AB Initio and MNDO calculations of atomic interactions in the CH3OCOCl molecule

The CH₃OCOCl molecule is calculated by ab initio methods using the split-valence basis sets at RHF/3-21G//RHF/3-21G, RHF/6-31G^*//RHF/6-31G^*, and RHF/6-311G^*//RHF/6-31G^* levels of theory and in the MNDO approximation. The optimized geometry of the molecule is consistent with the experimental data. The populations of the p-AOs of this molecule and the MO compositions show that the electron distribution in this molecule should be interpreted without considering the conjugation between the lone electron pairs of the Cl or O atoms and the π-electron system of the carbonyl group. The asymmetry parameters of the electric field gradient on the³⁵Cl nucleus were calculated using the Cl p-AO populations and compared with the corresponding experimental value. Instite of Technical Chemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated fromZhurnal Struktumoi Khimii, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 646–651, July–August, 1996. Translated by I. Izvekova     

Theoretical study on the pyrolysis mechanism and kinetics of β-hydroxyketones

The mechanism and kinetics for the decomposition of β-hydroxypropaldehyde, primary and secondary β-hydroxyketones, were studied by using ab initio RHF/6–31G and RHF/6–31G^* methods. The activation barriers of these reactions were refined to be 39.57, 40.10, and 36.80 kcal mol⁻¹ at the MP2/ /RHF/6–31G^* level, respectively. The calculated results show that each decomposition is a concerted process with hydrogen transferring and bond breaking via a six-membered cyclic transition state. The thermal rate constants of the decomposition of primary and secondary β-hydroxyketones were obtained by calculating microcanonical probability fluxes through each transition state. It is theoretically confirmed that methyl substitution at the hydroxyl carbon of β-hydroxyketones causes a small enhancement in rates. The theoretical investigations of the mechanism and the rate constants are in agreement with the experimental results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Absence of p,π-conjugation in the Cl2C=CHOMe molecule from data ofab initio calculations

ab initio Calculation of the Cl₂C=CHOMe molecule has been carried out with geometrical optimization in the split valence basis set in the RHF/6-31G^*//RHF/6-31G^* approximation. An analysis of the populations of the p-orbitals of the Cl atoms implies the absence of p,-conjugation between the unshared electron pairs of these atoms and the -bond. The asymmetry parameters of the electric field gradient at the³⁵Cl nuclei, calculated from the 3p-orbital populations of the Cl atoms, practically coincide with the experimental values.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2369–2372, December, 1995.The authors are grateful to G. S. Beloglazov for assistance in accomplishingab initio calculations.     

Structural relaxations and energy effects of intramolecular motions inN,N-dimethylnitramine: A theoretical study

The equilibrium geometry of theN,N-dimethylnitramine molecule and changes in the energy and structural parameters due to the internal rotation of the nitro group and the inversion of the N atom in the amino fragment were calculated by the restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) method and at the second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) level of perturbation theory with inclusion of electron correlation using the 6–31 G^* and 6–31 G^** basis sets. The one-dimensional potential functions of these motions calculated at the RHF/6–31 G^* level were approximated by a truncated Fourier and power series, respectively. The frequencies of torsional and inversion transitions were determined by solving direct vibrational problems for a non-rigid model,i.e., taking into account the molecular geometry relaxation. The equilibrium conformation of the molecular skeleton ofN,N-dimethylnitramine is nonplanar. Transition states of the internal rotation of the nitro group and inversion of the amine N atom are characterized by pronounced concerted changes in its bond angles and the length of the N?N bond. In the MP2/6–31 G^* approximation, the height of the barrier to internal rotation calculated taking into account the difference in the zero-point vibrational energies is equal to 9.7 kcal mol^?1. Inversion in the amino fragment is accompanied by a relatively small energy change at the barrier height of ?1.0 kcal mol^?1 calculated in the same approximation.     

Multiple bond migration with participation of a protophilic agent

Ab initio study of the pathways of migration of the double bond in the 3-methylthioprop-1-ene (1) and 3-methoxyprop-1-ene (2) molecules with participation of hydroxide ion was carried out by the RHF/6-31+G^* and MP2/6-31+G//RHF/6-31+G^* methods. Conformational isomerism of the initial molecules and reaction products was considered. The distinctions are discussed in the spatial and electronic structure of intermediate carbanions stabilized (for1) due to the negative hyperconjugation. Stationary points corresponding to complexes between the molecules under study and the hydroxide ion and between the corresponding carbanion and water molecule were localized on the potential energy surfaces of the proton transfer reactions. For2, the single-stage mechanism of prototropic rearrangement involving the H atom of the hydroxide ions was found to be more energetically preferable than the two-stage mechanism, whereas both mechanisms are expected to be equiprobable for1. For Parts 1–3, see Refs. 1–3. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Kimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 407–413, March, 2000.     

