Synthesis and NMR characterization of the cis and trans isomers of [Pt(II)(N9-adeH)2(pz)2] and X-ray crystallography of the trans isomer

The reaction of tetrapyrazine Pt(II) with adenine under basic conditions yielded two products both disubstituted by adenine and bound in all cases to the N-9 nitrogen of adenine. Crystals amenable to X-crystallographic analysis were obtained for one product which was consequently identified as trans-[Pt(II)(N9-adeH)2(pz)2](NO3)(4).H2O. The other product, though, was identified as the cis isomer based on extensive and comparative NMR structural studies whereby the two compounds were examined as both neutral and tetraprotonated species in solution. The major product of the reaction was unexpectedly the cis isomer, thus obtained in contrast to the trans effect, and the reason for this result is speculated on. Computational calculations using DFT at the B3LYP/TZVP-MARI-J level of theory provided the head-to-tail conformer as the overwhelmingly more stable species over the head-to-head conformer for both compounds whilst the trans product was found to be more stable than the cis. Thus the reaction does not follow a thermodynamic course and rather is kinetically controlled in concert with the speculated mode of reaction.     

Solvent-assisted conformational isomerization and the conformationally-pure REMPI spectrum of 3-aminophenol

3-Aminophenol (3AP) has two conformers, cis and trans, depending on the orientation of the OH group relative to the NH(2) group. While both conformers are found in the jet-cooled spectra of 3AP, only the trans isomer was found in the REMPI spectrum of the 3AP(NH(3))(1) cluster. It was suggested that the cis conformer of the cluster isomerizes to the more stable trans conformer in the ground state during supersonic expansion. Solvent-assisted conformational isomerization (SACI) is believed to drive the population into the more stable trans isomer. SACI also occurs for the 3AP monomer, reducing 50% of the cis/trans ratio when the ammonia concentration in the expansion is higher than 0.1%. Depending on the expansion condition, the cis conformer can be completely depleted. When other solvents were introduced in the expansion, SACI occurred with only certain solvents whose binding energy is higher than the isomerization barrier. SACI can be used as a means to prepare the most stable conformer of gas phase biomolecules.     

Ligand specificity modulated by prolyl imide bond Cis/Trans isomerization in the Itk SH2 domain: a quantitative NMR study

The Src homology 2 (SH2) domain of interleukin-2 tyrosine kinase (Itk) binds two separate ligands: a phosphotyrosine-containing peptide and the Itk Src homology 3 (SH3) domain. Binding specificity for these ligands is regulated via cis/trans isomerization of the Asn 286-Pro 287 imide bond in the Itk SH2 domain. In this study, we develop a novel method of analyzing chemical shift perturbation and cross-peak volumes to measure the affinities of both ligands for each SH2 conformer. We find that the cis imide bond containing SH2 conformer exhibits a 3.5-fold higher affinity for the Itk SH3 domain compared with binding of the trans conformer to the same ligand, while the trans conformer binds phosphopeptide with a 4-fold greater affinity than the cis-containing SH2 conformer. In addition to furthering the understanding of this system, the method presented here will be of general application in quantitatively determining the specificities of conformationally heterogeneous systems that use a molecular switch to regulate binding between multiple distinct ligands.     

Conformations and electronic structures of axially coordinated fullerene-porphyrin-fullerene triad (C60CHCOO)2-Sn(IV) porphyrin

The conformational (cis and trans) stability and electronic structures of (C(60)CHCOO)(2)-Sn(IV) porphyrin, recently synthesized as a novel fullerene-porphyrin-fullerene triad linked by metal axial coordination, have been studied by ab initio calculations. The cis conformer was found to be slightly more stable than the trans by 1.38 kcal/mol in the neutral compound. Upon the addition of an electron to the triad, the relative stability of the cis conformer was found to be higher (3.29 kcal/mol) than that in the neutral one. From the investigation of frontier molecular orbitals, for the cis conformer, it was found that the electrons are localized in HOMO of the porphyrin, while the electrons are localized in LUMO of the syn-fullerene. For the trans conformer, it was found that the electrons are localized in HOMO of the porphyrin, while the electrons are localized in LUMO of one of the two fullerene moieties, and the electrons are localized in LUMO2 of the other fullerene moiety, but the LUMO and LUMO2 have the same orbital energy. Thus, the PET may take place unidirectionally in the cis conformer from the porphyrin to the syn-fullerene, while it is bidirectional from the porphyrin to both of the fullerene moieties.     

