Thermodynamic and aromaticity studies for the assessment of the halogen⋯cyano interactions on Iodobenzonitrile

The standard (p° = 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpies of formation, in the gaseous phase, of the 2-, 3- and 4-iodobenzonitrile isomers were derived from the combination of the corresponding standard molar enthalpies of formation, in the condensed phase, at T = 298.15 K, and the standard molar enthalpies of sublimation, at the same temperature, calculated respectively from the standard molar energies of combustion in oxygen, measured by rotating-bomb calorimetry, and from the vapour-pressure study of the referred compounds, measured by mass-loss Knudsen effusion technique. The strength of the halogen-halogen and the halogen-cyano intermolecular interactions, in the crystal, are evaluated by the enthalpies and entropies of phase transition of the iodobenzonitrile derived from mass-loss Knudsen technique and differential scanning calorimetry measurements and compared with those reported to fluorobenzonitrile and bromobenzonitrile isomers. The computational calculations complement the experimental work, using different aromaticity criteria (HOMA, NICS, Shannom Aromaticity, PDI and ATI) for the analysis of the electronic behaviour of each iodobenzonitrile isomer.     

Al4(2-); the anion-π interactions and aromaticity in the presence of counter ions

The influence of presence of counter ions and π-complexation with benzene on the bonding and magnetic properties of Al(4)(2-), the most studied all-metal cluster, is studied here. It is shown that complexation by either counter ions or benzene decreases the delocalization index between Al atoms and the magnitude of bond magnetizability, that is a Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules, QTAIM, -based magnetic index of aromaticity. Benzene forms two types of π-complexes with the Al(4) framework; CH-π (T-shaped) complexes and parallel π-π stacking (PPS) complexes. It is shown that variation in the π-charge of the Al(4) framework affects the relative stability of the T-shaped/PPS complexes. Free Al(4)(2-) forms a stable T-shaped anion-π complex with benzene but in the presence of cations, formation of PPS complexes is more favourable, energetically. It is suggested that this property could be used for designing molecular switches and tuneable anion sensors.     

HOMA parameters for the boron–boron bond: How the introduction of a BB bond influences the aromaticity of selected hydrocarbons

An extension of the harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA) model for systems with boron–boron bonds is presented. For the first time, the parameters of the HOMA model are estimated using only theoretically calculated bond lengths. The HOMA parameters obtained make geometric aromaticity studies possible for a large number of compounds containing the boron–boron bond. The derived HOMA parameters have been used to investigate how the introduction of the boron–boron moiety in the structure of selected hydrocarbons modifies their aromaticity. The conclusion is that the insertion of a boron–boron bond usually strongly decreases the aromaticity of the boron-containing compounds in comparison to their parent hydrocarbons.     

To what extent can aromaticity be defined uniquely?

Statistical analyses of quantitative definitions of aromaticity, ASE (aromatic stabilization energies), RE (resonance energies), Lambda (magnetic susceptibility exaltation), NICS, HOMA, I5, and A(J), evaluated for a set of 75 five-membered pi-electron systems: aza and phospha derivatives of furan, thiophene, pyrrole, and phosphole (aromatic systems), and a set of 30 ring-monosubstituted compounds (aromatic, nonaromatic, and antiaromatic systems) revealed statistically significant correlations among the various aromaticity criteria, provided the whole set of compounds is involved. Hence, broadly considered, the various manifestations of aromaticity are related and aromaticity can be regarded statistically as a one-dimensional phenomenon. In contrast, when comparisons are restricted to some regions or groups of compounds, e.g., aromatic compounds with ASE > 5 kcal/mol or polyhetero-five-membered rings, the quality of the correlations can deteriorate or even vanish. In practical applications, energetic, geometric, and magnetic desriptors of aromaticity do not speak with the same voice. Thus, in this sense, the phenomenon of aromaticity is regarded as being statistically multidimensional.     

Nanotubes: number of Kekulé structures and aromaticity

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are composed of cylindrical graphite sheets consisting of sp(2) carbons. Due to their structure CNTs are considered to be aromatic systems. In this work the number of Kekulé structures (K) in "armchair" CNTs was estimated by using the transfer matrix technique. All Kekulé structures of the cyclic variants of naphthalene and benzo[c]phenanthrene have been generated and the basic patterns have been obtained. From this information the elements of the transfer matrix were derived. The results obtained indicate that K (and the resonance energy) is greater if tubulenes are extended in the vertical than in the horizontal direction. Tubulenes are therefore more stabile than cyclic strips. An illustration, obtained by using scanning probe microscope, has been attached to affirm the existence of thin CNTs.     