Molecular Structures and Thermodynamic Stabilities of Cycloalkadienes and Their Methoxy Derivatives: An Ab Initio and DFT Study

The geometry-optimized molecular structures and total energies of 4- to 6-membered cycloalkadienes, and of a number of their monoand dimethoxy derivatives, have been calculated by ab initio (HF/6-31G^*, MP2/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^*) and DFT (B3LYP/6-31G^*) methods. By comparison with available experimental data, the reliability of these computational methods for an estimation of the relative stabilities (enthalpies) of the isomeric forms of the title compounds was tested. The experimental enthalpies of isomerization proved to agree best with the respective theoretical data based on the mean of the HF/6-31G^* and B3LYP/6-31G^* energies. The theoretical calculations were then extended to several isomeric methoxy-substituted cycloalkadienes, for which no previous thermodynamic data exist. Some structural features of the title dienes were also discussed.     

ab initio calculations of the geometrical and electronic structure of thiophene and 2-chlorothiophene molecules

Features of the structure of thiophene and 2-chlorothiophene molecules have been analyzed from the results of ab initio calculations using the RHF/6-31G^* method.Institute for Technical Chemistry, Ural Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm 614000, Russia; email: cheminst@mail.psu.ru. Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 40–43, January, 1999.     

Quantum chemical studies on tautomerism of barbituric acid in gas phase and in solution

Ab initoand density functional theory (DFT) methods were used to study the tautomers of barbituric acid in the gas phase and in a polar medium. In the gas phase, the tautomers were optimized at the HF/6-31G^*, MP2/6-31G^*and B3LYP/6-31G^*, B3PW91/6-31G^*levels of theory. The self-consistent reaction field theory (SCRF) at the HF/6-31G^*level of theory has been used to optimize the tautomers in a polar medium. The relative stability of the tautomers was compared in the gaseous and polar mediums. The ability of maximum hardness principle to predict the stable tautomer has been studied. The ¹³C-NMR chemical shift for carbon atoms in the tautomers was calculated and the results are discussed.     

Ab initio calculations of the structure and harmonic force fields for the amine forms of dinitramine and methyldinitramine. Vibrational spectra and their interpretation using a scaling procedure

Ab initio geometries and vibrational spectra have been calculated for the amine structures of dinitramine and methyldinitramine, HN(NO₂)₂ and CH₃N(NO₂)₂. It is shown at the RHF and MP2 levels with the use of the 6-31G^* and 6-31G^** basis sets that these molecules have different symmetries in their equilibrium states,C _sandC ₁ respectively. The quantum chemical RHF/6-31G^* force fields were scaled with the set of transferable factors previously obtained by the authors to assign the available experimental vibrational bands and predict the positions of bands for the unmeasured spectral regions. Some common patterns of the geometrical parameters, vibrational spectra, and force fields of the simplest nitramines are discussed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2135–2147, November, 1995.The authors are grateful to the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 93-03-4410) and to the International Science Foundation (Grant No. MQXOOO) for financial support of works fulfilled at the Department of Chemistry, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. The authors also acknowledge the support of the Scientific Technical Program Universities of Russia.     

Pathways of the reaction of nucleophilic addition of ammonia to formaldehyde in the gas phase and in the complex with formic acid:ab initio calculations

The gradient pathways of the reaction of nucleophilic addition of ammonia to formaldehyde were calculated for free molecules and in the NH₃...H₂CO...HC(O)OH complex by theab initio RHF/6-31G^**, MP2(fc)/6-31G^**, and MP2(full)/6-311++G^** methods. Both reactions proceed concertedly. In the first case, the reaction successively passes through two transitional states with an energy barrier exceeding 35 kcal mol⁻¹. In the case of the complex with formic acid, the reaction follows a conventional pathway, although its activation barrier calculated by the RHF/6-31G^** and MP2(fc)/6-31G^** methods decreases to 12.6 and 3.8 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 13–20, January, 1998.     

