Theoretical and experimental interpretations of phenol oxidation by the hydroxyl radical

Phenol oxidation by OH radicals produced by the Fenton reaction was studied and the oxidation process was monitored by the UV–visible, ¹³C NMR and LC techniques. The results show that benzoquinone is formed. In the NMR and LC experiments, since the peaks corresponding to isomers ortho and para- benzoquinones are unresolved, DFT was used to determine the branching ratios of the isomers formation that coincides with their ΔG values (ortho > para > meta): 72% for ortho, 23% for para and 5.0% for meta. Furthermore, the energy profile of the OH attack at ortho is quite similar to that at the para position while the meta position attack is less favored by 2.0 kcal/mol.     

A Thermal Analysis Study of Hydroxy Benzoic Acid Derivatives Using Rising Temperature Thermogravimetry

Hydroxy benzoic acids were subjected to rising temperature thermogravimetric analysis. After optimizing the procedural variables, the kinetics of decomposition was determined and methyl paraben was taken as the calibration compound to characterize the evaporation patterns for the ortho and meta derivatives. The E _act values for ortho, meta and para derivatives were 64.8, 78.2, and 119.1 kJ mol^–1, respectively. The Antoine and Langmuir equations were utilized to determine the coefficient of evaporation k, which was 124525±0.8, units being in the SI system. The vapor pressure plots were generated for the ortho and meta derivatives; ΔH _vap for these two compounds were obtained as 66.7 and 80.4 kJ mol^–1, respectively. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Degradation thermique des trois isomeres Ortho,meta, para du polymethoxymethylstyrene

A kinetic study of the overall thermal decomposition of the three isomers (ortho, meta and para) of polymethoxymethylstyrene has been carried out. The reaction order is one over a wide interval of mass loss, for the meta and para polymers; there is no order for the first one. The corresponding activation energy has been calculated as 32.5 kcal mol⁻¹ for the meta polymer and 31 kcal mol⁻¹ for the para polymer.The volatile compounds, identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, are chiefly monomers. The thermal decomposition reaction is probably a depolymerization reaction coupled with crosslinking for the meta and para isomers.     

Calculations of thermodynamic stability of CpCoC<Subscript>2</Subscript>B<Subscript>9</Subscript>H<Subscript>11</Subscript> cobaltacarborane isomers

Quantum-chemical calculations of the geometry and energies of nine possible isomers of 12-vertex cobaltacarborane CpCoC₂B₉H₁₁ (1) were carried out by the DFT method (PBEPBE/DGDZVP/DGA1). Thermodynamic stability of the isomers increases with increasing distance between the carbon atoms in the cage and is virtually independent of the position of the CpCo vertex. The relative stabilities of the 1,2,3-(17.57 kcal mol⁻¹), 1,2,4-(3.72 kcal mol⁻¹), and 1,2,9-isomers of 1 (0 kcal mol⁻¹) are similar to the corresponding values for the ortho (17.61 kcal mol⁻¹), meta (3.21 kcal mol⁻¹), and para isomers (0 kcal mol⁻¹) of carborane C₂B₁₀H₁₂. The results of the present study confirm a close similarity of the CpCo and BH fragments in metallacarborane chemistry. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1557–1559, July, 2005.     

Quantum Chemical Calculation of Conformations and Rotation Barriers of Functional Groups in Arylsulfonyl Halides

The semiempirical PM3 method is used to calculate the potential functions of internal rotation of the functional groups –SO₂Cl, –NO₂, –CH₃, –OCH₃, and –NH₂ of benzenesulfonyl halide molecules (PhSO₂Hal, Hal = F, Cl, Br, I) and twelve substituted derivatives of benzenesulfonyl chloride. Molecular conformations have been determined and internal rotation barriers of the functional groups have been calculated. For meta- and para-substituted benzenesulfonyl chlorides, the projection of the S–Hal bond is perpendicular to the plane of the benzene ring. The rotation barriers of the –SO₂Hal group of benzenesulfonyl halides increase in the series Hal = F, Cl, Br, I. The rotation barriers of the –SO₂Cl group of benzenesulfonyl chloride with meta- and para-substituents slightly increase with the electron-donor properties of the substituent. The rotation barriers of the functional groups of ortho-substituted benzenesulfonyl chlorides are 3 or 4 times as high as those of the meta- and para-isomers. For para-substituted benzenesulfonyl chlorides, the rotation barriers of the functional groups increase in the order –CH₃, –NO₂, –SO₂Cl, –OCH₃, –NH₂.     

