A theoretical investigation of the low energy conformers of the isomers glycine and methylcarbamic acid and their role in the interstellar medium

We have theoretically investigated the low energy conformers of neutral glycine (NH(2)CH(2)COOH) and its isomer methylcarbamic acid (CH(3)NHCOOH) in the gas phase. A total of 16 different levels of the theory, including CCSD(T), MP2 and B3LYP methods with various Pople and Dunning type basis sets with and without polarization and diffuse functions were used. We found eight low energy glycine conformers, where the heavy atoms in three have a planar backbone, and four low energy methylcarbamic acid conformers all with non-planar backbones. Interestingly at all levels of theory, we found that the most stable methylcarbamic acid conformer is significantly lower in energy than the lowest energy glycine conformer. The MP2 level and single point CCSD(T) calculations show the lowest energy methylcarbamic acid conformer to be between 31 to 37 kJ mol(-1) lower in energy than the lowest energy glycine conformer. These calculations suggest that methylcarbamic acid might serve as a precursor to glycine formation in the Interstellar Medium (ISM). We also report the theoretical harmonic vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, moment of inertia, rotational constants and dipole moments for all of the conformers. In order to understand how glycine or methylcarbamic acid might be formed in the ISM, larger calculations which model glycine or its isomer interacting with several surrounding molecules, such as water, are needed. We demonstrate that B3LYP method should provide a reliable and computationally practical approach to modeling these larger systems.     

Molecular modelling of structural changes which affect chromatographic selectivity in chiral separations

A molecular mechanics program, MM2, was utilized to model two chromatographic systems. It was first used to locate the most stable conformers of homologs of two derivatized silica stationary phases, N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-d-valine-N'-n-butylamide and N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-d-alanine-N'-n-butylamide, and also of the enantiomers of 2,2,2-trifluoroanthrylethanol (TFAE). The most stable (R) and (S) conformers of TFAE were then docked with those of the amino-acid derivatives. The calculations correctly predicted the elution order as well as the relative resolving powers of the two bonded phases. Replacing the n-butyl "spacer" chain with a methyl, ethyl, or n-propyl group confirmed the importance of chain length. Calculations involving the n-propyl spacer correctly predicted the elution order of enantiomers of TFAE on both phases as well as the relative enantiomeric resolving power of the two stationary phases. Similar calculations involving either ethyl or methyl spacers on the alanine derivative did not make correct predictions, thereby confirming the important influence of the spacer on fractionation of enantiomers.     

Chromatographic resolution, solution and crystal phase conformations, and absolute configuration of tert-butyl(dimethylamino)phenylphosphine-borane complex

The enantiomers of tert-butyl(dimethylamino)phenylphosphine-borane complex 2 have been separated by HPLC using cellulose tris-p-methylbenzoate as chiral stationary phase. The borane protection could be removed without racemization and the P-configuration of the free aminophosphine 1 has shown to be stable in solution. Infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra have been measured in CD2Cl2 solution for both enantiomers. B3LYP/6-31+G(d) DFT calculations allowed a prediction that complex (S)-2 exists as three conformers in equilibrium and computed population-weighted IR and VCD spectra. Predicted and experimental IR and VCD spectra compared very well and indicate that enantiomer (+)-2 has the S absolute configuration. This assignment has been confirmed by an X-ray diffraction study on a single crystal of (+)-2. The crystal structure of enantiomerically pure 2 appears to be very close to the most stable computed conformer which proved to be predominant in solution.     

On the stability of glycine-water clusters with excess electron: implications for photoelectron spectroscopy

Calculations are presented for the glycine-(H(2)O)(n) (-) (n=0-2) anionic clusters with excess electron, with the glycine core in the canonical or zwitterion form. A variety of conformers are predicted, and their relative energy is examined to estimate thermodynamic stability. The dynamic (proton transfer) pathways between the anionic clusters with the canonical and the zwitterion glycine core are examined. Small barrier heights for isomerization from the zwitterion glycine-(H(2)O)(2) (-) anion to those with canonical glycine core suggest that the former conformers may be kinetically unstable and unfavorable for detection of neutral glycine zwitterion-(H(2)O)(n) (n=1,2) clusters by photodetachment, in accordance with the photoelectron spectroscopic experiments by Bowen and co-workers [Xu et al., J. Chem. Phys. 119, 10696 (2003)]. The calculated stability of the glycine-(H(2)O)(n) (-) anion clusters with canonical glycine core relative to those with zwitterion core indicates that the observation of the anionic conformers with the canonical glycine core would be much more feasible, as revealed by Johnson and co-workers [Diken et al. J. Chem. Phys. 120, 9902 (2004)].     