Efficiency of post-Hartree-Fock force field for the interpretation of vibrational spectra ofN,N-dimethylnitramine

Harmonic force fields for the molecule ofN,N-dimethylnitramine were calculated in the RHF/6-31G^* and MP2/6-31G^** approximations. Scaling of the force fields obtained made it possible to reliably interpret the vibrational spectra of light and perdeuterated compounds reported in the literature. The assignment is confirmed by good reproducibility of experimental isotope shifts upon¹⁵N-amino- and¹⁵N-nitrosubstitution. The frequencies of intramolecular vibrations in far IR and Raman spectra as well as in neutron inelastic scattering spectra for the light and perdeuterated samples of solidN,N-dimethylnitramine were identified using the force field calculated with the inclusion of electron correlation (MP2). Although general structures of the force fields calculated in the RHF and MP2 approximations are similar, considerable differences in the force constants of the NO and NN stretching vibrations and especially in the constants of the NO_str/NO_str and NO_str/NN_str interactions remain even after scaling the force fields.     

Ab initio investigation of the diels-alder reaction between 2H-phosphole and phosphaethene: A model for phosphole dimerization

All four possible Diels-Alder reactions between 2H-phosphole and phosphaethene were examined at various theoretical levels, including HF, MP4SDQ, CCSD(T), and CASSCF. MP2/6-31G^* geometry optimizations could not be employed since the potential energy surface is qualitatively incorrect at this level of theory, due to the inherent underestimation of the activation energies (ameliorated at higher-order MP or coupled-cluster levels). Solvent effects were examined employing the Onsager, polarized continuum, and isodensity and surface polarized continuum models. At MP4SDQ/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^* these reactions are exothermic by 34–38 kcal mol⁻¹ and have very low activation energies, 5–7 kcal mol⁻¹. The P P/C C regioisomer products are lower in energy than the C P isomers and, within each pair, the exo isomer is lower in energy. At low computational levels the smallest activation energy is for the reaction leading to the C P endo product. Larger basis sets, electron correlation, and solvent favor the transition state leading to the experimentally observed P P/C P endo isomer. The dimerization of phosphole is, therefore, kinetically controlled. Based on geometric and electron density analysis, the reactions are concerted and synchronous. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Multiple bond migration with participation of a protophilic agent

The pathways of migration of the double bond in the 1-methoxy-2-propene molecule with participation of a hydroxide ion were investigated by theab initio RHF/6-31+G^* and MP2/6-31+G^* methods. Stationary points corresponding to complexes between the molecule under study and the hydroxide ion and between the corresponding carbanion and a water molecule were found on the potential energy surfaces of the proton transfer reactions. As in the propene molecule, migration of the double bond in the 1-methoxy-2-propene molecule can occur in the gas phase by the mechanism of intramolecular proton transfer involving the proton of the hydroxide ion. Conformational isomerism of the initial molecule and reaction products was considered. The proposed mechanism of 1,3-hydrogen shift involving the proton-containing base suggests the formation of bothE- andZ-products with predominance of the latter irrespective of the nature of the substituent. In this case the direction of multiple bond migration will be completely determined by the energy difference between the initial reagents and final products.     

Double H-bridged and single H-bridged diboryl radicals

The structures of B₂H₅·, B₂H₅CO·, and B₂H₅N₂· radicals are investigated using the 6–31G^* basis set. Both double H-bridged and single H-bridged isomers are found to be local minima on the potential energy surface. The effects of electron correlation are taken into account using single point MP4/6–31G^* calculations and, for the diboryl radicals, complete MP3/6–31G^* optimizations. In all cases the single H-bridged isomers are found to be more stable than the corresponding double H-bridged isomers.The transition state for the double H-bridged to single H-bridged B₂H₅· isomerization reaction is calculated to be 2.54 kcal mol^–1 above the double H-bridged radical at the MP4SDTQ/6-31G^*//UHF/ 6–31 G^* level when corrected for zero point energy. Barrier tunneling increased the reaction rate by a factor of 2.5–3.0, strongly suggesting the system is fluxional at this temperature.The addition of CO and N₂ to the diboryl radicals leads to relocation of the unpaired electron and rehybridization of the C and N atoms adjacent to the boron atoms. The isomers of B₂H₅CO· and B₂H₅N₂· are different and should be distinguishable experimentally. While the CO moiety is bound to the diboryl radicals isomers by over 19 kcal mol^–1, no binding energy is evident for N₂.     

