Polystyrene models. II. Ab initio study of isobutylbenzene

The structure and stability of the various conformations of isobutylbenzene are studied using ab initio molecular orbital theory. The calculations show that coupling between the structural units is important. The results indicate that complete geometry optimization of the stable and transition structures of isobutylbenzene produce significant changes in geometrical parameters and charge distributions of this molecule when compared with the corresponding results obtained using the rigid-rotor approximation. These changes are particularly noticeable in one of the gauche conformations and in transition structures of isobutylbenzene generated by the phenyl group rotation. For polystyrene, these results present evidence that there is a strong coupling between the chain-backbone folding and the rotation of the phenyl group. Multidimensional potential energy surfaces are displayed using a topological representation. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ab initio studies of structural features not easily amenable to experiment. 32. Conformational analysis and molecular structures of isopropyl and ethyl formate and comparison with spectroscopic data

The geometries of several conformations of ethyl and isopropyl formate were optimized by the ab initio gradient method on the 4-21G level. The calculations are in agreemnt with the existence of two conformers of ethyl formate of nearly equal energy. The COCC torsional angle in one is anti (180°) and in the other is gauche (about 80°). The equilibrium configuration of the isopropyl group in the formate is found to be unsymmetrical, with a COCH torsional angle of about 40°. A second minimum of torsional energy, at COCH = 180°, is 1.2 kcal/mol less stable than the unsymmetrical form. The calculations demonstrate the tranferability of internal rotational-potential parameters and of conformationally dependent geometrical trends between ethyl and isopropyl formate. There is good agreement between the calculated results and empirical potential-energy functions and rotational constants determined from microwave spectroscopy.     

Crystal structure of a liquid crystal non‐symmetric dimer: cholesteryl 4‐[4‐(4‐n‐butylphenylethynyl)phenoxy]butanoate

The crystal structure of cholesteryl 4‐[4‐(4‐n‐butylphenylethynyl)phenoxy]butanoate [phase sequence: Cr 155°C (46.1?J?g^?1) SmA 186.8°C (1.5?J?g^?1) TGB‐N* 204.7 (6?J?g^?1) I] has been solved from single crystal X‐ray diffraction data. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁ with unit cell parameters: a?=?13.129(2), b?=?9.3904(10), c?=?17.4121(8)?Å, β?=?92.790(7)°, Z?=?2. The structure has been solved by direct methods and refined to R?=?0.0606 for 3?250 observed reflections. The bond distances and angles are in good agreement with the corresponding values for compounds containing phenyl and cholesterol moieties. The phenyl rings A and B are planar. The dihedral angle between the least‐squares planes of the two phenyl rings is 28°. The cholesterol moiety has the usual structure: the C and E rings have chair conformations, and the D and F rings adopt half‐chair conformations. The molecules in the unit cell are arranged in an antiparallel manner. The crystal structure is stabilized by an intermolecular C–H…O contact of 2.989(10)?Å.     

Ab initio studies of structural features not easily amenable to experiment. 30. Conformational analysis and molecular structures of propanal and butanal

The geometries of several conformations of propanal and butanal have been refined by geometrically unconstrained ab initio gradient relaxation on the 4-21G level. Both compounds possess energy minima at O? C? C? C torsional angles of 0° and in the 120° region, and energy maxima in the 70° region and at 180°. The structure of the aldehyde functional group is found to be relatively invariant both when different systems or when different conformations of the same system are compared. Conformationally dependent geometrical trends in propanal and butanal are discussed and found to be subtle yet noticeable.     

Crystallization of bisphenol-A polycarbonate induced by organic salts: Chemical modification of the polymer. I. Model reactions

The chemical modifications induced in diphenyl carbonate (DPC) by sodium arylcarboxylates between 200 and 250°C were studied to model the behavior of bisphenol-A polycarbonate – salt systems. Reaction between the salt and DPC produces sodium phenoxide, the phenyl arylcarboxylate corresponding to the salt, and carbon dioxide. The two latter compounds probably result from the decarboxylation of an unstable intermediate compound, viz., a mixed carboxylic carbonic anhydride. CO₂ and sodium phenoxide act as catalysts transforming DPC into phenyl salicylate via the formation of a small amount of sodium salicylate. Electrophilic acylation of sodium phenoxide by DPC is another possible but minor source of phenyl salicylate. Above 250°C, phenyl salicylate becomes unstable and pyrolyzes into o-phenoxybenzoic acid, which is immedicately esterified in the presence of DPC into phenyl o-phenoxybenzoate. In DPC + sodium o-chlorobenzoate systems, reaction between phenyl o-chlorobenzoate and sodium phenoxide is another source of phenyl o-phenoxybenzoate.     

