EPR study of the phenothiazine cation radical

The EPR parameters of the phenothiazine cation radical (PTAZ⁺) have been determined with the sample in the form of a power and in sulphuric solution. The study of the solution at different temperatures in the 77–333 K range does not indicate conformational changes affecting the α proton, but shows a difference in g-values between the powder and the solution spectra. This variation can be interpreted as originated by changes in the molecular geometry of the cation ring system due to interactions with the solvent molecules.     

Molecular orbital and DFT studies of the alimemazine radical cation

Semiempirical molecular orbital methods including CNDO, MNDO, AM1 and PM3, and density function theory method B3LYP/3-21G(d) were employed in the study of the alimemazine radical cation. It was found that PM3 was much better than CNDO, MNDO and AM1 in the structural optimization. The bond lengths and bond angles by PM3 were close to the experimental data, and comparable with the results by the density function theory method.     

A reassignments of the EPR spectrum attributed to the radical cation of 2,2,3,3-tetramethylbutane

The EPR spectrum of γ-irradiated 2,2,3,3-tetramethylbutane has been reinvestigated. Previous evidence for the radical cation Me₃C^??CMe⁺₃ has been critically examined and it is concluded that a more satisfactory analysis can be made on the basis of the three neutral radicals ^?CH₂CMe₂CMe₃, ^?CMe₂CMe₃ and ^?CMe₃.     

Very high-field EPR study of glycyl radical enzymes

This work shows that very high-field EPR spectroscopy allows a rather accurate determination of the g-tensor of protein radicals, including C-centered ones, and thus may be used as a probe for distinguishing a tyrosyl-, a glycyl-, or a tryptophanyl-radical. In this paper, we report the first complete analysis of the g-tensor of glycyl radical enzymes (anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase, pyruvate formate lyase, and benzylsuccinate synthase), thus providing new information on their EPR properties. Because the g-anisotropy is small, the complete resolution of the g-tensor could be only obtained at very high field (18.8 T).     

An Isolation and liquid phase EPR spectra of the cation radical salts of N-methyl and N-ethylphenothiazinium perchlorate

N-Methyl and N-ethylphenothiazines were oxidized with bromine and sodium perchlorate to give stable cation radical salts. Their well-resolved epr spectra were obtained in nitromethane solution. In order to assign the hfs constants, the cation radicals of N-deuteriomethyl and N-deuterioethylphenothiazines were prepared with lead tetraacetate and trifluoroacetic acid in solutions.     

The triethylenediamine cation radical: An ESR study

Compared with normal and bridge-head aminium cations, the triethylenediamine cation is relatively stable. Its ESR spectrum shows that the two nitrogen atoms and all the protons are magnetically equivalent even at 77 K. This favours a symmetrical ground state rather than a dynamic equilibrium between classical, asymmetric structures.     

Tetramethylcyclobutadiene radical cation

The tetramethylcyclobutadiene radical cation has been generated photochemically in solutions of aluminum halide σ complexes of tetramethylcyclobutadiene. It decays thermally to a “dimeric” radical cation.     

A nonelectrocyclic path from the cyclobutene cation radical to the 1,3-butadiene cation radical

The conversion of the cyclobutene cation radical to the 1,3-butadiene cation radical has been studied using MINDO /3 and ab initio SCF MO methods. Not only smooth electrocyclic but also stepwise, non-electrocyclic routes were considered. Both calculational methods agree that the preferred reaction path is a novel nonelectrocyclic one proceeding through an intermediate “cyclopropylcarbinyl cation radical.” The quantitative agreement in the activation parameters calculated by the two methods is excellent. The proposed intermediate also provides an attractive explanation for the mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of the cyclobutene and butadiene cation radicals.     

EPR of the tetraline radical anion

The radical anion of tetraline was prepared by reduction in 1,2-dimethoxyethane and measured at ?80° and ?93°C. Coupling constants, all triplets, are: 7.03, 2.17, 1.94, 1.75, 0.51 and 0.19 G.     

Theoretical study of the C3Cl radical and its cation

A theoretical study of C₃Cl and C₃Cl⁺ isomers has been carried out. The global minimum for C₃Cl is a cyclic C_2V species (a three-membered ring with an exocyclic chlorine atom). However, a quasi-linear CCCCl structure is predicted to lie only 3-5 kcal mol⁻¹ higher. This quasi-linear structure is floppy, since the linear arrangement lies only 2-3 kcal mol⁻¹ higher in energy. The cyclic and open-chain isomers have dipole moments of 1.986 and 3.363 D, respectively. In C₃Cl⁺ the global minimum is a linear singlet species, the singlet cyclic isomer lying about 19 kcal mol⁻¹ higher. The ionization potentials of cyclic and open-chain C₃Cl are estimated to be 9.17 and 8.21 eV, respectively, suggesting that these species should be easily ionized if present in the interstellar medium.     

