Intervalence near-IR spectra of delocalized dinitroaromatic radical anions

The Class III (delocalized) intervalence radical anions of 1,4-dinitrobenzene, 2,6-dinitronaphthalene, 2,6-dinitroanthracene, 9,9-dimethyl-2,7-dinitrofluorene, 4,4'-dinitrobiphenyl, and 1,5-dinitronaphthalene show charge-transfer bands in their near-IR spectra. The dinitroaromatic radical anions have comparable but slightly larger electronic interactions (H(ab) values) through the same aromatic bridges as do the corresponding dianisylamino-substituted radical cations. H(ab) values range from 5410 cm(-)(1) (1,4- dinitrobenzene) to 3400 cm(-)(1) (9,9-dimethyl-2,7-dinitrofluorene), decreasing as the number of bonds between the nitro groups increases, except for the 1,5-dinitronaphthalene radical-anion, which has a coupling similar to that of 9,9-dimethyl-2,7-dinitrofluorene. All charge-transfer bands show vibrational fine structure. The vertical excitation energies (lambda(v)) were estimated from the vibrational components, obtained by simulation of the entire band. The large 2H(ab)/lambda(v) values confirm these radicals to be Class III delocalized mixed-valence species. Analysis using Cave and Newton's generalized Mulliken-Hush theory relating the transition dipole moment to the distance on the diabatic surfaces suggests that the electron-transfer distance on the diabatic surfaces, d(ab), is only 26-40% of the nitrogen-to-nitrogen distance, which implies that something may be wrong with our analysis.     

Temperature dependence of the viscosity of dilute poly(β-naphthyl methacrylate) solutions

The temperature dependence of the actual viscosity of dilute poly(β-naphthyl methacrylate) solutions was described by an Arrhenius expression according to Moore's treatment. The apparent activation energy of flow was found to be lower for solutions in benzene, toluene and tetralin than for solvent. In dioxane, a good solvent, the activation energy was nearly constant and close to that for the solvent. The pre-exponential terms were, in all cases, higher for solutions than for the solvents. The decrease in activation energy and increase in pre-exponential term are largely dependent on solvent power: the maximum effect is found in the poorest solvent. This behaviour is discussed in connection with the temperature dependence of the Mark-Houwink and of the Fox-Flory constants obtained from intrinsic viscosity data: the differences in the activation energy of flow and in the pre-exponential term between the solvent and the solutions are related to variation of coil expansion with temperature.     

Pseudo-para-dinitro[2.2]paracyclophane radical anion, a mixed-valence system poised on the Class II/Class III borderline

Analysis of optical spectra of a pseudo-para-dinitro[2.2]paracyclophane radical anion using Marcus-Hush theory reveals that its off diagonal coupling element, H(ab), is large enough, relative to its reorganization energy, to change it from a localized class II compound to a delocalized class III compound by changing solvents. The optical spectra, along with frontier orbital analysis, show that the assumption that E(op) = 2H(ab) for class III compounds is not true in this case.     

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations and EPR property calculations on aqueous ubisemiquinone radical anion

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations have been performed on ubisemiquinone radical anion in aqueous solution. The different types of hydrogen bonding formed between the semiquinone and the solvent were studied in terms of frequency and directionality, in comparison with the parent benzosemiquinone radical anion. The EPR parameters (g-tensors and hyperfine coupling constants) were obtained from quantum chemical property calculations performed on snapshots along the MD trajectory, and the contributions of different solvation effects to the EPR parameters have been evaluated. The influence of the anion’s conformational behaviour was examined, including the orientation-dependent effects of hyperconjugation on side-chain hyperfine coupling.     

