Atranes are a class of tricyclic

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

s with three five-membered rings. It is a

heterocyclic A heterocyclic compound or ring structure is a cyclic compound that has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring(s). Heterocyclic chemistry is the branch of organic chemistry dealing with the synthesis, properties, and ...

structure similar to the

propellane In organic chemistry, propellane is any member of a class of polycyclic hydrocarbons, whose carbon skeleton consists of three rings of carbon atoms sharing a common carbon–carbon covalent bond. The concept was introduced in 1966 by D. Ginsbu ...

s. It has a

transannular In organic chemistry annulation (from the Latin ''anellus'' for "little ring"; occasionally annelation) is a chemical reaction in which a new ring is constructed on a molecule. : Examples are the Robinson annulation, Danheiser annulation and cer ...

dative bond In coordination chemistry, a coordinate covalent bond, also known as a dative bond, dipolar bond, or coordinate bond is a kind of two-center, two-electron covalent bond in which the two electrons derive from the same atom. The bonding of metal ...

from a

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

at one bridgehead to a Lewis acidic atom such as silicon or boron at the other bridgehead.Voronkov, Mikhail G.; Baryshok, Viktor P. "Atranes - a new generation of biologically active substances" (in Russian) Vestnik Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk 2010, volume 80, 985-992. The name "atrane" was first proposed by .

Nomenclature

Various atranes are named depending on the central element, e.g. "silatrane" (E =

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ta ...

); "boratrane" (E = boron); "phosphatrane" (E =

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

), etc. It is also proposed that when Y = nitrogen, the prefix "aza" be inserted before ''element'' + "atrane" (azasilatrane, for example) because atranes wherein E = silicon and Y =

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

have been referred to as just "silatranes".

Structure and properties

Silatranes exhibit unusual properties as well as biological activity in which the coordination of nitrogen to

silane Silane is an inorganic compound with chemical formula, . It is a colourless, pyrophoric, toxic gas with a sharp, repulsive smell, somewhat similar to that of acetic acid. Silane is of practical interest as a precursor to elemental silicon. Sila ...

plays an important role. Some derivatives such as phenylsilatrane are highly toxic. The transannular coordinate bond in atranes can be stretched (quasiatranes) and even broken (proatranes,) by controlling their stereoelectronic properties. The strength of the transannular interaction depends on the

electronegativity Electronegativity, symbolized as , is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons (or electron density) when forming a chemical bond. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the ...

of the participating atoms and the size of the rings. 290 px, Protonation of Verkade base gives an atrane. Proazaphosphatrane is a very strong non-

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

ic base and is utilized in various types of organic synthesis as an efficient

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

References

{{commons category, lcfirst=yes Heterocyclic compounds

Nomenclature

Structure and properties

See also

References