Different catalysis role of in‐loop and out‐of‐loop waters in assisting HNS/HSN proton transfer isomerizations: Bridging vs. surrounding effect

In this work, a density function theory (DFT) study is presented for the HNS/HSN isomerization assisted by 1–4 water molecules on the singlet state potential energy surface (PES). Two modes are considered to model the catalytic effect of these water molecules: (i) water molecule(s) participate directly in forming a proton transfer loop with HNS/HSN species, and (ii) water molecules are out of loop (referred to as out‐of‐loop waters) to assist the proton transfer. In the first mode, for the monohydration mechanism, the heat of reaction is 21.55 kcal · mol^?1 at the B3LYP/6‐311++G** level. The corresponding forward/backward barrier lowerings are obtained as 24.41/24.32 kcal · mol^?1 compared with the no‐water‐assisting isomerization barrier T (65.52/43.87 kcal · mol^?1). But when adding one water molecule on the HNS, there is another special proton‐transfer isomerization pathway with a transition state 10T′ in which the water is out of the proton transfer loop. The corresponding forward/backward barriers are 65.89/65.89 kcal · mol^?1. Clearly, this process is more difficult to follow than the R–T–P process. For the two‐water‐assisting mechanism, the heat of reaction is 19.61 kcal · mol^?1, and the forward/backward barriers are 32.27/12.66 kcal · mol^?1, decreased by 33.25/31.21 kcal · mol^?1 compared with T. For trihydration and tetrahydration, the forward/backward barriers decrease as 32.00/12.60 (30T) and 37.38/17.26 (40T) kcal · mol^?1, and the heat of reaction decreases by 19.39 and 19.23 kcal · mol^?1, compared with T, respectively. But, when four water molecules are involved in the reactant loop, the corresponding energy aspects increase compared with those of the trihydration. The forward/backward barriers are increased by 5.38 and 4.66 kcal · mol^?1 than the trihydration situation. In the second mode, the outer‐sphere water effect from the other water molecules directly H‐bonded to the loop is considered. When one to three water molecules attach to the looped water in one‐water in‐loop‐assisting proton transfer isomerization, their effects on the three energies are small, and the deviations are not more than 3 kcal · mol^?1 compared with the original monohydration‐assisting case. When adding one or two water molecules on the dihydration‐assisting mechanism, and increasing one water molecule on the trihydration, the corresponding energies also are not obviously changed. The results indicate that the forward/backward barriers for the three in‐loop water‐assisting case are the lowest, and the surrounding water molecules (out‐of‐loop) yield only a small effect. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006     

A Highly Oxidizing and Isolable Oxoruthenium(V) Complex [RuV(N4O)(O)]2+: Electronic Structure,Redox Properties,and Oxidation Reactions Investigated by DFT Calculations

The electronic structure and redox properties of the highly oxidizing, isolable Ru^V?O complex [Ru^V(N₄O)(O)]²⁺, its oxidation reactions with saturated alkanes (cyclohexane and methane) and inorganic substrates (hydrochloric acid and water), and its intermolecular coupling reaction have been examined by DFT calculations. The oxidation reactions with cyclohexane and methane proceed through hydrogen atom transfer in a transition state with a calculated free energy barrier of 10.8 and 23.8 kcal mol^?1, respectively. The overall free energy activation barrier (ΔG^≠=25.5 kcal mol^?1) of oxidation of hydrochloric acid can be decomposed into two parts: the formation of [Ru^III(N₄O)(HOCl)]²⁺ (ΔG=15.0 kcal mol^?1) and the substitution of HOCl by a water molecule (ΔG^≠=10.5 kcal mol^?1). For water oxidation, nucleophilic attack on Ru^V?O by water, leading to O? O bond formation, has a free energy barrier of 24.0 kcal mol^?1, the major component of which comes from the cleavage of the H? OH bond of water. Intermolecular self‐coupling of two molecules of [Ru^V(N₄O)(O)]²⁺ leads to the [(N₄O)Ru^IV? O₂? Ru^III(N₄O)]⁴⁺ complex with a calculated free energy barrier of 12.0 kcal mol^?1.     

Determination of adsorption heats of individual adsorption complex by combination of microcalorimetry and FTIR spectroscopy

Adsorption of CO as a probe molecule on K-FER zeolites differing in Si/Al ratio was investigated. Successful determination of adsorption heats of individual adsorption complexes formed upon adsorption of CO molecules on K-FER zeolites at 300 K by combination of IR spectroscopy with adsorption microcalorimetry is reported. Adsorption heat of bridged carbonyl complexes, where CO molecule interacts with two nearby extraframework K⁺ cations, was experimentally determined for the first time. It was found that bridged complexes on dual cationic sites exhibit adsorption heat of 34.8 kJ mol^?1, whereas monodentate carbonyls on single isolated K⁺ cation exhibit adsorption heat of only 26.2 kJ mol^?1 and adsorption heat of isocarbonyls was 21.5 kJ mol^?1.     

