Observation of a Metastable P‐Heterocyclic Radical by Muonium Addition to a 1,3‐Diphosphacyclobutane‐2,4‐diyl

A 1,3‐diphosphacyclobutane‐2,4‐diyl contains a unique unsaturated cyclic unit, and the presence of radical‐type centers have been expected as a source of functionality. This study demonstrates that the P‐heterocyclic singlet biradical captures muonium (Mu=[μ⁺e^?]), the light isotope of a hydrogen radical, to generate an observable P‐heterocyclic paramagnetic species. Investigation of a powder sample of 2,4‐bis(2,4,6‐tri‐t‐butylphenyl)‐1‐t‐butyl‐3‐benzyl‐1,3‐diphosphacyclobutane‐2,4‐diyl using muon (avoided) level‐crossing resonance (μLCR) spectroscopy revealed that muonium adds to the cyclic P₂C₂ unit. The muon hyperfine coupling constant (A_μ) indicated that the phosphorus atom bearing the t‐butyl group trapped muonium to provide a metastable P‐heterocyclic radical involving the ylidic MuP(<)=C moiety. The observed regioselective muonium addition correlates the canonical formula of 1,3‐diphosphacyclobutane‐2,4‐diyl.     

Ground state for two‐electron and electron‐muon three‐body atomic systems

In this article, the angular correlated configuration interaction method previously introduced by some of the authors is extended to three‐body atomic systems with general masses. A recently proposed angularly correlated basis set is used to construct ground state wave functions which: (i) satisfy exactly Kato cusp conditions at the two‐body coalescence points; (ii) have only linear coefficients; and (iii) show a fast convergency rate for the energy. The efficiency of the construction is illustrated by the study of the negatively charged hydrogen‐like systems (^∞H^?, T^?, D^?, ¹H^?, and Mu^?), neutral helium‐like systems (e^?e^{? ∞}He⁺²,e^?e^{? 4}He⁺², e^?e^{? 3}He⁺², e^?μ^{? ∞}He⁺², e^?μ ^?4He⁺², and e^?μ^{? 3}He⁺²), and positively charged lithium‐like systems (e^?e^{? ∞}Li⁺³, e^?e^{? 7}Li⁺³, e^?e^{? 6}Li⁺³, e^?μ^{? ∞}Li⁺³, e^?μ^{? 7}Li⁺³, and e^?μ^{? 6}Li⁺³). The ground state energies and other mean values are compared with those given in the literature, when available. Wave functions with a moderate number of (20 maximum) linear coefficients are given explicitly; they are sufficiently simple and accurate to be used in practical calculations of atomic collision in which multidimensional integrations are involved. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Ab initio study of the positronation of the CaO and SrO molecules including calculation of annihilation rates

Ab initio multireference single‐ and double‐excitation configuration interaction calculations have been performed to compute potential curves for ground and excited states of the CaO and SrO molecules and their positronic complexes, e⁺CaO, and e⁺SrO. The adiabatic dissociation limit for the ²Σ⁺ lowest states of the latter systems consists of the positive metal ion ground state (M⁺) and the OPs complex (e⁺O^?), although the lowest energy limit is thought to be e⁺M + O. Good agreement is found between the calculated and experimental spectroscopic constants for the neutral diatomics wherever available. The positron affinity of the closed‐shell X ¹Σ⁺ ground states of both systems is found to lie in the 0.16–0.19 eV range, less than half the corresponding values for the lighter members of the alkaline earth monoxide series, BeO and MgO. Annihilation rates (ARs) have been calculated for all four positronated systems for the first time. The variation with bond distance is generally similar to what has been found earlier for the alkali monoxide series of positronic complexes, falling off gradually from the OPs AR value at their respective dissociation limits. The e⁺SrO system shows some exceptional behavior, however, with its AR value reaching a minimum at a relatively large bond distance and then rising to more than twice the OPs value close to its equilibrium distance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The detection of muonium in water

We report the first direct observation of the muonium atom (μ⁺e^?) in a liquid sample. Using the transverse field μSR technique muonium spin precession signals were detected in water at six different fields between 4 and 80 G.     

Reactivity of muonium atoms in aqueous solution

A beam of surface muons (4.1 MeV) was used to generate thermalised muonium atoms (μ⁺e^?) in aqueous solutions. From measurements of the muonium atom relaxation time in the presence of various solutes, bimolecular rate constants were determined and compared with the corresponding reactions of the much heavier isotope, the hydrogen atom.     

