Transient resonance Raman and density functional theory investigation of the 4-acetamidophenylnitrenium ion

This paper reports a transient resonance Raman and density functional theory study of the 4-acetamidophenylnitrenium ion in a mostly aqueous solvent. The transient Raman bands combined with results from density functional theory calculations indicate that the spectrum should be assigned to the singlet state of the 4-acetamidophenylnitrenium ion. The 4-acetamidophenylnitrenium ion was found to have a substantial iminocyclohexadienyl character comparable to previously studied para-phenyl-substituted phenylnitrenium ions and noticeable charge on both the acetamido and nitrenium moieties. The structure and properties of the 4-acetamidophenylnitrenium ion are compared to those of other arylnitrenium ions. We briefly discuss the chemical reactivity and selectivity of the para-acetamido-substituted phenylnitrenium ions compared to para-phenyl- or para-alkoxy-substituted phenylnitrenium ions.     

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory study on 4,4'-bipyridine molecule

The molecular geometry and vibrational frequencies of 4,4'-bipyridine (BPE) in the ground state were calculated using density functional theory (DFT) methods (B3LYP) with 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. The optimized geometric bond lengths and bond angles are obtained by DFT employing the hybrid of Beckes non-local three parameter exchange and correlation functional and Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) and near-infrared surface-enhanced Raman scattering (NIR-SERS) spectra of BPE on the silver foil substrate have been recorded. All FT-IR, FT-Raman and NIR-SERS band were assigned on the basis of the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) method. The vibrational frequencies obtained by DFT(3LYP) are in good agreement with observed results. The NIR-SERS of BPE excited by 1064nm laser line is little difference with that excited by visible laser line. This phenomenon is result to the increase of the contribution of CHEM enhancement effect. Surface selection rules derived from the electromagnetic enhancement model were employed to infer the orientations of BPE on the silver foil substrate surface. Some vibrational frequency which are sensitive to the planar or non-planar structure of BPE, and to the dihedral angle were concluded.     

Transient resonance Raman and density functional theory investigation of the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion.

We report a transient resonance Raman spectrum for the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion obtained after photolysis of 2-azidofluorene. The 10 experimental Raman band frequencies of the transient spectrum show very good agreement with the computed frequencies from BPW91/cc-PVDZ density functional theory calculations for the 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion. Our results confirm the assignment of the approximately 460 nm transient absorption band formed after photolysis of 2-azidofluorene in water/acetonitrile or water solution to the singlet ground electronic state 2-fluorenylnitrenium ion. Our study indicates the 2-fluorenylnitrenium has a large degree of iminocyclohexadienyl cation character with significant delocalization of the charge over both phenyl rings of the fluorene moiety. We compare our results for the 2-fluoreneylnitrenium ion to those previously reported for several other arylnitrenium ions.     

Understanding excited-state structure in metal polypyridyl complexes using resonance Raman excitation profiles,time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory

This article discusses the use of Raman spectroscopy, in concert with density functional theory, as a strategy for understanding excited-state structure in metal polypyridyl complexes. The first sections of the article discuss how one can use resonance Raman spectra of the ground-state molecule to understand the resonant Franck-Condon excited state. The theories behind these analyses are based on the sum-over-states and time-dependent approaches; a brief introduction to each of these methods is given. The use of density functional theory and its use in the determination of normal modes of vibration and infrared and Raman band intensities are discussed, with reference to a number of recent papers. The application of these methods is illustrated through the analysis of a number of selected examples which exemplify the strategies used to extract data from probing the Franck-Condon region. These data include the displacements of the resonant excited state with respect to the electronic ground state, the reorganisation energies associated with photoexcitation, bond length changes with excitation and other electronic parameters. The use, and limitations, of these methods are discussed. The direct calculation of resonance Raman band intensities is introduced. The direct measurement of excited-state vibrational spectra through time-resolved methods is discussed in the latter section of the article; with particular regard to the use of transient resonance Raman and time-resolved resonance Raman techniques to probe structural changes in metal polypyridyl complexes.     

Femtosecond transient absorption, nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman, and density functional theory study of fenofibric acid in acetonitrile and isopropyl alcohol solvents

