Reactions of hydrocarbon ions with hydrogen and methane at 300 K

The rate coefficients and ionised product distributions have been determined for reactions of the ions CH⁺_n and C₂H⁺_n with H₂ and CH₄, for n = 0 to 4, in a SIFT apparatus at 300 K. The reactions are fast and multiple products result from the CH₄ reactions.     

Methylation reaction for four DNA base molecules by methanediazonium ions

The methylation reactions at ten nucleophilic sites in four DNA base molecules with methanediazonium ions (CH₃N₂ ⁺) have been theoretically investigated including solvent effects at the B3LYP/6-31G^** and MP2/6-31G^** levels. The results show that all the methylation reactions have relatively small activation energy (<33.5 kJ/mol), and the methylation process is exothermic reaction and easy to occur. This study shows that the ultimate carcinogen CH₃N₂ ⁺ by NDMA can easily methylate DNA base molecules and form carcinogenic products. Supported by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. YYY-07015) and Shanghai Institute of Technology (Grant No. YJ2007-36)     

Competitive Activation of C?H and C?X Bonds in Reactions of Pt+ with CH3X (X=F,Cl): Experiment and Theory

The reactions of Pt⁺ with CH₃X (X=F, Cl) are studied experimentally by employing an inductively coupled plasma/selected‐ion flow tube tandem mass spectrometer and theoretically by density functional theory. Dehydrogenation and HX elimination are found to be the primary reaction channels in the remarkably different ratios of 95:5 and 60:40 in the fast reactions of Pt⁺ with CH₃F and CH₃Cl, respectively. The observed kinetics are consistent with quantum chemistry calculations, which indicate that both channels in the reaction with CH₃F are exothermic with ground‐state Pt⁺(²D), but that HF elimination is prohibited kinetically because of a transition state that lies above the reactant entrance. The observed HF‐elimination channel is attributed to a slow reaction of CH₃F with excited‐state Pt⁺(⁴F) for which calculations predict a small barrier. The calculations also show that both the HCl‐elimination and dehydrogenation channels observed with CH₃Cl are thermodynamically and kinetically allowed, although the state‐specific product distributions could not be ascertained experimentally. Further CH₃F addition is observed with the primary products to produce PtCH₂⁺(CH₃F)_1,2 and PtCHF⁺(CH₃F)_1,2. With CH₃Cl, sequential HCl elimination is observed with PtCH₂⁺ to form PtC_nH_2n⁺ with n=2, 3, which then add CH₃Cl sequentially to form PtC₂H₄⁺(CH₃Cl)_1–3 and PtC₃H₆⁺(CH₃Cl)_1,2. Also, sequential addition is observed for PtCHCl⁺ to form PtCHCl⁺(CH₃Cl)_1,2.     

Theoretical Study of the Reactions M++CH3F (M=Ge,As, Se,Sb)

CASSCF–MRMP2 calculations have been carried out to analyze the reactions of the methyl fluoride molecule with the atomic ions Ge⁺, As⁺, Se⁺ and Sb⁺. For these interactions, potential energy curves for the low‐lying electronic states were calculated for different approaching modes of the fragments. Particularly, those channels leading to C? H and C? F oxidative addition products, H₂FC? M? H⁺ and H₃C? M? F⁺, respectively were explored, as well as the paths which evolve to the abstraction (M? F⁺+CH₃) and the elimination (CH₂M⁺+HF) asymptotes. For the reaction Ge⁺+CH₃F the only favorable channel leads to fluorine abstraction by the ion. As⁺ and Sb⁺ can react with CH₃F along pathways yielding stable addition products. However, a viable path joining the oxidative addition product H₃C? M? F⁺ with the elimination asymptote CH₂M⁺+HF was found for the reaction of the fluorocarbon compound with As⁺. No favorable channels were detected for the interaction of fluoromethane with Se⁺. The results discussed herein allow rationalizing some of the experimental data found for these interactions through gas‐phase mass spectrometry.     

