Chromotropic acid as fluorogenic reagent. I. Fluorimetric determination of beryllium

A highly sensitive and almost specific fluorimetric method has been developed for rapid determination of beryllium at ng/ml and sub-ng/ml levels with chromotropic acid as reagent at pH 4.8–6.0. The fluorescence intensity _ex = 362 nm, _em = 387 nm) is stable for 24 h. The calibration graph is linear over the range 0.1–60 ng/ml beryllium; a 1 1 complex is formed. Over sixty anions and cations, and some complexing agents such as EDTA, oxalate, tartrate, ascorbic acid, thiourea, phthalate, citrate, S₂O ₃ ^2– , SCN^– and salicylate do not interfere even when present in large excess. The method has been applied successfully for the determination of beryllium in ores, alloys, steels, environmental waters and in biological samples. The method is virtually specific and requires no preconcentration or clean-up steps.     

Semiempirical INDO/S study on the absorption spectrum of violacein

Violacein is the major pigment produced by Chromobacterium violaceum. We now report the results of semiempirical calculations on the electronic spectrum of violacein. We have used the AM1 and Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap (INDO) model Hamiltonians. Solvent effects have been included with the SCRF model for spectroscopy as proposed by Zerner and Karelson. Our results suggest that in the gas phase violacein is almost planar while in ethanolic solution the H-bond interactions force an internal rotation due to sterical factors. The calculated UV-visible spectrum with the inclusion of specific solvent interactions in the Hamiltonian is on good agreement with the experimental spectrum.     

Pair potential of liquid metallic Be from electron theory compared and contrasted with recent ab initio work on the free-space beryllium dimer

Two decades ago, Perrot and March [F. Perrot and N.H. March, Phys. Rev. A. 41, 4521 (1990)] used electron theory to derive an oscillatory pair potential between the beryllium nuclei in liquid metal beryllium. They predict a first minimum at 2.1?Å, followed by a larger repulsive hump at 2.8?Å. Here, we compare and contrast this result for liquid beryllium with the recent ab initio work by Koput and the present quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculation on the beryllium dimer in free space. Koput situates the minimum in the potential curve for the free-space dimer at 2.4?Å and it is quite similar in depth to that for liquid metallic beryllium. Our QMC curve is similar, with the minimum at 2.33?Å. They are tabulated in this letter.     

Application of molecular models to electronic structure calculations of defects in oxide crystals. I. Parametrization of the modified INDO method

A modified calculation scheme of the INDO method is applied for calculating the electronic structure of perfect and imperfect oxide crystals. In order to obtain a flexible scheme permitting reliable calculation of both the electronic structure and the defect conformations, the INDO parameters for H, Li, Mg, Si, O are fitted directly to reproduce one-electron energies as well as the vicinity of the potential energy curve minima for a series of diatomic molecules and the electronic structure of MgO and -crystoballite form of SiO₂. The method is tested on the Li₂SiO₃ crystal calculated within the framework of the large unit cell model.     

Density functional investigation of reaction of borohydride cation BH2+ with propylene

The reactions of BH2+ with propylene (CH2=CHCH3) to form both the adducts BC3H8+ and the H2-elimination products BC3H6+ + H2 have been investigated at the density functional B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. It is shown that the electrophilic attacks of BH2+ towards two olefinic carbons of H2C=CHCH3 and two subsequent 1,3-H-shifts may form four low-lying BC3H8+ isomers (with the relative energies in parentheses in kcal/mol): 1 BH2+.CH2CHCH3 (0.0), 1' BH2+.CH3CHCH2 (6.3), 3 BHCH2CH2CH3+ (4.3), and 4 BHCH(CH3)2+ (5.0), respectively. On the other hand, further H2-eliminations may also occur easily between B-C bonds of isomers 1 and 1' and between C-C bonds of isomers 3 and 4 to form two dissociation products (P1) HBCHCHCH3+ + H2 and (P2) HBC(CH3)CH2+ + H2, with H2-elimination from isomer 1 to be energetically most favorable. According to our calculated mechanism, the collisional stabilization processes of low-lying isomers 1, 1', 3, and 4 may compete extensively with their H2-eliminations processes for the title reaction, leading mainly to some linear carborane cations. This study may be helpful for understanding the stereochemical aspects of borohydride cations towards alkylenes.     

