A DFT study on the mechanisms for the cycloaddition reactions between 1‐Aza‐2‐azoniaallene cations and carbodiimides

The mechanisms of the title reactions between 1‐aza‐2‐azoniaallene cations and carbodiimides in the gas phase have been examined using the Becke‐3‐parameter‐Lee‐Yang‐Parr (B3LYP) at 6‐31++G** level. The theoretical results revealed that the reaction is a domino reaction that comprises two consecutive reactions: an ionic [3+2] cycloaddition reaction between 1‐aza‐2‐azoniallene cation and carbodiimide to yield the cycloadduct 3 and then a [1,2]‐shift to yield the thermodynamically more stable adduct 4 . Both stepwise and concerted pathways are accessible in the first cycloaddition in the model reaction. The activation barriers of them are almost equivalent. For the [1,2]‐shift reactions, both of the electron‐withdrawing chlorine substituent and the electron‐releasing methyl substituent on the 1‐aza‐2‐azoniaallene cation can facilitate the reaction but have little effects when substituted in the carbodiimide moiety. The model reaction has also been investigated at the QCISD (quadratic configuration interaction using single and double substitutions)/6‐31++G** and CCSD(T) (coupled cluster calculations with single and double excitations and a perturbative estimate of triple contributions calculations)/6‐31++G** levels as well as by the density functional theory. In addition, solvent effects with the isodensity‐surface polarized continuum model are also reported for all the reactions. In solvent dichloromethane, the cycloadducts of all the reactions, except model reaction and reaction d, were obtained from reactants directly as the result of the solvent effect. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Substituent effects on the stability of 1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐one tautomers: A density functional study

The relative stability of 1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐one tautomers in the gas phase and model solvents was calculated at the M06 and ωB97XD levels of theory. The two density functionals were benchmarked earlier and demonstrated as excellent models to study tautomerism in a vast array of chemical systems. A number of commercially available 1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐ones were investigated computationally for the first time. In addition, some biologically active and newly devised benzodiazepines were considered, which may be important in designing structures with desired (bio)chemical features. Special attention was paid to determine substituent effects on the Gibbs free energies of keto, enol, and iminol forms for each respective benzodiazepine. It was demonstrated that (i) the replacement of the benzene ring by the heterocyclic ring in the benzodiazepine system may stabilize the iminol tautomer, and (ii) the electron‐withdrawing substituent at the C3‐position of the respective benzodiazepine may stabilize the enol tautomer relative to the parent keto form. It is concluded that substituent effects may govern the chemical reactivity and biological properties of selected benzodiazepines.     

Molecular design of all nitrogen pentazole‐based high energy density compounds with oxygen balance equal to zero

We designed a new family of pentazole‐based high energy density compounds with oxygen balance equal to zero by introducing −NH₂, −NO₂, −N₃, −CF₂NF₂, and −C[NO₂]₃, and the properties including density, heats of formation, detonation performances, and impact sensitivity were investigated using density functional theory. The results show that half of these new energetic molecules exhibit higher densities than RDX (1.82 g/cm³), in which H5 gives the highest density of 2.09 g/cm³. Among all the 54 designed molecules, 22 compounds have higher D and P than RDX and eleven compounds have higher D and P than HMX, indicating that designing the pentazole‐based derivatives with oxygen balance equal to zero is a very effective way to obtain potential energetic compounds with outstanding detonation properties. Taking both the detonation performance and stability into consideration, nine compounds may be recognized as potential candidates of high energy density compounds. It is expected that our results will contribute to the theoretical design of new‐generation energetic explosives.     

DFT study of the gas‐phase thermal decomposition kinetics of 2‐ethoxypyridine into 2‐pyridone

The mechanism of the gas‐phase elimination kinetics of 2‐ethoxypyridine has been studied through the electronic structure calculations using density functional methods: B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p), B3LYP/6‐31++G(d,p), B3PW91/6‐31G(d,p), B3PW91/6‐31++G(d,p), MPW1PW91/6‐31G(d,p), MPW1PW91/6‐31++G(d,p), PBEPBE/6‐31G(d,p), PBEPBE/6‐31++G(d,p), PBE1PBE1/6‐31G(d,p), and PBE1PBE1/6‐31++G(d,p). The elimination reaction of 2‐ethoxypyridine occurs through a six‐centered transition state geometry involving the pyridine nitrogen, the substituted carbon of the aromatic ring, the ethoxy oxygen, two carbons of the ethoxy group, and a hydrogen atom, which migrates from the ethoxy group to the nitrogen to give 2‐pyridone and ethylene. The reaction mechanism appears to occur with the participation of π‐electrons, similar to alkyl vinyl ether elimination reaction, with simultaneous ethylene formation and hydrogen migration to the pyridine nitrogen producing 2‐pyridone. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

A TD‐DFT study on the cyanide‐chemosensing mechanism of 8‐formyl‐7‐hydroxycoumarin

Proton transfer (PT) and excited‐state PT process are proposed to account for the fluorescent sensing mechanism of a cyanide chemosensor, 8‐formyl‐7‐hydroxycoumarin. The time‐dependent density functional theory method has been applied to investigate the ground and the first singlet excited electronic states of this chemosensor as well as its nucleophilic addition product with cyanide, with a view to monitoring their geometries and spectrophotometrical properties. The present theoretical study indicates that phenol proton of the chemosensor transfers to the formyl group along the intramolecular hydrogen bond in the first singlet excited state. Correspondingly, the nucleophilic addition product undergoes a PT process in the ground state, and shows a similar structure in the first singlet excited state. This could explain the observed strong fluorescence upon the addition of the cyanide anion in the relevant fluorescent sensing mechanism. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011     

