Rotational barriers in monomeric CH2=CX-COOH and CH2=CX-CONH2 (X is H or CH3) and vibrational analysis of methacrylic acid and methacrylamide

The internal rotations in acrylic and methacrylic acids CH2=CX-COOH and their amides CH2=CX-CONH2 (X is H or CH3) were investigated by DFT-B3LYP calculations with 6-311+G** basis set. The potential energy curves were consistent with two minima that correspond to planar cis and trans conformation in the case of the acids (or cis and near-trans forms in the case of the amides). Acrylic acid and acrylamide were predicted to have the cis form as the low and predominant conformation of the molecules. In the case of the methacrylic acid and methacrylamide, the conformational relative stability was predicted to reverse as going from the acrylic to the metha compounds. The trans conformer in methacrylic acid or the near-trans in methacrylamide were predicted to be thermodynamically low energy structures of the molecules. The CCCO rotational barrier was calculated to vary from 4 to 6kcal/mol in the four molecules. The OCOH and OCNH torsional barriers were calculated to be about 13 and 22kcal/mol in the acids and the amides, respectively. The vibrational frequencies of methacrylic acid and methacrylamide were computed at the DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** level and reliable vibrational assignments were made on the basis of normal coordinate analyses and comparison with experimental data of both molecules in their low energy conformations.     

Substituent effects on structural stability of formyl ketene and analysis of vibrational spectra of formyl haloketenes and formyl methylketene.

The conformational behavior and the structural stability of formyl fluoroketene, formyl chloroketene and formyl methylketene were investigated by utilizing quantum mechanical DFT calculations at B3LYP/6-31I + + G** and ab initio calculations at MP2/6-311 + + G** levels. The three molecules were predicted to have a planar s-cis<-->s-trans conformational equilibrium. From the calculations, the direction of the conformational equilibrium was found to be dependent on the nature of the substituting group. In formyl haloketenes, the cis conformation, where the C=O group eclipses the ketenic group, was expected to be of lower energy than the trans conformer. In the case of formyl methylketene the conformational stability was reversed and the trans form (the aldehydic hydrogen eclipsing the ketenic group) was calculated to be about 2 kcal mol(-1) lower in energy than the cis form. The calculated cis-trans energy barrier was found to be in the order: fluoride (15.3 kcal mol(-1)) > chloride (13.1 kcal mol(-1)) > methyl (11.7 kcal mol(-1). Full optimization was performed at the ground and the transition states of the molecules. The vibrational frequencies for the stable conformers of the three ketenic systems were computed at the DFT-B3LYP level, and the zero-point corrections were included into the calculated rotational barriers. Complete vibrational assignments were made on the basis of both normal coordinate calculations and comparison with experimental results of similar molecules.     

Three-fold barrier and normal coordinate analyses of (trihalomethyl)sulfenyl halides CX3-SX (X = F and Cl)

The structural stability of (trihalomethyl)sulfenyl halides CX3-SX (X is F and Cl) was investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations using 6-311 + G** basis set. Full energy optimizations were carried out from which the three-fold barrier about C-S bond was calculated to be about 3 kcal mol(-1) in (trifluoromethyl)sulfenyl fluoride and (trifluoromethyl)sulfenyl chloride and about 6 kcal mol(-1) in (trichloromethyl)sulfenyl fluoride and (trichloromethyl)sulfenyl chloride. The vibrational frequencies of the four molecules were computed at the DFT-B3LYP level and the vibrational assignments for the normal modes of the compounds in their ground state structure were made on the basis of normal coordinate calculations and reported experimental data.     

Normal coordinate analyses and barrier to internal rotation of nitroso- and nitroazides

The conformational and structural stability of nitrosoazide NNN-N=O and nitroazide NNN-NO2 were investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations with 6-311++G** basis set. From the calculations, nitrosoazide was predicted to exist predominantly in the planar trans (NNN and N=O groups are trans to each other) structure with high trans-cis rotational barrier of about 11 kcal mol-1 as a result of pronounced conjugation between the azide group and the N=O bond. The NO2 rotational barrier in nitroazide was predicted from the symmetric potential function to be of about 7 kcal mol-1. The vibrational frequencies were calculated at the DFT-B3LYP level and the infrared and Raman spectra of the cis-trans mixture were plotted. Complete vibrational assignments were made on the basis of normal coordinate calculations for the stable conformers of both molecules. For nitrosoazide, the calculated wavenumbers were compared to the corresponding experimental values obtained from early reported Raman spectrum of the molecule.     