Hydrogen abstraction reaction of fenofibric acid (FA) in acetonitrile and isopropyl alcohol solvents was studied by femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) and nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (ns-TR(3)) spectroscopy experiments. The singlet excite state ((1)FA) (nπ*) with a maximum transient absorption at 352 nm observed in the fs-TA experiments undergoes efficient intersystem crossing (ISC) to convert into a nπ* triplet state FA ((3)FA) that exhibits two transient absorption bands at 345 and 542 nm. The nπ* (3)FA species does not decay obviously within 3000 ps. In the ns-TR(3) experiments, the nπ* (3)FA is also observed and completely decays by 120 ns. Compared with the triplet states of benzophenone (BP) and ketoprofen (KP), the nπ* (3)FA species seems to have a much higher hydrogen abstraction reactivity so that (3)FA decays fast and generates a FA ketyl radical like species. In isopropyl alcohol solvent, the nπ* (3)FA exhibits similar reactivity and promptly abstracts a hydrogen from the strong hydrogen donor isopropyl alcohol solvent to generate a ketyl radical intermediate. With the decay of the FA ketyl radical, no light absorption transient (LAT) intermediate is observed in isopropyl alcohol solvent although such a LAT species was observed after similar experiments for BP and KP. Comparison of the ns-TR(3) spectra for the species of interest with results from density functional theory calculations were used to elucidate the identity, structure, properties, and major spectral features of the intermediates observed in the ns-TR(3) spectra. This comparison provides insight into the structure and hydrogen abstraction reactivity of the triplet states of BP derivatives.     

Vibrational frequencies of hydrazoic acid and methyl azide: density functional theory study

Harmonic vibrational frequencies of HN3 and CH3N3 molecules and their several isotopomers are calculated using HF, MP2 and five popular density functional theory (DFT) methods. On the basis of the comparison between calculated and experimental results, assignments of fundamental vibrational modes arc examined. HF and MP2 results are in bad agreement with experimental values. Of the five DFT methods, BLYP reproduces the observed fundamental frequencies the most satisfactorily. Two hybrid DFT methods are found to yield frequencies generally higher than the observed fundamental frequencies. The results indicate that BLYP calculation is a very promising approach for understanding the observed spectral features.     

The effect of oxidation on the structure of styryl-substituted sexithiophenes: a resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory study

The structures and vibrational properties of a series of styryl-substituted sexithiophenes and their charged species have been examined using resonance Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with density functional theory calculations. The calculated geometries of the radical cations and dications indicate that the quinoidal charged defects are more strongly localized in the center of the thiophene backbone than is observed in other sexithiophenes. This defect confinement, induced by the positions of the styryl substituents, is particularly evident in the dication species. However, the defect confinement weakens when alkoxy groups are added onto the phenyl rings by causing the extension of the charged defect into the styryl groups. The Raman spectra of the neutral styryl sexithiophenes are dominated by intense thiophene symmetrical stretching modes in both the measured and predicted spectra. Oxidation generates radical cations and dications, both of which can be observed in the solution state resonance Raman spectra. Unlike other sexithiophenes, which generally show a downshift of the intense thiophene stretching mode from the radical cation to the dication, a small upshift is observed for the styryl-substituted sexithiophenes. The theoretical spectra predict an insignificant change during this transition and the eigenvector for this mode reveals that it is localized over the same area occupied by the confined defect. In contrast, the solid state resonance Raman spectra of electrochemically oxidized films reveal evidence of solely radical cations and there is an appreciable downshift of the intense thiophene stretching mode compared with the corresponding mode in the solution spectra. This implies that the increase in the effective conjugation length from the solution to the solid state is greater for the radical cations than for the neutral species. It therefore appears that the radical cations form pi stacks in the solid film and the resulting intermolecular interactions effectively allow a further extension of the electron delocalization.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman and density functional study of an azirine intermediate in the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to form a dehydroazepine product

We report time-resolved resonance Raman spectra for the azirine intermediate produced in the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to form a dehydroazepine product. The Raman bands obtained with a 252.7 nm probe wavelength and 500 ns delay time exhibit reasonable agreement with predicted vibrational frequencies from density functional calculations for two isomers of azirine intermediates that may be formed from a 2-fluorenylnitrene precursor. The Raman bands observed for delay times of 15 ns and 10 micros were consistent with predicted vibrational frequencies from density functional calculations for the 2-fluorenylnitrene and dehydroazepine product species as well as previously reported 416 nm time-resolved Raman spectra obtained on the ns and micros time scales. Our results demonstrate that the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to produce dehydroazepine products proceeds via relatively long-lived 2-fluorenylnitrene and azirine intermediates. Substitution of a phenyl ring para to the nitrene group of phenylnitrene appears to lead to significant changes in the ring-expansion reaction so that longer lived arylnitrene and azirine intermediates can be observed. This should enable the chemical reactivity of azirine intermediates formed from arylnitrenes to be examined more readily.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman and density functional theory study of hydrogen-bonding effects on the triplet state of p-methoxyacetophenone