Conformational analysis of N-methylglycine and N,N-dimethylglycine by ab initio calculations

Eight of the most stable conformers of N-methylglycine (NMG) and five of N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) were analyzed by high level ab initio calculations. Since NMG has only one amino hydrogen and a carboxylic acid hydrogen, it is capable of the formation of various types of hydrogen-bonded conformers and as a result is ideally suited to studying the importance of hydrogen-bonding on the relative stabilities of the various types of conformers of glycine and N-alkylated glycines. Comparisons of the relative energies of the various NMG and DMG conformers that have different types and number of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) reveal the importance of hydrogen bonds to the stability of the different types of conformers. For NMG, conformer Ib which has two types of H-bonds and a dipole moment of 1.2 debyes is the most stable. Conformer Ib is similar to that of the most stable conformer of glycine. For DMG, on the other hand, IIc is the most stable conformer. IIc has a dipole moment of 5.6 debyes (compared to a value of 1.1 debyes for another of its conformers, Ic) and only one H-bond which involves the carboxylic acid and amino functionalities. The stability of IIc is attributed to the relative strength of the type H-bond formed — a similar type H-bond of glycine and NMG is predicted to be weaker. Thus, for a particular conformer, the relative strength and number of possible H-bonds that can be formed, and not necessarily the magnitude of the dipole moment, play key roles in the relative stability of amino acid conformers in the gas phase.     

Conformational consequences of the dynamic processes in the stereolabile atropisomers of acyl-substituted m-terphenyl derivatives

By means of low-temperature NMR spectroscopy, conformers (stereolabile atropisomers) due to the restricted rotation about the Ar-Ar and Ar-C(O)R bonds were detected in a number of acylphenyl derivatives, substituted in positions 2 and 6 by the 3-isopropylphenyl moiety (compounds 1-3, R=H, Me, and t-Bu, respectively). The conformational assignment was accomplished on the basis of the symmetry of the low-temperature 13C NMR spectra with the added support of ab initio calculations. The interconversion barriers were also determined by complete line shape simulation of the NMR spectra, and the experimental values were satisfactorily reproduced by ab initio calculations. In the case of the asymmetric derivative 4, two enantiomers, generated by the restricted t-BuC(O)-Ar rotation, were found sufficiently stable to allow their separation by means of the enantioselective HPLC technique at ambient temperature and to obtain the corresponding CD spectra.     

Electron propagator theory study of N-/O-methylglycine conformers

The low-lying conformers of N-/O-methylglycine are studied by ab initio calculations at the B3LYP, MP3, and MP4(SDQ) levels of theory with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The conformers having the intramolecular hydrogen bonds N-H...O=C or O-H...N are more stable than the others. Vertical ionization energies for the valence molecular orbitals of each conformer predicted with the electron propagator theory in the partial third-order quasiparticle approximation are in good agreement with the experimental data available in the literatures. The relative energies of the conformers and comparison between the simulated and the experimental photoelectron spectra demonstrate that there are at least three and two conformers of N- and O-methylglycine, respectively, in the gas-phase experiments. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N effects on the molecular electronic structures are discussed for the glycine methyl derivatives, on the basis of the ab initio electronic structure calculations, natural orbital bond, and atoms-in-molecules analyses. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N interactions hardly affect the electronic structures of the O-NH2-CH2-C(=O)-O-CH3 and alpha-methylated NH2-CH2-C(CH3)OOH conformers, while the similar intramolecular interactions lead to the significantly lower-energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbitals for the N-(CH3-NH-CH2-COOH) and beta-methylated (NH2-CH2-CH2-COOH) conformers.     