Binding Matter with Antimatter: The Covalent Positron Bond

We report sufficient theoretical evidence of the energy stability of the e⁺?H₂^2? molecule, formed by two H^? anions and one positron. Analysis of the electronic and positronic densities of the latter compound undoubtedly points out the formation of a positronic covalent bond between the otherwise repelling hydride anions. The lower limit for the bonding energy of the e⁺?H₂^2? molecule is 74 kJ mol^?1 (0.77 eV), accounting for the zero‐point vibrational correction. The formation of a non electronic covalent bond is fundamentally distinct from positron attachment to stable molecules, as the latter process is characterized by a positron affinity, analogous to the electron affinity.     

Theoretical study of the electronic structure of LiX and NaX (X = Rb,Cs) molecules

Adiabatic potential energy, spectroscopic constants, dipole moments, and vibrational levels have been computed for the lowest electronic states of alkali dimers LiX and NaX (X = Rb, Cs). Calculations have been carried with the use of an ab initio approach with core‐potential potentials and full‐valence configuration. Thus, these systems are treated as two‐electron systems. A good agreement is obtained for some lowest states of the molecules studied with available theoretical works. The existence of numerous avoided crossings between electronic states for ¹Σ symmetries is related to the charge‐transfer process in each molecule between its two ionic systems (Li⁺X^?, Li^?X⁺) and (Na⁺X^?, Na^?X⁺). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Study on Pair Correlation Energies of Isoelectronic Systems F^－, HF and H2F^＋

The intrapair and interpair correlation energies of F-, HF and H2F^ systems are calculated and analyzed using MP2-OPT2 method of MELD program with cc-PVSZ^* basis set. From the analysis of pair correlation energies of these isoelectronlc sysoterns, it is found that the 1sF^2 pair correlation energy is trans-ferable in these three isociectronic systems. According to the definition of pair correlation contribution of one electron pair to a system, the pair correlation contribution values of these three systems are calculated. The correlation contribution values of inner electron pairs and H—F bonding electron pair in HF molecule with those in H2F^ system are compared. The results indicate that the bonding effect of a molecule is one of the im-portant factors to influence electron correlation energy of the system. The comparison of correlation energy contributions in-cluding triple and quadruple excitations with those only includ-ing singles and doubles calculated with 6-311 G(d) basis set shows that the higher.excitation correlation energy contribution gives more than 2 % of the total correlation energy for these sys-tems.     

Theoretical study of spectroscopic and molecular properties of several low‐lying electronic states of CO molecule

The potential energy curves (PECs) of eight low‐lying electronic states (X¹Σ⁺, a³Π, a′³Σ⁺, d³Δ, e³Σ^?, A¹Π, I¹Σ^?, and D¹Δ) of the carbon monoxide molecule have been studied by an ab initio quantum chemical method. The calculations have been performed using the complete active space self‐consistent field method, which is followed by the valence internally contracted multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) approach in combination with the correlation‐consistent aug‐cc‐pV5Z basis set. The effects on the PECs by the core‐valence correlation and relativistic corrections are included. The way to consider the relativistic corrections is to use the third‐order Douglas–Kroll Hamiltonian approximation at the level of a cc‐pV5Z basis set. Core‐valence correlation corrections are performed using the cc‐pCVQZ basis set. To obtain more reliable results, the PECs determined by the MRCI calculations are corrected for size‐extensivity errors by means of the Davidson modification (MRCI+Q). The spectroscopic parameters (D_e, T_e, R_e, ω_e, ω_ex_e, ω_ey_e, B_e, α_e, and γ_e) of these electronic states are calculated using these PECs. The spectroscopic parameters are compared with those reported in the literature. Using the Breit–Pauli operator, the spin–orbit coupling effect on the spectroscopic parameters is discussed for the a³Π electronic state. With the PECs obtained by the MRCI+Q/aug‐cc‐pV5Z+CV+DK calculations, the complete vibrational states of each electronic state have been determined. The vibrational manifolds have been calculated for each vibrational state of each electronic state. The vibrational level G(ν), inertial rotation constant B_ν, and centrifugal distortion constant D_ν of the first 20 vibrational states when the rotational quantum number J equals zero are reported and compared with the experimental data. Comparison with the measurements demonstrates that the present spectroscopic parameters and molecular constants determined by the MRCI+Q/aug‐cc‐pV5Z+CV+DK calculations are both reliable and accurate. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ab initio spectroscopic study for the NaRb molecule in ground and excited states

