On the nature of the stabilization of benzene···dihalogen and benzene···dinitrogen complexes: CCSD(T)/CBS and DFT-SAPT calculations

The structure and stabilization energies of benzene (and methylated benzenes)···X(2) (X=F, Cl, Br, N) complexes were investigated by performing CCSD(T)/complete basis set limit and density functional theory/symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) calculations. The global minimum of the benzene···dihalogen complexes corresponds to the T-shaped structure, whereas that of benzene···dinitrogen corresponds to the sandwich one. The different binding motifs of these complexes arise from the different quadrupole moments of dihalogens and dinitrogen. The different sign of the quadrupole moments of these diatomics is explained based on the electrostatic potential (ESP). Whereas all dihalogens, including difluorine, possess a positive σ hole, such a positive area of the ESP is completely missing in the case of dinitrogen. Moreover, benzene···X(2) (X=Br, Cl) complexes are stronger than benzene···X(2) (X=F, N) complexes. When analyzing DFT-SAPT electrostatic, dispersion, induction, and δ(Hartree-Fock) energies, we recapitulate that the former complexes are stabilized mainly by dispersion energy, followed by electrostatic energy, whereas the latter complexes are stabilized mostly by the dispersion interaction. The charge-transfer energy of benzene···dibromine complexes, and surprisingly, also of methylated benzenes···dibromine complexes is only moderate, and thus, not responsible for their stabilization. Benzene···dichlorine and benzene···dibromine complexes can thus be characterized merely as complexes with a halogen bond rather than as charge-transfer complexes.     

Rapid and accurate evaluation of the binding energies and the individual N-H···O=C, N-H···N, C-H···O=C, and C-H···N interaction energies for hydrogen-bonded peptide-base complexes

The binding energies of thirty-six hydrogen-bonded peptide-base complexes, including the peptide backbone-ase complexes and amino acid side chain-base complexes, are evaluated using the analytic potential energy function established in our lab recently and compared with those obtained from MP2, AMBER99, OPLSAA/L, and CHARMM27 calculations. The comparison indicates that the analytic potential energy function yields the binding energies for these complexes as reasonable as MP2 does, much better than the force fields do. The individual N H…O=C, N H…N, C H…O=C, and C H…N attractive interaction energies and C=O…O=C, N H…H N, C H…H N, and C H…H C repulsive interaction energies, which cannot be easily obtained from ab initio calculations, are calculated using the dipole-dipole interaction term of the analytic potential energy function. The individual N H…O=C, C H…O=C, C H…N attractive interactions are about 5.3±1.8, 1.2±0.4, and 0.8 kcal/mol, respectively, the individual N H … N could be as strong as about 8.1 kcal/mol or as weak as 1.0 kcal/mol, while the individual C=O…O=C, N H…H N, C H…H N, and C H…H C repulsive interactions are about 1.8±1.1, 1.7±0.6, 0.6±0.3, and 0.35±0.15 kcal/mol. These data are helpful for the rational design of new strategies for molecular recognition or supramolecular assemblies.     

Effects of the biological backbone on stacking interactions at DNA-protein interfaces: the interplay between the backbone···π and π···π components

The (gas-phase) MP2/6-31G*(0.25) π···π stacking interactions between the five natural bases and the aromatic amino acids calculated using (truncated) monomers composed of conjugated rings and/or (extended) monomers containing the biological backbone (either the protein backbone or deoxyribose sugar) were previously compared. Although preliminary energetic results indicated that the protein backbone strengthens, while the deoxyribose sugar either strengthens or weakens, the interaction calculated using truncated models, the reasons for these effects were unknown. The present work explains these observations by dissecting the interaction energy of the extended complexes into individual backbone···π and π···π components. Our calculations reveal that the total interaction energy of the extended complex can be predicted as a sum of the backbone···π and π···π components, which indicates that the biological backbone does not significantly affect the ring system through π-polarization. Instead, we find that the backbone can indirectly affect the magnitude of the π···π contribution by changing the relative ring orientations in extended dimers compared with truncated dimers. Furthermore, the strengths of the individual backbone···π contributions are determined to be significant (up to 18 kJ mol(-1)). Therefore, the origin of the energetic change upon model extension is found to result from a balance between an additional (attractive) backbone···π component and differences in the strength of the π···π interaction. In addition, to understand the effects of the biological backbone on the stacking interactions at DNA-protein interfaces in nature, we analyzed the stacking interactions found in select DNA-protein crystal structures, and verified that an additive approach can be used to examine the strength of these interactions in biological complexes. Interestingly, although the presence of attractive backbone···π contacts is qualitatively confirmed using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), QTAIM electron density analysis is unable to quantitatively predict the additive relationship of these interactions. Most importantly, this work reveals that both the backbone···π and π···π components must be carefully considered to accurately determine the overall stability of DNA-protein assemblies.     