Ab initio studies of structural features not easily amenable to experiment. 38. Structural and conformational investigations of propanoic, 2-methylpropanoic,and butanoic acid

The structures and conformational energies of several conformations of propanoic acid, 2-methylpropanoic acid, and butanoic acid were determined by geometrically unconstrained ab initio gradient geometry refinement on the 4-21G level. The O?C? C? C torsional potentials of propanoic acid and butanoic acid are found to be practically identical. There are energy minima at 0° and 120°, and maxima in the 60° region and at 180°. In 2-methylpropanoic acid there are energy minima at H? C? C?O dihedral angles of 0° and 120°, and maxima at 60° and 180°. The exact positions of the maxima and minima of the H? C? C?O torsional potential of 2-methylpropanoic acid are found to be predictable from propanoic acid rotational-potential parameters. Some conformationally dependent, local geometry trends are discussed.     

Steric interactions in 2-substituted imidazoles. The molecular structure of 1-methyl-2-phenylimidazole and 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole

The crystal and molecular structures are reported for two isomeric imidazoles: 1-methyl-2-phenylimida-zole ( 1 ) and 1-methyl-4-phenylimidazole ( 2 ). In molecule 2 the phenyl ring is rotated by 7.3° from the het-erocyclic plane due to steric interactions. The steric congestion is much more severe in 1 , with the adjacent methyl and phenyl substituents mininizing nonbonded interactions via a 32.3° rotation of the phenyl ring and a 0.159 Å displacement of the methyl carbon from the heterocyclic plane.     

Ab initioSTO-3G optimization of planar,perpendicular, and twisted molecular structures of biphenyl

The complete molecular structure of biphenyl, characterized by 12 independent parameters, has been derived by ab initio gradient techniques using a STO -3G basis set for coplanar, perpendicular, and minimum energy conformations with the constraint of planar phenyl ring units and a C₂ symmetry axis along the CC interring bond. The minimum torsional angle obtained was ? = 38.63° with torsional energy barriers of 8.59 and 10.04 kJ/mol for ? = 0° and ? = 90°, respectively.     

Monte Carlo simulations on short single-stranded oligonucleotides. I. Application to RNA trimers

Monte Carlo (MC) structural simulation of short RNA sequences has been carried out by random variations of the nucleotide conformational angles (i.e., phosphodiester chain torsional angles and sugar pucker pseudorotational angles). All of the chemical bond lengths and valence angles remained fixed during the structural simulation, except those of the sugar pucker ring. In this article we present the simulated structures of RNA trimers—r(AAA) and r(AAG)—obtained at 11°C and 70°C. The influence of various initial conformations (selected as starting points in the MC simulations) on the equilibrium conformations has been discussed. The simulated conformational angles have been compared with those estimated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. For both of the oligonucleotides studied here, the most stable structures are helical conformations with stacked bases, at 11°C and 70°C. However, when the starting point is a stretched chain, it is found that r(AAA) adopts a reverse-stacked structure at low temperature (11°C), in which the A3 base is located between the A1 and A2 bases. Although the energies of these conformations (helical and reverse stacked) are very close to each other, the potential barrier between them is extremely high (close to 30 kcal/mol). This hinders the conformational transition from one structure to the other at a given temperature (and in the course of a same MC simulation). However, it is possible to simulate this structural transition by heating the reverse-stacked structure up to 500°C and cooling down progressively to 70°C and 11°C: Canonical helical structures have been obtained by this procedure. © 1994 by john Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

1H n.m.r. spectra of N-phenylmaleimide in isotropic and nematic phases

¹H n.m.r. spectra of N-phenylmaleimide have been investigated in isotropic as well as nematic phases; the chemical shifts, the direct dipolar and the indirect spin–spin coupling constants have been determined. The direct dipolar coupling constants are consistent with rapidly interconverting energetically equivalent twisted conformations of C₂ symmetry. Under the assumption that only two such conformers are predominantly present, the angle between the phenyl and the maleimide planes is determined as 52.9±0.9°.     