A wide adiabatic study is performed for NaRb molecule, involving 15¹Σ⁺ electronic states including the ionic state Na^?Rb⁺, as well as 14³Σ⁺, 1–9^1,3Π, and 1–5^1,3Δ states. This investigation is performed using an ab initio approach which involves the effective core potential, the core polarization potential with l‐dependent cut‐off functions. The NaRb system has been treated as a two‐electron system and the full valence configuration interaction is easily achieved. The spectroscopic constants R_e, D_e, T_e, ω_e, ω_ex_e, B_e, and D₀ for all these states are derived. We have also computed the vibrational levels as well their spacing for different values of J. In addition, permanent and transition dipole moments are determined and analyzed. The Dunham coefficients have been used to perform experimental spacing to compare directly with our results. The present calculations on NaRb extend previous theoretical works to numerous electronic excited states in the various symmetries. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Calculations of D‐wave bound states and resonance states of the screened helium atom using correlated exponential wave functions

We have investigated the effects of screened Coulomb (Yukawa) potentials on the bound ^1,3D states and the doubly excited ^1,3 D^e resonance states of helium atom using highly correlated exponential basis functions. The Density of resonance states are calculated using stabilization method. Highly correlated exponential basis functions are used to consider the correlation effect between the charged particles. A total of 18 resonances (nine each for ¹ D^e and ³ D^e states) below the n = 2 He ⁺ threshold has been calculated. For each spin states, this includes four members in the 2pnp series, three members in the 2snd series, and two members in 2pnf series. The resonance energies and widths for various screening parameters ranging from infinity to a small value for these ^1,3 D^e resonance states are reported along with the bound‐excited 1s3d ^1,3 D state energies. Overall behavior of the spectral profile of 1s3d ¹D state of helium atom due to electron‐electron and electron‐nucleus screening are also presented. Accurate resonance energies and widths are also reported for He in vacuum. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Electrochemical Investigations Give Some Insights into the Coordination Chemistry of New Stable Iridium(+1), Iridium(0), and Iridium(−1) Complexes

The redox chemistry of the stable tetracoordinated 16 valence electron d⁸‐[Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂]⁺(PF₆)^? and pentacoordinated 18 valence d⁸‐[Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂Cl] complexes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (tropp^Ph=dibenzotropylidenyl phosphine). The experiments were performed using a platinum microelectrode varying scan rates (100 mV/s–10 V/s) and temperatures (? 40 to 20 °C) in tetrahydrofuran, THF, or acetonitrile, ACN, as solvents. In THF, the overall two‐electron reduction of the 16 valence electron d⁸‐[Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂]⁺(PF₆)^? proceeds in two well separated slow heterogeneous electron transfer steps according to: d⁸‐[Ir^+I (tropp^Ph)₂]⁺+e^?→d⁹‐[Ir⁰(tropp^Ph)₂]+e^?→d¹⁰‐[Ir^?I(tropp^Ph)₂]^?, [k^s₁=2.2×10^?3 cm/s for d⁸‐Ir^+I/d⁹‐Ir⁰ and k^s₂=2.0×10^?3 cm/s for d⁹‐Ir⁰/d¹⁰‐Ir^?I]. In ACN, the two redox waves merge into one “two‐electron” wave [k^s_1,2=7.76×10^?4 cm/s for d⁸‐Ir^+I/d⁹‐Ir⁰ and d⁹‐Ir⁰/d¹⁰‐Ir^?I] most likely because the neutral [Ir⁰(tropp^Ph)₂] complex is destabilized. At low temperatures (ca. ? 40 °C) and at high scan rates (ca. 10 V/s), the two‐electon redox process is kinetically resolved. In equilibrium with the tetracoordianted complex [Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂]⁺ are the pentacoordinated 18 valence [Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂L]⁺ complexes (L=THF, ACN, Cl^?) and their electrochemical behavior was also investigated. They are irreversibly reduced at rather high negative potentials (? 1.8 to ? 2.4 V) according to an ECE mechanism 1) [Ir^+I(tropp^Ph)₂(L)]+e^?→[Ir⁰(tropp^Ph)₂(L)]; 2) [Ir⁰(tropp^Ph)₂(L)]→[Ir(tropp^Ph)₂]+L, iii) [Ir⁰(tropp^Ph)₂]+e^?→[Ir^?I(tropp^Ph)₂]^?. Since all electroactive species were isolated and structurally characterized, our measurements allow for the first time a detailed insight into some fundamental aspects of the coordination chemistry of iridium complexes in unusually low formal oxidation states.     

