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1. Search for an exothermic halogen bond between anions

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP05628J  

   Scheiner, Steve (March 2022, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   The literature contains numerous instances where pairs of anions engage in a stable complex with one another, held together by hydrogen, halogen, and related noncovalent bonds, within the confines of a polarizable medium such as a crystal or solvent. But within the context of the gas phase, such pairs are only metastable, higher in energy than separated monomers, whose favorable dissociation is hindered by an energy barrier. Quantum calculations search for pairs of anions that might engage in a fully stable halogen-bonded dimer in the gas phase, lower in energy than the separate monomers. Each Lewis acid candidate contains an I atom attached to an alkyne, alkene, or alkane chain of variable length, terminated by a O − or COO − group, and decorated with electron-withdrawing CN substituents. Also considered are aromatic systems containing I and COO − , along with four CN substituents on the phenyl ring. Lewis bases considered were of two varieties. In addition to the simple Cl − anion, an NH 2 group was separated from a terminal carboxylate by an alkyne chain of variable length. Exothermic association reactions are achieved with Cl − paired with CN-substituted alkenes and alkanes where the I and COO − of the Lewis acid are separated by at least four C atoms. The energetics are especially favorable for the longer alkanes where Δ E is roughly −30 kcal mol −1 . 

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2. Structural effects on the bromination rate and selectivity of alkylbenzenes and alkoxybenzenes in aqueous solution

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP02422A  

   Schammel, Marella H.; Martin-Culet, Kayla R.; Taggart, Garrett A.; Sivey, John D. (August 2021, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   null (Ed.)

   Aqueous free bromine species ( e.g. , HOBr, BrCl, Br 2 , BrOCl, Br 2 O, and H 2 OBr + ) can react with activated aromatic compounds via electrophilic aromatic substitution to generate products with industrial applications, environmental consequences, and potentially adverse biological effects. The relative contributions of these brominating agents to overall bromination rates can be calculated via nonlinear regression analyses of kinetic data collected under a variety of solution conditions, including variations in parameters ( e.g. , [Cl − ], [Br − ], and pH) known to influence free bromine speciation. Herein, kinetic experiments conducted in batch reactors were employed to evaluate the contributions of steric and electronic effects on bromination of monosubstituted alkylbenzenes (ethyl, isopropyl, tert -butyl) and alkoxybenzenes (ethoxy, isopropoxy, tert -butoxy) and to elucidate the inherent reactivities of aqueous brominating agents towards these aromatic compounds. For bromination at the para position of alkylbenzenes, overall reactivity increased from tert -butyl < ethyl ≈ isopropyl. For bromination at the para position of alkoxybenzenes, reactivity increased from tert -butoxy < ethoxy < isopropoxy. In going from ethyl to tert -butyl and ethoxy to isopropoxy, unfavorable steric effects attenuated the favorable electronic effects imparted by the substituents. When comparing unsubstituted benzene, alkyl-, and alkoxybenzenes, the structure of the substituent has a significant effect on bromination rates, nucleophile regioselectivity, and electrophile chemoselectivity. Hirshfeld charges were useful predictors of reactivity and regioselectivity. The experimental results were also modeled using Taft equations. Collectively, these findings indicate that steric effects, electronic effects, and brominating agents other than HOBr can influence aromatic compound bromination in solutions of free bromine. 

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3. Thermodynamics and Spectroscopy of Halogen- and Hydrogen-Bonded Complexes of Haloforms with Aromatic and Aliphatic Amines

   https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27186124  

   Adeniyi, Emmanuel; Grounds, Olivia; Stephens, Zachary; Zeller, Matthias; Rosokha, Sergiy V. (September 2022, Molecules)

   Similarities and differences of halogen and hydrogen bonding were explored via UV–Vis and 1H NMR measurements, X-ray crystallography and computational analysis of the associations of CHX3 (X=I, Br, Cl) with aromatic (tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine) and aliphatic (4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane) amines. When the polarization of haloforms was taken into account, the strengths of these complexes followed the same correlation with the electrostatic potentials on the surfaces of the interacting atoms. However, their spectral properties were quite distinct. While the halogen-bonded complexes showed new intense absorption bands in the UV–Vis spectra, the absorptions of their hydrogen-bonded analogues were close to the superposition of the absorption of reactants. Additionally, halogen bonding led to a shift in the NMR signal of haloform protons to lower ppm values compared with the individual haloforms, whereas hydrogen bonding of CHX3 with aliphatic amines resulted in a shift in the opposite direction. The effects of hydrogen bonding with aromatic amines on the NMR spectra of haloforms were ambivalent. Titration of all CHX3 with these nucleophiles produced consistent shifts in their protons’ signals to lower ppm values, whereas calculations of these pairs produced multiple hydrogen-bonded minima with similar structures and energies, but opposite directions of the NMR signals’ shifts. Experimental and computational data were used for the evaluation of formation constants of some halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complexes between haloforms and amines co-existing in solutions. 

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4. 1,3,5-Trimethoxybenzene (TMB) as a new quencher for preserving redox-labile disinfection byproducts and for quantifying free chlorine and free bromine

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EW00062J  

   Lau, Stephanie S.; Dias, Ryan P.; Martin-Culet, Kayla R.; Race, Nicholas A.; Schammel, Marella H.; Reber, Keith P.; Roberts, A. Lynn; Sivey, John D. (January 2018, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology)

   Sodium sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, and ascorbic acid are commonly used to quench free chlorine and free bromine in studies of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water, wastewater, and recreational water. The reducing capabilities of these quenchers, however, can lead to the degradation of some redox-labile analytes. Ammonium chloride, another common quencher, converts free chlorine into monochloramine and is therefore inappropriate for analytes susceptible to chloramination. Herein, we demonstrate the utility of 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene (TMB) as a quencher of free chlorine and free bromine. The reactivity of TMB toward free chlorine was characterized previously. The reactivity of TMB toward free bromine was quantified herein ( k HOBr,TMB = 3.35 × 10 6 M −1 s −1 ) using competition kinetics. To explore the feasibility of TMB serving as a free halogen quencher for kinetic experiments, chlorination of 2,4-dichlorophenol, bromination of anisole, and chlorination and bromination of dimethenamid-P were examined. Although TMB does not react with free chlorine or free bromine as quickly as do some (but not all) traditional quenchers, there was generally no significant difference in the experimental rate constants with TMB (relative to thiosulfate) as the quencher. By monitoring the chlorination and bromination products of TMB, free halogen residuals in quenched samples were quantified. Furthermore, TMB did not affect the stabilities of DBPs ( e.g. , chloropicrin and bromoacetonitriles) that otherwise degraded in the presence of traditional quenchers. TMB could, therefore, be an appropriate quencher of free chlorine and free bromine in aqueous halogenation experiments involving redox-labile analytes and/or when selective quantification of residual free halogens is desired. 

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5. Total Synthesis of (−)-Ambiguine P

   https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b01739  

   Xu, J.; Rawal, V. H. (March 2019, Journal of the American Chemical Society)

   Baran, P. (Ed.)

   Described is a concise total synthesis of (−)-ambiguine P, a cycloheptane-containing member of the hapalindole alkaloids. The challenging pentacyclic framework of the natural product was assembled rapidly via a [4 + 3] cycloaddition reaction-inspired strategy, and the tertiary hydroxy group was introduced by an NBS- mediated bromination−nucleophilic substitution sequence. 

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