Substituent effects on acidity of aryl‐substituted fluoroalkanes: a computational study

The gas‐phase acidities (GA) of various aryl‐substituted fluoroalkanes, XC₆H₄CH(R¹)R², were calculated at the B3LYP/6‐311 + G(d,p)//B3LYP/6‐311 + G(d,p). The acidity values of alkanes having a common substituent X varied significantly with the change of R¹ and R². Their changes in acidity of 1 and 2 having two strong electron‐withdrawing groups (CF₃ or C₂F₅) at the deprotonation site and 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 having no fluorine atom at β‐position were linearly correlated with the corrected number of fluorine atoms contained in the fluorinated alkyl group (R² > 0.999). On the other hand, the GA values of β‐fluorine substituted alkanes ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ) deviated in a stronger acid direction from the line. The enhanced acidity was attributed to the additional stabilization of the conjugate anion caused by the β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation. The magnitude of β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation of the fluorinated alkyl group (ΔG^o_β‐F) given by the deviations from the line decreased with increasing electron‐withdrawing ability of substituent X on the benzene ring, indicating that β‐fluorine negative hyperconjugation competes with the electronic effect of the substituent X. The GA_el values obtained by subtraction ΔG^o_β‐F from the apparent GA value were successfully correlated in terms of the Yukawa–Tsuno equation. The obtained ρ_el and r^?_el values were linearly related to the GA_el value of the respective phenyl‐substituted fluoroalkanes, supporting our previous conclusion that the ρ and r^? values for the substituent effect caused by the electronic effects of the substituent on the acidity are determined by the thermodynamic stability of the parent ion (ring substituent = H). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative studies on CH⋯F− hydrogen bond formation in benzene and exocyclically substituted pentafulvene derivatives

Optimization of CH?F^? complexes of exo‐substituted pentafulvene and meta‐substituted and para‐substituted benzene (substituents: NMe₂, NHMe, NH₂, NHOH, OH, OMe, Br, Cl, F, Me, CCH, CF₃, CONH₂, COMe, CHO, NO₂, NO, and CN) have been performed at the density functional theory level by using Becke hybrid B3LYP functional with 6‐311++G(d,p) basis set. The acidity of the ring CH bond in benzene and fulvene are of similar magnitude, whereas the acidity of the fulvene exocyclic CH₂ group is significantly higher. Various properties based on the H?F^? hydrogen bond (bond length, electron density at BCP, and bond dissociation energy), and the whole molecule (HOMA, sEDA, pEDA, substituent active region, and substituent effect stabilization energy) were analyzed and compared between the fulvene and benzene systems. Sensitivity of the ring CH?F^? hydrogen bond and other substituent dependent properties to substituent effect is substantially greater in fulvene than that of benzene derivatives. In fulvene, the 3‐position is more sensitive than the 4‐position. The sEDA and pEDA parameters used to measure sigma‐electron and pi‐electron excess/deficiency of the ring are mutually correlated for the studied systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cooperativity effects of intramolecular OH…O interactions on pKa values of polyolalkyl sulfonic acids in the gas phase and solution: a density functional theory study

Density functional theory method and B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory were used to determine the acidity of alkyl sulfonic acids and polyolalkyl sulfonic acids in the gas and solution (H₂O, DMSO, and CH₃CN) phase. Polarized continuum model was applied to calculate pK_a values of alkyl sulfonic acids and polyolalkyl sulfonic acids. A comparison between acidity of alkyl sulfonic acids and polyolalkyl sulfonic acids in the gas and solution phase indicates that the acidity strength of polyolalkyl sulfonic acids enhances with the increase of the cooperativity effect of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in polyolalkyl sulfonic acids. Natural bond orbital and quantum theory of atoms in molecules analyses also confirm the role of cooperativity effect on the acidity of polyolalkyl sulfonic acids. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis of 5‐substituted‐1H,3H‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole 2,2‐dioxides (5‐substituted benzosulfamides): kinetic behavior and mechanistic interpretations

The acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis of a series of 5‐substituted‐1H,3H‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole 2,2‐dioxides has been investigated in aqueous solutions of sulfuric, perchloric, and hydrochloric acid at 85.0 ± 0.05 °C. Analysis of the kinetic data by the excess acidity method, Arrhenius parameters, the order of the catalytic effects of strong acids, the kinetic deuterium isotope effect, and the substituent effect have indicated that the hydrolysis of 5‐substituted benzosulfamides 1a , 1b , 1c , 1d occur with a mechanistic switchover from A2 to A1 in the studied range: an A2 mechanism in low acidity regions and an A1 mechanism in high acid concentrations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituent effect on electron affinity,gas‐phase basicity,and structure of monosubstituted propargyl radicals and their anions: a theoretical study