Theoretical investigation of the structure and vibrational spectra of carbamoyl azide

Molecular structure and vibrational frequencies of carbamoyl azide NH2CO-NNN have been investigated with ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) methods. The molecular geometries for all the possible conformers of the molecule were optimized using DFT-B3LYP, DFT-BLYP and MP2 applying the standard 6-311++G** basis set. From the calculations, the molecule was predicted to exist predominantly in cis conformation with the cis-trans rotational barrier of about 7.91-9.10 kcal/mol depending on the level of theory applied. The vibrational frequencies and the corresponding vibrational assignments of carbamoyl azide in Cs symmetry were examined theoretically and the calculated Infrared and Raman spectra of the molecule in the cis conformation were plotted. Observed frequencies for normal modes were compare with those calculated from normal mode coordinate analysis carried out on the basis of ab initio and DFT force fields using the standard 6-311++G** basis set of the theoretical optimized geometry. Theoretical IR intensities and Raman activities are reported.     

Vibrational spectra and analysis of acetohydrazide CH3-CO-NH-NH2

The structural stability of acetohydrazide CH(3)-CO-NH-NH(2) was investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations with 6-311+G** basis set. The C-N rotational barrier in the molecule was calculated to be about 26 kcal/mol that suggested the planar sp(2) nature of the nitrogen atom of the central NH moiety. The N atom of the terminal NH(2) group was predicted to highly prefer the pyramidal sp(3) structure with an inversion barrier of about 7-8 kcal/mol. The molecule was predicted to have a trans-syn (N-H bond is trans with respect to CO bond and NH(2) moiety is syn to C-N bond) conformation as the lowest energy structure. The vibrational frequencies were computed at B3LYP level of theory and normal coordinate calculations were carried out for the trans-syn acetohydrazide. Complete vibrational assignments were made on the basis of normal coordinate analyses and experimental infrared and Raman data.     

Structural stability, S-O rotational barrier and vibrational analyses of monomeric non-planar halosulfonic acids X-SO2-OH (X=F, Cl and Br)

The structural stability of halosulfonic acids X-SO2-OH (X=F, Cl and Br) were investigated by DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** and ab initio MP2/6-311+G** calculations. The potential energy curve for the XSOH internal rotation around S-O bond was consistent with one minimum that corresponds to non-linear structure with XSOH torsional angle of about 80 degrees . The vibrational frequencies were computed at DFT-B3LYP level for the stable non-planar structure of the three molecules. Normal coordinate calculations were then carried out and the potential energy distributions (PED) were calculated for the molecules. On the basis of PED values and comparison with experimental data reliable assignments were provided for normal modes of fluoro-, chloro- and bromosulfonic acids.     

C-S barrier and vibrational analyses of (halocarbonyl)sulfenyl halides XCO-SX (X = F, Cl, and Br)

The structural stability of (halocarbonyl)sulfenyl halides XCO-SX (X is F, Cl, and Br) was investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations using 6-311 + G(**) basis set. From the calculations the molecules were found to exist predominantly in the trans conformation (two halogen atoms are trans to each other). Full energy optimizations were carried out for the minima and the transition states (TS) at the two levels, from which the rotational barriers about C-S bond in the three molecules were calculated to be about 12-13 kcal mol(-1). The vibrational frequencies of (fluorocarbonyl)sulfenyl fluoride (FCO-SF), (chlorocarbonyl)-sulfenyl chloride (ClCO-SCl), and (bromocarbonyl)-sulfenyl bromide (BrCO-SBr) were computed at the DFT-B3LYP level and the vibrational assignments for the normal modes of the stable forms of the compounds were made on the basis of normal coordinate calculations and experimental data of the chloride.     

Potential energy distributions and potential scans for the internal rotation of two rotors in 3,3-dichloro and 3,3,3-trichloropropanals.

The conformational behavior and structural stability of 3,3-dichloropropanal and 3,3,3-trichloropropanal were investigated by ab initio calculations. The 6-311 + + G** basis set was employed to include polarization and diffuse functions in the calculations at B3LYP level. From the calculation, the trans conformer of 3,3,3-trichloropropanal was predicted to be the predominant conformer with about 2 kcal mol(-1) of energy lower than the cis form. Additionally, 3,3 dichloro-propanal was predicted to exist as a mixture of three stable conformers. The potential function scans were calculated for the two molecules from which the rotational barriers could be estimated. The vibrational frequencies were computed at B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made based on normal coordinate calculations for the conformers of the two molecules. Vibrational Raman and infrared spectra of the mixture of the stable conformers were computed at 300 K.     

