Planar tetracoordinate carbon versus planar tetracoordinate boron: the case of CB4 and its cation

In this study, we analyzed CB(4) and its cation, CB(4)(+). Using CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ//CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ quantum-chemical calculations, we found that the neutral molecule is in accord with the results of Boldyrev and Wang, having a C(s) global minimum with a planar tricoordinate carbon structure, contradicting previous studies. In contrast, CB(4)(+), which was reported by an early mass spectroscopic study, has a planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) atom, demonstrating that a modification of the charge can promote the stabilization of a ptC structure.     

Planar and pyramidal tetracoordinate carbon in organoboron compounds

Using previously proposed C(BH)2(CH)2 (16, 17) and C(CH)2B2 (22) systems with a central planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) atom linking two three-membered rings as building blocks, a series of stable structures containing two and three ptC centers within a molecule have been designed and computationally studied with the DFT (B3LYP/6-311+G) method. Inclusion of a carbon atom ligated with pi-accepting and sigma-donating boron centers into at least one aromatic ring is critical for stabilization of a planar structure. A square pyramidal configuration at tetracoordinate carbon may be achieved in appropriately strained molecules such as [3.3.3.3]tetraborafenestrane 45 and others by surrounding the carbon with boron-centered ligands.     

Structure and Bonding in CE5− (E=Al–Tl) Clusters: Planar Tetracoordinate Carbon versus Pentacoordinate Carbon

The structure, bonding, and stability of clusters with the empirical formula CE₅^? (E=Al–Tl) have been analyzed by means of high‐level computations. The results indicate that, whereas aluminum and gallium clusters have C_2v structures with a planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC), their heavier homologues prefer three‐dimensional C_4v forms with a pentacoordinate carbon center over the ptC one. The reason for such a preference is a delicate balance between the interaction energy of the fifth E atom with CE₄ and the distortion energy. Moreover, bonding analysis shows that the ptC systems can be better described as CE₄^?, with 17‐valence electrons interacting with E. The ptC core in these systems exhibits double aromatic (both σ and π) behavior, but the σ contribution is dominating.     

Synthesis and structure of a hexacoordinate carbon compound

In an exploration of six coordination and hypervalence in carbon compounds, steric constraints have been employed to bring four ether O atoms in close proximity to an allenic carbon atom. The dimethylated dication 2 is confirmed to have hexacoordinate carbon by experimental charge density analysis and DFT calculations and is arguably hypervalent.     

Planar tetracoordinate carbon species involving beryllium substituents

Planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) arrangements can be achieved by employing multiple substituents based on beryllium, despite its rather weak pi-acceptor ability. A variety of ptC-containing examples, some with more than one ptC, have been designed computationally by elaborating the planar C(BeH) 4 (2-) prototype at B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) and MP2/6-311++G(3df,2p) levels of theory for some small ptC representatives. The prototype prefers a D(2h) paramagnetic triplet ground state due to Hund's rule, rather than a singlet. The highly polarized C-Be bonding weakens the rigidity of the tetrahedral carbon in T(d)C(BeH) 4 enormously, and the enhancement of both C-Be and Be 4 peripheral covalent bonding exerted by the extra electrons stabilizes the ptC eventually. The delocalization of the two p pi electrons is only modest, but their density on the most electronegative carbon atom helps stabilize the ptC arrangement. This is in contrast to the conventional strategy to delocalize p(pi) lone pairs for stabilizing the ptC arrangement. Various strategies to achieve neutral derivatives with ptCs are demonstrated.     

Four Decades of the Chemistry of Planar Hypercoordinate Compounds

The idea of planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) was considered implausible for a hundred years after 1874. Examples of ptC were then predicted computationally and realized experimentally. Both electronic and mechanical (e.g., small rings and cages) effects stabilize these unusual bonding arrangements. Concepts based on the bonding motifs of planar methane and the planar methane dication can be extended to give planar hypercoordinate structures of other chemical elements. Numerous planar configurations of various central atoms (main‐group and transition‐metal elements) with coordination numbers up to ten are discussed herein. The evolution of such planar configurations from small molecules to clusters, to nanospecies and to bulk solids is delineated. Some experimentally fabricated planar materials have been shown to possess unusual electrical and magnetic properties. A fundamental understanding of planar hypercoordinate chemistry and its potential will help guide its future development.     