Theoretical and Experimental Study of Complex Ions from Reactions of Al+ (Cu+) with Amine Molecules

The gas phase reactions of metal ions (Al⁺, Cu⁺) with amine molecules [CH₃NH₂=MA, (CH₃)₂NH=DMA] were investigated using a laser ablation‐molecular beam method. The directly associated product complex ions,Al⁺‐MA and Al⁺‐DMA, and the dehydrogenation product ions, Cu⁺(CH₂NH) and Cu⁺(C₂H₅N), as well as hydrated ion Cu⁺(NC₂H₅·H₂O), have been obtained and recorded from the reactions of the metal ions and organic amine molecules, and density functional theory (B3LYP) calculations have been performed to reveal the optimized geometry, energetics, and reaction mechanism of the title reactions with basis set 6‐311+G(d,p) adopted.     

Quantum-chemical simulation of unit process for the oxidation reactions of ethylene and its derivatives invoving <Superscript>1</Superscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> (<Superscript>1</Superscript>Δg)

The results of simulation of oxidation reactions of ethylene derivatives with different substituents (F atoms, CH₃O and CH₃ groups) and butadiene molecule with participation of ¹O₂ (¹Δg) have shown the possibility to realize different routes for the majority of the considered reactions. The largest product variety is obtained for butadiene and CH₃ derivatives of ethylene. For butadiene, along with 1,2-cycloaddition reactions resulting in four-membered dioxetane (which is realized in all cases), the possibility to form six-membered cyclic epidioxides (1,4-addition) and diepoxide products with two three-membered rings (epoxidation) has been found. The formation of hydroperoxide forms along with 1,2-addition reactions is also possible for all CH₃ derivatives of ethylene. Formation conditions and relative stability of the noted products have been analyzed for each case and certain features of the revealed reaction pathways with the transfer of two oxygen atoms have been discussed.     

Kinetic energy release distributions (KERDs) for the dissociation of metastable enol ions

Bimodal kinetic energy release distributions (KERDs) were obtained for the metastable ion reactions: CH₃C(OH) = ^*CH₂?⁺ → CH₃ + ^*CH₃CO⁺ and CH₃CH₂C(OH)=CH₂?⁺ → C₂H₅ + CH₃CO⁺. The bimodality is attributed to incomplete intramolecular energy redistribution in the short-lived intermediate keto ions, CH₃COCH₃?⁺ and CH₃CH₂COCH₃?⁺, respectivley, formed en route to the dissociation products.     

Chemistry of HCNH+: mechanisms, structures, and relevance to Titan’s atmosphere

The chemistry of HCNH⁺ in Titan’s atmosphere is not completely understood despite previous experimental and theoretical studies. In response to recent suggestions in the literature, we have searched for specific products of the reactions of HCNH⁺ with H₂, CH₄, C₂H₂, and C₂H₄ using the flowing afterglow-selected ion flow tube technique. We have probed for an association mechanism for reaction with H₂, and associative-H₂ loss for the reactions involving CH₄, C₂H₂, and C₂H₄. In all cases, these reaction mechanisms were found to be inefficient pathways for the depletion of HCNH⁺. Our ab initio computational studies characterize the structures and energies for these mechanisms and indicate that the proposed pathways are endothermic or possess reaction barriers. We compare our studies to previous experimental and computational work, and we suggest other ion-neutral reactions with HCNH⁺ that have not been included in previous models of Titan’s ionosphere.     

Exploring the intrinsic polar [4 + 2+] cycloaddition reactivity of gaseous carbosulfonium and carboxonium ions