Fragmentation and deformation mechanism of glycine isomers in gas phase: Investigations of charge effect

The structural parameters, relative stability, proton transfer energy barriers of four typical and life related isomers and conformers of different charged (n=0,+/-1,+/-2) glycine species have been investigated using B3LYP, BHLYP, and CCSD(T) methods. Results indicate that those neutral and (+/-1)-charged species are stable. For the (+2)-charged cases, all four triplet-state glycine species and only the singlet-state zwitterionic one are stable. On the other hand, only the singlet-state zwtterionic glycine ((1)GlyZW(-2)) and the corresponding neutral form counterpart ((1)Gly(-2)) are stable for the (-2)-charged cases. Either of the two stable structures holds a proton lying in the position (2-3 A) of being separated from its corresponding parental species. Those unstable divalent glycine species are dissociated into different smaller species spontaneously according to the characters of their different structures and electron spins. The presented fragmentation and deformation mechanisms can effectively predict and satisfactorily explain some experimental phenomena, which had been puzzling the mass spectrometry chemists. Also, the mechanisms should be suitable for any other similar molecule systems. Comparisons of the relative energies of the four (+1)-charged glycine species show that doublet-state glycine III ((2)GlyIII1) is more stable in energy by 12.1 kcal/mol than the (+1)-charged glycine Gly ((2)Gly1). This is consistent with the energy ordering of their corresponding mono-valence metal ion-bound derivatives. In addition, calculations show that an intramolecular proton transfer of (2)Gly(-1) to become its zwitterionic counterpart is preferred due to its least activation energy barrier (5.8 kcal/mol) among four discussed processes.     

Monosolvation of R-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol with amines: configurational effects on the excitation, ionization, and fragmentation of diastereomeric complexes

Wavelength and mass selected resonant two-photon ionization spectra of molecular clusters between R-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (FER) and methylamine (M) or the enantiomers of 2-aminobutane (AR and AS) were recorded after supersonic molecular beam expansion and analyzed with the aid of ab initio molecular orbital calculations. The experimental results agree with theoretical calculations pointing to the predominance of the two most stable conformers of monosolvated FER whose CF3 group establishes intense NH...F interactions with the selected amines so as to orient them away from the aromatic ring. This reduces the enantioselectivity of FER toward the 2-aminobutane enantiomers as compared to that exhibited by the R-1-phenylethanol (ER) analogue, where obviously NH...F interactions are absent.     

Infrared and Raman spectra,conformational stability,vibrational assignment and ab initio calculations of methylvinyl silyl chloride

The infrared spectra (3200-50 cm(-1)) of gaseous and solid and Raman spectra (3200-10 cm(-1)) of the liquid and solid methylvinyl silyl chloride, CH(2)=CHSiH(CH(3))Cl, and the Si-d isotopomer have been recorded. The three expected stable conformers (the three different groups eclipsing the double bond) have been identified in the fluid phase, but it was not possible to obtain an annealed solid with a single conformer. Variable temperature (-105 to -150 degrees C) studies of the infrared spectra of the sample dissolved in liquid krypton has been carried out. From these data the enthalpy differences between the most stable conformer with the hydrogen atom (HE) eclipsing the double bond to that with the chlorine atom (ClE) and the methyl group (ME) eclipsing the double bond have been determined to be 17+/-4 cm(-1) (203+/-48 Jmol(-1)) and 80+/-12 cm(-1) (957+/-144 Jmol(-1)), respectively. However in the liquid state the ME conformer is the most stable form with enthalpy differences of 13+/-4 and 27+/-7 cm(-1) to the HE and ClE rotamers, respectively. It is estimated that there is 39% of the HE conformer, 35% of the ClE conformer, and 26% of the ME conformer present at ambient temperature. A complete vibration assignment is proposed for the HE conformer which is based on infrared band contours and group frequencies, which is supported by normal coordinate calculations utilizing the force constants from ab initio MP2/6-31G(d) calculations. Additionally, several of the fundamentals for the other two conformers have been assigned. The optimal geometries, conformational stabilities, harmonic force fields, infrared intensities, Raman activities, depolarization ratios, and vibrational frequencies are reported for all three conformers from MP2/6-31G(d,p) ab initio calculations with full electron correlation. Optimized geometrical parameters and conformational stabilities have been obtained from MP2/6-311+G(d,p) calculations. At this highest level of calculations, the HE conformer is predicted to be more stable by 62 and 84 cm(-1) than the ME and ClE conformers, respectively. The coefficients from the potential function governing the conformational interchange have been obtained from the MP2/6-31G(d) ab initio calculations. By utilizing the frequency of the SiH stretching mode, the r(0)-H distance has been determined to be 1.481 A for the HE conformer. The ab initio calculated quantities are compared to the experimentally determined values where applicable, as well as to some corresponding results for some similar molecules.     

