Rearrangements of free radicals x : C7H7 - radicals and related systems

7-Norbornadienyl radical rearranges in matrix to tropylium radical. Deuterated and cyano substituted bicyclo(3.2.0)heptadienyl radicals do not undergo 1.2-vinyl shifts prior to electrocyclic ring opening.     

Field ionization mass spectrometry as a facile method for the study of the thermal formation of radicals

Electron impact spectra of thermolysis products of organic salts heated in the ion source of a mass spectrometer may give rise to organic ions corresponding to the cation of the salt. Field ionization mass spectrometry has been used as a facile method for detemining whether such an ion is due to ionization of the corresponding radical present in the gas phase, or to an electron impact induced fragmentation of a reaction product of higher mass. By comparison of the electron impact and field ionization spectra of a series of N-methyl pyridinium, tropylium and 1,2-dithiolylium salts it has been found possible to identify the radicals formed thermolytically, when present.     

Dithiadiazuliporphyrin: facile generation of carbaporphyrinoid cation radical and dication

Dithiadiazuliporphyrin is a nonaromatic porphyrinoid, readily and reversibly oxidizable to its cation radical and to the unprecedented aromatic carbaporphyrinoid dication, which can be viewed as a 21,23-dicarba-22,24-dithiaporphyrin with two fused tropylium rings.     

Fused-ring tropylium ion formation and fragmentation

Fused-ring tropylium ions, formed in the electron impact mass spectra of methyl phenanthrenes and methyl anthra-cenes were studied by mass spectrometric and computational methods. These ions form through a cyclopropyl intermediate. As a result of an equilibrium between the benzylium and tropylium ion configurations, partial carlton atom scrambling occurs in the fused-ring structures. Fragmentation of these ions occurs only in the ring incorporating the methyl carbon. These conclusions are supported by MNDO calculations and by ¹³C-labeled methyl-phenanthrene and methylanthracene fragmentation studies.     

气相C60与甲苯,氯化苄和对二甲苯反应研究

在质谱离子源内,气相C_(60)分别与甲苯、氯化苄、对二甲苯产生的主要碎片离子及自由基反应,生成了C_(60)的多种气相衍生物离子,表明气相下C_(60)具有很活泼的化学性质。     

The kinetics of competing multiple-barrier unimolecular dissociations of o-, m-, and p-chlorotoluene radical cations

The kinetics of competing multiple-barrier unimolecular dissociations of o-, m-, and p-chlorotoluene radical cations to C7H7(+) (benzyl and tropylium) are studied by ab initio/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) calculations. This system presents a very intriguing kinetic example in which the conventional approach assuming a single-barrier or a double-well potential surface with one transition state cannot predict or explain the outcome. The molecular parameters obtained at the SCF level of theory with the DZP basis set are utilized for the evaluation of microcanonical RRKM rate constants with no adjustable parameters. First-principles calculations provide the microscopic details of the reaction kinetics along the two competing multiple-barrier reaction pathways: the rate-energy curves for all elementary steps; temporal variations of the reactants, the reaction intermediates, and the products; and the product yield as a function of energy. The rate constant for each channel is calculated as a function of the internal energy at 0 K. After the thermal correction, the calculated rate-energy curves for the benzyl channel agree well with the photoelectron photoion coincidence data obtained at room temperature for all three isomers. Close agreement between experiments and theory suggests that first-principles calculations taking the full sequence of kinetic steps into account offer a useful kinetic model capable of correctly predicting the outcome of competing multiple-barrier reactions. The slowest process is identified as [1,2] and [1,3] alpha-H migration at the entrance to the tropylium and benzyl channel, respectively. However, the overall rate is determined not by the slowest process, but by the combination of the slowest rate and the net flux toward the product, which is multiplicatively reduced with an increasing number of reaction intermediates. The product yield calculation confirms the benzyl cation as the predominant product. For all isomers, the thermodynamically most stable tropylium ion is produced much less than expected because a large fraction of flux coming into the tropylium channel goes back to the benzyl channel. The benzyl channel is kinetically favored because it involves a lower entrance barrier with fewer rearrangements than the tropylium channel.     

Organoboron compounds: XXVI. A mass spectral study of some 2-phenyl-1,3,2-diazaboracycloalkanes

The mass spectra of the 2-phenyl-1,3,2-diazaboracycloalkanes contain peaks at m/e 91, 89, 65 and 63 which we assign to the tropylium, boratropylium, cyclopentadienyl and boracyclopentadienyl ions.     