Picosecond and nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy combined with density functional theory calculations have been performed to characterize the structure, dynamics, and hydrogen-bonding effects on the triplet state of the phototrigger model compound p-methoxyacetophenone (MAP) in cyclohexane, MeCN, and 50% H2O/50% MeCN (v:v) mixed solvent. Analogous work has also been done to study the corresponding ground state properties. The ground and triplet states of MAP were both found to be associated strongly with the water solvent molecules in the 50% H2O/50% MeCN solvent system. A hydrogen-bond complex model involving one or two water molecules bonded with the oxygen atoms of the MAP carbonyl and methoxy moieties has been employed to explore the hydrogen-bond interactions and their influence on the geometric and electronic properties for the ground and triplet states of MAP. Among the various hydrogen-bond configurations examined, the carbonyl hydrogen-bond configuration involving one water molecule was calculated to lead to the most stable hydrogen-bond complex for both the ground and the triplet states with the strength of the hydrogen-bond interaction being stronger in the triplet state than the ground state. The increased carbonyl located hydrogen-bond strength in the triplet state results in substantial modification of both the electronic and the structural conformation so that the triplet of the hydrogen-bond complex can be considered as a distinct species from the free MAP triplet state. This provides a framework to interpret the differences observed in the TR3 spectral and triplet lifetime obtained in the neat MeCN solvent (attributed to the free MAP triplet state) and the 50% H2O/50% MeCN solvent (due to the triplet of the hydrogen-bond complex). Temporal evolution at early picosecond times indicates rapid ISC conversion, and subsequent relaxation of the excess energy of the initially formed energetic triplets occurs for both the free MAP and the hydrogen-bond complex. The triplet of the carbonyl hydrogen-bond complex appears to be generated directly from the corresponding ground state complex and it does not dissociate back to the free triplet state within the triplet state lifetime. We briefly discuss the influence of the carbonyl hydrogen-bond effect on the pi pi* triplet reactivity for MAP and closely related compounds.     

Simultaneous detection of two triplets: a time-resolved resonance Raman study

Solvents are known to affect the triplet state structure and reactivity. In this paper, we have employed time-resolved resonance Raman (TR3) spectroscopy to understand solvent-induced subtle structural changes in the lowest excited triplet state of thioxanthone. Density functional theory (DFT) combined with the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) implicit solvation model has been used to calculate the vibrational frequencies in the solvents. Here, we report a unique observation of the coexistence of two triplets, which has been substantiated by the probe wavelength-dependent Raman experiments. The coexistence of two triplets has been further supported by photoreduction experiments carried out at various temperatures.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of 4,4′-bipyridine on silver by density functional theory calculations

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of 4,4′-bipyridine (BPy) on silver foil substrate was measured using the 488, 514.5, and 1064 nm excitation lines. Density functional theory (DFT) methods were used to calculate the structure and vibrational spectra of Ag–BPy, Ag₃–BPy and Ag₄–BPy complexes with B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p)(C,H,N)/Lanl2dz(Ag) basis set. The Raman bands of BPy were assigned on the basis of the calculation of potential energy distribution. The calculated spectra of Ag–BPy and Ag₄–BPy complexes were much closer to the experimental results of BPy adsorbed on silver surface than that of Ag₃–BPy complexes. The vibrational frequencies that are sensitive to the planar or non-planar structure of BPy and to the dihedral angle of two pyridyl rings were discussed. The DFT results showed that the angles between two pyridyl rings for Ag–BPy and Ag₄–BPy were skewed by about 38.44° and 37.1°, respectively. The energy gaps of the HOMO and LUMO from DFT were 415–912 nm for BPy–Ag complexes. The relative intensities of SERS bands changed with different excitation laser lines. Thus, a chemical enhancement mechanism should play an important role in the SERS of BPy on silver substrate.     

Direct observation of an isopolyhalomethane O-H insertion reaction with water: picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (ps-TR3) study of the isobromoform reaction with water to produce a CHBr2OH product

Picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (ps-TR3) spectroscopy was used to obtain the first definitive spectroscopic observation of an isopolyhalomethane O-H insertion reaction with water. The ps-TR3 spectra show that isobromoform is produced within several picoseconds after photolysis of CHBr3 and then reacts on the hundreds of picosecond time scale with water to produce a CHBr2OH reaction product. Photolysis of low concentrations of bromoform in aqueous solution resulted in noticeable formation of HBr strong acid. Ab initio calculations show that isobromoform can react with water to produce a CHBr2(OH) O-H insertion reaction product and a HBr leaving group. This is consistent with both the ps-TR3 experiments that observe the reaction of isobromoform with water to form a CHBr2(OH) product and photolysis experiments that show HBr acid formation. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for the phase dependent behavior of polyhalomethane photochemistry in the gas phase versus water solvated environments.     

The study of resonance Raman scattering spectrum on the surface of Cu nanoparticles with ultraviolet excitation and density functional theory

Cu colloid was prepared by oxidation-reduction; it was relatively steady in fixed conditions, with size about 10-30 nm. The Raman spectrum of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA) in Cu colloid solution with the ultraviolet (UV) excitation at 325 nm, was obtained, even it is usually difficult to obtain Raman signals in Ag or Au in the UV region. It was found that the Raman signal intensities result from the resonance enhanced of surface plasmon resonance of Cu nanoparticles excited at 325 nm. The adsorption behavior of PHBA on the Cu nanoparticles was studied by combining with density functional theory (DFT); it was found that the calculated Raman frequencies were in good agreement with experimental value. So one can conclude that the simplified model is probably reasonable to describe some resonance Raman experiments.     