Vibrational spectrum of glycine molecule

The infrared and Raman spectra of glycine molecule has been studied in spectral region 400-4000 cm(-1) in solid form as well as in water. The vibrational frequencies for the fundamental modes of the glycine in neutral and its zwitterionic form have also been calculated using AM1 semiempirical method as well as ab initio method with minimal basis set. The reliability of the minimal basis set and AM1 method with higher basis sets, for IR spectra of the neutral glycine conformers were examined. We find that the 6-21G basis set calculation yields structural parameters, rotational constant and dipole moment of glycine conformers, which are very similar to those obtained from extended basis set calculation as well as experimental values. IR frequencies for glycine conformer I are also calculated in water using SCRF=PCM model and compared with experimental values. A comparison between calculated frequencies for neutral glycine, and its zwitterionic form with observed IR and Raman bands have been made. The total energies for gas phase glycine and its zwitterionic form along with those of hydrated forms were also calculated. It is found from the calculations that in the gas phase neutral glycine is more stable as compared to its zwitterionic form.     

Effect of noncovalent interactions on conformers of the n-butylbenzene monomer studied by mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy and basis-set convergent ab initio computations

Two conformational isomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon n-butylbenzene have been studied using two-color MATI (mass analyzed threshold ionization) spectroscopy to explore the effect of conformation on ionization dynamics. Cationic states of g auche-conformer III and anti- conformers IV were selectively produced by two-color excitation via the respective S 1 origins. Adiabatic ionization potentials of the gauche- and anti-conformations were determined to be 70146 and 69872 +/- 5 cm (-1) respectively. Spectral features and vibrational modes are interpreted with the aid of MP2/cc-pVDZ ab initio calculations, and ionization-induced changes in the molecular conformations are discussed. Complete basis set (CBS) ab initio studies at MP2 level reveal reliable energetics for all four n-butylbenzene conformers observed in earlier two-color REMPI (resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization) spectra. For the S 0 state, the energies of conformer III, IV and V are above conformer I by 130, 289, 73 cm (-1), respectively. Furthermore, the combination of the CBS calculations with the measured REMPI, MATI spectra allowed the determination of the energetics of all four conformers in the S 1 and D 0 states.     

Conformations of the glycine tripeptide analog Ac-Gly-Gly-NHMe: a computational study including aqueous solvation effects

A computational study of the conformational preferences of the glycine tripeptide analog, Ac-Gly-Gly-NHMe, has been carried out. The molecule is considered in isolation as well as with a continuum model of aqueous solvation. In the absence of solvent, several low-energy conformers are found that exhibit turnlike structures including type I and type II β turns. Upon consideration of aqueous solvation, two conformers, corresponding to the type I and II turn structures are found to be significantly lower in energy than all others. Results from ab initio molecular orbital theory calculations at MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ//MP2/6-311+G(d,p) are compared with those from density functional theory with B3LYP, ωB97X-D, B97-D, and M06-2X as well as several empirical force fields.     

A theoretical investigation of the relative stability of hydrated glycine and methylcarbamic acid--from water clusters to interstellar ices

We have theoretically investigated how the low-energy conformers of the neutral and the zwitterionic forms of glycine as well as methylcarbamic acid are stabilized by the presence water. The MP2/6-311++G(d,p) method was utilized to conduct calculations on glycine and methylcarbamic acid in both isolated clusters and in clusters embedded in the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (C-PCM), where the clusters explicitly contain between one and ten water molecules. The neutral forms of glycine and methylcarbamic acid were found to have similar hydration energies, whereas the neutral methylcarbamic acid was determined to be approximately 32 kJ mol(-1) more stable than the neutral glycine in the isolated clusters and 30 kJ mol(-1) more stable in the C-PCM embedded clusters. Both the number and strength of the hydrogen bonding interactions between water and the zwitterions drive the stability. This lowers the relative energy of the glycine zwitterion from 50 kJ mol(-1) above neutral glycine, when there are two water molecules in the clusters to 11 kJ mol(-1) below for the clusters containing ten water molecules. For the methylcarbamic acid clusters with two water molecules, the zwitterion is 51 kJ mol(-1) higher in energy than the neutral form, but it remains 13 kJ mol(-1) above the neutral methylcarbamic acid in the clusters containing ten water molecules. When the bulk water environment is simulated by the C-PCM calculations, we find both the methylcarbamic acid and glycine zwitterionic forms have similar energies at 20 kJ mol(-1) above the neutral methylcarbamic acid energy and 10 kJ mol(-1) lower than the neutral glycine energy. Although neither methylcarbamic acid nor glycine have been detected in the interstellar medium yet, our findings indicate that methylcarbamic acid is the more stable product from methylamine and carbon dioxide reactions in a water ice. This suggests that methylcarbamic acid likely plays a role in the intermediate steps if glycine is formed in the interstellar medium.     