Theoretical condiserations regarding the existence of PsO and PsS+

At has been proposed from experimental studies and in analogy with hydrogen compounds that PsO may be an entity of some importance, or an intermediate, in the reaction of positronium, Ps, with aqueous oxyacid species such as H₂PO^?₄, HSO^?₄, ClO^?₄, and NO^?₃. This communication explores the stability of PsO and PsS, or [0^?: e⁺] and [S^?:e⁺], respectively, relative to dissociation into Ps and O(³P) or S(³P) on the basis of restricted Hartree-Fock calculations for the PsO and PsS systems and certain correlation correction arguments. We obtain a reasonable lower estimate of the dissociation energy to Y + Ps of ? ?0.47 eV for PsO and ? ?0.70 eV for PsS. It is suggested that a modest correlation correction to the positron affinity (PA) of O^? would very probably lead to a bound state system for PsO.     

Molecular motion in some radiolabelled dipeptides: a muon spin relaxation study

Activation parameters were determined for the dynamics of radicals formed by muonium addition to glycylglycine (GlyGly; H₃N⁺CH₂CONHCH₂CO₂^?) and the doubly protected alanylalanine derivative [Boc‐AlaAla‐Bz; Bu^tOCONHCH(Me)CONHCH(Me)CO—O—CH₂Ph]. GlyGly forms an adduct by muonium addition to the amide carbonyl group which isomerizes by flipping the muon between opposite sides of the molecule, requiring an activation energy of 20.4 kJ mol^?1. In Boc‐AlaAla‐Bz, muonium addition to the benzene ring of the benzyl (—CH₂Ph) group occurs, exhibiting an activation energy of 9.4 kJ mol^?1, believed to be from torsion about the C—Ph bond. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pulse radiolysis of solutions of alkali metals in liquid amines

Pulse radiolysis of solutions of alkali metals in methylamine and ethylamine shows the formation of three distinct species; the solvated electron e^?_s, the alkali metal anion M^? and a species considered to be a metal—electron pair with stoichiometry M. Hitherto no kinetic or conclusive optical evidence has been obtained for the species M in amine solutions. The three species coexist in equilibrium according to the equation c^?_s + M⁺ ? M + e^? ? M^? with the corresponding rate constants markedly dependent on the solvent and nature of the alkali metal.     

Direct solution of the many-body Schrödinger equation in the hyperspherical formalism: Formulation of the CFHH–GLF method

To accelerate the convergence of the HH expansion, we modified the HH –GLF method, a new simple hyperspherical harmonic method proposed recently by us, into the CFHH –GLF method. Applications of the CFHH –GLF method to the three-body systems He and e^? e^? e⁺ exhibit very fast convergence with number of HH basis sets. With only 36 HH and five GLF , we obtain the ground-state energy of ?2.90371 au for He, compared with the exact value of ?2.90372 au, and with only 36 HH and 10 GLF , we obtained the ground-state energy of -0.26188 au for e^? e^? e⁺, compared with the exact value of ?0.26200 au. We formulate the CFHH –GLF method in this article. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparison of Hydrogen and Gold Bonding in [XHX]−, [XAuX]−, and Isoelectronic [NgHNg]+, [NgAuNg]+ (X=Halogen,Ng=Noble Gas)

Quantum chemical calculations at the MP2/aug‐cc‐pVTZ and CCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pVTZ levels have been carried out for the title compounds. The electronic structures were analyzed with a variety of charge and energy partitioning methods. All molecules possess linear equilibrium structures with D_∞h symmetry. The total bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of the strongly bonded halogen anions [XHX]^? and [XAuX]^? decrease from [FHF]^? to [IHI]^? and from [FAuF]^? to [IAuI]^?. The BDEs of the noble gas compounds [NgHNg]⁺ and [NgAuNg]⁺ become larger for the heavier atoms. The central hydrogen and gold atoms carry partial positive charges in the cations and even in the anions, except for [IAuI]^?, in which case the gold atom has a small negative charge of ?0.03 e. The molecular electrostatic potentials reveal that the regions of the most positive or negative charges may not agree with the partial charges of the atoms, because the spatial distribution of the electronic charge needs to be considered. The bonding analysis with the QTAIM method suggests a significant covalent character for the hydrogen bonds to the noble gas atoms in [NgHNg]⁺ and to the halogen atoms in [XHX]^?. The covalent character of the bonding in the gold systems [NgAuNg]⁺ and [XAuX]^? is smaller than in the hydrogen compound. The energy decomposition analysis suggests that the lighter hydrogen systems possess dative bonds X^?→H⁺←X^? or Ng→H⁺←Ng while the heavier homologues exhibit electron sharing through two‐electron, three‐center bonds. Dative bonds X^?→Au⁺←X^? and Ng→Au⁺←Ng are also diagnosed for the lighter gold systems, but the heavier compounds possess electron‐shared bonds.     

