Substituent effects on the Bergman cyclization of (Z)‐1,5‐hexadiyne‐3‐enes: a systematic computational study

The effects of several substituents (? BH₂, ? BF₂, ? AlH₂, ? CH₃, ? C₆H₅, ? CN, ? COCH₃, ? CF₃, ? SiH₃, ? NH₂, ? NH₃⁺, ? NO₂, ? PH₂, ? OH, ? OH₂⁺, ? SH, ? F, ? Cl, ? Br) on the Bergman cyclization of (Z)‐1,5‐hexadiyne‐3‐ene (enediyne, 3 ) were investigated at the Becke–Lee–Yang–Parr (BLYP) density functional (DFT) level employing a 6‐31G* basis set. Some of the substituents (? NH₃⁺, ? NO₂, ? OH, ? OH₂⁺, ? F, ? Cl, ? Br) are able to lower the barrier (up to a minimum of 16.9 kcal mol^?1 for difluoro‐enediyne 7rr ) and the reaction enthalpy (the cyclization is predicted to be exergonic for ? OH₂⁺ and ? F) compared to the parent system giving rise to substituted 1,4‐dehydrobenzenes at physiological temperatures. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1605–1614, 2001     

The nature of the bonding of Li+ to H2O and NH3; A3 initio studies

Ab initio wavefunctions have been calculated for the complex of Li⁺ with NH₃ and H₂O in order to better characterize the nature of the bonding. Hartree—Fock and generalized valence bond calculations were performed using a double zeta basis plus polarization functions. The binding energies obtained at the GVB level are D_e (Li⁺ — NH₃) = 40.4 kcal/mol and D_e (Li⁺ ? H₂O) = 37.6 kcal/mol, in reasonable agreement with experimental values. Model calculations indicate that the Li⁺ ? base bond is basically electrostatic. Small basis sets were found to lead to D_e as large as 75 kcal/mol for Li⁺ — NH₃, a significant overestimation. Repulsions due to the Li⁺ core are responsible for keeping the Li⁺ too far away for significant relaxation effects.     

A theoretical study of α-substituted cyclopropyl and isopropyl radicals

The structures of α-X-cyclopropyl and α-X-isopropyl radicals (X = H, CH₃, NH₂, OH, F, CN, and NC) are reported at the RHF 3-21G level of theory. The isopropyl radicals are pyramidal with out-of-plane angles varying from 12° (X = CN) to 39° (X = NH₂), and barriers to inversion ranging from 0.4 kcal/mol (X = H) to 4.0 kcal/mol (X = NH₂). The cyclopropyl radicals have larger out-of-plane angles, from 39.9° (X = CN) to 49.4° (X = NH₂), and their barriers to inversion, which increase with the inclusion of polarization functions, vary from 5.5 kcal/mol (X = H) to 16.7 kcal/mol (X = F). In both types of radicals the amino group is the most stabilizing substituent, while the α-fluoro has little effect. The β-fluoro group is weakly destabilizing in the cyclopropyl radical. The strain energies of the cyclopropyl radicals (36–43 kcal/mol) are compared with those of similarly substituted anions, cations, and cyclopropanes.     

Trans or (Unusual) Cis Geometry in d(2) Octahedral Dioxo Complexes. A DFT Study

Geometry optimization of the cis and the trans isomers of several octahedral dioxo complexes of d(2) electronic configuration are performed using the gradient-corrected density functional theory (B3LYP and, for some key structures, BP86). With only monodentate sigma donor ligands (ReO(2)(NH(3))(4)(+), 7), the usual energy order is found (i.e., the trans isomer is the most stable). Complexes with a chelating bidentate ligand, OsO(2)(OCH(2)CH(2)O)(NH(3))(2) (10) and ReO(2)(HN=CHCH=NH)(NH(3))(2)(+) (11), are used as models for the experimental complexes 5 and 2 in which the arrangement of the O=M=O unit is trans and cis, respectively. Our calculations actually show an inversion of the relative energy of the two isomers in going from 10 to 11: while the trans isomer is found to be the most stable in 10, the unusual cis diamagnetic isomer is favored by about 29 kcal mol(-)(1) in 11. This result is traced to the geometric and electronic properties of the bidentate ligand, in particular an acute bite angle and good pi acceptor character. In complex 14 with a bipyridine chelating ligand (weaker pi acceptor than diaza-1,4-butadiene in 11), this energy difference is, however, reduced to 7.5 kcal mol(-)(1) (partial geometry optimization).     

