Theoretical study on a chemosensor for fluoride anion‐based on a urea derivative

The sensing mechanism of the N‐Phenyl‐N′‐(3‐quinolinyl)urea (PQU) chemosensor for fluoride anion has been investigated by density functional theory/time‐dependent density function theory. The double intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed between the three anions (X^??F^?, AcO^?, Cl^?) and the urea fragment of PQU. In the S₀ states, the H_b? X^? hydrogen bonds are slightly stronger than the H_a? X^? hydrogen bonds and the fluoride‐induced deprotonation occurs at the N? H_b position rather than at the N? H_a position. Consequently, the absorption peaks, including an intramolecular charge transfer transition and a ππ* transition, are significantly red‐shifted. Thermodynamic calculations confirm that the deprotonation in the ground state is favorable in energy only when excess fluoride anion exists. Along with the S₀ → S₁ transition, the H_a? X^? hydrogen bonds strengthen and the H_b? X^? hydrogen bonds weaken. However, the emission spectra of [PQU‐H_b]^?, instead of [PQU‐H_a]^?, are observed upon addition of fluoride anion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High Compression‐Induced Conductivity in a Layered Cu–Br Perovskite

We show that the onset pressure for appreciable conductivity in layered copper‐halide perovskites can decrease by ca. 50 GPa upon replacement of Cl with Br. Layered Cu–Cl perovskites require pressures >50 GPa to show a conductivity of 10^?4 S cm^?1, whereas here a Cu–Br congener, (EA)₂CuBr₄ (EA=ethylammonium), exhibits conductivity as high as 2×10^?3 S cm^?1 at only 2.6 GPa, and 0.17 S cm^?1 at 59 GPa. Substitution of higher‐energy Br 4p for Cl 3p orbitals lowers the charge‐transfer band gap of the perovskite by 0.9 eV. This 1.7 eV band gap decreases to 0.3 eV at 65 GPa. High‐pressure X‐ray diffraction, optical absorption, and transport measurements, and density functional theory calculations allow us to track compression‐induced structural and electronic changes. The notable enhancement of the Br perovskite's electronic response to pressure may be attributed to more diffuse Br valence orbitals relative to Cl orbitals. This work brings the compression‐induced conductivity of Cu‐halide perovskites to more technologically accessible pressures.     

EPR Study of some Copper(II) Coordination Compounds with substituted Biguanides. III

Copper(II) coordination compounds with p-chlorphenylbiguanide of the type: [Cu(Cl-PhBig)₂]X₂ and [Cu(Cl–PhBig)X₂] with X =Cl^?, Br^? NO₃, OH^?, NCS^?, NCO^?, N₃, have been studied by EPR spectroscopy using polycrytalline powders and solutions in DMF. The parameters of the EPR spectra have been used to estimate molecular orbital coefficient, in these compounds and to discuss details of the chemical bonding.     

Anomalous Property of Ag(BO2)2 Hyperhalogen: Does Spin–Orbit Coupling Matter?

Hyperhalogens were recently identified as a new class of highly electronagative species which are composed of metals and superhalogens. In this work, high‐level theoretical calculations and photoelectron spectroscopy experiments are systematically conducted to investigate a series of coinage‐metal‐containing hyperhalogen anions, Cu(BO₂)₂^?, Ag(BO₂)₂^?, and Au(BO₂)₂^?. The vertical electron detachment energy (VDE) of Ag(BO₂)₂^? is anomalously higher than those of Au(BO₂)₂^? and Cu(BO₂)₂^?. In quantitative agreement with the experiment, high‐level ab initio calculations reveal that spin–orbit coupling (SOC) lowers the VDE of Au(BO₂)₂^? significantly. The sizable magnitude of about 0.5 eV of SOC effect on the VDE of Au(BO₂)₂^? demonstrates that SOC plays an important role in the electronic structure of gold hyperhalogens. This study represents a new paradigm for relativistic electronic structure calculations for the one‐electron‐removal process of ionic Au^IL₂ complexes, which is characterized by a substantial SOC effect.     

