Assessment of relative stabilities of positional isomers of polyhedral heteronuclear clusters via a simplified method of bond energy calculations based on tight-binding approach and adjacent matrix method: applications to binary icosahedral clusters

A new and simple method for assessing the relative stabilities of various positional isomers of a given heteronuclear cluster is described. The method is based on a tight-binding approach in conjunction with an adjacent matrix methodology (TBAM). The usefulness of the method is illustrated by bond energy calculations of a number of binary icosahedral clusters, including noncentered icosahedral A(n)B(12)(-)n clusters comprising main-group elements B, C, N, and S as well as B- and A-centered icosahedral A(n)B(13)(-)n clusters that consist of transition metals, Au, Ag, Ni, and Pt atoms. The latter results are compared with the previously reported molecular mechanics calculations based on Lennard-Jones potential and with experimental results, whenever possible. The trends of the total bond energies obtained by the two methods are nearly parallel in all cases, indicating that the relative stabilities predicted by the two methods follow the same order. The TBAM approach provides a simple and efficient way of predicting the relative stabilities of various positional isomers of a given cluster, particularly for clusters where the number of positional isomers is so large that it cannot be handled manually. The total bond energies exhibit a stepwise progression. Each step is characterized by a set of A-A, B-B, and A-B bonds which uniquely determines the total bond energy and, hence, the stability. The step formation implies that positional isomers of a given cluster geometry can be categorized by sets of numbers of A-A, B-B, and A-B bonds, or simply the numbers of the minority (either A-A or B-B) bonds. Three site preference rules, the strong-bond rule, the heterobond rule, and the big-hole rule, were formulated based on these model calculations. These rules are useful in rationalizing and/or predicting the relative stabilities of various positional isomers of a given cluster geometry.     

一种基于Friedel-Crafts亲电取代反应的缩聚方法

研究了一种基于Friedel-Crafts亲电取代的新型缩聚反应,反应基团是氮原子的苯对位氢原子和芴醇上的羟基,氮原子的富电子效应活化了苯对位氢原子的亲电取代能力,同时芴醇(似三苯甲醇结构)是高活性的烷基化试剂,使得小分子亲电取代反应可扩展为高分子缩聚反应.探索了两种缩合途径,"A-A,B-B"型共缩聚和"A-B"型自缩聚.4,4′-双(苯基-对甲苯基氨基)联苯(TPD)与芴醇共缩聚,得到数均分子量为1·5×104～2·0×104的共聚物,而芴醇的自缩聚,可得到单分散、立体环状结构的3聚体.     

Microwave spectra and structures of 1,2-(ortho)- and 1,7-(meta)-carborane, C2B10H12

The microwave spectra of 1,2- and 1,7-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12), C(2)B(10)H(12) (ortho- and meta-carborane), have been recorded for the first time at room temperature in the 32-88 and 24-80 GHz spectral ranges, respectively. The spectra of the parent species (1,2-C(2)(11)B(10)H(12) and 1,7-C(2)(11)B(10)H(12)) have been assigned, together with those of four monosubstituted ((10)B) 1,2-C(2)(10)B(11)B(9)H(12) and 1,7-C(2)(10)B(11)B(9)H(12) isotopologues. The microwave spectra confirm that the structures of each of these two molecules are slightly distorted icosahedrons of C(2v) symmetry. A previous determination of the gaseous structures of these two carboranes by the gas electron-diffraction method was based on several assumptions about the B-B bond length differences. All B-B bond lengths have now been redetermined using the substitution (r(s)) method, which is independent of such restraints. Although several of the r(s) and electron-diffraction bond lengths are in good agreement, there are also differences of up to 0.026 ?. Quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd) level of theory have also been performed.     

硼烷分子中化学键性质的研究I.乙硼烷分子中的四中心键

采用Dunning基的从头计算量子化学方法阐明,在乙硼烷中两个氢桥三中心键已因σ-共轭效应而融合成一个四中心键.对此四中心键可用整体的总键强参数以及其组成部分B-B和B-Hb-B的总键强参数,比较全面地表示其强度方面的特征.进而指明其质子磁共振谱以及热化学的实验数据都支持这一理论论断.     