Infrared spectra,vibrational assignment and ab initio calculations for 2,2,2-trifluoroethanimidamide

The infrared spectra of gaseous and solid 2,2,2-trifluoroethanimidamide, CF₃(NH₂)C=NH, have been recorded from 4000 to 80 cm^–1. A vibrational assignment for the normal modes is proposed based on group frequencies and normal coordinate calculations utilizing C₁ symmetry. The structures for both the cis [hydrogen atom of the =NH group is cis to the NH₂ group] and trans geometric isomers have been determined from ab initio Hartree-Fock gradient calculations employing the GAUSSIAN-82 program with the 3–21G basis set. The most stable conformer at this level of calculation is found to be a C₁, structure with a partially rotated CF₃ group and the hydrogen atom of the imine group trans to the NH₂ group. The calculated structural parameters have only very small differences between the conformers. Barriers to internal rotation for the NH₂ and CF₃ groups and vibrational frequencies have been calculated for the C₁ form. The results of this investigation are compared with similar data on some corresponding molecules.Taken in part from the thesis of T. G. Sheehan which was submitted to the Department of Chemistry in partial fulfillment of the Ph.D. degree, May 1990.     

Opening of the Diamondoid Cage upon Ionization Probed by Infrared Spectra of the Amantadine Cation Solvated by Ar,N2, and H2O

Radical cations of diamondoids, a fundamental class of very stable cyclic hydrocarbon molecules, play an important role in their functionalization reactions and the chemistry of the interstellar medium. Herein, we characterize the structure, energy, and intermolecular interaction of clusters of the amantadine radical cation (Ama⁺, 1-aminoadamantane) with solvent molecules of different interaction strength by infrared photodissociation (IRPD) spectroscopy of mass-selected Ama⁺L_n clusters, with L=Ar (n≤3) and L=N₂ and H₂O (n=1), and dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations (B3LYP−D3/cc-pVTZ). Three isomers of Ama⁺ generated by electron ionization are identified by the vibrational properties of their rather different NH₂ groups. The ligands bind preferentially to the acidic NH₂ protons, and the strength of the NH…L ionic H-bonds are probed by the solvation-induced red-shifts in the NH stretch modes. The three Ama⁺ isomers include the most abundant canonical cage isomer ( I ) produced by vertical ionization, which is separated by appreciable barriers from two bicyclic distonic iminium ions obtained from cage-opening (primary radical II ) and subsequent 1,2 H-shift (tertiary radical III ), the latter of which is the global minimum on the Ama⁺ potential energy surface. The effect of solvation on the energetics of the potential energy profile revealed by the calculations is consistent with the observed relative abundance of the three isomers. Comparison to the adamantane cation indicates that substitution of H by the electron-donating NH₂ group substantially lowers the barriers for the isomerization reaction.     

The remarkably invariant interaction energies of lithium first-row compounds with water and with ammonia

Solvation energies of lithium first-row compounds LiX (X ? H, Li, BeH, BH₂, CH₃, NH₂, OH, F) and of the lithium cation with the model solvents, water and ammonia, have been calculated ab inito (MP2/6-31 + G^*//6-31G^* with zero-point vibrational energy corrections at 3-21G//3-21G). The solvation energies are found to be remarkably constant: ?18.0 ± 1.2 and ?21.5 ± 1.3 kcal/mol for the hydrates and ammonia solvates, respectively. This independence on the nature of X is due largely to the ionic character of the LiX compounds (dipole moments 4.7–6.6 debye). The unexpectedly high solvation energies of the lithium molecule (?14.3 and ?17.8 kcal/mol, respectively) are due to the polarizability of Li₂. At the same level, the lithium cation has interaction energies with H₂O and NH₃ of ?34.1 and ?39.7 kcal/mol, respectively. For the hydrates of LiOH and LiF cyclic structures with hydrogen bonds and somewhat increased solvation energies also are described.     