Theoretical prediction of vertical transition energies of diaminosilylenes and aminosubstituted disilenes

Vertical electronic transition energies of diaminosilylenes and their dimers (disilenes and nitrogen‐bridged) were investigated by ab initio and density functional calculations. A good linear correlation was found between the observed UV transition energies of various silylenes and disilenes and those of model compounds calculated using the CIS and TD–DFT methods. On the basis of these computations the experimental UV absorption maximum observed for the dimer of (i‐Pr₂N)₂Si: (λ_max 439 nm at 77 K), could be assigned to an Si? Si bonded dimer with an unusually long Si? Si distance of 2.472 Å, and the isomeric amino‐bridged cyclic dimer could be discarded. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 1536–1541, 2001     

Test study on the excitation spectra of the N<Subscript>2</Subscript>–He van der Waals molecule

We have performed ab initio fourth-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory calculations in the framework of the supermolecule approach on the vertical excitation spectra of the weakly bound van der Waals N₂–He dimer. They indicate a ``T-shaped' stablest ground N<sub>2</sub>(X<sup>1</sup><sub>g</sub><sup>+</sup>)–He(<sup>1</sup>S) electronic state with a well depth, D<sub>e</sub>, of 21.63 cm<sup>–1</sup> at a minimum distance, R<sub>e</sub>, of 3.44 Å and zero-point vibration correction, D<sub>o</sub>, of 7.07 cm<sup>–1</sup>. They also indicate a ``T-shaped' stablest excited conformer with R_e=3.25 Å, D_e=36.85 cm^–1 and D_o=17.06 cm^–1 for the N₂(B³_g)–He(¹S) triplet electronic level. In order to investigate the use of less-demanding correlation methods, test density functional theory calculations using the mPW1PW exchange–correlation functional are also presented for comparison.     

Design,synthesis, and self‐assembly manipulating of polymerized ionic liquids contained imidazolium based on “Jacketing” effect

A series of novel polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) contained imidazolium, poly (2,5‐bis{[6‐(1‐butyl‐3′‐imidazolium)hexyl] oxy carbonyl}styrene salts) (denoted as P1? X^?, X^??Br^?, BF₄^?, PF₆^? and TFSI^?) were successfully synthesized via radical polymerization. The chemical structures of the monomers and their corresponding PILs were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis results showed that these PILs had excellent thermal stability. The phase transitions and liquid‐crystalline (LC) behaviors of these polymers were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy (PLM), and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The combined experimental results showed that all the PILs could form hexagonal columnar (?H) LC ordered structures because of the strong interaction between the anions and cations in the side groups except for P1? TFSI^?. The conductivities of monomers and PILs were sketchily investigated, and monomers had higher conductivities than those of conprespoding PILs. For comparison, we have synthesized a polymer without counter‐anion, but similar to the chemical structure of P1? X^?, poly (2, 5‐bis{[6‐(4‐butoxy‐4′‐oxy phenyl) hexyl] oxycarbonyl} styrene) (denoted as P2). In this case, phenyl took place of imidazolium of side chain, and LC ordered structure did not form. The comparison between P1? X^? and P2 suggested that ion played an important role in the constructing of LC ordered structure. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Coordination Chemistry of Diiodine and Implications for the Oxidation Capacity of the Synergistic Ag+/X2 (X=Cl,Br, I) System

The synergistic Ag⁺/X₂ system (X=Cl, Br, I) is a very strong, but ill‐defined oxidant—more powerful than X₂ or Ag⁺ alone. Intermediates for its action may include [Ag_m(X₂)_n]^m+ complexes. Here, we report on an unexpectedly variable coordination chemistry of diiodine towards this direction: ( A )Ag‐I₂‐Ag( A ), [Ag₂(I₂)₄]²⁺( A ^?)₂ and [Ag₂(I₂)₆]²⁺( A ^?)₂?(I₂)_x≈0.65 form by reaction of Ag( A ) ( A =Al(OR^F)₄; R^F=C(CF₃)₃) with diiodine (single crystal/powder XRD, Raman spectra and quantum‐mechanical calculations). The molecular ( A )Ag‐I₂‐Ag( A ) is ideally set up to act as a 2 e^? oxidant with stoichiometric formation of 2 AgI and 2 A ^?. Preliminary reactivity tests proved this ( A )Ag‐I₂‐Ag( A ) starting material to oxidize n‐C₅H₁₂, C₃H₈, CH₂Cl₂, P₄ or S₈ at room temperature. A rough estimate of its electron affinity places it amongst very strong oxidizers like MF₆ (M=4d metals). This suggests that ( A )Ag‐I₂‐Ag( A ) will serve as an easily in bulk accessible, well‐defined, and very potent oxidant with multiple applications.     