Lattice Monte Carlo investigations on copolymer systems, 3. Alternating and random copolymers

Alternating and random copolymers in dilute solution are investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations on a cubic lattice. Each molecule consists of an equal number of A and B segments, either randomly distributed along the chain or forming an alternating sequence. The energy parameters chosen represent selective solvent conditions (the solvent is a good one for monomers of type A and a θ-solvent for B; between A and B repulsive interactions are operative). Comparison with di- and triblock copolymers of equal overall composition reveals that the behaviour of random or alternating copolymers (subject to the same selective solvent) is quite different. Their properties rather resemble those of homopolymers in a solvent of intermediate quality. The absolute chain dimensions (e.g. the mean square radius of gyration, 〈s²〉, and the mean square end-to-end distance, 〈h²〉) of random and alternating copolymers as well as their scaling exponents are significantly larger than those of block copolymers. The ratio between 〈h²〉 and 〈s²〉 as well as the shape of the polymer (expressed by the asphericity δ) are similar to those of athermal polymers indicating that there is no pronounced selectivity of the solvent. In contrast to block copolymers, these parameters exhibit no significant chain-length dependence. The number of the various types of polymer-polymer contacts (A-A, B-B and A-B) is almost independent of the type of contact at least for the solvent conditions investigated. This is in contrast to block copolymers where A-B contacts are widely suppressed and where the number of B-B contacts is approximately twice as high as that of A-A contacts.     

Dodecamethyl-closo-dodecaborate(2-)

Bis(tetraethylammonium) dodecamethyl-closo-dodecaborate(2-), [NEt(4)](2)[closo-B(12)Me(12)], [NEt(4)](2)2, was prepared employing modified Friedel-Crafts reaction conditions from [NEt(4)](2)[closo-B(12)H(12)], [NEt(4)](2)1, trimethylaluminum, and methyl iodide. The [NEt(4)](2)2 salt provides sufficient solubility in water to allow the synthesis of the important alkali metal salts A(2)2 (A = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) using cation-exchange procedures. The solid state structure of colorless [AsPh(4)](2)2 reveals a nearly perfect icosahedral B(12) cluster with B-B bonds ranging from 1.785(3) to 1.807(3) A and B-C bonds of 1.597(3)-1.625(3) A. In contrast, the crystal structure of dark-red [Py(2)CH(2)]2 (obtained from [NEt(4)](2)2 and [Py(2)CH(2)]Br(2)) contains a distorted icosahedral dianion [B-B = 1.740(13)-1.811(14) A, B-C = 1.591(13)-1.704(13) A]. In the [Py(2)CH(2)]2 salt, the dianion 2(2-) and its dipositive dipyridiniomethane counterion form a red charge-transfer complex. One-electron oxidation of 2(2)(-) by ceric(IV) ammonium nitrate affords the blue, air-stable radical [hypercloso-B(12)Me(12)](*-), dodecamethyl-hypercloso-dodecaborate(1-), 2(*-), isolated as the PPN salt. X-ray crystallography reveals that the geometries of the B(12) clusters observed in hypercloso-[PPN]2 and closo-[AsPh(4)](2)2 are identical and essentially undistorted icosahedra. The anion in the [PPN]2 structure contains B-B bonds ranging from 1.784(8) to 1.806(7) A and a range of B-C bonds from 1.596(7) to 1.616(7) A.     

Transferability of interatomic correlation energies

A simple procedure is presented to estimate the interatomic correlation energy of a bond A-B on the basis of intrabond correlations of the homopolar parents A-A and B-B and the bond polarity of A-B. We use a local approach supplemented by a semiempirical mean-field Hamiltonian within the bond orbital approximation. The capability of the interpolation scheme is demonstrated for several molecules formed by main-group atoms.     

B2(BO)2(2-)-diboronyl diborene: a linear molecule with a triple boron-boron bond

We have produced and investigated an unique boron oxide cluster, B4O2(-), using photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Relatively simple and highly vibrationally resolved PES spectra were obtained at two photon energies (355 and 193 nm). The electron affinity of neutral B4O2 was measured to be 3.160 +/- 0.015 eV. Two excited states were observed for B4O2 at excitation energies of 0.48 and 0.83 eV above the ground state. Three vibrational modes were resolved in the 355 nm spectrum for the ground state of B4O2 with frequencies of 350 +/- 40, 1530 +/- 30, and 2040 +/- 30 cm(-1). Ab initio calculations showed that neutral B4O2 (D(infinity h), 3sigma(g)-) and anionic B4O2(-) (D(infinity h), 2pi(u)) both possess highly stable linear structures (O[triple bond]B-B=B-B[triple bond]O), which can be viewed as a B2 dimer bonded to two terminal boronyl groups. The lowest nonlinear structures are at least 1.5 eV higher in energy. The calculated electron detachment energies from the linear B4O2- and the vibrational frequencies agree well with the experimental results. The three observed vibrational modes are due to the B-B, B=B, and B[triple bond]O symmetric stretching vibrations, respectively, in the linear B2(BO)2. Chemical bonding analyses revealed that the HOMO of B2(BO)2, which is half-filled, is a bonding pi orbital in the central B2 unit. Thus, adding two electrons to B2(BO)2 leads to a B[triple bond]B triple bond in [O[triple bond]B-B[triple bond]B-B[triple bond]O]2-. Possibilities for stabilizing B2(BO)2(2-) in the form of B2(BO)2Li2 are considered computationally and compared with other valent isoelectronic, triple bonded species, B2H2Li2, B2H2(2-), and C2H2. The high stability of B2(BO)2(2-) suggests that it may exist as a viable building block in the condensed phase.     