Insight into detailed mechanism of the atmospheric reaction of imidogen with hydroxyl: a computational study

The details of reaction mechanism of imidogen (NH) and hydroxyl radicals are explored at the UMP2(FC)/cc–pVDZ and PMP4(FC,SDTQ)/cc–pVQZ//UMP2 + ZPE levels, theoretically. The initial association between NH and OH radicals leads to the formation of the intermediates, NH…OH, HN…HO, cis HNOH, and trans HNOH, through the barrierless and exothermic processes. By starting from the initial intermediates, all possible paths for the formation of H + HNO, H₂ + NO, H₂O + ⁴N, H₂N + ³O, and H + ³HON products are investigated on potential energy surface. The results reveal that H₂O + ⁴N is the main product involved in the mechanism of hydrogen atom abstraction of NH by OH radical through the intermediate NH…OH.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the deprotonation of amines

The geometries of the amines NH₂X and amido anions NHX^?, where X = H, CH₃, NH₂, OH, F, C₂H, CHO, and CN have been optimized using ab initio molecular orbital calculations with a 4-31G basis set. The profiles to rotation about the N? X bonds in CH₃NH^?, NH₂NH^?, and HONH^? are very similar to those for the isoprotic and isoelectronic neutral compounds CH₃OH, NH₂OH, and HOOH. The amines with unsaturated bonds adjacent to the nitrogen atoms undergo considerable skeletal rearrangement on deprotonation such that most of the negative charge of the anion is on the substituent. The computed order of acidity for the amines NH₂X is X = CN > HCO > F ≈ C₂H > OH > NH₂ > CH₃ > H and for the reaction NHX^? + H⁺ → NH₂X the computed energies vary over the range 373–438 kcal/mol.     

A theoretical study of the rotational isomers of nitrosomethanol by semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio methods

The conformational potential energy surface as a function of the two internal torsion angles in C-nitrosomethanol has been obtained using the semiempirical AM1 method. Optimized geometries are reported for the local minima on this surface and also for the corresponding points on the HF/6-31G, 6-31G*, and 6-31G** surfaces. All methods predict cis and trans minima which occur in degenerate pairs, each pair being connected by a transition state of C_s symmetry. The AM1 structures are found to compare well with the corresponding ab initio structures. Ab initio HF/6-31G and HF/6-31G* harmonic vibrational frequencies are reported for the cis and trans forms of nitrosomethanol. When scaled appropriately the calculated frequencies are found to compare well with experimental frequencies. The ab initio calculations predict the energy barrier for cis → trans isomerization to be between 5.8 and 6.5 kcal/mol with the trans → cis isomerization barrier lying between 2.3 and 6.5 kcal/mol. The corresponding AM1 energy barriers are around 1 kcal/mol lower in energy. The ab initio calculations predict the barrier to conversion between the two cis rotamers to be very small with the AM1 value being around 1 kcal/mol. Both AM1 and ab initio calculations predict interconversion between trans rotamers to require between 1.2 and 1.4 kcal/mol.     

Isomeric structures of protonated carbon dioxide

Equilibrium structures of protonated carbon dioxide are explored by ab initio molecular orbital theory. The hydroxycarbonyl cation (I) is found to be most stable; the associated proton affinity is calculated to be 130 kcal/mol, in reasonable agreement with experimental data. The dioxiryl cation (IV), about 90 kcal/mol less stable than I, is found to be a second minimum on the potential energy surface. The reaction path connecting isomers I and IV appears to involve barriers of significant magnitude; consequently, it is possible that both HCO⁺₂ and CO₂H⁺ may be detectible experimentally or serve as reaction intermediates.     