Cu(II) complexes of N-propyl-2-picolinamine N-oxide

Cu(II) complexes have been prepared with N-propyl-2-picolinamine N-oxide(PA) employing the perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, nitrate, chloride and bromide salts. The following unique solids have been isolated and characterized: Cu(PA)₂X₂ (X = ClO₄^?, BF₄^? and NO₃^?) and Cu(PA)X₂ (X = Cl^?, Br^?). Characterization has been accomplished primarily by IR, electronic and ESR measurements of the solid state since considerable alteration of the complexes occurs on dissolution. PA bonds as a bidentate ligand via its N-oxide oxygen and amine nitrogen in all of the complexes. Anion coordination occurs in the halogen complexes and the nitrate ions appear to be bound to Cu(II) as monodentate ligands in Cu(PA)₂(NO₃)₂. In addition, there appears to be a rhombic distortion of the CuO₂N₂ chromophore of the perchlorate and tetrafluoroborate solids which is probably due to the steric requirements of the propyl substituents.     

Structures and stabilization energies of methyl anions with main group substituents from the first five periods

The effects of substituents (X) on the structures and stabilities of CH₂X^? anions for groups comprised of fourth- and fifth-period main group elements (X = K, CaH, GaH₂, GeH₃, AsH₂, SeH, Br, Rb, SrH, InH₂, SnH₃, SbH₂, TeH, and I) have been investigated by ab initio pseudopotential calculations. Full geometry optimizations have been carried out on the CH₂X^? anions and the corresponding neutral parent molecules, CH₃X, at HF/DZP + and MP2/DZP + levels. Results for substituents from the second (X = Li? F) and third (X = Na? Cl) periods provide comparisons of substituent effects of the main group elements of the first four rows of the periodic table on methyl anions. Frequency calculations characterize the nature of stationary points and show pyramidal CH₂X^? anion structures to be the most stable unless π acceptor interactions (e.g., with BH₂, AlH₂, GaH₂, and InH₂ favor planar geometries. The CH₂X^? stabilization energies [at QCISD(T)/DZP + /MP2/DZP + + ZPE level for X = K? I and QCISD(T)/6?31 + G*/MP2/6?31 + G* + ZPE level] for X = Li? Cl) also show strong π-stabilizing effects for the same substituents. With the exception of CH₃ and NH₂, all substituents stabilize methyl anions, although the σ stabilization by OH and F is small. The SiH₃? PH₂? SH? Cl, GeH₃? AsH₂? SeH? Br, and SnH₃? SbH₂? TeH? I sets of substituents give stabilization energies between 19 and 30 kcal/mol. The stability of methyl anions substituted by the halogens and the chalcogens (X = OH, SH, SeH, and TeH) increases down a group in accord with the increasing substituent polarizability, while for π acceptors (BH₂, AlH₂, GaH₂, and InH₂) the stability decreases down a group in line with their π-accepting ability. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Density functional theory study on the reactions of X− with CH3SY (X,Y = F,Cl, Br,I)

Gas‐phase anionic reactions X^? + CH₃SY (X, Y = F, Cl, Br, I) have been investigated at the level of B3LYP/6‐311+G (2df,p). Results show that the potential energy surface (PES) of gas‐phase reactions X^? + CH₃SY (X, Y = Cl, Br, I) has a quadruple‐well structure, indicating an addition–elimination (A–E) pathway. The fluorine behaves differently in many respects from the other halogens and the reactions F^? + CH₃SY (Y = F, Cl, Br, I) correspond to deprotonation instead of substitution. The gas‐phase reactions X^? + CH₃SF (X = Cl, Br, I), however, follow an A–E pathway other than the last two out going steps (COM2 and PR) that proceeds via a deprotonation. The polarizable continuum model (PCM) has been used to evaluate the solvent effects on the energetics of the reactions X^? + CH₃SY (X, Y = Cl, Br, I). The PES is predicted to be unimodal in the solvents of high polarity. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Theoretical study of spectroscopic parameters of alkali -Al and alkaline earth-Al dimers