The substituent effect of electron‐withdrawing groups on electron affinity and gas‐phase basicity has been investigated for substituted propargyl radicals and their corresponding anions. It is shown that when a hydrogen of the α‐CH₂ group or acetylenic CH in the propargyl system is substituted by an electron‐withdrawing substituent, electron affinity increases, whereas gas‐phase basicity decreases. The calculated electron affinities are 0.95 eV (CH?C? CH₂?), 1.15 eV (CH?C? CHF?), 1.38 eV (CH?C? CHCl?), 1.48 eV (CH?C? CHBr?) for the isomers with terminal CH and 1.66 eV (CF?C? CH₂?), 1.70 eV (CCl?C? CH₂?), 1.86 eV (CBr?C? CH₂?) for the isomers with terminal CX at B3LYP level. The calculated gas‐phase basicities for their anions are 378.4 kcal/mol (CH?C? CH₂:^?), 371.6 kcal/mol (CH?C? CHF:^?), 365.1 kcal/mol (CH?C? CHCl:^?), 363.5 kcal/mol (CH?C? CHBr:^?) for the isomers with terminal CH and 362.6 kcal/mol (CF?C? CH₂:^?), 360.4 kcal/mol (CCl?C? CH₂:^?), 356.3 kcal/mol (CBr?C? CH₂:^?) for the isomers with terminal CX at B3LYP level. It is concluded that the larger the magnitude of electron‐withdrawing, the greater is the electron affinity of radical and the smaller is the gas‐phase basicity of its anion. This tendency of the electron affinities and gas‐phase bacisities is greater in isomers with the terminal CX than isomers with the terminal CH. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Excited‐state substituent constants σ from substituted benzenes

In this work, 13 compounds of 4,4′‐disubstituted stilbenes and 5 compounds of 3‐methyl‐4′‐substituted stilbenes were prepared and their UV spectra were measured. A new substituent effect constant, namely excited‐state substituent constant, was proposed, which was calculated directly from the UV absorption energy data of substituted benzenes. The investigation result shows that the proposed constant is different from the existing polar substituent constants and radical substituent constants in nature. The availability of the new constant was confirmed by the good correlations with the UV absorption energy of four kinds of compounds, 1,4‐disubstituted benzenes, 4,4′‐disubstituted stilbenes, substituted ethenes, and m‐Y‐substituted aromatic compounds. It is expected that the excited‐state substituent constant can be applied in QSPR study on organic compounds at the excited state. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituent effects on gas-phase acidities of formic acid and its silicon and sulphur derivatives R − M(= X)XH(M = C., Si; X = O,S; R = H,F, CI,OH, NH2 and CH3)

Ab initio molecular orbital methods at the CBS-Q level of theory have been used to study the effect of substituent (F, Cl, NH₂, OH and CH₃) on the gas-phase acidities of formic acid, HCOOH, its silicon and sulphur derivatives R-M(= X)XH(M = C., Si; X = 0, S; R = F, Cl, OH, NH₂ and CH₃). For formic acid and its thio and dithio derivatives the acidity changes upon substitution are irregular and depend on both the type of substituent, position and degree of replacement of oxygen atoms by sulphur atoms. For sila carboxylic acids and their thio and dithio derivatives the calculated acidities regularly increase in the order: R-SiOOH < R-Si(=S)OH ? R-Si(=O)SH < R-SiSSH(R = H, F, Cl, OH, NH₂ and CH₃). The chloro derivatives are the strongest among the acids studied. The highest gas phase acidity (1277.6 kJmol^?1) has been calculated for ClC(=S)OH.     

