Ionization and appearance potentials in organic chemistry. II—Appearance potentials and enthalpy differences for the stereoisomers of methylbicyclo[4.4.0]decanes

The ionization potentials for the stereoisomers of trans-fused 2- and 3-methylbicyclo[4.4.0]decanes and the appearance potentials for the ions at m/e 137 [M–CH₃]⁺, 109, 96, 95 and 82 were measured by the electron impact method. The ionization potentials and appearance potentials of the [M–CH₃]⁺ ions appeared to be equal for each of the epimers. Appearance potentials of the other ions were always lower for the less stable epimer. No quantitative correlation was observed between the difference in the appearance potentials for any ions and the differences in enthalpies of the ground states.     

Influence of the interaction potential on simulated sputtering and reflection data

The TRIM.SP program which is based on the binary collision approximation was changed to handle not only repulsive interaction potentials, but also potentials with an attractive part. Sputtering yields, average depth and reflection coefficients calculated with four different potentials are compared. Three purely repulsive potentials (Molière, Kr-C and ZBL) are used and an ab initio pair potential, which is especially calculated for silicon bombardment by silicon. The general trends in the calculated results are similar for all potentials applied, but differences between the repulsive potentials and the ab initio potential occur for the reflection coefficients and the sputtering yield at large angles of incidence.     

Correlation potentials for the He atom and the hydrogen molecule: A comparison between the correlation factor approach and DFT correlation energy functionals

Two points about correlation potentials have been dealt with in this article. The first one is related to the shape of some of the most representative correlation potentials applied to the ground state of the He atom. It is shown here that both LDA and two-body density correlation potentials compare well with that obtained through the quantum chemistry definition of correlation energy. This is an interesting result because, in previous works, it had been shown that none of the correlation potentials compared well with the Kohn–Sham one. The gradient-corrected correlation potentials exhibit a very different behavior to that of both exact potentials (quantum chemistry and Kohn–Sham ones). The other question posed here refers to how a reference to the two-body density must modify DFT functionals for the correlation energy, when a multideterminant wave function is needed. This question has been addressed by analyzing the variation of correlation potentials as the bond length of the H₂ molecule increases. The results show that an external reference to the two-body density qualitatively improves DFT correlation potentials and also that only those functionals explicitly depending on two-body density can give the quantitative correct trends. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 67: 143–156, 1998     

A new micro-cell for continuous-flow pulsed voltammetric analysis

The effect of p-toluenesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate supporting electrolytes on the polarographic reduction of some alkaline earth and transition metal ions in N,N-dimethylformamide and acetonitrile has been investigated. Trifluoromethanesulfonate behaved similarly to perchlorate in dimethylformamide, while the half-wave potentials in p-toluenesulfonate supporting electrolyte shift to more negative potentials than those in perchlorate. in acetonitrile, the half-wave potentials shift to more negative potentials in trifluoromethanesulfonate than in perchlorate. The effect of the supporting electrolyte on the shift of the half-wave potential can be explained as the ion-pair formation between the divalent cation to be reduced and the supporting electrolyte anion.     

Interaction potentials for Li+—rare-gas systems

The accuracies of proposed interaction potentials for the Li⁺—rare-gas systems are tested by comparing the transport coefficients calculated from the potentials with the experimental values. The agreement is generally good for theoretical potentials that take electron correlation into account and for potentials inferred from ion-beam measurements of high accuracy, except where the transport data are primarily influenced by the long-range tail of the potential. The transport data are also used to directly determine the Li⁺—rare-gas interaction potentials, with an estimated accuracy of 10% over wide ranges of ion—atom separation.     