Absolute configuration assignment of ortho,meta, or para isomers by mass spectrometry

A general method based solely on mass spectrometric techniques for the absolute configuration assignment of ortho, meta, or para isomers of acyl nitrobenzenes and derivatives is described. Instead of comparing the mass spectra of the three intact molecules of each positional isomer and investigating each one of the many sets of positional isomers, the method generalizes the effort by performing structural analysis on configurationally diagnostic fragment ions that are common for a given class of compounds. These ions must therefore retain the positional information of the parent molecules and be unequivocally distinguished. Nitrobenzoyl cations are common and stable fragment ions of most acyl nitrobenzenes and derivatives retaining the respective ortho, meta, or para configuration of the precursor molecules. The different NO₂ and CO⁺ ring alignments profoundly influence their collision-induced dissociation and bimolecular reactivity, and the isomeric 2-, 3-, and 4-nitrobenzoyl cations are found to be unequivocally distinguished using both approaches. Absolute ortho, meta, or para positional assignment by tandem MS of every isomeric molecule of the acyl nitrobenzene class and derivatives forming detectable amounts of any of those diagnostic nitrobenzoyl cations is, therefore, possible. The ability to perform absolute (non-comparative) configuration assignment using such diagnostic ions is exemplified for a single test molecule of (2R)-(−)-2-methylglycidyl 4-nitrobenzoate. The general application of this absolute MS-only method for other classes of positional isomers is discussed.     

A ‘meta effect’ in the fragmentation reactions of ionised alkyl phenols and alkyl anisoles

The competition between benzylic cleavage (simple bond fission [SBF]) and retro‐ene rearrangement (RER) from ionised ortho, meta and para RC₆H₄OH and RC₆H₄OCH₃ (R = n‐C₃H₇, n‐C₄H₉, n‐C₅H₁₁, n‐C₇H₁₅, n‐C₉H₁₉, n‐C₁₅H₃₁) is examined. It is observed that the SBF/RER ratio is significantly influenced by the position of the substituent on the aromatic ring. As a rule, phenols and anisoles substituted by an alkyl group in meta position lead to more abundant methylene‐2,4‐cyclohexadiene cations (RER fragmentation) than their ortho and para homologues. This ‘meta effect’ is explained on the basis of energetic and kinetic of the two reaction channels. Quantum chemistry computations have been used to provide estimate of the thermochemistry associated with these two fragmentation routes. G3B3 calculation shows that a hydroxy or a methoxy group in the meta position destabilises the SBF and stabilises the RER product ions. Modelling of the SBF/RER intensities ratio has been performed assuming two single reaction rates for both fragmentation processes and computing them within the statistical RRKM formalism in the case of ortho, meta and para butyl phenols. It is clearly demonstrated that, combining thermochemistry and kinetics, the inequality (SBF/RER)_meta < (SBF/RER)_ortho < (SBF/RER)_para holds for the butyl phenols series. It is expected that the ‘meta effect’ described in this study enables unequivocal identification of meta isomers from ortho and para isomers not only of alkyl phenols and alkyl anisoles but also in other alkyl benzene series. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photolysis of 1,2-anthraquinone diazide in aromatic hydrocarbons

It has been determined that the main products of photolysis of 1,2-anthraquinone diazide in benzene, toluene, anisole, nitrobenzene, and pyridine are the corresponding 1-hydroxy-2-arylanthraquinones that form as a mixture ofortho, meta, andpara isomers with significant content of themeta isomer (40–55%).Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 1000–1003, April, 1992.     

Kinetics of the thermal decomposition of [Co(NH3)6]2(C2O4)3·4H2O

The thermal decomposition of [Co(NH₃)₆]₂(C₂O₄)₃·4H₂O was studied under isothermal conditions in flowing air and argon. Dissociation of the above complex occurs in three stages. The kinetics of the particular stages thermal decomposition have been evaluated. The R_N and/or A_M models were selected as those best fitting the experimental TG curves. The activation energies,E, and lnA were calculated with a conventional procedure and by a new method suggested by Kogaet al. [10, 11]. Comparison of the results have showed that the Arrhenius parameters values estimated by the use of both methods are very close. The calculated activation energies were in air: 96 kJ mol^–1 (R_1.575, stage I); 101 kJ mol^–1 (Ain1.725 stage II); 185 kJ mol^–1 (A _2.9, stage III) and in argon: 66 kJ mol^–1 (A _1.25, stage I); 87 kJ mol^–1 (A _1.825, stage II); 133 kJ mol^–1 (A _2.525, stage III).     