Electron transfer within 2,7-dinitronaphthalene radical anion

The optical spectrum of 2,7-dinitronaphthalene radical anion generated by Na(Hg) reduction in acetonitrile containing a large excess of cryptand[2.2.2] exhibits a Hush-type intervalence charge-transfer band at 1070 nm, estimated to correspond to an off-diagonal matrix coupling element of 310 cm(-)(1). The interpolated rate constant for intramolecular electron transfer at 293 K measured by ESR between 225 and 320 K for this solution is 3.1(+/-0.2) x 10(9) s(-)(1). Rate constants estimated in two ways from the optical parameters using the Marcus-Hush assumption that the diabatic surfaces should be parabolae are 1.0 and 0.11 x 10(9) s(-1), and those using diabatic surfaces that fit the observed charge-transfer band are 9.6 and 3.4 x 10(9) s(-)(1), when used with an electron-transfer distance on the adiabatic surfaces of 6.42 A. Similar measurements and comparisons were also carried out using dimethylformamide and butyronitrile as solvents. The success of simple, classical two-state Marcus-Hush theory precludes an electron-hopping mechanism. UHF calculations predict a planar unsymmetrical gas-phase structure for 1,3-dinitrobenzene radical anion but give serious spin contamination. Semiempirical AM1 calculations using singles excitation configuration interaction with an active space of 70 orbitals and the COSMO solvent model also give a planar unsymmetrical structure. These calculations make the internal vibrational component of the reorganization energy nearly constant, and much smaller than the solvent reorganizational component, and predict the transition energy to lie between that observed in acetonitrile (9360 cm(-1)) and those observed in dimethylformamide (8100 cm(-1)) and butyronitrile (8040 cm(-1)).     

Hyperfine coupling tensors of the benzosemiquinone radical anion from Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics.

Based on Car-Parrinello ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the benzosemiquinone radical anion in both aqueous solution and the gas phase, density functional calculations provide the currently most refined EPR hyperfine coupling (HFC) tensors of semiquinone nuclei and solvent protons. For snapshots taken at regular intervals from the molecular dynamics trajectories, cluster models with different criteria for inclusion of water molecules and an additional continuum solvent model are used to analyse the HFCs. These models provide a detailed picture of the effects of dynamics and of different intermolecular interactions on the spin-density distribution and HFC tensors. Comparison with static calculations allows an assessment of the importance of dynamical effects, and of error compensation in static DFT calculations. Solvent proton HFCs depend characteristically on the position relative to the semiquinone radical anion. A point-dipolar model works well for in-plane hydrogen-bonded protons but deviates from the quantum chemical values for out-of-plane hydrogen bonding.     

Optical spectra of delocalized dinitroaromatic radical anions revisited

The optical spectra of nine dinitroaromatic radical anions (1,2- and 1,4-dinitrobenzene, 1,5- and 2,6-dinitro naphthalene, 4,4'-dinitrobiphenyl, 2,7-dinitro-9,9-dimethylfluorene, 2,6-dinitroanthracene, and 2,7- and 1,8-dinitrobiphenylene) in dimethylformamide are reported and analyzed. All have delocalized charge distribution, as demonstrated by the vibrational fine structure that is observed in their optical spectra: All show lowest energy absorption bands that correspond to an alpha-homo (highest occupied molecular orbital) to alpha-lumo (lowest unoccupied) transition, as shown by Koopmans-based UB3LYP calculation of the orbital separation of the neutral at the geometry of the radical anion. These single-point calculations are shown to be significantly more accurate for five of these compounds than the much more complex and expensive TD-DFT method. The two-state model should not be used to estimate the electronic coupling in delocalized intervalence compounds such as these. Neighboring orbital estimation of the electronic couplings show that using the two-state model greatly underestimates electronic coupling here.     

Dynamical arrest of electron transfer reorganization in super-cooled water

This paper reports the results of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of the solvent reorganization energy of electron transfer (ET) reactions in low-temperature solvents. Simulations are carried out for a model charge-transfer optical dye (p-nitroaniline) in SPC/E water in a range of temperatures down to the point of solvent ideal glass transition. We show a significant departure of the solvent reorganization energy, measured on a given time window, from its thermodynamic limit obtained by averaging over long simulation trajectories. Our results thus indicate that optical solvatochromism and activation parameters of ET reactions measured in viscous solvents will be significantly affected by the dynamical arrest of nuclear solvation when the experimental time scale becomes comparable to the characteristic relaxation time of the solvent.     

