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Ben L Feringa

Publications and source records attributed to Ben L Feringa.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Reversible optical transcription of supramolecular chirality into molecular chirality.

In nature, key molecular processes such as communication, replication, and enzyme catalysis all rely on a delicate balance between molecular and supramolecular chirality. Here we report the design, synthesis, and operation of a reversible, photoresponsive, self-assembling molecular system in which molecular and supramolecular chirality communicate. It shows exceptional stereoselectivity upon aggregation of the molecules during gel formation with the solvent. This chirality is locked by photochemical switching, a process that is subsequently used to induce an inverted chiral supramolecular assembly as revealed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The optical switching between different chiral aggregated states and the interplay of molecular and supramolecular chirality offer attractive new prospects for the development of molecular memory systems and smart functional materials.

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PubMed2004

Platinum-catalyzed selective hydration of hindered nitriles and nitriles with acid- or base-sensitive groups.

Hindered tertiary nitriles can be hydrolyzed under neutral and mild conditions to the corresponding amides using platinum(II) catalysts with dimethylphosphine oxide or other secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs, phosphinous acids) as ligands. We have found that this procedure also works well for nitriles with acid- or base-sensitive groups, which is unprecedented in terms of yield and selectivity. The catalyst loading can be as low as 0.5 mol %. Amides are isolated as the only product in high yield, and no further hydrolysis to the corresponding acids takes place. Reactions are carried out at 80 degrees C but take place even at room temperature. When enantiopure secondary phosphine oxide ligands are used in the hydrolysis of racemic nitriles, no kinetic resolution is observed, presumably due to racemization of the ligand during the reaction.

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PubMed2004

Metal ion complexation: a route to 2 D templates?

The two-dimensional ordering of a number of 2,2'-bipyridine derivatives at the liquid/solid interface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. By appropriate functionalization of the bipyridine units, their intermolecular distance can be tuned, which has proved to be crucial for complexation with metal ions. The in situ addition of metal salts (Pd(2+), Cu(2+)), leading to the formation of metal-bipyridine complexes, has a dramatic influence on the two-dimensional ordering of the molecules and suggests that these complexes could be used as templates.

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PubMed2004

Synthesis of a non-heme template for attaching four peptides: an approach to artificial iron(II)-containing peroxidases.

We are developing all-synthetic model cofactor-protein complexes in order to define the parameters controlling non-natural cofactor activity. The long-term objective is to establish the theoretical and practical basis for designing novel enzymes. A non-heme pentadentate ligand (N4Py) is being developed as a template for the site-specific attachment of a designed four-helix bundle. Previously, we attached two unprotected peptides via CH(2)Cl handles to N4Py. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the iron(II) complex of this ligand (2a) generates an Fe(III)OOH intermediate (3a) that can oxidize a wide variety of organic compounds. Here, we describe the synthesis of 27, a N4Py derivative in which four three-carbon spacers have been introduced, and show that four copies of an unprotected, single-cysteine peptide can be coupled via a thioether linkage to the ligand. In addition, a divergent synthesis route to tetrabromide ligand 1b has also been developed, providing the opportunity to prepare alternative pentadentate ligands efficiently by four cross-coupling reactions on a single molecule. Also, two of the four bromides of 1b can be selectively addressed by magnesium-bromide exchange.

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PubMed2004

A chiroptical molecular switch with distinct chiral and photochromic entities and its application in optical switching of a cholesteric liquid crystal.

Two new structurally related photoswitches are described, in which azobenzene photochromism is combined with the chirality of a 2,2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl unit. In system 1 the chiral binaphthyl moiety is bridged by a methylene tether, locking the biaryl chirality while in system 2 the biaryl core is unbridged and has considerable conformational flexibility. Both compound are capable of inducing cholesteric liquid crystalline phases and proved to be good photoswitches both in solution and in a liquid crystalline matrix. Compound 2 is capable of completely reversing the liquid crystalline chirality which is unique for a chiroptical molecular switch where the switching unit and the chiral moiety are separate entities.

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PubMed2003

Remarkable solvent-dependent excited-state chirality: a molecular modulator of circularly polarized luminescence.