Methane activation on Pt and Pt4: a density functional theory study

The activation mechanisms of a methane molecule on a Pt atom (CH4-Pt) and on a Pt tetramer (CH4-Pt4) were investigated using density functional theory (B3LYP and PW91) calculations. The results from these two functionals are different mostly in predicting the reaction barrier, in particular for the CH4-Pt system. A new lower energy pathway was identified for the CH4 dehydrogenation on a Pt atom. In the new pathway, the PtCH2 + H2 products were formed via a transition state, in which the Pt atom forms a complex with carbene and both dissociated hydrogen atoms. We report here the first theoretical study of methane activation on a Pt4 cluster. Among the five single steps toward dehydrogenation, our results show that the rate-limiting step is the third step, that is, breaking the second C-H bond, which requires overcoming an energy barrier of 28 kcal/mol. On the other hand, the cleavage of the first C-H bond, that is, the first reaction step, requires overcoming an energy barrier of 4 kcal/mol.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman and density functional theory study of the deprotonation reaction of the triplet state of p-hydroxyacetophenone in water solution

[reaction; see text] Picosecond and nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman (TR(3)) spectroscopy was employed to investigate the deprotonation/ionization reaction of p-hydroxyacetophenone (HA) after ultraviolet photolysis in water solution. The TR(3) spectra in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to characterize the structure and dynamics of the excited-state HA deprotonation to form HA anions in near neutral water solvent. DFT calculations based on a solute-solvent intermolecular H-bonded complex model containing up to three water molecules were used to evaluate the H-bond interactions and their influence on the deprotonation reaction and the structures of the intermediates. The deprotonation reaction was found to occur on the triplet manifold with a planar H-bonded HA triplet complex as the precursor species. The HA triplet species is generated within several picoseconds and then decays with a approximately 10 ns time constant to produce the HA triplet anion species after 267 nm photolysis of HA in water solution. The triplet anion species was observed to decay with a time constant of about 90 ns into the ground-state anion species that was found to have a lifetime of about 200 ns. The DFT calculations on the H-bonded complexes of the anion triplet and ground-states species suggest that these anion species are H-bonded complexes with planar quinonoidal structures containing two water molecules H-bonded, respectively, with oxygen lone pairs of the carbonyl and deprotonated hydroxyl moieties. A deactivation scheme of the photoexcited HA in regard to the deprotonation reaction in neutral water solutions was proposed. With the above dynamic and structural information available, we briefly discuss the possible implications of the model HA photochemistry in water solutions for the photodeprotection reactions of related p-HP phototrigger compounds in aqueous solutions.     

Hydroxyl radical and hydroxide ion in liquid water: a comparative electron density functional theory study

Ab initio density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations of the solvated states of the hydroxyl radical and hydroxide ion are performed using the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr (BLYP) exchange-correlation functional (Becke, A. D. Phys. Rev. A 1988, 38, 3098. Lee, C.; Yang, W.; Parr, R. G. Phys. Rev. B 1988, 37, 785). The structures of the solvation shells of the two species are examined. It is found that the OH radical forms a relatively well-defined solvation complex with four neighboring water molecules. Three of these molecules are hydrogen bonded to the OH, while the fourth is hemibonded via a three-electron two-centered bond between the oxygen atoms of the OH and water. The activity and the diffusion mechanism of the OH radical in water is discussed in comparison with the OH- ion. Although the results are partially influenced by the tendency of the BLYP density functional to overestimate hemibonded structure, the present simulations suggest that the widely accepted picture of rapid diffusion of OH radical in water through hydrogen exchange reaction may need to be reconsidered.     

Resonance vibrational Raman optical activity: a time-dependent density functional theory approach

We present a method to calculate both on- and off-resonance vibrational Raman optical activities (VROAs) of molecules using time-dependent density functional theory. This is an extension of a method to calculate the normal VROA by including a finite lifetime of the electronic excited states in all calculated properties. The method is based on a short-time approximation to Raman scattering and is, in the off-resonance case, identical to the standard theory of Placzek. The normal and resonance VROA spectra are calculated from geometric derivatives of the different generalized polarizabilites obtained using linear response theory which includes a damping term to account for the finite lifetime. Gauge-origin independent results for normal VROA have been ensured using either the modified-velocity gauge or gauge-included atomic orbitals. For the resonance VROA only the modified-velocity gauge has been implemented. We present some initial results for H(2)O(2) and (S)-methyloxirane and compare with predictions from a simple two-state approximation.