The Fluorenyl Cation

The fluorenyl cation is a textbook example for a 4π antiaromatic cation. However, contrasting results have been published on how the annelated benzene rings compensate the destabilizing effect of the 4π antiaromatic five‐membered ring in its core. Whereas previous attempts to synthesize this cation in superacidic media resulted in undefined polymeric material only, we herein report that it can be generated and isolated in amorphous water ice at temperatures below 30 K by photolysis of diazofluorene. Under these conditions, the fluorenylidene is protonated by water to give the fluorenyl cation, which could be characterized spectroscopically. Its absorption in the visible‐light range matches that previously obtained by ultrafast absorption spectroscopy, and furthermore, its IR spectrum could be recorded. The IR bands in amorphous ice very nicely match predictions from DFT and DFT/MM calculations, suggesting the absence of strong interactions between the cation and surrounding water molecules.     

The Benzylperoxyl Radical as a Source of Hydroxyl and Phenyl Radicals

The benzyl radical ( 1 ) is a key intermediate in the combustion and tropospheric oxidation of toluene. Because of its relevance, the reaction of 1 with molecular oxygen was investigated by matrix‐isolation IR and EPR spectroscopy as well as computational methods. The primary reaction product of 1 and O₂ is the benzylperoxyl radical ( 2 ), which exists in several conformers that can easily interconvert even at cryogenic temperatures. Photolysis of radical 2 at 365 nm results in a formal [1,3]‐H migration and subsequent cleavage of the O?O bond to produce a hydrogen‐bonded complex between the hydroxyl radical and benzaldehyde ( 4 ). Prolonged photolysis produces the benzoyl radical ( 5 ) and water, which finally yield the phenyl radical ( 7 ), CO, and H₂O. Thus, via a sequence of exothermic reactions 1 is transformed into radicals of even higher reactivity, such as OH and 7 . Our results have implications for the development of models for the highly complicated process of combustion of aromatic compounds.     

Isolation of an Antiaromatic 9-Hydroxy Fluorenyl Cation

Fluorenyl cations are textbook examples of 4π electron antiaromatic five-membered ring systems. So far, they were reported only as short-lived intermediates generated under superacidic conditions or by flash photolysis. Attempts to prepare a m-terphenyl acylium cation by fluoride abstraction from a benzoyl fluoride gave rise to an isolable 9-hydroxy fluorenyl cation that formed by an intramolecular electrophilic attack at a flanking mesityl group prior to a 1,2-methyl shift and proton transfer to oxygen.     

The characterisation of molecular alkali-metal azides

Matrix isolation infrared (IR) studies have been carried out on the vaporisation of the alkali-metal azides MN3 (M = Na, K, Rb and Cs). The results show that under high vacuum conditions, molecular KN3, RbN3 and CsN3 are present as stable high-temperature vapour species, together with variable amounts of nitrogen gas and the corresponding metal atoms. The characterisation of these molecular azides is supported by ab initio molecular orbital calculations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and for CsN3 in particular, by the detection of the isotopomers Cs(14N15N14N) and Cs(15N14N14N). The IR spectra are assigned to a "side-on" (C(2v)) structure by comparison with the spectral features predicted both by vibrational analysis and calculation. The most intense IR features for KN3, RbN3 and CsN3 isolated in nitrogen matrices lie at 2005, 2004.4 and 2002.2 cm(-1), respectively, and correspond to the N3 asymmetric stretch. The N3 bending mode in CsN3 is identified at 629 cm(-1). An additional feature routinely observed in these experiments occurred at approximately 2323 cm(-1) and is assigned to molecular N2, perturbed by the close proximity of an alkali-metal atom. The position of this band appeared to show very little cation dependence, but its intensity correlated with the extent of sample thermal decomposition.     

Infrared-spectroscopic and density-functional-theory investigations of the LaCO, La2[eta2(mu2-C,O)], and c-La2(mu-C)(mu-O) molecules in solid argon

Reactions of laser-ablated lanthanum atoms with CO molecules in solid argon have been studied. The neutral lanthanum monocarbonyl (LaCO), produced upon sample deposition at 7 K, exhibits a C-O stretching frequency of 1772.7 cm(-1); to the best of our knowledge this is the lowest yet observed for a terminal CO in a neutral metal-carbonyl molecule (MCO, M = metal atom), implying anomalously enhanced metal-to-CO back-bonding. The infrared (IR) absorption band at 1145.9 cm(-1) is assigned to the C-O stretching mode of the side-on-bonding CO in the La2[eta2(mu2-C,O)] molecule. This CO-activated molecule undergoes an UV/Vis-photoinduced rearrangement to the CO-dissociated molecule, c-La2(mu-C)(mu-O). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed on these molecules, the results of which lend strong support to the experimental assignments of the IR spectra. LaCO is predicted to have a quartet ground state, corresponding to a linear geometry. Its formation involves La 6s-->4f promotion, which increases the strength of La-CO bonding by decreasing the sigma repulsion and, remarkably, by increasing the La 5d and 4f-->CO 2pi back-bonding. The observations schematically depict the whole process, starting with the interaction of CO with metal and ending with CO dissociation by the lanthanum dimer.     

