Structures and energies of D-galactose and galabiose conformers as calculated by ab initio and semiempirical methods

Optimized geometries and total energies of some conformers of alpha- and beta-D-galactose have been calculated using the RHF/6-31G* ab initio method. Vibrational frequencies were computed at the 6-31G* level for the conformers that favor internal hydrogen bonding, in order to evaluate their enthalpies, entropies, Gibbs free energies, and then their structural stabilities. The semiempirical AM1, PM3, MNDO methods have also been performed on the conformers GG, GT, and TG of alpha- and beta-D-galactose. In order to test the reliability of each semiempirical method, the obtained structures and energies from the AM1, PM3, and MNDO methods have been compared to those achieved using the RHF/6-31G* ab initio method. The MNDO method has not been investigated further, because of the large deviation in the structural parameters compared with those obtained by the ab initio method for the galactose. The semiempirical method that has yielded the best results is AM1, and it has been chosen to perform structural and energy calculations on the galabiose molecule (the disaccharides constituted by two galactose units alpha 1,4 linked). The goal of such calculations is to draw the energy surface maps for this disaccharide. To realize each map, 144 different possible conformations resulting from the rotations of the two torsional angles psi and phi of the glycosidic linkage are considered. In each calculation, at each increment of psi and phi, using a step of 30 degrees from 0 to 330 degrees, the energy optimization is employed. In this article, we report also calculations concerning the galabiose molecule using different ab initio levels such as RHF/6-31G*, RHF/6-31G**, and B3Lyp/6-31G*.     

UV-laser photoisomerization of fumaryl chloride: the first identification of maleoyl chloride: matrix isolation infrared and ab initio studies

Fourier transform infrared spectra of fumaryl chloride 1 isolated in an argon matrix at 10 K have been analyzed. The comparison between the ab initio HF/6-31G calculated infrared spectra with the experimental ones reveals the existence of three planar conformers, the cis cis 1a, the cis trans 1b and the trans trans 1c. Laser UV irradiation of 1 at lambda = 340 nm yields maleoyl chloride 2 by a carbon carbon double bond photoisomerization process. The first identification of this compound was performed by comparison of the experimental infrared spectra with the calculated ones at the MP2/6-1G** level. AM1 semiempirical and ab initio calculations were used to calculate the structure and the relative stability of the three non planar maleoyl chloride conformers.     

Chiral self-recognition: direct spectroscopic detection of the homochiral and heterochiral dimers of propylene oxide in the gas phase

In this report, we describe rotational spectroscopic and high-level ab initio studies of the 1:1 chiral molecular adduct of propylene oxide dimer. The complexes are bound by weak secondary hydrogen bonds, that is, the O(epoxy)...H-C noncovalent interactions. Six homochiral and six heterochiral conformers were predicted to be the most stable configurations where each monomer acts as a proton acceptor and a donor simultaneously, forming two six- or five-membered intermolecular hydrogen-bonded rings. Rotational spectra of six, that is, three homochiral and heterochiral conformer pairs, out of the eight conformers that were predicted to have sufficiently large permanent electric dipole moments were measured and analyzed. The relative conformational stability order and the signs of the chiral recognition energies of the six conformers were determined experimentally and were compared to the ab initio computational results. The experimental observations and the ab initio calculations suggest that the concerted effort of these weak secondary hydrogen bonds can successfully lock the subunits in a particular orientation and that the overall binding strength is comparable to a classic hydrogen bond.     

Semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio calculations of 2-X-adenine (X = H, F, Cl) and β-D-1-amino-2,3-didehydro-1,2,3-trideoxyribofuranose

We performed semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio (3-21G and 4-31G^**) calculations, with complete optimization of geometry, for 2-X-adenine (X = H, F, Cl) and selected conformers of β-D-1-amino-2,3-didehydro-1,2,3-trideoxyribo-furanose. Together (as 2-X-2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxyadenosine), or in separate conjunction with similar fragments, these structures belong to a group of 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides with potential anti-HIV activity.