Theoretical refinements of theendo and theexo structures of tetraborane(8) carbonyl

The molecular structures of theendo (1a) andexo (1b) isomers of B₄H₈CO have been optimized at the ab initio MP2(Full)/6-31G^* level of theory. The agreement of the computed geometrical parameters with the recently published electron-diffraction (GED) data is very good, even though a number of geometrical constraints were applied in the experimental determination. The IGLO (individual gauge for localized orbitals)¹¹B NMR chemical shifts, calculated at the II//MP2/6-31G^* level, are also in accord with experiment. The formation of1a and1b by association of B₄H₈ and CO is computed to be exothermic by 22.8 and 22.2 kcal/mol, respectively, at the MP2(Full)/6-31G^*//MP2(Full)/6-31G^* + ZPE(6-31G^*) level of theory. The Lewis acid strength of B₄H₈ toward CO is comparable to that of BH₃.     

Thermochemical and theoretical study of some methyldiazines

The standard (p ⁰ = 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpies of formation for the liquid 2,3-dimethylpyrazine and trimethylpyrazine and the crystalline 2,3-dimethylquinoxaline and tetramethylpyrazine were derived from the standard molar enthalpies of combustion, in oxygen, atT=298.15 K, measured by static-bomb combustion calorimetry. The standard molar enthalpies of vaporization or of sublimation for the same compounds were determined by Calvet microcalorimetry. Ab initio full geometry optimization at the 3-21G and 6-31G^* levels were also performed for all the methylpyrazine isomers. MP2/RHF/3-21G//3-21G and DFT energies were also calculated for all the methylpyrazine isomers, thus allowing us to estimate their isodesmic resonance energies.     

An ab initio theoretical study of the stereoisomers of tetrahydrocannabinols

An extensive theoretical study of the stereoisomers of tetrahydrocannabinols has been performed at the ab initio HF/6-31G^* and B3LYP/6-31G^* levels. Effects of solvation were calculated with the Onsager model (with full geometry optimization), SCRF with Tomasi's PCM, and isodensity polarization continuum models. Single-point MP2//HF/6-31G^* calculations were carried out. Frequency calculations for all the isomers at the HF/6-31G^* level and for two natural isomers ¹-THC-RR and ⁶-THC-RR at the B3LYP/6-31G^* level were performed. Our results support the findings of the previous AM1 studies that the orientation of the carbocyclic ring and its C1 substituent with respect to the phenyl group hydroxyl oxygen play the major role in the activity. The calculated values of the LUMO energy (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) and the hardness of the stereoisomers show that for the trans isomers it is easier to remove one electron from its HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) to the LUMO and easier to accept an electron from the receptor binding site than for the cis isomers. Combining geometric features (the orientation of the carbocyclic ring and its C1 substituent with respect to the phenyl group hydroxyl oxygen) with electronic features (LUMO and hardness), we explain the activity differences among the stereoisomers.     

Calculated structures and heats of formation of some predicted C,N, O,F molecules

Twelve molecules containing only C, N, O, and F, which are of interest in the context of energetic materials, were found to have true local energy minima at the HF/6-31G^* computational level. Both HF/6-31G^* and MP2/6-31G^* geometries are presented. A density functional procedure was used to find gas phase heats of formation. These are strongly positive for most of the molecules. The nitroso group significantly increases H _o ^f.25C compared to the nitro analogue.     

Multiple bond migration with participation of a protophilic agent

The pathways of migration of the multiple bond in propene and propyne molecules involving the hydroxide ion were investigated by theab initio (RHF/6-31+G^* and MP2/6-31+G^*) methods. Stationary points corresponding to stable complexes between the molecules under study and the hydroxide ion and between corresponding carbanions and water molecule were found on the potential energy surfaces of the proton transfer reactions. In the presence of hydroxide ion, migration of the multiple bond can occur by an “intramolecular” mechanism of the proton transfer involving the proton of hydroxide ion bound in the complex with propene or propyne molecule. For the propene system, such a mechanism seems to be quite realistic and more preferable energetically than a traditional two-stage mechanism with a passage of the proton into the medium. For the system with the triple bond, an equal expenditure of energy is required to follow any mechanism (without taking into account the effects of solvation and the interaction with a cation), whereas the formation of the stable [H₂C=C=CH·H₂O]⁻ complex can prevent further transformations. For Part 1, see Ref. 1. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 35–41, January, 1999.