A computational study of tetrahedrene: strained alkene or dicarbene?

A computational study of tetrahedrene at the RCCD/cc-pVDZ level led to a singlet-state structure with a lowest energy vibrational mode of 660 cm(-1). The corresponding triplet state was found to be ca. 37 kcal/mol lower in energy than the singlet state. The heat of formation of the singlet state was estimated to be 270 kcal/mol. An isomeric singlet bicyclic dicarbene bis-bicyclo[1.1.0]cyclobutylidene was found to be approximately 94 kcal/mol lower in energy than tetrahedrene.     

Ethylene addition to Ru(CH2)(O)3 – A theoretical study

Quantum chemical calculations using density functional theory (B3LYP) were carried out to elucidate the reaction pathways for ethylene addition to the ruthenium compound RuO₃CH₂. These investigations show that the parent compound is relatively unstable and its rearrangement gives access to very diverse isomers and addition products with comparable relative energies and reaction barriers. The results are compared to our previous study on the analogous osmium system OsO₃CH₂ and we show that reactivity of both compounds towards ethylene is quite similar. In both cases, the [3 + 2]_C,O cycloaddition pathway is preferred kinetically and thermodynamically. The exothermicity (–68.8 kcal/mol) of this reaction is higher for the ruthenium system than for the osmium homologue. While this pathway is unrivaled for the osmium system, the [3 + 2]_O,O cycloaddition pathway is able to compete kinetically for the ruthenium system.     

Interplay between halogen bonds and π-π stacking interactions: CSD search and theoretical study

According to our survey of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), a great number of crystal structures, in which halogen bonds and aromatic stacking interactions are present and play an important role in crystal packing, have been extracted. In this work, ab initio calculations at the MP2 level of theory were performed to investigate the mutual influence between halogen bonds and π-π stacking interactions. Different energetic effects are observed in the studied complexes where the two kinds of noncovalent interactions coexist, which can be rationalized by the direction of charge transfer for the two interactions. These effects have been analyzed in detail in terms of the structural, energetic, and charge transfer properties of the complexes. In addition, the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) was also employed to characterize the interactions and to examine the strengthening or weakening of the interactions, depending on the variations of electron density on the bond and cage critical points. Finally, certain crystal structures retrieved from the CSD have been selected to provide experimental evidence of the combination of the two interactions.     

Binding energies of metal monocations to Β-lactones and Β-lactams. A theoretical study of cyclization effects

Ab initio calculations have been performed to study the association of-propiolactam and-propiolactone and their aliphatic analoguesN-methyl acetamide and methyl acetate with different metal monocations: Li⁺, Na⁺, Mg⁺, and Al⁺, in an effort to investigate cyclization effects on the gas-phase basicities of amides and esters, when the reference acid is not a proton. Similarly to what was found for protonation,N-methyl acetamide and-propiolactam are more basic than methyl acetate and-propiolactone, when the reference acids are the aforementioned metal monocations. However, cyclization effects on the corresponding binding energies for both kind of compounds do not parallel those observed for protonation energies, and-lactone is as basic as methyl acetate when the reference acid is Li⁺ and slightly more basic than methyl acetate when the attaching ion is Na⁺. This implies that when the interactions of the bases with the reference acids are essentially electrostatic the reactivity patterns change with respect to those observed when the interactions are essentially covalent.     

Energetic effects between halogen bonds and anion-π or lone pair-π interactions: a theoretical study

Energetic effects between halogen bonds and anion-π or lone pair-π interactions have been investigated by means of ab initio MP2 calculations. 1,4-diiodo-perfluorobenzene, a very effective building block for crystal engineering based on halogen bonding, is selected in this work both as electron-deficient π aromatic ring and as halogen bond donor. Additive and diminutive effects are observed when halogen bonds and anion-π/lone pair-π interactions coexist in the same complex, which can be ascribed to the same direction of charge transfer for the two interactions. These effects have been analyzed in detail by the structural, energetic, and AIM properties of the complexes. Finally, experimental evidence of the combination of the interactions has been obtained from the Cambridge Structural Database.     

Transition metal-catalyzed addition of C-, N- and O-nucleophiles to unactivated C–C multiple bonds

1. Download : Download full-size image

     

A quantum chemical study on the mechanism of the consecutive addition of HCN to propionitrile

MINDO/3 MO method has been used to study the mechanism of the consecutive addition of HCN to propionitrile. The results obtained for the first five steps show that the reaction is exothermic, and step 1 is the rate determining step.     