Beryllium and boron decoration forms planar tetracoordinate carbon strips at the edge of graphene nanoribbons

Graphene has been viewed as one of the most promising materials in many fields. Recently, it has been found that by using Cu-decoration at the edge of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNR), a novel kind of planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) strip can be formed. In this paper, we investigate the edge-decoration of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNR) by various atom types and find that two new kinds of ptC strip can be effectively formed by using Be or B decoration. For the Be-decorated AGNR, the edge Be atoms take the form of a "zigzag-like" chain, and all the edge C atoms have a ptC nature. However, for the B-decorated AGNR, the edge B atoms form an infinite yet "fractured" chain consisting of separate B(4)-subunits, which results in only 50% of the edge C atoms being ptCs, in contrast with Be-decorated AGNR and Cu-decorated ZGNR. The high thermal stability of both types of ptC-based AGNR is indicated by isomeric sampling and molecular dynamics simulations.     

Quantum-chemical and correlation study of quinizarine protonation

Fine structure of quinizarine π _l ,π*-absorption in sulfuric acid is defined by isomerism of its protonated products. The monocation is an isomeric mixture, the isomers differ by the charge localization on various carbon atom: 1,4,9-trihydroxy-10-oxo-10H-anthracen-1-onium, 1,9,10-trihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-anthracen-1-onium, and 4,9,10-trihydroxy-10-oxo-10H-anthracen-1-onium. For the dication the structures found were exclusively the conformers of 1,4,9,10-tetrahydroxyanthrqacene 1,10-dication containing 0 to 2 intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The protonation leads to a shift of the tautomeric and conformational equilibria characteristic of quinizarine.     

Effects of Electronic Structure of Adjacent Carbon on the Strength of C─F⋯H─F Organofluorine Hydrogen Bonds

We investigate the effects of the electronic structure of carbon atom on the organofluorine hydrogen bonds, C─F⋯H─F. Our results show that we can modulate the strength of organofluorine hydrogen bonds by adjusting the volume of fluorine atom in C─F via changing the electronic structure of adjacent carbon atoms. Different with the conventional hydrogen bonds, we found that instead of carbon rehybridization and hyperconjugative effects, the magnitude of fluorine atomic volume plays important roles in determining the strength of the C─F⋯H─F organofluorine hydrogen bonds. The lone pair electrons at both the proximal and the vicinal carbon dramatically reinforce the strength of C─F⋯H─F organofluorine hydrogen bond with its interaction energy in the range of about 15–25 kcal/mol, that is, the carbanion-mediated organofluorine hydrogen bond could be very strong. Due to the high electronegativity of fluorine atom, it easily attracts the excess electron from the proximal and vicinal carbon, which results in the increase of its volume and negative charge. The enhanced volume of fluorine atom gives rise to the large polarization energy, and its enhanced negative charge favors the large electrostatic interaction, both of which substantially contribute to making the organofluorine hydrogen bonds strong. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

THEORETICAL STUDIES ON THE SUBSTITUTION EFFECT OF FLUORINE ON ETHANE

<正> The substitution effect of fluorine on ethane has been investigated by means of studying the properties of the charge distribution at the bond critical points with the theory of atoms in molecule.It is found that the major substitution effects of fluorine atom are positive a inductive and polarity effect.At the same time,fluorine atom partially provides π electrons to other chemical bonds by means of hy-perconjugation in molecules with two fluorine atoms and one or two carbon atoms in the same plane,and these effects are reflected in the quantity of bond ellipticity,Laplacian and the charge density of charge distribution at the bond critical points.The substitution of hydrogen by fluorine in ethane strengthens all the bonds in substituted ethanes.Other effects originating from the substitution of hydrogen by fluorine have also been discussed.     

一种新型包含平面四配位碳二硼有机化合物的理论研究

采用B3LYP/6-311+G**方法, 研究了一种新型的包含平面四配位碳(ptC)二硼有机化合物C9B2H6的结构、稳定性和振动频率. 计算结果表明, C9B2H6结构的稳定性和两个硼原子的位置有很大关系, 硼原子起给予σ电子和接受π电子的作用. 在C9B2H6的15个异构体中, 最稳定的结构是具有C2v对称性的异构体(1,5), 在异构体(1,5)中, 两个硼原子位于同一个六元环中且与ptC相邻. 而且占据的π轨道说明异构体(1,5)具有10个π电子, 满足4n+2规则. 计算的核独立化学位移(NICS)值显示异构体(1,5)强的芳香性位于C9B2H6的两个三元环而不是两个六元环上.     