The 2-X-adenine molecules are basically flat. For the halogenated species, especially the chlorine derivative, the results of the semiempirical method differ from the ab initio findings more widely than for adenine.

The results for the ribose derivative show the existence of conformers differing very little in energy. Ring puckering does not appear to depend on exocyclic torsion angles, structures with different conformations around the exocyclic C-C bond having similar ring conformations in all the cases analysed. The AMI method yielded geometries similar to those obtained ab initio with 3-21G.     

Semiempirical MO methods: the middle ground in molecular modeling

Semiempirical methods occupy an important middle ground between molecular mechanics and ab initio MO calculations in the repertoire of methods available for studying the structures, properties and reactions of molecules. They have a unique combination of speed and generality which makes it possible to study many chemical systems which are beyond the reach of classical force fields and too large for ab initio MO methods. Indeed, semiempirical calculations are often the first computational technique to be applied to a chemical problem. Three examples where semiempirical MO calculations have provided significant mechanistic insight are the cylcopropylcarbinyl cation, porphyrin structure and dynamics, and the role of C---H hydrogen bonds in polymer miscibility. In each case Semiempirical calculations have been at the fore, and their results have been generally confirmed by subsequent ab initio calculations and experiment.     

Molecular Self‐Recognition: Rotational Spectra of the Dimeric 2‐Fluoroethanol Conformers

Fluoroalcohols show competitive formation of intra‐ and intermolecular hydrogen bonds, a property that may be crucial for the protein‐altering process in a fluoroalcohol/water solution. In this study, we examine the intra‐ and intermolecular interactions of 2‐fluoroethanol (FE) in its dimeric conformers by using rotational spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Three pairs of homo‐ and heterochiral dimeric FE conformers are predicted to be local minima at the MP2/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory. They are solely made of the slightly distorted most stable G+g?/G?g+ FE monomer units. Jet‐cooled rotational spectra of four out of the six predicted dimeric conformers were observed and unambiguously assigned for the first time. All four observed dimeric conformers have compact geometries in which the fluoromethyl group of the acceptor tilts towards the donor and ensures a large contact area. Experimentally, the insertion of the O? H group of one FE subunit into the intramolecular O? H???F bond of the other was found to lead to a higher stabilisation than the pure association through an intermolecular O? H???O? H link. The hetero‐ and homochiral combinations were observed to be preferred in the inserted and the associated dimeric conformers, respectively. The experimental rotational constants and the stability ordering are compared with the ab initio calculations at the MP2 level with the 6‐311++G(d,p) and aug‐cc‐pVTZ basis sets. The effects of fluorination and the competing inter‐ and intramolecular hydrogen bonds on the stability of the dimeric FE conformers are discussed.     

A new scaling procedure to correct semiempirical MEP and MEP-derived properties

Summary The MNDO, AM1, PM3, and ab initio 6–31G^* and 6–31+G^* MEPs for 21 neutral and 12 charged molecules were computed in layers ranging from 1.2 to 2.0 times the van der Waals radii of atoms. Semiempirical and ab initio MEPs for each layer and two groups of layers were compared to gain insight into the relationships between semiempirical and ab initio MEPs. A detailed statistical study allowed us to obtain a new set of scaling coefficients able to correct the semiempirical MEPs to provide better representations of the ab initio values. The corrected semiempirical MEPs were used to obtain electrostatic charges, whose quality was tested by the comparison between semiempirical Coulombic MEPs and ab initio quantum mechanical MEPs.     