The ground states of alkali-Al dimers (AlLi, AlNa, AlK, AlRb and AlCs) and alkaline earth-Al dimers (AlBe, AlMg, AlCa, AlSr and AlBa) along with their monovalent anions and cations were assigned based on the results of calculations. Bond lengths r _e , harmonic vibrational frequencies ω _e and dissociation energies D ₀ of these species were obtained. For neutral dimers, we also calculated adiabatic electron affinities (EA) and adiabatic ionization energies (IE). The present results are in agreement with the available experimental and other theoretical data. The ground state symmetry of AlLi, AlNa, AlK, AlRb and AlCs is ¹ Σ⁺. The ground state symmetry of AlBe⁺, AlMg⁺, AlCa⁺, AlSr⁺ and AlBa⁺ is also ¹Σ⁺. The ground state of AlLi^?, AlNa^?, AlK^?, AlRb^? and AlCs^? is ² Π, and is the same as in the isoelectronic neutral Al-alkaline-earth dimers. For both the alkali-Al and alkaline earth-Al neutral AlX species, the bond length increases monotonously with increasing atomic number of X. For the alkali-Al ions, energies of dissociation via the channels AlX^? → Al + X^? and AlX⁺ → Al + X⁺ are smaller than the energies of dissociation via the channel AlX^? → X + Al^? andAlX⁺ → X + Al⁺, respectively. While the opposite dissociation manner is found for alkaline earth-Al anions.     

Halide‐Anion Binding by Singly and Doubly N‐Confused Porphyrins

The halide‐binding properties of N‐confused porphyrin (NCP, 1 ) and doubly N‐confused porphyrins (trans‐N₂CP ( 2 ), cis‐N₂CP ( 3 )) were examined in CH₂Cl₂. In the free‐base forms, cis‐N₂CP ( 3 ) showed the highest affinity to each anion (Cl^?, Br^?, I^?) with association constants K_a=7.8×10³, 1.9×10³, and 5.8×10² M ^?1, respectively. As metal complexes, on the other hand, trans‐N₂CP 2–Cu exhibited the highest affinity to Cl^?, Br^?, and I^? with K_a=9.0×10⁴, 2.7×10⁴, and 1.9×10³ M ^?1, respectively. The corresponding K_a values for cis‐N₂CP 3–Cu and NCP 1–Cu were about 1/10 and 1/2, respectively, of those of 2–Cu . With the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and complementary affinity measurements of a series of trisubstituted N‐confused porphyrins, the efficient anion binding of NCPs was attributed to strong hydrogen bonding at the highly polarized NH moieties owing to the electron‐deficient C₆F₅ groups at meso positions as well as the ideally oriented dipole moments and large molecular polarizability. The orientation and magnitude of the dipole moments in NCPs were suggested to be important factors in the differentiation of the affinity for anions.     

Synthesis and Structures of d10–d10 M2(μ‐dppm)2 Complexes with Sensitive Metal–Metal Distances in Response to the Binding of Sigma Donors

Diphosphine‐bridged dicopper(I) acetate complexes [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)]X ( 2 X; X^? = , ) and [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)(MeCN)]X ( 4 X) were prepared and the structures of 2 (PF₆ ) and 4 (PF₆ ) determined by X‐ray crystallography. The ground‐state geometries of [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)]⁺ and [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)(L)]⁺ (L = py, MeCN, THF, acetone, MeOH) were also obtained using density functional theory (DFT). The increased Cu – Cu distances found experimentally and theoretically by comparing the structures of cation [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)]⁺ and its derivatives [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)(L)]⁺ reflect the binding of various sigma donors (L). When using [Cu₂(μ‐dppm)₂(μ‐OAc)]⁺ as a structure sensor, the electron‐donating strength of a sigma donor can be quantitatively expressed as a DFT‐calculated Cu – Cu distance with the relative strength in the order py > MeCN > THF > acetone > MeOH, as determined.     

Quantum-chemical investigation of the silicon and carbon coordination bond in their isostructural compounds

Ab initio calculations within the minimal basis set of STO -4LGTO have been carried out on molecules of type H₃MX (M = Si, C; X = H, NH₂, OH, F). The influence of the MH₃-group inversion on the electronic structure of these compounds has been investigated and illustrated by MO electron density maps. The ability of the central atom to form an additional bond has been estimated with the help of calculations on the complexes of these molecules with the hydrogen negative ion. The complexes of type [H₄SiX]^? have been found to be more stable than their unbonded components. The [H₄CX]^? complex formation has not proved to be advantageous.     

Ab initio study of spin–orbit interaction in the ground electronic states of XH (X = C, Si, Ge and Sn) molecules

Electronic structure and spectroscopic properties for the ground electronic states of CH, SiH, GeH and SnH molecules were obtained using the multiconfigurational self-consistent field followed by spin–orbit multireference multistate perturbation theory. Spin–orbit splitting calculations for ground states of the four molecules were carried out with model core potential (MCP) and all-electron (AE) methods. MCP results are compared with corresponding AE values to estimate the accuracy of the saving cost MCP calculations. The potential energy curves, calculated for the Ω states CH(X₁²Π_1/2 and X₂²Π_3/2), SiH(X₁²Π_1/2 and X₂²Π_3/2), GeH(X₁²Π_1/2 and X₂²Π_3/2) and SnH(X₁²Π_1/2 and X₂²Π_3/2) using the MCP method, were fitted to analytical potential energy function using Murrell–Sorbie potential energy function. Based on the analytical potential energy function, force constants and spectroscopic constants for the Ω states were obtained.     