CBS-QB3 computational examination of substituent effects on the interconversion of 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene and bicyclo[4.2.0]-2,4-octadiene

The position of equilibrium between 7-substituted and 7,8-disubstituted 1,3,5-cyclooctatrienes (1) and the corresponding valence isomeric bicyclo[4.2.0]-2,4-octadienes (2) is highly sensitive to the nature of substituents. In particular, the difference between trans and cis-7,8 isomers in this regard has never been explained. These differences have been clarified by computational means. The CBS-QB3 hybrid quantum chemical computational method reproduces the experimental free energy differences between a series of cyclooctatrienes (1) and the corresponding valence isomers (2) with excellent accuracy; the MAD and root mean square (rms) differences are 0.54 kcal/mol and 0.58 kcal/mol, respectively. The energy barriers between several derivatives of 1 and 2 were computed with good accuracy (MAD=1.3 kcal/mol and rms=1.5 kcal/mol) by the same procedure. The dihedral angle between the substituents increases upon electrocyclic conversion of trans-7,8-disubstituted cyclooctatrienes to the bicyclic isomer and decreases for the corresponding cis isomers. This differential effect explains both the higher bicyclic proportion at equilibrium and the faster rate of cyclization in the trans series compared to cis.     

Substituent effect on electron affinity,gas‐phase basicity,and structure of monosubstituted propynyl radicals and their anions: A theoretical study

The substituent effect of electron‐withdrawing groups on electron affinity and gas‐phase basicity has been investigated for substituted propynl radicals and their corresponding anions. It is shown that when a hydrogen of the α‐CH₃ group in the propynyl system is substituted by an electron‐withdrawing substituent, electron affinity increases, whereas gas‐phase basicity decreases. These results can be explained in terms of the natural atomic charge of the terminal acetylene carbon of the systems. The calculated electron affinities are 3.28 eV (?C?C? CH₂F), 3.59 eV (?C?C? CH₂Cl) and 3.73 eV (?C?C? CH₂Br), and the gas‐phase basicities of their anions are 359.5 kcal/mol (^?:C?C? CH₂F), 354.8 kcal/mol (:C?C? CH₂Cl) and 351.3 kcal/mol (^?:C?C? CH₂Br). It is concluded that the larger the magnitude of electron‐withdrawing, the greater is the electron affinity of radical and the smaller is the gas‐phase basicity of its anion. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2009     

Force field parameters for sulfates and sulfamates based on ab initio calculations: Extensions of AMBER and CHARMm fields

Ab initio self-consistent field (SCF) Hartree-Fock calculations of sulfates R? O? SO₃(?1) (R = Me, Et, i-Pr) and sulfamates R? NHSO₃(?1) (R = H, Me, Et, i-Pr) were performed at the 4-31G(*S*N) //3-21G(*S*N) basis set levels, where asterisks indicate d functions on sulfur and nitrogen atoms. These standard levels were determined by comparing calculation results with several basis sets up to MP2/6-31G*//6-31G*. Several conformations per compound were studied to obtain molecular geometries, rotational barriers, and potential derived point charges. In methyl sulfate, the rotational barrier around the C? O bond is 1.6 kcal/mol at the MP2 level and 1.4 kcal/mol at the standard level. Its ground state has one of three HCOS torsion angles trans and one of three COSO torsion angles trans. Rotation over 60° around the single O? S bond in the sulfate group costs 2.5 kcal/mol at the MP2 and 2.1 kcal/mol at the standard level. For ethyl sulfate, the calculated rotational barrier in going from the ground state, which has its CCOS torsion angle trans, to the syn-periplanar conformation (CCOS torsion angle cis) is 4.8 kcal/mol. However, a much lower barrier of 0.7 kcal/mol leads to a secondary gauchelike conformation about 0.4 kcal/mol above the ground state, with the CCOS torsion angle at 87.6°. Again, one of the COSO torsion angles is trans in the ground state, and the rotational barrier for a 60° rotation of the sulfate group amounts to 1.8 kcal/mol. For methyl sulfamate, the rotational barriers are 2.5 kcal/mol around the C? N bond and 3.3 kcal/mol around the N? S bond. This is noteworthy because sulfamate itself has a calculated rotational barrier around the N? S bond of only 1.7 kcal/mol. These and other data were used to parameterize the well-known empirical force fields AMBER and CHARMm. When the new fields were tested by means of vibrational frequency calculations at the 6-31G*//6-31G* level for methyl sulfate, sulfamate, and methyl sulfamate ground states, the frequencies compared favorably with the AMBER and CHARMm calculated frequencies. The transferability of the force parameters to β-D -glucose-6-sulfate and isopropyl sulfate appears to be better than to isopropyl sulfamate. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Computation of the complexation energies of BH3NH3 and BH3PH3

Extended basis set computations on SCF and CEPA level were performed for BH₃NH₃ and BH₃PH₃ to determine the complexation energy ΔE and the equilibrium distance r(BX) between the “heavy” atoms. Our CEPA results (SCF in parentheses): ΔE(BH₃NH) = ?27(?21.3) kcal/mol, ΔE(BH₃PH₃) = ?17(?11.8) kcal/mol, r(BN) = 1.65(1.68) Å, r(BP) = 1.95(1.99) Å indicate a marked influence of electron correlation on these properties.     