Electron propagator theory study of N-/O-methylglycine conformers

The low-lying conformers of N-/O-methylglycine are studied by ab initio calculations at the B3LYP, MP3, and MP4(SDQ) levels of theory with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The conformers having the intramolecular hydrogen bonds N-H...O=C or O-H...N are more stable than the others. Vertical ionization energies for the valence molecular orbitals of each conformer predicted with the electron propagator theory in the partial third-order quasiparticle approximation are in good agreement with the experimental data available in the literatures. The relative energies of the conformers and comparison between the simulated and the experimental photoelectron spectra demonstrate that there are at least three and two conformers of N- and O-methylglycine, respectively, in the gas-phase experiments. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N effects on the molecular electronic structures are discussed for the glycine methyl derivatives, on the basis of the ab initio electronic structure calculations, natural orbital bond, and atoms-in-molecules analyses. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N interactions hardly affect the electronic structures of the O-NH2-CH2-C(=O)-O-CH3 and alpha-methylated NH2-CH2-C(CH3)OOH conformers, while the similar intramolecular interactions lead to the significantly lower-energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbitals for the N-(CH3-NH-CH2-COOH) and beta-methylated (NH2-CH2-CH2-COOH) conformers.     

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.     

Ab initio and DFT studies of the vibrational spectra of benzofuran and some of its derivatives

The vibrational spectra of benzofuran and some of its derivatives have been systematically investigated by ab initio and density functional B3LYP methods. The harmonic vibrational wavenumbers and intensity of vibrational bands were calculated at ab initio and DFT levels invoking different basis sets up to 6-311++g**. Vibrational assignments have been made and it has been found that the calculated DFT frequencies agree well in most cases with the observed frequencies for each molecule. Conformational studies have also been carried out and it is evident from ab initio calculations that 2(3H) benzofuranone is more stable than 3(2H) benzofuranone in support to our earlier semiempirical results.     

Effects of donor/acceptor strengths on the multiphoton absorption: an EOM-CCSD correction vector study

We have developed a correction method (CV) to calculate the single- and multiphoton absorption (MPA) spectra of organic pi-conjugated systems within the equation of motion coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations (EOM-CCSD). The effects of donor/acceptor strengths on the multiphoton absorption in a series of symmetrically substituted stilbene derivatives have been reinvestigated at both the ab initio and the semiempirical intermediate neglect of differential overlap (INDO) Hamiltonian levels. Both ab initio and INDO calculations show that the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents lead to enhancements of two- and three-photon absorption cross sections, more pronounced for two-photon absorption than for three-photon absorption. The ab initio calculations usually produce larger excitation energies than the semiempirical, which lead to lower MPA cross sections.     

The prediction of (1)H chemical shifts in amines: a semiempirical and ab initio investigation

Twenty one conformationally fixed amines and their N,N-dimethyl derivatives were obtained commercially or synthesized. These included cis and trans 4-t-butyl cyclohexylamine, 2-exo and 2-endo norbornylamine, 2-adamantylamine, 4-phenylpiperidine, 1-napthylamine and tetrahydro-1-napthylamine. The (1)H NMR spectra of these amines were measured in CDCl(3) solution, assigned and the (1)H chemical shifts given. This data was used to investigate the effect of the amino group on the (1)H chemical shifts in these molecules. These effects were analyzed using the CHARGE model. This calculates the electric field and steric effects of the amino group for protons more than three bonds removed, together with functions for the calculation of two-bond and three-bond effects. The rotational isomerism about the C--N bond of the amino group was investigated by ab initio calculations of the potential energy surface (PES) about this bond at the HF/3-21G level. The resulting conformers were then minimized at the B3LYP/6-311 + + G (d,p) level. These geometries were then used to calculate the (1)H chemical shifts in the above compounds by CHARGE and the ab initio gauge-invariant atomic orbital (GIAO) method at the B3LYP/6-311 + + G(d,p) level and the shifts were compared with those observed. The compounds investigated gave 170 (1)H chemical shifts ranging from 0.60 to 8.2 ppm. The rms errors (obs.-calc.) were ca 0.1 ppm (CHARGE) and ca 0.2 ppm (GIAO). Large deviations of ca 1.0 ppm were observed for the NH protons in the GIAO calculations. The complex spectra of alkyl and aryl amines can thus be successfully predicted by both ab initio and semiempirical methods except for the NH protons, for which the ab initio calculations are not sufficiently accurate.     

