Conformational analysis of 1,3-dithiacyclobutane: An ab initio molecular orbital study

The force field governing the in-plane vibrations of pyridine was determined using a revised frequency assignment, and subsequently applied to pyridine-metal complexes. The results show that the frequency shifts of pyridine observed on coordination to a metal are mainly caused by the kinetic coupling between the pyridine molecule and a metal, and that the force field of pyridine remains virtually unchanged.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the protonation of amines

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations using an 8 ^s , 3 ^p ; 3 ^s Gaussian basis set, with contraction, have been used to study a series of primary amines XNH₂, where X = H, CH₃, OH, F, CN, CHO, and NO₂. The geometries of the corresponding ammonium ions have been optimised and the energy differences have been used to estimate relative proton affinities. The 1 ^s orbital energies for both the amines and ammonium ions, when corrected for the effects of charges on the other atoms in the molecule by use of an ESCA equation, give a good correlation with the computed charge on the nitrogen atom.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the deprotonation of amines

The geometries of the amines NH₂X and amido anions NHX^?, where X = H, CH₃, NH₂, OH, F, C₂H, CHO, and CN have been optimized using ab initio molecular orbital calculations with a 4-31G basis set. The profiles to rotation about the N? X bonds in CH₃NH^?, NH₂NH^?, and HONH^? are very similar to those for the isoprotic and isoelectronic neutral compounds CH₃OH, NH₂OH, and HOOH. The amines with unsaturated bonds adjacent to the nitrogen atoms undergo considerable skeletal rearrangement on deprotonation such that most of the negative charge of the anion is on the substituent. The computed order of acidity for the amines NH₂X is X = CN > HCO > F ≈ C₂H > OH > NH₂ > CH₃ > H and for the reaction NHX^? + H⁺ → NH₂X the computed energies vary over the range 373–438 kcal/mol.     

Conformational analysis of allylamine. An ab initio molecular orbital study

The conformational characteristics of allylamine were investigated by the ab initio STO -3G basis set. The results indicate that the molecule exists in a number of stable conformations through rotations about the CC? NH and CC? CN bonds. The TE (trans-CCNLP , LP representing lone-pair electrons, and eclipsed-CCCH) is the most stable, while TC (trans-CCNLP and cis-CCCN), GE (gauche-CCNLP and eclipsed-CCCH), G′C(gauche′-CCNLP and cis-CCCN), and G′E (gauche′-CCNLP and eclipsed-CCCH) conformations are less stable, respectively, by 0.41, 0.67, 0.92, and 1.14 kcal mol^?1. These results are in general consistent with previous experimental results. Rationale for the conformational characteristics and order of stabilities are explored.     

Nitrogen inversion barriers in three-membered rings. An ab initio molecular orbital study

Polarization and correlation effects on the nitrogen inversion barrier of some three-membered rings have been investigated. The characteristics of the barrier have been analyzed in terms of perturbation theory arguments. This analysis shows that the HOMO is the orbital that changes more dramatically along the inversion barrier. As a consequence, there is a good linear correlation between the destabilization undergone by the HOMO along the pyramidalization process and the barrier height. To obtain quantitatively meaningful barriers it is necessary to use polarized basis sets. Although polarization effects at the inverting center are dominant, a proper polarization of the remaining atoms of the ring seems also necessary. In general, with the only exception of 1H-diazirine, correlation effects on the barrier height are small if a polarized basis set is used.     

The structure and dissociation pathways of protonated methanol: An ab initio molecular orbital study

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with moderately large polarization basis sets and including valence-electron correlation have been used to examine the structure and dissociation mechanisms of protonated methanol [CH₃OH₂]⁺. Stable isomers and transition structures have been characterized using gradient techniques. Protonated methanol is found to be the only stable isomer in the [CH₅O]⁺ potential surface. There is no evidence for a tightly-bound complex, [HOCH₂]⁺…?H₂, analogous to the preferred structure [CH₃]⁺…?H₂ of [CH₅]⁺. Protonated methanol is found to possess a pyramidal arrangement of bonds at the oxygen atom with a barrier to inversion of 8kJ mol^?1. The lowest energy fragmentation pathways are dissociation into methyl cation and water (predicted to require 284 kJ mol^?1 with zero reverse activation energy) and loss of molecular hydrogen (endothermic by 138 kJ mol^?1 but with a reverse activation barrier of 149 kJ mol^?1). The results offer a possible explanation as to why production of [CH₂OH]⁺ from the reaction of methyl cation with water is not observed. Other dissociation processes examined include loss of a hydrogen atom to yield the methylenoxonium radical cation or methanol radical cation (requiring 441 and 490 kJ mol^?1, respectively) and loss of a proton to yield neutral methanol (requiring 784 kJ mol^?1).     

