Experimental and theoretical study of the dissociation enthalpy of the N–O bond on 2-hydroxypyridine N-oxide: theoretical analysis of the energetics of the N–O bond for hydroxypyrydine N-oxide isomers

The standard (p^∘=0.1 MPa) molar enthalpy of formation of crystalline 2-hydroxypyridine N-oxide was measured, at T=298.15 K, by static bomb calorimetry and the standard molar enthalpy of sublimation, at T=298.15 K, was obtained using Calvet microcalorimetry. These values were used to derive the standard molar enthalpy of formation of 2-hydroxypyridine N-oxide in gaseous phase, and to evaluate the dissociation enthalpy of the N–O bond. Additionally, high-level density functional theory calculations using the B3LYP hybrid exchange-correlation energy functional have been performed for the three isomers of hydroxypyridine N-oxide in order to confirm the experimental trend for the dissociation enthalpy of the (N–O) bond.     

A theoretical study of the lowest electronic states of azobenzene: the role of torsion coordinate in the cis–trans photoisomerization

In the present paper we report the results of a multiconfigurational computational study on potential-energy curves of azobenzene along the NN twisting to clarify the role of this coordinate in the decay of the S₂(*) and S₁(n*) states. We have found that there is a singlet state, S₃ at the trans geometry, on the basis of the doubly excited configuration n²*², that has a deep minimum at about 90° of twisting, where it is the lowest excited singlet state. The existence of this state provides an explanation for the short lifetime of S₂(*) and for the wavelength-dependence of azobenzene photochemistry. We have characterized the S₁(n*) state by calculating its vibrational frequencies, which are found to correspond to the recently observed transient Raman spectrum. We have also computed the potential-energy curve for the triplet T₁(n*) at the density functional theory B3LYP level, which indicates that in this state the isomerization occurs along the twisting coordinate.Acknowledgement The financial support from MIUR (project Modellistica delle proprietà spettroscopiche di sistemi molecolari complessi funds ex 60% and project Dinamiche molecolari in sistemi di interesse chimico funds ex 40%), from the University of Bologna (Funds for Selected Research Topics) is gratefully acknowledged.Contribution to the Jacopo Tomasi Honorary Issue     

Valence bond theoretical study for chemical reactivity

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A perturbation theoretical method for determination of the dependence of the intramolecular X–H(D) potential on the hydrogen bond strength

A perturbation theoretical method is proposed that allows determination of the function describing the dependence of the intramolecular XH(D) potential on the hydrogen bond strength. Treating the XH(D) oscillators as mixed cubic–quartic oscillators in which the stretch–stretch couplings of the ν(X–H(D)) mode with the internal modes of the radical X may be neglected, and introducing the hydrogen bonding influence through the changes in the harmonic diagonal force constants (as proposed by Sceats and Rice [41]), it is possible to extract the analytical form of the function ) from the experimental versus correlations. The other parameters obtained by the empirical correlations, within this model, also have an exact physical meaning. The method is applicable to weak hydrogen bonds as well as to hydrogen bonds of intermediate strength, and, strictly speaking, to linear X– systems. However, extension to arbitrary geometry may be easily done. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

L-cysteine-regulated in situ formation of Prussian blue/Turnbull’s blue nanoparticles as the colorimetric probe for the detection of copper ion

A fast, simple, sensitive, and selective colorimetric method for the detection of Cu²⁺ was developed using Prussian blue/Turnbull’s blue nanoparticles (PBNPs/TBNPs) as the probe. The colorimetric sensor is based on the following principle. Cu²⁺ can induce the aggregation of L-cysteine (L-cys) modified-PBNPs/TBNPs (L-cys-PBNPs/TBNPs), resulting in an obvious red shift of its maximum absorption peak. Thus, the concentration of Cu²⁺ can be determined based on the peak shift in the UV–Vis spectra. The optimal pH, concentration of L-cys, reaction temperature between L-cys-PBNPs/TBNPs and Cu²⁺, the formation time of L-cys-PBNPs/TBNPs, and the reaction time between L-cys-PBNPs/TBNPs and Cu²⁺ of the method were determined to be pH 4.5, 2.0 mM, 20 °C, 5.0 min, and 2.0 min, respectively. A good linearity for the colorimetric determination of Cu²⁺ at the range of 0.25–2.5 μM (R² = 0.986) was obtained, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.12 μM. Moreover, the negligible response of other metal ions demonstrates good selectivity and specificity of the sensor. In addition, the method was employed in the detection of Cu²⁺ in lake water samples, and the spiked recoveries are in the range of 96.7–106.6% with a relative standard deviation less than 7.4%. Therefore, the colorimetric method is applicable for Cu²⁺ detection in real water samples of high sensitivity and selectivity.     

