NMR chemical shielding and spin–spin coupling constants across hydrogen bonds in uracil–α-hydroxy-N-nitrosamine complexes

One- and two bond spin–spin coupling constants, ¹ J, ^1h J , and ^2h J across X–H?O hydrogen bonds and shielding constants of bridging hydrogens have been computed for complexes formed from interaction between the α-hydroxy-N-nitrosamine (NP) and four preferential binding sites of the uracil (U) at B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p)//MP2/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory. All complexes are stabilized by two H_U?O_NP and H_NP?O_U hydrogen bonds. Very good correlations were found between NMR spin–spin coupling constant as well as isotropic shielding constant and the binding energy, H-bond distance, red-shift of vibration frequency, charge transfer energy, and electron density at H-bond critical point.     

Intermolecular spin–spin coupling constants between P atoms

This paper reports the study by NMR spectroscopy and ab initio methods of the structure of 3,4-dimethyl-1-cyanophosphole and its dimer. The dimer presents a P···P interaction of the pnictogen type due to the presence of σ-holes. NMR of the monomer was recorded in CDCl₃ solution while NMR of the dimer corresponds to the solid state (CPMAS) experiments. The ^2pJ_PP spin–spin coupling constant has not been measured, but calculated at the B3LYP level. AIM, NBO and ELF methodologies have been used to describe the electronic structure of the dimer.     

Mössbauer study of novel iron(II) complexes with oximes in low spin and high spin states

New iron(II) dioximato complexes [Fe(DioxH)₂L₂] (DioxH: methyl-ethyl-glyoxime, dimethyl-glyoxime, and benzyl-methyl-glyoxime) without and with axially coordinated ligands L (L: 4-dimethyl-amino-pyridine; 3-OH-aniline; 2-imidazolidone; 4-nitrobenzyl-pyridine; 2-amino-pyridine) have been synthesized by reaction of the components dissolved in ethanol at room temperature in inert atmosphere, and were studied by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Characteristic isomer shift and quadrupole splitting values of the individual new compounds were determined. It was suggested that iron is in the iron(II) low spin state in all compounds having axially coordinated ligands; however, the high spin iron(II) state is characteristic when no axial ligands are bound to the iron center. Low spin state complexes could be categorized into two groups on the basis of isomer shifts. The difference in the isomer shift was explained on the basis of the type of ligating nitrogens.     

Theory of chemical bonds in metalloenzymes XII: Electronic and spin structures of metallo–oxo and isoelectronic species and spin crossover phenomena in oxygenation reactions

The broken-symmetry (BS) and multideterminant approaches to atomic oxygen (O), molecular oxygen (O₂) and iron–oxo (Fe(IV)O) core in P450 have elucidated electronic structures of the ground triplet and excited singlet states, which indicate isoelectronic characteristics of the species. The dissociation processes of the O–O and Fe–O double bonds are also examined to clarify the radical character, namely O-atom property responsible for radical mechanism of hydroxylations of alkanes and epoxidation of alkenes. This isolobal analogy has indeed enabled us to propose possible reaction mechanisms of oxygenation reactions by the Fe(IV)O species on the basis of available theoretical and experimental results for O and O₂. Similarly, an isolobal analogy of the σ^* bond among Fe(IV)O, dioxirane, peracids, etc. indicates the common electrophilic property for the oxygenation reactions. The small energy gaps between the high- and low-spin states of the transition structures and intermediates generated in the oxygenation reactions are found to be origins for spin crossover phenomena along the reaction pathways of these reactions.     

Magnetic field effects due to spin—orbit coupling in transient intermediates

The effects of anisotropic spin—orbit coupling on the radical yield and CIDEP in chemical reactions of short-lived triplet intermediate are treated in the density matrix formalism. Analytical expressions for the magnetic field effect (MFE) on the lifetime of the triplet precursor and electron spin polarization are obtained in terms of the molecular parameters, reorientational correlation time, and magnetic field strength.     