Defining rules of aromaticity: a unified approach to the Hückel, Clar and Randić concepts

The molecular structure of any system may be unambiguously described by its adjacency matrix, A, in which bonds are assigned entry a(ij) = 1 and non-bonded pairs of atoms entry a(ij) = 0. For π-electron-containing conjugated hydrocarbons, this matrix may be modified in order to represent one of the possible Kekulé structures by assigning entry 1 to double bonds and entry 0 to single bonds, leading to the Kekulé matrix K which can be obtained from the A matrix by subtracting 1 from elements a(pq) that represent single bonds in the Kekulé structure. The A and K matrices are the boundary cases of a general matrix A(ε), named perturbation matrix, in which from elements a(pq) that represent single bonds is subtracted a value ε∈<0,1> representing the magnitude of the perturbation. The determinant of the A(ε) matrix is unambiguously represented by an appropriate polynomial that, in turn, can be written in a form containing terms ±(1-ε)(N/2) that identify types of π-electron conjugated cycles (N is the corresponding number of π-electrons). If the sign before the term is (+), then the contribution is stabilizing, but if it is (-) the contribution is destabilizing. The approach shows why and how the Hückel rule works, how the Randi? conjugated circuits result from the analysis of canonical structures, and also how the Clar rule may be extended to include aromatic cycles larger than six-membered (aromatic sextet).     

Why are the kinked polyacenes more stable than the straight ones? A topological study and introduction of a new topological index of aromaticity

A topological model for estimating the stability of benzenoid hydrocarbons (BHs) is presented showing an acceptable linear dependence on Hess-Schaad resonance energy per pi-electron values. The topological measure of stability is accessible by use of pencil calculation and is based on counting cis-type fragments of double bonds in all canonical structures of a given BH. Evidence is given that infinite chains of straight linear polyacenes are always less stable than the kinked ones.     

Which electron count rules are needed for four-center three-dimensional aromaticity?

A series of charged and neutral four-center n-electron (4c-ne, n = 1-4) molecules based on the adamantane framework, but which include combinations of boron, nitrogen, and phosphorus atoms at bridgehead positions, were studied computationally at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of density functional theory (DFT). The three-dimensional aromaticity, observed earlier for the 1,3,5,7-bisdehydroadamantane dication (1), is found to be general for 4c-2e electron systems. The degree of electron delocalization, evaluated by energetic, geometric, and various magnetic criteria, is quite independent of the molecular symmetry (point groups vary from Td to Cs), the degeneracy of the orbitals, the molecular charges, and the nature of the atoms participating in the delocalized bonding. Although the multiple positive (e.g., in 1 and some of the heteroatom systems) and multiple negative charges are strongly repulsive, the rigid adamantane frameworks help hold the bridgehead atoms within bonding distances with the fewer available electrons. The corresponding 4c-1e doublets are approximately half as aromatic as the 4c-2e singlets based on the same criteria. However, the three-electron systems may either adopt distorted but still four-center delocalized structures, or alternative 3c-2e two-dimensional arrangements in which the fourth bridgehead atom is more distant. There is no need to derive special rules for each point group for 4c-ne systems. Although the three-dimensional stabilization is computed to be quite appreciable, ranging between 10 and 50 kcalmol(-1), this delocalization energy is generally not sufficient to overcome distortion due to strain in higher homologues of 1 and in analogous noncage systems. Among the various 4c-2e homoadamantanedehydro dications studied, only the 1,8-dehydrohomoadamandiyl-3,6-dication forms a three-dimensional aromatic system.     

Which NICS aromaticity index for planar pi rings is best?

[STRUCTURE: SEE TEXT] Five increasingly sophisticated aromaticity indexes, based on nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS), were evaluated against a uniform set of aromatic stabilization energies (ASE) for 75 mono- and polyheterocyclic five-membered rings. While acceptable statistical correlations were given by all of the NICS methods, the most fundamentally grounded index, NICS(0)pizz (based on the pi contribution to the out-of-plane zz tensor component), performed best statistically (cc=0.980) and in practice. The easily computable NICS(1)zz index is a useful alternative (cc=0.968).     

