Approaches, Derivatives and Applications Vasilios Georgakilas,† Michal Otyepka,‡ Athanasios B. Bourlinos,‡ Vimlesh Chandra, Namdong Kim, K. Christian Kemp, Pavel Hobza,‡,§,⊥ Radek Zboril,*,‡ and Kwang S. Kim* †Institute of Materials Science, NCSR “Demokritos”, Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, 15310 Athens, Greece ‡Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic Center for Superfunctional Materials, Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31, Hyojadong, Namgu, Pohang 790-784, Korea Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Flemingovo naḿ. 2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic

Functionalization of Graphene: Covalent and Non-Covalent Approaches, Derivatives and Applications

Late-metal catalysts for ethylene homo- and copolymerization.

Cations bind to the π face of an aromatic structure through a surprisingly strong, noncovalent force termed the cation-π interaction. The magnitude and generality of the effect have been established by gas-phase measurements and by studies of model receptors in aqueous media. To first order, the interaction can be considered an electrostatic attraction between a positive charge and the quadrupole moment of the aromatic. A great deal of direct and circumstantial evidence indicates that cation-π interactions are important in a variety of proteins that bind cationic ligands or substrates. In this context, the amino acids phenylalanine (Phe), tyrosine (Tyr), and tryptophan (Trp) can be viewed as polar, yet hydrophobic, residues.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/271/5246/163.full.pdf

Cation-π Interactions in Chemistry and Biology: A New View of Benzene, Phe, Tyr, and Trp

Tetrathiafulvalenes, oligoacenenes, and their buckminsterfullerene derivatives: the brick and mortar of organic electronics.

This review describes a multidimensional treatment of molecular recognition phenomena involving aromatic rings in chemical and biological systems. It summarizes new results reported since the appearance of an earlier review in 2003 in host-guest chemistry, biological affinity assays and biostructural analysis, data base mining in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and advanced computational studies. Topics addressed are arene-arene, perfluoroarene-arene, S⋅⋅⋅aromatic, cation-π, and anion-π interactions, as well as hydrogen bonding to π systems. The generated knowledge benefits, in particular, structure-based hit-to-lead development and lead optimization both in the pharmaceutical and in the crop protection industry. It equally facilitates the development of new advanced materials and supramolecular systems, and should inspire further utilization of interactions with aromatic rings to control the stereochemical outcome of synthetic transformations.

Aromatic rings in chemical and biological recognition: energetics and structures.

The nature and origin of the π−H interaction in both the ethene (olefinic) and benzene (aromatic) complexes of the first-row hydrides (BH3, CH4, NH3, H2O, and HF) has been investigated by carrying out high level ab initio calculations. The results indicate that the strength of the π−H interaction is enhanced as one progresses from CH4 to HF. Unlike conventional H-bonds, this enhancement cannot be simply explained by the increase in electrostatic interactions or the electronegativity of the atom bound to the π H-bonded proton. The contributions of each of the attractive (electrostatic, inductive, dispersive) and repulsive exchange components of the total binding energy are important. Thus, the inductive energy is highly correlated to the olefinic π−H interaction as we progress from CH3 to HF. On the other hand, both electrostatic and inductive energies are important in the description of the aromatic π−H interaction. In either case, the contribution of dispersion energies is vital to obtain an accurate est...

Olefinic vs. aromatic pi-H interaction: a theoretical investigation of the nature of interaction of first-row hydrides with ethene and benzene.

Two [2n]trannulene rings coupled through n C-C bonds dictate the properties and aromaticity of [n]cyclacenes (one possible valence isomer is shown schematically). Theoretical calculations indicate that [n]cyclacenes with even values of n constitute a novel class of organic semiconductors and magnetic materials.

Structures, Magnetic Properties, and Aromaticity of Cyclacenes.

Cation-π interactions are important forces in molecular recognition by biological receptors, enzyme catalysis, and crystal engineering. We have harnessed these interactions in designing molecular systems with circular arrangement of benzene units that are capable of acting as ionophores and models for biological receptors. [n]Collarenes are promising candidates with high selectivity for a specific cation, depending on n, because of their structural rigidity and well-defined cavity size. The interaction energies of [n]collarenes with cations have been evaluated by using ab initio calculations. The selectivity of these [n]collarenes in aqueous solution was revealed by using statistical perturbation theory in conjunction with Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. It has been observed that in [n]collarenes the ratio of the interaction energies of a cation with it and the cation with the basic building unit (benzene) can be correlated to its ion selectivity. We find that collarenes are excellent and efficient ionophores that bind cations through cation-π interactions. [6]Collarene is found to be a selective host for Li+ and Mg2+, [8]collarene for K+ and Sr2+, and [10]collarene for Cs+ and Ba2+. This finding indicates that [10]collarene and [8]collarene could be used for effective separation of highly radioactive isotopes, 137Cs and 90Sr, which are major constituents of nuclear wastes. More interestingly, collarenes of larger cavity size can be useful in capturing organic cations. [12]Collarene exhibits a pronounced affinity for tetramethylammonium cation and acetylcholine, which implies that it could serve as a model for acetylcholinestrase. Thus, collarenes can prove to be novel and effective ionophores/model-receptors capable of heralding a new direction in molecular recognition and host-guest chemistry.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/95/21/12094.full.pdf

Hyuk Soon Choi

Papers

Olefinic vs. aromatic pi-H interaction: a theoretical investigation of the nature of interaction of first-row hydrides with ethene and benzene.

Structures, Magnetic Properties, and Aromaticity of Cyclacenes.

Ionophores and receptors using cation-pi interactions: collarenes.

Quantum mechanical probabilistic structure of the benzene-water complex

Ab initio study of the complexation of benzene with ammonium cations