Soft hydrogen bonds to alkenes: the methanol–ethene prototype under experimental and theoretical scrutiny

An FTIR spectroscopic study of the elusive hydrogen-bonded methanol–ethene complex, the most elementary example for weak intermolecular alcohol hydrogen bonding to a π cloud, is presented. By isolating the complex in a supersonic jet, the rigorous comparability to high-level quantum chemical calculations is ensured. In stark contrast to classical hydrogen bonds, experimental overtone analysis reveals the harmonic oscillator approximation for the OH red shift to be accurate. Harmonic calculations up to explicitly correlated local coupled-cluster level are thus found to agree very well with experiment. The experimental OH values for the red shift (45 cm^–1), the small change in diagonal anharmonicity (–3 cm^–1) and the overtone intensity attenuation (2 × 10²-fold) together with theoretical predictions for the preferred structural arrangement and the zero-point-corrected dissociation energy (8 kJ mol^–1) may thus be regarded as definitive reference values for related systems and for more approximate computational methods. In particular, MP2 calculations are shown to fail for this kind of weak intermolecular interaction.     

Synthesis and theoretical study of first generation CCK-functional dendrimers

A convenient synthesis and theoretical study of five CCK-functional dendrimers is described.The dendritic cores were linked with the CCK(Trp-Met-Asp(OBn)-PheNH2) fragment by forming amide bonds to give five target molecules.The structures of CCK-functional dendrimers were characterized by NMR,MS spectrum and predicted using molecular mechanics and PM3 semi- empirical molecular orbital theory.     

Chemical bonds without "chemical bonding"? A combined experimental and theoretical charge density study on an iron trimethylenemethane complex

High-resolution X-ray diffraction data, in conjunction with DFT(B3LYP) quantum calculations, have been used in a QTAIM analysis of the charge density in the trimethylenemethane (TMM) complex Fe(eta(4)-C[CH(2)](3))(CO)(3). The agreement between the theoretical and experimental topological properties is excellent. Only one bond path is observed between the TMM ligand and the Fe atom, from the central C(alpha) atom. However, much evidence, including from the delocalization indices and the source function, suggests that there is a strong chemical interaction between the Fe and C(beta) atoms, despite the formal lack of chemical bonding according to QTAIM.     

A theoretical study of beta-sheet models: is the formation of hydrogen-bond networks cooperative?

The cooperativity in terms of enthalpy contribution for beta-sheet formation of polyglycine models in a vacuum has been studied theoretically by using a repeating unit approach. No cooperativity is found in the parallel direction for both the parallel and antiparallel beta-sheets. Cooperativity in the perpendicular direction is dependent upon the residue number (m) in each beta-strand. While there is large cooperativity in the acetamide hydrogen-bond chain (m = 0), the cooperativity is not large in beta-sheet networks (m > 0). SCIPCM solvent model calculations also significantly reduce the cooperativity in hydrogen-bond chains. It is concluded that cooperativity is mainly due to long-range electrostatic interactions and not due to the resonance effect.     

Complexes of α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins with nitrophenols: A theoretical study of the structure and energy

Detailed quantum mechanical calculations of the interaction of cyclodextrin (α-, β-, and γ-CD) with 4-nitrophenol (I), 4-nitro-2,6-dimethylphenol (II), 4-nitro-3,5-dimethylphenol (III), and their anions (IVVI) with the formation of intercalation complexes are carried out for the first time. The calculations of the compounds are performed within the density functional theory by the hybrid Becke–Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) method with LanL2DZ basis sets. For the α-CD+III and α-CD+VI complexes it is shown that a nitrophenol molecule of III and a nitrophenolate anion of VI are not contained in the α-CD torus, which agrees with the experimental equilibrium constants. It is found that the calculated equilibrium constants of the formation of guest–host complexes with phenolate anions are much larger than those of neutral molecules. The most stable CD complexes with nitrophenols and their anions should be expected for γ-CD. The β-CD complexes when the guest enters into the host cavity are formed only with compounds I, V, and VI.     

Enantioselective conjugate addition of nitro compounds to α,β-unsaturated ketones: an experimental and computational study

A series of chiral thioureas derived from easily available diamines, prepared from α-amino acids, have been tested as catalysts in the enantioselective Michael additions of nitroalkanes to α,β-unsaturated ketones. The best results are obtained with the bifunctional catalyst prepared from L-valine. This thiourea promotes the reaction with high enantioselectivities and chemical yields for aryl/vinyl ketones, but the enantiomeric ratio for alkyl/vinyl derivatives is very modest. The addition of substituted nitromethanes led to the corresponding adducts with excellent enantioselectivity but very poor diastereoselectivity. Evidence for the isomerization of the addition products has been obtained from the reaction of chalcone with [D(3)]nitromethane, which shows that the final addition products epimerize under the reaction conditions. The epimerization explains the low diastereoselectivity observed in the formation of adducts with two adjacent tertiary stereocenters. Density functional studies of the transition structures corresponding to two alternative activation modes of the nitroalkanes and α,β-unsaturated ketones by the bifunctional organocatalyst have been carried out at the B3LYP/3-21G* level. The computations are consistent with a reaction model involving the Michael addition of the thiourea-activated nitronate to the ketone activated by the protonated amine of the organocatalyst. The enantioselectivities predicted by the computations are consistent with the experimental values obtained for aryl- and alkyl-substituted α,β-unsaturated ketones.     

