The thiomethyl anion: Formation,reactivity, and thermodynamic properties

The thiomethyl anion (1) has been generated by fluorodesilylation of trimethylsilylmethanethiol in a variable-temperature flowing afterglow device. The proton affinity (1649 ± 12 kJ mol^?1) and electron affinity (0.67 ± .13 eV) were determined and compared to a previously reported molecular orbital calculation. Isomerization via a 1,2-proton shift does not take place between ?40° and 100°C despite a 156 kJ mol^?1 driving force. Ion-molecule reactions of 1 were examined with a number of reagents including N₂0, O₂, CS₂, COS, and CO₂, Hydride ion transfer was observed in every case, along with other products, and thermodynamic information has been derived.     

A search for precursors to extensive air showers

No evidence for precursors to cosmic ray air showers was found ($\text{“}\text{flux}\text{”?10}{}^{\mathrm{?8}}\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?2}}\text{sr}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{s}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$) in a sample 2.8 times that of Clay and Crouch and a system noise level several times lower. A simple model leads to a cross leation for production ?60 times the total proton-nucleus cross section.     

Photodetachment of zwitterions: probing intramolecular Coulomb repulsion and attraction in the gas phase using mono-decarboxylated pyridinium dicarboxylates. Implications on the mechanism of orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase

Negative ion photoelectron spectra resulting from the decarboxylation of nine zwitterionic pyridinium dicarboxylates (D(x,y)) are reported. Structural assignments are made on the basis of analogy to the spectra of related species, labeling experiments with (13)C- or (2)H-containing substrates, independent syntheses, and comparison to density functional theory and ab initio (B3LYP and CCSD(T), respectively) results. In some cases, an acid-catalyzed isomerization of the D(x,y)-CO(2) ions was found to take place. Adiabatic detachment energies of the resulting zwitterionic ions were measured and are well reproduced by theory. The relative stabilities of the D(x,y)-CO(2) decarboxylation products are largely determined by their intramolecular electrostatic interactions, which are directly probed by the photoelectron spectra and were analyzed in terms of the resulting Coulombic forces. Expulsion of carbon dioxide from the D(x,y) ions was also used as an electrostatic model to probe the mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed conversion of orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP) to uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP). It was found that the loss of CO(2) from these zwitterions and from oxygen-protonated OMP is retarded by the presence of an additional anionic group. This suggests that the formation of a zwitterion intermediate in the enzyme-catalyzed transformation of OMP to UMP may have less of an energetic impact than commonly thought and could be a "red herring". If so, the electrostatic stress mechanism proposed by Larsen et al. and Pai, Guo, and co-workers maybe followed.     

Reactions of strong bases with vinyl fluoride formation and characterization of 1-fluorovinyl anion and the fluoride-acetylene hydrogen-bonded complex

Vinyl fluoride reacts with strong bases to afford I-fluorovinyl anion (1a) and a fluoride-acetylene cluster (1b). The former ion can be prepared independently, and cleanly, by the fluorodesilylation of 1-(trimethylsilyl) fluoroethylene. Reactions of 1a are reported, and its proton affinity is assigned (387 ± 3 kcal mol^?1). Vinyl fluoride is 22 kcal mol^?1 more acidic than ethylene. This unusually large substituent effect is reproduced by ab initio calculations, and can be accounted for by geometric changes which minimize the electron-electron repulsion in 1a. Computations on 2-fluorovinyl anions (1c and 1d) have also been carried out, and both ions are only slightly less stable than 1a. The cis isomer (1c) has a larger barrier for fluoride elimination and is a reasonable target for preparation.