Very Long‐Range Effects: Cooperativity between Anion–π and Hydrogen‐Bonding Interactions

The interplay between two important non‐covalent interactions involving aromatic rings (namely anion–π and hydrogen bonding) is investigated. Very interesting cooperativity effects are present in complexes where anion–π and hydrogen bonding interactions coexist. These effects are found in systems where the distance between the anion and the hydrogen‐bond donor/acceptor molecule is as long as ～11 Å. These effects are studied theoretically using the energetic and geometric features of the complexes, which were computed using ab initio calculations. We use and discuss several criteria to analyze the mutual influence of the non‐covalent interactions studied herein. In addition we use Bader’s theory of atoms‐in‐molecules to characterize the interactions and to analyze the strengthening or weakening of the interactions depending upon the variation of the charge density at the critical points.     

Can QTAIM topological parameters be a measure of hydrogen bonding strength?

The block-localized wave function (BLW) method, which is the simplest variant of ab initio valence bond (VB) theory, together with the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) approach, have been used to probe the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions in a series of representative systems of resonance-assisted hydrogen bonds (RAHBs). RAHB is characteristic of the cooperativity between the π-electron delocalization and hydrogen bonding interactions and is identified in many biological systems. While the deactivation of the π resonance in these RAHB systems by the use of the BLW method is expected to considerably weaken the hydrogen bonding strength, little change on the topological properties of electron densities at hydrogen bond critical points (HBCPs) is observed. This raises a question of whether the QTAIM topological parameters can be an effective measure of hydrogen bond strength.     

Substituent effect on structure,electron density,and intramolecular hydrogen bonding in nitroso‐oxime methane

Density functional calculations with Beck's three‐parameter hybrid method using the correlation functional of Lee, Yang, and Parr (B3LYP) were carried out for investigation of the intramolecular hydrogen bond strength in Nitroso‐oxime methane and its derivatives. Also, vibrational frequencies for them were calculated at the same level of theory. The π‐electron delocalization parameter (Q) and as a geometrical indicator of a local aromaticity, the geometry‐based harmonic oscillator measure of aromaticity index has been applied. Additionally, the linear correlation coefficients between substituent constants and selected parameters in R position have calculated. The obtained results show that the hydrogen bond strength is mainly governed by the resonance variations inside the chelate ring induced by the substituent groups. The topological properties of the electron density distributions for O? H ··· O intramolecular bridges have been analyzed in terms of the Bader theory of atoms in molecules (AIM). Correlations between the H‐bond strength and topological parameters have been also studied. The electron density (ρ) and Laplacian (?²ρ) properties, estimated by AIM calculations, show that O ··· H bond have low ρ and negative (?²ρ) values (consistent with covalent character of the HBs), whereas O? H bond have positive (?²ρ) Furthermore, the analysis of hydrogen bond in this molecule and its derivatives by quantum theory of natural bond orbital (NBO) methods fairly support the ab initio results. Natural population analysis data, the electron density, and Laplacian properties as well as υ(O? H) and γ(O? H) were further used for estimation of the hydrogen bonding interactions and the forces driving their formation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Ab initio investigation of the complexes between bromobenzene and several electron donors: some insights into the magnitude and nature of halogen bonding interactions

Halogen bonding, a specific intermolecular noncovalent interaction, plays crucial roles in fields as diverse as molecular recognition, crystal engineering, and biological systems. This paper presents an ab initio investigation of a series of dimeric complexes formed between bromobenzene and several electron donors. Such small model systems are selected to mimic halogen bonding interactions found within crystal structures as well as within biological molecules. In all cases, the intermolecular distances are shown to be equal to or below sums of van der Waals radii of the atoms involved. Halogen bonding energies, calculated at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level, span over a wide range, from -1.52 to -15.53 kcal/mol. The interactions become comparable to, or even prevail over, classical hydrogen bonding. For charge-assisted halogen bonds, calculations have shown that the strength decreases in the order OH- > F- > HCO2- > Cl- > Br-, while for neutral systems, their relative strengths attenuate in the order H2CS > H2CO > NH3 > H2S > H2O. These results agree with those of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) since bond critical points (BCPs) are identified for these halogen bonds. The QTAIM analysis also suggests that strong halogen bonds are more covalent in nature, while weak ones are mostly electrostatic interactions. The electron densities at the BCPs are recommended as a good measure of the halogen bond strength. Finally, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis has been applied to gain more insights into the origin of halogen bonding interactions.     