Do spin state changes matter in organometallic chemistry? A computational study

Spin changes occur often in organometallic chemistry, and their effect on kinetics is not well understood. We report computations on the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces of several processes of this type and show that the topology of the individual surfaces, as well as of the crossing regions between them, can be used to rationalize the observed reactivity in all cases. In particular, the slow addition of dihydrogen to W[N(CH(2)CH(2)NSiMe(3))(3)]H (Schrock, R. R.; Shih, K. Y.; Dobbs, D. A.; Davis, W. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 6609) is shown to be a "spin-blocked" reaction with a high barrier due to the crossing between reactant triplet and product singlet surfaces. In contrast, addition of CO to TpCo(CO) (Detrich, J. L.; Reinaud, O. M.; Rheingold, A. L.; Theopold, K. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 11745) is fast because the triplet and singlet surfaces cross at low energy. Particular care is taken to use DFT methods which are in adequate agreement with experimental and high-level computational energetics for these systems.     

Ab initio study of the nuclear spin—spin coupling constants and magnetic shielding constants in silicon derivatives via the equations-of-motion method

Non-empirical equations-of-motion calculations of the nuclear spin—spin coupling constants and magnetic shielding constants in a representative series of molecules featuring siliconsilicon or siliconcarbon single, double and triple bonds are presented. The EOM results, which include the main portion of the electron correlation effects, are in resonable agreement with the available experimental data. On passing from single to double and triple bonding situation the pattern for the ¹J(SiY) parameters resembles that exhibited by ¹J(CY) in the structurally related carbocompounds, whereas an inversion in the relative position of the triply bonded atom is predicted in the case of the ²⁹Si resonance relative to the ¹³C sequence.     

One-bond CC spin—spin coupling constants in derivatives of benzene. Non-linearity of 1J(CC) vs substituent electronegativity

A set of one-bond CC coupling constants has been determined for mono- and disubstituted benzenes. Large ¹J(CC) values have been found within the benzene rings bearing highly electronegative substituents such as halogens, methoxy and nitro groups and small values for those with electropositive substituents. The total range of ¹J(CC) couplings observed in our work is larger than 50 Hz. These large variations of CC spin—spin couplings are interpreted in terms of Fermi-contact contributions and the redistribution of s-electrons within a CC bond under influence of substituents. Contrary to some previous findings the data obtained in the present work indicate that the relationship between ¹J(CC) and the substituent electronegativity is not linear.     

Distribution profiles of nitroxide spin probes in human skin—a combined study using spatially resolved electron spin resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry

Electron spin resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry are two analytical methods that are very rarely used in combination. In this paper, we will show that the methods complement one another in the example of the distribution of stable nitroxide radicals in human skin, including the spatial resolution of these distribution processes. There are many ESR investigations dealing with this subject, but unfortunately, they are all limited to the detection of paramagnetic species. The combination with MS allows the successful examination of the distribution profile of the main biotransformation product of the nitroxide radicals, the respective “ESR-silent” hydroxylamines. In order to maintain the biological state of the sample material as far as possible, atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with ion trap detection has been used for the mass spectrometric investigations. The results validate the former findings of the strong reduction of stable free radicals by biological material; moreover, the diamagnetic species formed during these processes have been identified.     

The effect of molecular distortions on spin–orbit coupling in simple hydrocarbons

Recent work [D.N.S. Parker et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 469 (2009) 43–49] has found intersystem crossing (ISC) on an ultrafast timescale in electronically excited benzene, a surprise as hydrocarbons generally have small spin–orbit coupling. In this paper, the effect of molecular distortions on spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is calculated for cyclobutadiene and benzene. At equilibrium the SOC in both molecules is negligible, and therefore terms arising from molecular distortions must play a significant role in any fast ISC. We show that out-of-plane C–H bends, which leads to the hybridisation of σ and π orbitals, are responsible for the most significant effect. The S₁/S₀ conical intersection is an important feature for understanding the photochemistry of these molecules. We examine the SOC along the vector from the Franck–Condon point to the lowest energy point on the crossing seam and discuss the potential importance of the SOC to the ultrafast dynamics.     

Calculations of the indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling constants of PbH4

We report ab initio calculations of the indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling constants of PbH₄ using a basis set which was specially optimized for correlated calculations of spin–spin coupling constants. All nonrelativistic contributions and the most important part of the spin–orbit correction were evaluated at the level of the random phase approximation. Electron correlation corrections to the coupling constants were calculated with the multiconfigurational linear-response method using extended complete and restricted active space wavefunctions as well as with the second-order polarization propagator approximation and the second-order polarization propagator approximation with coupled-cluster singles and doubles amplitudes. The effects of nuclear motion were investigated by calculating the coupling constants as a function of the totally symmetric stretching coordinate. We find that the Fermi contact term dominates the Pb‐H coupling, whereas for the H‐H coupling it is not more important than the orbital paramagnetic and diamagnetic contributions. Correlation affects mainly the Fermi contact term. Its contribution to the one-bond coupling constant is reduced by correlation, independent of the method used; however, the different correlated methods give ambiguous results for the Fermi contact contribution to the H‐H couplings. The dependence of both coupling constants on the Pb‐H bond length is dominated by the change in the Fermi contact term. The geometry dependence is, however, overestimated in the random phase approximation. Received: 16 November 1998 / Accepted: 30 March 1999 / Published online: 14 July 1999     

The optimum contraction of basis sets for calculating spin–spin coupling constants

The previously proposed pcJ-n basis sets, optimized for calculating indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling constants using density functional methods, are re-evaluated for finding the optimum contraction scheme as a compromise between computational efficiency and minimizing contraction errors. An exhaustive search is performed for the H₂, F₂ and P₂ molecules, and candidates for optimum contraction schemes are evaluated for a larger test set of 21 molecules. Using the criterion that the contraction error should not exceed the basis set error relative to the basis set limit, the optimum contraction is defined for each basis set. The results show that it is difficult to contract basis sets for calculating spin–spin coupling constants to any significant degree without losing the inherent accuracy. The work provides guidelines for searching for optimum contraction schemes for other properties and/or at theoretical levels where a systematic search is impractical.     

Massively parallel spin–orbit configuration interaction

We describe a new approach to incorporating quantum effects into chemical reaction rate theory using quantum trajectories. Our development is based on the entangled trajectory molecular dynamics method for simulating quantum processes using trajectory integration and ensemble averaging. By making dynamical approximations similar to those underlying classical transition state theory, quantum corrections are incorporated analytically into the quantum rate expression. We focus on a simple model of quantum decay in a metastable system and consider the deep tunneling limit where the classical rate vanishes and the process is entirely quantum mechanical. We compare our approximate estimate with the well-known WKB tunneling rate and find qualitative agreement.     

Is there stereoselectivity in spin trapping superoxide by 5-tert-butoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide?

[reaction: see text] Ester-containing nitrones, including 5-tert-butoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide 5, have been reported to be robust spin traps for superoxide (O2*-). Using a chiral column, we have been able to isolate the two enantiomers of nitrone 5. With enantiomerically pure nitrone 5a and 5b we explored whether one of these isomers was solely responsible for the EPR spectrum of aminoxyl 6. Data obtained demonstrate that the spin trapping of O2*- by nitrone 5a and nitrone 5b affords the identical EPR spectra and lifetimes in homogeneous aqueous solution and exhibits the same ratio of cis and trans isomers. Quantum chemical modeling in vacuo also finds no difference, aside from the expected optical activity, arising from the difference in stereochemistry.     

Why the model of non-interacting chains yields adequate description of spin crossover in space structures?

Considering many-body interactions in tetrahedral structures as perturbations of binary potentials by third bodies yields a free energy functional of the binary mixture equivalent to one earlier derived for spin crossover equilibrium in one-dimensional chains. Formal non-ideality parameters of this functional, the excess energy and asymmetries of splittings can be expressed in terms of molecular parameters based on binary potentials.