QM/MM study of catalytic methyl transfer by the N5-glutamine SAM-dependent methyltransferase and its inhibition by the nitrogen analogue of coenzyme

The combined density functional quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) approach has been used to investigate methyl-transfer reactions catalyzed by the N(5)-glutamine S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase (HemK) and the coenzyme-modified HemK with the replacement of SAM by a nitrogen analogue. Calculations reveal that the catalytic methyl transfer by HemK is an energy-favored process with an activation barrier of 15.7 kcal/mol and an exothermicity of 12.0 kcal/mol, while the coenzyme-modified HemK is unable to catalyze the methyl transfer because of a substantial barrier of 20.6 kcal/mol and instability of the product intermediate. The results lend support to the experimental proposal that the nitrogen analogue of the SAM coenzyme should be a practicable inhibitor for the catalytic methyl transfer by HemK. Comparative QM/MM calculations show that the protein environment, especially the residues Asn197 and Pro198 in the active site, plays a pivotal role in stabilizing the transition state and regulating the positioning of reactive groups.     

Gas‐Phase Preparation of Carbonic Acid and Its Monomethyl Ester

Carbonic acid (H₂CO₃), an essential molecule of life (e.g., as bicarbonate buffer), has been well characterized in solution and in the solid state, but for a long time, it has eluded its spectral characterization in the gas phase owing to a lack of convenient preparation methods; microwave spectra were recorded only recently. Here we present a novel and general method for the preparation of H₂CO₃ and its monomethyl ester (CH₃OCO₂H) through the gas‐phase pyrolysis of di‐tert‐butyl and tert‐butyl methyl carbonate, respectively. H₂CO₃ and CH₃OCO₂H were trapped in noble‐gas matrices at 8 K, and their infrared spectra match those computed at high levels of theory [focal point analysis beyond CCSD(T)/cc‐pVQZ] very well. Whereas the spectra also perfectly agree with those of the vapor phase above the β‐polymorph of H₂CO₃, this is not true for the previously reported α‐polymorph. Instead, the vapor phase above α‐H₂CO₃ corresponds to CH₃OCO₂H, which sheds new light on the research that has been conducted on molecular H₂CO₃ over the last decades.     

Noncovalent complexes between dimethyl ether and formic acid--an ab initio and matrix isolation study.

The complexes formed by noncovalent interactions between formic acid and dimethyl ether are investigated by ab initio methods and characterized by matrix isolation spectroscopy. Six complexes with binding energies between -2.26 and -7.97 kcal mol(-1) (MP2/cc-pVTZ+zero point vibrational energy+basis set superposition erros) are identified. The two strongest bound complexes are, within a range of 0.3 kcal mol(-1), isoenergetic. The binding in these six dimers can be described in terms of OH...O, C=O...H, C-O...H and CH...O interactions. Matrix isolation spectroscopy allowed to characterize the two strongest bound complexes by their infrared spectra.     

Gas‐Phase Generation and Decomposition of a Sulfinylnitrene into the Iminyl Radical OSN

The dipolar oxathiazyne‐like sulfinylnitrene RS(O)N, a highly reactive α‐oxo nitrene, has been rarely investigated. Upon flash vacuum pyrolysis of sulfinyl azide CF₃S(O)N₃ at 350 °C, an elusive sulfinylnitrene CF₃S(O)N was generated in the gas phase in its singlet ground state and was characterized by matrix‐isolation IR spectroscopy. Further fragmentation of CF₃S(O)N at 600 °C produced CF₃ and a novel iminyl radical OSN, an SO₂ analogue, which were unambiguously identified by IR spectroscopy. Consistent with the experimental observations, DFT calculations clearly support a stepwise decomposition mechanism of CF₃S(O)N₃.     

Reactions of Th and U atoms with C2H2: infrared spectra and relativistic calculations of the metallacyclopropene, actinide insertion, and ethynyl products

Reactions of laser-ablated Th and U atoms with C(2)H(2) during condensation with excess argon at 7 K give several new product species. The metallacyclopropene, inserted hydride, and actinide ethynyl are identified from isotopic frequencies and relativistic DFT calculations. The higher-energy vinylidine isomer was not observed. These actinide metallacyclopropenes exhibit substantially stronger bonding interactions than found recently for the Pd and Pt metals. In the case of Th(C(2)H(2)) the argon matrix interaction is strong enough to reverse the computed order of states (MR-CISD) in favor of a triplet ground state for the (Ar)(n)(Th(C(2)H(2))) complex. The nature of the electronic interactions between various metal atoms and acetylene is compared and the origin of the particularly strong interaction for U and Th is traced to the higher energy of their 6d orbitals. The ThCCH and UCCH actinide ethynyl products are also observed and characterized by C[triple bond]C stretching modes 38+/-2 cm(-1) lower than acetylene itself.     

Reactions of uranium atoms with ammonia: infrared spectra and quasi-relativistic calculations of the U:NH3, H2N--UH, and HN==UH2 complexes

Ammonia molecules interact with U atoms, and the resulting U:NH3 complex rearranges upon visible irradiation to form the H2N--UH and HN==UH2 molecules in excess argon. These products are identified by functional group frequencies, 15NH3 and ND3 isotopic shifts, and comparison to frequencies calculated by using density functional theory. The N==U pi bond in HN==UH2 is enhanced by partial triple-bond character through N(2p) to U(5f) conjugation, which is comparable to that found in the analogous HN==ThH2 molecule. These products also form complexes with additional ammonia molecules in the matrix. The interesting higher-energy N[triple chemical bond]UH3 complex is not formed.