A theoretical study of electronic excited states of photosynthetic reaction center in Rhodopseudomonas viridis

As well known,photosynthesis is the most impor-tant biochemical process on the earth.With a few mi-nor exceptions,photosynthesis is the only mechanism by which an external source of energy is harnessed by the living world.As a crucial composition of photo…     

Characteristics of copper sulfide nanoparticles obtained in the copper sulfate–sodium thiosulfate system

Stable hydrosols of copper sulfide nanoparticles are synthesized by heating aqueous solutions with different ratios of sodium thiosulfate and copper sulfate in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone and studied by a number of physicochemical methods in situ (optical spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering) and ex situ (transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The main product is CuS covellite nanoparticles with some impurities of other phases (Cu₂S, Cu_1,8S, Cu₇S₄). With an increase in the initial molar ratio S₂O ^2?₃ / Cu from 0.2 to 5 the nanoparticle size increases from 1-5 nm to 30-50 nm and then decreases to 4 nm at a ratio of 10. A substantial increase in the intensity of plasmon absorption within 800-1500 nm is observed during the formation of planar nanoparticles with a lateral size of about 30 nm at S₂O ^2?₃:Cu = 5. A band gap obtained from both direct and indirect optical absorption spectra of sulfides (2.6 eV and 1.7 eV respectively) remains constant for all particles.     

Study of the An–Cl bond contraction in actinide trichlorides

The variation of the An–Cl bond distance in ground-state actinide trichloride (AnCl₃) molecules has been studied by density functional theory calculations using the B3LYP exchange–correlation functional in conjunction with small-core relativistic energy-consistent pseudopotentials for the actinides. The ground electronic states and the ground-state molecular properties of the trichlorides of heavy actinides (An = Bk–Lr) are reported in this paper the first time. Extending the present results with literature data on the light actinide trichlorides (AnCl₃, An = Th–Cm), the trend in the bond distance has been evaluated for the whole actinide row. The contraction is well manifested in the major part of the actinide row (An = U–Fm). The deviations at the beginning (Th, Pa) and end of the row (Md, No) have been explained by minor differences in the bonding interactions.     

Photodynamic cross-linking of proteins: IV. Nature of the His–His bond(s) formed in the rose bengal-photosensitized cross-linking of N-benzoyl-L-histidine

The photodynamic (photosensitized) cross-linking of N-benzoyl-L-histidine (Bz-His) as a model system was examined as part of a continuing study of the role of His–His intermolecular cross-links in the photosensitized cross-linking of proteins. The illumination of Bz-His in the presence of rose bengal (RB) bound to water insoluble plastic beads in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer of pH 7.4 resulted in the covalent cross-linking of the His derivative. The main dimeric cross-linked product (1) was isolated using a preparative silica gel 60 column and purified by preparative reverse phase HPLC. The chemical structure of the cross-link was determined using MS, 2D NMR spectral methods and other standard techniques. Product 1 was found to be a dimer of two His residues between the δ2-carbon of one residue (photo-oxidized to the carbonyl functionality at the ε1-carbon) and the ε2-nitrogen of the other residue. The formation of His–His cross-links was mediated by singlet oxygen, as would be expected with RB as the sensitizer. A mechanism for the formation of the cross-link was proposed in which the first step was the 1,4-cycloaddition of singlet oxygen to the Bz-His imidazole ring to give an unstable endoperoxide. This then underwent changes followed by nucleophilic addition and the elimination of one molecule of water to give 1.     

What makes for a good catalytic cycle? A theoretical study of the SPhos ligand in the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

The Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction with the SPhos ligand was studied with DFT and analyzed within the energetic span model. With this information, we designed a modification to the SPhos (the "InPhos"), which theoretically corrects the deficiencies of the prior ligand.     