Electron exchange in the tetracyanoquinodimethane system: Unexpected dependence on solvent polarity and viscosity

The electron transfer rate between tetracyanoquinodimethane and its radical anion is measured for different solvents and temperatures using ESR line broadening. The solvent polarity term γ = 1/n² - 1/ε (n is the refractive index, ε the dielectric constant) could be changed in the range 0.05 ≤ γ ≤ 0.53. The true rate constants k (corrected for diffusion) are discussud in terms of the classical theory of electron transfer. A linear dependence of ln k on γ is only found with a viscosity-dependent pre-exponential factor. The outer reorganization energy is small compared with the inner and has a negative sign. This is explained by the special arrangement of the ellipsoidal reactants in the activated complex.     

On the role of hydrogen bonds in photoinduced electron-transfer dynamics between 9-fluorenone and amine solvents

Using ultrafast fluorescence upconversion and mid-infrared spectroscopy, we explore the role of hydrogen bonds in the photoinduced electron transfer (ET) between 9-fluorenone (FLU) and the solvents trimethylamine (TEA) and dimethylamine (DEA). FLU shows hydrogen-bond dynamics in the methanol solvent upon photoexcitation, and similar effects may be anticipated when using DEA, whereas no hydrogen bonds can occur in TEA. Photoexcitation of the electron-acceptor dye molecule FLU with a 400?nm pump pulse induces ultrafast ET from the amine solvents, which is followed by 100?fs IR probe pulses as well as fluorescence upconversion, monitoring the time evolution of marker bands of the FLU S(1) state and the FLU radical anion, and an overtone band of the amine solvent, marking the transient generation of the amine radical cation. A comparison of the experimentally determined forward charge-separation and backward charge-recombination rates for the FLU-TEA and FLU-DEA reaction systems with the driving-force dependencies calculated for the forward and backward ET rates reveals that additional degrees of freedom determine the ET reaction dynamics for the FLU-DEA system. We suggest that hydrogen bonding between the DEA molecules plays a key role in this behaviour.     

12]Annulene radical anions revisited: evaluation of structure assignments based on computed energetic and electron spin resonance data

We report density functional and coupled cluster calculations on numerous monocyclic and bicyclic (CH)12(*-) isomers. At the RCCSD(T)/cc-pVDZ//UB3LYP/6-31+G* level, a nearly planar, bond-equalized radical anion of 1,7-di-trans-[12]annulene (4a(*-)) is lowest in energy; several other isomers and conformations lie within 3 kcal/mol of 4a(*-). RCCSD(T)/AUG-cc-pVDZ//UB3LYP/6-31+G* results place the all-cis isomer 3(*-) slightly below 4a(*-) in energy. Validation studies on the heptalene radical anion, [16]annulene radical anion, and tri-trans-[12]annulene radical anion indicate that electron spin resonance (ESR) hyperfine coupling constants (aH values) computed at the BLYP/EPR-III level on DFT geometries give much better agreement with experimental values than those computed using B3LYP/6-31G*. We were unable to locate any C12H12(*-) isomer that could account for the ESR spectrum previously attributed to a highly twisted structure for the 1,7-di-trans-[12]annulene radical anion. Our computed energetic and ESR data for [12]annulene radical anions and their valence isomers suggest that 4a(*-) may have been made, yet its ESR spectrum was incorrectly assigned to the bicyclic isomer 6b(*-). Finally, the computed (1)H NMR shift values of the dianion of 4 reveal a distinct diatropic ring current that should aid in its characterization.     

