Novel dinuclear open copper complexes involving π-stacking on the basis of chiral binaphthyl phosphoric acid {()-PhosH}: structural, magnetic and optical properties.

This research embarked on the study of a new binaphthyl phosphate scaffold of copper. There are two independent neutral complexes in the asymmetric unit: Cu1/Cu2 (I) and Cu3/Cu4 (II) from a similar structure to , with one arm formed by an intra-hydrogen bond between the water molecule bonded to the copper and the phosphine oxide (PO) moieties. Moreover, in the first complex two water and one ketone molecule complete the coordination sphere of the two-copper metals, instead, in the second one, one water and two ketone molecules.

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Carbonyl-Ene Reaction: Interplay between Aromaticity, Synchronicity, and Pauli Repulsion.

The physical factors governing the catalysis in Lewis acid-promoted carbonyl-ene reactions have been explored in detail quantum chemically. It is found that the binding of a Lewis acid to the carbonyl group directly involved in the transformation greatly accelerates the reaction by decreasing the corresponding activation barrier up to 25 kcal/mol. The Lewis acid makes the process much more asynchronous and the corresponding transition state less in-plane aromatic.

Origin of the Bürgi-Dunitz Angle.

The Bürgi-Dunitz (BD) angle plays a pivotal role in organic chemistry to rationalize the nucleophilic addition to carbonyl groups. Yet, the origin of the obtuse trajectory of the nucleophile remains incompletely understood. Herein, we quantify the importance of the underlying physical factors quantum chemically.