A new polymorph of phenylselenium trichloride

A second polymorph of phenylselenium trichloride, PhSeCl₃ or C₆H₅Cl₃Se, is disclosed, which is comprised of asymmetric chlorine‐bridged noncovalent dimer units rather than polymeric chains. These dimers are each weakly bound to an adjacent dimer through noncovalent Se…Cl bonding interactions. Phenyl rings within each dimer are oriented in a syn fashion. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the putative anti isomer is within 5 kJ mol^?1 of the experimentally observed form. This structure represents the first additional polymorph discovered for an organoselenium trihalide compound.     

Modeling water exchange on monomeric and dimeric Mn centers

Water exchange on Mn centers in proteins has been modeled with density functional theory using the B3LYP functional. The reaction barrier for dissociative water exchange on [Mn^IV(H₂O)₂(OH)₄] is only 9.6 kcal mol^–1, corresponding to a rate of 6×10⁵ s^–1. It has also been investigated how modifications of the model complex change the exchange rate. Three cases of water exchange on Mn dimers have been modeled. The reaction barrier for dissociative exchange of a terminal water ligand on [(H₂O)₂(OH)₂Mn^IV(-O)₂Mn^IV(H₂O)₂(OH)₂] is 8.6 kcal mol^–1, while the bridging oxo group exchange with a ring-opening mechanism has a barrier of 19.2 kcal mol^–1. These results are intended for interpretations of measurements of water exchange for the oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II. Finally, a tautomerization mechanism for exchange of a terminal oxyl radical has been modeled for the synthetic O₂ catalyst [(terpy)(H₂O)Mn^IV(-O)₂Mn^IV(O)(terpy)]³⁺ (terpy=2,2:6,2-terpyridine). The calculated reaction barrier is 14.7 kcal mol^–1.Contribution to the Björn Roos Honorary Issue     

Density functional study of structural and electronic properties of maximum‐spin n+1Aun−1Ag clusters

The structures and relative stabilities of high‐spin ⁿ⁺¹Au_n?1Ag and ⁿAu_n?1Ag⁺ (n = 2–8) clusters have been studied with density functional calculation. We predicted the existence of a number of previously unknown isomers. Our results revealed that all structures of high‐spin neutral or cationic Au_n?1Ag clusters can be understood as a substitution of an Au atom by an Ag atom in the high‐spin neutral or cationic Au_n clusters. The properties of mixed gold–silver clusters are strongly sized and structural dependence. The high‐spin bimetallic clusters tend to be holding three‐dimensional geometry rather than planar form represented in their low‐spin situations. Silver atom prefers to occupy those peripheral positions until to n = 8 for high‐spin clusters, which is different from its position occupied by light atom in the low‐spin situations. Our theoretical calculations indicated that in various high‐spin Au_n?1Ag neutral and cationic species, ⁵Au₃Ag, ³AuAg and ⁵Au₄Ag⁺ hold high stability, which can be explained by valence bond theory. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Enhancement of TbIII–CuII Single‐Molecule Magnet Performance through Structural Modification

We report a series of 3d–4f complexes {Ln₂Cu₃(H₃L)₂X_n} (X=OAc^?, Ln=Gd, Tb or X=NO₃^?, Ln=Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er) using the 2,2′‐(propane‐1,3‐diyldiimino)bis[2‐(hydroxylmethyl)propane‐1,3‐diol] (H₆L) pro‐ligand. All complexes, except that in which Ln=Gd, show slow magnetic relaxation in zero applied dc field. A remarkable improvement of the energy barrier to reorientation of the magnetisation in the {Tb₂Cu₃(H₃L)₂X_n} complexes is seen by changing the auxiliary ligands (X=OAc^? for NO₃^?). This leads to the largest reported relaxation barrier in zero applied dc field for a Tb/Cu‐based single‐molecule magnet. Ab initio CASSCF calculations performed on mononuclear Tb^III models are employed to understand the increase in energy barrier and the calculations suggest that the difference stems from a change in the Tb^III coordination environment (C_4v versus C_s).