Ab initio Study on Ionization Energies of 3-Amino-1-propanol

Fourteen conformers of 3-amino-1-propanol as the minima on the potential energy surface are examined at the MP2/6-311++G** level. Their relative energies calculated at B3LYP, MP3 and MP4 levels of theory indicated that two most stable conformers display the in-tramolecular OH…N hydrogen bonds. The vertical ionization energies of these conformers calculated with ab initio electron propagator theory in the P3/aug-cc-pVTZ approximation are in agreement with experimental data from photoelectron spectroscopy. Natural bond orbital analyses were used to explain the differences of IEs of the highest occupied molec-ular ortibal of conformers. Combined with statistical mechanics principles, conformational distributions at various temperatures are obtained and the temperature dependence of pho-toelectron spectra is interpreted.     

Hydrogen bond, dimerization and vibrational modes in 2-chloro-3-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde from vibrational and ab initio studies

Ab initio conformers and dimers have been computed at RHF and B3LYP/6-31G* levels for isomers 2-chloro-3-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde to explain the observed infrared absorption and Raman vibrational spectral features in the region 3500-50 cm(-1). The position of the chlorine in ortho position with respect to aldehyde group in 2-chloro-3-hydroxybenzaldehyde yields four distinct conformers; whereas the chlorine in meta position in 3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde yields effectively only three conformers. Major spectral features as strong absorptions near 3160-80 cm(-1), down-shifting of the aldehydic carbonyl stretching mode and up-shifting of hydroxyl group's in-plane bending mode are explained using ab initio evidence of O-H?O bond-aided dimerization between the most stable conformers of each molecule. Absorption width of about 700 cm(-1) (～8.28 kJ/mol) of O-H stretching modes suggests a strong hydrogen bonding with the ab initio bond lengths, O-H?O in the range of 2.873-2.832 ?. A strong Raman mode near 110-85 cm(-1) in each molecule is interpreted to be coupled vibrations of pseudo-dimeric trans and cis structures.     

Conformations of 2-aminoindan in a supersonic jet: the role of intramolecular N-H...pi hydrogen bonding

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), dispersed fluorescence (DF), mass-resolved one-color resonance enhanced two-photon ionization (RE2PI) and UV-UV hole-burning spectra of 2-aminoindan (2-AI) were measured in a supersonic jet. The hole-burning spectra demonstrated that the congested vibronic structures observed in the LIF excitation spectrum were responsible for three conformers of 2-AI. The origins of the conformers were observed at 36931, 36934, and 36955 cm(-1). The DF spectra obtained by exciting the band origins of the three conformers showed quite similar vibrational structures, with the exception of the bands around 600-900 cm(-1). The molecular structures of the three conformers were assigned with the aid of ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-311+G(d,p) level. An amino hydrogen of the most stable conformer points toward the benzene ring. The stability of the most stable conformer was attributed to an intramolecular N-H...pi hydrogen bonding between the hydrogen atom and the pi-electron of the benzene ring. The other two conformers, devoid of intramolecular hydrogen bonding, were also identified for 2-AI. This suggests weak hydrogen bonding in the most stable conformer. The intramolecular N-H...pi hydrogen bonding in 2-AI was discussed in comparison with other weak hydrogen-bonding systems.     