The geometric and electronic structures of oxocarbons. An ab initio molecular orbital study

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with the STO-3G and 4-31G basis sets have been carried out for the neutral oxocarbons C_nO_n (n = 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), the dianions C_nO_n^2- (n = 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), the monoanions C_nO_nH^? (n = 3 and 4) and the related acids C_nO_nH₂ (n = 3 and 4). Fully optimised geometries have been obtained for all species. The geometries, stabilities and acidities are discussed.     

An ab initio SCF molecular orbital study on the conformation of serotonin and bufotenine

Ab initio SCF molecular orbital computations on the conformation of cationic serotonin and bufotenine indicate a preference for a perpendicular, or nearly so, arrangement of the ethylamine side chain with respect to the ring. The planar extended forms observed, among others, in the crystals of cationic indolealkylamines do not represent intrinsically stable conformations of these molecules. Their occurrence must be attributed to the effect of environmental forces.This work was supported by the A.T.P. N ° A. 655-2303 of the C.N.R.S.     

Characteristics of the Watson-Crick type hydrogen-bonded DNA base pairs: An ab initio molecular orbital study

Characteristics of the Watson-Crick-type hydrogen-bonded base pairs, thymine-adenine and cytosineguanine, are presented. These were established using an ab initio molecular orbital method. Base–base interactions are revealed to have dominant roles in the structures of nucleic acids and also in their functions. The most stable conformations in Watson-Crick-type base pairs are almost in accord with the structure observed in fiber X-ray diffraction study. Explanations are given of the origin of the sequencedependent local structures which differ from one base pair to the next, as observed in single-crystal X-ray analyses. In the case of the thymine-adenine base pair, it is shown that various geometrical parameters having almost the same stability are available. According to the propeller twist, the instability is not large enough for a base pair to be twisted readily.     

The α-helix as an ion channel. An ab initio molecular orbital study

Minimal basis set ab initio SCF MO expectation values of the electrostatic potential of an octa-alanine α-helix are reported. The energy profile for a proton moving through the interior of the helix is given. It is suggested that the internal electric field of a helix may be essential in biological ion pumps.     

Asymmetric transition states of allylation reaction: an ab initio molecular orbital study

An ab initio MO study of the allylation of α-methoxypropanal by allylboronic acid has been carried out. The calculated most stable transition state arrangement was found to be similar to that proposed by Cornforth. The Felkin–Anh orientation was found to be less stable than the Cornforth-like arrangement at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory in the six-membered cyclic transition state.     

Electronic structure and molecular conformation of furan and pyrrole azomethines. An ab initio molecular orbital study

STO-3G minimal basis set ab initio molecular orbital calculations were employed to study the electronic structure and conformational preferences in furan-2-N-methylmethyleneimide ( 1 ) and pyrrole-2-N-methylmethyleneimide ( 2 ). The theoretical results were examined by comparison with the parent molecular systems through a population analysis and molecular orbital interactions considerations. The OCCN-trans and the NCCN-cis forms were found to be the most stable structures in 1 and 2 , respectively. Comparisons were made with available experimental data. The theoretical results indicate thatπ-electron interactions and molecular orbital interactions are not significant factors in determining the conformational preferences which most likely depend on dipole-dipole interactions.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study on the addition reaction of triplet nitrene to ethylene

A minimal basis set, contracted from an extensive set of primitive Gaussian type functions (GTF), was used to expand the molecular orbitals (MO) within the framework of self consistent field (SCF) theory. The results revealed that aziridine is formed in its first excited triplet state (T ₁) when ethylene is reacted with triplet nitrene. The equilibrium geometry of aziridine in its (T ₁) state had a tetrahedral CCN bond angle.     

