These interconvert by homeomorphic isomerizations, akin to turning articles of clothing inside out (3b/c: Δ H ‡ 7.3/8.2 kcal mol −1 , Δ S ‡ −19.4/−11.8 eu, minor to major). At 150 °C, 3b, c, e epimerize to (60–51) : (40–49) mixtures of ( in , in / out , out ) :  in , out isomers, which are separated via the bis(borane) adducts 3b, c, e·2BH 3 . The configurational stabilities of in , out -3b, c, e preclude phosphorus inversion in the interconversion of in , in and out , out isomers. Low temperature 31 P NMR spectra of in , out -3b, c reveal degenerate in , out / out , in homeomorphic isomerizations (Δ G ‡Tc 12.1, 8.5 kcal mol −1 ). When ( in , in / out , out )-3b, c, e are crystallized, out , out isomers are obtained, despite the preference for in , in isomers in solution. The lattice structures are analyzed, and the D 3 symmetry of out , out -3c enables a particularly favorable packing motif. Similarly, ( in , in / out , out )-3c, e·2BH 3 crystallize in out , out conformations, the former with a cycloalkane solvent guest inside. 

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