Internucleotide J-couplings and chemical shifts of the N-H···N hydrogen-bonds in the radiation-damaged guanine-cytosine base pairs

Internucleotide ^2hJ_NN spin‐spin couplings and chemical shifts (δ(¹H) and Δδ(¹⁵N)) of N? H···N H‐bond units in the natural and radiation‐damaged G‐C base pairs were predicted using the appropriate density functional theory calculations with a large basis set. Four possible series of the damaged G‐C pairs (viz., dehydrogenated and deprotonated G‐C pairs, GC^?? and GC^?+ radicals) were discussed carefully in this work. Computational NMR results show that radicalization and anionization of the base pairs can yield strong effect on their ^2hJ_NN spin scalar coupling constants and the corresponding chemical shifts. Thus, variations of the NMR parameters associated with the N? H···N H‐bonds may be taken as an important criterion for prejudging whether the natural G‐C pair is radiation‐damaged or not. Analysis shows that ^2hJ_NN couplings are strongly interrelated with the energy gaps (ΔE_LP→σ*) and the second‐order interaction energies (E(2)) between the donor N lone‐pair (LP_N) and the acceptor σ^*_{N? H} localized NBO orbitals, and also are sensitive to the electron density distributions over the σ*(N? H) orbital, indicating that ^2hJ_NN couplings across the N? H···N H‐bonds are charge‐transfer‐controlled. This is well supported by variation of the electrostatic potential surfaces and corresponding charge transfer amount between G and C moieties. It should be noted that although the NMR spectra for the damaged G‐C pair radicals are unavailable now and the states of the radicals are usually detected by the electron spin resonance, this study provides a correlation of the properties of the damaged DNA species with some of the electronic parameters associated with the NMR spectra for the understanding of the different state character of the damaged DNA bases. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011.     

On the weakly C-H···π hydrogen bonded complexes of sevoflurane and benzene

A vibrational assignment of the anaesthetic sevoflurane, (CF(3))(2)CHOCH(2)F, is proposed and its interaction with the aromatic model compound benzene is studied using vibrational spectroscopy of supersonic jet expansions and of cryosolutions in liquid xenon. Ab initio calculations, at the MP2/cc-pVDZ and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ levels, predict two isomers for the 1?:?1 complex, one in which the near-cis, gauche conformer of sevoflurane is hydrogen bonded through its isopropyl-hydrogen atom, the other in which the same conformer is bonded through a bifurcated hydrogen bond with the fluoromethyl hydrogen atoms. From the experiments it is shown that the two isomers are formed, however with a strong population dominance of the isopropyl-bonded species, both in the jet and liquid phase spectra. The experimental complexation enthalpy in liquid xenon, ΔH(o)(LXe), of this species equals -10.9(2) kJ mol(-1), as derived from the temperature dependent behaviour of the cryosolution spectra. Theoretical complexation enthalpies in liquid xenon were obtained by combining the complete basis set extrapolated complexation energies at the MP2/aug-cc-pVXZ (X = D,T) level with corrections derived from statistical thermodynamics and Monte Carlo Free Energy Perturbation calculations, resulting in a complexation enthalpy of -11.2(3) kJ mol(-1) for the isopropyl-bonded complex, in very good agreement with the experimental value, and of -11.4(4) kJ mol(-1), for the fluoromethyl-bonded complex. The Monte Carlo calculations show that the solvation entropy of the isopropyl-bonded species is considerably higher than that of the fluoromethyl-bonded complex, which assists in explaining its dominance in the liquid phase spectra.     

