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Although 2‐furyl‐carbenes (furfurylidenes) are prone to instantaneous electrocyclic ring opening, chiral [BiRh]‐paddlewheel complexes empowered by London dispersion allow (trifluoromethyl)furfurylidene metal complexes to be generated from a bench‐stable triftosylhydrazone precursor. These reactive intermediates engage in asymmetric [2+1] cycloadditions and hence open entry into valuable trifluoromethylated cyclopropane or ‐cyclopropene derivatives in optically active form, which are important building blocks for medicinal chemistry but difficult to make otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallographic and computational studies suggest the occurrence of favourable interactions between polarizable arenes and halogen atoms. However, the systematic experimental quantification of halogen⋅⋅⋅arene interactions in solution has been hindered by the large variance in the steric demands of the halogens. Here we have synthesized molecular balances to quantify halogen⋅⋅⋅arene contacts in 17 solvents and solvent mixtures using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Calculations indicate that favourable halogen⋅⋅⋅arene interactions arise from London dispersion in the gas phase. In contrast, comparison of our experimental measurements with partitioned SAPT0 energies indicate that dispersion is sufficiently attenuated by the solvent that the halogen⋅⋅⋅arene interaction trend was instead aligned with increasing exchange repulsion as the halogen increased in size (ΔGX⋅⋅⋅Ph=0 to +1.5 kJ mol−1). Halogen⋅⋅⋅arene contacts were slightly less disfavoured in solvents with higher solvophobicities and lower polarizabilities, but strikingly, were always less favoured than CH3⋅⋅⋅arene contacts (ΔGMe⋅⋅⋅Ph=0 to −1.4 kJ mol−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction of {LiC6H2−2,4,6‐Cyp3⋅Et2O}2 (Cyp=cyclopentyl) (1) of the new dispersion energy donor (DED) ligand, 2,4,6‐triscyclopentylphenyl with SnCl2 afforded a mixture of the distannene {Sn(C6H2−2,4,6‐Cyp3)2}2 (2), and the cyclotristannane {Sn(C6H2−2,4,6‐Cyp3)2}3 (3). 2 is favored in solution at higher temperature (345 K or above) whereas 3 is preferred near 298 K. Van't Hoff analysis revealed the 3 to 2 conversion has a ΔH=33.36 kcal mol−1 and ΔS=0.102 kcal mol−1 K−1, which gives a ΔG300 K=+2.86 kcal mol−1, showing that the conversion of 3 to 2 is an endergonic process. Computational studies show that DED stabilization in 3 is −28.5 kcal mol−1 per {Sn(C6H2−2,4,6‐Cyp3)2 unit, which exceeds the DED energy in 2 of −16.3 kcal mol−1 per unit. The data clearly show that dispersion interactions are the main arbiter of the 3 to 2 equilibrium. Both 2 and 3 possess large dispersion stabilization energies which suppress monomer dissociation (supported by EDA results). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face‐to‐face noncovalent arene−fullerene interactions are important in several research fields such as synthetic chemistry, materials chemistry, and medicinal chemistry; however, their nature and strength are still poorly understood. In this study, we prepare a fullerene‐based torsion balance containing thioanisole, phenol, naphthalene, azulene, and pyrene moieties as a unimolecular model system. Moreover, we compare the folding free energies between the folded and the unfolded conformers of a series of the molecular torsion balances to quantify noncovalent interactions between arenes and the fullerene surface. This work demonstrates that the contributions of polarizabilities, anionic charges, electronic dipole moments, and the number of arene rings to the interactions can be experimentally measured by analyzing the folding equilibrium of the molecular torsion balances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing the understanding of lithum nickelate complexes, here we report a family of homoleptic organonickelate complexes obtained by reacting Ni(COD)2 and lithium aryl‐acetylides in the presence of the bidentate donor TMEDA. These compounds represent rare examples of low‐valent transition‐metals supported solely by organolithium ligands. Whilst the solid‐state structures indicate a hexagonal planar geometry around Ni0 with Ni−Li bonds, bonding analysis via QTAIM, NCI, NBO and ELI methods reveals that the Ni−Li interactions are repulsive in nature, characterising these complexes as tri‐coordinated. London dispersion forces between TMEDA and the organic substituents on nickel are found to play a crucial role in the stabilisation and thus isolation of these complexes. Preliminary reactivity studies demonstrate that the homoleptic lithium nickelates undergo stoichiometric cross‐coupling with PhI to give dinickel clusters containing both anionic acetylide and neutral alkyne ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of alkali metal 1‐adamantoxide (OAd1) complexes of formula [M(OAd1)(HOAd1)2], where M=Li, Na or K, were synthesised by reduction of 1‐adamantanol with excess of the alkali metal. The syntheses indicated that only one out of every three HOAd1 molecules was reduced. An X‐ray diffraction study of the sodium derivative shows that the complex features two unreduced HOAd1 donors as well as the reduced alkoxide (OAd1), with the Ad1 fragments clustered together on the same side of the NaO3 plane, contrary to steric considerations. This is the first example of an alkali metal reduction of an alcohol that is inhibited from completion due to the formation of the [M(OAd1)(HOAd1)2] complexes, stabilized by London dispersion effects. NMR spectroscopic studies revealed similar structures for the lithium and potassium derivatives. Computational analyses indicate that decisive London dispersion effects in the molecular structure are a consequence of the many C−H⋅⋅⋅H−C interactions between the OAd1 groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]