On the extent of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in gas-phase and hydrated 1,2-ethanediol

We investigate the quantum dynamical nature of hydrogen bonding in 1,2-ethanediol and monohydrated 1,2-ethanediol using different levels of ab initio theory. Global full-dimensional potential energy surfaces were constructed from PW91/cc-pVDZ, B3LYP/cc-pVDZ, and MP2/cc-pVDZ ab initio data for gas-phase and monohydrated 1,2-ethanediol, using a modified Shepard interpolation scheme. Zero-point energies and nuclear vibrational wave functions were calculated on these surfaces using the quantum diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm. The nature of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding in these molecules was investigated by considering a ground-state nuclear vibrational wavefunction with reduced complete nuclear permutation and inversion (CNPI) symmetry. Separate wavefunction histograms were determined from the ground-state nuclear vibrational wavefunction by projection into bondlength coordinates. The O-H and O-O wavefunction histograms and vibrationally averaged distances were then used to probe the extent of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. From these data, we conclude that gas-phase ethanediol may possess a weak hydrogen bond, with a relatively short O-O distance but no detectable proton delocalization. Monohydrated ethanediol was found to exhibit no intramolecular hydrogen bonding but instead possessed two intermolecular hydrogen bonds, indicated by both shortening of the O-O distance and significant proton delocalization. The degree of proton delocalization and shortening of the vibrationally averaged O-O distance was found to be dependent on the ab initio method used to generate the potential energy surface (PES) data set.     

NMR spin–spin coupling constants in hydrogen‐bonded glycine clusters

The influence of the hydrogen bond formation on the NMR spin–spin coupling constants (SSCC), including the Fermi contact (FC), the diamagnetic spin‐orbit, the paramagnetic spin‐orbit, and the spin dipole term, has been investigated systematically for the homogeneous glycine cluster, in gas phase, containing up to three monomers. The one‐bond and two‐bond SSCCs for several intramolecular (through covalent bond) and intermolecular (across the hydrogen‐bond) atomic pairs are calculated employing the density functional theory with B3LYP and KT3 functionals and different types of extended basis sets. The ab initio SOPPA(CCSD) is used as benchmark for the SSCCs of the glycine monomer. The hydrogen bonding is found to cause significant variations in the one‐bond SSCCs, mostly due to contribution from electronic interactions. However, the nature of variation depends on the type of oxygen atom (proton‐acceptor or proton‐donor) present in the interaction. Two‐bond intermolecular coupling constants vary more than the corresponding one‐bond constants when the size of the cluster increases. Among the four Ramsey terms that constitute the total SSCC, the FC term is the most dominant contributor followed by the paramagnetic spin‐orbit term in all one‐bond interaction.     

Theoretical investigation on charge‐assisted halogen bonding interactions in the complexes of bromocarbons with some anions

A series of dimeric complexes formed between bromocarbon molecules and two anions (Br^? and CN^?) have been investigated by using MP2 method. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and the second‐order perturbation natural bond orbital (NBO) approaches were applied to analyze the electron density distributions of these complexes and to explore the nature of charge‐assisted halogen bonding interactions. As anticipated, these interactions are significantly stronger relative to the corresponding neutral ones. The results derived from ab initio calculations described herein reveal a major contribution from the electrostatic interaction on the stability of the systems considered. Beside the electrostatic interaction, the charge‐transfer force and the second‐order orbital interaction also play an important role in the formation of the complexes, as a NBO analysis suggested. The presence of halogen bonds in the complexes has been identified in terms of the QTAIM methodology, and several linear relationships have been established to provide more insight into charge‐assisted halogen bonding interactions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Dimers of N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Copper,Silver, and Gold Halides: Probing Metallophilic Interactions through Electron Density Based Concepts