Microwave spectroscopic and theoretical studies on the phenylacetylene···H2O complex: C-H···O and O-H···π hydrogen bonds as equal partners

Rotational spectra of five isotopologues of the title complex, C(6)H(5)CCH···H(2)O, C(6)H(5)CCH···HOD, C(6)H(5)CCH···D(2)O, C(6)H(5)CCH···H(2)(18)O and C(6)H(5)CCD···H(2)O, were measured and analyzed. The parent isotopologue is an asymmetric top with κ = -0.73. The complex is effectively planar (ab inertial plane) and both 'a' and 'b' dipole transitions have been observed but no c dipole transition could be seen. All the transitions of the parent complex are split into two resulting from an internal motion interchanging the two H atoms in H(2)O. This is confirmed by the absence of such doubling for the C(6)H(5)CCH···HOD complex and a significant reduction in the splitting for the D(2)O analog. The rotational spectra, unambiguously, reveal a structure in which H(2)O has both O-H···π (π cloud of acetylene moiety) and C-H···O (ortho C-H group of phenylacetylene) interactions. This is in agreement with the structure deduced by IR-UV double resonance studies (Singh et al., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2008, 112, 3360) and also with the global minimum predicted by advanced electronic structure theory calculations (Sedlack et al., J. Phys. Chem. A, 2009, 113, 6620). Atoms in Molecule (AIM) theoretical analysis of the complex reveals the presence of both O-H···π and C-H···O hydrogen bonds. More interestingly, based on the electron densities at the bond critical points, this analysis suggests that both these interactions are equally strong. Moreover, the presence of both these interactions leads to significant deviation from linearity of both hydrogen bonds.     

Infrared and microwave spectra of the acetylene-ammonia and carbonyl sulfide-ammonia complexes: a comparative study of a weak C-H···N hydrogen bond and an S···N bond

We report a combined high resolution infrared and microwave spectroscopic investigation of the acetylene-ammonia and carbonyl sulfide-ammonia complexes using a pulsed slit-nozzle multipass absorption spectrometer based on a quantum cascade laser and a pulsed nozzle beam Fourier transform microwave spectrometer, respectively. The ro-vibrational transitions of the acetylene-ammonia complex have been measured at 6 μm in the vicinity of the ν(4) band of ammonia for the first time. The previously reported pure rotational transitions have been extended to higher J and K values with (14)N nuclear quadrupole hyperfine components detected and analyzed. The spectral analysis reveals that acetylene binds to ammonia through a C-H···N weak hydrogen bond to form a C(3v) symmetric top, consistent with the previous microwave [Fraser et al., J. Chem. Phys., 1984, 80, 1423] and infrared spectroscopic study at 3 μm [Hilpert et al., J. Chem. Phys., 1996, 105, 6183]. A parallel study has also been carried out for the carbonyl sulfide-ammonia complex whose pure rotational and ro-vibrational spectra at 6 μm have been detected and analyzed for the first time. The spectral and the subsequent structural analyses, in conjunction with the corresponding ab initio calculation, indicate that the OCS-NH(3) complex assumes C(3v) symmetry with S pointing to N of NH(3), in contrast to the T-shaped geometries obtained for the isoelectronic N(2)O-NH(3) and CO(2)-NH(3) complexes.     

