Extraction of pyridines into fluorous solvents based on hydrogen bond complex formation with carboxylic acid receptors

Abstract

A molecular receptor embedded in a 'poor-solvent' receiving phase, such as a fluorous phase, should offer the ideal medium for selective extraction and sensing. The limited solubility of most solutes in fluorous phases enhances selectivity by reducing the extraction of unwanted matrix components. Thus, receptor-doped fluorous phases may be ideal extraction media. Unfortunately, sufficient data do not exist to judge the capability of this approach. The solubilities of very few nonfluorous solutes are known. As far as we are aware, such important quantities as the strength of a hydrogen bond in a fluorous environment are not known. Thus, it is currently impossible to predict whether a particular receptor/solute complex based on a particular set of noncovalent interactions will provide enough thermodynamic stabilization to extract the solute into the fluorous phase. In this work, fluorous carboxylic acids (a carboxylic acid-terminated perfluoropolypropylene oxide called Krytox and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)) were used as receptors and substituted pyridines as solutes to show that the fluorous receptor dramatically enhances the liquid-liquid extraction of the polar substrates from chloroform into perfluorohexanes. The method of continuous variations was used to determine the receptor-pyridine complex stoichiometry of 3:1. The free energies of formation of the 3:1 complexes from one pyridine and 3/2 H-bonded cyclic dimers of the fluorous carboxylic acid are -30.4 (Krytox) and -37.3 kJ mol-1 (PFDA). The free energy required to dissociate the dimer in perfluorohexanes is +16.5 kJ mol-1 (Krytox). The crystal structure of the complex showed a 1:1 stoichiometry with a mixed strong-weak hydrogen-bonded motif. Based on the stoichiometry, crystal structure, and UV and IR spectroscopic shifts, we propose that the 3:1 complex has four hydrogen bonds and the carboxylic acid transfers a proton to pyridine. The resulting pyridinium carboxylate N+H-O- hydrogen bond is accompanied by a weak pyridine ring CH-O bond and is supported by two more carboxylic acid H-bond donors. We estimate that the free energy of formation of this complex from a free acid, pyridine, and a carboxylic acid dimer to be approximately -39 kJ mol-1; this is the first reported hydrogen bond strength in a fluorous environment.