Total synthesis of amiclenomycin, an inhibitor of biotin biosynthesis

We describe the first synthesis of amiclenomycin, a natural product that has been found to inhibit biotin biosynthesis and, as a consequence, to exhibit antibiotic properties. Structure 1, with a trans relationship between the ring substituents. had previously been proposed for amiclenomycin on the basis of its 1H NMR spectrum. We have prepared the trans and cis isomers 1 and 2 by unequivocal routes and we conclude that the natural product is in fact the cis isomer 2. The properly substituted cyclohexadienyl rings were constructed first. A cycloaddition reaction between 1,2-di(phenylsulfonyl)ethylene and the N-allyloxycarbonyl diene 13, followed by reductive elimination of the phenylsulfinyl groups, gave the cis isomer 15. To obtain the trans isomer, the O-trimethylsilyl diene was used to give the cis hydroxylated Diels-Alder adduct 33, which was transformed into the corresponding trans amino derivative by means of a Mitsunobu reaction. The L-alpha-amino acid functionality was introduced by means of a Strecker reaction on the aldehydes 16 and 42, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis with immobilised pronase.     

Fluorinated alcohol mediated displacement of the C10 acetoxy group of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrotetraol tetraacetates: a new route to diol epoxide-deoxyguanosine adducts

We describe a novel trifluoroethanol (TFE) or hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFP) mediated substitution reaction of the bay-region C10 acetoxy group in four stereoisomeric 7,8,9,10-tetraacetoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrenes (tetraol tetraacetates, two pairs of cis and trans isomers at the 9,10 positions) by the exocyclic N2-amino group of O6-allyl-3',5'-di-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (3). The tetraacetates are derived from cis and trans hydrolysis of (+/-)-7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9beta,10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P DE-1) and of (+/-)-7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-9alpha,10alpha-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P DE-2) at C-10 followed by acetylation. Excellent yields and high regioselectivity were observed. Similar cis/trans product ratios were observed for each set of cis and trans tetraol tetraacetates derived from DE-1 ( approximately 75/25) and from DE-2 (approximately 67/33) in HFP. This strongly suggests that the substitution proceeds via an SN1 mechanism involving a carbocation intermediate that is common to the cis and trans tetraacetates. Since it is likely that the cis and trans products from 3 arise from different conformations of the carbocation, its lifetime must be sufficiently long to permit conformational equilibration before its capture by the purine nucleophile. The corresponding reaction of (+/-)-9alpha-bromo-7beta,8alpha,10beta-triacetoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene with 3 in HFP was highly regio- and stereoselective and gave exclusively trans 10beta-adducts. This newly developed substitution reaction provides an attractive alternative synthetic strategy for the preparation of polycyclic hydrocarbon adducted oligonucleotide building blocks.     

Potential energy distributions and potential scans for the internal rotation of two rotors in 3,3-dichloro and 3,3,3-trichloropropanals.

The conformational behavior and structural stability of 3,3-dichloropropanal and 3,3,3-trichloropropanal were investigated by ab initio calculations. The 6-311 + + G** basis set was employed to include polarization and diffuse functions in the calculations at B3LYP level. From the calculation, the trans conformer of 3,3,3-trichloropropanal was predicted to be the predominant conformer with about 2 kcal mol(-1) of energy lower than the cis form. Additionally, 3,3 dichloro-propanal was predicted to exist as a mixture of three stable conformers. The potential function scans were calculated for the two molecules from which the rotational barriers could be estimated. The vibrational frequencies were computed at B3LYP level and complete vibrational assignments were made based on normal coordinate calculations for the conformers of the two molecules. Vibrational Raman and infrared spectra of the mixture of the stable conformers were computed at 300 K.     

