A PH-functionalized polyphosphazene: a macromolecule with a highly flexible backbone.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Wolfram Henze.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The comprehension of factors influencing the reactivity of organocuprates is still far from enabling a rational control of their reactions. Especially the degree of aggregation and structures of organocuprates are the focus of discussion about the factors affecting their reactivity. Therefore, this study combines kinetic measurements and NMR investigations to elucidate the influence of disaggregation via addition of tetrahydrofuran (THF) on the reactivity and aggregate structure of Gilman cuprates. As model systems, Me(2)CuLi.LiI (1.LiI) and Me(2)CuLi.LiCN (1.LiCN) in diethyl ether (DEE) were chosen; as model reaction, the 1,4-addition to 4,4-dimethylcyclohex-2-enone. The kinetic data show for 1.LiI a pronounced acceleration effect upon addition of distinct amounts of THF, whereas the reactivity of 1.LiCN continuously decreases with the addition of THF. Series of NMR diffusion measurements as well as (1)H-(7)Li heteronuclear Overhauser effect (HOE), and (1)H-(1)H nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectra show different structural influences of THF on 1.LiI and 1.LiCN. For 1.LiI, small salt units are separated from the cuprate aggregate by THF. In contrast to this, THF disaggregates the oligomeric structures of 1.LiCN, while the core structures remain intact with salt attached. Thus, the reactivity of 1.LiI seems to be fine-tuned through distinct amounts of salt or THF, whereas the decreasing reactivity of 1.LiCN correlates with the disaggregation of oligomers via THF. Thus, for synthetic chemists with reactivity problems in specific reactions of iododialkylcuprates, the addition of small amounts of THF might be useful to enhance the reactivity. In addition to these structure-reactivity studies, the CN(-) group is shown to be directly attached to the cuprate moiety via a combination of (1)H-(13)C HOE- and (1)H-(1)H NOEs. This represents the first direct experimental evidence in solution for the position of the CN(-) group relative to the cuprate moiety in cyano-Gilman cuprates.
The molecular sizes of higher aggregates of dimethylcuprates (Me(2)CuLi (1), 1.LiI, and 1.LiCN) and bis[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]cuprates ((Me(3)SiCH(2))(2)CuLi (2), 2.LiI, and 2.LiCN) in diethyl ether (Et(2)O) were determined by pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR diffusion measurements. The obtained diffusion coefficients show molecular sizes larger than those of dimers for all systems. In these higher aggregates, steric hindrance and dilution reduce aggregation, whereas LiCN increases it. The molecular sizes were first determined by a spherical model-free approach and then refined by structure models of higher aggregates. These models were built by a combination of diffusion results, known NMR studies, and crystal structures. Thus, polymeric chains with homodimeric cores connected by solvent (salt-free case) or solvent and salt (salt-containing case) were proposed. These models were confirmed by a solvation analysis, whereby the number of solvent molecules attached to the aggregates was determined by a weighted average study. On the basis of these structure models, the number of repetition units (length index) was determined to be between 1.3 and 5.2, with the general trends in aggregation independent of the structure model used. A combined analysis of the determined length indices and known relative reactivities led for the first time to a correlation between higher aggregation and reactivity of dimethylcuprates in the addition reaction with enones: aggregates higher than dimers reduce the reactivity. Consequently, despite their consistent homodimeric core structures, for the first time the remaining reactivity differences between iodo- and cyanodimethylcuprates in Et(2)O are explained by the difference in their aggregation.