Probing furanose ring conformation by gas-phase computational methods: energy profile and structural parameters in methyl beta-D-arabinofuranoside as a function of ring conformation

The potential energy surface of methyl beta-D-arabinofuranoside (3) has been studied by ab initio molecular orbital (HF/6-31G) and density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G) calculations via minimization of the 10 possible envelope conformers. The partial potential energy surface identified that the global minimum and lowest energy northern conformer was E(2). In the HF calculations, (2)E was the most stable southern conformer, while the density functional theory methods identified (4)E as the local minimum in this hemisphere. Additional calculations at higher levels of theory showed that the B3LYP-derived energies of many of the envelope conformers of 3 are dependent upon the basis set used. It has also been demonstrated that B3LYP/6-31+G//B3LYP/6-31G single point energies are essentially the same as those obtained from full geometry optimizations at the B3LYP/6-31+G level. The northern and southern minima of the B3LYP/6-31+G surface are, respectively, the E(2) and (2)E conformers. The B3LYP/6-31G geometries were used to study the relationship between ring conformation and various structural parameters including bond angles, dihedral angles, bond lengths, and interatomic distances.     

Conformational equilibrium of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide anion of a room-temperature ionic liquid: Raman spectroscopic study and DFT calculations

The structure of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (TFSI-) in the liquid state has been studied by means of Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations. Raman spectra of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI+) TFSI- show relatively strong bands arising from TFSI- at about 398 and 407 cm(-1). Interestingly, the 407 cm(-1) band, relative to the 398 cm(-1) one, is appreciably intensified with raising temperature, suggesting that an equilibrium is established between TFSI- conformers in the liquid state. According to DFT calculations followed by normal frequency analyses, two conformers of C2 and C1 symmetry, respectively, constitute global and local minima, with an energy difference 2.2-3.3 kJ mol(-1). The wagging omega-SO2 vibration appears at 396 and 430 cm(-1) for the C1 conformer and at 387 and 402 cm(-1) for the C2 one. Observed Raman spectra over the range 380-440 cm(-1) were deconvoluted to extract intrinsic bands of TFSI- conformers, and the enthalpy of conformational change from C2 to C1 was evaluated. The enthalpy value is in good agreement with that obtained by theoretical calculations. We thus conclude that a conformational equilibrium is established between the C1 and C2 conformers of TFSI- in the liquid EMI+TFSI-, and the C2 conformer is more favorable than the C1 one.     

A high-pressure mass spectrometric and density functional theory investigation of the thermochemical properties and structure of protonated dimers and trimers of glycine

A new modification of pulsed-ionization high-pressure mass spectrometry (PHPMS) has been used to perform equilibrium thermochemical studies for relatively nonvolatile biomolecules such as amino acids. Binding enthalpy and entropy changes have been measured for proton-bound clusters of glycine, which are in good agreement with both theoretical (DFT) results of this work and a previous blackbody infrared dissociation experiment. Experimental data indicate that a number of conformers of the proton-bound dimer of glycine may coexist in the explored temperature range (360-460 K). Several new, conceptually different isomers (two of them zwitterionic) have been found by DFT calculations, one of which is 7 kJ mol(-1) lower in energy than the structure previously reported to be the energy minimum.     