Synthesis of cis-Tetrabromobispyridinemolybdates(III) and the crystal structure of cis-(NH4)[MoBr4py2] · ⅓3 H2O (py = pyridine)

The reaction between (NH₄)[MoBr₅ · H₂O] and pyridine in acetonitrile (CH₃CN) at room temperature results in the mixture of cis- and trans-(pyH)[MoBr₄py₂] which can be separated on the basis of solubility. cis-M[MoBr₄py₂] · ? H₂O (M = NH₄⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺), cis-(bipyH)[MoBr₄py₂] (bipy = 2,2′-bipyridil) and cis-(PPh₄)[MoBr₄py₂], were prepared from cis-(pyH)[MoBr₄py₂]. At the temperature of boiling acetonitrile irreversible cis to trans isomerisation takes place. Bromine oxydizes cis isomers at room temperature to trans-MoBr₄py₂. The compounds were characterised by chemical analysis, infrared, UV-VIS spectroscopy, conductivity measurements and powder diffraction. The crystal structure of cis-(NH₄)[MoBr₄py₂] · ? H₂O has been determined: rhombohedral, R3c, (No. 161), a = 15.809(3) Å, β = 112.79(2)°, Z = 6, D_C = 2.29, D_O = 2.27(3) g/cm³, V = 2 601(1) ų, R₁ = 0.046, R_w = 0.068. Average Mo? Br and Mo? N(pyridine) distances within the anion are 2.58(2) and 2.20(2) Å. cis-Rb[MoBr₄py₂] · ? H₂O and cis-Cs[MoBr₄py₂] · ? H₂O are isostructural with cis-(NH₄)[MoBr₄py₂] · ? H₂O.     

Mechanism and kinetics of the reaction of the 2-propargyl radical with ammonia

Gas-phase mechanism and kinetics of the reactions of the 2-propargyl radical (H₂CCCH), an important intermediate in combustion processes, with ammonia were investigated using ab initio molecular orbital theory at the coupled-cluster CCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) method in conjunction with transition state theory (TST), variational transition state theory (VTST), and Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Macus (RRKM) calculations for rate constants. The potential energy surface (PES) constructed shows that the C₃H₃ + NH₃ reaction has four main entrances, including two H-abstraction and two addition channels in which the former are energetically more favorable. The H-abstraction channels occur via energy barriers of 24 (T0/P2) and 26 kcal/mol (T0/P3) forming loose van de Waals complexes, COM_1 (12 kcal/mol) and COM_2 (14 kcal/mol), respectively. These complexes can easily be decomposed via barrier-less processes resulting HCCCH₃ + NH₂ (P2, 14 kcal/mol) and HCCCH₃ + NH₂ (P3, 15 kcal/mol), respectively. The additional channels occur initially by formation of two intermediate states, H₂CCCHNH₃ (35 kcal/mol) and H₂CC(NH₃)CH (37 kcal/mol) via energy barriers of 37 and 40 kcal/mol at T0/1 and T0/5, respectively, followed by isomerization and decomposition yielding 21 different products. These processes are fully depicted in an as-complete-as-possible PES. The rate constants and product branching ratios for the low-energy channels calculated show that the C₃H₃ + NH₃ reaction is almost pressure-independent. For the temperature range of 300–2000 K, the HCCCH₃ + NH₂ is the major product, whereas the minor one, HCCCH₃ + NH₂, has more contribution when temperature increases. Theoretical results on the mechanism and kinetics of the reaction considered may be helpful for future experiments as well as for understanding the role of the propargyl radical in combustion chemistry.     