Generalized potentials: Free particle,harmonic, and Morse partner potentials

In this work, we propose a very simple procedure to find the partner to specific potentials. According to our method, partner potentials are those obtained in the generalization of standard potentials, for which they are generalized potentials whose Hamiltonian match the so‐called isospectral Hamiltonian. The proposed approach is straightforward and basically takes into consideration the use of three well‐established relationships: The first one is used to identify the particular potential; the second, to find the adjoint or modified potential; and the third, to obtain the corresponding generalized or partner potential. As a useful application of the proposed procedure, we give explicitly the generalized and modified free‐particle, harmonic oscillator, and Morse one‐dimensional potentials. As expected, it is shown that the adjoint and partner potentials are isospectral with respect to the particular or former potential. This procedure can be easily applied to the generalization of any other known potential, as well as to obtain new potentials that can be advantageously used for modeling important quantum interactions. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 71: 465–472, 1999     

Theoretical study on redox potentials of organic radicals in different solvents

The BMK density functional theory method has been used to examine the redox potentials of organic radicals in different solvents (DMF, N,N-dimethylformamide; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; MeCN, acetonitrile). The polarizable continuum solvation model (PCM) was used to describe the solvation-free energies. The one-electron electrochemical standard potentials (E ⁰) of ca. 100 organic radicals in three solvents were calculated using a single, unified theoretical method whose reliability has been tested against almost all the available experimental data. It was found that the mean absolute deviation (MAD) between the theory and experiment was about 0.08 V. With the newly developed theoretical method in hand, more redox potentials of organic radicals in these three solvents were predicted by this single, unified method. The results showed that the redox potentials of organic radicals in different organic solvents including DMF and DMSO had good correlations with their redox potentials in MeCN.     

Transferable integrals in a deformation-density approach to crystal orbital calculations. II

A new method for calculating crystal orbitals in the Hartree-Fock-Slater approximation is proposed. The method makes use of x-ray crystallographic measurements of the deformation density, and uses transferable integrals to treat the neutral–atom potentials. Methods for evaluating matrix elements of neutral-atom potentials are discussed in detail, and in this connection, expansions of displaced Slater-type orbitals in terms of modified spherical Bessel functions and Legendre polynomials are presented. Tables of transferable integrals (moments of the neutral-atom potentials) are given for all the elements up to Z = 36, and tables of Fourier transforms of the neutral-atom potentials are also presented.     

Quinone Studies—II : Reduction potentials of some 3-substituted phenanthrene quinones

Polarographic reduction potentials of seven 3-substituted phenanthrenequinones have been determined in aqueous dioxan and aqueous ethanol under different pH conditions. The substituent effects on the reduction potentials could be correlated with the Hammett σ- constants (correlation coefficients > 0·995). The possibility of using reduction potentials as an accurate measure of resonance energy has been pointed out.     

Empirical regularities of atomic ionization potentials

Regularities of the averaged ionization potentials for atoms and ions containing up to 18 electrons are studied in detail. It is shown that a two-variable function constructed from the averaged ionization potentials for each subshell is linear with respect to the degree of ionization q and the occupancy k of the s^k or p^k subshell. One linearity includes previous findings as a special case, and the other introduces a new regularity for atomic ionization potentials. Existing atomic ionization potentials and electron affinities are analyzed employing the regularities, and improved values of these quantities as well as term and fine structure separations in negative ions are derived.     

On the molecular electrostatic potentials obtained with CNDO and INDO wave functions

Molecular electrostatic potentials computed with CNDO/2 and INDO wave functions are shown to present systematic differences with respect to ab initio potentials in the case of out-of-plane potentials and in-plane vicinal hetero atoms in planar hetero molecules.     

Organic based reducing agents. Prediction of oxidation potentials of Election rich radicals from the Analysis of AM1 charge density Distributions [1]

Electrochemical oxidation potentials ofmethoxy substituted benzyl, l-naphthylmethyl, phenethyl, diphenylmethyl and cumyl radicals, substituted at the α-, 2-, 3-, or 4-position have been measured by photomodulation voltammetry. These data are compared to ionization potentials calculated using the AM1 molecular orbital method. Although a plot of the oxidation potentials versus the AM1 ionization potentials is quite scattered, an essentially linear relationship is found for a plot of the relative oxidation potential (i.e. compared to that of the unsubstituted parent radical) and the fraction of charge in the 2p_z orbital of the parent cation. The relationship is remarkable considering the potentials span a range of ca. 1 eV (23 kcal mol ^-1) and the fractional charges span a range of ca. 0.5 of a unit charge. The utility of such a relationship as a predictive tool in the design of simple organic based reducing agents is discussed.     