Ab initio potential energy surface and vibration‐rotation energy levels of beryllium monohydroxide

The accurate potential energy surface of beryllium monohydroxide, BeOH, in its ground electronic state has been determined from ab initio calculations using the coupled‐cluster approach in conjunction with the correlation‐consistent core‐valence basis sets up to septuple‐zeta quality. The higher‐order electron correlation, scalar relativistic, and adiabatic effects were taken into account. The BeOH molecule was confirmed to be bent at equilibrium, with the BeOH angle of 141.2° and the barrier to linearity of 129 cm⁻¹. The vibration‐rotation energy levels of the BeOH and BeOD isotopologues were predicted using a variational approach and compared with recent experimental data. The results can be useful in a further analysis of high‐resolution vibration‐rotation spectra of these interesting species. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electronic structure,geometry, and energetics of carbanion and carbocation of [1.1]ferrocenophane: An INDO study

INDO-SCF calculations with constrained geometry optimization have been performed to determine the bridge geometries in [1.1]ferrocenophane and its carbocation and carbanion to address the question of possible C-H-C hydrogen bonding in the carbanion derivative. In the equilibrium geometry of the carbanion, the endo-hydrogen is bonded to one of the bridge carbon atoms and the calculated distance between the two bridge carbons seems too large to accommodate a stable C-H-C hydrogen bond. The results indicate that the observed proton NMR spectrum of carbanion should be interpreted in terms of rapid proton exchange between two bridge carbon atoms rather than a symmetric hydrogen bond. The ground state charge distributions show that the ionic bridges in both carbanion and carbocation are highly conjugated and most of the ionic charge in both molecules is distributed over the ferrocene ring system. The charge on the iron varies only slightly among the three molecules and the formal oxidation state of iron remains +2. The role of the iron seems to be that of a conduit for charge transfer between ferrocene rings upon conjugation.     

Theoretical study of beryllium (II) complexes using CATIVIC: New parametric method

Calculations of several beryllium complexes {[Be(H₂O)_n]²⁺ (n = 1–4), [BeOH(H₂O)_n]⁺ (n = 1–3), and [Be(OH)₂(H₂O)_n] (n = 1, 2)} were carried out to compare different ab initio (density functional theory, MP2) and parametric (PM3(tm), CATIVIC) methods. Results show that the parametric method CATIVIC gives geometries and energies closer to the ab initio geometries than the PM3(tm) method due to the inclusion of the atomic excitation energies of the neutral atoms as well as the ions and to the dependence of the molecular parameters on the system charge. The molecular electronic density analysis of the Be? O bonds shows that the Be–water interaction in the [Be(H₂O)_n]²⁺ complexes can be considered as a closed‐shell interaction with a σ character in the bond while in the [Be(OH)₂(H₂O)_n] complexes the Be? water bond have π character. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004     

Reactivity of molecular oxygen with aluminum clusters: Density functional and Ab Initio molecular dynamics simulation study

Dissociative adsorption of molecular oxygen (O₂) on aluminum (Al) clusters has attracted much interest in the field of surface science and catalysis, but theoretical predictions of the reactivity of this reaction in terms of barrier height is still challenging. In this regard, we systematically investigate the reactivity of O₂ with Al clusters using density functional theory (DFT) and atom‐centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) simulations. We also calculate potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the reaction between O₂ and Al clusters to estimate the barrier energy of this reaction. The M06‐2X functional gives the barrier energy in agreement with the one calculated by coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbed triples (CCSD(T)) while the TPSSh functional significantly underestimates the barrier height. The ADMP simulation using the M06‐2X functional predicts the reactivity of O₂ with the Al cluster in agreement with the experimental findings, that is, singlet O₂ readily reacts with Al clusters but triplet O₂ is less reactive. We found that the ability of a DFT functional to describe the charge transfer appropriately is critical for calculating the barrier energy and the reactivity of the reaction of O₂ with Al clusters. The M06‐2X functional is relevant for investigating chemical reactions involving Al and O₂. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

INDO Calculations with inclusion of an effective solvent field. Application to benzosemiquinones

Theoretical Chemistry Accounts - An INDO method extended to include a contribution from the solvent by means of an effective solvent field (ESF) is applied to the three isomeric benzosemiquinones...     

