Reactivity of the C-H bond of organic molecules with various structures in hydrogen abstraction by peroxyl radicals

A model of an early transition state with charge transfer is proposed for calculation of the activation parameters of the abstraction of a hydrogen atom by peroxyl radicals from the molecules of organic compounds. It was shown that the compensation effect in this reaction is due to the fact that the change in the preexponential factor is determined by change in the vibrational component of the entropy of activation. L. M. Litvinenko Institute of Physical Chemistry and Coal Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Donetsk. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 6–11, January–February, 1997.     

Redox mediators of hydrogen sulfide oxidation in reactions with cycloalkanes

An indirect electrochemical method for thiolation of cycloalkanes C₅–C₇ has been suggested. The method is based on a new approach to activation of hydrogen sulfide by redox mediators.     

Reactivity of quinones as alkyl radical acceptors

The enthalpies of the addition of 11 alkyl radicals to ortho-and para-benzoquinones and substituted para-benzoquinones and the enthalpies of formation of various alkoxyphenoxyl radicals have been calculated. Experimental data for the addition of alkyl radicals to quinones are analyzed in terms of the intersection of two parabolic potential curves, and parameters characterizing this class of reactions are calculated. The classical potential barrier of the thermally neutral reaction of alkyl radical addition to benzoquinone is E _e,0 = 82.1 kJ/mol. This class of reactions is compared to other classes of free-radical addition reactions. The interaction between the electrons of the reaction center and the π electrons of the aromatic ring is a significant factor in the activation energy. Activation energies, rate constants, and the geometric parameters of the transition state have been calculated for 40 reactions of alkyl radical addition to quinones. Strong polar interaction has been revealed in the addition of polar macroradicals to quinones, and its contribution to the activation energy has been estimated. Kinetic parameters, activation energies, and rate constants have been calculated for the reverse reactions of alkoxyphenoxyl radical decomposition to quinone and alkyl. The competition between chain termination and propagation reactions in alkoxyphenol-inhibited hydrocarbon oxidation is discussed.     

Isocyanides as hydrogen bond acceptors

A theoretical study of the capability of hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) as a hydrogen bond acceptor has been carried out. The geometry, interaction energy and electronic properties of the corresponding complexes with HF, HCl, HBr, H₂O, NH₃, HCCH, HCN and HNC itself indicate that it is able to form strong hydrogen bonds. A search in the Cambridge Structural Database has shown the presence of isocyanides involved in hydrogen bonds in solid phase. Finally, the comparison of the properties of HNC with its isomer, hydrogen cyanide, shows strong similarities between both compounds. Received: 13 October 1997 / Accepted: 11 December 1997     

Reactivity of hydrogen atoms with liquid water

The reactivity of hydrogen atoms with liquid water was investigated by determination of the final products obtained by the photolysis (λ = 184.9 nm) of two systems in the range pH 10 – 13: (a) OH⁻/N₂O/H₂O and (b) OH⁻/H₂O (air free). Based on the product yields of the two systems, non-linear fitting computations were performed including all possible reactions; a value of k(H + H₂O) = 10 ± 2 dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ was determined. The share of each individual reaction leading to the formation of H₂ was also deduced.     

Activation-controlled hydrogen abstraction by benzophenone triplet

Through nanosecond flash photolysis measurements, activation energies for hydrogen abstraction by benzophenone triplet have been shown to correlate with solvent molecular structure. We demonstrate that two successive processes result in photoproduct generation. One, triplet quenching, is independent of macroscopic viscosity, and is not simply reflected in the observed quantum yield. The second process involves separation of two caged radicals, and does not occur in rigid media.     

Quantitative determination of the selectivities of five different phenyl radicals in hydrogen atom abstraction from ethanol

An experimental method is described for obtaining quantitative selectivity information for H-atom abstraction by organic radicals from different sites of a substrate in the gas phase. The method is used to determine the selectivities of five different phenyl radicals toward the three different types of hydrogen atoms in ethanol. This experimental method involves studying the reactivities and selectivities of derivatives of the radicals that contain a chemically inert, charged group (distonic ions), which allows them to be manipulated in a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer.     