Static atomistic modelling of the structure and ring dynamics of bulk amorphous polystyrene

A detailed static atomistic model of dense, glassy polystyrene is simulated using a well established technique that previously proved successful for simple vinyl polymers. Initial chain conformations that are generated using a Monte Carlo technique including periodic continuation conditions are “relaxed” by potential energy minimization. In total 24 microstructures at densities of 1,07 g/cm³ were obtained with a cube-edge length of 18,65 Å. Detailed analysis of the minimized structures indicates that intermolecular packing influences create a large variety of chain conformations different from the purely intramolecular ground states. The systems are amorphous, exhibiting random coil behavior. The described structures have been used for a quasistatic simulation of localized motions. These motions include stepwise rotation and oscillation of the phenyl groups. The frequency distribution for the simulated ring motions covers many orders of magnitude. It is very rare that an energy barrier with a reorientation angle indicating a ring “flip” is overcome. Motions with small reorientation of the phenyl rings, and therefore not leading to a ring “flip”, dominate with an average reorientation angle of 16° (±12°). The intermolecular effects of the analyzed processes were found very important and far-reaching, widely influencing the cooperative motions of molecular groups.     

Orthorhombic polymorphs of two trans‐4‐aminoazoxybenzenes

The two isomeric compounds 4‐amino‐ONN‐azoxy­benzene [or 1‐(4‐amino­phenyl)‐2‐phenyl­diazene 2‐oxide], i.e. the α isomer, and 4‐amino‐NNO‐azoxy­benzene [or 2‐(4‐amino­phenyl)‐1‐phenyl­diazene 2‐oxide], i.e. the β isomer, both C₁₂H₁₁N₃O, crystallized from a polar solvent in orthorhombic space groups, and their crystal and molecular structures have been determined using X‐ray diffraction. There are no significant differences in the bond lengths and valence angles in the two isomers, in comparison with their monoclinic polymorphs. However, the conformations of the mol­ecules are different due to rotation along the Ar—N bonds. In the α isomer, the benzene rings are twisted by 31.5 (2) and 14.4 (2)° towards the plane of the azoxy group; the torsion angles along the Ar—N bond in the β isomer are 24.3 (3) and 23.5 (3)°. Quantum‐mechanical calculations indicate that planar conformations are energetically favourable for both isomers. The N—H?O hydrogen bonds observed in both networks may be responsible for the deformation of these flexible mol­ecules.     

Imino Diels–Alder adducts. I. Two furo­[3,2‐c]­quinoline diastereoisomers

The structures of two diastereoisomers of 9‐chloro‐8‐fluoro‐4‐phenyl‐2,3,3a,4,5,9b‐hexa­hydro­furo­[3,2‐c]­quinoline, C₁₇H₁₅ClFNO, are very similar. The orientation of the furan ring, as a result of its fusion to the quinoline nucleus, constitutes the significant difference between the two structures. The dihedral angles between the furan and phenyl rings are 73.4 (1) and 63.8 (1)°.     

Structure and Chemistry of Malonylmethyl- and Succinyl-Radicals. The search for homolytic 1,2-rearrangements

Malonylmethyl radical I [· CH₂CH(COOEt)₂] and its thioester analogue II [· CH₂CH(COOEt) (COSEt)] were generated by standard photolytic and thermolytic methods from perester and bromo precursors. The structures of I and II were examined by ESR spectroscopy and found to exist in preferred conformations. However, no indication for their rearrangement by 1,2-shift of either an ethoxycarboxyl or (ethylthio)carbonyl group to the corresponding succinyl radicals III and IV , respectively, was found at temperatures below ? 40°C. At higher temperatures of up to 140°C, the search for malonylmethyl → succinyl rearrangement was examined by thorough-product analysis of the perester decomposition. There is evidence for the rearrangement of the radical I to III by photolysis and of the radical II to IV by thermolysis at 130°C in chlorobenzene to only a small extent.     

5‐Acetyl‐2‐amino‐6‐methyl‐4‐(3‐nitrophenyl)‐4H‐pyran‐3‐carbonitrile and 2‐amino‐5‐ethoxycarbonyl‐6‐methyl‐4‐(3‐nitrophenyl)‐4H‐pyrano‐3‐carbonitrile

The structures of the title compounds, C₁₅H₁₃N₃O₄, (I), and C₁₆H₁₅N₃O₅ [IUPAC name: ethyl 6‐amino‐5‐cyano‐2‐methyl‐4‐(3‐nitro­phenyl)‐4H‐pyrano‐3‐carboxyl­ate], (II), are very similar, with the heterocyclic rings adopting boat conformations. The pseudo‐axial m‐nitro­phenyl substituents are rotated by 84.0 (1) and 98.7 (1)° in (I) and (II), respectively, with respect to the four coplanar atoms of the boat. The dihedral angles between the phenyl rings and nitro groups are 12.1 (2) and 8.4 (2)° in (I) and (II), respectively. The two compounds have similar patterns of intermolecular N—H?O and N—H?N hydrogen bonding, which link mol­ecules into infinite tapes along b .     

