An investigation of the quantum chemical description of the ethylenic double bond in reactions: II. Insertion of ethylene into a titanium–carbon bond

Insertion of ethylene into the Ti–methyl bond in TiH₂CH⁺₃ is chosen as a model reaction for investigating the performance of a range of contemporary quantum chemical models in polymerization studies. Basis set effects are investigated at the self-consistent-field level, covering Hartree–Fock, pure DFT, and hybrid DFT. In agreement with findings in part I of this study, the basis set sensitivity of ethylene is shown to introduce a bias in computed energetics, amounting to 2–3 kcal/mol when DZP bases are used to compute the overall heat of monomer insertion. The geometry of stationary points relevant to the insertion reaction is determined using hybrid density functional theory. Based on these structures, the energy profile of the insertion reaction is computed using a range of popular quantum chemical approximations. The methods include Hartree–Fock and Møller–Plesset (MP) perturbation theory up through the fourth order in spin-restricted, spin-unrestricted, and spin-projected formalisms. Furthermore, configuration-interaction-based methods are included, of which the top level method is singly and doubly excited coupled clusters with a perturbative estimate of the contribution from triply excited configurations added [CCSD(T)]. The performance of the methods just mentioned, as well as three pure density functional and three hybrid density functional methods, are compared with respect to “best” relative energies, defined through extrapolation of CCSD(T) correlation energies according to the PCI scheme of Siegbahn and coworkers. Even though the MP series show poor convergence, spin-projected MP2, as well as two pure DFT methods (BPW91, BP86) and PCI-78 based on the MCPF method, show similar and very good agreement with best relative energies for the insertion reaction. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 947–960, 1998     

Unusual carboncarbon double bond cleavage in thiophenohomotropone system promoted by ethanedithiol

Non classical carboncarbon double bond cleavage in a homoaromatic system is initiated by ethanedithiol and p-toluenesulfonic acid. The structure of the unexpected product is proved by X-ray analysis. The proposed mechanism is supported by deuterium labelling experiments and common reactivity considerations.     

Ramberg-Backlund反应在构筑碳碳双键中的应用

碳碳双键是有机化学中最基本的官能团之一，在众多的构筑碳碳双键的方法中 Ramberg-Baecklund反应占有很重要的地位。该方法的关键步骤是α－卤代砜在碱 性条件下，发生1，3－消除反应，得到环状砜，然后重排失去SO2形成双键，这样 形成的双键位置确定，即具有良好的区域选择性，并且在不同的反应条件下可得到 不同构型的产物，因而在有机合成中有很好的应用前景，对Ramberg-Baecklund反 应进行了较为详细的综述，并对我国实验室所进行的反应条件的改进和优化以及目 前的研究进展作了总结。     

Theoretical investigation of the hydride migration to coordinated carbon monoxide

SCF and Cl calculations for the hydride migration to the carbonyl ligand of the HMn(CO)₅ system are reported. A rather high barrier, obtained from     

Theoretical investigation of electromechanical effects for graphyne carbon nanotubes

We present a theoretical study of the electronic and mechanical properties of graphyne-based nanotubes (GNTs). These semiconducting nanotubes result from the elongation of one-third of the covalent interconnections of graphite-based nanotubes by the introduction of yne groups. The effect of charge injection on the dimensions of GNTs was investigated using tight-binding calculations. Low amounts of electron injection are predicted to cause qualitatively different responses for armchair and zigzag graphyne nanotubes. Although the behavior is qualitatively similar to the usual carbon nanotubes, the charge-induced strains are predicted to be smaller for the GNTs than for ordinary single walled carbon nanotubes.     

Quantum-chemical investigation of the silicon and carbon coordination bond in their isostructural compounds

Ab initio calculations within the minimal basis set of STO -4LGTO have been carried out on molecules of type H₃MX (M = Si, C; X = H, NH₂, OH, F). The influence of the MH₃-group inversion on the electronic structure of these compounds has been investigated and illustrated by MO electron density maps. The ability of the central atom to form an additional bond has been estimated with the help of calculations on the complexes of these molecules with the hydrogen negative ion. The complexes of type [H₄SiX]^? have been found to be more stable than their unbonded components. The [H₄CX]^? complex formation has not proved to be advantageous.     

A computational investigation of the effect of the double bond on the conformations of seven membered rings

The effect of the presence of an exo- and/or an endo double bond on the geometry of seven membered rings has been investigated by a conformational analysis of methylenecycloheptane, cycloheptamine, borepane, and 4-, 3- and 2-cyclohepten-1-one by the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p) levels of theory. The results indicate that both methylenecycloheptane and cycloheptamine have low energy barriers with respect to pseudorotation and a broad potential well centred on the most symmetrical twist-chair conformation. Borepane shows similar characteristics, but with drastically different relative energy values. The introduction of an extra endo double bond in the conformationally flexible cycloheptanone, fixes the family of chair conformations to a single rigid form, but lowers the relative energy of the boat conformations to compete in stability with the former.     