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics study of the rearrangement of the valeramide radical cation

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) studies of neutral (1) and ionized (1 (+.)) valeramide are performed with the aim of providing a rationalization for the unusual temperature effect on the dissociation pattern of 1(+.) observed in mass spectrometric experiments. According to CPMD simulations of neutral valeramide 1 performed at approximately 500 K, the conformation with the fully relaxed carbon backbone predominates (96 %). Conformational changes involving folding of the carbon backbone into conformers that would allow intramolecular H transfers are predicted not to take place spontaneously at this temperature because of the barrier heights associated with these transitions (3.5 and 6.9 kcal mol(-1)), which cannot be overcome by thermal motion alone. For 1(+.), CPMD simulations performed at approximately 300 K reveal a substantial stability of a conformation in which the carbon backbone is fully relaxed; no reaction is observed even after 7 ps. However, when conformers with already folded carbon-backbones are used as initial geometries in the CPMD simulations, the gamma-hydrogen migration (McLafferty rearrangement resulting in C(3)H(6)) is already completed within 2 ps. For this important process, the free activation energy associated with both a required conformational change and the subsequent H transfer equals 4.5 kcal mol(-1), while for the formally related delta-H shift (which eventually gives rise to the elimination of C(2)H(4)/C(2)H(5.)) it amounts to 7.0 kcal mol(-1). Since the barriers associated with conformational changes are energetically more demanding than those of the corresponding hydrogen transfers, 1(+.) is essentially trapped by conformational barriers and long-lived at approximately 300 K. At elevated temperatures (500 K), the preferred reaction (within 7.3 ps) in the CPMD simulation corresponds to the McLafferty rearrangement. The estimated free activation energy associated with this process amounts to 2.5 kcal mol(-1), while the free activation energy for the delta-H transfer equals 4.4 kcal mol(-1). This relatively small free activation energy for the McLafferty rearrangement might cause dissociation of a substantial fraction of 1(+.) prior to the time-delayed mass selection, which would reduce the C3/C2 ratio in the experiments conducted with metastable ions that have a lifetime in the order of some micros at a source temperature of 500 K.     

Quantum mechanical study of the ring-closing reaction of the hexatriene radical cation

The ring-closing reaction of hexatriene radical cation 1(*)(+) to 1,3-cyclohexadiene radical cation 2(*)(+) was studied computationally at the B3LYP/6-31G* and QCISD(T)/6-311G*//QCISD/6-31G* levels of theory. Both, concerted and stepwise mechanisms were initially considered for this reaction. Upon evaluation at the B3LYP level of theory, three of the possible pathways-a concerted C(2)-symmetric via transition structure 3(*)(+) and stepwise C(1)-symmetric pathways involving three-membered ring intermediate 5(*)(+) and four-membered ring intermediate 6(*)(+)-were rejected due to high-energy stationary points along the reaction pathway. The two remaining pathways were found to be of competing energy. The first proceeds through the asymmetric, concerted transition structure 4(*)(+) with an activation barrier E(a) = 16.2 kcal/mol and an overall exothermicity of -23.8 kcal/mol. The second pathway, beginning from the cis,cis,trans rotamer of 1(*)(+), proceeds by a stepwise pathway to the cyclohexadiene product with an overall exothermicity of -18.6 kcal/mol. The activation energy for the rate-determining step in this process, the formation of the intermediate bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene via transition structure 9(*)(+), was found to be 20.4 kcal/mol. More rigorous calculations of a smaller subsection of the potential energy hypersurface at the QCISD(T)//QCISD level confirmed these findings and emphasized the importance of conformational control of the reactant.     

Laser induced fluorencence matrix study of 1,3-difluorobenzene radical cation

Laser induced fluorescence excitation and resolved emission spectra of 1,3-C₆H₄F⁺₂ are obtained in a Ne matrix with high signal/noise despite the ion's low emission quantum yield. The ground state vibrational structure is mostly regular but that of the upper is very irregular suggesting nearly degenerate, mutually perturbing, excited states.     

Methyl propionate radical cation

Examination of the reactions of the long-lived (>0.5-s) radical cations of CD₃CH₂COOCH₃ and CH₃CH₂COOCD₃ indicates that the long-lived, nondecomposing methyl propionate radical cation CH₃CH₂C(O)OCH ₃ ^+· isomerizes to its enol form CH₃CH=C(OH)OCH ₃ ^+· (ΔH _{isomerization} ? ?32 kcal/mol) via two different pathways in the gas phase in a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. A 1,4-shift of a β-hydrogen of the acid moiety to the carbonyl oxygen yields the distonic ion ^·CH₂CH₂C⁺ (OH)OCH₃ that then rearranges to CH₃CH=C(OH)OCH ₃ ^+· probably by consecutive 1,5- and 1,4-hydrogen shifts. This process is in competition with a 1,4-hydrogen transfer from the alcohol moiety to form another distonic ion, CH₃CH₂C⁺(OH)OCH ₂ ^· , that can undergo a 1,4-hydrogen shift to form CH₃CH=C(OH)OCH ₃ ^+· . Ab initio molecular orbital calculations carried out at the UMP2/6-31G** + ZPVE level of theory show that the two distonic ions lie more than 16 kcal/mol lower in energy than CH₃CH₂C(O)OCH ₃ ^+· . Hence, the first step of both rearrangement processes has a great driving force. The 1,4-hydrogen shift that involves the acid moiety is 3 kcal/mol more exothermic (ΔH _{isomerization}=?16 kcal/mol) and is associated with a 4-kcal/mol lower barrier (10 kcal/mol) than the shift that involves the alcohol moiety. Indeed, experimental findings suggest that the hydrogen shift from the acid moiety is likely to be the favored channel.