Competition between hydrogen bonding and dispersion interactions in the indole···pyridine dimer and (indole)2···pyridine trimer studied in a supersonic jet

Structures of the indole···pyridine dimer and (indole)2···pyridine trimer have been investigated in a supersonic jet using resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) and IR-UV double resonance spectroscopic techniques combined with quantum chemistry calculations. R2PI spectra of the dimer and the trimer recorded by electronic excitation of the indole moiety show that the red-shift in the band origin of the dimer with respect to the 0(0)(0) band of the monomer is larger compared to that of the trimer. The presence of only one conformer in the case of both the dimer and the trimer has been confirmed from IR-UV hole-burning spectroscopy. The structures of the dimer and the trimer have been determined from resonant ion dip infrared (RIDIR) spectra combined with ab initio as well as DFT/M05-2X and DFT/M06-2X calculations. It has been found that the dimer, observed in the experiment, has a V-shaped geometry stabilized by N–H···N and C–H···N hydrogen bonding interactions, as well as C–H···π and π···π dispersion interactions. The geometry of the trimer has been found to be a cyclic one stabilized by N–H···N, N–H···π, C–H···π, and C–H···N interactions. The most important finding of this current study is the observation of the mixed dimer and trimer, which are stabilized by hydrogen bonding as well as dispersion interactions.     

SH···N and SH···P blue-shifting H-bonds and N···P interactions in complexes pairing HSN with amines and phosphines

Quantum calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level examine complexes pairing HSN with aliphatic amines and phosphines. Complexes are cyclic and contain two attractive interactions. The first is a SH···N/P H-bond in which the S-H covalent bond contracts and shifts its stretching frequency to the blue, more so for amines than for phosphines. The second interaction is different for the amines and phosphines. The amines engage in a NH···N H-bond comparable in strength to the aforementioned SH···N interaction. In contrast, the second interaction in the phosphine complexes is a direct N···P attraction without an intervening H. This interaction is due in part to opposite partial charges on the N and P atoms, as well as covalent forces generated by charge transfer effects.     

Structural organization and dimensionality at the hands of weak intermolecular Au···Au, Au···X and X···X (X = Cl, Br, I) interactions

The salts K[AuCl(2)(CN)(2)]·H(2)O (1), K[AuBr(2)(CN)(2)]·2H(2)O (2) and K[AuI(2)(CN)(2)]·?H(2)O (3) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Compound 1 crystallizes as a network of square planar [AuCl(2)(CN)(2)](-) anions separated by K(+) cations. However, 2 and 3 feature 2-D sheets built by the aggregation of [AuX(2)(CN)(2)](-) anions via weak, intermolecular X···X interactions. The mixed anion double salts K(3)[Au(CN)(2)](2)[AuBr(2)(CN)(2)]·H(2)O (4) and K(5)[Au(CN)(2)](4)[AuI(2)(CN)(2)]·2H(2)O (5) were also synthesized by cocrystallization of K[Au(CN)(2)] and the respective K[AuX(2)(CN)(2)] salts. Similarly to 2 and 3, the [Au(CN)(2)](-) and [AuX(2)(CN)(2)](-) anions form 2-D sheets via weak, intermolecular Au(I)···X and Au(I)···Au(I) interactions. In the case of 5, a rare unsupported Au(I)···Au(III) interaction of 3.5796(5) ? is also seen between the two anionic units. Despite the presence of Au(I) aurophilic interactions of 3.24-3.45 ?, neither 4 nor 5 exhibit any detectable emission at room temperature, suggesting that the presence of Au(I)···X or Au(I)···Au(III) interactions may affect the emissive properties.     

Theoretical studies on reactions of the stabilized H2COO with HO2 and the HO2···H2O complex

The reactions of H(2)COO with HO(2) and the HO(2)···H(2)O complex are studied by employing the high-level quantum chemical calculations with B3LYP and CCSD(T) theoretical methods, the conventional transition-state theory (CTST), and the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) with Eckart tunneling correction. The calculated results show that the proton transfer plus the addition reaction channel (TS1A) is preferable for the reaction of H(2)COO with HO(2) because the barriers are -10.8 and 1.6 kcal/mol relative to the free reactants and the prereactive complex, respectively, at the CCSD(T)/6-311++G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Furthermore, the rate constant via TS1A (2.23 × 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)) combined with the concentrations of the species in the atmosphere demonstrates that the HO(2) radical would be the dominant sink of H(2)COO in some areas, where the concentration of water is less than 10(17) molecules cm(-3). In addition, although the single water molecule would lower the activated barrier of TS1A from 1.0 to 0.1 kcal/mol with respect to the respective complexes, the rate constant is lower than that of the reaction of HO(2) with H(2)COO.     