Aromaticity or non aromaticity in germanazenes? Theoretical studies on germanazenes, the N-cyano analogs and their carbodiimide isomers

Theoretical studies of germanazene rings [(Ge_II-NR)_2,3; R = H, Me, CN, Ph] have been performed at the DFT/B3LYP level. The fully optimized geometrical structures display four or six-membered planar rings of alternating germanium and nitrogen, in good agreement with the available X-ray experimental data. The hypothetical molecule (GeN-H)₂ presents only a small distortion from planarity. Although the planar conformation could indicate some degree of delocalization, the stabilization energy - estimated using the concept of homodesmotic reactions - indicates very little or no aromatic character in these molecules. The easy experimental formation of these germanazenes can be explained by di- (or tri-)merisation of the transient monomeric germylene-imine GeNR in its triplet state. When R = CN, in conformity with the experimental results, the most stable species is the isomeric carbodiimide form (GeNCN)_n, a result which is easily explained by the maximum spin density on the terminal nitrogen in the calculated monomer.     

Induced ring currents and aromaticity of planar singlet π-electronic monocyclic carbenes

The induced -electronic ring currents and the relative diamagnetic susceptibilities of planar singlet -electronic monocycic carbenes with the general formula C_nH_2n–1(n = 3–10) were calculated within the framework of a linked variant of perturbation theory using the PPP method; this permitted their inclusion in the general aromaticity-antiaromaticity scale of organic compounds. It was shown that these carbenes can act as intermediates in a number of thermal rearrangements.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'yana Khimiya, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 4–48, January–February, 1993.     

Open-shell spherical aromaticity: the 2N2 + 2N + 1 (with S = N + ½) rule

4N Baird's rule represented the extension of Hückel's 4N + 2 rule to triplet state systems. In this work we extend the 2(N + 1)(2) Hirsch rule for spherical aromatic species to open-shell spherical compounds and we provide evidence that those spherical species having a same-spin half-filled last energy level with the rest of the levels being fully-filled, i.e., those having 2N(2) + 2N + 1 electrons and S = N + ?, are aromatic.     

Electronic structure and aromaticity of planar singlet π-electron monocyclic π2 carbenes

Induced -electron ring currents and relative diamagnetic susceptibilities of planar singlet -electron monocyclic ² carbenes are calculated in the coupled variant of perturbation theory in the CNO method. It is shown that the parity theorem holds for charged planar ² and ² carbenes formally generated by the detachment of a proton or a hydride ion from alternant hydrocarbons. This leads, in such carbenes, to the same energies of singlet-singlet and singlet-triplet transitions, electric polarizabilities, conjugation energies, -electron ring currents, diamagnetic susceptibilities and current contributions to chemical shifts, whereas the charge contributions to the latter are of opposite signs.Donbas State Academy of Building and Architecture, 1 Derzhavina St., 339023 Makeevka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 157–162, May–June, 1996. Original article submitted December 5, 1994.     

Octahedral and tetrahedral coinage metal clusters: is three-dimensional d-orbital aromaticity viable?

The first quantitative evidence for the viability of three-dimensional aromatic clusters involving d-orbitals in pseudo-octahedral coinage metal cages M(6)Li(2) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) as well as in tetrahedral coinage metal cages M'(4)Li(4) (M' = Cu, Ag) was obtained computationally. These cages exhibit many features similar to those of their square planar M(4)Li(2) analogues. The large negative nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS) at the cage centers indicate three-dimensional delocalization. This diatropic character arises mostly from d-orbital delocalization combined with substantial contributions from the lowest-valence orbitals. The bonding molecular orbitals of the pseudo-octahedral clusters M(6)Li(2) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) are analogous to those in similar octahedral clusters involving p-orbital delocalization (e.g., B(6)H(6)(2-)). The M'(4)Li(4) clusters exhibit two isomeric forms: metal tetrahedral cages tetracapped by lithium cations on the outside [(M'(4)).4Li] and lithium tetrahedra on the inside capped by coinage metal atoms on each of the four faces [(Li(4)).4M]. Whereas the (M'(4)).4Li type structure is preferred for copper, gold and silver favor the (Li(4)).4M arrangement. NBO-NICS analysis shows that the large diatropic character in (M'(4)).4Li structures is due to the favorable contribution from both s- and d-orbitals, whereas the small NICS values in the center of (Li(4)).4M are due only to the diatropic contributions from the s-orbitals.     

Double-twist Möbius aromaticity in a 4n+ 2 electron electrocyclic reaction

One transition state for the 10 electron (4n+ 2) electrocyclisation of Z,E,Z-decapentaene is predicted to have the properties of a double-twist M?bius strip, with delocalised bond lengths and the NICS(0) magnetic index typical of aromaticity; a 5,6-di-(t)Bu substituted decapentaene is predicted to react in this mode in preference to the competitive six-electron electrocyclisation.