Substituent effect investigation of 3‐(2, 4‐dichlorophenyl)‐1‐(4′‐X‐phenyl)‐2‐propen‐1‐one. Part 1. Correlation analysis of 13C NMR chemical shifts

A series of substituted chlorinated chalcones namely, 3‐(2,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐1‐(4′‐X‐phenyl)‐2‐propen‐1‐one, have been synthesized, X being H, NH₂, OMe, Me, F, Cl, CO₂Et, CN, and NO₂. Dual substituent parameter (DSP) models of ¹³C NMR chemical shift (CS) have revealed that π‐polarization concept could be utilized to explain the reverse field effect at CO, the enhanced substituent field effect at CO, C‐2, and C‐5, and the decreased sensitivity of substituent field effect at C‐6. Chlorine atoms dipole direction at the benzylidene ring either enhances or reduces substituent effect depending on how they couple with the substituent dipole at the probe site. The correlation of ¹³C NMR CS of C‐2, C‐5, and C‐6 with σ and σ indicates that chlorine atoms in the benzylidine ring deplete the ring from charges. Both MSP of Hammett and DSP of Taft ¹³C NMR CS models give similar trends of substituent effects at C‐2, C‐5, and C‐6. However, the former fail to give a significant correlation for CO and C‐6 ¹³C NMR CS. MSP of σ_q and DSP of Taft and Reynolds models significantly correlated ¹³C NMR CS of C_β. MSP of σ_q fails to correlate C‐1′ ¹³C NMR CS. Investigation of ¹³C NMR CS of non‐chlorinated chalcones series: 3‐phenyl‐1‐(4′‐X‐phenyl)‐2‐propen‐1‐one has revealed similar trends of substituent effects as in the chlorinated chalcones series for C‐1′, CO, C_α, and C_β. In contrast, the substituent effect of the non‐chlorinated chalcone series at C‐2, C‐5, and C‐6 did not correlate with any substituent constant. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revision of the dual substituent parameter treatment using the DFT‐calculated reaction energies

The dual substituent parameter (DSP) data treatment is a broadly used procedure correlating the reaction energies or other physical quantities with two sets of substituent constants, inductive (σ_I) and resonance (σ_R). It was here revised using the most extensive sets of experimental reactivities available in the literature and two sets of reaction energies calculated at the level B3LYP/6‐311+G(d,p): acidities of 4‐substituted benzoic acids and 5‐(E)‐substituted penta‐2,4‐diene‐(E)‐acids with 19 or 15 common substituents. The latter two series enabled us to investigate the substituent effects more systematically than it was ever possible with the experimental data; this means in particular separate treatment of the undissociated acid molecules and of their anions, further separation of donor and acceptor substituents. In addition, the standard statistical treatment was improved when testing the significance of the resonance term. The DSP treatment is not valid generally, this applies both to the standard reference series and to the series commonly investigated. At best, DSP may be considered to hold for donor substituents but the effects of acceptors are much less variable and do not depend on the constants σ_R nor on any other measure of resonance. The small efficiency of acceptor substituents is due by the fact that the constant functional group (COOH in the standard series) is itself an acceptor. A correct treatment would be to investigate the donor and acceptor substituents separately, donors with an acceptor functional groups, and vice versa; substituents with weak resonance effect should be not included. The popularity and apparent success of the DSP treatment can be attributed to several grounds, most important has been the unbalanced choice of substituents. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding halogen‐substituent assistance in H‐atom abstraction‐based reactions of CHCl•− with CH4 − nXn (X = H,F, Cl; n = 0–3)

The effect of halogen‐substituent on hydrogen abstraction mechanisms was studied by applying density functional theory functional calculations to the gas‐phase reactions between CHCl^?? and CH_{4 ? n}X_n (X = H, F, Cl; n = 0–3), and it is found that a heavier X substituent in the substrate results in a greater stabilization of corresponding complex, a lower activation energy, a faster H‐abstraction reaction, and greater exothermicity. However, CH₄– reaction is more reactive than CH₃F– reaction under the same condition because of dominant π‐donation from the electronegative F atom. We also explored the reactivity difference for the seven reactions in terms of factors derived from bond order, second‐order perturbative energy, and activation strain model analysis. The rate constants are evaluated over a wide temperature range of 298–1000 K by the conventional transition state theory. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings: correlation analysis via substituent constants

The elucidation of the mechanism of the substituent influence on the properties P (the interaction energies E, interring distances l, and free energies ΔG of interaction) of weak complexes involving aromatic rings is of importance not only theoretically but also from a practical standpoint. This mechanism is little understood. In this work, the literature data on the substituent influence on P properties for 42 series of complexes have been analyzed, using correlation analysis. Generally, the inductive, resonance, polarizability, and steric effects are in operation. The presence or absence of certain effects and the relation between their contributions are determined by the type of series. The polarizability effect (an electrostatic ion‐dipole interaction) is caused by an excess charge appearing on the ring substituted fragment of complexes as a result of the complexation. This effect is observed in all series; its contribution ranges up to approximately 50%.     