气相中甲苯离子-分子反应产物的串联质谱研究

应用碰撞诱导解离技术, 研究了甲苯自身化学电离条件下离子-分子反应产物离子m/z 182和184的碰撞诱导解离(CID)反应特性。m/z183和184离子碎裂反应具有多种过渡态结构, 如二苯基甲烷衍生物结构、卓翁离子与甲苯形成的共价键结构、甲苯自由基离子与甲苯分子形成的π-配合物结构和苄基离子与甲苯形成的π-配合物结构。     

Fragmentation mechanisms of protonated benzylamines. Electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry study and ab initio molecular orbital calculations

Our research into neurotransmitters in a biological fluid presented an opportunity to investigate the fragmentations under low collision energy characterising benzyl-amines protonated under electrospray ionisation (ESI) conditions in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. In this work we present the breakdown graphs of protonated 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine, DHBAH(+), and 3-methoxy, 4-hydroxybenzylamine, HMBAH(+), at various source temperatures and various pressures in the collision cell, the collision energy varying from 0 to 46 eV in the laboratory frame. Both parent ions eliminate first NH(3) at very low collision energy. The fragmentations of [MH - NH(3)](+) occur at high collision energy and are quite different for DHBAH(+) and HMBAH(+): formation of [MH - NH(3) - H(2)O - CO](+) for the former; formation of the radical cation [MH - NH(3) - CH(3)](+.) for the latter. These fragmentations are interpreted by means of ab initio calculations up to the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p) level of theory. The successive losses of H(2)O and CO involve first the rearrangement in two steps of benzylic ions formed by loss of NH(3) into tropylium ions. The transition states associated with this rearrangement are very high in energy (about 400 kJ mol(-1) above MH(+)) explaining (i). the absence of an ion corresponding to [DHBAH - NH(3) - H(2)O](+). The determining steps associated with the losses of H(2)O and with H(2)O + CO are located lower in energy than the transition states associated with the isomerisation of benzylic ions into tropylium ions; explaining (ii). the formation of the radical cation [MH - NH(3) - CH(3)](+.). The homolytic cleavage of CH(3)-O requires less energy than does the rearrangement.     

Crown ether-based cryptand/tropylium cation inclusion complexes

Host–guest complexation between crown ether-based cryptand hosts and a carbonium ion, tropylium hexafluorophosphate was studied. ¹H NMR, NOESY NMR, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry were employed to characterize these inclusion complexes. The contrast tests of ¹H NMR and association constants indicated that cryptands are much better hosts for tropylium hexafluorophosphate than the corresponding simple crown ethers. C–H?O hydrogen bonding, face-to-face π-stacking interactions, and charge-transfer interactions are thought to be the main driving forces for the formation of these host–guest complexes. These multiple non-covalent interactions may jointly contribute to the complex formation and considerably reinforce the complex stability. Moreover, the complexation between dibenzo-24-crown-8-based cryptand 4 and tropylium hexafluorophosphate 7 can be reversibly controlled by adding KPF₆ and then DB18C6 in 1:1 acetonitrile/chloroform, providing a new cation-responsive host–guest recognition motif for supramolecular chemistry.     

Theoretical and experimental study of tropylium formation from substituted benzylpyridinium species

Fragmentation pathways of unsubstituted and substituted benzylpyridinium compounds were investigated using mass-analysed kinetic energy (MIKE) technique in combination with high level of quantum chemical calculations in the gas phase. Fast atom bombardment (FAB) source was used for ionisation of the studied compounds. The formation of both benzylium and tropylium species were investigated. Hybrid Hartree-Fock/Density Functional Theory calculations have been performed to assess the geometries and the energies of the transition states and intermediates. For each cases, different reaction pathways were investigated, and particularly in the case of the formation of tropylium species, the formation of the seven-membered ring before or after the loss of pyridine were studied. The effect of para-methyl and para-methoxy substituents on the activation energy of the rearrangement process to form thermodynamically stable tropylium compounds has been studied. Theoretical calculations showed competition between direct bond cleavage and rearrangement reactions to form benzylium and tropylium compounds, respectively. Experimental results also suggested that the rearrangement process takes place to yield stable tropylium under "soft ionisation techniques", such as FAB.     

Synthesis and intramolecular charge-transfer interaction of janusene containing the tropylium ring (5,5a,6,11,11a,12-hexahydro-5,12-(1,2-benzeno)-6,11-(1,2-tropylio)naphthacene cations)

The tropylium analogues of janusene having the tropylium ring at the “Face” and “Lateral” positions have been synthesized, and their intramolecular charge-tranfer interactions examined.     

Reactions of Single-electron Oxidation and Reduction of Sulfides of the Azulene Series

Single-electron oxidation in acetonitrile and reduction in DMF of sulfides of 3-RS-1,4-dimethyl-7- ethylazulenes (R = Me, Et, Ph, p-MeC₆H₄, p-MeOC₆H₄, N-1-phenyltetrazolyl) leads to stable radical cations and radical anions, respectively. The found reduction potentials of sulfides of the azulene series are close to those of natural and synthetic bioantioxidants. In the radical cations the unpaired electron is essentially delocalized over the cyclopentadienyl fragment of the molecule, and the sulfide group in large measure defines the distribution of spin density. In the radical anion spin density is delocalized in the tropylium cycle, and the influence of the sulfide group is insignificant. Electrochemical oxidation of unsubstituted 1,4-dimethyl-7-ethylazulene results in the formation of a dimeric radical cation.     

First observation of clusters for solvated tropylium ions

We have first observed clusters for solvated tropylium ions (Tr+(ROH)n) which were isolated from ROH-CH3CN (1:1 by vol.; R = Me, Et, and Prn) solutions by using a specially designed mass spectrometer and found the clear-cut essential features concerning the solvation structure around Tr+.     