Effective potentials for spectator groups in molecular systems I. Potential curves and binding energies

Summary A method for representing inactive groups, i.e. spectator groups, in a molecular system by an effective potential is presented. The matrix elements for the spectator's short-range Hartree-Fock potential is stored in an intermediate AO basis, from which it can be transferred into the user basis for the active part of the molecular system. The longer-range of the potential is transferred via a (distributed) multipole expansion. The method is illustrated for the NH₃·X (X=NH₃, H₂O, HF) complexes: binding energies could be reproduced to within 5% by employing the effective NH₃ potential (whereby the lone pair was included in the active system), the entire NH₃·HF potential curve with a depth of 50 kJ/mol is reproduced within 2 kJ/mol if various intermediate basis sets are chosen. Technical details are discussed; the effective potential can directly be introduced in CI calculations.     

Theoretical analysis of the internal rotation and determination of molecular structures of HSSH,HSSF and FSSF

Summary A detailed investigation of the internal rotation of hydrogen persulfide and fluoro-derivatives is presented. High quality potential functions containing only three and four parameters were determined through a very simple interpolation method. Reduced torsional potentials are defined and used to assess the quality of the interpolated functions. Equilibrium structures and barriers to internal rotation reported here are in close agreement with the available experimental data. High barrier heights and the comparative analysis of structural parameters of all three molecules indicate significant bonding through the mechanism of hyperconjugation.     

The use of partially restricted molecular orbitals to investigate transmission mechanisms of spin-spin coupling constants. I. Theσ andπ contributions within the FPT INDO method

Partially restricted INDO MO Calculations have been carried out to separate the -electron contributions to spin-spin coupling constants in ethylene, butadiene, benzene and toluene. Results reproduce very well known trends such as the pathway invariance, the alternation in sign and the methyl group replacement rule.Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas (CIC, Pcia.Bs.As.) fellow.     

Accurate molecular electrostatic potentials based on modified PRDDO/M wave functions. I. Electrostatic potential derived atomic charges

A new approach for the calculation of electrostatic potential derived atomic charges is presented. Based on molecular orbital calculations in the PRDDO/M approximation, the new parametrized electrostatic potential (PESP) method is parametrized against ab initio MP2/6-31G** calculations. For a data set of 820 atoms in 145 molecules containing H, C, N. O, F, P, S, Cl, and Br (including hypervalent species), the PESP method achieves a mean absolute error of 0.037 e⁻ with a correlation coefficient of 0.990. Unlike other approximate approaches, no scaling factor is required to improve the agreement between PESP charges and the underlying ab initio results. PESP calculations are an order of magnitude faster than the simplest ab initio calculation (STO-3G) on large molecules while achieving a level of accuracy that rivals much more elaborate ab initio methods. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 18: 955–969, 1997     

A molecular orbital study of the rotation about the C-C bond in 1,3-butadiene

The geometry and energy of 1,3-butadiene have been calculated using the 6-311G** basis set as a function of the CCCC dihedral angle-0 ° (trans), 30 °, 60 °, 75 °, 90 °, 120 °, 135 °, 150 °, 165 ° and 180 ° (cis)-assuming that the vinyl groups remain planar. Potential minima are located at 0 ° and 141.4 °, with the trans structure more stable than the gauche by 13.2 kJ mol^–1. Potential maxima are located at 76.7 °, giving a barrier height of 25.4 kJ mol^–1 relative to the trans structure, and at 180 ° giving a barrier height of 3.0 kJ mol^–1 relative to the 141.4 °-gauche structure. Using the 6-31G* basis set the inclusion of electron correlation, accounting for about 52% of the correlation energy, was found to produce no significant change in the shape of the potential energy curve. The magnitude of the expectation energy differences is such that both barriers with respect to the 14l.4 °-gauche maximum structure can be categorized unequivocally as attractive-dominant, whereas the values for the energy barrier with respect to the trans structure, although characteristic of a repulsive-dominant barrier at the 6–311G** level, are sufficiently small that higher level calculations might give the opposite result. Analysis of V _nn for the conversion reactions cis 150 °-gauche, trans 60 °-gauche, and trans 90 °-gauche in terms of the individual contributions from the various internuclear interactions shows that nonbonded interactions are important, not only in initiating the destabilization of the crowded cis structure, but also through-out the entire range of CCCC dihedral angles, 0 ° to 180 °.     