Information theoretic spreading measures of orthogonal functions

We calculate information theoretic spreading measures of orthogonal functions associated with solutions of quantum mechanical isospectral potentials. In particular, Shannon, Renyi and Fisher lengths have been evaluated for potentials isospectral to the linear harmonic oscillator and the symmetric Rosen-Morse potentials. We have also compared the behaviour of different lengths for the orthogonal functions and the associated orthogonal polynomials.     

Electrochemical and FTIR studies of -phenylalanine adsorption at the Au(111) electrode

The adsorption of -phenylalanine (Phe) at the Au(111) electrode surface has been studied using electrochemical techniques and subtractively normalized interfacial Fourier transform infrared (SNIFTIR) techniques. The electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry, differential capacity and chronocoulometry were used to determine Gibbs energies of adsorption and the reference (E₁) and sample (E₂) potentials to be used in the spectroscopic measurements. The vibrational spectra have been used to determine: (i) the orientation of the molecule at the surface as a function of potential; (ii) the dependence of the band intensity on the surface coverage; (iii) the character of surface coordination, and (iv) the oxidation of adsorbed Phe molecules at positive potentials. The adsorption of Phe is characterized by ΔG values ranging from −18 to −37 kJ mol⁻¹ that are characteristic for a weak chemisorption of small aromatic molecules. The electrochemical and SNIFTIR measurements indicated that adsorbed Phe molecules change orientation as a function of applied potential. At the negatively charged surface Phe is predominantly adsorbed in the neutral form of the amino acid. At potentials positive to the pzc, adsorption occurs predominantly in the zwitterionic form with the ---COO⁻ group directed towards the surface and the ammonium group towards the solution. At more positive potentials electrocatalytic oxidation of Phe occurs and is marked by the appearance of the CO₂ asymmetric stretch band in the FTIR spectrum. Thus, relative to pzc, Phe is weakly chemisorbed at negative potentials, changes orientation at potentials close to the pzc and is oxidized at positive potentials.     

On the use of common effective core potentials in density functional calculations. I. Test calculations on transition-metal carbonyls

The performance of effective core potentials adjusted at the Hartree-Fock level but applied in density functional calculations has been tested in a set of calculations using various basis sets and/or core potentials. Test molecules have been the first-row transition-metal carbonyls Cr(CO)₆, Fe(CO)₅, and Ni(CO)₄ and the second-row carbonyls Mo(CO)₆, Ru(CO)₅, and Pd(CO)₄. Only “small-core” potentials have been used, and these are able to reproduce molecular structures and bond energies from all-electron calculations. Relativistic effects have been estimated for the second-row carbonyls by using quasi-relativistic core potentials. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Determination of the water geometry in violuric acid monohydrate with a Monte Carlo simulation

The positions and orientations of water molecules in violuric acid crystals have been determined with the Metropolis Monte Carlo method. The interaction potentials between water and violuric acid needed in the simulation have been developed using ab initio calculations corrected for the basis set superposition error with the C.P. technique and fitted to atom-atom pairwise potentials. The agreement between experimental data and simulation results is good, proving that the interaction potentials can be used with confidence.     

SAR Models for Futile Metabolism: One-Electron Reduction of Quinones,Phenols and Nitrobenzenes

