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Quantifying the role of anion-π interactions in anion-π catalysis
Tongxiang Lu1, Steven E Wheeler
1Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77842, United States.
Abstract:
Matile et al. introduced the concept of anion-π catalysis [Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 9940; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 2101], reporting naphthalene diimide (NDI)-based organocatalysts for the Kemp elimination reaction. We report computational analyses of the operative noncovalent interactions, revealing that anion-π interactions actually increase the activation barriers for some of these catalyzed reactions. We propose new catalysts that are predicted to achieve significant lowering of the activation energy through anion-π interactions.
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