Mechanisms of the hydrogen atom and the phenyl group migration in the molecule of heptaphenylcycloheptatriene

In terms of the density functional theory using the B3LYP functional, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7-heptaphenylcycloheptatriene was shown to be the most stable in the boat conformation of the cycloheptatriene ring with the H atom in the equatorial position. 1,5-Sigmatropic shifts of the H atom along the seven-membered ring perimeter take place when it is in the axial position through the asymmetric transition state with the barrier ΔE ^≠ _ZPE = 28.7 kcal mol^?1. The H atom can attain the axial position upon inversion of the seven-membered ring, which is accompanied by the orthogonal turn of the phenyl group at the sp³-hybridized C atom (ΔE ^≠ _ZPE = 22.6 kcal mol^?1). The energy barrier to the circular rearrangement of the H atom (ΔE ^≠ _ZPE = 32.2 kcal mol^?1) explains formation of isomers during the high-temperature synthesis of di(p-tolyl)pentaphenylcycloheptatriene. The barrier to the 1,5-sigmatropic shifts of the phenyl group is 19.7 kcal mol^?1 higher than that for the competing shifts of the H atom.     

Role of Hydrocarbon Radicals CHx (x=1, 2, 3) in Graphene Growth: A Theoretical Perspective

Many outstanding properties of graphene are blocked by the existence of structural defects. Herein, we propose an important healing mechanism for the growth of graphene, which is produced via plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor decomposition (PECVD), that is, the healing of graphene with single vacancies by decomposed CH₄ (hydrocarbon radical CH_x, x=1, 2, 3). The healing processes undergo three evolutionary steps: 1) the chemisorption of the hydrocarbon radicals, 2) the incorporation of the C atom of the hydrocarbon radicals into the defective graphene, accompanied by the adsorption of the leaving H atom on the graphene surface, 3) the removal of the adsorbed H atom and H₂ molecule to generate the perfect graphene. The overall healing processes are barrierless, with a huge released heat of 530.79, 290.67, and 159.04 kcal mol^?1, respectively, indicative of the easy healing of graphene with single vacancies by hydrocarbon radicals. Therefore, the good performance of the PECVD method for the generation of graphene might be ascribed to the dual role of the CH_x (x=1, 2, 3) species, acting both as carbon source and as defect healer.     

A Computational Study of the Olefin Epoxidation Mechanism Catalyzed by Cyclopentadienyloxidomolybdenum(VI) Complexes

A DFT analysis of the epoxidation of C₂H₄ by H₂O₂ and MeOOH (as models of tert‐butylhydroperoxide, TBHP) catalyzed by [Cp*MoO₂Cl] ( 1 ) in CHCl₃ and by [Cp*MoO₂(H₂O)]⁺ in water is presented (Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl). The calculations were performed both in the gas phase and in solution with the use of the conductor‐like polarizable continuum model (CPCM). A low‐energy pathway has been identified, which starts with the activation of ROOH (R=H or Me) to form a hydro/alkylperoxido derivative, [Cp*MoO(OH)(OOR)Cl] or [Cp*MoO(OH)(OOR)]⁺ with barriers of 24.9 (26.5) and 28.7 (29.2) kcal mol^?1 for H₂O₂ (MeOOH), respectively, in solution. The latter barrier, however, is reduced to only 1.0 (1.6) kcal mol^?1 when one additional water molecule is explicitly included in the calculations. The hydro/alkylperoxido ligand in these intermediates is η²‐coordinated, with a significant interaction between the Mo center and the O^β atom. The subsequent step is a nucleophilic attack of the ethylene molecule on the activated O^α atom, requiring 13.9 (17.8) and 16.1 (17.7) kcal mol^?1 in solution, respectively. The corresponding transformation, catalyzed by the peroxido complex [Cp*MoO(O₂)Cl] in CHCl₃, requires higher barriers for both steps (ROOH activation: 34.3 (35.2) kcal mol^?1; O atom transfer: 28.5 (30.3) kcal mol^?1), which is attributed to both greater steric crowding and to the greater electron density on the metal atom.     