Studies of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in protonated and non-protonated hexahydropyridinobenzodioxins

The conformational stability of hexahydropyridobenzodioxin and related derivatives in both protonated and non-protonated forms have been investigated by means of ab initio molecular orbital methods as well as semi-empirical AM1 and PM3 methods. One of the cis conformers (cis2e) has been found to be most stable due to the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond, other conformers including the trans isomer cannot form this interaction but are of different stability because of the orientation of the polar oxygens and the nitrogen. The effect of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding on the stability of hexahydropyridobenzodioxin and its methylated derivatives has been examined using various basis sets levels. In protonated form, both the semi-empirical and ab initio calculations give excellent agreement in energetic order; however, different orderings of conformer stabilities are observed by different computational methods in non-protonated form. The results provide insight into the intramolecular hydrogen bonding in computational studies of biologically important molecules.     

Theoretical study of the N---H tautomerism in free base porphyrin

The N---H tautomerism of free base porphyrin is investigated at the semiempirical spin-unrestricted AM1 (UAM1) and ab initio RHF/3-21G levels. The UAM1 method provides delocalized geometries for all stationary structures without imposing any symmetry constraint. RHF/3-21G geometry optimizations have to be performed under symmetry restrictions to ensure that realistic delocalized structures are obtained. Both the semiempirical and the ab initio calculations predict that the interconversion between trans tautomers proceeds in an asynchronous two-step process via intermediate cis tautomers. The cis tautomers are characterized as minima in the potential energy surface and are 8–10 kcal mol⁻¹ higher in energy. The activation energy for the trans → cis interconversion is calculated to be approximately 23 kcal mol⁻¹ at the 3-21G level. The activation energy for the synchronous trans → trans interconversion is higher and has a value of 30.5 kcal mol⁻¹. The activation energies obtained at the semiempirical UAM1 level are twice as large as the ab initio values.     

Would the pseudocoordination centre method be appropriate to describe the geometries of lanthanide complexes?

The correct prediction of the ground-state geometries of lanthanide complexes is an important step in the development of efficient light conversion molecular devices (LCMD). Considering this, we evaluate here the capability of semiempirical approaches and ab initio effective core potential (ECP) methodology in reproducing the coordination polyhedron geometries of lanthanide complexes. Initially, we compare the facility of two semiempirical approaches: Pseudocoordination centre method (PCC) and Sparkle model. In the first step, we considered only high-quality crystallographic structures and included 633 complexes, and in the last step, we compare the capability of two semiempirical approaches with ab initio/ECP calculations. Because this last methodology was found to be computationally very demanding, we further used a subset containing 91 high-quality crystallographic structures. A total of 91 ab initio full geometry optimizations were performed. Our results suggest that only the semiempirical Sparkle model (hundreds of times faster) present accuracy similar to what can be obtained by present-day ab initio/ECP full geometry optimization calculations on such lanthanide complexes. In addition, it further indicates that the PCC approach has a poor prediction related to the coordination polyhedron geometries of lanthanide complexes.     

Spectroscopic and quantum chemical study of cyclopropylmethylphosphine, a candidate for intramolecular hydrogen bonding

The properties of the novel compound cyclopropylmethylphosphine (C3H5CH2PH2) have been investigated by means of Stark-modulation microwave spectroscopy and high-level quantum chemical calculations. Spectra attributable to the three conformers of the molecule with a synclinal arrangement of the H-C-C-P atoms were recorded and assigned. The experimental rotational constants obtained for these conformers were found to be in good agreement with those generated by ab initio geometry optimizations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. An estimate of the relative energies of the three conformers with observable spectra, by means of relative intensity measurements, compared favorably with the results of G3 energy calculations performed for the molecule. In addition to the observation of ground-state rotational spectra for three conformers, spectra belonging to a number of vibrationally excited states were also assigned with the aid of radio frequency microwave double-resonance experiments. A tentative assignment of these excited-state spectra was proposed by appealing to the results of density functional theory vibrational frequency calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-311++(3df,2pd) level. The energetically preferred conformer of the molecule allowed a close approach between a hydrogen atom belonging to the phosphino group and the edge of the cyclopropyl ring. The possibility of the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond to electron density associated with so-called banana bonds is discussed.