The tropylium ion annelated with bicyclo[2.1.1]hex-2-ene: Stabilization due to σ-π conjugation versus destabilization due to mills-nixon type π-bond localization

In the tropylium ion annelated with bicyclo[2.1.1]hex-2-ene, stabilization due to the σ-π conjugation of tropylium p-orbitals with the highly strained bicyclic σ-framework was shown to be more effective than destabilization due to the Mills-Nixon type π-bond localization.     

Electron-impact fragmentation of pentafluorophenyl- and pentafluorophenylalkyldimethylsilanes

The mass spectra of pentafluorobenzyl- and pentafluorophenylethylsilanes show cleavage to give cyclic fluorohydrocarbon ions of the tropylium type, which, with their fragmentation products, are the principal charge carrying species. In pentafluorophenyldimethylsilanes, exchange of fluorine and methyl between silicon and carbon occurs readily, and again the spectrum is dominated by cyclic fluorohydrocarbon ions. The composition and relative intensities of characteristic ions of diagnostic value in the spectra of pentafluorophenyldimethylsilanes are listed.     

IR spectroscopic features of gaseous C7H7O+ ions: benzylium versus tropylium ion structures

Gaseous [C7H7O]+ ions have been formed by protonation of benzaldehyde or tropone (2,4,6-cycloheptatrienone) in the cell of an FT-ICR mass spectrometer using C2H5(+) as a Br?nsted acid. The so-formed species have been assayed by infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) using the free electron laser (FEL) at the CLIO (Centre Laser Infrarouge Orsay) facility. The IRMPD features are quite distinct for ions from the two different precursors, pointing to two different isomers. A number of potential structures for [C7H7O]+ ions have been optimized at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory, and their relative energies and IR spectra are reported. On this basis, the IRMPD spectra of [C7H7O]+ ions are found to display features characteristic of O-protonated species, with no evidence of any further skeletal rearrangements. The so-formed ions are thus hydroxy-substituted benzylium and tropylium ions, respectively, representative members of the benzylium/tropylium ion family. The IRMPD assay using the FEL laser light has allowed their unambiguous discrimination where other mass spectrometric techniques have yielded a less conclusive answer.     

A photoswitchable rotaxane with a folded molecular thread

Novel [2]rotaxanes containing the tetracationic cyclophane cyclobis(paraquat-4,4-biphenylene) and a dumbbell-shaped molecular thread incorporating a photoactive diarylcycloheptatriene station as well as a photoinactive anisol station have been synthesized with yields of nearly 50 % by the alkylative endcapping method. The rotaxane was transformed into the related rotaxane incorporating a diaryl tropylium unit by electrochemical oxidation. The precursor of the cycloheptatrienyl rotaxane, the related pseudorotaxane, and the rotaxanes incorporating the diarylcycloheptatriene and the corresponding tropylium unit were characterized by (1)HNMR spectroscopy and UV/Vis spectroscopy. According to the NMR spectra, both the cycloheptatriene and the tropylium rotaxane possess a folded conformation enabling the tetracationic cyclophane to interact with two stations. The diarylcycloheptatriene station is incorporated inside the cavity of the cyclophane and the anisol station resides alongside the bipyridinium unit of the cyclophane. In contrast, the anisol station is inside the cyclophane in the tropylium rotaxane. The exchange between both conformations can be achieved by introducing the methoxy leaving group into the cycloheptatriene ring; the tropylium rotaxane is generated by photoheterolysis of this methoxy-substituted rotaxane, which reacts thermally back to the cycloheptatriene rotaxane, thus closing the switching cycle. These induced conformational changes achieve a so-called molecular machine.     

Theoretical investigation of the formation of the tropylium ion from the toluene radical cation

The formation of the tropylium ion, C₇H₇⁺, in the mass spectrum of toluene is a chemical process that has been extensively studied. There is, however, still debate as to the structure of the moieties and the reaction pathways involved. This work presents the first computationally complete reaction schemes for the formation of tropylium from toluene to be reported. The calculations were performed at the HF/6‐31G(d, p) and the DFT/B3LYP/6‐311++G(2d) levels of theory using Gaussian 03W. The previously unreported optimized structures and energies for a transition state and an intermediate in one scheme and a transition state in the other have been determined. These results are consistent with the previously reported literature and the available experimental data. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Dioxadiazuliporphyrin: a near-IR redox switchable chromophore

The synthesis of dioxadiazuliporphyrinogen 7 and its oxidized forms: dioxadiazuliporphyrin 8 and dication 8(2+), is reported. These compounds were characterized in solution using UV-vis and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic means and in the solid state via single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Dioxadiazuliporphyrin is a nonaromatic porphyrinoid, readily and reversibly oxidizable to its cation radical and to the aromatic carbaporphyrinoid dication, which can be viewed as a 21,23-dicarba-22,24-dioxaporphyrin with two fused tropylium rings. Further insight into the geometric and magnetic manifestations of aromaticity and antiaromaticity in the case of the redox couple 8, 8(2+) is obtained using density functional calculations and nucleus-independent chemical shifts.