Tuning the absorption spectra and nonlinear optical properties of D‐π‐A azobenzene derivatives by changing the dipole moment and conjugation length: a theoretical study

The optical properties of several azobenzene derivatives were modulated by varying the dipole moments and conjugation lengths of the D‐π‐A systems. The relationship between the structure and absorption spectrum and polarizability was studied in the gas phase, THF and MeOH solutions, respectively, by using the density functional theory. The calculated absorption spectra and second‐order polarizabilities are in good agreement with the available experimental observations. In comparison with the D‐π‐A monomer, the H‐shaped D‐π‐A dimer almost doubles the dipole moments and hence increases the second‐order polarizabilities, without a significant shift in the maximum absorption bands. The addition of another azobenzol group between electron‐donating and ‐accepting groups increases the second‐order polarizabilities by 4–6 times, but leads to an evident red‐shift of about 65–80 nm in spectra. The relative second‐order polarizability of the halogen‐substituted derivatives is in the sequence of ? CF₃ > ? F > ? Cl > ? Br, without obvious substituent effects on the optical transparency. The D‐π‐A chromophores with the strong electron‐donating (amino) and ‐accepting (acetyl) substituent present the larger second‐order polarizabilities, at the cost of about 20 nm red‐shift of the maximum absorption lengths relative to the halogen‐substituted species. It is also demonstrated that both the linear and nonlinear optical properties augment with the increase in solvent polarity, accompanied by a red‐shift in the wavelengths of maximum absorption by about 18 and 23 nm, respectively, in THF and MeOH solutions. The changes in optical properties upon the structural modifications are further rationalized by the electronic structures of various H‐shaped dimers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The quest for a better system for evaluating pi‐electron substituent constant: a comparison of benzoic,acrylic and tria‐, penta‐, heptafulvene‐based carboxylic acids. A computational study

Carboxylic acids based on exo‐substituted tria‐, penta‐, heptafulvenes and ethylene (acrylic acids) were examined in order to determine if they are more sensitive to the substituent effect than benzoic acid – the system originally employed by Hammett. In order to accomplish this task, all possible structural isomers of benzoic acid, tria‐, penta‐ and heptafulvene‐based carboxylic acids, acrylic and methacrylic acids substituted by 13 substiuents (BH₂, CHO, CN, COCN, NO₂, CF₃, Me, Cl, F, OH, OMe, NH₂ and NMe₂) were optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level of theory, and Gibbs free energies of carboxylic group dissociation (ΔG_dis) were calculated. These energies were subsequently intercorrelated, and from the slopes of linear regressions, it was estimated which system is associated with greatest changes of ΔG_dis due to substitution and thus is most sensitive to the substituent effect. It was found that all fulvene‐based carboxylic acids have greater range of ΔG_dis change than benzoic acid, but the largest range of change was observed in the case of acrylic and methacrylic acids. The acrylic acid as the most sensitive system to substitution could replace benzoic acid for an improved version of substituent constant used to measure pi‐electron substituent effect. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituent effect on local aromaticity in mono and di‐substituted heterocyclic analogs of naphthalene

A quantitative study on local aromaticity has been performed on a series of mono‐ and di‐substituted biheterocycles (quinoline, isoquinoline, quinoxaline, quinazoline). Three electronically based indices (PDI, ATI, and FLU) have been employed to investigate the substituent effect on the π‐electron delocalization in both heterocycle and benzenoid rings. Three typical substituents (Cl, OCH₃, and CN) with different inductive and resonance power have been selected. Generally, substituent causes a reduction in aromaticity irrespective of whether it is electron attracting or electron donating. It is shown that the maximum aromaticity exhibits a similar trend of Cl > CN > OCH₃ for all the studied rings. Moreover, it is found that the substituent situation with respect to the heteroatom has a significant influence on the aromaticity. It results from our study that in di‐substituted derivatives, irrespective of whether the two substituents form a meta or para isomer, they preferably choose the position which leads to the maximum aromaticity character. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical insight into the substituent effects on linear and nonlinear optical properties of azobenzene‐based chromophores