Conformational analysis and vibrational assignments of 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propanol CHF2CF2CH2OH as three-rotors system

The conformational stability of 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propanol was investigated by DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** and ab initio MP2/6-311+G** calculations. The calculated potential energy curves of the molecule at DFT-B3LYP level were consistent with five distinct minima that correspond to gauche(-)-gauche-gauche (G1gg), trans-trans-gauche (Ttg), trans-gauche-gauche (Tgg), trans-gauche-gauche(-) (Tgg1) and gauche(-)-gauche-trans (G1gt) conformers in the order of decreasing relative stability. The equilibrium constants for the conformational interconversion of 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propanol were calculated and found to correspond to an equilibrium mixture of about 38% G1gg, 28% Ttg, 13% Tgg, 11% Tggt and 10% G1gt conformations at 298.15K. The vibrational frequencies of 2,2,3,3,-tetrafluoro-1-propanol in its five stable forms were computed at B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made based on normal coordinate calculations and comparison with experimental data of the molecule.     

A study of internal rotations and vibrational spectra of oxiranemethanol (glycidol)

The conformational stability and the C–O and O–H internal rotations in oxiranemethanol were investigated at the DFT-B3LYP/6-311G**, MP2/6-311G** and MP4(SDQ)/6-311G** levels of theory. Three minima were predicted in the CCOH potential energy scans of the molecule to have relative energies of about 2 kcal/mol or less and all were calculated to have real frequencies upon full optimization of structural parameters at the DFT and the MP2 levels of calculations. The Cg1 (H bond inner) conformation was predicted to be the lowest energy conformation for oxiranemethanol in excellent agreement with an earlier microwave study. The equilibrium mixture was calculated from Gibb's free-energy changes to be about 79% Cg1, 17% G1g and 3% Gg1 at the B3LYP/6-311G** level and about 87% Cg1, 11% G1g and 2% Gg1 at the MP2/6-311G** level for oxiranemethanol at 298.15 K. No conclusive evidence was obtained for the presence of high-energy form in the liquid phase of oxiranemethanol. The vibrational frequencies of oxiranemethanol in its three stable forms were computed at the B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made for the lowest energy Cg1 form on basis of calculated and experimental data of the molecule.     

Three rotor potential energy scans, conformational equilibrium constants and vibrational analysis of 3-fluoro-1-propanol CH(2)FCH(2)CH(2)OH

The conformational stability and the three rotor internal rotations in 3-fluoro-1-propanol were investigated by the DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** and the ab initio MP2/6-311+G** levels of theory. The calculated potential energy curves of the molecule at both levels of theory were consistent with complex conformational equilibria of about 12 minima, all of which were predicted to have real frequencies at both the B3LYP and the MP2 levels. The lowest energy minimum in the potential curves of 3-fluoro-1-propanol was predicted to correspond to the Gauche-gauche-trans (Ggt) conformer in excellent agreement with microwave and electron diffraction results. The equilibrium constants for the conformational interconversion of the molecule were calculated and found to correspond to an equilibrium mixture of about 33% Ggt, 14% Ggg1 and 13% Gg1g and about 43% Ggt, 12% Ggg1 and 10% Gg1g distribution by the B3LYP/6-311+G** and the MP2/6-311+G** calculations, respectively, at 298.15K. The vibrational frequencies of each molecule in its three stable forms were computed at B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made based on normal coordinate calculations and comparison with experimental data of the molecule.     

Vibrational analyses of sulfamoyl halides NH2SO2X (X is F, Cl and Br)

The structural stability of sulfamoyl halides NH(2)-SO(2)X (X is F, Cl and Br) were investigated by DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** and ab initio MP2/6-311+G** calculations. From the calculations the molecules were predicted to exist only in the anti (XS bond is anti with respect to nitrogen lone pair) conformation with the possibility of very low abundance of the syn (SO(2) and NH(2) groups eclipse each other) form of only the fluoride. The equilibrium constant for the syn<-->anti conformational conversion of sulfamoyl fluoride was calculated to be 0.0172 that corresponds to an equilibrium mixture of about 2% syn and 98% anti at 298.15K. The vibrational frequencies were computed at DFT-B3LYP level for the stable anti conformer of the d(0) and d(2) (ND(2)-SO(2)X) deuterated species of the three molecules. Normal coordinate calculations were then carried out and the potential energy distributions were calculated for the molecules.     