Homolytic dissociation in hydrogen-bonding liquids: energetics of the phenol O–H bond in methanol and the water O–H bond in water

The energetics of the phenol O–H bond in methanol and the water O–H bond in liquid water were investigated by microsolvation modelling and statistical mechanics Monte Carlo simulations. The microsolvation approach was based on density functional theory calculations. Optimised structures for clusters of phenol and the phenoxy radical with one and two methanol molecules are reported. By analysing the differential solvation of phenol and the phenoxy radical in methanol, we predict that the phenol O–H homolytic bond dissociation enthalpy in solution is 24.3±11 kJ/mol above the gas-phase value. The analysis of the water O–H bond dissociation by microsolvation was based on optimised structures of OH–(H₂O)_1–6 and –(H₂O)_1–7 clusters. Microsolvation modelling and statistical mechanics simulations predict that the HO–H bond dissociation enthalpies in the gas phase and in liquid water are very similar. Our results stress the importance of estimating the differences between the solvation enthalpies of the radical species and the parent molecule and the limitations of local models based on microsolvation.Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Quantum Chemistry satellite meeting in honor of Jean-Louis Rivail     

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.     

A theoretical form of the Martin-Hou equation of state

A new equation of state is derived from the Barker-Henderson hard-sphere perturbation theory. It has the form similar to the Martin-Hou equation of state. The numerical values of the characteristic constants in the equation can be calculated by the method of Martin and Hou. The equation can be used to predict P-V-T properties accurately for fluids when the critical parameters (T_c, P_c and V_c) and one point on the vapor pressure cure are given. By using the functional relationships between the characteristic constants and the microscopic parameters, the molecular microscopic parameters of the substance can be obtained.     

C–H bond activation in the total syntheses of natural products

The transition metal-mediated C–H bond activation has emerged as a powerful and ideal method for the total syntheses of natural products and pharmaceuticals, and has had a significant impact on synthetic planning and strategy in complex natural products.In this review, we describe selected recent examples of the transition metal-mediated C–H bond activation strategies for the rapid syntheses of natural products.     

The nature of the P–P bond in carbene-stabilized diphosphorus complex

The nature of the P–P bond in the recently synthesized N-heterocyclic carbene-stabilized diphosphorus complex has been investigated by the built-in fragment-oriented approach using DFT calculations. The result leads us to investigate the stabilization of diphosphorus. It is concluded that a weakening factor, which can be engendered through such methods as orbital mixing, antibonding interaction, or ligand–receptor interactions, is the key to stabilize the highly reactive diphosphorus molecule.     

A new insight on hydrogen bond donor property of bridged B–H–B protons in the interaction of diborane with some hydrogen bond acceptor molecules

Structural Chemistry - Ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) computational level were used to analyze the interactions between a molecule of B2H6 with some small molecules which often...     

Effects of bulky substituent groups on the Si–Si triple bonding in RSiSiR and the short Ga–Ga distance in Na2[RGaGaR]: A theoretical study

The steric and electronic effects of bulky aryl and silyl groups on the Si–Si triple bonding in RSiSiR and the short Ga–Ga distance in Na₂[RGaGaR] are investigated by density functional calculations. As typical bulky groups, Tbt = C₆H₂-2,4,6-{CH(SiMe₃)₂}₃, Ar′ = C₆H₃-2,6-(C₆H₃-2,6-iPr₂)₂, Ar¹ = C₆H₃-2,6-(C₆H₂-2,4,6-iPr₃)₂, SiMe(SitBu₃)₂, and SiiPrDis₂ (Dis = CH(SiMe₃)₂) are investigated and characterized. The importance of large basis sets is emphasized for density functional calculations.     

A tristimulus colorimetric study of the acid–base properties of 6,7-dihydroxybenzopyrylium chlorides in solutions

The acid–base equilibria of 6,7-dihydroxybenzopyrylium chloride derivatives in solutions are studied by tristimulus colorimetry. The ionization constants of their functional groups are determined. Possible schemes of the equilibria and the distribution diagrams of the ion-molecular forms of the reagents are proposed depending on the pH of the medium. It is shown that tristimulus colorimetry can be used to determine the protonation and hydroxylation constants of the dyes. The relation between these constants and the charges on the oxygen atoms and 2-C atoms of the benzopyrylium ring is established.