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of 4 kinds of experimental synthesized azobenzene‐based chromophores were investigated by different density functional theories (DFTs) upon the electronic structures. The structure‐property relationship was studied on each single molecule either in the gas phase or in diethylether and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solutions. The substituent effect on optical properties was revealed by checking the positions of substituent groups, and the influence of dynamic perturbation to the optical nonlinearity was investigated by simulating the experimental excitation. The results revealed that the substituent in the meta‐position of the azobenzene group affects the optical properties more significantly than that in the ortho‐position, which is in agreement with the experimental finding. The modulation of molecular hyperpolarizability of bridge‐substituted azobenzene derived by dynamic perturbation is not recommended because of the reduced dynamic hyperpolarizability relative to the static one. The different functions of the DFT method hardly affect the calculated results, while solvent effects of diethylether and THF solutions are significant on the optical properties, especially for optical nonlinearity. The information derived from the single chromophore may be helpful in the design and preparation of high‐performance nonlinear optical materials in further.     

Substituent effect study on 13Cβ SCS of styrene series. A Yukawa–Tsuno model and Reynolds dual substituent parameter model investigation

The Yukawa–Tsuno (Y–T) and Reynolds dual substituent parameter (DSP) models have been used to model ¹³C substituent chemical shift (SCS) of the C_β atom of 19 series of para‐substituted styrenes (X‐C₆H₄CR?CYW) with variable electronic and structural demands in the side‐chain. The best fit of the Y–T model was better than that of the Reynolds DSP model for most of the studied series. A high correlation was found between the ρ value of the Y–T model and ρ_F value of the Reynolds DSP model. The ρ value, which reflects the sensitivity of ¹³C_β SCS to the substituent field effect, was found to be influenced by the group W on the C_β atom. A W group that enhances the para‐substituent π‐polarization of the side‐chain has a higher ρ value than its counterpart W groups that induce counter π‐polarization in the side‐chain. The series with W in an E‐configuration to the aryl ring has higher ρ value than corresponding Z series. A lower ρ value is observed when W induces a counter π‐polarization of the side‐chain (as with NO₂ and COMe) or when the R substituent imposes a 65° dihedral angle between the side‐chain and the para‐substituted benzene ring (as with t‐Bu). When the W group is a heterocyclic ring, the closer the heteroatom is to C_β, the lower the ρ value is due to the greater counter π‐polarization. The two components of the substituent effect on ¹³C _β SCS, namely the field effect and resonance effect, behave inversely. The resonance demand (r⁺ value) increases, as the Y and/or W groups become more electron‐withdrawing (EW). The series with W as a hetrocyclic ring develop negative charge at the carbon atom of the hetrocyclic ring adjacent to C_β (and to which the styryl moiety is attached) and has a lower r⁺ value than those which fail to do so. The lowest r⁺ value was for those series with a 65° dihedral angle. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituent‐induced regioselective hydroxylation of the aromatic C–H bond on naphthalene with metachloroperbenzoic acid catalyzed by F20TPPMnCl

The regioselective hydroxylation of the aromatic C–H bond on a series of naphthalenes with different β‐substituent R (R = H, Me, Et, i‐Pr, OMe, COOH, Br, etc.) was studied, and the substituent effect on the regioselectivity was investigated. The electron‐donating substituent afforded the aromatic C–H bond hydroxylation at the 1α position with more than 80% selectivity, while the electron‐withdrawing substituent afforded the aromatic C–H bond hydroxylation at the 4α position with more than 60% selectivity of β‐substituted naphthalene hydroxylated with metachloroperbenzoic acid catalyzed by tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin manganese(III) chloride. The research showed that the steric and electronic effects of the substituent appeared to play a significant role in determining the regioselectivity, and the electronic effect was of more importance than the steric effect of the substituent in the current situation. The studies may provide additional proofs for the stepwise mechanism of the aromatic C–H bond hydroxylation through a cationic intermediate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conversion of a weak organic acid to a super acid in the gas phase

The effects of selected metal ions on the gas‐phase acidity of weak organic acids have been explored using the DFT and Moller–Plesset Perturbation Theory (MP2) calculations. The three organic acids selected for this study were acetic acid (aliphatic), benzoic acid (aromatic), and glycine (amino acid). The acidities of these compounds are compared with the acidity of their Li⁺‐, Na⁺‐, and K⁺‐complexed species. The results indicate that upon complexation with Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ at 298 K, the gas‐phase acidity of acetic acid, for example, varies from 345.3 to 218.8, 230.2, and 240.1 kcal/mol, respectively (i.e., its dissociation becomes much less endothermic). These values indicate that a weak organic acid can be converted to a super acid when it is complexed with an ionic metal. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.