The versatile chemistry of the [B20H18]2- ions: novel reactions and structural motifs

Among the polyhedral [closo-BnHn]2- ion series (n = 5-12 inclusive) the aromatic [closo-B10H10]2- ion is both readily available and quite reactive. Among its many reactions which retain its cage structure one finds the oxidative dimerization reaction in which two [closo-B10H12]2- ions each formally lose a hydride ion and undergo dimerization of the resulting [closo-B10H9]- ions to produce the [trans-B20H18]2- ion. The two-component [closo-B10H9]- ions of the latter are linked together by a pair of unique B-B-B bonds which provide unprecedented reactivity to the structure. Among these reactions are the two-electron reduction to a set of three interconvertible [B20H18]4- ions having intercage B-B bonds and the related reductive substitution reaction in which [trans-B20H18]2- undergoes attack by nucleophile, L, to produce [B20H18L]2-. The latter species is formally a substituted [B20H19]3- (L = H) ion formed by B-B bond protonation of one of the isomeric [B20H18]4- ions. These and a variety of novel reactions are described here along with interrelated reaction mechanisms considered for the first time.     

Hydrogenation of molecular cyclic diborane4 compounds featuring B-B bonds and olefinic or aromatic bridges: a quantum chemical study

Hydrogenation reactions starting with di- or oligonuclear boron compounds featuring direct B-B bonds with the B atoms in the formal oxidation state +II are analyzed with the aid of ab initio quantum chemical (RI-MP2) calculations. The products of these reactions are B(III) hydrides which might be useful starting reagents for stoichiometric hydrogenation reactions and possibly in special cases also for hydrogen storage. Several different isomers of these B(III) hydrides featuring either terminal or bridging H atoms were considered. The results are compared to hydrogenation reactions of related molecules.     

Parametric effects of the potential energy function on the geometrical features of ternary lennard-jones clusters

The impact of parameters in potential function for describing atomic or molecular clusters is complex due to the complicated potential energy surface. Ternary Lennard-Jones (TLJ) A(l)B(m)C(n) clusters with two-body potential are investigated to study the effect of parameters. In the potential, the size parameter (σ(AA)) of A atoms is fixed, and corresponding parameters of B and C atoms (relative to A atoms), i.e., σ(BB)/σ(AA) and σ(CC)/σ(AA) > 1.00, are used to control the atomic interaction among A, B, and C atoms in TLJ clusters. The minimum energy configurations of A(l)B(m)C(n) clusters with different species are optimized by adaptive immune optimization algorithm. Ternary cluster structures, bonds, and energies of the putative minima are studied. The results show that two different structures based on double-icosahedra are found in 30-atom TLJ clusters. Furthermore, with increasing potential size parameters of B and C atoms, A atoms tend to be more compact for the increasing numbers of A-A bonds, but the short-range attractive part in TLJ clusters becomes weaker. To lower the potential energy, B and C atoms grow around the A atoms in pursuit of a compact configuration. The results are also approved in A(l)B(m)C(n) (l + m + n = 9-55) clusters and A(l)B(m)C(n) (l = 13, m + n = 42) clusters.     

Study of chemical bonds in a-B/C:H films by electron probe microanalysis

This paper describes the study of chemical bonds in amorphous hydrogen rich boron/carbon (a-B/C:H) films by electron probe microanalysis. The films were deposited on Si single crystals by plasma chemical vapour deposition with a precursor-carborane (C₂B₁₀H₁₂) in a laboratory setup. A film thickness and B/C ratio up to a value of 8000 Å and 4, respectively, have been obtained. The analysis of boron and carbon X-ray emission spectra has shown that the nearest order in the films is characterized by the coexistence of C-C, B-C and B-B bonds for B/C 1 and of B-B and B-C bonds for B/C 4. After two years exposure in air the oxygen content in the films increases from 2–5 to 15–20 at.%.     