Molecular structure of the trans and cis isomers of metal-free phthalocyanine studied by gas-phase electron diffraction and high-level quantum chemical calculations: NH tautomerization and calculated vibrational frequencies

The molecular structure of the trans isomer of metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc) is determined using the gas electron diffraction (GED) method and high-level quantum chemical calculations. B3LYP calculations employing the basis sets 6-31G**, 6-311++G**, and cc-pVTZ give two tautomeric isomers for the inner H atoms, a trans isomer having D2h symmetry and a cis isomer having C2v symmetry. The trans isomer is calculated to be 41.6 (B3LYP/6-311++G**, zero-point corrected) and 37.3 kJ/mol (B3LYP/cc-pVTZ, not zero-point corrected) more stable than the cis isomer. However, Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations using different basis sets predict that cis is preferred and that trans does not exist as a stable form of the molecule. The equilibrium composition in the gas phase at 471 degrees C (the temperature of the GED experiment) calculated at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level is 99.8% trans and 0.2% cis. This is in very good agreement with the GED data, which indicate that the mole fraction of the cis isomer is close to zero. The transition states for two mechanisms of the NH tautomerization have been characterized. A concerted mechanism where the two H atoms move simultaneously yields a transition state of D2h symmetry and an energy barrier of 95.8 kJ/mol. A two-step mechanism where a trans isomer is converted to a cis isomer, which is converted into another trans isomer, proceeds via two transition states of C(s) symmetry and an energy barrier of 64.2 kJ/mol according to the B3LYP/6-311++G** calculation. The molecular geometry determined from GED is in very good agreement with the geometry obtained from the quantum chemical calculations. Vibrational frequencies, IR, and Raman intensities have been calculated using B3LYP/6-311++G**. These calculations indicate that the molecule is rather flexible with six vibrational frequencies in the range of 20-84 cm(-1) for the trans isomer. The cis isomer might be detected by infrared matrix spectroscopy since the N-H stretching frequencies are very different for the two isomers.     

Ring inversion, structural stability and vibrational assignments of sulfolane c-C4H8SO2 and 3-sulfolene c-C4H6SO2

The structural stability of sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene1,1-dioxide) and 3-sulfolene (dihydrothiophene1,1-dioxide) was investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations with 6-311+G**) basis set. The calculated symmetric ring-puckering potential of 3-sulfolene at the B3LYP level is consistent with a flat minimum that corresponds to a planar ring but at the MP2 level with a double minimum with a low barrier of about 193calmol(-1) to ring planarity in reasonable agreement with experimental results. From the calculations at the two levels of theory sulfolane was predicted to exist predominantly in the twist conformation. The vibrational wavenumbers were calculated at the MP2/6-31G** level of theory and the potential energy distributions PED among the symmetry coordinates of the normal modes were computed for the low-energy structure of the molecules. Complete vibrational assignments were provided on the basis of the calculated PED values. The experimental infrared and Raman spectra of the two molecules were compared to the calculated ones.     

Vibrational analyses of vinylsulfonamide CH2CHSO2NH2

The structure and conformational stability of vinylsulfonamide CH2CHSO2NH2 were investigated by DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G** and ab initio MP2/6-311+G** calculations. From the calculations the molecule was predicted to exist predominantly in the gauche-syn (vinyl group nearly eclipses one of the SO bonds and the NH2 and the SO2 moieties eclipse each other) conformation with the possibility of low abundance of the cis-syn and the gauche-anti forms. The asymmetric potential function for the internal rotation about CS bond was determined for the molecule. The vibrational frequencies were computed at DFT-B3LYP level for the gauche-syn conformer of the molecule and its d2(C2H3SO2ND2) and d3(C2D3SO2NH2) deuterated species. Normal coordinate calculations were then carried out and the potential energy distributions were calculated for the molecule.     