Antioxidant Pathways and One‐Electron Oxidation of Dopamine and Cysteine in Electrospray and On‐Line Electrochemistry Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Dopamine [DA]⁺ (m/z 154), DA dimer [2DA‐H]⁺ (m/z 307) and DA quinone [DAQ]⁺ (m/z 152) are detected in positive ion mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) of dopamine in 50/1/49 (vol%) water/acetic acid/methanol. H/D exchange experiments support a covalent structure of DA dimer. Thus, ESI of DA may involve 1e^?, 1H⁺ oxidation processes followed by rapid radical dimerization. The DA quinone signal is low in ESI MS, which indicates a low efficiency of the 2e^?, 2H⁺ oxidation reaction. On‐line electrochemistry ESI MS (EC/ESI MS) with low electrochemical cell voltage floated on high ES voltage increases electrospray current and improves sensitivity for DA. The DA quinone signal increases and DA dimer signal decreases. A new configuration of the ESI MS instrument with a cone‐shaped capillary inlet significantly enhanced sensitivity of ESI and EC/ESI MS measurements. A DA quinone‐cysteine adduct [DAQ+Cys]⁺ was detected in solutions of DA with cysteine (Cys). ESI MS and EC/ESI MS indicate formation of the DA quinone‐cysteine adduct by 1e^? pathway. Oxidation pathways in ESI MS are relevant to biological reactivity of DA and Cys.     

Relationship between Electron Affinity and Half‐Wave Reduction Potential: A Theoretical Study on Cyclic Electron‐Acceptor Compounds

A high‐level ab initio protocol to compute accurate electron affinities and half‐wave reduction potentials is presented and applied for a series of electron‐acceptor compounds with potential interest in organic electronics and redox flow batteries. The comprehensive comparison between the theoretical and experimental electron affinities not only proves the reliability of the theoretical G3(MP2) approach employed but also calls into question certain experimental measurements, which need to be revised. By using the thermodynamic cycle for the one‐electron attachment reaction A+e^?→A^?, theoretical estimates for the first half‐wave reduction potential have been computed along the series of electron‐acceptor systems investigated, with maximum deviations from experiment of only 0.2 V. The precise inspection of the terms contributing to the half‐wave reduction potential shows that the difference in the free energy of solvation between the neutral and the anionic species (ΔΔG_solv) plays a crucial role in accurately estimating the electron‐acceptor properties in solution, and thus it cannot be considered constant even in a family of related compounds. This term, which can be used to explain the occasional lack of correlation between electron affinities and reduction potentials, is rationalized by the (de)localization of the additional electron involved in the reduction process along the π‐conjugated chemical structure.     

Muon Spin Rotation/Resonance (μSR) for Studying Radical Reactivity of Unsaturated Organophosphorus Compounds

The positive muon (μ⁺) can be regarded as a light isotope of proton and has been an important tool to study radical reactions of organic compounds. Recently, muons have been applied to produce short-lived paramagnetic species from the heavier unsaturated organic molecules including the p-block elements. This article overviews recent muon spin rotation/resonance (μSR) studies on the phosphorus analogs of alkenes, anthracenes, and cyclobutane-1,3-diyls together with the fundamentals of μSR. The acyclic phosphaalkene of P=C and phosphasilenes of P=Si can accept muonium (Mu=[μ⁺e⁻]) at the heavier double bonds, and the corresponding radicals have been characterized. The phosphorus atom in 9-phosphaanthracene, whose P=C double bond is stabilized by the peri-substituted CF₃ groups, predominantly captures muonium to provide the corresponding paramagnetic fused heterocyclic system. The peri-trifluoromethyl groups are functional to promote the unprecedented light isotope effect of muon providing the planar three-cyclic molecular structure to consume the increased zero-point energy. The formally open-shell singlet 1,3-diphosphacyclobutane-2,4-diyl unit can accept muonium at the (ylidic) phosphorus or the skeletal radicalic carbon, and the corresponding paramagnetic phosphorus heterocycles can be characterized by μSR. The findings on these muoniation processes to the unsaturated phosphorus-containing compounds will contribute not only to development of novel paramagnetic functional species but also to progress on muon science.