Flexibility of "polyunsaturated fatty acid chains" and peptide backbones: A comparative ab initio study

The conformational properties of omega-3 type of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) chains and their fragments were studied using Hartree-Fock (RHF/3-21G) and DFT (B3LYP/6-31G(d)) methods. Comparisons between a unit (U) fragment of the PUFA chain and a mono N-Ac-glycine-NHMe residue show that both structures have the same sequence of sp2-sp3-sp2 atoms. The flexibility of PUFA originates in the internal rotation about the above pairs of sigma bonds. Therefore, potential energy surfaces (PESs) were generated by a scan around the terminal dihedral angles (phi t1 and phi t2) as well as the phi 1 and psi 1 dihedrals of both 1U congeners (Me-CHCH-CH2-CHCHMe and MeCONH-CH2-CONHMe) at the RHF/3-21G level of theory. An interesting similarity was found in the flexibility between the cis allylic structure and the trans peptide models. A flat landscape can be seen in the cis 1U (hepta-2,5-diene) surface, implying that several conformations are expected to be found in this (PES). An exhaustive search carried out on the 1U and 2U models revealed that straight chain structures such as trans and cis beta (phi 1 approximately psi 1 approximately 120 degrees; phi 2 approximately psi 2 approximately -120 degrees) or trans and cis extended (phi 1 approximately psi 1 approximately phi 2 approximately psi 2 approximately 120 degrees) can be formed at the lowest energy of both isomers. However, forming helical structures, such as trans helix (phi 1 approximately -120 degrees, psi 1 approximately 12 degrees; phi 2 approximately -120 degrees, psi 2 approximately 12 degrees) or cis helix (phi 1 approximately -130 degrees, psi 1 approximately 90 degrees; phi 2 approximately -145 degrees, psi 2 approximately 90 degrees) will require more energy. These six conformations, found in 2U, were selected to construct longer chains such as 3U, 4U, 5U, and 6U to obtain the thermochemistry of secondary structures. The variation in the extension or compression of the chain length turned out to be a factor of 2 between the helical and nonhelical structures. The inside diameter of the "tube" of cis helix turned out to be 3.5 A after discounting the internal H atoms. Thermodynamic functions were computed at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d). The cis-trans isomerization energy of 1.7 +/- 0.2 kcal mol(-1) unit(-1) for all structure pairs indicates that the conformer selection was consistent. A folding energy of 0.5 +/- 0.1 kcal mol(-1) unit(-1) has been extracted from the energy comparison of the helices and most extended nonhelical structures. The entropy change associated with the folding (Delta S(folding)) is decreases faster with the degree of polymerization (n) for the cis than for the trans isomer. As a consequence, the linear relationships between (Delta G(folding)) and n for the cis and trans isomer crossed at about n = 3. This suggested that the naturally occurring cis isomer less ready to fold than the trans isomer since a greater degree of organization is exhibited by the cis isomer during the folding process. The result of this work leads to the question within the group additivity rule: could the method applied in our study of the folding of polyallylic hydrocarbons be useful in investigating the thermochemistry of protein folding?     