Conformational stability, vibrational assignmenents, barriers to internal rotations and ab initio calculations of 2-aminophenol (d 0 and d3)

The Raman (3700-100 cm(-1)) and infrared (4000-400 cm(-1)) spectra of solid 2-aminophenol (2AP) have been recorded. The internal rotation of both OH and NH2 moieties produce ten conformers with either Cs or C1 symmetry. However, the calculated energies as well as the imaginary vibrational frequencies reduce rotational isomerism to five isomers. The molecular geometry has been optimized without any constraints using RHF, MP2 and B3LYP levels of theory at 6-31G(d), 6-311+G(d) and 6-31++G(d,p) basis sets. All calculations predict 1 (cis; OH is directed towards NH2) to be the most stable conformation except RHF/6-31++G(d,p) basis set. The 1 (cis) isomer is found to be more stable than 8 (trans; OH is away from the NH2 moiety and the NH bonds are out-of-plane) by 1.7 kcal/mol (598 cm(-1)) as obtained from MP2/6-31G(d) calculations. Aided by experimental and theoretical vibrational spectra, cis and trans 2AP are coexist in solution but cis isomer is more likely present in the crystalline state. Aided by MP2 and B3LYP frequency calculations, molecular force fields, simulated vibrational spectra utilizing 6-31G(d) basis set as well as normal coordinate analysis, complete vibrational assignments for HOC6H4NH2 and DOC6H4ND2 have been proposed. Furthermore, we carried out potential surface scan, to determine the barriers to internal rotations of NH2 and OH groups. All results are reported herein and compared with similar molecules when appropriate.     

Conformational analysis and comparison between theoretical and experimental vibrational spectra for chloroacetyl isocyanate

The conformational stability and vibrational infrared and Raman spectra of chloroacetyl isocyanate (CH2ClCONCO) were investigated by ab initio MP2 and density functional B3LYP calculations using the 6-311 + + G** basis set. From the potential energy scans of the internal rotations of both the halomethyl and the isocyanate rotors, chloroacetyl isocyanate was predicted to exist predominantly in a mixture of the cis-cis (chlorine atom and NCO group eclipse C=O bond) and the gauche-cis (one hydrogen atom and NCO group eclipse C=O bond) conformations with a comparable relative stability. The vibrational wavenumbers of each of the two conformers of the molecule were computed at DFT-B3LYP/6-311 + + G** level. Normal coordinate calculations were carried out to obtain the potential energy distributions (PED) among the symmetry coordinates of the normal modes for each of the stable conformers of chloroacetyl isocyanate. The theoretical vibrational assignments are compared with experimental ones and a ratio of observed/calculated wavenumbers of about 0.97-1.04 was obtained.     

Analysis of vibrational spectra of 3-halo-1-propanols CH(2)XCH(2)CH(2)OH (X is Cl and Br)

The conformational stability and the three rotor internal rotations in 3-chloro- and 3-bromo-1-propanols were investigated by DFT-B3LYP/6-311+G and ab initio MP2/6-311+G, MP3/6-311+G and MP4(SDTQ)//MP3/6-311+G levels of theory. On the calculated potential energy surface twelve distinct minima were located all of which were not predicted to have imaginary frequencies at the B3LYP level of theory. The calculated lowest energy minimum in the potential curves of both molecules was predicted to correspond to the Gauche-gauche-trans (Ggt) conformer in excellent agreement with earlier microwave and electron diffraction results. The equilibrium constants for the conformational interconversion of the two 3-halo-1-propanols were calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G level of calculation and found to correspond to an equilibrium mixture of about 32% Ggt, 18% Ggg1, 13% Tgt, 8% Tgg and 8% Gtt conformations for 3-chloro-1-propanol and 34% Ggt, 15% Tgt, 13% Ggg1, 9% Tgg and 7% Gtt conformations for 3-bromo-1-propanol at 298.15K. The nature of the high energy conformations was verified by carrying out solvent experiments using formamide ( epsilon=109.5) and MP3 and MP4//MP3 calculations. The vibrational frequencies of each molecule in its three most stable forms were computed at the B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made based on normal coordinate calculations and comparison with experimental data of the molecules.     

Computational modeling of a stereoselective epoxidation: reaction of carene with peroxyformic acid

Electronic structure theory was used to model the epoxidation of 3-carene by peroxyformic acid. Reactants, products, and transition states were optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory, followed by B3LYP/6-311+G** and MP2/6-311+G** single point calculations. The reaction pathway yielding the trans-epoxide product was found to have a significantly lower reaction barrier (7.8 kcal/mol) than that leading to the cis-epoxide product (9.4 kcal/mol), in agreement with expectations. Magnetic shieldings of the two isomeric carene epoxides were also calculated, using the GIAO method, and compared to experimental (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra. Although the calculated carbon spectra proved inconclusive, the proton shieldings calculated for the trans-epoxide correlated much more closely to the experimental values for the major epoxidation product than did the shieldings calculated for the cis-epoxide, serving to verify the identity of the major product.