Substituents effect on thermal electrocyclic reaction of dihydroazulene–vinylheptafulvene photoswitch: a DFT study to improve the photoswitch

Thermal cyclization for a series of substituted vinylheptafulvenes (VHFs) to dihydroazulenes (DHAs) was studied at PBE0 method of density functional theory in the gas phase and in the acetonitrile solvent (through PCM). Judicious control of the thermal reaction through substituent is quite necessary to design thermally robust DHA–VHF photoswitches. For most of the substituents, DHA was predicted thermodynamically stable over VHF except for amino (in gas phase and solvent) and hydroxyl (in acetonitrile), where DHA isomers were calculated thermally unstable compared to VHF. Activation barriers for thermal electrocyclic reaction in both media showed positive correlation with Taft’s σ _R values at positions 7 and 5, however, a negative correlation was observed at position 4 and 6. The latter unprecedented behavior is proposed to arise from the delocalization of negative charges on the seven membered ring. Activation barriers for amino-substituted VHFs were generally lower than expected from Taft’s σ _R. A fluoro group at the position 7 was quite effective in imparting very high activation barrier (31.73 kcal mol^?1) for the thermal cyclization in the gas phase. However, in the acetonitrile solvent, the highest activation barriers were observed for electron withdrawing CHO (28.10 kcal mol^?1) and NO₂ (28.13 kcal mol^?1) groups at positions 7.     

Experimental and theoretical study of N-hexylcytosine and N-hexylcytosinium nitrate: the crucial role of hydrophobic and anion–π interactions

We report the synthesis and X-ray characterization of N¹-hexylcytosine (1) and N¹-hexylcytosinium nitrate (2). N¹-hexylcytosine (1) does not follow the same behaviour previously described for N¹-hexylthymine and N¹-hexyluracil in the solid state. This different behavior has been analyzed by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations including the latest available correction for dispersion (D3). In addition hydrophobic and anion–π noncovalent interactions play a key role in stabilizing the 3D architectures of the compounds, which have been energetically studied using theoretical calculations and compared with similar structures retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). The anion–π–anion binding mode observed for nitrate in compound 2 is also observed in several crystal structures involving cytosine ring coordinated to transition metals.     

A theoretical study of kinetics and mechanism of the oxa 6π electrocyclization of naphthoquinones as antimalarial drugs

Because of the importance of antimalarial drugs, a theoretical study of kinetics and mechanism of the oxa 6?? electrocyclization of naphthoquinones as antimalarial drugs, was performed using DFT method at B3LYP and HF levels of theory and using 6?C31G and 6?C31G* basis sets. Equilibrium molecular geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the reactant, transition state (TS), and product were calculated. The considered rate constants and activation thermodynamic parameters were calculated. The results showed a fairly agreement with experimental data. Our calculations showed that the reaction proceeds through an asynchronous concerted mechanism.     

First representative of phosphorylated formic acid hydrazides with three P—C bonds: synthesis and addition to the phosphorylated 4-methylenequinones

Russian Chemical Bulletin - Diethylphosphinylmethanehydrazide, the first representative of the phosphorylated formic acid hydrazides with three P—C bonds was obtained, which can exhibit...     

Photoinduced addition and addition–elimination reactions of perfluoroalkyl iodides to electron-deficient olefins

Photoinduced radical perfluoroalkylation of various simple electron-deficient olefins was achieved in the presence of an aqueous Na₂S₂O₃ solution. The reactions proceeded smoothly to give addition or addition–elimination products. The ability of the products to be used as radical precursors or Michael acceptors was also demonstrated.     

A graph‐theoretical approach to statistics and dynamics of tree‐like molecules

We present a new graphtheoretical method for calculating the dynamical and statistical properties of a Gaussian chain with various molecular architecture. The characteristic polynomial for its line graph, which has the bonds of a molecular graph as its beads with adjacency of bonds as in the graph, makes it possible to provide us with the general equation for calculating the radius of gyration of Gaussian chains and their relaxation spectra.