Molecular simulation study of the effect of pressure on the vapor-liquid interface of the square-well fluid

We examine a model system to study the effect of pressure on the surface tension of a vapor-liquid interface. The system is a two-component mixture of spheres interacting with the square-well (A-A) and hard-sphere (B-B) potentials and with unlike (A-B) interactions ranging (for different cases) from hard sphere to strongly attractive square well. The bulk-phase and interfacial properties are measured by molecular dynamics simulation for coexisting vapor-liquid phases for various mixture compositions, pressures, and temperatures. The variation of the surface tension with pressure compares well to values given by surface-excess formulas derived from thermodynamic considerations. We find that surface tension increases with pressure only for the case of an inert solute (hard-sphere A-B interactions) and that the presence of A-B attractions strongly promotes a decrease of surface tension with pressure. An examination of density and composition profiles is made to explain these effects in terms of surface-adsorption arguments.     

Phase diagram of the B-B2O3 system at 5 GPa: experimental and theoretical studies

X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation has been used to study in situ the chemical interaction of beta-rhombohedral boron with boron (III) oxide and phase relations in the B-B2O3 system at pressures up to 6 GPa in the temperature range from 300 to 2800 K. The B-B2O3 system has been thermodynamically analyzed, and its equilibrium phase diagram at 5 GPa has been constructed. Only one thermodynamically stable boron suboxide, B6O, exists in the system. It forms eutectic equilibria with boron and B2O3.     

Stability and properties of oligomeric organoboron structures with six-coordinate carbon atoms at centers of hydrocarbon frameworks

Quantum chemical B3LYP/6-311G** calculations revealed that oligomers of a system containing a six-coordinate carbon atom at the center of a carbon framework composed of three 3,6-diboracyclohexa-1,4-diene rings annelated at double bonds remain energetically stable as the number of monomer units increases up to four. All oligomers have triplet ground states, the singlet states lying about 20 kcal mol^?1 higher in energy. Similar systems with B-B groups replaced by unsaturated (C=C) and saturated (HC-CH) hydrocarbon fragments lose their stability as the length of the oligomer chain increases.     

Real-space indicators for chemical bonding. Experimental and theoretical electron density studies of four deltahedral boranes

In an approach combining high-resolution X-ray diffraction at low temperatures with density functional theory calculations, two closo-borates, B(12)H(12)(2-) (1) and B(10)H(10)(2-) (2), and two arachno-boranes, B(10)H(12)L(2) [L = amine (3) or acetonitrile (4)], were analyzed by means of the atoms-in-molecules (AIM) theory and electron localizability indicator (ELI-D). The two-electron three-center (2e3c) bonds of the borane cages are investigated with the focus on real-space indicators for chemical bonding and electron delocalization. In compound 2, only two of the three expected bond critical points (bcp's) are found. However, a weakly populated ELI-D basin is found for this pair of adjacent B atoms and the delocalization index and the Source contributions are on the same order of magnitude as those for the other pairs. The opposite situation is found in the arachno-boranes, where no ELI-D basins are found for two types of B-B pairs, which, in turn, exhibit a bcp. However, again the delocalization index is on the same order of magnitude for this bonding interaction. The results show that an unambiguous real-space criterion for chemical bonding is not given yet for this class of compounds. The arachno-boranes carry a special B-B bond, which is the edge of the crown-shaped molecule. This bond is very long and extremely curved inward the B-B-B ring. Nevertheless, the corresponding bond ellipticity is quite small and the ELI-D value at the attractor position of the disynaptic valence basin is remarkably larger than those for all other B-B valence basins. Furthermore, the value of the ED is large in relation to the B-B bond length, so that only this bond type does not follow a linear relationship of the ED value at the bcp versus B-B bond distances, which is found for all other B-B bcp's. The results indicate that both 2e2c and 2e3c bonding play a distinct role in borane chemistry.     

Acceleration of the effect of solute on the entropy-volume cross fluctuation density in aqueous 2-butoxyethanol, 1-propanol, and glycerol: the fourth derivative of Gibbs energy

Using a differential pressure perturbation calorimetry developed by us recently [K. Yoshida, S. Baluja, A. Inaba, K. Tozaki, and Y. Koga, "Experimental determination of third derivative of G (III): Differential pressure perturbation calorimetry (II)," J. Solution Chem. (in press)], we experimentally determined the partial molar S-V cross fluctuation density of solute B, (SV)δ(B) , in binary aqueous solutions for B = 1-propanol (1P) and glycerol (Gly). This third derivative of G provides information about the effect of solute B on the S-V cross fluctuation density, (SV)δ, in aqueous solution as the concentration of B varies. Having determined (SV)δ(B) by better than 1% uncertainty, we evaluated for the first time the fourth derivative quantity (SV)δ(B-B) = N(?(SV)δ(B) ∕?n(B)) for B = 1P and Gly graphically without resorting to any fitting functions within several percent. This model-free quantity gives information about the acceleration of the effect of solute B on (SV)δ. By comparing fourth derivative quantities, (SV)δ(B-B) , among B = 1P, Gly, and 2-butoxyethanol obtained previously, the distinction of the effect of solute on H(2)O becomes clearer than before when only the third derivative quantities were available.     