Homobimetallic metallophilic interactions between copper, silver, and gold‐based [(NHC)MX]‐type complexes (NHC=N‐heterocyclic carbene, i.e, 1,3,4‐trimethyl‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ylidene; X=F, Cl, Br, I) were investigated by means of ab initio interaction energies, Ziegler–Rauk‐type energy‐decomposition analysis, the natural orbital for chemical valence (NOCV) framework, and the noncovalent interaction (NCI) index. It was found that the dimers of these complexes predominantly adopt a head‐to‐tail arrangement with typical M ??? M distance of 3.04–3.64 Å, in good agreement with the experimental X‐ray structure determined for [{(NHC)AuCl}₂], which has an Au ??? Au distance of 3.33 Å. The interaction energies between silver‐ and gold‐based monomers are calculated to be about ?25 kcal mol^?1, whereas that for the Cu congener is significantly lower (?19.7 kcal mol^?1). With the inclusion of thermal and solvent contributions, both of which are destabilizing, by about 15 and 8 kcal mol^?1, respectively, an equilibrium process is predicted for the formation of dimer complexes. Energy‐decomposition analysis revealed a dominant electrostatic contribution to the interaction energy, besides significantly stabilizing dispersion and orbital interactions. This electrostatic contribution is rationalized by NHC(δ⁺) ??? halogen(δ^?) interactions between monomers, as demonstrated by electrostatic potentials and derived charges. The dominant NOCV orbital indicates weakening of the π backdonation in the monomers on dimer formation, whereas the second most dominant NOCV represents an electron‐density deformation according to the formation of a very weak M ??? M bond. One of the characteristic signals found in the reduced density gradient versus electron density diagram corresponds to the noncovalent interactions between the metal centers of the monomers in the NCI plots, which is the manifestation of metallophilic interaction.     

Electron propagator theory study of N-/O-methylglycine conformers

The low-lying conformers of N-/O-methylglycine are studied by ab initio calculations at the B3LYP, MP3, and MP4(SDQ) levels of theory with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The conformers having the intramolecular hydrogen bonds N-H...O=C or O-H...N are more stable than the others. Vertical ionization energies for the valence molecular orbitals of each conformer predicted with the electron propagator theory in the partial third-order quasiparticle approximation are in good agreement with the experimental data available in the literatures. The relative energies of the conformers and comparison between the simulated and the experimental photoelectron spectra demonstrate that there are at least three and two conformers of N- and O-methylglycine, respectively, in the gas-phase experiments. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N effects on the molecular electronic structures are discussed for the glycine methyl derivatives, on the basis of the ab initio electronic structure calculations, natural orbital bond, and atoms-in-molecules analyses. The intramolecular hydrogen bonding O-H...N interactions hardly affect the electronic structures of the O-NH2-CH2-C(=O)-O-CH3 and alpha-methylated NH2-CH2-C(CH3)OOH conformers, while the similar intramolecular interactions lead to the significantly lower-energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbitals for the N-(CH3-NH-CH2-COOH) and beta-methylated (NH2-CH2-CH2-COOH) conformers.     

The first observation of nitrogen-carbonyl bonding: self-assembly of N-oxalyl 2,4-dinitroanilide assisted by a weak N...O=C interaction

A new type of weak bond, i.e., the N...O=C interaction, that determines the crystal packing of N-oxalyl 2,4-dinitroanilide (1) in cooperation with C-H...O hydrogen bonds, has been found and is rationalized by ab initio calculations as being the result of electrostatic interactions.     

Analysis of vibrational spectra of L-alanylglycine based on density functional theory calculations

FT Raman and IR spectra of the crystallized biologically active molecule, L-alanylglycine (L-Ala-Gly) have been recorded and analyzed. The equilibrium geometry, bonding features and harmonic vibrational frequencies of L-Ala-Gly have been investigated with the help of B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated molecular geometry has been compared with the experimental data. The assignments of the vibrational spectra have been carried out with the help of normal coordinate analysis (NCA) following the scaled quantum mechanical force field methodology (SQMFF). The optimized geometry shows the non-planarity of the peptide group of the molecule. Potential energy surface (PES) scan studies has also been carried out by ab initio calculations with B3LYP/6-311+G** basis set. The red shifting of NH3+ stretching wavenumber indicates the formation of N-H...O hydrogen bonding. The change in electron density (ED) in the sigma* antibonding orbitals and E2 energies have been calculated by natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) using DFT method. The NBO analysis confirms the occurrence of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the molecule.     