Spectroscopic Measurement of a Halogen Bond Energy

Halogen bonding (XB) has emerged as an important bonding motif in supramolecules and biological systems. Although regarded as a strong noncovalent interaction, benchmark measurements of the halogen bond energy are scarce. Here, a combined anion photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) study of XB in solvated Br^? anions is reported. The XB strength between the positively‐charged σ‐hole on the Br atom of the bromotrichloromethane (CCl₃Br) molecule and the Br^? anion was found to be 0.63 eV (14.5 kcal mol^?1). In the neutral complexes, Br(CCl₃Br)_1,2, the attraction between the free Br atom and the negatively charged equatorial belt on the Br atom of CCl₃Br, which is a second type of halogen bonding, was estimated to have interaction strengths of 0.15 eV (3.5 kcal mol^?1) and 0.12 eV (2.8 kcal mol^?1).     

Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane over a VO2‐Exchanged MCM‐22 Zeolite: A DFT Study

The adsorption and the mechanism of the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane over VO₂‐exchanged MCM‐22 are investigated by DFT calculations using the M06‐L functional, which takes into account dispersion contributions to the energy. The adsorption energies of propane are in good agreement with those from computationally much more demanding MP2 calculations and with experimental results. In contrast, B3LYP binding energies are too small. The reaction begins with the movement of a methylene hydrogen atom to the oxygen atom of the VO₂ group, which leads to an isopropyl radical bound to a HO? V? O intermediate. This step is rate determining with the apparent activation energy of 30.9 kcal mol^?1, a value within the range of experimental results for ODH over other silica supports. In the propene formation step, the hydroxyl group is the more reactive group requiring an apparent activation energy of 27.7 kcal mol^?1 compared to that of the oxy group of 40.8 kcal mol^?1. To take the effect of the extended framework into account, single‐point calculations on 120T structures at the same level of theory are performed. The apparent activation energy is reduced to 28.5 kcal mol^?1 by a stabilizing effect caused by the framework. Reoxidation of the catalyst is found to be important for the product release at the end of the reaction.     

First Principles (DFT) Characterization of RhI/dppp‐Catalyzed CH Activation by Tandem 1,2‐Addition/1,4‐Rh Shift Reactions of Norbornene to Phenylboronic Acid

The C?H activation in the tandem, “merry‐go‐round”, [(dppp)Rh]‐catalyzed (dppp=1,3‐bis(diphenylphosphino)propane), four‐fold addition of norborene to PhB(OH)₂ has been postulated to occur by a C(alkyl)?H oxidative addition to square‐pyramidal Rh^III?H species, which in turn undergoes a C(aryl)?H reductive elimination. Our DFT calculations confirm the Rh^I/Rh^III mechanism. At the IEFPCM(toluene, 373.15 K)/PBE0/DGDZVP level of theory, the oxidative addition barrier was calculated to be 12.9 kcal mol^?1, and that of reductive elimination was 5.0 kcal mol^?1. The observed selectivity of the reaction correlates well with the relative energy barriers of the cycle steps. The higher barrier (20.9 kcal mol^?1) for norbornyl–Rh protonation ensures that the reaction is steered towards the 1,4‐shift (total barrier of 16.3 kcal mol^?1), acting as an equilibration shuttle. The carborhodation (13.2 kcal mol^?1) proceeds through a lower barrier than the protonation (16.7 kcal mol^?1) of the rearranged aryl–Rh species in the absence of o‐ or m‐substituents, ensuring multiple carborhodations take place. However, for 2,5‐dimethylphenyl, which was used as a model substrate, the barrier for carborhodation is increased to 19.4 kcal mol^?1, explaining the observed termination of the reaction at 1,2,3,4‐tetra(exo‐norborn‐2‐yl)benzene. Finally, calculations with (Z)‐2‐butene gave a carborhodation barrier of 20.2 kcal mol^?1, suggesting that carborhodation of non‐strained, open‐chain substrates would be disfavored relative to protonation.     

Coordination of extraframework Li+ cation in the MCM-22 and MCM-36 zeolite: FTIR study of CO adsorbed

Nature and population of Li⁺ cationic sites in MCM-22 zeolite and its pillared form (MCM-36) were investigated by means of adsorption of CO as a probe molecule. CO stretching frequency and adsorption heat were measured by FTIR spectroscopy and adsorption microcalorimetry. Intrazeolitic carbonyl complexes on Li⁺ cations in MCM-22 and MCM-36 are characterized by two main vibrational bands at 2,195 and 2,188 cm^?1. Band at higher wavenumbers is ascribed to carbonyls on Li⁺ ions coordinated only to two oxygen atoms at the intersection of 10-ring channels and interacting with CO molecule by energy around 45 kJ mol^?1. Band at 2,188 cm^?1 was assigned to the carbonyls on Li⁺ cations located on top of 5 or 6-rings on the channel walls and coordinated to three or four oxygen atoms, interacting with CO molecule by energy 33–36 kJ mol^?1. Effect of pillaring and layered form of zeolite on nature and population of Li⁺ cationic sites is also discussed, as well as the formation of dicarbonyl complexes.     