Kinetics of the cis,cis to trans,trans isomerization of 1,1,2,2,5,5,6,6-octamethyl-1,2,5,6-tetrasilacycloocta-3,7-diene

The kinetics of the ruthenium-promoted cis,cis to trans,trans isomerization of 1,1,2,2,5,5,6,6-octamethyl-1,2,5,6-tetrasilacycloocta-3,7-diene were investigated. Incubation of a ruthenium alkylidene complex, (Cy(3)P)RuCl(2)(==CHPh)Ru(p-cymene)Cl(2), in CD(2)Cl(2) for 5 days at 40 degrees C afforded a catalytically active ruthenium species that was shown to be responsible for promoting the isomerization. The isomerization was observed to proceed in two steps: (1) conversion of the starting cis,cis isomer to a proposed cis,trans intermediate and (2) subsequent conversion of the intermediate to the product trans,trans isomer. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the two steps are first-order with respect to the concentrations of the cis,cis isomer, the intermediate, and the ruthenium alkylidene complex. The data were further consistent with a mechanism involving bimolecular hydride addition-elimination during the two isomerization steps.     

Intramolecular interaction effects and the structure of N2OS and N2O2: An Ab initio study

An ab initio study of O?N? N?S with full geometry optimization has been carried out to corroborate the presence of an interaction between the terminal atoms in this type of structure, which, in O?N? N?O, apparently stabilizes the cis conformer. Using the unscaled 4–31G basis set with a full set of d functions on the sulfur, there is a potential minimun at the trans but not the cis geometry. A gauche conformer with a torsional angle of 77.2° is the most stable. With N₂O₂ this basis set gives potential minima at both the cis and trans geometries, but the trans conformer is slightly more stable, contrary to experiment and the results of (7,3) basis-set calculations reported in the literature in which Gaussian lobe functions were employed. Using a (9,5) basis set there is no longer a potential minimum at the cis geometry, and a gauche structure is more stable than the cis conformer as in the case of N₂OS with the less-extended basis set. Force constants (harmonic and anharmonic), compliance constants, relaxed force constants, and interaction-displacement coordinates for both molecules are compared for key structural elements.     

Synthesis of 3,4-disubstituted piperidines by carbonyl ene and prins cyclizations: switching between kinetic and thermodynamic control with Brønsted and Lewis acid catalysts

A novel approach to cis and trans 3,4-disubstituted piperidines is described. Carbonyl ene cyclization of aldehydes 4a-e catalyzed by MeAlCl(2) in refluxing chloroform afforded the trans piperidines 7a-e with diastereomeric ratios of up to 93:7, while aldehyde 4f afforded solely the cis product 6f, which was resistant to isomerization to the trans isomer. It was demonstrated for 4a that the cyclization catalyzed by a variety of Lewis acids at low temperature proceeded under kinetic control to afford predominantly the cis piperidine 6a, and this isomerized to the thermodynamically more stable trans piperidine 7a on warming. In contrast, Prins cyclization of 4a-e catalyzed by concentrated hydrochloric acid in CH2Cl2 at low temperature afforded cis piperidines 6a-e with diastereomeric ratios of up to >98:2. The yield and diastereoselectivity of these cyclizations could be improved by using HCl-saturated CH2Cl2 to form the corresponding chloride, followed by elimination of HCl effected by ammonia. Aldehydes 4f and 4galso cyclized in good yield under the latter conditions. Mechanistic studies supported by DFT calculations (B3LYP/6-31G(d)) suggest that the cyclizations proceed via a mechanism with significant carbocationic character, with the cis carbocation being more stable than the trans carbocation. DFT calculations (B3LYP/6-31G(d)) of the transition state energies for concerted cyclization show that the cis piperidine is also the favored product from cyclization through a more concerted mechanism.     

