Ethylene‐norbornene copolymers prepared with metallocene‐ based catalysts: new sequence assignments by 13C NMR

A series of ethylene‐norbornene copolymers were synthesized in the presence of zirconocenes with different symmetries and ligand patterns and at different norbornene (N)/ethylene (E) mole ratios. Copolymers were characterized by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy; Inadequate NMR sequences were used also. The comparison of ¹³C NMR spectra of copolymers prepared with different norbornene content and the correlation between ¹³C NMR chemical shifts and conformational structures of the chain on the basis of molecular mechanics calculations were performed. Preliminary assignments were revised and new comonomer sequences such as ENNE which contain meso and racemo NN dyads were assigned.     

On the accuracy of the GIAO‐DFT calculation of 15N NMR chemical shifts of the nitrogen‐containing heterocycles – a gateway to better agreement with experiment at lower computational cost

The main factors affecting the accuracy and computational cost of the gauge‐independent atomic orbital density functional theory (GIAO‐DFT) calculation of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts in the representative series of key nitrogen‐containing heterocycles – azoles and azines – have been systematically analyzed. In the calculation of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts, the best result has been achieved with the KT3 functional used in combination with Jensen's pcS‐3 basis set (GIAO‐DFT‐KT3/pcS‐3) resulting in the value of mean absolute error as small as 5 ppm for a range exceeding 270 ppm in a benchmark series of 23 compounds with an overall number of 41 different ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts. Another essential finding is that basically, the application of the locally dense basis set approach is justified in the calculation of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts within the 3–4 ppm error that results in a dramatic decrease in computational cost. Based on the present data, we recommend GIAO‐DFT‐KT3/pcS‐3//pc‐2 as one of the most effective locally dense basis set schemes for the calculation of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GIAO/DFT studies on 1,2,4‐triazole‐5‐thiones and their propargyl derivatives

Density functional theory (DFT)/Becke–Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) and gauge‐including atomic orbital (GIAO) calculations were performed on a number of 1,2,4‐triazole derivatives, and the optimized structural parameters were employed to ascertain the nature of their predominant tautomers. ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts of 3‐substituted 1,2,4‐triazole‐5‐thiones and their propargylated derivatives were calculated via GIAO/DFT approach at the B3LYP level of theory with geometry optimization using a 6‐311++G** basis set. A good agreement between theoretical and experimental ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts could be found for the systems investigated. The data generated were useful in predicting ¹⁵N chemical shifts of all the nitrogen atoms of the triazole ring, some of which could not be obtained in solution state ¹⁵N HMBC/HSQC NMR measurements. The energy profile computed for the dipropargylated derivatives was found to follow the product distribution profile of regioisomers formed during propargylation of 1,2,4‐triazole thiones. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

N7‐ and N9‐substituted purine derivatives: a 15N NMR study

The ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts of N⁷‐ and N⁹‐substituted purine derivatives were investigated systematically at the natural abundance level of the ¹⁵N isotope. The NMR chemical shifts were determined and assigned using GSQMBC, GHMBC, GHMQC and GHSQC experiments in solution. ¹⁵N cross‐polarization magic angle spinning data were recorded for selected compounds in order to study the principal values of the ¹⁵N chemical shifts. Geometric parameters obtained by using RHF/6–31G** and single‐crystal x‐ray structural analysis were used to calculate the chemical‐shielding constants (GIAO and IGLO) which were then used to assign the nitrogen resonances observed in the solid‐state NMR spectra and to determine the orientation of the principal components of the shift tensors. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of the structure of 1‐hydroxymethylindazole and 1‐hydroxymethylbenzotriazole by X‐ray crystallography,multinuclear NMR in solution and DFT calculations

1‐Hydroxymethylindazole and 1‐hydroxymethylbenzotriazole have been studied in solution by ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy and the X‐ray structure of the second compound determined. DFT and GIAO calculations have been used to discuss geometries, energies (comparatively with 2‐substituted isomers) and NMR chemical shifts.     

Application of quantum chemical calculations of C NMR chemical shifts to quinoxaline structure determination

Comparison of experimental and theoretical (GIAO DFT) ¹³C NMR chemical shifts allows the reliable assignment of isomeric structures of heteroaromatic compounds. This methodology was applied to establish the structures of isomeric quinoxalines. A modern 1D NOE technique permitted independent proof of the proposed structures.     

Empirical and DFT GIAO quantum‐mechanical methods of 13C chemical shifts prediction: competitors or collaborators?