Gas‐phase reactions of model carbosulfonium ions (CH₃‐S⁺ = CH_2; CH₃CH₂‐S⁺ = CH₂ and Ph‐S⁺ = CH₂) and an O‐analogue carboxonium ion (CH₃‐O⁺ = CH₂) with acyclic (isoprene, 1,3‐butadiene, methyl vinyl ketone) and cyclic (1,3‐cyclohexadiene, thiophene, furan) conjugated dienes were systematically investigated by pentaquadrupole mass spectrometry. As corroborated by B3LYP/6‐311 G(d,p) calculations, the carbosulfonium ions first react at large extents with the dienes forming adducts via simple addition. The nascent adducts, depending on their stability and internal energy, react further via two competitive channels: (1) in reactions with acyclic dienes via cyclization that yields formally [4 + 2⁺] cycloadducts, or (2) in reactions with the cyclic dienes via dissociation by HSR loss that yields methylenation (net CH⁺ transfer) products. In great contrast to its S‐analogues, CH₃‐O⁺ = CH₂ (as well as C₂H₅‐O⁺ = CH₂ and Ph‐O⁺ = CH₂ in reactions with isoprene) forms little or no adduct and proton transfer is the dominant reaction channel. Isomerization to more acidic protonated aldehydes in the course of reaction seems to be the most plausible cause of the contrasting reactivity of carboxonium ions. The CH₂ = CH‐O⁺ = CH₂ ion forms an abundant [4 + 2⁺] cycloadduct with isoprene, but similar to the behavior of such α,β‐unsaturated carboxonium ions in solution, seems to occur across the C = C bond. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SIFT studies of the reactions of H3O+, NO+ and O+2 with a series of volatile carboxylic acids and esters

We report the results of a selected ion flow tube (SIFT) study of the reactions of H₃O⁺, NO⁺ and O⁺₂ with some nine carboxylic acids and eight esters. We assume that all the exothermic proton transfer reactions of H₃O⁺ with all the acid and esters molecules occur at the collisional rate, i.e. the rate coefficients, k, are equal to k_c; then it is seen that k values for most of the NO⁺ and O⁺₂ reactions also are equal to or close to k_c. The major ionic products of the H₃O⁺ reactions with both the acids and esters are the protonated parent molecules, MH⁺, but minor channels are also evident, these being the result of H₂O elimination from the excited (MH⁺)1 in some of the acid reactions and an alcohol molecule elimination (CH₃OH or C₂H₅OH) in some of the ester reactions. The NO⁺ reactions with the acids and esters result in both ion-molecule association producing NO⁺M in parallel with hydroxide ion (OH⁻) transfer with some of the acids, and parallel methoxide ion (CH₃O⁻) and ethoxide ion (C₂H₅O⁻) transfer as appropriate with some of the esters. The O⁺₂ reactions proceed by dissociative charge transfer with the production of two or more ionic fragments of the parent molecules, the different isomeric forms of both the acid and the ester molecules resulting in different product ions.     

1,2-Eliminations from (CH3)2NH+CH2CH3 and (CH3)2NH 2+ : Guided dissociations

1,2-Eliminations are a varied and extensive set of dissociations of ions in the gas phase. To understand better such dissociations, elimination of CH₂=CH₂ and CH₃CH₃ from (CH₃)₂NH⁺CH₂CH₃ (1) and of CH₄ from (CH₃)₂NH₂⁺ are characterized by quantum chemical calculations. Stretching of the CN bond to ethyl is followed by shift of an H from methyl to the bridging position in ethyl and then to N to reach (CH₃)₂NH₂⁺ + CH₂=CH₂ from 1. CH₃CH₃ elimination by H-transfer to C₂H₅⁺ to form CH₃NH⁺=CH₂ + CH₃CH₃ also takes place. (CH₃)₂NH₂⁺ eliminates methane by CN bond extension followed by β-H-transfer to give CH₂=NH⁺ + CH₄. Low-energy reactions resembling complex-mediated 1,2-eliminations occur and constitute a hitherto largely unrecognized type of reaction. As in many complex-mediated reactions, these reactions transfer H between incipient fragments. They are distinguished from complex-mediated processes by the fragments not being able to rotate freely relative to each other near the transition state for reaction, as they do in complexes. Most 1,2-eliminations are ion-neutral complex-mediated, occur by the just described lower energy reactions, have 1,1-like transition states, or utilize highly asynchronous 1,2 transition states. All of these avoid synchronized 1,2-transition states that would violate conservation of orbital symmetry.     