The photochemical control of ground- and excited-state chirality of (M)-cis-(1) and (P)-trans-(2)-2-nitro-7-(dimethylamino)-9-(2',3'-dihydro-1'H-naphtho[2,1-b]-thiopyran-1'-ylidene)-9H-thioxanthene is described. It is shown that while ground state chirality can be controlled photochemically by irradiation with light of different wavelengths, the excited state chirality can be tuned either photochemically in a similar way or by appropriate choice of solvent. In benzene solution, circularly polarized luminescence of the two isomers with opposite ground-state helicity, (M)-cis-1 and (P)-trans-2, revealed corresponding excited states of opposite helicity. On the contrary, in n-hexane solution, circularly polarized luminescence was identical for the two forms indicating identical excited state chirality. Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL), steady-state and time-dependent fluorescence, and time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements in both n-hexane and benzene are reported, which provide an explanation for the remarkable solvent dependence of excited-state chirality.

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PubMed2003

Increased speed of rotation for the smallest light-driven molecular motor.

In this paper we present the smallest artificial light-driven molecular motor consisting of only 28 carbon and 24 hydrogen atoms. The concept of controlling directionality of rotary movement at the molecular level by introduction of a stereogenic center next to the central olefinic bond of a sterically overcrowded alkene does not only hold for molecular motors with six-membered rings, but is also applicable to achieve the unidirectional movement for molecular motors having five-membered rings. Although X-ray analyses show that the five-membered rings in the cis- and trans-isomer of the new molecular motor are nearly flat, the energy differences between the (pseudo-)diaxial and (pseudo-)diequatorial conformations of the methyl substituents in both isomers are still large enough to direct the rotation of one-half of the molecule with respect to the other half in a clockwise fashion. The full rotary cycle comprises four consecutive steps: two photochemical isomerizations each followed by a thermal helix inversion. Both photochemical cis-trans isomerizations proceed with a preference for the unstable diequatorial isomers over the stable diaxial isomers. The thermal barriers for helix inversion of this motor molecule have decreased dramatically compared to its six-membered ring analogue, the half-life of the fastest step being only 18 s at room temperature.

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PubMed2003

High efficiency and enantioselectivity in the rh-catalyzed conjugate addition of arylboronic acids using monodentate phosphoramidites.

A very fast reaction and enantioselectivities >98% have been reached in the rhodium-catalyzed arylboronic acid addition to enones using a monodentate phosphoramidite ligand. Temperature-dependent studies show that monodentate phosphoramidites form stable complexes with metals and can induce high enantioselectivities even at high temperatures in polar solvents.

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PubMed2003

Orthogonal self-assembly of low molecular weight hydrogelators and surfactants.

The concurrent self-assembly of new 1,3,5-trisamide-cyclohexane-based low molecular weight hydrogelators and various surfactants in water leads to the formation of self-assembled fibrillar networks with encapsulated micelles. This prototype system presents an example of orthogonal self-assembly, that is, the independent formation of two different supramolecular structures, each with their own characteristics that coexist within a single system.

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PubMed2003

Copper phosphoramidite-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-cyclic allylic bisdiethyl phosphates.

[reaction: see text] A highly regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective desymmetrization of five-, six-, and seven-membered meso-cyclic allylic bis-diethyl phosphates (2a, 2b, and 2c, respectively) was obtained with diethylzinc, using catalytic amounts of [Cu(OTf)](2).C(6)H(6) and phosphoramidite ligands 5. Enantiomeric excesses of up to 87, 94, and >98% were obtained for the addition of diethylzinc to cyclopentene, cyclohexene, and cycloheptene bis-diethyl phosphates, respectively.

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PubMed2003

First examples of improved catalytic asymmetric C-C bond formation using the monodentate ligand combination approach.

[reaction: see text] Using a combination of chiral monodentate phosphoramidite ligands in the rhodium-catalyzed conjugate addition of boronic acids to three different substrates, we have shown for the first time that the ligand combination approach is applicable for C-C bond formation. Chiral catalysts based on hetero-combinations of ligands are found to be more effective than the homo-combinations. (31)P NMR experiments show that the hetero-combinations are formed in excess over the homo-combinations.

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PubMed2003

De novo asymmetric bio- and chemocatalytic synthesis of saccharides - stereoselective formal O-glycoside bond formation using palladium catalysis.