Superelectrophilicity of 1,2‐Azaborine: Formation of Xenon and Carbon Monoxide Adducts

The BN analogue of ortho‐benzyne, 1,2‐azaborine, is shown to bind carbon monoxide and a xenon atom under matrix isolation conditions, demonstrating its strongly Lewis acidic superelectrophilic nature. The Lewis acid–base complexes involving CO and Xe can be cleaved photochemically and reformed by mildly annealing the matrices. The interaction energy of 1,2‐azaborine with Xe is 3 kcal mol^?1 according to quantum chemical computations, and is similar to that of the superelectrophilic carbene difluorovinylidene.     

The mechanism of methanol formation and other reactions following formaldehyde adsorption on Ni(110)

The adsorption/desorption and reactive behavior of formaldehyde was studied on clean single-crystal Ni(110) at adsorption temperatures down to 200 °K. For low exposures of the surface to formaldehyde, hydrogen and CO binding states were populated due to decomposition of the molecule upon adsorption. Higher exposures gave rise to a decomposition-limited hydrogen peak exhibiting an activation energy of 20 kcal/gmol and an apparent frequency factor of 10¹⁴ sec^?1. At initial coverages of H₂CO exceeding about 0.5, monolayer methanol was observed to form. The formation of methanol involved a hydrogen atom transfer between two adsorbed H₂CO molecules and did not occur totally via surface hydrogen. Self-oxidation to form CO₂ was also observed. The surface exhibited reaction heterogeneity, and the surface reactivity was observed to depend on the temperature of adsorption of reactants, suggesting strong adsorbate-induced surface “reconstruction.”     

Adsorption and dissociation of carbon trioxide on Ag(100)

Using density functional theory methods, we have studied carbon trioxide, its adsorption and dissociation on Ag(100). In the gas phase, two isomers are found, D_3h and C_2v, with the latter of 2.0 kcal mol^?1 lower in energy at the PW91PW91/6?31G(d) level. For CO₃ on Ag(100), the calculated adsorption energy is 91.2 and 89.1 kcal mol^?1 for the bi‐coord perpendicular and tri‐coord parallel structures, respectively. Upon the adsorption, 0.50 ～ 0.56 electron is transferred from silver to CO₃, indicative of significant ionic characters of the adsorbate‐surface bonding. In addition, the geometry of CO₃ is largely changed by its strong interaction with silver. For CO_3(ad) → O_(ad) + CO_2(gas), the energy barrier is calculated to be 19.8 kcal mol^?1 through the bi‐coord path. The process is endothermic with an enthalpy change of +17.3 ～ +26.7 kcal mol^?1 and the weakly chemisorbed CO₂ is identified as an intermediate on the potential energy surface. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

A Comparative Study of CO Oxidation on Nitrogen‐ and Phosphorus‐Doped Graphene

The geometry, electronic structure, and catalytic properties of nitrogen‐ and phosphorus‐doped graphene (N‐/P‐graphene) are investigated by density functional theory calculations. The reaction between adsorbed O₂ and CO molecules on N‐ and P‐graphene is comparably studied via Langmuir–Hinshelwood (LH) and Eley–Rideal (ER) mechanisms. The results indicate that a two‐step process can occur, namely, CO+O₂→CO₂+O_ads and CO+O_ads→CO₂. The calculated energy barriers of the first step are 15.8 and 12.4 kcal mol^?1 for N‐ and P‐graphene, respectively. The second step of the oxidation reaction on N‐graphene proceeds with an energy barrier of about 4 kcal mol^?1. It is noteworthy that this reaction step was not observed on P‐graphene because of the strong binding of O_ads species on the P atoms. Thus, it can be concluded that low‐cost N‐graphene can be used as a promising green catalyst for low‐temperature CO oxidation.     

Rotation and inversion in nitrosamines

Geometry optimizations of the ground states as well as of the transition states for internal rotation and inversion have been performed by the semiempirical MNDO method for dimethyl nitrosamine (1), perfluordimethyl nitrosamine (2), N-nitroso aziridine (3), and N-nitroso azetidine (4). It was found that the potential barrier to internal rotation about the N-N bond is always of lower energy than that to inversion on the nitroso nitrogen.While the ground states tend to adopt structures which enable mesomerism, the lowest transition state is characterized by a pyramidal sp³-hybridized amino nitrogen. In accordance with experimental results the low barriers to rotation of 2 (7.96 kcal mol^?1), 3 (3.38 kcal mol^?1) and 4 (9.97 kcal mol^?1) in comparison with 1 (12.54 kcal mol^?1) indicate that in donor-acceptor molecules the transfer of charge can be limited by electronic and stereochemical effects. In particular, the equivalence of the α-methylene hydrogens which was observed in the NMR-spectrum of 3 is due to unhindered rotation and ring inveirsion.     