Theoretical study of temperature and solvent dependence of the free-energy surface of the intramolecular electron-transfer based on the RISM-SCF theory: application to the 1,3-dinitrobenzene radical anion in acetonitrile and methanol

The free-energy surfaces along the intramolecular electron-transfer reaction path of the 1,3-dinitrobenzene radical anion in acetonitrile and methanol are investigated with the reference interaction site model self-consistent field theory. Although acetonitrile and methanol have similar values of the dielectric constant, the free-energy profiles are quite different. In the methanol solution, the charge is strongly localized on one of the nitrile substituents due to a strong hydrogen bond between 1,3-dinitrobenzene and the solvent, while the polarization is not so large in the case of acetonitrile. The temperature dependence of the reorganization energy, the coupling strength, and the activation barrier is evaluated in both acetonitrile and methanol. The reorganization energy and the activation barrier decrease with increasing temperature for both cases. The electronic coupling strength also shows a similar tendency in the temperature dependence; it increases with increasing temperature in both solvents but with different rates. The behavior is explained in terms of the strong polarization induced by the hydrogen bond between the solute and solvent in the methanol solution.     

ZnTBPPc光物理化学性质的溶剂化效应

The solvent viscosity dependence of the photophysical and photochemical properties of tetra(tert-butylphenoxy)phthalocyaninato zinc(II) (ZnTBPPc) is presented. The fluorescence quantum yields (ΦF) and Stern-Volmer′s constant (KSV) for ZnTBPPc fluorescence quenching by benzoquinone in all the solutions followed a semi-empirical law that depends only on the solvent viscosity. ΦF values vary between 0.08 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 0.14 in dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO). Triplet quantum yields (ΦT) and lifetimes (...     

Solvent control of charge localization in 11-bond bridged dinitroaromatic radical anions

The optical spectra of 4,4'-dinitrostilbene (1-) and 4,4'-dinitrotolane (2-) radical anions show the narrow band widths and partially resolved vibrational structure exhibited by charge-delocalized dinitroaromatic radical anions in the solvents THF, HMPA, and DMPU (dimethylpropyleneurea). Both show the broad, nearly Gaussian-shaped bands found for charge-localized intervalence compounds in DMF, DMSO, and MeCN, with the transition energy of the band maximum, which equals the vertical reorganization energy (lambda) for localized intervalence compounds, increasing in that order. In contrast, 4,4'-dinitroazobenzene (3-) remains delocalized in these solvents, although the line width required to simulate the vibrational structure increases by 200 cm-1 in DMF and 400 cm-1 in MeCN compared to HMPA. The change from localized to delocalized spectra as a function of solvent establishes the transition energy for which delocalization occurs and demonstrates that, as predicted, the Hush method substantially underestimates the electronic coupling for compounds that lie near the borderline.     

二氯二氰基苯醌及其阴离子自交换电子转移反应的理论研究

基于非平衡溶剂化能的约束平衡方法和溶剂重组能的新表达式, 实现了电子转移反应溶剂重组能的数值解, 研究了二氯二氰基苯醌(DDQ)及其阴离子体系DDQ-之间的自交换电子转移反应. 考虑了DDQ与DDQ-分子以平行方式形成受体-给体络合物时的两种构型. 引入线性反应坐标, 计算了该反应在不同溶剂中的溶剂重组能. 基于两态变分模型得到了反应的电子耦合矩阵元. 根据电子转移动力学模型, 计算了该自交换电子转移反应的速率常数.     

Anwendung von Klassifikationsverfahren zur Interpretation von Lösungsmitteleinflüssen auf EPR-Spektren

Use of Classification Methods to Interpret the Influence of Solvents on Parameters of EPR Spectra The influence of solvents on EPR spectra of Cu^II-Acetylacetonate (registered at room temperature) was investigated. The classification of mean values of the g-tensors and coupling constants using different clustering methods lead to groups of solvents which are related to the respective substance classes. The analysis of the relationship between EPR data and solvent parameters showed, that there exists a close relation between Lewis basicity of solvents and classification found by using clustering methods.     

