Current trends in the development of A. M. Butlerov’s theory of chemical structure

The chemical structure concept developed by A. M. Butlerov supplemented by the views on spatial (J. H. van’t-Hoff and J. A. Le Bel) and electronic (G. Lewis) configurations of molecules constitute the basis of the classical theory of chemical structure. The advent of quantum mechanics and development of the computer chemistry extended and enhanced the conceptual basis of theoretical chemistry, which nevertheless retains its independent value and cannot be reduced to direct physical definitions. The review deals with the evolution of the key concepts of the classical theory of chemical structure and introduction of new notions and approaches to analysis of the structure and reactivity problems, which is associated with the advent of the quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry views and methods.     

What is the structure of the RecA-DNA filament?

The bacterial RecA protein has been a model system for understanding how a protein can catalyze homologous genetic recombination. RecA-like proteins have now been characterized from many organisms, from bacteriophage to humans. Some of the RecA-like proteins, including human RAD51, appear to function as helical filaments formed on DNA. However, we currently have high resolution structures of inactive forms of the protein, and low resolution structures of the active complexes formed by RecA-like proteins on DNA in the presence of ATP or ATP analogs. Within a crystal of the E. coli RecA protein, a helical polymer exists, and it has been widely assumed that this polymer is quite similar to the active helical filament formed on DNA. Recent developments have suggested that this may not be the case.     

Electronic structure of the doped SnO_2

SnO2 doped with La, Ce, Sm, Zn, Ca, Al and Sb was prepared by sol-gel technique and characterized by TEM, BET, XPS and XAES. The effect of the dopants on the grain sizes of SnO2 was described and especially the effect of dopants on the distribution of the electronic state density (DESD) of Sn4d orbital was studied deeply by using X-ray-induced Auger electron spectros-copy (XAES). It was observed that the dopants could influence not only the grain sizes of SnO2 but also electronic structure of SnO2, as well as the stability of the doped SnO2 samples. The experiment results indicated that the structure and stability of SnO2 film could be improved by the chemical modification of the dopants.     

On the structure of β-molybdenum dichloride

The structure of β-molybdenum dichloride is compared with that of TcCl(2) using EXAFS spectroscopy. For TcCl(2), the Tc atom is surrounded by Tc atoms at 2.13(2), 3.45(3), 3.79(4), and 4.02(4) ?. For β-MoCl(2), the Mo is surrounded by Mo atoms at 2.21(2), 2.91(3), and 3.83(4) ?. The latter distances are consistent with the presence of an [Mo(4)Cl(12)] unit in the solid state, one constituted by two triply Mo-Mo-bonded [Mo(2)Cl(8)] units. First-principles calculations show that β-MoCl(2) with the TcCl(2) "structure type" is less stable than α-MoCl(2) (Mo(6)Cl(12)) or [Mo(4)Cl(12)] edge-sharing clusters.     

Influence of temperature on the structure of liquid water

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out for liquid water at 7 different temperatures to understand the nature of hydrogen bonding at molecular level through the investigation of the effects of temperature on the geometry of water molecules. The changes in bond length and bond angle of water molecules from gaseous state to liquid state have been observed, and the change in the bond angle of water molecules in liquid against temperature has been revealed, which has not been seen in literature so far. The analysis of the radial distribution functions and the coordinate numbers shows that, on an average, each water molecule in liquid acts as both receptor and donor, and forms at least two hydrogen bonds with its neigbors. The analysis of the results also indicates that the water molecules form clusters in liquid.     

A study of the structure and energy of β-diketonates. XVIII. Molecular structure of chromium and cobalt tris-acetylacetonates according to quantum chemical calculations and gas electron diffraction

The molecular structure of chromium and cobalt tris-acetylacetonates is studied by the synchronous electron diffraction and mass spectrometric experiment and quantum chemically. It is found that molecules have the D ₃ symmetry with internuclear distances r _h1(Cr-O) = 1.960(4) Å r _h1(Co-O) = 1.893(4) Å. Quantum chemical calculations by the DFT methods with different basis sets yield a structure well consistent with that found in the experiment. Changes in the structural parameters of chromium and cobalt β-diketonate complexes whose ligands differ in ?CH₃, ?C(CH₃)₃, ?CF₃ substituents are considered.     