NMR study of molecular motion in oriented long-chain alkanes. I. Theoretical part

Several molecular mechanisms, proposed in the literature for the low- and high-temperature relaxation processes in linear polyethylene and commonly referred to as γ and α processes, are examined, and their effect on the second moment of the broad line NMR absorption is predicted quantitatively. The following models for the α process are discussed: rotational oscillation of the long chain molecules around their axes, general two-site models where the chain performs thermally activated rotational jumps through an angle τ between two equilibrium positions, a particular two-site model (τ = 180°) denoted as flip-flop motion, and the kink model. For the γ process, the following molecular mechanism are considered: the kink model, a vacancy with a chain end, the crankshaft mechanism. The decrease of the second moment caused by these motions is considered. Characteristic differences between the motional models are predicted with respect to the anisotropy of the decrease in second moment in a uniaxially oriented sample and/or the magnitude of the overall decrease. These differences allow an experimental distinction between the different models.     

Semiempirical molecular orbital studies on the electronic structure of molecules in excited states: The INDO/2-VN— 1 potential model: Part I.

The performance of the V_N—1 potential model at the INDO/2 level of approximation in the calculation of transition energy, singlet—triplet splitting, change in molecular structure, inversion barrier and electron-density distribution in the excited electronic states of a few simple carbonyls is analysed. The method turns out to be reasonably successful in many ways.     

Auxiliary functions for molecular integrals with Slater‐type orbitals. I. Translation methods

Many types of molecular integrals involving Slater functions can be expressed, with the ζ‐function method in terms of sets of one‐dimensional auxiliary integrals whose integrands contain two‐range functions. After reviewing the properties of these functions (including recurrence relations, derivatives, integral representations, and series expansions), we carry out a detailed study of the auxiliary integrals aimed to facilitate both the formal and computational applications of the ζ‐function method. The usefulness of this study in formal applications is illustrated with an example. The high performance in numerical applications is proved by the development of a very efficient program for the calculation of two‐center integrals with Slater functions corresponding to electrostatic potential, electric field, and electric field gradient. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006     

Theoretical study of low-lying excited states of molecular aggregates. I. Development of linear-scaling TD-DFT

The project aims to develop an integrated linear-scaling time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) for studying low-lying excited states of luminescent molecular materials, especially those fluorescence and phosphorescence co-emitting systems. The central idea will be "from fragments to molecule" (FF2M). That is, the fragmental information will be employed to synthesize the molecular wave function, such that the locality (transferability) of the fragments (functional groups) is directly built into the algorithms. Both relativistic and spin-adapted open-shell TD-DFT will be considered. Use of the renormalized exciton method will also be made to further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of TD-DFT. Solvent effects are to be targeted with the fragment-based solvent model. It is expected that the integrated TD-DFT and program will be of great value in rational design of luminescent molecular materials.     

Theoretical study of molecular conduction: I. Effective Green's function based on perturbation theory

There have been many experimental and theoretical studies on molecular conduction, as it is a fundamental parameter in the study of molecular‐scale electronics. We have investigated the features of molecular conduction using a Green's function method, which has often been used to solve problems in quantum transport and is also effective in elucidating electron transport in molecules. We have obtained the novel effective Green's functions, including the first‐order energy corrections, by accommodating the self‐energy of the electrodes as perturbation terms. Although these approximate Green's functions only provide information on the first‐order energy corrections, they can involve the elementary properties of molecular conduction. We propose a scheme for the analysis of the relations between molecular orbitals and their roles in molecular conduction and present analytical calculations for normal and cyclic polyenes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006