The highly chemoselective transfer hydrogenation of the carbon–carbon double bond of conjugated nitroalkenes by a rhodium complex

Chemoselective transfer hydrogenation of conjugated nitroalkenes catalyzed by [RhCl₂Cp¹]₂–diamine complex (Cp¹=η⁵-C₅Me₅) using HCOOH/Et₃N (5:2) (TEAF) as a hydrogen source was realized. A variety of nitrostyrenes, β-methyl nitrostyrenes, and 3-methyl-4-nitro-5-alkenyl-isoxazoles were reduced smoothly in good to excellent yields in short reaction time. Other functional groups are inert under the reaction conditions.     

Mechanistic investigation of a novel vitamin B(12)-catalyzed carbon [bond] carbon bond forming reaction, the reductive dimerization of arylalkenes

In the presence of catalytic vitamin B(12) and a reducing agent such as Ti(III)citrate or Zn, arylalkenes are dimerized with unusual regioselectivity forming a carbon [bond] carbon bond between the benzylic carbons of each coupling partner. Dimerization products were obtained in good to excellent yields for mono- and 1,1-disubstituted alkenes. Dienes containing one aryl alkene underwent intramolecular cyclization in good yields. However, 1,2-disubstituted and trisubstituted alkenes were unreactive. Mechanistic investigations using radical traps suggest the involvement of benzylic radicals, and the lack of diastereoselectivity in the product distribution is consistent with dimerization of two such reactive intermediates. A strong reducing agent is required for the reaction and fulfills two roles. It returns the Co(II) form of the catalyst generated after the reaction to the active Co(I) state, and by removing Co(II) it also prevents the nonproductive recombination of alkyl radicals with cob(II)alamin. The mechanism of the formation of benzylic radicals from arylalkenes and cob(I)alamin poses an interesting problem. The results with a one-electron transfer probe indicate that radical generation is not likely to involve an electron transfer. Several alternative mechanisms are discussed.     

Theoretical investigation of excited states of molecules. An application on the nitrogen molecule

Diverse existing lines for the calculation of excited states are exposed, with an emphasis on those methods that consider both types of correlation energy: the dynamic and the non-dynamic one. We analyze the possibility of to calculate the dynamic correlation energy using a correlation energy density functional applied to a multi-determinantal wavefunction, which would include the non-dynamic correlation energy, versus the use of mono-determinantal wavefunctions, which are not able to include the long-range correlation energy, and versus the use of variational or perturbative calculations from multi-determinantal wavefunctions, with their excessive computational cost. The results obtained with several methods are compared. Contribution to the Serafin Fraga Memorial Issue.     

Theoretical investigation of the hydrogen bond interactions of methanol and dimethylamine with hydrazone and its derivatives

The interactions between hydrogen bond donors (dimethylamine (DMA) and methanol (MeOH)) and acceptors (formaldehyde dimethylhydrazone, acetaldehyde N,N-dimethylhydrazone and N-nitrosodimethylamine) were theoretically investigated by DFT. The hydrogen bonding interactions were found on several bonding sites of the acceptors. The important properties of structure, binding energy, enthalpy of formation, Gibbs free energy of formation and equilibrium constant were investigated. Compared to the monomer, the DMA complexes show a small red shift of the NH-stretching vibrational transition but a significantly intensity enhancement. On the other hand, the MeOH complexes have a large red shift but a relatively small intensity enhancement of the OH-stretching transition. Atoms-in-molecules analysis revealed that several types of hydrogen bond interaction were present in the complexes. Since natural bond orbital analysis overestimated the effect of charge transfer, the more reliable localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis was performed and it shows that the major contribution to the total interaction energy is the electrostatic interaction. All these parameters suggest that the hydrogen bond donor strength of MeOH is substantially greater than DMA.

     

Theoretical investigation on the structure and stability of some neutral noble gas compounds containing Xe-Xe bond

DFT calculations are performed to investigate the structure, stability, and nature of chemical bonding of some neutral noble gas insertion compounds containing a Xe-Xe bond; including HXeXeR, FXeXeR as well as RXeXeR (R = CN, NC, CCH, and BS). Geometry optimization of the considered molecules anticipate the existence of just four stable compounds (HXeXeCN, HXeXeNC, FXeXeCN, and FXeXeCCH); and rest of the molecules dissociate during the structural optimization. The results of NBO and AIM calculations show that a H(F)XeXeR molecule has a covalent H(F)-Xe bond in the H(F)XeXe⁺ fragment, which is bonded to R⁻ mainly through columbic interaction. Thermodynamic study indicates that all of the considered unimolecular dissociation channels for decomposition of H(F)XeXeR molecules to neutral fragments are both exothermic and exorergic; but dissociation to ionic species (H(F)XeXe⁺ and R⁻) is endothermic. Also kinetic study of the most probable dissociation reaction shows that FXeXeR molecules are metastable with respect to the global minimum F-R + 2Xe. Therefore, FXeXeCN molecule is more kinetically protected against the decomposition reaction than the other molecules and its experimental detection is more likely.     