Site-specific hydrogen abstraction in the electrochemical oxidation of ketones

Electrochemical oxidation of saturated ketones involves specific abstraction from one γ hydrogen by the carbonyl oxygen in a six-membered ring cyclic transition state, reminiscent of the first chemical steps of the McLafferty rearrangement and Norrish type II photofragmentation.     

Second hydrogen atom abstraction by molecular ions

We report the observation of a new physical phenomenon of the addition of 2 hydrogen atoms to molecular ions thus forming [M + 2H]⁺ ions. We demonstrate such second hydrogen atom abstraction onto the molecular ions of pentaerythritol and trinitrotoluene (TNT). We used both gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) with supersonic molecular beam (SMB) with methanol added into its make‐up gas and electron ionization (EI) liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) with SMB with methanol as the LC solvent. We found that the formation of methanol clusters resulted upon EI in the formation of dominant protonated pentaerythritol ion at m/z = 137 plus about 70% relative abundance of pentaerythritol molecular ion with 2 additional hydrogen atoms at m/z = 138 which is well above the 5.7% natural C¹³ isotope abundance of protonated pentaerythritol. Similarly, we found an abundant protonated TNT ion at m/z = 228 and a similar abundance of TNT molecular ion with 2 additional hydrogen atoms at m/z = 229. Upon the use of deuterated methanol (CD₃OD) as the solvent, we observed an abundant m/z = 231 (M + 2D)⁺ of TNT with 2 deuterium atoms. We found such abundant second hydrogen atom abstraction with butylglycolate and at low abundances in dioctylphthalate, Vitamin K3, phenazine, and RDX. At this time, we are unable to report the magnitude and frequency of occurrence of this phenomenon in standard electrospray LC‐MS. This observation could have important implications on the provision of elemental formula from mass spectra that are involved with protonated molecules. Accordingly, while accurate mass measurements can serve for the generation of elemental formula, their further support and improvement via isotope abundance analysis are questionable. Consequently, if a given compound can be analyzed by both GC‐MS and LC‐MS, its GC‐MS analysis can be superior for the provision of accurate elemental formulae if its EI mass spectrum exhibits abundant molecular ions such as with GC‐MS with SMB (also known as cold EI).     

A new dual probe for hydrogen abstraction

A new dual (fluorescent and spin) probe is described, where a N-aryl-2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium fluorophore is attached to a TEMPO fragment through an amide link. The resulting sensor 4 was evaluated as a hydrogen-abstracting agent in acetonitrile and in an aqueous solution of reduced Triton-X 100, being as resistant to hydrolysis as quinoline-TEMPO 1, but more hydrophobic than this probe.     

HS和HOO抽氢反应机理的研究

在B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)水平上对HS和HOO反应中的所有物种进行了几何构型优化和频率计算,采用QCISD(T)/6-311+G(3df,2p)方法获得了各物种的单点能,构建了HS和HOO反应在单、三重态势能剖面.结果表明,HS与HOO反应体系中存在2种不同的抽氢通道,在单、三重态势能面上生成的产物分别为[1P1(H2O2+1S),1P2(H2S+1 O2)]和[3P1(H2O2+3S),3P2(H2S+3O2)].标题反应主要发生在三重态势能面上,优势通道[R→3 TS2→3P2(H2S+3O2)]的活化能为9.99kJ·mol-1.此结果对认识大气硫迁移转变规律具有实际意义.     

Kinetic solvent effects on hydrogen abstraction reactions

Kinetic solvent effects on hydrogen abstractions, namely, acceleration in nonpolar solvents, have been presumed to be restricted to O-H hydrogen donors. We demonstrate that also abstractions from C-H and even Sn-H bonds by cumyloxyl radicals and n,pi*-excited 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene are fastest in the gas phase and nonpolar solvents but slowest in acetonitrile. Accordingly, solvent effects on hydrogen abstractions are more general, presumably due to stabilization of the reactive oxygen or nitrogen species in polar solvents.     

