Cation cryptates

The endo-endo conformation of cryptands can be internally protonated to form proton cryptates. With the small cryptands, e.g. [1.1.1]- and [2.1.1]-cryptand (15a and 15b), the two internal protons are so efficiently shielded from H2O and OH that deprotonation only very slowly occurs even in strong base (8UA6044). Alkali cation cryptates are able to stabilize unusual species as their counterions. Dye and coworkers have isolated several alkali metal anions by this method. The sodium species (Na [2.2.2]cryptand Na ) was obtained as gold metallic crystals and gave a Na NMR with a broad Na -cryptate resonance and a narrow, upheld Na resonance. The other alkali metals show similar behavior and an electride salt (Na [2.2.2]cryptand e l has even been isolated (B-79MI52105). Crystalline anionic clusters of the heavy post-transition metals (such as Sb7 , Pbs , Sng ) were first obtained with alkali metal cryptates as the counterions (75JA6267). 

Alkali metal and other cationic cryptates have been known for a number of years. More recently, anionic cryptates have been characterized. Suggest a structure for [ClNfCHoCHoNHCHjCHjNHCH.CHjljN] . (See Footnote 112.)... 

Azamacrobicyclic ethers (cryptands) are of particular interest for anionic activation they afford stable inclusion complexes of the cation (cryptates), in which the cation is surrounded by a spherical ligand 10 A in size which takes the place of the solvation sphere in cryptates the interaction between ions is thus minimized. 

McKee V, Dorrity MRJ, Malone JF, Marrs D, Nelson J (1992) Novel group 1 cation cryptates X-ray and Na NMR studies. J Chem Soc Chem Commun 383-386... 

The macrocychc hexaimine stmcture of Figure 19a forms a homodinuclear cryptate with Cu(I) (122), whereas crown ether boron receptors (Fig. 19b) have been appHed for the simultaneous and selective recognition of complementary cation—anion species such as potassium and fluoride (123) or ammonium and alkoxide ions (124) to yield a heterodinuclear complex (120). 

Podates AcycHc analogues of crown ethers /coronands and cryptands (podands, eg, (11) (30) are also capable of forming inclusion compounds (podates) with cations and uncharged organic molecules, the latter being endowed with a hydrogen bond fiinctionahty. Podates normally are less stable than coronates and cryptates but have favorable kinetics. 

The crown ethers and cryptates are able to complex the alkaU metals very strongly (38). AppHcations of these agents depend on the appreciable solubihty of the chelates in a wide range of solvents and the increase in activity of the co-anion in nonaqueous systems. For example, potassium hydroxide or permanganate can be solubiHzed in benzene [71 -43-2] hy dicyclohexano-[18]-crown-6 [16069-36-6]. In nonpolar solvents the anions are neither extensively solvated nor strongly paired with the complexed cation, and they behave as naked or bare anions with enhanced activity. Small amounts of the macrocycHc compounds can serve as phase-transfer agents, and they may be more effective than tetrabutylammonium ion for the purpose. The cost of these macrocycHc agents limits industrial use. 

Dietrich, Lehn and Sauvage recognized not only the possibility of enclosing a cation completely in a lipophilic shell, but they also recognized the potential for using such systems for activating associated anions. This is made particularly clear in a paper which appeared some years later One of the original motivations for our work on cryptates rested on their potential use for salt solubilization, anion activation and phase transfer catalysis . This particular application is discussed below in Sect. 8.3. 

The alkalides. The first crystalline alkalide to be prepared in this manner was [Na+(2.2.2)].Na. This salt is obtained as shiny, gold-coloured crystals (Dye etal., 1974). The 23Na nmr spectrum yields a narrow upfield signal for the Na- ion (Dye, Andrews Ceraso, 1975) the X-ray structure indicates close-packed sodium cryptate cations with Na" anions occupying octahedral holes between the cryptate layers (Tehan, Barnett Dye, 1974). 