The accuracy of ¹³C chemical shift prediction by both DFT GIAO quantum‐mechanical (QM) and empirical methods was compared using 205 structures for which experimental and QM‐calculated chemical shifts were published in the literature. For these structures, ¹³C chemical shifts were calculated using HOSE code and neural network (NN) algorithms developed within our laboratory. In total, 2531 chemical shifts were analyzed and statistically processed. It has been shown that, in general, QM methods are capable of providing similar but inferior accuracy to the empirical approaches, but quite frequently they give larger mean average error values. For the structural set examined in this work, the following mean absolute errors (MAEs) were found: MAE(HOSE) = 1.58 ppm, MAE(NN) = 1.91 ppm and MAE(QM) = 3.29 ppm. A strategy of combined application of both the empirical and DFT GIAO approaches is suggested. The strategy could provide a synergistic effect if the advantages intrinsic to each method are exploited. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereochemical analysis of the 3α‐ and 3β‐hydroxy metabolites of tibolone through NMR and quantum‐chemical investigations. An experimental test of GIAO calculations

The configuration at C‐3 of the 3α‐ and 3β‐hydroxy metabolites of tibolone was studied by extensive application of one‐ and two‐dimensional ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy combined with molecular modeling performed at the B3LYP/6–31G(d) level. Using HF and DFT GIAO methods, shielding tensors of the two molecules were computed; comparison of the calculated NMR chemical shifts with the experimental values revealed that the density functional methods produced the best results for assigning proton and carbon resonances. Although steroids are relatively large molecules, the present approach appears accurate enough to allow the determination of relative configurations by using calculated ¹³C resonances; the chemical shift of pairs of geminal α/β hydrogen atoms can also be established by using calculated ¹H resonances. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Density functional theory study of 13C NMR chemical shift of chlorinated compounds

The use of the standard density functional theory (DFT) leads to an overestimation of the paramagnetic contribution and underestimation of the shielding constants, especially for chlorinated carbon nuclei. For that reason, the predictions of chlorinated compounds often yield too high chemical shift values. In this study, the WC04 functional is shown to be capable of reducing the overestimation of the chemical shift of Cl‐bonded carbons in standard DFT functionals and to show a good performance in the prediction of ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of chlorinated organic compounds. The capability is attributed to the minimization of the contributions that intensively increase the chemical shift in the WC04. Extensive computations and analyses were performed to search for the optimal procedure for WC04. The B3LYP and mPW1PW91 standard functionals were also used to evaluate the performance. Through detailed comparisons between the basis set effects and the solvent effects on the results, the gas‐phase GIAO/WC04/6‐311+G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6‐31+G(d,p) was found to be specifically suitable for the prediction of ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of chlorides in both chlorinated and non‐chlorinated carbons. Further tests with eight molecules in the probe set sufficiently confirmed that WC04 was undoubtedly effective for accurately predicting ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of chlorinated organic compounds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Homo‐ and copolymerization of ethylene and norbornene with bis(β‐diketiminato) titanium complexes activated with methylaluminoxane

Homo‐ and copolymerization of ethylene and norbornene were investigated with bis(β‐diketiminato) titanium complexes [ArNC(CR₃)CHC(CR₃)NAr]₂TiCl₂ (R = F, Ar = 2,6‐diisopropylphenyl 2a; R = F, Ar = 2,6‐dimethylphenyl 2b ; R = H, Ar = 2,6‐diisopropylphenyl 2c ; R = H, Ar = 2,6‐dimethylphenyl 2d) in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO). The influence of steric and electric effects of complexes on catalytic activity was evaluated. With MAO as cocatalyst, complexes 2a–d are moderately active catalysts for ethylene polymerization producing high‐molecular weight polyethylenes bearing linear structures, but low active catalysts for norbornene polymerization. Moreover, 2a – d are also active ethylene–norbornene (E–N) copolymerization catalysts. The incorporation of norbornene in the E–N copolymer could be controlled by varying the charged norbornene. ¹³C NMR analyses showed the microstructures of the E–N copolymers were predominantly alternated and isolated norbornene units in copolymer, dyad, and triad sequences of norbornene were detected in the E–N copolymers with high incorporated content of norbornene. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 93–101, 2008     

Theoretical and experimental 13C and 15N NMR investigation of guanylhydrazones in solution