The selectivity of charged phenyl radicals in hydrogen atom abstraction reactions with isopropanol

The vertical electron affinity is demonstrated to be a key factor in controlling the selectivity of charged phenyl radicals in hydrogen atom abstraction from isopropanol in the gas phase. The measurement of the total reaction efficiencies (hydrogen and/or deuterium atom abstraction) for unlabeled and partially deuterium-labeled isopropanol, and the branching ratios of hydrogen and deuterium atom abstraction, by using a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer, allowed the determination of the selectivity for each site in the unlabeled isopropanol. Examination of hydrogen atom abstraction from isopropanol by eight structurally different radicals revealed that the preferred site is the CH group. The selectivity of the charged phenyl radicals correlates with the radical's vertical electron affinity and the reaction efficiency. The smaller the vertical electron affinity of a radical, the lower its reactivity, and the greater the preference for the thermodynamically favored CH group over the CH3 group or the OH group. As the vertical electron affinity increases from 4.87 to 6.28 eV, the primary kinetic isotope effects decrease from 2.9 to 1.3 for the CD group, and the mixture of primary and alpha-secondary kinetic isotopes decreases from 6.0 to 2.4 for the CD3 group.     

Some hydrogen abstraction reactions of the trichloromethyl radical

The gas phase photolysis of CCl₄ in the presence of several alkanes has been used to obtain Arrhenius parameters for the abstraction of hydrogen atoms by the CCl₃ radical: The following log k₄ values were obtained:

Solvent effects on hydrogen abstraction reactions from lactones with antioxidant properties

Solvent effects on the kinetics for hydrogen abstraction from a lactone antioxidant were determined for alkoxyl and nitroxyl radicals; their reactivity differ by about 7 orders of magnitude. A decrease by approximately 12 and approximately 35 were determined for H-abstraction by tert-butoxyl and nitroxyl radicals, respectively, upon changing the solvent from hexane to acetonitrile. Results of solvent and isotope studies indicate that the antioxidant properties of lactone antioxidants should be attributed to the enol, not the lactone. [reaction: see text]     

2-alkyl-5-aryltetrazoles as hydrogen bond acceptors

The dissociation constants of the H-complexes formed by 2-alkyl-5-aryltetrazoles and p-fluorophenol in carbon tetrachloride (pK _HB 0.9–1.3) were determined by Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy. 2-Alkyl-5-aryltetrazoles were found to act as medium-strength hydrogen bond acceptors comparable with diazines. The thermodynamic parameters of the equilibrium formation of H-complex with 2-isopropyl-5-phenyltetrazole were determined. The electronic nature of substituents in the tetrazole ring only slightly affects the pK _HB values of tetrazoles.     

Intramolecular hydrogen bonding and hydrogen atom abstraction in gas-phase aliphatic amine radical cations

The intramolecular hydrogen atom abstraction by the nitrogen atom in isolated aliphatic amine radical cations is examined experimentally and with composite high-level ab initio methods of the G3 family. The magnitude of the enthalpy barriers toward H-atom transfer varies with the shape and size of the cyclic transition state and with the degree of substitution at the nitrogen and carbon atoms involved. The lower barriers are found for 1,5- and 1,6-abstraction, for chairlike transition states, for abstraction reactions in ionized primary amines, and for abstraction of H from tertiary carbon atoms. In most cases, the internal energy required for 1,4-, 1,5-, and 1,6-hydrogen atom abstraction to occur is less than that required for gas-phase fragmentation by simple cleavage of C-C bonds, which explains why H-atom transfer can be reversible and result in extensive H/D exchange prior to the fragmentation of many low-energy deuterium labeled ionized amines. The H-atom transfer to nitrogen is exothermic for primary amine radical cations and endothermic for tertiary amines. It gives rise to a variety of distonic radical cations, and these may undergo further isomerization. The heat of formation of the gauche conformers of the gamma-, delta-, and epsilon-distonic isomers is up to 25 kJ mol(-1) lower than that of the corresponding trans forms, which is taken to reflect C-H-N hydrogen bonding between the protonated amino group and the alkyl radical site.