High levelab initio stabilization energies of benzene

Summary G2 theory is shown to be reliable for calculating isodesmic and homodesmotic stabilization energies (ISE and HSE, respectively) of benzene. G2 calculations give HSE and ISE values of 92.5 and 269.1 kJ mol^–1 (298 K), respectively. These agree well with the experimental HSE and ISE values of 90.5±7.2 and 268.7±6.3 kJ mol^–1, respectively. We conclude that basis set superposition error corrections to the enthalpies of the homodesmotic or isodesmic reactions are not necessary in calculations of the stabilization energies of benzene using G2 theory. The calculated values of the enthalpies of formation of such molecules containing multiple bonds such as benzene ands-trans 1,3-butadiene, which are found from the enthalpies of isodesmic and homodesmotic reactions rather than of atomization reactions, demonstrate good performance of G2 theory. Estimates of theH _f ^o value for benzene from the G2 calculated enthalpies of homodesmotic reaction (2) and isodesmic reaction (3) are 80.9 and 82.5 kJ mol^–1 (298 K), respectively. These are very close to the experimentalH _f ^o value of 82.9±0.3 kJ mol^–1. TheH _f ^o value ofs-trans 1,3-butadiene calculated using the G2 enthalpy of isodesmic reaction (4) is 110.5 kJ mol^–1 and is in excellent agreement with the experimentalH _f ^o value of 110.0±1.1 kJ mol^–1.     

Chemical shifts for tritons in the ortho,meta and para positions of toluene as determined by tritium NMR spectroscopy

Chemical shifts for tritons in ortho, meta and para positions in toluene have been determined using a 64 MHz tritium NMR spectrometer. The order of shift is meta>para>ortho, whereas the calculated shift order for protons is meta>ortho>para.     

Conformational studies by dynamic NMR spectroscopy. Part 96: Stereomutations of highly hindered naphthylphenyl atropisomers in solution and in the solids

When a benzene ring bears two 2-methyl-1-naphthyl moieties in the para, meta or ortho positions as in 1,4-bis(2-methyl-1-naphthyl)benzene, 1, 1,3-bis(2-methyl-1-naphthyl)benzene, 2 and 1,2-bis(2-methyl-1-naphthyl)benzene 3, two rotational isomers (atropisomers) are generated, with the two naphthyl substituents in a syn or anti relationship. In the case of the para and meta derivatives (1 and 2, respectively) these atropisomers could not be separated but were detected by NMR spectroscopy, that also allowed the determination of their syn-anti interconversion barriers in solution (19.5 and 20.4 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively) and, in the case of 2, also in the solid state (26.7 kcal mol⁻¹). In the more hindered ortho derivative 3, the syn (meso) and anti (racemic) atropisomers interconvert in solution with a barrier (31.2 kcal mol⁻¹) sufficiently high to allow their physical separation. The racemic form could also be separated (by enantioselective HPLC) into the PP and MM enantiomers. Analysis of the corresponding CD spectra allowed the assignment of the absolute configuration. When three such naphthyl substituents are bonded to the phenyl in a meta relationship, two atropisomers in statistical proportions were observed: the anti (C_s symmetry) and the syn (C_3v symmetry) display a 3:1 ratio at the equilibrium in solution. This ratio is different in the solid state, as is the interconversion barrier (22.1 and 32.1 kcal mol⁻¹ in solution and in the solid, respectively).     

Structures and thermodynamic stabilities of the C2H4O isomers: Acetaldehyde,vinyl alcohol and ethylene oxide

Ab initio molecular orbital theory with a sequence of basis sets ranging from minimal to triple zeta plus polarization and with electron correlation incorporated using Möller-Plesset perturbation theory terminated at third order (MP3) is used to examine the structures and relative energies of the C₂H₄O isomers, acetaldehyde, vinyl alcohol and ethylene oxide. Acetaldehyde is indicated to be the most stable isomer with vinyl alcohol lying 45 kJ mol^–1 and ethylene oxide 114 kJ mol^–1 higher in energy. The theoretical structures and energies are in reasonable agreement with the best available experimental data.     

Thermal stability of para- and ortho-isomers of tris-decyl-(ethyl-benzyl)-ammonium chloride

Thermal stability of para (p--) and ortho (o-) isomers was investigated by CRTG and reaction kinetic analysis. The temperature started the mass decrease of o-isomer was about 20°C lower than that of p-isomer by CRTG. The activation energies of thermal decomposition of o- and p-isomers were 136.9 and 153.4 kJ mol^–1, respectively. The effect of steric hindrance on heat of formation was calculated by AM1 method using Win MOPAC3.0 for the model compound of p- and o-isomers. The lower stability of o-isomer was the results of the steric hindrance between the ethylene unit of aromatic ring and three alkyl chains.     