Experimental and theoretical ¹⁵N and ¹³C NMR data for the three nitrobenzaldehyde guanylhydrazones are reported. The theoretical data were obtained using sequential molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics methodology for the calculation of flexible molecules in a condensed phase, followed by the use of the GIAO/DFT method with the 6–311G** basis set. The experimental ¹⁵N chemical shifts for the guanylhydrazones are compared with the calculated shifts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

13C and 15N NMR spectra of high‐energy polyazidocyanopyridines

¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectra of high‐energy 2,4,6‐triazidopyridine‐3,5‐dicarbonitrile, 2,3,5,6‐tetraazidopyridine‐4‐carbonitrile and 3,4,5,6‐tetraazidopyridine‐2‐carbonitrile are reported. The assignment of signals in the spectra was performed on the basis of density functional theory calculations. The molecular geometries were optimized using the M06‐2X functional with the 6‐311+G(d,p) basis set. The magnetic shielding tensors were calculated by the gauge‐independent atomic orbital method with the Tao–Perdew–Staroverov–Scuseria hybrid functional known as TPSSh. In all the calculations, a polarizable continuum model was used to simulate solvent effects. This approach provided accurate predictions of the ¹³C and ¹⁵N chemical shifts for all the three compounds despite complications arising due to non‐coplanar arrangement of the azido groups in the molecules. It was found that the ¹⁵N chemical shifts of the N_α atoms in the azido groups of 2,4,6‐triazidopyridines correlate with the ¹³C chemical shifts of the carbon atoms attached to these azido groups. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assignment of Phosphorus NMR Parameters to Absolute Configurations in Chiral Phosphorus Sulfide Cage Compounds,using Ab Initio Methods

The closo cage molecules α‐ and β‐P₄S₃(μ‐NCH(Me)Ph) were modelled at the RHF/3‐21G* and MPW1PW91/DZVP levels. For each, the conformational space corresponding to rotation about the C–N bond was explored, and relative average electronic energies were calculated. The β‐isomer was more stable than the α‐isomer by 10.7 kJ mol^?1, according to the DFT calculations, in contrast to the unsubstituted model compounds α‐ and β‐P₄S₃(μ‐NH), where the α‐isomer was more stable. GIAO calculations of phosphorus isotropic NMR shieldings, in the rotamers, led to relative average chemical shifts in the diastereomers. Comparison with experimental chemical shift differences gave an assignment to absolute configuration for α‐P₄S₃(μ‐NCH(Me)Ph), which agreed with the assignment obtained by comparing calculated relative diastereomer stability with observations. For β‐P₄S₃(μ‐NCH(Me)Ph), the GIAO calculations allowed relative assignment of observed chemical shifts to the nitrogen bridgehead phosphorus atoms.     

Quantum chemical studies on prototautomerism of 1H‐imidazo[4,5‐c]pyridine

The structural features of the 1H‐imidazo[4,5‐c]pyridine (ICPY) tautomers and homodimers of the most stable tautomers have been studied by quantum chemical methods. FTIR and Raman spectra of the ICPY were recorded in the range of 4000–60 cm^?1 and 3500–5 cm^?1. The predominant tautomer among four possible isomers of ICPY were determined. The optimized geometries and vibrational frequencies of possible ICPY tautomers and dimers were computed by B3LYP/DFT method with 6‐311++G(d,p) and 6‐31G(d) basis sets. All vibrational frequencies assigned in detail with the help of total energy distribution (TED) and isotopic shifts. ICPY dimeric forms were also characterized according to their hydrogen bonding interactions, and it has been found that the most stable ICPY homodimer establishes moderate strong N ? H …N type hydrogen bond. ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and ¹⁵N NMR properties have been calculated for all tautomeric forms using the gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Study of the temperature‐dependent conformational averaging of 1H NMR resonances in vinylcyclopropane through the use of ab initio methodology and Boltzmann statistics