碳原子价轨道电负性对化学键性能的影响

研究了同一类型化学键X―C的键能、键长和H―C键的酸性等性能与碳原子价轨道电负性的定量关系。结果表明,X―C键能随碳原子价轨道电负性增加而线性增大;H―C与C―C键的键长随碳原子价轨道电负性增加而线性减小;H―C的酸性随碳原子价轨道电负性增加而线性增大。因而,对结构类似的有机化合物,可以采用碳原子价轨道电负性对实验测定的化学键性能作图,判断其测定结果正确与否。     

Piperazine‐1,4‐diium–2,4‐dinitrophenolate–water (1/2/2)

In the title 1/2/2 adduct, C₄H₁₂N₂²⁺·2C₆H₃N₂O₅^?·2H₂O, the dication lies on a crystallographic inversion centre and the asymmetric unit also has one anion and one water mol­ecule in general positions. The 2,4‐di­nitro­phenolate anions and the water mol­ecules are linked by two O—H?O and two C—H?O hydrogen bonds to form molecular ribbons, which extend along the b direction. The piperazine dication acts as a donor for bifurcated N—H?O hydrogen bonds with the phenolate O atom and with the O atom of the o‐nitro group. Six symmetry‐related molecular ribbons are linked to a piperazine dication by N—H?O and C—H?O hydrogen bonds.     

Design of sandwichlike complexes based on the planar tetracoordinate carbon unit CAl4(2-)

Ever being a large curiosity, a series of simple "planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC)" molecules have been recently characterized by experiments. Incorporation of such exotic ptC units into the assembled molecular materials, which will bridge the isolated clusters in molecular beams and the potential solid materials, is very challenging. In this paper, we described the first attempt on how to assemble the fewest-number ptC unit CAl42- into molecular materials in sandwich forms on the basis of the density functional theory calculations on a series of model compounds [D(CAl4)M]q- as well as the saturated compounds [D(CAl4)Mn] ((D = CAl42-, Cp-(C5H5-); M = Li, Na, K, Be, Mg, Ca). For M = Li, Be, Mg, and Ca, the ptC unit CAl42- can only be assembled in our newly proposed "heterodecked sandwich" scheme (e.g., [Cp(CAl4)M]q- (M = Li, Na, K, q = 2; M = Be, Mg, Ca, q = 1)) so as to avoid cluster fusion. For M = Na and K, the ptC unit CAl42- can be assembled in both the traditional "homodecked sandwich" [(CAl4)2M]q- (M = Li, Na, K, q = 3; M = Be, Mg, Ca, q = 2) and the novel heterodecked sandwich schemes. Moreover, the counterions were found to have an important role in determining the type of the ground structures for the homodecked sandwich. Various assembled species in extended frameworks were designed. Notably, among all the designed sandwich species, the ptC unit CAl42- generally prefers to interact with the partner deck at the side (Al-Al bond) or corner (Al atom) site. This has not been reported in the sandwich complexes on the basis of the known decks such as Cp-, P5-, N42-, and Al42-, for which only the traditional face-face interaction type was considered. Our results for the first time showed that the ptC unit CAl42- can act as a new type of "superatom". The present results are expected to enrich the flat carbon chemistry, superatom chemistry, metallocenes, and combinational chemistry.     

Interaction of solitons on 2‐dimensional branched π‐electron surface of graphene ribbons

We have performed quantum‐mechanical study of charge distribution on the carbon atoms of two‐dimensional conjugated system of the model graphene ribbon. The study shows that charges in the quasi‐two dimensional conjugated system of the graphene ribbon are not localized on separate carbon atoms, but form one‐dimensional solitonic charge waves along zig‐zag sides. There are two solitonic charge waves in the dication or dication due to generation of own soliton by each charge; the first soliton in the acene chain is located on one side while the second one is positioned on the opposite side. The shapes of the solitonic waves in the graphene ribbon are similar to ones in one‐dimensional conjugated systems. Similarly, in the ionic two‐dimensional collective systems of π‐electrons two splitted solitonic levels are generated; lengthening of the chain leads to convergence of the levels. The widening of graphene ribbon (y‐expansion of two‐dimensional conjugated system is accompanied with recession of both solitons to outer sides, so amplitudes of the solitons on the inner sides regularly decrease under widening of the model graphene ribbon; the charges on the inner carbon atoms converge to zero.     