Electron-Rich Half-Sandwich Complexes—Metal Bases par excellence

Electron-rich, half-sandwich complexes of the type C_nR_nML₂ or C_nR_nMLL′ are built up of an aromatic five- or six-membered ring, a d⁸-metal, and either a pair of two-electron donors or an equivalent chelating ligand. Such complexes behave like Lewis bases and react with a wide variety of electrophiles, El or ElX, to form products with a new metal-element bond. According to their reactivity they are comparable to the Vaska-type compounds. Certain of the products obtained after addition of the electrophile undergo interesting subsequent reactions in which, for example, metal complexes containing molecules that are unstable in the free state, such as CS, CSe, CH₂S, CH₂Se, CH₂Te, CH₃CHS, CH₃CHSe, CH₂?C?S, CH₂?C?Se, and CH₂?C?Te are formed. Moreover, cycloadditions as well as reactions with coordinatively unsaturated transition-metal compounds which result in formation of heterometal binuclear complexes demonstrate that the metal bases C_nR_nML₂ and C_nR_nMLL′ are valuable synthetic building blocks. Furthermore, very recent investigations have indicated links between metal basicity and the problem of C? H activation.     

Cyanomethyl cyclopentadienyl complexes of cobalt

The reactions of the complexes CpCo(CO)L (Cp = cyclopentadienyl, L = CO, PPh₃) with ClCH₂CN have been investigated. Chloroacetonitrile reacts with CpCo(CO)PPh₃ to give the cationic complex [CpCo(CH₂CN)(CNCH₂Cl)PPh₃]⁺, which has been isolated and characterized. Compounds of the type [CpCo(CH₂CN)(bipy)]⁺ BPh₄^? and CpCo(CH₂CN)PPh₃CN have been obtained by substitution reactions.     

Ion–molecule reactions and dissociation of glycols in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer: Evidence of intramolecular interactions

Polyethylene glycols react with CH₃OCH₂⁺ ions from dimethyl ether to form [M + 13]⁺ products. The [M + 13]⁺ ions are stabilized by intramolecular interactions involving the internal ether oxygen atoms and the terminal methylene group. Collisionally activated dissociation (CAD), including MSⁿ and deuterium labeling experiments show that fragmentation reactions involving intramolecular cyclization are predominant. Scrambling of hydrogen and deuterium atoms in the ion-molecule reaction products is not indicated. The CAD spectra of the [M + 13]⁺ ions provide unambiguous assignment of the glycol size.     

Four-centred rearrangements in the mass spectra of aliphatic ethers

The [CH₃O?CHCH₃]⁺ ions observed in the mass spectra of ethers of formula CH₃OCH (CH₃)R(R = H or alkyl) undergo two rearrangement fragmentation reactions to form [C₂H₅]⁺ and [CH₂OH]⁺. The scope of the rearrangements has been investigated and it is shown that enlargement of the alkyl group on either side of the ether linkage leads to alternative fragmentation routes. From a study of metastable intensities it is concluded that the fragmentations probably occur directly from the [CH₃O?CHCH₃]⁺ structure through four centred rearrangements rather than through the intermediacy of the [C₂H₅O?CH₂]⁺ ion.     

Reactions of the radial cattions of acetic acid and acetic anhydride in CFCl3

The ESR spectra of -irradiated, at –196 °C, solutions of acetic acid and acetic anhydride were studied depending on their concentrations in CFCl₃. The structure of thus produced radical cations is confirmed with the deuterium substituted analogues. It has been shown that the ion-molecular reaction of the radical cation CH₂COOH⁺ in the isolated dimer takes place for the dilute solutions of acetic acid in CFCl₃ resulting in the formation of CH₃COO follwed by its decomposition to CH₃+CO₂ while the radicals CH₂COOH are formed via secondary processes. The reactions of radical cations of acetic oxide have been also studied.     

Catalytic olefin hydrogenation with the application of a new water soluble rhodium catalyst

The catalyst precursor preparedin situ from rhodium dimer [Rh(cod)Cl]₂ and a new water-soluble phosphine Ph₂PCH₂CH₂CONHC(CH₃)₂CH₂SO₃H (in Li⁺ salt form) has been found to act as an effective olefin hydrogenation catalyst. Catalytic hydrogenation reactions have been tested in either two phase: aqueous catalyst/insoluble olefin or methanolic catalyst/olefin systems. The observed reaction rates were higher for terminal than for internal olefins. 1-Hexene in methanolic solution has been hydrogenated with a turnover frequency of about 8000 h^–1. This system has also been applied in the form of a supported aqueous phase catalyst.     