The temperature dependence of the ¹ H NMR resonance of the C‐4 olefinic proton in vinylcyclopropane was investigated through a combination of ab initio calculations and Boltzmann statistics. A torsional energy profile as a function of the 〈?〉 dihedral angle was obtained using HF methodology with a 6–311G** basis set, while the corresponding ¹ H chemical shift profiles for the C‐4 proton were computed using the GIAO approach and either HF, DFT (B3LYP) or MP2 methods at the 6–311G** level of theory. Chemical shifts at different temperatures calculated as canonical ensemble averages in which the different ab initio ¹ H chemical shift profiles and a Boltzmann factor defined by the HF/ 6–311G** energy function are employed reproduce remarkably well the temperature dependence observed experimentally. Attempts to perform a similar study using only the GIAO‐MP2 ¹ H chemical shift profile and 〈?〉 dihedral angle trajectories obtained from molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures failed to reproduce the experimental trends. This shortcoming was attributed to the inability of the force fields employed, Tripos 6.0 and MMFF94, to reproduce properly the three‐well torsional potential of vinylcyclopropane. The application of both methodologies to the calculation of population‐dependent chemical shifts in other systems is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectroscopic investigation (IR and NMR) and HOMO-LUMO analysis of aromatic imines using theoretical approach

In this work, the theoretical studies on the structure, FT-IR, NMR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy of (E)-N-benzylidenebenzenamine (A1) and (E)-N-(2, 4′-dichlorobenzylidene) propan-1-amine (A2) are presented. The optimized structure of the molecules, NMR and UV–Vis spectra analysis were determined by the Density Functional Theory (DFT) method using B3LYP/6-311G (d, p) basis set. For FT-IR analysis, both the HF and DFT methods were used in order to determine their accuracy and reliability in theoretical calculations. The computed result of DFT calculations in comparison with the experimental results showed that the DFT method gives a more accurate prediction. The infrared (IR) spectra for the imine molecules have been recorded in the region of 500–4000 cm^?1. The gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method has been used to evaluate the ¹³C and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of the molecules. The computed results of NMR spectra of the molecules was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The UV–Vis spectra of the molecules were computed to determine the HOMO-LUMO energies in order to gain insight into their electronic properties. Mulliken population analysis on atomic charges of the molecules was also calculated using the HF (Hartree-Fock) and B3LYP method. All the computed results indicated that the B3LYP method provides satisfactory results and, therefore, can be employed to support experimental data. It also demonstrated a reliable approach towards characterization of molecules in chemical science.     

Substituent effects on 13C chemical shifts of ketenimines: a GIAO/HF and DFT study

GIAO/HF and DFT methods were utilized to predict the ¹³C chemical shifts of substituted ketenimines. GIAO HF/6–311+G(2d,p) and B3LYP/6–311+G(2d,p) methods were applied on the optimized B3LYP/6–31G(d) geometries and ¹³C chemical shifts of C_α and C_β of substituted ketenimines were correlated with group electronegativities. HF and DFT calculations indicated that increasing substituent group electronegativity leads to increasing chemical shift of C_β of substituted ketenimines, whereas the C_α values decrease. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the accuracy factors and computational cost of the GIAO–DFT calculation of 15N NMR chemical shifts of amides

The main factors affecting the accuracy and computational cost of Gauge‐independent Atomic Orbital–density functional theory (GIAO–DFT) calculation of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts in the benchmark series of 16 amides are considered. Among those are the choice of the DFT functional and basis set, solvent effects, internal reference conversion factor and applicability of the locally dense basis set (LDBS) scheme. Solvent effects are treated within the polarizable continuum model (PCM) scheme as well as at supermolecular level with solvent molecules considered in explicit way. The best result is found for Keal and Tozer's KT3 functional used in combination with Jensen's pcS‐3 basis set with taking into account solvent effects within the polarizable continuum model. The proposed LDBS scheme implies pcS‐3 on nitrogen and pc‐2 elsewhere in the molecule. The resulting mean average error for the calculated ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts is about 6 ppm. The application of the LDBS approach tested in a series of 16 amides results in a dramatic decrease in computational cost (more than an order of magnitude in time scale) with insignificant loss of accuracy.     

H and C NMR spectroscopy of 9-acridinones

The ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of 9-acridinone and its five derivatives dissolved in CDCl₃, CD₃CN and DMSO-d₆ were measured in order to reveal the influence of the constitution of the compounds and features of the solvents on chemical shifts and ¹H-¹H coupling constants. Experimental data were compared with theoretically predicted chemical shifts, on the GIAO/DFT level of theory, for DFT (B3LYP)/6-31G^∗∗ optimized geometries of molecules—also for four other 9-acridinones. This comparison helped to ascribe resonance signals in the spectra to relevant atoms and enabled revelation of relations between chemical shifts and physicochemical features of the compounds. It was found that experimentally or theoretically determined ¹H and ¹³C chemical shifts of selected atoms correlate with theoretically predicted values of dipole moments of the molecules, as well as bond lengths, atomic partial charges and energies of HOMO.