How Can a Carbene be Active in an Ionic Liquid?

The solvation of the carbene 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazole‐2‐ylidene in the ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate was investigated by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in order to reveal the interaction between these two highly important classes of materials: N‐heterocyclic carbenes with superb catalytic activity and ionic liquids with advantageous properties as solvents and reaction media. In contrast to previously published data on analogous systems, no hydrogen bond is observed between the hypovalent carbon atom and the most acidic ring hydrogen atoms, as these interaction sites of the imidazolium ring are predominantly occupied by the acetate ions. Keeping the carbene away from the ring hydrogen atoms prevents stabilization of this reactive species, and hence any retarding effect on subsequent reactions, which explains the observed high reactivity of the carbene in acetate‐based ionic liquids. Instead, the carbene exhibits a weaker interaction with the methyl group of the imidazolium cation by forming a hitherto unprecedented kind of C???H?C hydrogen bond. This unexpected finding not only indicates a novel kind of hydrogen bond for carbenes, but also shows that such interaction sites of the imidazolium cation are not limited to the ring hydrogen atoms. Thus, the results give the solute–solvent interactions within ionic liquids a new perspective, and provide a further, albeit weak, site of interaction to tune in order to achieve the desired environment for any dissolved active ingredient.     

How resonance assists hydrogen bonding interactions: an energy decomposition analysis

Block-localized wave function (BLW) method, which is a variant of the ab initio valence bond (VB) theory, was employed to explore the nature of resonance-assisted hydrogen bonds (RAHBs) and to investigate the mechanism of synergistic interplay between pi delocalization and hydrogen-bonding interactions. We examined the dimers of formic acid, formamide, 4-pyrimidinone, 2-pyridinone, 2-hydroxpyridine, and 2-hydroxycyclopenta-2,4-dien-1-one. In addition, we studied the interactions in beta-diketone enols with a simplified model, namely the hydrogen bonds of 3-hydroxypropenal with both ethenol and formaldehyde. The intermolecular interaction energies, either with or without the involvement of pi resonance, were decomposed into the Hitler-London energy (DeltaEHL), polarization energy (DeltaEpol), charge transfer energy (DeltaECT), and electron correlation energy (DeltaEcor) terms. This allows for the examination of the character of hydrogen bonds and the impact of pi conjugation on hydrogen bonding interactions. Although it has been proposed that resonance-assisted hydrogen bonds are accompanied with an increasing of covalency character, our analyses showed that the enhanced interactions mostly originate from the classical dipole-dipole (i.e., electrostatic) attraction, as resonance redistributes the electron density and increases the dipole moments in monomers. The covalency of hydrogen bonds, however, changes very little. This disputes the belief that RAHB is primarily covalent in nature. Accordingly, we recommend the term "resonance-assisted binding (RAB)" instead of "resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding (RHAB)" to highlight the electrostatic, which is a long-range effect, rather than the electron transfer nature of the enhanced stabilization in RAHBs.     

Chiral self-recognition: direct spectroscopic detection of the homochiral and heterochiral dimers of propylene oxide in the gas phase

In this report, we describe rotational spectroscopic and high-level ab initio studies of the 1:1 chiral molecular adduct of propylene oxide dimer. The complexes are bound by weak secondary hydrogen bonds, that is, the O(epoxy)...H-C noncovalent interactions. Six homochiral and six heterochiral conformers were predicted to be the most stable configurations where each monomer acts as a proton acceptor and a donor simultaneously, forming two six- or five-membered intermolecular hydrogen-bonded rings. Rotational spectra of six, that is, three homochiral and heterochiral conformer pairs, out of the eight conformers that were predicted to have sufficiently large permanent electric dipole moments were measured and analyzed. The relative conformational stability order and the signs of the chiral recognition energies of the six conformers were determined experimentally and were compared to the ab initio computational results. The experimental observations and the ab initio calculations suggest that the concerted effort of these weak secondary hydrogen bonds can successfully lock the subunits in a particular orientation and that the overall binding strength is comparable to a classic hydrogen bond.