The synthesis and conformational analysis of tetrahydro-1,2,4-oxadiazines

The synthesis and variable temperature ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of three tetrahydro-1,2,4-oxadiazines are reported. The N(4)-Me inversion barriers are 6.8–7.0 (ax→ts) and 7.4–7.9 kcal mol^?1 (eq→ts) with ΔG° 0.6–0.9 kcal mol^?1. The N(2)-Me inversion barriers are 10.4–11.4 (ax→ts) and 11.6–13.1 kcal mol^?1 (eq→ts) with ΔGδ 1.2–1.7 kcal mol^?1. The barrier to ring inversion is ca. 12.7 kcal mol^?1. “R value” analysis shows the ring to have a 56.5±2δ dihedral angle about the C(5)-(6) bond, indicative of the expected chair conformation.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the potential energy surface of the N2H → N2 + H system

The N₂H potential energy surface has been examined by ab initio molecular orbital theory using the 6-31G^** basis set with correlation energy evaluated by Møller—Plesset perturbation theory to fourth order. The ΔE for N₂H → N₂ + H is ?14.4 kcal mol^?1 and the barrier to dissociation is 10.5 kcal mol^?1. Inclusion of zero-point vibrational energies reduces the barrier to 5.8 kcal mol^?1.     

1H and 13C NMR studies of some aromatic dilactones (precursors of paracyclophanes)

Carbon-13 and proton NMR data of macrocyclic diaromatic dilactones are presented. The observed behaviour of the spectra as a function of temperature shows that the energy barrier for the re-orientation of the side chains is lower than 49 kJ mol^?1 (12 kcal mol^?1) and that the energy barrier for the rotation of the aromatic rings is larger than 99 kJ mol^?1 (24 kcal mol^?1). Hence, chiral substituted dilactones of this type will be resolvable, and the enantiomers can be easily handled at room temperature.     

Structural relaxations and energy effects of intramolecular motions inN,N-dimethylnitramine: A theoretical study

The equilibrium geometry of theN,N-dimethylnitramine molecule and changes in the energy and structural parameters due to the internal rotation of the nitro group and the inversion of the N atom in the amino fragment were calculated by the restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) method and at the second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) level of perturbation theory with inclusion of electron correlation using the 6–31 G^* and 6–31 G^** basis sets. The one-dimensional potential functions of these motions calculated at the RHF/6–31 G^* level were approximated by a truncated Fourier and power series, respectively. The frequencies of torsional and inversion transitions were determined by solving direct vibrational problems for a non-rigid model,i.e., taking into account the molecular geometry relaxation. The equilibrium conformation of the molecular skeleton ofN,N-dimethylnitramine is nonplanar. Transition states of the internal rotation of the nitro group and inversion of the amine N atom are characterized by pronounced concerted changes in its bond angles and the length of the N?N bond. In the MP2/6–31 G^* approximation, the height of the barrier to internal rotation calculated taking into account the difference in the zero-point vibrational energies is equal to 9.7 kcal mol^?1. Inversion in the amino fragment is accompanied by a relatively small energy change at the barrier height of ?1.0 kcal mol^?1 calculated in the same approximation.     

Mechanism for the gas‐phase hydrogen fluoride‐mediated decomposition of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) studied by DFT method

Density functional theory has been used to study the mechanism of the decomposition of peroxyacetyl nitrate (CH₃C(O)OONO₂) in hydrogen fluoride clusters containing one to three hydrogen fluoride molecules at the B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) and B3LYP/6‐311+G(3df,3pd) levels. The calculations clarify some of the uncertainties in the mechanism of PAN decomposition in the gas phase. The energy barrier decreases from 30.5 kcal mol^?1 (single hydrogen fluoride) to essentially 18.5 kcal mol^?1 when catalyzed by three hydrogen fluoride molecules. As the size of the hydrogen fluoride cluster is increased, PAN shows increasing ionization along the O? N bond, consistent with the proposed predissociation in which the electrophilicity of the nitrogen atom is enhanced. This reaction is found to proceed through an attack of a fluorine to the PAN nitrogen in concert with a proton transfer to a PAN oxygen. On the basis of our calculations, an alternative reaction mechanism for the decomposition of PAN is proposed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010