Abstract

Benzoquinones, naphthoquinones and aziridinylbenzoquinones, can be reduced by flavoproteins to semiquinones that react with molecular oxygen to form superoxide anion with the subsequent regeneration of the parent compounds. This redox cycling, a form of futile metabolism, produces reactive oxygen species and depletes the reducing equivalents of cells without concomitant energy production. The ability of a toxicant to redox cycle is related to its one-electron reduction potential, and this study attempted to estimate reduction potential from structure using semi-empirical quantum chemical models for a diverse set of chemicals. The results of this study suggest that one-electron reduction potentials, within structural classes of benzoquinones, naphthoquinones, phenols and nitrobenzenes, can be estimated from local and global electronic indices that are related to delocalization. Smaller absolute charge on the carbonyl carbon in the quinone moiety correlated with more positive one-electron reduction potentials of 1,4-benzoquinones, naphthoquinones and two-electron reduction potentials of aziridinylbenzoquinones. The energy of frontier orbitals of the quinones, phenols and nitrobenzenes also co-varied with reduction potential. More positive reduction potentials of 1,4-benzoquinones, 1,4-naphthoquinones and phenols were correlated with more negative values of E_HOMO, while more negative values of E_LUMO were correlated with more positive potentials of nitrobenzenes and aziridinylbenzoquinones. Delocalization of electron density also correlated with reduction potentials within individual classes.     

Comparative study between ab initio and semiempirical electrostatic potentials on molecular surfaces

The electrostatic potentials of 21 molecules containing different functional groups has been computed at the ab initio RHF/6-31G* level on a series of solvent accessible surfaces and compared with MNDO, AM1, and PM3-derived pontentials. We analyzed in detail the distribution of electrostatic potentials on the surfaces around their maximum and minimum values and found out that consistently MNDO gives results similar to ab initio potentials. The actual values of the MNDO electrostatic potentials show a systematic deviation from the “correct” results, but the pattern of the MEP distribution on the surface is similar to that of the ab initio results. In contrast, PM3 fails in some cases to give even the correct number or distribution of “hot spots” of potential (low MEP) on the surface. AM1 behaves somewhere between these two semiempirical methods. As a conclusion, MNDO would be suggested as the best approach to analyses requiring a fast and efficient mapping of electrostatic potentials on simplified models of molecular surfaces. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Scanning electrochemical microscopy of hydrogen electro-oxidation. Rate constant measurements and carbon monoxide poisoning on platinum

We describe an application of the scanning electrochemical microscope that uses tip–sample feedback to characterize the electro-oxidation of hydrogen on a polycrystalline platinum electrode in sulfuric acid solutions in the presence and absence of adsorbed carbon monoxide. The hydrogen oxidation reaction is probed by reducing protons at a diffusion-limited rate at the microscope's tip electrode while it is positioned near a platinum substrate. A series of approach curves measured as a function of the substrate potential provides hydrogen oxidation rate constant values over a wide range of substrate conditions. In the absence of CO, the rate of hydrogen oxidation exceeds 1 cm s⁻¹ at potentials within the hydrogen adsorption and double layer charging regions. A Tafel slope of 30 mV per decade is determined near the reversible potential. At increasingly positive substrate potentials, the hydrogen oxidation rate decreases exponentially with increasing potential as the surface is covered with an oxide layer. The adsorption of solution-phase carbon monoxide completely deactivates the platinum substrate towards steady-state hydrogen oxidation over a large range of substrate potentials. Approach curves indicate a near-zero rate constant for hydrogen oxidation on CO-covered platinum at potentials below oxide formation. An increase in the hydrogen oxidation rate is seen at potentials sufficiently positive that CO fails to adsorb and the platinum oxide forms. In comparison, dynamic tip–substrate voltammetry depicts a complex substrate response whereby the adsorbed carbon monoxide layer transforms from a weakly adsorbed state at low potentials to a strongly adsorbed state at high potentials. Although steady-state approach curve measurements depict the complete deactivation of catalytic activity at these potentials, a significant hydrogen oxidation current is observed during the potential-induced transformation between these weakly and strongly adsorbed CO states. The rate of hydrogen oxidation approaches that of a pristine platinum surface during this surface transformation before returning to the poisoned state.     

Electrocatalytic reduction of organic halides with cobalt bipyridine complexes

The electrocatalytic reduction of organic halides by the [Nibpy]⁺complexes coordinationally unsaturated with bpy (at potentials of the first wave) and by the coordinationally saturated [Nibpy₂]^–complexes (at potentials of the second wave) was observed. The apparent rate constant of the process decreased with an increase in the difference of the reduction potentials of the substrate and catalyst in a large range of the driving force of the process.