Theoretical study of the mechanism of NO2 production from NO + ClO

The reaction of NO with ClO has been studied theoretically using density-functional and wave function methods (B3LYP and CCSD(T)). Although a barrier for cis and trans additions could be located at the RCCSD(T) and UCCSD(T) levels, no barrier exists at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d) level. Variational transition state theory on a CASPT2(12,12)/ANO-L//B3LYP/6-311+G(d) surface was used to calculate the rate constants for addition. The rate constant for cis addition was faster than that for trans addition (cis:trans 1:0.76 at 298 K). The rate constant data summed for cis and trans addition in the range 200-1000 K were fit to a temperature-dependent rate in the form kdi) = 3.30 x 10(-13)T(0.558) exp(305/T) cm3.molecule(-1).s(-1), which is in good agreement with experiment. When the data are fit to an Arrhenius plot in the range 200-400 K, an activation barrier of -0.35 kcal/mol is obtained. The formation of ClNO2 from ONOCl has a much higher activation enthalpy from the trans isomer compared to the cis isomer. In fact, the preferred decomposition pathway from trans-ONOCl to NO2 + Cl is predicted to go through the cis-ONOCl intermediate. The trans --> cis isomerization rate constant is kiso = 1.92 x 10(13) exp(-4730/T) s(-1) using transition state theory.     

Photoisomerization and photochemistry of matrix-isolated 3-furaldehyde

3-Furaldehyde (3FA) was isolated in an argon matrix at 12 K and studied using FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry. The molecule has two conformers, with trans and cis orientation of the O=C-C=C dihedral angle. At the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, the trans form was computed to be ca. 4 kJ mol(-1) more stable than the cis form. The relative stability of the two conformers was explained using the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. In fair agreement with their calculated relative energies and the high barrier of rotamerization (ca. 34 kJ mol(-1) from trans to cis), the trans and cis conformers were trapped in an argon matrix from the compound room temperature gas phase in proportion ~7:1. The experimentally observed vibrational signatures of the two forms are in a good agreement with the theoretically calculated spectra. Broad-band UV-irradiation (λ > 234 nm) of the matrix-isolated compound resulted in partial trans → cis isomerization, which ended at a photostationary state with the trans/cis ratio being ca. 1.85:1. This result was interpreted based on results of time-dependent DFT calculations. Irradiation at higher energies (λ > 200 nm) led to decarbonylation of the compound, yielding furan, cyclopropene-3-carbaldehyde, and two C(3)H(4) isomers: cyclopropene and propadiene.     

Theoretical Study of Halogen Effect in Isomerization of 2-Halo-[9]-annulen Anion at the DFT Level

Cis-trans isomerization of [9]-annulenanion(1) and its 2-fluoro-,2-chloro-and 2-bromo-derivatives(2,3 and 4,respectively) were investigated at the HF/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-311++G** levels of theory.Cis,cis,cis,cis structures appear more stable than their corresponding cis,cis,cis,trans-isomers.The relative height of energy barriers for cis-trans isomerization is:2cis > 1cis > 3cis > 4cis.This trend for the reverse trans-cis isomerization follows the electronegativity of the substituent at C-2(2trans > 3trans > 4trans > 1trans).     

Cold-surface photochemistry of primary and tertiary alkyl nitrites

Reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) is used to explore the photochemistry of primary and tertiary alkyl nitrites deposited on a gold surface. The primary alkyl nitrites examined for this study were n-butyl, isobutyl, and isopentyl nitrite. These compounds showed qualitatively similar spectra to those observed in previous condensed-phase measurements. The photolysis of the primary nitrites involved the initial formation of an alkoxy radical and NO, followed by production of nitroxyl (HNO) and an aldehydic species. In addition, the formation of nitrous oxide, identified from its distinctive transition near 2230 cm(-1), was observed to form from the self-reaction of nitroxyl. The reaction rates for cis and trans conformer decay, as tracked through their intense N═O stretching modes, were found to be significantly different, potentially due to a structural bias that favors HNO formation for the initial trans conformer photoproducts over recombination. Tert-butyl nitrite demonstrates only the trans conformer in the RAIRS spectra prior to photolysis; however, recombination of the initial NO and RO(?) photoproducts was observed to produce the cis conformer in the photolyzed samples. The primary photoproducts from tert-butyl nitrite can also react to form acetone and nitrosomethane, but the absence of HNO prohibits the formation of N(2)O that was observed for the primary alkyl nitrites. Additionally, the RAIRS spectrum of isobutyl nitrite co-deposited with water was measured to examine the photolysis of this species on a water-ice surface. No change in the identity of the photoproducts was observed in this experiment, and minimal frequency shifting (1-3 cm(-1)) of the vibrational modes occurred. In addition to being a known atmospheric source of NO and various aldehydes, our results point to cold surface processing of alkyl nitrites as a potential environmental source of nitrous oxide.     