The structure of 1-chlorosilatrane: An ab initio molecular orbital and a density functional theory study

The molecular geometries of the 1-chloro-, 1-fluoro-, 1-methyl-, and 1-hydrogenosilatranes were fully optimized by the restricted Hartree-Fock (HF) method supplemented with 3-21G, 3-21G(d), 6-31G(d), and CEP-31G(d) basis sets; by MP2 calculations using 6-31G(d) and CEP-31G(d) basis sets; and by GGA-DFT calculations using 6-31G(d5) basis set with the aim of locating the positions of the local minima on the energy hypersurface. The HF/6-31G(d) calculations predict long (>254 pm) and the MP2/CEP calculations predicted short (∼225 pm) equilibrium Si(SINGLE BOND)N distances. The present GGA-DFT calculations reproduce the available gas phase experimental Si(SINGLE BOND)N distances correctly. The solid phase experimental results predict that the Si(SINGLE BOND)N distance is shorter in 1-chlorosilatrane than in 1-fluorosilatrane. In this respect the HF results show a strong basis set dependence, the MP2/CEP results contradict the experiment, and the GGA-DFT results in electrolytic medium agree with the experiment. The latter calculations predict that 1-chlorosilatrane is more polarizable than 1-fluorosilatrane and also support a general Si(SINGLE BOND)N distance shortening trend for silatranes during the transition from gas phase to polar liquid or solid phase. The calculations predict that the ethoxy links of the silatrane skeleton are flexible. Consequently, it is difficult to measure experimentally the related bond lengths and bond and torsion angles. This is the probable origin of the surprisingly large differences for the experimental structural parameters. On the basis of experimental analogies, ab initio calculations, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a gas phase equilibrium (r_e) geometry is predicted for 1-chlorosilatrane. The semiempirical methods predict a so-called exo minimum (at above 310 pm Si(SINGLE BOND)N distance); however, the ab initio and GGA-DFT calculations suggest that this form is nonexistent. The GGA-DFT geometry optima were characterized by frequency analysis. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the C2F2 species: The difluorovinylidene → difluoroacetylene rearrangement

An ab initio MO study, using medium size Gaussian basis sets has been made of vinylidene carbene, acetylene and the isomeric cyclic intermediate presumed to represent the transition state of their interconversion reaction, along with their perfluorinated analogs. The total energies of the acetylenes are lower than the vinylidenes and the estimated activation energy of their interconversion is considerably higher for the fluorinated molecules. The results are in line with experimental observations.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the trimethylgallium-arsine adduct: (CH3)3Ga:AsH3

The structure, harmonic frequencies, and binding energy of the trimethylgallium-arsine adduct, (CH₃)₃Ga: AsH₃, have been computed using ab initio molecular orbital methods, and, where possible, compared with experimental results. The structures and frequencies of the precursors trimethylgallium and arsine are perturbed to only a small extent upon adduct formation. The binding energy of (CH₃)₃Ga: AsH₃ is found to be 5.2 kcal/mol lower than that for H₃Ga:AsH₃ at the MP2/HUZSP^*//RHF/HUZSP^* level of computation.     

Isomers of cyclo-heptasulfur and their coordination to Li(+): an ab initio molecular orbital study

The potential energy hypersurfaces (PESs) of heptasulfur (S7) and of [LiS7]+ have been investigated by ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the G3X(MP2) level of theory. Besides the chair-like seven-membered ring (1a) as the global minimum structure, eight local minimum structures and one transition state have been located on the PES of S7. The barrier for pseudorotation of 1a is only 5.6 kJ mol(-1). The boat-like S7 ring (1b) is 12.1 kJ mol(-1) less stable than 1a, followed by three isomers of connectivity S6=S and four open-chain isomers. On the basis of multireference calculations at the MRCI(4,4)+Q/6-311G(d) level, the most stable open-chain form of S7 is a triplet of relative energy 133.1 kJ mol(-1). Thus, the reaction energy (deltaE0) for the ring opening of 1a is 133.1 kJ mol(-1), halfway between those of the highly symmetrical rings S6 and S8. Because of their strong multireference characters, the stabilities of the biradicalic singlet chains are significantly overestimated by the single-reference-based G3X(MP2) method. The calculated vibrational spectrum of 1a is in good agreement with experimental data. The various isomers of S7 form stable complexes with Li+ with coordination numbers of 1-4 for the metal atom and binding energies in the range of -93.8 to -165.7 kJ mol(-1). A total of 15 isomeric complexes have been located, with 13 of them containing cyclic ligands. The global minimum structure (2a) is composed of 1a, with the Li+ cation linked to the four negatively charged sulfur atoms (symmetry C(s)). The corresponding complex 2c containing the ligand 1b is by 23.4 kJ mol(-1) less stable than 2a, and a bicyclic crown-shaped LiS7 cation (2e) is by 34.9 kJ mol(-1) less stable than 2a. Even less stable are four complexes with the branched S6=S ligand. SS bond activation by polarization of the valence electrons takes place on coordination of Li+ to cyclo-S7 (1a).