Template effects

The s)mthesis of zeolites is traditionally performed by crystallisation from a sol-gel mixture comprising reagents such as silica, sodium aluminate, sodium hydroxide and water. Another key component of the sol-gel mixture is a base whose main role is to regulate the pH of the mixture. If an organic base is used then a templating effect may also be observed... 

The expression template reaction indicates mostly a reaction in which a complexed me) ion holds reactive groups in the correct orientation to allow selective multi-step reactions. T1 template effect of the metal is twofold (i) polymerization reactions are suppressed, since th local concentration of reactants around the metal ion is very high (ii) multi-step reactions are possible, since the metal holds the reactants together. In the following one-step synthesis eleven molecules (three ethylenediamine — en , six formaldehyde, and two ammonia molecules) react with each other to form one single compound in a reported yield of 95%. It is ob vious that such a reaction is dictated by the organizing power of the metal ion (I.I. Creasei 1977),... 

Chelation itself is sometimes useful in directing the course of synthesis. This is called the template effect (37). The presence of a suitable metal ion facihtates the preparation of the crown ethers, porphyrins, and similar heteroatom macrocycHc compounds. Coordination of the heteroatoms about the metal orients the end groups of the reactants for ring closure. The product is the chelate from which the metal may be removed by a suitable method. In other catalytic effects, reactive centers may be brought into close proximity, charge or bond strain effects may be created, or electron transfers may be made possible. 

The template effects of potassium and lithium ions are responsible for the efficiency of the synthesis of macrocyclic ligands in 18-CROWN-6 and2,2.7,7,12,12,17,l 7-OCTAMETHYL-21,22,23,24-TETRAOXAPER-HYDROQUATERENE. 

If the template effect of Endo and Kroto[9] does indeed exist and the growth of the tubule occurs outwards, a knowledge of the characteristics of the innermost tube is then of paramount importance in any attempt at modelizing the structure of a symmetric nanotube[ll]. By reversing eqn (17), possible values for Px and Qx can be obtained from... 

Numerous other methods exist for making the simple crowns. Many of these methods are compared in Sect. 3.1 which deals with variations in the synthesis of 18-crown-6. Further commentary on the influence of templating ions on the synthesis of crown ethers may be found in Chap. 2, which deals with various aspects of the template effect. 

It is not clear exactly when the association illustrated above actually takes place. It is certainly involved by the final ring closure stage, but it seems reasonable to assume that there is some cation-glyme type interaction taking place from the instant of solution. The fact that wrapping occurs in such a way that the two ends of the molecule are held in proximity, allows the reaction to be conducted at much higher concentrations than might otherwise be practical. Tlie evidence for the operation of such a template effect is presented and considered below. 

One of the prime tenets of the template effect is that a cation of appropriate size coordinates with the heteroatom binding sites in the incipient ring system. Evidence to be discussed below indicates that there is a clear relationship between the size of the coordinating cation and the size of the ring formed. Before presenting this evidence, it is useful to note the approximate ring sizes of common crowns and the known ionic diameters of sundry metal cations. This is done in Table 2.1. 

Tlie first suggestion of a template effect which was offered in the literature was made by Greene in 1972 °. Tlie illustration of this concept is approximately that shown in Eq. (2.2), above. Greene presented several pieces of evidence in addition to the concept itself. First, he noted that when the final concentration of 18-crown-6 in a reaction mixture (MejSO) was increased from 0.04 At to 0.09 Af, the yield of crown dropped only slightly (84% to 75%). In a competition experiment, equal amounts of 18-crown-6 and 21-crown-7 were formed when one molar equivalent each of triethylene glycol and tetra-ethylene glycol were allowed to compete for triethylene glycol ditosylate (KO-t-Bu/THF). 

Equal amounts of the two crowns were also formed when BU4NOH was used as base, but both rate and yield were considerably reduced. Greene noted that such a template effect would actually involve binding between the open-chained intermediates and cations and these interactions are known to be weak relative to crown-cation interactions. Nevertheless, evidence for such interactions exists (see also Chap. 7) ... 