Structural characterization and DFT study of V(IV)O(acac)2 in imidazolium ionic liquids

We report the structural characterization of vanadyl acetylacetonate in imidazolium room temperature ionic liquids--bbimNTf(2), bmimNTf(2), C(3)OmimNTf(2), bm(2)imNTf(2), bmimPF(6), bmimOTf, bmimBF(4), bmimMeCO(2), bmimMeSO(4), bmimMe(2)PO(4) and bmimN(CN)(2)--and organic solvents. The complex was characterized by visible electronic (Vis) and EPR spectroscopies. VO(acac)(2) shows solvatochromism in the selected ionic liquids and behaves as in organic solvents, evidencing coordination of the ionic liquid anion in the solvents with higher coordinating ability. The Lewis basicity order obtained for the IL anions was: PF(6)(-) < NTf(2)(-) < OTf(-)≈ MeCO(2)(-) < MeSO(4)(-) < BF(4)(-)≈ N(CN)(2)(-) < Me(2)PO(4)(-). The solvent effect on the spectroscopic data was tentatively examined using linear solvation energy relationships based on the Kamlet-Taft solvent scale (α, β and π*), however no suitable correlation was found with all data. The EPR characterization showed the presence of two isomers in bmimOTf, bmimMeCO(2) and bmimMe(2)PO(4), suggesting coordination of the ionic liquid anions in both equatorial and axial positions. The full geometry optimization of cis-/trans-VO(acac)(2)(OTf)(-) and cis-/trans-VO(acac)(2)(OTf)(mmim) structures was done at the B3P86/6-31G* level of theory. The calculations confirm that the anion OTf(-) is able to coordinate to VO(acac)(2) with the trans isomer being more stable than the cis by 4.8 kcal mol(-1).     

The charge-transfer polymerization of nitroethylene in electron-donating solvents

The anionic polymerization of nitroethylene was studied in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 0–40°C. The polymerization proceeds spontaneously when monomer is mixed with solvent in the absence of light. From the observed results of the rate of polymerization, the molecular weight of polymer, the effects of additives and solvents, the copolymerization with acrylonitrile, and the optical absorption spectra it is concluded that the polymerization is initiated by the nitroethylene radical anion generated by the slow dissociation of the electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complexes between the solvent molecule and the monomer. The activation energy for the rate of polymerization was 50 and 29 kJ/mole in DMF and DMSO, respectively, which seems to be determined primarily by the dissociation of the EDA complexes. The significant features of this polymerization are that the initiation proceeds slowly and there is essentially no termination.     

Structural dynamics of 1,2-diiodoethane in cyclohexane probed by picosecond X-ray liquidography

We investigate the structural dynamics of iodine elimination reaction of 1,2-diiodoethane (C(2)H(4)I(2)) in cyclohexane by applying time-resolved X-ray liquidography (TRXL). The TRXL technique combines structural sensitivity of X-ray diffraction and 100 ps time resolution of X-ray pulses from synchrotron and allows direct probing of transient structure of reacting molecules. From the analysis of time-dependent X-ray solution scattering patterns using global fitting based on DFT calculation and MD simulation, we elucidate the kinetics and structure of transient intermediates resulting from photodissociation of C(2)H(4)I(2). In particular, the effect of solvent on the reaction kinetics and pathways is examined by comparison with an earlier TRXL study on the same reaction in methanol. In cyclohexane, the C(2)H(4)I radical intermediate undergoes two branched reaction pathways, formation of C(2)H(4)I-I isomer and direct dissociation into C(2)H(4) and I, while only isomer formation occurs in methanol. Also, the C(2)H(4)I-I isomer has a shorter lifetime in cyclohexane by an order of magnitude than in methanol. The difference in the reaction dynamics in the two solvents is accounted for by the difference in solvent polarity. In addition, we determine that the C(2)H(4)I radical has a bridged structure, not a classical structure, in cyclohexane.