The dissociation rates for a number of alkali metal cryptates have been obtained in methanol and the values combined with measured stability constants to yield the corresponding formation rates. The latter increase monotonically with increasing cation size (with cryptand selectivity for these ions being reflected entirely in the dissociation rates - see later) (Cox, Schneider Stroka, 1978). 

In water, the relatively low stability of the alkali metal and alkaline earth cryptates (except those for which there is a near-optimal fit of the cation in the intramolecular cavity) has resulted in difficulties in undertaking a wide-ranging kinetic study in this solvent. However, in non-aqueous media, the stability constants are larger and most of the studies have been performed in such media. 

The kinetics of formation and dissociation of the Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ complexes of the mono- and di-benzo-substituted forms of 2.2.2, namely (214) and (285), have been studied in water (Bemtgen et al., 1984). The introduction of the benzene rings causes a progressive drop in the formation rates the dissociation rate for the Ca2+ complex remains almost constant while those for the Sr2+ and Ba2+ complexes increase. All complexes undergo first-order, proton-catalyzed dissociation with 0bs — kd + /ch[H+]. The relative degree of acid catalysis increases in the order Ba2+ < Sr2+ < Ca2+ for a given ligand. The ability of the cryptate to achieve a conformation which is accessible to proton attack appears to be inversely proportional to the size of the complexed metal cation in these cases. 

The study of Lehn s cryptands has shown that a three-dimensional arrangement of binding sites leads to very stable inclusion complexes (cryptates) with many cations. For example, the stability constant for K+ in methanol/water (95/5) is five orders of magnitude higher with [2.2.2]-cryptand [37] (log K 9.75 Lehn and Sauvage, 1975) than with [2.2]-cryptand [38] (log... 

The thermodynamic data for K+ complexes of dibenzo-18-crown-6 [11] in aprotic solution show that AAG + AGU (K+) changes with solvent (Table 16). Although the data have been collected from several sources, they would seem to indicate that the cation is more exposed to interactions with the solvent in crown-ether complexes than in cryptates. Hence, the term... 

The proportion of the /rans-O-alkylated product [101] increases in the order no ligand < 18-crown-6 < [2.2.2]-cryptand. This difference was attributed to the fact that the enolate anion in a crown-ether complex is still capable of interacting with the cation, which stabilizes conformation [96]. For the cryptate, however, cation-anion interactions are less likely and electrostatic repulsion will force the anion to adopt conformation [99], which is the same as that of the free anion in DMSO. This explanation was substantiated by the fact that the anion was found to have structure [96] in the solid state of the potassium acetoacetate complex of 18-crown-6 (Cambillau et al., 1978). Using 23Na NMR, Cornelis et al. (1978) have recently concluded that the active nucleophilic species is the ion pair formed between 18-crown-6 and sodium ethyl acetoacetate, in which Na+ is co-ordinated to both the anion and the ligand. 

The effect of cryptands on the reduction of ketones and aldehydes by metal hydrides has also been studied by Loupy et al. (1976). Their results showed that, whereas cryptating the lithium cation in LiAlH4 completely inhibited the reduction of isobutyraldehyde, it merely reduced the rate of reduction of aromatic aldehydes and ketones. The authors rationalized the difference between the results obtained with aliphatic and aromatic compounds in terms of frontier orbital theory, which gave the following reactivity sequence Li+-co-ordinated aliphatic C=0 x Li+-co-ordinated aromatic C=0 > non-co-ordinated aromatic C=0 > non-co-ordinated aliphatic C=0. By increasing the reaction time, Loupy and Seyden-Penne (1978) showed that cyclohexenone [197] was reduced by LiAlH4 and LiBH4, even in the presence of [2.1.1]-cryptand, albeit much more slowly. In diethyl ether in the absence of... 

Similar behavior was found with cryptates (23), but in this case the absolute rates are higher than those of quaternary salts, in agreement with the better separation between cation and anion. 

---