IR-UV double resonance spectroscopic investigation of phenylacetylene-alcohol complexes. Alkyl group induced hydrogen bond switching

The electronic transitions of phenylacetylene complexes with water and trifluoroethanol are shifted to the blue, while the corresponding transitions for methanol and ethanol complexes are shifted to the red relative to the phenylacetylene monomer. Fluorescence dip infrared (FDIR) spectra in the O-H stretching region indicate that, in all the cases, phenylacetylene is acting as a hydrogen bond acceptor to the alcohols. The FDIR spectrum in the acetylenic C-H stretching region shows Fermi resonance bands for the bare phenylacetylene, which act as a sensitive tool to probe the intermolecular structures. The FDIR spectra reveal that water and trifluoroethanol interact with the pi electron density of the acetylene C-C triple bond, while methanol and ethanol interact with the pi electron density of the benzene ring. It can be inferred that the hydrogen bonding acceptor site on phenylacetylene switches from the acetylene pi to the benzene pi with lowering in the partial charge on the hydrogen atom of the OH group. The most significant finding is that the intermolecular structures of water and methanol complexes are notably distinct, which, to the best of our knowledge, this is first such observation in the case of complexes of substituted benzenes.     

Hydrogen bond and halogen bond inside the carbon nanotube

The hydrogen bond and halogen bond inside the open-ended single-walled carbon nanotubes have been investigated theoretically employing the newly developed density functional M06 with the suitable basis set and the natural bond orbital analysis. Comparing with the hydrogen or halogen bond in the gas phase, we find that the strength of the hydrogen or halogen bond inside the carbon nanotube will become weaker if there is a larger intramolecular electron-density transfer from the electron-rich region of the hydrogen or halogen atom donor to the antibonding orbital of the X-H or X-Hal bond involved in the formation of the hydrogen or halogen bond and will become stronger if there is a larger intermolecular electron-density transfer from the electron-rich region of the hydrogen or halogen atom acceptor to the antibonding orbital of the X-H or X-Hal bond. According to the analysis of the molecular electrostatic potential of the carbon nanotube, the driving force for the electron-density transfer is found to be the negative electric field formed in the carbon nanotube inner phase. Our results also show that the X-H bond involved in the formation of the hydrogen bond and the X-Hal bond involved in the formation of the halogen bond are all elongated when encapsulating the hydrogen bond and halogen bond within the carbon nanotube, so the carbon nanotube confinement may change the blue-shifting hydrogen bond and the blue-shifting halogen bond into the red-shifting hydrogen bond and the red-shifting halogen bond. The possibility to replace the all electron nanotube-confined calculation by the simple polarizable continuum model is also evaluated.     

Theoretical studies on the butene double bond isomerization catalyzed by 5-H of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride

The isomerization of 1-butene to trans-2-butene catalyzed by 5-H proton of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride (EMImF) has been studied with density functional theory of quantum chemistry. The equilibrium states geometries and transition state geometry are optimized at the levels of B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), respectively. The apparent activation barrier of isomerization is about 208 kJ/mol theoretically. It indicates that the 5-H proton on the imidazole ring of EMImF has certain catalytic activity to the butene double bond isomerization, which is similar to that of the 4-H proton. According to the data of intrinsic coordinate path, it can be determined that the isomerization is an elementary course and the hydrogen exchange of butene with EMImF is synergetic.     

The silafulvene: a potentially stable compound containing a double carbonsilicon bond

Two conformations of dimethylsilafulvene are calculated via a CNDO/2 procedure. One of them is planar while in the other the CH₃SiCH₃ plane is perpendicular to the cyclopentadienyl ring plane. The conformation energies differ by 19.8 kcal/mol.     

On the exceptional reactivity of the norbornene double bond

The anomalous reactivity of the bicyclo [2.2.1] heptene double bond is interpreted in terms of hyperconjugative effects, leading to an exceptionally low endo out-of-plane deformation potential.     

Recent topics in annulation reaction via double CH bond cleavage and double CC bond formation

Cyclic compounds have been consistently key components in organo functional molecules. To construct cycles, a catalytic two CH bond-cleaving annulation is one of the most ideal and straightforward methods with atom and step economies. Recently, many patterns of such annulation reactions have been developed, which construct a variety of cyclic compounds consisted of from simple to complex frameworks. This Digest focuses a recent progress in two or more than three CH bond-cleaving annulation reactions and is outlined as follows: (1) intramolecular annulation, (2) intermolecular annulation via double CH bond cleavages in one molecule, and (3) intermolecular annulation via double CH bond cleavages in two molecules.