Vibrational analysis of n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl nitrite

Raman and infrared spectra of n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl nitrite are reported. Density functional theory and M?eller-Plesset calculations with 6-31G* and 6-311G* basis sets were used to determine ground state molecular geometries and vibrational frequencies of these compounds. Calculations and spectral data of these molecules were used to perform partial vibrational mode assignments for the observed transitions. In agreement with previous investigations of alkyl nitrites, cis and trans rotational conformers of n-butyl, isobutyl and sec-butyl nitrite were observed in the gas phase infrared spectra and the condensed phase Raman and infrared spectra. Among the several predicted geometries of these compounds, the cis-trans geometry (cis with respect to the C-O-N=O dihedral angle and trans with respect to the C-C-O-N dihedral) was calculated to be the most stable conformer of n-butyl and isobutyl nitrite, while the cis-gauche conformer was found to be the most stable geometry of sec-butyl nitrite. The cis-type structures of these three molecules are favored due to formation of a pseudo hydrogen bond between the nitrite group and the alpha-carbon hydrogen atoms. Hindrance with the alkyl moiety, however, causes the trans conformer (trans with respect to the C-O-N=O dihedral) of tert-butyl nitrite to lie lower than its cis conformer, a result that was supported by our spectroscopic measurements. The characteristic N=O stretch frequency for the trans conformers of all the compounds examined was observed to decrease with increasing branching at the alpha-carbon, while the same mode for the cis conformers shows no change among the primary and secondary nitrites. Evidence is also provided that suggests that the relative number of cis conformers to trans conformers decreases as the alpha-carbon branching increases.     

Photoisomerization of cis,cis-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene in the solid state: the bicycle-pedal mechanism

The cis-trans photoisomerization of crystalline or powdered cis,cis-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene (cc-DPB) was studied at room temperature. The progress of the reaction was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, 1H NMR and HPLC. High conversions (up to 90%) to the trans,trans isomer were observed in a crystal to crystal reaction. Formation of the cis,trans isomer, the sole product obtained in solution and in very viscous glassy media at 77 K is entirely suppressed in the solid state. The observed two-bond photoisomerization is explained by Warshel's bicycle-pedal photoisomerization mechanism (BP). The results are consistent with X-ray diffraction measurements, which have revealed that cc-DPB molecules exist in crystals in edge to face alternating arrays of two conformer structures whose phenyl rings deviate significantly from the plane of the central diene moiety ( approximately 40 degrees ). One of the conformers has the two phenyls in parallel planes and the other in roughly perpendicular planes. Least motion considerations suggest that the former should undergo the two-bond photoisomerization more easily, in agreement with observations that indicate that the reaction proceeds in discrete stages. Recently reported cis,cis- to trans,trans-muconate photoisomerizations in the solid state are proposed to also proceed via the BP mechanism. The reactions are consistent with the X-ray crystal structures of the cis,cis-muconate isomers.     

Theoretical Studies of Distyrylbenzene and its Optical Properties

The electronic and geometrical properties of distyrylbenzene (DSB) are investigated by using chemistry theoretical calculation methods. Specifically, the excited state properties are studied by performing ab initio correlation interaction singlet (CIS) and time‐dependent density functional theory; the ground state and Raman activities are computed by density functional theory with the B3LYP method. Eight conformers of distyrylbenzene are found and they are derived from three isomers which are cis, cis‐, cis, trans‐, and trans, trans‐, respectively. The relative energy shows that each isomer of three types is separated with a large energy barrier, but a small energy difference of each conformer is found if they are in the same type. The transition state also shows the barrier between conformers is lower than isomers. The computed excited transition energies using ZINDO/S based on the optimized geometries at a DFT/B3LYP level with 6–31+G show an excellent agreement with experimental absorption spectra.     