Acyl radical addition to benzene and related systems—a computational study

The addition of the acetyl radical to benzene, aniline, trifluoromethylbenzene and naphthalene has been investigated using DFT calculations. Addition to benzene is calculated to have an energy barrier of 63.6 kJ mol⁻¹ at the BHandHLYP/6-311G(d,p)+ZPE level of theory. This reaction is associated with simultaneous SOMO→π^∗ and π→SOMO interactions with the latter interaction dominating, suggesting that acetyl reacts predominantly as an electrophilic radical in its interaction with benzene. Addition to the ortho and para positions of aniline is calculated to be slightly less favourable, while attack at the meta position is predicted to be unaffected in relation to the chemistry involving benzene. Inclusion of the electron-withdrawing substituent, trifluoromethyl, is predicted to accelerate reactions slightly at the ortho and para positions, while attack at the C1 position of naphthalene is calculated to involve a barrier of 50.3 kJ mol⁻¹ (BHandHLYP/6-311G(d,p)+ZPE).     

Effects of fused benzene rings on tautomerizations and inversions of benzo, azabenzo, and oxabenzocycloheptatrienes at theoretical levels

Biologically important bicyclic species, including 6H-, 6H-6-aza-, and 6-oxabenzocycloheptatrienes (in which the benzene moiety is fused meta with respect to the tetrahedral constituents: –CH₂–, –NH–, and –O–, respectively), show strong shifts of tautomerizations in favor of the corresponding tricyclic benzonorcaradienes (with ΔH values of −11.49, −14.55, and −19.20 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively), at B3LYP/6-311++G**//B3LYP/6-31G*, and MP2/6-311++G**//MP2/6-31G* levels, and at 298 K. In contrast, such shifts are strongly disfavored by the isomeric bicyclic species in which the benzene moieties are fused ortho or para with respect to –CH₂–, –NH–, and –O–, respectively. Hence for species with ortho benzene rings including 5H-, 5H-5-aza- and 5-oxabenzocycloheptatrienes, tautomerization ΔH values are 30.76, 31.89, and 25.27 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively, while for species with para fused benzene moieties including 7H-, 7H-7-aza-, and 7-oxabenzocycloheptatrienes, tautomerization ΔH values are 24.12, 26.00, and 19.55 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. NICS calculations are successfully used to rationalize these results. The calculated energy barriers for inversion of the seven-membered rings of bicyclic species predict a dynamic nature for all the structures except for the virtually planar 6H-6-aza- and 6-oxabenzocycloheptatrienes. Finally, our theoretical data are compared to the experimental results where available. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Influence of isomerism of the ligand on the enthalpies of formation of copper tetrapyridylporphine

The enthalpy of dissolution of the tetrapyridylporphine isomers in water and in aqueous solutions of magnesium and copper acetates at a constant salt concentration (∼7 mmol/l) were observed for the first time by the calorimetric method with spectrophotometric monitoring. A substantial influence of the electronic effects of the tetrapyridyl fragment with different (para, meta, and ortho) positions of the heteroatom on the enthalpies of coordination of the ligands by the Cu²⁺ ions was revealed.     

Modeling the Proton Transport in Orthoperiodic and Orthotelluric Acids and Their Salts

Orthoperiodic and orthotelluric acids, their salts MIO₆H₄ (M = Li, Rb, Cs) and CsH₅TeO₆, and dimers of the salt · acid type are calculated within density functional theory B3LYP and basis set LanL2DZ complemented by the polarizationd,p-functions. According to calculations, the salt · acid dimerization is energetically favorable for compounds MIO₆H₄ · H₅IO₆ (M = Rb, Cs) and CsIO₆H₄ · H₆TeO₆. The dimerization energy is equal to 138–146 kJ mol^–1. With relatively small activation energies equal to 4 kJ mol^–1 (M = Li) and 11 kJ mol^–1 (M = Rb, Cs), possible is rotation of octahedron IO₆ relative to the M atom in monomers of salt molecules. The proton transfer along an octahedron occurs with activation energies of 63–84 kJ mol^–1. The activation energy for the proton transfer between neighboring octahedrons of the type salt · acid acid · salt equals 8–17 kJ mol^–1. Quantum-chemical calculations nicely conform to x-ray diffraction and electrochemical data.     

Ortho effects in mass spectrometric fragmentation processes

The mass spectra of the phenylhydrazones and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones of ortho substituted benzaldehydes and acetophenones (X = I, Br, Cl, OCH₃, OH) show characteristic [M ? X]⁺ ions which allow the ortho derivatives to be distinguished from their meta and para isomers.     

Chemistry of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzonitrile. 1. Nitro group substitution in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzonitrile under the action of anionic nucleophiles. Factors favoring substitution of the ortho-nitro group

The direction of the nitro group substitution (the ratio of the ortho/para substitution) in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzonitrile under the action of anionic nucleophiles (MeO^–, RS^–, and N₃ ^–) as well as of HCl was studied. The factors favoring ortho substitution were revealed.