A novel integrated bio- and chemocatalytic approach to the de novo catalytic asymmetric synthesis of saccharides has been developed. Acetoxypyranones obtained enantiopure by enzymatic resolution have been shown to undergo highly stereoselective palladium-catalyzed formal O-glycoside bond formation. The combination of these protocols can be applied to the iterative asymmetric catalytic synthesis of saccharides.

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PubMed2003

Photochemical and thermal isomerization processes of a chiral auxiliary based donor-acceptor substituted chiroptical molecular switch: convergent synthesis, improved resolution and switching properties.

A new type of chiroptical molecular switch is presented where irradiation employing different wavelengths of light induces a reversible helix inversion of a sterically overcrowded alkene bearing a second chiral entity in the form of a stereogenic center present in a pyrrolidine unit. The additional stereogenic center in the chiral auxiliary group has a distinct influence on the switching selectivity of this system and greatly facilitates the resolution of the different diastereoisomers, which is a considerable improvement compared with previously reported systems. In addition, the pyrrolidine stereogenic center causes small energetic differences between the various states of the switch system resulting in a small but significant directional preference in the helix inversion steps.

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PubMed2003

Application of monodentate secondary phosphine oxides, a new class of chiral ligands, in Ir(i)-catalyzed asymmetric imine hydrogenation.

Secondary phosphine oxides were prepared from R(1)PCl(2) and R(2)MgBr, followed by hydrolysis. They were obtained in an enantiopure form by preparative chiral HPLC. These new monodentate ligands were tested in the iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of imines at 25 bar. Enantioselectivities up to 76% were obtained at L/Ir = 2. Addition of pyridine (Pyr/Ir = 1:2) raised the ee to 83%. Using pyridine as an additive allowed reduction of the L/Ir ratio to 1 without reduction of ee. [reaction: see text]

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PubMed2003

End-on and side-on peroxo derivatives of non-heme iron complexes with pentadentate ligands: models for putative intermediates in biological iron/dioxygen chemistry.

Mononuclear iron(III) species with end-on and side-on peroxide have been proposed or identified in the catalytic cycles of the antitumor drug bleomycin and a variety of enzymes, such as cytochrome P450 and Rieske dioxygenases. Only recently have biomimetic analogues of such reactive species been generated and characterized at low temperatures. We report the synthesis and characterization of a series of iron(II) complexes with pentadentate N5 ligands that react with H(2)O(2) to generate transient low-spin Fe(III)-OOH intermediates. These intermediates have low-spin iron(III) centers exhibiting hydroperoxo-to-iron(III) charge-transfer bands in the 500-600-nm region. Their resonance Raman frequencies, nu(O)(-)(O), near 800 cm(-)(1) are significantly lower than those observed for high-spin counterparts. The hydroperoxo-to-iron(III) charge-transfer transition blue-shifts and the nu(O)(-)(O) of the Fe-OOH unit decreases as the N5 ligand becomes more electron donating. Thus, increasing electron density at the low-spin Fe(III) center weakens the O-O bond, in accord with conclusions drawn from published DFT calculations. The parent [(N4Py)Fe(III)(eta(1)-OOH)](2+) (1a) ion in this series (N4Py = N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-bis(2-pyridyl)methylamine) can be converted to its conjugate base, which is demonstrated to be a high-spin iron(III) complex with a side-on peroxo ligand, [(N4Py)Fe(III)(eta(2)-O(2))](+) (1b). A detailed analysis of 1a and 1b by EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopy provides insights into their electronic properties. The orientation of the observed (57)Fe A-tensor of 1a can be explained with the frequently employed Griffith model provided the rhombic component of the ligand field, determined by the disposition of the hydroperoxo ligand, is 45 degrees rotated relative to the octahedral field. EXAFS studies of 1a and 1b reveal the first metrical details of the iron-peroxo units in this family of complexes: [(N4Py)Fe(III)(eta(1)-OOH)](2+) has an Fe-O bond of 1.76 A, while [(N4Py)Fe(III)(eta(2)-O(2))](+) has two Fe-O bonds of 1.93 A, values which are in very good agreement with results obtained from DFT calculations.

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