Nitrosyltechnetium(I) Complexes with 2‐(Diphenylphosphanyl)aniline

[Tc^I(NO)Cl(H₂L1)₂]⁺ cations (H₂L1 = 2‐(diphenylphosphanyl)aniline) are formed during reactions of H₂L1 with (NBu₄)[Tc(NO)Cl₄(MeOH)] or (NH₄)TcO₄/HCl/NH₂OH mixtures. Different isomers were isolated depending on the counterions and solvents used. The technetium(I) complexes cis‐NO,Cl,trans‐P,P‐[Tc^I(NO)Cl(H₂L1)₂]Cl, trans‐NO,Cl,cis‐P,P‐[Tc^I(NO)Cl(H₂L1)₂]₂(TcCl₆), and trans‐NO,Cl,trans‐P,P‐[Tc^I(NO)Cl(H₂L1)₂](PF₆) were isolated in crystalline form and studied by spectroscopic methods and X‐ray crystallography. DFT calculations show that there are only minor energy differences between the three isomers and the formation of the individual compounds is most probably strongly influenced by interactions with solvents and counterions.     

Theoretical investigation on identical anionic halide‐exchange SN2 reaction processes on N‐haloammonium cation NH3X+ (X = F,Cl, Br,and I)

CCSD(T) calculations have been used for identically nucleophilic substitution reactions on N‐haloammonium cation, X^? + NH₃X⁺ (X = F, Cl, Br, and I), with comparison of classic anionic S_N2 reactions, X^? + CH₃X. The described S_N2 reactions are characterized to a double curve potential, and separated charged reactants proceed to form transition state through a stronger complexation and a charge neutralization process. For title reactions X^? + NH₃X⁺, charge distributions, geometries, energy barriers, and their correlations have been investigated. Central barriers ΔE for X^? + NH₃X⁺ are found to be lower and lie within a relatively narrow range, decreasing in the following order: Cl (21.1 kJ/mol) > F (19.7 kJ/mol) > Br (10.9 kJ/mol) > I (9.1 kJ/mol). The overall barriers ΔE relative to the reactants are negative for all halogens: ?626.0 kJ/mol (F), ?494.1 kJ/mol (Cl), ?484.9 kJ/mol (Br), and ?458.5 kJ/mol (I). Stability energies of the ion–ion complexes ΔE_comp decrease in the order F (645.6 kJ/mol) > Cl (515.2 kJ/mol) > Br (495.8 kJ/mol) > I (467.6 kJ/mol), and are found to correlate well with halogen Mulliken electronegativities (R² = 0.972) and proton affinity of halogen anions X^? (R² = 0.996). Based on polarizable continuum model, solvent effects have investigated, which indicates solvents, especially polar and protic solvents lower the complexation energy dramatically, due to dually solvated reactant ions, and even character of double well potential in reactions X^? + CH₃X has disappeared. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Investigation of substituent effects in aerogen‐bonding interaction between ZO3 (Z=Kr,Xe) and nitrogen bases

The substituent effects in aerogen bond interactions between ZO₃ (Z = Kr, Xe) and different nitrogen bases are studied at the MP2/aug‐cc‐pVTZ level of theory. The nitrogen bases include the sp bases NCH, NCF, NCCl, NCBr, NCCN, NCOH, NCCH₃ and the sp³ bases NH₃, NH₂F, NH₂Cl, NH₂Br, NH₂CN, NH₂OH, and NH₂CH₃. The nature of aerogen bonds in these complexes is analyzed by means of molecular electrostatic potential, electron localization function, quantum theory atoms in molecules, noncovalent interaction index, and natural bond orbital analyses. The interaction energy (E_int) ranges from ?4.59 to ?9.65 kcal/mol in the O₃Z···NCX complexes and from ?5.30 to ?13.57 kcal/mol in the O₃Z···NH₂X ones. The dominant charge‐transfer interaction in these complexes occurs across the aerogen bond from the nitrogen lone‐pair (n_N) of the Lewis base to the σ*_Z‐O antibonding orbital of the ZO₃. Besides, the formation of aerogen bond tends to decrease the ⁸³Kr or ¹³¹Xe chemical shielding values in these complexes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.