Cooperativity between S···π and Rg···π in the OCS···C6H6···Rg (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, and Kr) van der Waals complexes

The complexes OCS···C(6)H(6), C(6)H(6)···Rg, and OCS···C(6)H(6)···Rg (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, and Kr) have been studied by means of MP2 calculations and QTAIM analyses. The optimized geometries of the title complexes have C(6v) symmetry. The intermolecular interactions in the OCS···C(6)H(6)···Rg complexes are comparatively stronger than that in the OCS···C(6)H(6) complex, which prove that the He, Ne, Ar, and Kr atoms have the ability to form weak bonds with the benzene molecule. In QTAIM studies, the π-electron density of benzene was separated from the total electron density. The molecular graphs and topological parameters of the OCS···πC(6)H(6), πC(6)H(6)···Rg, and OCS···πC(6)H(6)···Rg complexes indicate that the interactions are mainly attributed to the electron density provided by the π-bonding electrons of benzene and the top regions of the S and Rg atoms. Charge transfer is observed from the benzene molecule to SCO/Rg in the formation of the OCS···C(6)H(6), C(6)H(6)···Rg, and OCS···C(6)H(6)···Rg complexes. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) analyses suggest that the electrostatic energy plays a pivotal role in these intermolecular interactions.     

Lone pair···π interactions on the stabilization of intra and intermolecular arrangements of coordination compounds with 2-methyl imidazole and benzimidazole derivatives

Abstract

Spectroscopic and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of coordination compounds of Co^II, Ni^II, Zn^II, and Pd^II with phenylsulfonyl imidazole and benzimidazole derivatives (2-mfsiz, 2-mfsbz) were performed. The relevance of non-covalent interactions on the stabilization of intra and intermolecular arrangements in the ligands and their coordination compounds was investigated. The imidazole 2-mfsiz ligand presents two enantiomeric conformers, where the ethylphenylsulfone moiety stabilizes intermolecular lone pair···π (S–O···π_(phe)) and H···π contacts, while its tetrahedral coordination compounds, [M(2-mfsiz)₂X₂] (M²⁺?=?Co, Ni, Zn; X?=?Cl, Br) showed intramolecular lone pair···π interactions (S–O···π_(iz)). On the other hand, compounds [Cu₂(2-mfsiz)₂(µ₂-AcO)₄] and trans-[Pd(2-mfsiz)₂Cl₂] do not present lone pair···π interactions due to the metal ion geometry (square base pyramidal or square planar), which leads to formation of π_(iz)···π_(phe) interactions. For the benzimidazole ligand 2-mfsbz, an intramolecular, H_(phe)···π_(bz) contact was observed, remaining in its tetrahedral and octahedral coordination compounds, [M(2-mfsbz)₂X₂] (M²⁺?=?Co, Zn; X?=?Cl, Br, NO₃). This interaction limits the free rotation of the ethylphenylsulfone moiety for stabilization of an intermolecular lone pair···π interaction (S–O···π_(iz)). The dimeric [Zn₂(2-mfsiz)₂(µ²-AcO)₄] compound has a π_(bz)···π_(phe) contact. Theoretical calculations confirmed the non-covalent interactions in the ligands and their coordination compounds.     

On the properties of X···N noncovalent interactions for first-, second-, and third-row X atoms

In addition to a structure with a PH···N H-bond, a second complex of greater stability is formed when the PH(3) is rotated such that its P-H bond is pointing away from the approaching N lone pair of NH(3). Quantum calculations are applied to examine whether such a complex is characteristic only of P, or may occur as well for other atoms of the first, second, or third rows of the periodic table. The molecules PH(3), H(2)S, HCl, AsH(3), and NH(3) are all paired with NH(3) as electron donor. While NH(3) will not engage in an N···N attraction, all the others do form a X···N complex. The energetics, geometries, and other properties of these complexes are relatively insensitive to the nature of the X atom. This uniformity contrasts sharply with the H-bonded XH···N complexes where a strong sensitivity to X is observed. The three-dimensional nature of the electrostatic potential, in conjunction with the striving for a linear H-X···N orientation that maximizes charge transfer, serves as an excellent tool in understanding both the shape of the potential energy surface and the proclivity to engage in a X···N interaction.     