Role of the Renner-Teller effect after core hole excitation in the dissociation dynamics of carbon dioxide dication

The fragmentation of the doubly-charged carbon dioxide molecule is studied after photoexcitation to the C 1s(1)2π(u) and O 1s(1)2π(u) states using a multicoincidence ion-imaging technique. The bent component of the Renner-Teller split states populated in the 1s→ π* resonant excitation at both the carbon and oxygen 1s ionization edges opens pathways to potential surfaces in highly bent geometries in the dication. Evidence for a complete deformation of the molecule is found in the coincident detection of C(+) and O(2)(+) ions. The distinct alignment of this fragmentation channel indicates rapid deformation and subsequent fragmentation. Investigation of the complete atomization dynamics in the dication leading to asymmetric charge separation shows that the primary dissociation mechanisms, sequential, concerted, and asynchronous concerted, are correlated to specific fragment kinetic energies. The study shows that the bond angle in fragmentation can extend below 20°.     

Giant motion of La atom inside C82 cage

An anomalous charge density distribution of La atom encapsulated in a C₈₂ cage has been revealed for La@C₈₂ by the maximum entropy method (MEM)/Rietveld analysis using synchrotron powder diffraction data. The obtained La atom charge density shows a feature almost like a bowl or a hemisphere, suggesting that the La atom has a giant motion (large amplitude motion) inside the C₈₂ cage at room temperature. From the obtained MEM charge density, the main results are (1) the cage structure of La@C₈₂ (I) has C_2V symmetry; (2) La atom locates at an off-centered position adjacent to a six-membered ring of the carbon cage; (3) the nearest La–C distance is 2.55(8) and (4) the amount of charge transfer from the La atom to the carbon cage is about 3.2 e, which corresponds to the nominal electronic structure, La³⁺@C₈₂³⁻.     

QTAIM analysis of the HF, HCl, HBr, and HOH elimination reactions of halohydrocarbons and halohydroalcohols

The 1,2-HX elimination reaction (where X = F, Cl, Br, OH) has been established as an important reaction in the degradation of compounds introduced into the upper atmosphere, including common CFC replacement compounds. By analyzing the electron densities of the transition state geometries of these reactions using QTAIM, we see that we can divide these reactions into two types. For HF and HOH elimination, the transition state is a complete ring of bonds, and neither the C-H nor the C-X bonds have been broken at the maximum of energy. There is very little accumulation of electron density on the X atom, with the majority of charge being lost by the hydrogen atom undergoing elimination, being transferred on to the two carbon atoms. In HCl and HBr elimination, a similar loss of electron density of the hydrogen atom is accompanied by significant accumulation of electron density on the X atom and a smaller change in electron density on the carbon atoms. The C-X bond is broken in the transition state geometry, with no ring critical point being present. This may explain the relative stabilities of halohydrocarbons and haloalcohols with respect to loss of H-X.     

包含平面四配位和五配位碳原子的特殊硼碳化合物

采用密度泛函理论(DFT), 在B3LYP/6-311+G**水平上, 研究了三类包含平面四配位碳原子(ptC)和平面五配位碳原子(ppC)的硼碳化合物. 这三类新型化合物是由C3B2H4(包含ptC)、CB4H2(包含ptC)和CB5H2(包含ppC)三种稳定结构和—CHCH—单元连接起来而得到的. 在理论上探讨了这些新型的硼碳化合物的成键特征, 光谱性质以及芳香性. 研究结果表明: 包含ptC和ppC原子的能量最低的结构, 在不受对称面限制的条件下, 具有C2v对称性的顺式立体构型比具有反式平面构型的化合物稳定. 计算的核独立化学位移(NICS)显示, 这些新型化合物的三元环中心有强的芳香性. 计算最稳定硼碳化合物的ptC和ppC原子的Wiberg键指数(WBIs)表明ptC和ppC的成键遵循八隅规则.     

Preparation of hexacoordinated tris(bidentate) phosphorus compounds with 1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane rings. NMR and X-ray crystallographic studies of their conformation

A series of new unstable tris(bidentate) hexacoordinated phosphorus compounds 1 with 1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane rings was prepared and studied by NMR and X-ray crystallography. The X-ray crystal structures showed that the 1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane ring adopts different conformations depending on the number and size of substituents at the carbon atom C14. Substituents are deployed around the phosphorus atom in a slightly deformed octahedral structure. Deviations in bond lengths around the phosphorus atom depend on the character of the bonds and the distribution of the negative charge. (1)H and (13)C NMR measurements showed that in solution the flexibility of 1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane ring depends on the size of substituents at the carbon C14.