Conformation of p-dimethylaminobenzylidene-p-nitroaniline,p-nitrobenzylidene-p-dimethylaminoaniline,their stilbene and azobenzene derivatives

PCILO computations have been carried out on the conformation of p-dimethylaminobenzylidene-p-nitroaniline [I(m)], p-nitrobenzylidene-p-dimethylaminoaniline [I(n)] and the corresponding stilbene [II(a)] and azobenzene [II(b)] derivatives. The aniline rings in Im and In are found to be twisted out of the plane containing the central atoms by 60° and 30°, respectively. The two phenyl rings in case of II(a) are twisted out of plane in opposite directions by 30° each. II(b) was found to be planar. The results have been compared with the earlier experimental findings and used as a possible explanation for the visible absorption spectra of the four molecules.     

Dynamic mechanical properties of poly-α-olefins containing ring structures in side chains

Dynamic loss modulus curves have been determined over a temperature range beginning at liquid nitrogen temperature for poly-α-olefin polymers containing various ring structures, i.e., phenyl, cyclohexyl, cyclopentyl, and naphthyl, in the side chain. Glass transition and appropriate secondary relaxation temperatures were observed for each polymer. Separation of each pendant ring structure from the main backbone chain by successive additions of methylene units results in lower glass-transition temperatures. Comparison of polymers with similar side chains and different ring structures shows that the respective glass-transition temperatures decrease in the order naphthyl > cyclohexyl > phenyl > cyclopentyl. Secondary relaxation peaks were obtained at about ?150°C for polymers containing the cyclohexyl and cyclopentyl rings. A similar peak was observed for the polymer possessing a phenyl ring separated from the main chain backbone by two methylene units. The comparable polymer containing the naphthyl ring structure exhibited a broad secondary relaxation peak centered at ?20°C. The polymers possessing cyclohexyl rings separated from the main chain backbone by one or two methylene units had an additional low temperature peak at ?80°C. The molecular mechanism associated with this relaxation may be related to intramolecular transformations of the cyclohexyl ring between its “chair–chair” conformations.     

Two optically active iso­quinoline derivatives

In the two title optically active tetra­hydro­iso­quinoline derivatives, namely 3‐hydroxy­methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetra­hydro­isoquinolin‐2‐ium bromide methanol hemisolvate, C₁₆H₁₈NO⁺·Br^?·0.5CH₃OH, (IIb), and 2‐formyl‐3‐hydroxy­methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetra­hydro­iso­quinoline, C₁₇H₁₇NO₂, (III), the absolute configurations have been confirmed as 3R,4R by structure refinement using Bijvoet‐pair reflections. The hydroxy­methyl and phenyl groups in (IIb) are oriented in equatorial and pseudo‐equatorial positions, respectively, whereas in (III), the corresponding groups are in axial and pseudo‐axial positions, respectively; the hydroxy­methyl and phenyl groups are trans with respect to one another in both structures. The heterocyclic rings in (IIb) and (III) adopt envelope conformations inverted with respect to each other. In both structures, the mol­ecules are linked through hydrogen bonds.     

Darstellung von tetraaryl-pyrrolen und vergleichende epr-g-faktor-untersuchung von pyrryl-radikalen mit tetracyclon-ketylen

The synthesis of a number of substituted tetraphenyl-pyrroles is presented. The electronic g-factors of the corresponding pyrryl radicals are measured by EPR techniques in solution. A linear relationship has been found between type and number of the substituents and the g-factor shift, Assuming a twist angle of 25° for the α- and 60° for the β-pheny] rings with respect to the plane of the five membered ring, the EPR data can be satisfactorily explained by means of HMO-McLachlan calculations. The twist angles of the phenyl rings in the analogous substituted tetracyclone-ketyl system which give the best fit to experiment are 65° for the α- and 20° for the β-phenyl rings, respectively. The different conformations found for the two systems can be explained by considering the different charge distributions in the pyrryl- and in the tetracyclone-ketyl-radicals.     

Conformational Analysis of 1,2:3,4-Diepoxides: Ab Initio and semiempirical molecular-orbital calculations

Using semiempirical and ab initio procedures, the most stable conformations of meso- and rac-bioxirane and of some substituted 1,2:3,4-diepoxides were calculated. For threo-diepoxides (having the same relative configurations as rac-bioxirane, 3 ), two stable conformations with CCCC dihedral angles of ca. 90 and ca. 270° were found. For erythro-diepoxides (derivatives of meso-bioxirane, 4 ) the calculations suggest three preferred conformations with corresponding dihedral CCCC angles of ca. 90°, ca. 180°, and ca. 270°. The calculations are in fair agreement with the experimental data available for the unsubstituted compounds 3 and 4 .