Effect of pressure on coupled electronic ground and excited states determined from luminescence spectra of trans-dioxorhenium(V) complexes

Pressure-dependent luminescence spectra of trans-dioxo complexes of rhenium(V) with ancillary ethylenediamine ligands exhibit resolved vibronic structure in the O=Re=O symmetric stretching mode at room temperature. The intensity distribution within the vibronic progression changes with pressure, leading to band shapes that are also pressure-dependent. These spectroscopic features arise from coupled electronic states and depend on the energy differences between ground and excited states, which vary by 2500 cm(-1) for the three complexes with ethylenediamine, tetramethylethylenediamine, and tetraethylethylenediamine ancillary ligands. We describe the pressure-dependent vibronic structure and band shapes with anharmonic adiabatic potential energy surfaces for the ground states of all complexes. The calculated spectra reveal the pressure dependence of the energies of electronic origins, luminescence band maximums, offsets between ground- and emitting-state potential minimums, and vibrational frequencies. The largest pressure effects are observed where the coupled electronic states are close in energy.     

The cyano nitronyl nitroxide radical: experimental and theoretical evidence for the fourth case of the McConnell-I mechanism

The nitronyl nitroxide 2-cyano-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (1) crystallises in the tetragonal P42(1)m space group with a=7.4050(7), c=8.649(1) A. In the crystal the molecules form layers parallel to the ab plane in which they are orthogonal to each other. In the layers there are close contacts, 2.953(2) A, between the NO groups and the bridging carbon atoms of the O-N-C-N-O fragment of neighbouring radicals. The calculated spin density shows a positive population mainly and equally localised on the NO groups and small but significant negative spin densities on the bridging carbon atom and the cyano nitrogen. Absorption spectra show temperature-dependent transitions related to the magnetic behaviour. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility in the range 2-300 K reveals that couplings between the radicals are antiferromagnetic, and is interpreted by considering a two-dimensional square array of spin S=1/2 antiferromagnetically coupled (J=-10 cm(-1) and g=2.01). This is interpreted as an exchange coupling through close contact between positive and negative spin densities in orthogonal orbitals on oxygen and carbon atoms, respectively.     

The lowest-energy ligand to metal charge-transfer absorption band of trans-[OsO2(malonate)2]2-

The resolved structure of the lowest-energy oxo to osmium charge-transfer absorption band of trans-[OsO2(malonate)2]2- is analyzed on the basis of the exact molecular Ci symmetry determined from the structure of a crystal used for spectroscopy. The multiple progressions observed in the polarized spectra are rationalized in terms of the deviations from idealized D4h point group symmetry and compared to the spectra observed for complexes with D2h symmetry such as trans-[OsO2(oxalate)2]2- that show only a single dominant progression for this transition.     

Thermodynamic stability of polyacrylamide and poly(N,N‐dimethyl acrylamide)

Based on theoretical thermodynamic principles, the possibility of environmental degradation of polyacrylamide to its starting monomer was investigated. Theoretical electronic structure studies on the geometry and fragmentation energy of acrylamide and N,N‐dimethyl acrylamide tetramer models were carried out using a first principles gradient corrected density functional approach. Thermal degradation to form a radical would require the cleavage of carbon–carbon bonds in the polymer chain; the energy needed for this cleavage was found to depend on the structure of the repeat unit which ranged from low of 72.5 kcal for a rare head‐to‐head construct to 86.2 kcal for a normal head‐to‐tail polymer construct (therefore, for the cleavage of a normal head‐to‐tail repeat unit, temperatures of approximately 450°C would be required). The thermodynamics of the unzipping, disproportionation, and back‐biting reactions in the resulting radical fragments were also investigated; the back‐biting process was found to require the least energy and provided the most stable radical fragment with a low probability for disproportionation or releasing of monomer to occur. The effect of solvation on the hydrogen‐bonding network in the acrylamide tetramer was studied by adding explicit molecules of water to the tetramer models. The addition of water had a significant effect on the stability of the model polymer slightly stabilizing the head‐to‐head polymer, and slightly destabilizing the head to tail polymer. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.