Density functional analysis of the magnetic structure of Li3RuO4: importance of the Ru-O···O-Ru spin-exchange interactions and substitutional Ru defects at the Li sites

We evaluated the spin-exchange interactions of Li(3)RuO(4) by performing energy-mapping analysis based on density functional calculations and examined the nature of its magnetic transition at T(1) = 66 K and the divergence of the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled susceptibilities below T(2) = 32 K. Our study shows that T(1) is associated with a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic ordering, in which the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic lattices parallel to the ab plane are antiferromagnetically coupled along the c direction. We examined how the substitutional defects, Ru atoms residing in the Li sites, affect the antiferromagnetic coupling along the c direction to explain why the expected c-axis doubling is not detected from powder neutron diffraction measurements. The susceptibility divergence below T(2) is attributed to a slight spin canting out of the ab plane.     

Synthesis of novel O-alkylbenzochromeno-1,5-benzodiazepinones. Study of the N–H····N and CO····HN hydrogen bonding interactions with 2-aminopyridines

A series of novel 6-(O-alky)lbenzochromeno-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-ones 4a–c was prepared through the condensation between the [1]benzopyrano[4,3-c][1,5]benzodiazepin-7(8H)one 1 and a series of alkylalcohols. Scaffold 4 exhibited interesting hydrogen-bonding interaction with 2-aminopyridine derivatives. The so obtained self-assembled systems 5 were fully characterized by 1D/2D-NMR techniques and mass spectrometry. The hydrogen-bonding interaction was supported by IR and Raman spectroscopy and by ¹H NMR titration experiments, and was confirmed by an X-ray crystal structure analysis.     

Structure of the β-Cyclodextrin·p-Hydroxybenzaldehyde Inclusion Complex in Aqueous Solution and in the Crystalline State

-Cyclodextrin (-CD) and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (p-HB) were studied by ¹H-NMR in deuterated aqueous solution and the stoichiometry of the resulting complex (1:1) was determined by the continuous variation method. Inclusion of p-HB in -CD was confirmed by the observation of NMR shifts for the inside H5 protons of the -CD cavity. In the solid state X-ray analysis was carried out and revealed the detailed structure of the inclusion complex. Two -CDs cocrystallize with four p-HB and 9.45 water molecules[2(C₆H₁₀O₅)^7·4C₇H₆O_2·9.45H₂O] in the triclinic space group P1 with unit cell parameters: a = 15.262(2), b = 15.728(1), c = 16.350(1) Å, = 92.67(1)°, = 96.97(1)°, = 103.31(1)°. The anisotropic refinement of 1973 atomic parameters converged at an R-factor = 0.066 for 10157 data with F_o ² > 2 (F_o ²). The 2:4 stoichiometry for the -CD inclusion complex with p-HB in the crystalline state is different from that obtained in solution. -CD forms dimers stabilized by direct O2(m)₁O3(m)₁·O2(n)₂O3(n)₂ hydrogen bonds (intradimer) and by indirect O6(m)₁·O6(n)₂ hydrogen bonds with one or two bridging water molecules joined in between (interdimer). These dimers are stacked like coins in a roll constructing infinite channels where the p-HB molecules are included. The p-HB molecules direct their polar CHO and OH groups into the nonpolar -CD cavities and are hydrogen bonded to each other, yielding infinite, antiparallel chains. In addition, crystals of the complex were also investigated with thermogravimetry, vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR), and ¹³C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy. The results obtained enabled us to structurally characterize the -CD inclusion complex with p-HB.