In 1977, Mandolini and Masci reported clear kinetic evidence that a template effect was important to the cyclization of o-hydroxyphenyl-3,6,9,12-tetraoxa-14-bromotetra-decyl ether. The starting material and its subsequent reactions are illustrated in Eq. (2.4). 

Other indications of the template effect have been offered as well. Fenton, Cook and Nowell reported that the condensation of pyridine-2,6-dicarbaldehyde with 1,11-diamino-3,6,9-trioxaundecane in 1 1 molar ratio in butanol leads only to resinous gums . In the presence of equimolar amounts of Pb(SCN)2, the macrocycle illustrated in Eq. (2.5) was obtained in good yield . 

The addition of various alkali and alkaline earth cations to the cyclooligomerization of ethylene oxide by Dale and Daasvatn also provides strong presumptive evidence for the template effect. Recently, Reinhoudt, de Jong and Tomassen utilized several metal fluorides to effect crown formations . The reaction rates were found to be in the order Cs > Rb > > Na LE. Such an order would be expected on the basis of binding... 

Newkome and co-workers have demonstrated the operation of a template effect in the formation of a pyrido-ester-crown. In the reaction shown in Eq. (2.8), they treated 2-clTloronicotinoyl cliloride with either the disodium or dipotassium salt of pentaethylene glycol. TJie two reactions were conducted under identical conditions except for the presence of sodium vs. potassium cations. Since the product is a six-oxygen macrocycle, its formation would be expected to be favored by K" rather than Na" counter ions for the glycolate. In fact, the yields of crown-lactone were 30% and 48% respectively when Na" and K" were the templating cations. 

There is probably no better evidence for a template effect than its application directly in the solution of a synthetic problem. Rastetter and PhiUion have utilized a substituted 19-crown-6 compound (shown below in Eq. 2.9) in the formation of macrocyclic lactones. Although there were certain experimental variations and the the possibility of intermolecular potassium ion complexation, the overall formation of lactone was favorable. 

The template effect has long been accepted prima facie by workers in the crown field because of the obvious relationship between ring size and complexation constant. In fact, Cram stated in 1975 that the templating properties of for preparing crown ethers is well established.. . In fact, the template effect was widely acknowledged and has always received overwhelming support. Nevertheless, few direct comparisons are available in the literature and we have restricted ourselves m this discussion only to direct rather than the large body of presumptive evidence which is currently available. 

The one-pot synthesis of 9 described above appears to afford only modest yields of azacrowns. One might wonder why any crown at all would be formed under non-high dilution conditions intended to yield only open-chained material. Vogtle suggests that this can be explained in terms of template, steric and entropy effects . These factors are of doubtless significance, but it is interesting to note that in the synthesis of poly-azamacrocycles, Richman and Atkins found that there was no significant template effect observed. The question of the template effect in Ihe syntheses of 9 has recently been addressed by Kulstad and Malmsten They conclude that the formation of 9 is assisted by the presence of alkali metal cations. 

It is interesting to note that although the first examples of template effects were observed in nitrogen macrocycles (see chapter 2) no template effect appears to operate in the synthesis of 72. Richman and Atkins note this in their original report . The authors replaced the sodium cation with tetramethylammonium cations and still obtained greater than 50% yield of tetra-N-tosyl-72. Shaw considered this problem and suggested that because of the bulky N-tosyl groups, .. . the loss of internal entropy on cyclization is small He offered this as an explanation for the apparent lack of a template effect in the cyclization. 

We have not attempted to cover all or even most aspects of crown chemistry and some may say that the inclusions are eclectic. We felt that anyone approaching the field would need an appreciation for the jargon currently abounding and for the so-called template effect since the latter has a considerable bearing on the synthetic methodology. We have, therefore, included brief discussions of these topics in the first two chapters. In chapters 3—8, we have tried to present an overview of the macrocyclic polyethers which have been prepared. We have taken a decidedly organic tack in this attempting to be comprehensive in our inclusion of alkali and alkaline earth cation binders rather than the compounds of use in transition metal chemistry. Nevertheless, many of the latter are included in concert with their overall importance. 

Template effect and incapsulation in macroheterocyclic supramolecular systems 97T15911. 

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