A comparative theoretical study of the reactivities of the Al+ and Cu+ ions toward methylamine and dimethylamine

A very recent laser ablation‐molecular beam experiment shows that an Al⁺ ion can react with a single methylamine (MA, CH₃NH₂) or dimethylamine (DMA, (CH₃)₂NH) molecule to form a 1:1 ion–molecule complex Al⁺[CH₃NH₂] or Al⁺[(CH₃)₂NH)], whereas a dehydrogenated complex ion Cu⁺[CH₃N] or Cu⁺[C₂H₅N] is detected, respectively, in the similar reaction for a Cu⁺ ion. Here, we show a comparative density functional theory study for the reactivities of the Al⁺ and Cu⁺ ions toward MA and DMA to reveal the intrinsic mechanism. It is found that the interactions of the Al⁺ ion with MA and DMA are mostly electrostatic, leading to the direct ion–molecule complexes, Al⁺? NH₂CH₃ and Al⁺? NH( CH₃)₂, in contrast to the non‐negligible covalent character in the corresponding Cu⁺‐containing complexes, Cu⁺? NH₂CH₃ and Cu⁺? NH( CH₃)₂. The general dehydrogenation mechanism for MA and DMA promoted by the Cu⁺ ion has been shown, and the preponderant structures contributing to the mass spectra of the product ions Cu⁺[CH₃N] and Cu⁺[C₂H₅N] are rationalized as Cu⁺? NHCH₂ and Cu⁺? N( CH₂)( CH₃). The presumed dehydrogenation reactions are also discussed for the Al⁺‐containing systems. However, the involved barriers are found to be too high to be overcome at low energy conditions. These results have rationalized all the experimental observations well. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Reaction of CH3CHO with Y+: A density functional theoretical study

The reaction mechanism of the Y⁺ cation with CH₃CHO has been investigated with a DFT approach. All the stationary points are determined at the UB3LYP/ECP/6-311++G** level of the theory. Both ground and excited state potential energy surfaces are investigated in detail. The present results show that the title reaction start with the formation of a CH₃CHO-metal complex followed by C-C, aldehyde C-H, methyl C-H and C-O activation. These reactions can lead to four different products (Y⁺CH₄ + CO, Y⁺CO + CH₄, Y⁺COCH₂ + H₂ and Y⁺O + C₂H₄). The minimum energy reaction path is found to involve the spin inversion in the different reaction steps, this potential energy curve-crossing dramatically affects reaction exothermic. The present results may be helpful in understanding the mechanism of the title reaction and further experimental investigation of the reaction.     

Synthesis of pyridine N-imine complexes of methylcobaloxime and reactions of bis(dimethylglyoximato)methyl(Pyridine N-imine)cobalt with acid anyhydrides and acetylenedicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester

Pyridine N-imine complexes of methylcobaloxime, CH₃Co(Hdmg)₂(R¹— C₅H_nN⁺N^?H) (n = 4; R¹ = H, 2-CH₃, 3-CH₃, 4-CH₃: n = 3; R¹ = 2,6-CH₃), have been synthesized by the reaction of CH₃Co(Hdmg)₂S(CH₃)₂ with a pyridine N-imine which is generated from a pyridine, hydroxylamine-O-sulfonic acid and K₂CO₃. The reactions of CH₃Co(Hdmg)₂(C₅H₅N⁺N^?H) with acid anhydrides form new methylcobaloxime complexes with N-substituted pyridine N-imines, CH₃Co(Hdmg)₂(C₅H₅N⁺N^?R²) R² = COPh, COMe, COEt). With maleic anhydride, (pyridine N-acryloylimine)carboxylic acid is formed. With acetylenedicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the ligand gives pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester.