Vibrational spectroscopic and conformational studies of 1-(4-pyridyl)piperazine

Possible stable conformers of the 1-(4-pyridyl)piperazine (1-4pypp) molecule were experimentally and theoretically studied by FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. FT-IR and Raman spectra were recorded in the region of 4000–200 cm⁻¹. Optimized geometric structures related to the minimum on the potential energy surface were investigated by the B3LYP hybrid density functional theory method using the 6-31G(d) basis set. Comparison of the experimental and theoretical results indicates that the density functional B3LYP method provides satisfactory results for the prediction of vibrational wavenumbers and structural parameters and equatorial-equatorial (e-e) isomer is supposed to be the most stable form of the 1–4pypp molecule.     

Spectroscopic and DFT studies of photoactivatable Mn(I) tricarbonyl complexes

A combined experimental study and density functional theory calculations of fac‐[MnBr (CO)₃L] complexes (L = 2‐(2′‐pyridyl)benzimidazole ligand, furnished with either morpholine (L^morph) or phthalimido (L^phth) side‐chain) were performed using different spectral and analytical tools. The synthesized complexes released carbon monoxide upon the exposure to LED source light at 468 nm. Illumination of fac‐[MnBr (CO)₃L] (10 μM) in the myoglobin solution (Mb) produced about 25 μM MbCO. The plateau of the CO release process is attained within 25 min. With the aid of time‐dependent density functional theory calculations, the observed lowest energy absorption transition at ~ 400 nm has a ground‐state composed of d (Mn)/π (pyridyl) and excited‐state of ligand π*‐orbitals forming MLCT/π‐π^*. Natural population analyses of fac‐[MnBr (CO)₃L] were carried out to get information about the strength of Mn–CO bonds, electronic arrangment and natural charge of manganese ion.     

Internucleotide J-couplings and chemical shifts of the N-H···N hydrogen-bonds in the radiation-damaged guanine-cytosine base pairs

Internucleotide ^2hJ_NN spin‐spin couplings and chemical shifts (δ(¹H) and Δδ(¹⁵N)) of N? H···N H‐bond units in the natural and radiation‐damaged G‐C base pairs were predicted using the appropriate density functional theory calculations with a large basis set. Four possible series of the damaged G‐C pairs (viz., dehydrogenated and deprotonated G‐C pairs, GC^?? and GC^?+ radicals) were discussed carefully in this work. Computational NMR results show that radicalization and anionization of the base pairs can yield strong effect on their ^2hJ_NN spin scalar coupling constants and the corresponding chemical shifts. Thus, variations of the NMR parameters associated with the N? H···N H‐bonds may be taken as an important criterion for prejudging whether the natural G‐C pair is radiation‐damaged or not. Analysis shows that ^2hJ_NN couplings are strongly interrelated with the energy gaps (ΔE_LP→σ*) and the second‐order interaction energies (E(2)) between the donor N lone‐pair (LP_N) and the acceptor σ^*_{N? H} localized NBO orbitals, and also are sensitive to the electron density distributions over the σ*(N? H) orbital, indicating that ^2hJ_NN couplings across the N? H···N H‐bonds are charge‐transfer‐controlled. This is well supported by variation of the electrostatic potential surfaces and corresponding charge transfer amount between G and C moieties. It should be noted that although the NMR spectra for the damaged G‐C pair radicals are unavailable now and the states of the radicals are usually detected by the electron spin resonance, this study provides a correlation of the properties of the damaged DNA species with some of the electronic parameters associated with the NMR spectra for the understanding of the different state character of the damaged DNA bases. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011.     

Electronic energy functionals: Levy–Lieb principle within the ground state path integral quantum Monte Carlo

We propose a theoretical/computational protocol based on the use of the Ground State Path Integral Quantum Monte Carlo for the calculation of the kinetic and Coulomb energy density for a system of N interacting electrons in an external potential. The idea is based on the derivation of the energy densities via the (N ? 1)‐conditional probability density within the framework of the Levy–Lieb constrained search principle. The consequences for the development of energy functionals within the context of density functional theory are discussed. We propose also the possibility of going beyond the energy densities and extend this idea to a computational procedure where the (N ? 1)‐conditional probability is an implicit functional of the electron density, independently from the external potential. In principle, such a procedure paves the way for an on‐the‐fly determination of the energy functional for any system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Molecular Structure, Vibrational Spectrum and Ionization Energy of m-Dimethoxybenzene

The optimized molecular geometries of the three rotamers of m-dimethoxybenzene in the ground So and electronically excited Sl states were predicted by ab initio and density functional theory （DFF） calculations. Their vibrational spectra in the St state were studied by one color resonant two photon ionization （1C-R2PI） method, and their ionization energies were measured by two color resonant two photon ionization （2C-R2PI） experiment. The optimized molecular geometries showed that the total energy of conformer a was the lowest in the So state. Most of the active vibrations assigned from the 1C-R2PI spectrum were found to be of the in-plane ring modes. The ionization energies （IE） of conformers a, b and c were determined to be 63521, 64487 and 63755 cm^-1, respectively.     

Spectroscopic characterization,thermogravimetry, density functional theory and biological studies of some mixed‐ligand complexes of meloxicam and 2,2′‐bipyridine with some transition metals

The mixed‐ligand Mn(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Zr(IV) complexes of meloxicam (H₂mel) and 2,2′‐bipyridine (Bipy) were prepared and characterized. For all complexes, the analytical and spectroscopic results revealed that H₂mel acts in a monobasic bidentate manner through the oxygen of the amide and nitrogen of the thiazole groups, whereas Bipy coordinates through the two nitrogen atoms with slightly distorted octahedral geometry. Thermodynamic parameters (E, ΔS^*, ΔH^* and ΔG^*) were calculated using Coats–Redfern and Horowitz–Metzger methods. The geometries of H₂mel and the complexes were carefully studied using density functional theory to predict the properties of materials performed using the hybrid density functional method B3LYP. All studied complexes are soft with respect to H₂mel where η varies from 0.096 for Zn(II) complex to 0.067 for Fe(III) complex and σ varies from 10.42 to 14.93 eV, while η and σ for H₂mel are 0.14 and 7.14 eV, respectively. The antibacterial activities of the ligands and metal complexes were investigated and the data show that the complexes are active against some bacterial species compared with H₂mel.     

Theoretical Study on the High Energy Density Compound Hexanitrohexaazatricyclotetradecanedifuroxan

Density functional theory （DFT） has been employed to study the molecular geometries, electronic structures, infrared （IR） spectra, and thermodynamic properties of the high energy density compound hexanitrohexaazatricyclotetradecanedifuroxan （HHTTD） at the B3LYP/6-31G^＊＊ level of theory. The calculated results show that there are four conformational isomers （α, β, γ and δ） for HHTTD, and the relative stabilities of four conformers were assessed based on the calculated total energies and the energy-gaps between the frontier molecular orbitals. The computed harmonic vibrational frequencies are in reasonable agreement with the available experimental data. Thermodynamic properties derived from the IR spectra on the basis of statistical thermodynamic principles are linearly correlated with the temperature. Detonation performances were evaluated by using the Kamlet-Jacobs equations based on the calculated densities and heats of formation. It was found that four HHTTD isomers with the predicted densities of ca. 2 g·cm^-3, detonation velocities near 10 km·s^-1, and detonation pressures over 45 GPa, may be novel potential candidates of high energy density materials （HEDM）. These results may provide basic information for the molecular design of HEDM.     

Scrutinizing “Invisible” astatine: A challenge for modern density functionals

The main‐group 6p elements did not receive much attention in the development of recent density functionals. In many cases it is still difficult to choose among the modern ones a relevant functional for various applications. Here, we illustrate the case of astatine species (At, Z = 85) and we report the first, and quite complete, benchmark study on several properties concerning such species. Insights on geometries, transition energies and thermodynamic properties of a set of 19 astatine species, for which reference experimental or theoretical data has been reported, are obtained with relativistic (two‐component) density functional theory calculations. An extensive set of widely used functionals is employed. The hybrid meta‐generalized gradient approximation (meta‐GGA) PW6B95 functional is overall the best choice. It is worth noting that the range‐separated HSE06 functional as well as the old and very popular B3LYP and PBE0 hybrid‐GGAs appear to perform quite well too. Moreover, we found that astatine chemistry in solution can accurately be predicted using implicit solvent models, provided that specific parameters are used to build At cavities. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Density functional complete study of hydrogen bonding between the water molecule and the hydroxyl radical (H2O · HO)

The hydrogen bonding complexes formed between the H₂O and OH radical have been completely investigated for the first time in this study using density functional theory (DFT). A larger basis set 6‐311++G(2d,2p) has been employed in conjunction with a hybrid density functional method, namely, UB3LYP/6‐311++G(2d,2p). The two degenerate components of the OH radical ²Π ground electronic state give rise to independent states upon interaction with the water molecule, with hydrogen bonding occurring between the oxygen atom of H₂O and the hydrogen atom of the OH radical. Another hydrogen bond occurs between one of the H atoms of H₂O and the O atom of the OH radical. The extensive calculation reveals that there is still more hydrogen bonding form found first in this investigation, in which two or three hydrogen bonds occur at the same time. The optimized geometry parameter and interaction energy for various isomers at the present level of theory was estimated. The infrared (IR) spectrum frequencies, IR intensities, and vibrational frequency shifts are reported. The estimates of the H₂O · OH complex's vibrational modes and predicted IR spectra for these structures are also made. It should be noted that a total of 10 stationary points have been confirmed to be genuine minima and transition states on the potential energy hypersurface of the H₂O · HO system. Among them, four genuine minima were located. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Photoinduced Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer of New Schiff Base Derivatives with Extended Conjugated Chromophores: A Comprehensive Theoretical Survey

This paper presented comprehensive theoretical investigation of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) of four new large Schiff base derivatives with extended conjugated chromophores. The properties of the ground state and the excited state of phototautomers of C1 to C4 [ C1 : 2‐(4′‐nitro‐stilbene‐4‐ylimino)methylphenol; C2 : 2‐(4′‐cyano‐stilbene‐4‐ylimino)methylphenol; C3 : 2‐(4′‐methoxyl‐stilbene‐4‐ylimino)methylphenol; C4 : 2‐(4′‐N,N‐diethylamino‐stilbene‐4‐ylimino)methylphenol], which included geometrical parameter, energy, rate constant, frontier orbit, Mulliken charge, dipole moment change, were studied by DFT (density functional theory), CIS (configuration interaction singles‐excitation), TDDFT (time‐dependent DFT) methods to analyze the effects of chromophore part on the occurrence of ESIPT and the role of substituent groups. The structural parameter calculation showed that the shorter R_{H? N} and larger R_{O? H} from enol to enol* form, and less twisted configuration in the excited state implied that these molecules could undergo ESIPT as excitation. Stable transition states and a low energy barrier were observed for C1 to C4 . This suggested that chromophore part increased some difficulty to undergo ESIPT for these molecules, while the possibility of occurrence of ESIPT was quite high. The negative ΔE^* (?9.808 and ?9.163 kJ/mol) of C1 and C2 and positive ΔE^* (0.599 and 1.029 kJ/mol) of C3 and C4 indicated that withdrawing substituent groups were favorable for the occurrence of ESIPT. The reaction rate constants of proton transfer of these compounds were calculated in the S₀ and S₁ states respectively, and the high rate constants of these compounds were observed at S₁ state. C1 even reached at 1.45×10¹⁵ s^?1 in the excited state, which is much closed to 2.05×10¹⁵ s^?1 of the parent moiety (salicylidene methylamine). Electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing substituent groups had different effects on the electron density distribution of frontier orbits and Mulliken charges of the atoms, resulting in different dipole moment changes in enol*→keto* process. These differences in turn suggested that C1 and C2 had more ability to undergo ESIPT than C3 and C4 . The ultraviolet/visible absorption spectra, normal fluorescence emission spectra and ESIPT fluorescence emission spectra of these compounds were predicted in theory.     

An assessment of pure,hybrid, meta,and hybrid‐meta GGA density functional theory methods for open‐shell systems: The case of the nonheme iron enzyme 8R–LOX

The performance of a range density functional theory functionals combined in a quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical (MM) approach was investigated in their ability to reliably provide geometries, electronic distributions, and relative energies of a multicentered open‐shell mechanistic intermediate in the mechanism 8R–Lipoxygenase. With the use of large QM/MM active site chemical models, the smallest average differences in geometries between the catalytically relevant quartet and sextet complexes were obtained with the B3LYP^* functional. Moreover, in the case of the relative energies between ⁴II and ⁶II , the use of the B3LYP^* functional provided a difference of 0.0 kcal mol^–1. However, B3LYP^± and B3LYP also predicted differences in energies of less than 1 kcal mol^–1. In the case of describing the electronic distribution (i.e., spin density), the B3LYP^*, B3LYP, or M06‐L functionals appeared to be the most suitable. Overall, the results obtained suggest that for systems with multiple centers having unpaired electrons, the B3LYP^* appears most well rounded to provide reliable geometries, electronic structures, and relative energies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Computational investigation of the structures,properties, and host-guest chemistry of prism[n]arenes

The discovery of new and functional macrocyclic host compounds is an important part of supramolecular chemistry. Since the experimental synthesis, prism[n]arenes (Pr[n]As), a class of naphthol-based macrocyclic arenes, have attracted much attention. In this work, from the perspective of theoretical calculation and research, Pr[n]As (n = 4 ~ 7) were studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The prismatic configuration isomers, electronic structures, absorption spectra, and host-guest chemistry were discussed thoroughly. DFT calculation results showed that 1,5-, 3,7-, and “hybrid” 15,37-Pr[n]As were the most representative configurations with the rigid prismatic molecular skeleton. Based on time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), the absorption spectra of Pr[n]As were all in the range of ultraviolet light which were mainly attributed to π-π* transitions. The molecular cavities of Pr[n]As were electron-rich and capable of accommodating a variety of cations or electron-conjugated molecules. MD simulation results showed that a Pr[n]A molecule was able to capture the guest molecule into its molecular cavity and maintain in the state of equilibrium in solvents.     

Revealing the marked differences of phosphorescence efficiencies on C˄N˄N‐coordinated Pt(II) complexes: A theoretical study

In this study, green phosphorescent Pt(II) complexes with N,N‐diphenyl‐6‐(1H‐pyrazol‐1‐yl)pyridin‐2‐amine (Ndpp) coordinated ligands, [Pt (Ndpp)Cl] 2a , [Pt (Ndpp)Pb, Pb = (prop‐1‐ynyl)benzene] 2b , and [Pt (Ndpp)CN] 2a? CN were theoretically investigated by means of density functional theory and time‐dependent density functional theory calculations to reveal their marked distinct phosphorescence quantum yields. These complexes exhibit evident absorption bands in the 200–450 nm region but emit strong green light with marked differences of phosphorescence quantum yields. Compared with the complex 2a , the complex 2b possesses large oscillator strengths of absorption spectra, strong spin‐orbit coupling, and transition electric dipole moment, as well as small singlet‐triplet splitting energies, which conduces to enhancing its radiative decay. To illustrate the nonradiative decay process, the transition state (TS) between the triplet metal‐centered (³MC) state and the excited state (T₁) was optimized. The ³MC state is found to be the minimum energy crossing point (MECP) between the T₁ state and the S₀ state. Compared with the complex 2a , the complex 2b possesses a much larger energy barrier to the MECP state from the T₁ state, so it is strongly emissive in the green region. Besides, the introduction of ? CN substitutions on 2a is useful for enhancing the energy barrier to the thermal deactivation pathway of ³MLCT → TS → MECP. These results demonstrate that the modification of metal–ligand conjugation is an effective way to develop high‐performance phosphorescent materials.     

Evolutionary Algorithm-Based Crystal Structure Prediction for Copper(I) Fluoride

Despite numerous experimental studies since 1824, the binary copper(I) fluoride remains unknown. A crystal structure prediction has been carried out for CuF using the USPEX evolutionary algorithm and a dispersion-corrected hybrid density functional method. In total about 5000 hypothetical structures were investigated. The energetics of the predicted structures were also counter-checked with local second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory. Herein 39 new hypothetical copper(I) fluoride structures are reported that are lower in energy compared to the previously predicted cinnabar-type structure. Cuprophilic Cu−Cu interactions are present in all the low-energy structures, leading to ordered Cu substructures such as helical or zig-zag-type Cu−Cu motifs. The lowest-energy structure adopts a trigonal crystal structure with space group P3₁21. From an electronic point of view, the predicted CuF modification is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 2.3 eV.     

Theoretical prediction on HAlS+ and HSAl+ cations using multiconfiguration second‐order perturbation theory

Some low‐lying states of the HAlS⁺ and HSAl⁺ cations have been studied for the first time by large‐scale theoretical calculations using three methods: complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF), complete active second‐order perturbation theory (CASPT2), and density functional theory Becke's three‐parameter hybrid function with the nonlocal correlation of Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) with the contracted atomic natural orbital (ANO‐L) and cc‐pVTZ basis sets. The geometries of all stationary points along the potential energy surfaces (PESs) were optimized at the CASSCF/ANO‐L and B3LYP/cc‐pVTZ levels. The ground and the first excited states of linear HAlS⁺ are predicted to be X²Π and A²Σ⁺ states, respectively. For the linear HSAl⁺ structure, the first excited state is A²Σ⁺. The X²Π state of linear HSAl⁺ is a second‐order saddle point, because it has two imaginary frequencies. Two bent global minima M1 and M2 were found along the 1²A′ and 1²A″ PESs, respectively. The CASPT2/ANO‐L potential energy curves of isomerization reactions were calculated as a function of HAlS bond angle. According to our calculations, the ground‐state HAlS⁺ is linear, whereas the ground‐state HSAl⁺ is bent. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Automated and efficient quantum chemical determination and energetic ranking of molecular protonation sites

We present an automated quantum chemical protocol for the determination of preferred protonation sites in organic and organometallic molecules containing up to a few hundred atoms. It is based on the Foster–Boys orbital localization method, whereby we automatically identify lone pairs and π orbitals as possible protonation sites. The method becomes efficient in conjunction with the robust and fast GFN‐xTB semiempirical method proposed recently (Grimme et al ., J. Chem. Theory Comput . 2017, 13 , 1989). The protonated isomers that are found within a few seconds to minutes of computational wall‐time on a standard desktop computer are then energetically refined using density functional theory (DFT), where we use a high‐level double‐hybrid reference method to benchmark GFN‐xTB and low‐cost DFT approaches. The proposed DFT/GFN‐xTB/LMO composite protocol is generally applicable to almost arbitrary molecules including transition metal complexes. Importantly it is found that even in electronically complicated cases, the GFN‐xTB optimized protomer structures are reasonable and can safely be used in single‐point DFT calculations. Corrections from energy to free energy mostly have a small effect on computed protomer populations. The resulting protomer equilibrium is valuable, for example, in the context of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry where it may help identify the ionized species and assist the interpretation of the experiment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Vibrational Spectrum of o‐Dimethoxybenzene in the S1 and D0 States

The optimized molecular geometries of o‐dimethoxybenzene (ODMB) in the S₀ state were predicted by ab initio and density functional theory calculations. Its vibrational spectra in the S₁ and D₀ states were studied by one color resonant two photon ionization (1C‐R2PI) and mass analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) experiments. The results indicated that trans rotamer was most stable. Only one rotamer of ODMB was detected by the 1C‐R2PI spectra, and its band origin was (35750±2) cm^?1, its ionization energy was (61617±5) cm^?1. Most of the observed vibrations in the D₀ state resulted from the in‐plane ring and substituent sensitive modes.