Isomer-specific spectroscopy and conformational isomerization energetics of o-, m-, and p-ethynylstyrenes

The infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy of o-, m-, and p-ethynylstyrene isomers (oES, mES, and pES) were studied by a combination of methods, including resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization (R2PI), UV-UV hole-burning spectroscopy (UVHB), resonant ion-dip infrared spectroscopy (RIDIRS), and rotationally resolved fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. In addition, the newly developed method of stimulated emission pumping-population transfer spectroscopy (SEP-PTS) was used to determine the energy threshold to conformational isomerization in m-ethynylstyrene. The S(1) <-- S(0) origin transitions of oES and pES occur at 32 369 and 33 407 cm(-1), respectively. In mES, the cis and trans conformations are calculated to be close in energy. In the R2PI spectrum of mES, the two most prominent peaks (32672 and 32926 cm(-1)) were confirmed by UVHB spectroscopy to be S(1) <-- S(0) origins of these two conformers. The red-shifted conformer was identified as the cis structure by least-squares fitting of the rotationally resolved fluorescence excitation spectrum of the origin band. There are also two possible conformations in oES, but transitions due to only one were observed experimentally, as confirmed by UVHB spectroscopy. Density functional theory calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G) predict that the cis-ortho conformer, in which the substituents point toward each other, is about 8 kJ/mol higher in energy than the trans-ortho isomer, and should only be about 5% of the room temperature population of oES. Ground-state infrared spectra in the C-H stretch region (3000-3300 cm(-1)) of each isomer were obtained with RIDIRS. In all three structural isomers, the acetylenic C-H stretch fundamental was split by Fermi resonance. Infrared spectra were also recorded in the excited electronic state, using a UV-IR-UV version of RIDIR spectroscopy. In all three isomers the acetylenic C-H stretch fundamental was unshifted from the ground state, but no Fermi resonance was seen. The first observed and last unobserved transitions in the SEP-PT spectrum were used to place lower and upper bounds on the barrier to cis --> trans isomerization in m-ethynylstyrene of 990-1070 cm(-1). Arguments are given for the lack of a kinetic shift in the measurement. The analogous trans --> cis barrier is in the same range (989-1065 cm(-1)), indicating that the relative energies of the zero-point levels of the two isomers are (E(ZPL)(cis) - E(ZPL)(trans))= -75 to +81 cm(-1). Both the barrier heights and relative energies of the minima are close to those determined by DFT (Becke3LYP/6-31+G) calculations.     

Photoelectron imaging of propanal by resonant multiphoton ionization via the 3s Rydberg state

We report the conformationally- and vibrationally-selected photoelectron spectroscopy of propanal obtained by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) using photoelectron imaging. These photoelectron spectra, employing (2 + 1) ionization via the (n, 3s) Rydberg transitions in the range from 365 to 371 nm, confirm that there are two stable conformer origins in the lowest ionic state, the cis conformer with a co-planar CCCO geometry and a gauche conformer with a approximately 119 degrees CCCO dihedral angle. From ab initio calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level, we find the gauche conformer is slightly more stable, with the energy difference between two conformers determined to be only 65 cm(-1). In our photoelectron spectra, the vertical ionization potential (IP) for the cis conformer of propanal was then determined to be 9.999 (+/-0.003) eV, while that of the gauche conformer of propanal was estimated to be 9.944 eV. A long vibrational progression in the in-plane CCCO deformation vibrational mode, v, for the cis conformer is systematically observed in all photoelectron spectra in which this mode is excited, suggesting that the geometry of the ground ionic state is significantly different from that of the 3s Rydberg state, particularly along the v(15) coordinates.