Isotope effects and the temperature dependences of the hyperfine coupling constants of muoniated sec-butyl radicals in condensed phases

Reported here is the first μSR study of the muon (A(μ)) and proton (A(p)) β-hyperfine coupling constants (Hfcc) of muoniated sec-butyl radicals, formed by muonium (Mu) addition to 1-butene and to cis- and trans-2-butene. The data are compared with in vacuo spin-unrestricted MP2 and hybrid DFT/B3YLP calculations reported in the previous paper (I), which played an important part in the interpretation of the data. The T-dependences of both the (reduced) muon, A(μ)′(T), and proton, A(p)(T), Hfcc are surprisingly well explained by a simple model, in which the calculated Hfcc from paper I at energy minima of 0 and near ±120° are thermally averaged, assuming an energy dependence given by a basic 2-fold torsional potential. Fitted torsional barriers to A(μ)′(T) from this model are similar (~3 kJ/mol) for all muoniated butyl radicals, suggesting that these are dominated by ZPE effects arising from the C?Mu bond, but for A(p)(T) exhibit wide variations depending on environment. For the cis- and trans-2-butyl radicals formed from 2-butene, A(μ)′(T) exhibits clear discontinuities at bulk butene melting points, evidence for molecular interactions enhancing these muon Hfcc in the environment of the solid state, similar to that found in earlier reports for muoniated tert-butyl. In contrast, for Mu?sec-butyl formed from 1-butene, there is no such discontinuity. The muon hfcc for the trans-2-butyl radical are seemingly very well predicted by B3LYP calculations in the solid phase, but for sec-butyl from 1-butene, showing the absence of further interactions, much better agreement is found with the MP2 calculations across the whole temperature range. Examples of large proton Hfcc near 0 K are also reported, due to eclipsed C?H bonds, in like manner to C?Mu, which then also exhibit clear discontinuities in A(p)(T) at bulk melting points. The data suggest that the good agreement found between theory and experiment from the B3LYP calculations for eclipsed bonds in the solid phase may be fortuitous. For the staggered protons of the sec-butyl radicals formed, no discontinuities are seen at all in A(p)(T), also demonstrating no further effects of molecular interactions on these particular proton Hfcc.     

Hydrostatic pressure effects on the lamellar to gyroid cubic phase transition of monolinolein at limited hydration

Monoacylglycerol based lipids are highly important model membrane components and attractive candidates for drug encapsulation and as delivery agents. However, optimizing the properties of these lipids for applications requires a detailed understanding of the thermodynamic factors governing the self-assembled structures that they form. Here, we report on the effects of hydrostatic pressure, temperature, and water composition on the structural behavior and stability of inverse lyotropic liquid crystalline phases adopted by monolinolein (an unsaturated monoacylglycerol having cis-double bonds at carbon positions 9 and 12) under limited hydration conditions. Six pressure-temperature phase diagrams have been determined using small-angle X-ray diffraction at water contents between 15 wt % and 27 wt % water, in the range 10-40 °C and 1-3000 bar. The gyroid bicontinuous cubic (Q(II)(G)) phase is formed at low pressure and high temperatures, transforming to a fluid lamellar (L(α)) phase at high pressures and low temperature via a region of Q(II)(G)/L(α) coexistence. Pressure stabilizes the lamellar phase over the Q(II)(G) phase; at fixed pressure, increasing the water content causes the coexistence region to move to lower temperature. These trends are consistent throughout the hydration range studied. Moreover, at fixed temperature, increasing the water composition increases the pressure at which the Q(II)(G) to L(α) transition takes place. We discuss the qualitative effect of pressure, temperature, and water content on the stability of the Q(II)(G) phase.     

Transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of diboranes(4)

The diboranes(4) bis(catecholato)diborane (B(2)Cat(2)) and bis(pinacolato)diborane (B(2)Pin(2)) are important precursors for organoboronic esters, which are versatile reagents for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. A new catalytic synthesis for these compounds starts from catecholborane or pinacolborane and gives the dehydrocoupling products B(2)Cat(2) and B(2)Pin(2) with turnover numbers of up to 11,600 (see scheme).