The investigation of the quantitative structure–activity relationships between the structure of hydrazine derivatives and the reduction of Np(VI)

The 3D structure of hydrazine derivatives was optimized and their energy was calculated by density functional theory with B3LYP method and 6-311 + (3d, 3p) basis set. The results show that the reaction relationship between the structure of hydrazine derivatives and Np(VI) could be explained by two quantitative structure–activity relationships equations. In Eq. 1, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy is a major factor affecting the reduction rate, and it is negatively correlated with the reaction rate. In Eq. 2, the molecular dipole moment and hydrophobic parameters are the most important factors affecting the reduction rate. The molecular dipole moment is negatively correlated with the reaction rate, but the hydrophobic parameter is positively correlated with the reaction rate.     

Effect of urea on the structure and functional activity of proteins. Chymotrypsinogen A and α-chymotrypsin

The effect of urea on the structural stability and functional activity of globular proteins,viz., chymotrypsinogen A (ChtG) and -chymotrypsin (Cht), was studied over a wide range of concentrations (0.5–6 rnol L-1), and the existence of two different mechanisms of the action of urea on these proteins was demonstrated. No changes in the spatial structure of ChtG were observed in the concentration range from 0,5 to 3 mol L^–1 (region 1). Differential UV spectroscopy shows tile redistribution of aromatic groups between the inner volume and the outer surface of a protein molecule (protein denaturation) at concentrations >3 mol L^–1 (regionII), In regionI, urea changes the kinetic parameters of enzymatic reactions involving Cht, which is explained on the basis of millimeter spectroscopy data by its action on the structure and nucleophilic reactivity of water.Deceased.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 998–1002, April, 1996.     

Intracavity laser spectroscopy of the HfCl molecule. Analysis of rotational structure of new bands of the 2Δ-X2Δ electronic transition

Electron absorption spectrum of the HfCl molecule was studied in the 550–800 nm region using intracavity laser spectroscopy. HfCl molecules were obtained using the passage of an impulse electric discharge through a mixture of HfCl₄ and He vapors. A cuvette with the mixture of gases was placed in a dyelaser resonator cavity. The spectra were registered using diffraction spectrograph (resolution capability 240000). The high sensitivity of the intracavity method made it possible to detect in the HfCl spectrum new bands with a resolved rotational structure. Rotational analyses of the given bands were performed and the molecular constants were determined.     

Analysis of the π-electronic structure of infinitely large networks

Summary Applying the Coulson and Longuet-Higgins integral method to polycyclic aromatics, the analytical solutions of bond orders, -electronic energy and benzene character for the infinitely large cyclic polyacene and polyphenanthrene with various modes of bond alternation are obtained in the HMO scheme. Most of the results are explicitly and newly expressed in terms of three kinds of the elliptic integrals. Judging from the magnitudes of bond orders and benzene character the most probable modes of the bond alternation for these two networks are discussed with their Kekulé structures. It was shown that if bond alternation is properly taken into consideration, HMO calculation can fairly well reproduce the results obtained by more sophisticated methods.     

Synthesis of the reported structure of trans-africanan-1α-ol

A trisubstituted cyclopentane chiron has been prepared by dynamic kinetic reduction of a pulegone-derived β-keto ester. This chiron served as the starting material for the synthesis of the reported structure of the tricyclic sesquiterpene trans-africanan-1α-ol. The synthetic material was not congruent with the natural product.     

Luminescent-probe study of the structure of alcohol — Water solutions

Journal of Structural Chemistry -     

Coarsening of the phase structure in immiscible polymer blends. Coalescence or ostwald ripening?

The results of theories of the Ostwald ripening and coalescence applied to molten quiescent polymer blends with dispersed phase structure were analyzed. From a comparison of predictions of the theories with available experimental results follows that coarsening of the phase structure in quiescent polymer blends with medium or high interfacial tension is induced by the coalescence. Both the mechanisms play a role in coarsening of the phase structure in blends with low interfacial tensions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 181–187, 1999     

Pore structure of gel chitosan membranes. II. Modelling of the pore size distribution from solute diffusion measurements. Gaussian distribution—Mathematical limitations

It was assumed that the pore size distribution in water-swollen gel membranes can be described by the Gaussian distribution function with a mean pore radius r_m and standard deviation σ. The function was applied to the Renkin capillary model based on solute diffusion measurements through membranes. The numerical analysis showed that the problem does not have a unique solution but a family of solutions approximated by the function r_m = Aσ² + r_Renkin, with the pore radius, r_Renkin, obtained on the assumption of uniform radii, being the largest of all r_m obtained with the distribution. The uncertainty of the solution remained also after modification of the experimental data with a molecular probe of permeability coefficient equal to zero, and after cutting the tails of the Gaussian pore size distribution.