Proton transfer at the carboxylic sites of amino acids: A single water molecule catalyzed process

Ab initio calculations at MP2 level of theory were used to study the proton transfer at the carboxylic sites of amino acids, in the isolated, mono‐ and di‐hydrated forms. In the case of water dimer, two interaction modes with glycine neutral structures (see Fig. 3 ) were explored, corresponding to the concerted and stepwise reaction pathways. Their transition states can be described as (H₂O? H? OH₂)⁺ [Fig. 4 (a)] and (H₂O‐‐‐H? OH₂)⁺ [Fig. 4 (b)], respectively. The energy analysis indicated that the concerted pathway is preferred. In the isolated, mono‐ and di‐hydrated glycine complexes, the activation barriers of the proton transfer at the carboxylic sites were calculated to be 34.49, 16.59, and 13.36 kcal mol^?1, respectively. It was thus shown that the proton transfer is significantly assisted and catalyzed by water monomer so that it can take place at room temperature. Instead, the further addition of water molecules plays solvent effects rather than catalytic effects to this proton transfer process. The above results obtained with discrete water molecules were supported by the solvent continuum calculated data. It was also observed that the heavy dependence of the solvent continuum models on dipole moments may produce misleading results. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Conformational stability from variable temperature infrared spectra of krypton solutions, ab initio calculations, vibrational assignment, and r0 structural parameters of 1,3-difluoropropane

The infrared spectra (3200-400 cm(-1)) of krypton solutions of 1,3-difluoropropane, FCH2CH2CH2F, at variable temperatures (-105 to -150 degrees C) have been recorded. Additionally, the infrared spectra (3200-50 cm(-1)) of the gas and solid have been recorded as well as the Raman spectrum of the liquid. From a comparison of the spectra of the fluid phases with that in the solid, all of the fundamental vibrations of the C2 conformer (gauche-gauche) where the first gauche indicates the form for one of the CH2F groups and the second gauche the other CH2F, and many of those for the C1 form (trans-gauche) have been identified. Tentative assignments have been made for a few of the fundamentals of the other two conformers, i.e. C2v (trans-trans) and Cs (gauche-gauche'). By utilizing six pairs of fundamentals for these two conformers in the krypton solutions, an enthalpy difference of 277 +/- 28 cm(-1) (3.31 +/- 0.33 kJ mol(-1)) has been obtained for the C2 versus C1 conformer with the C2 conformer the more stable form. For the C2v conformer, the enthalpy difference has been determined to be 716 +/- 72 cm(-1) (8.57 +/- 0.86 kJ mol(-1)) and for the Cs form 971 +/- 115 cm(-1) (11.6 +/- 1.4 kJ mol(-1)). It is estimated that there is 64 +/- 3% of the C2 form, 34 +/-3% of the C1 form, 1% of the C2v form and 0.6% of the Cs conformer present at ambient temperature. Equilibrium geometries and total energies of the four stable conformers have been determined from ab initio calculations with full electron correlation by the perturbation method to second order as well as by hybrid density functional theory calculations with the B3LYP method using a number of basis sets. The MP2 calculations predict the C1 conformer stability to be slightly higher than the experimentally determined value whereas for the C2v and Cs conformers the predicted energy difference is much larger than the experimental value. The B3LYP calculations predict a better energy difference for both the C1 and C2v as well as for the Cs conformers than the MP2 values. A complete vibrational assignment is proposed for the C2 conformer and many of the fundamentals have been identified for the C1 form based on the force constants, relative intensities and rotational-vibrational band contours obtained from the predicted equilibrium geometry parameters. By combining previously reported rotational constants for the C2 and C1 conformers with ab initio MP2/6-311 + G(d, p) predicted parameters, adjusted r0 parameters have been obtained for both conformers. Comparisons are made with the parameters obtained for some other molecules containing the FCH2 group. The spectroscopic and theoretical results are compared to the corresponding properties for some similar molecules.     

Theoretical analysis of fluoroglycine conformers

Seven different optimized conformers of α‐fluoroglycine (H₂NCHFCOOH) were obtained from ab initio calculations. Some of these conformers are exceptionally stable compared to similar conformers of glycine. Conformers in which the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom are antiperiplanar to the C F bond are more stable than conformers that do not have such an arrangement. The stability difference between conformers with such an arrangement and conformers that have the lone pair of electrons synperiplanar to the C F bond is about 27 kJ/mol (calculated at the MP2/6‐31+G* level). Conformers that have the lone pair of electrons antiperiplanar to the C F bond possess a longer C F bond, a shorter C N bond, and sp²‐like amino bond angles. For some conformers an unusual hydrogen bond involving the acidic carboxylic acid hydrogen and the electronegative fluorine atom is observed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 426–431, 2000