Fluorinated benzoxazines and the structure‐property relationship of resulting polybenzoxazines

Three fluorinated benzoxazines ( 14–16 ), which cannot be synthesized by the traditional one‐step approaches, were synthesized by a three‐step procedure using fluorinated aromatic diamines ( 2–4 ) as starting materials. The structures of the monomers were confirmed by ¹H NMR, IR, and high‐resolution mass spectra. The low dielectric thermosets, P( 14–16 ), were prepared by ring‐opening of ( 14–16 ). IR analysis was utilized to monitor the ring‐opening reaction of ( 14–16 ) and to propose the structures of P( 14–16 ). The thermal and dielectric properties of P( 14–16 ) were studied and compared with a nonfluorinated polybenzoxazine P( 13 ), which is derived form the ring‐opening of 2,2‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl)propane ( 1 ). Besides, the structure–property relationship of the P( 13–16 ) is discussed. According to T_g measurement, the ortho‐positioned CF₃ substituents impart greater steric hindrance for ring‐opening of benzoxazines than CF₃ substituents of hexafluoropropane. Incorporating a biphenol F‐based benzoxazine, ( F‐a ), into fluorinated benzoxazines ( 15–16 ) can dilute the effect of ortho‐positioned CF₃ substituents on steric hindrance, leading to a higher crosslinking density and consequently a higher Tg. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4970–4983, 2008     

Remarkably stable amphiphilic random copolymer assemblies: A structure–property relationship study

Synthesis of a library of amphiphilic random copolymers from a single reactive pre‐polymer and their self‐assembly is reported. Post‐polymerization modifications of the parent polymer containing pendant N‐hydroxy succinimide (NHS) ester groups with various oligooxyethylene (OE) amines produce amphiphilic random copolymers with same degree of polymerization and equal extent of randomness. ¹H‐NMR and FT‐IR data indicate quantitative substitution in all cases. The critical aggregation concentration (CAC) for all the polymers is estimated to be in the range of 10^?5 M. Stability of these nano‐aggregates is studied by photoluminescence using time dependent F—rster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between co‐encapsulated lipophilic dyes namely DiO and DiI in the hydrophobic pocket of the aggregates. These studies suggest remarkably high stability for all systems. However those with shorter hydrophilic pendant chains are found to be even more robust. Morphology is examined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) which reveals multi‐micellar clusters and vesicles for polymers containing short and longer OE segments, respectively. Encapsulation efficacy is tested with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic guest molecules. All of them can encapsulate hydrophobic guest pyrene while a hydrophilic dye Calcein can be sequestered only in vesicle forming polymers. Lower critical solution temperature (LCST) is exhibited by only one polymer that contains the shortest OE chains. All polymers exhibit excellent cell viability as determined by MTT assay. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4932–4943     

Low bandgap π‐conjugated copolymers based on fused thiophenes and benzothiadiazole: Synthesis and structure‐property relationship study

A series of low bandgap conjugated polymers consisting of benzothiadiazole alternating with dithienothiophene (DTT) or dithienopyrrole (DTP) unit with or without 3‐alkylthiophene bridge have been synthesized. Effect of the fused rings and 3‐alkylthiophene bridge on the thermal, optical, electrochemical, charge transport, and photovoltaic properties of these polymers have been investigated. These polymers show broad absorption extending from 300 to 1000 nm with optical bandgaps as low as 1.2 eV; the details of which can be varied either by incorporating 3‐alkylthiophene bridge or by replacing DTT with DTP. The LUMO levels (?2.9 to ?3.3 eV) are essentially unaffected by the specific choice of donor moiety, whereas the HOMO levels (?4.6 to ?5.6 eV) are more sensitive to the choice of donor. The DTT and DTP polymers with 3‐alkylthiophene bridge were found to exhibit hole mobilities of 8 × 10^?5 and 3 × 10^?2 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively, in top‐contact organic field‐effect transistors. Power conversion efficiencies in the range 0.17–0.43% were obtained under simulated AM 1.5, 100 mW cm^?2 irradiation for polymer solar cells using the DTT and DTP‐based polymers with 3‐alkylthiophene bridge as donor and fullerene derivatives as acceptor. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5498–5508, 2009     

Synthesis and structure–property relationship of carbazole‐alt‐benzothiadiazole copolymers

A series of four π‐conjugated carbazole‐alt‐benzothiadiazole copolymers (PCBT) were prepared by Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction between synthesized dibromocarbazoles as electron‐rich subunits and 4,7‐bis(4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolan‐2‐yl)?2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole as electron‐deficient subunits. The subunits were directly linked through 2,7‐ or 3,6‐ positions of the carbazole. In addition, the carbazole monomers have been N‐substituted by a branched or a linear side‐chain. The chemical structure of the copolymers and their precursors was confirmed by NMR and IR spectroscopies, and their molar masses were estimated by SEC. Thermal analysis under N₂ atmosphere showed no weight loss below 329°C, and no glass transition was observed in between 0 and 250°C. The band gaps of all PCBTs evaluated by optical spectroscopies and by cyclic voltammetry analysis were consistent with expectations and ranged between 2.2 and 2.3 eV. Finally, 2,7 and 3,6 linkages were shown to influence optical properties of PCBTs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2059–2068     

Computational study of 4‐fluoro‐4‐chloro‐ and 4‐fluoro‐4‐bromo‐4‐silathiacyclohexane S‐oxides: Effect of halogen on the SO→Si intramolecular coordination in the boat and twist conformers

Chair, twist, and boat conformations of axial and equatorial 4‐fluoro‐4‐chloro‐ and 4‐fluoro‐4‐bromo‐4‐silathiacyclohexane S‐oxides have been calculated at the second‐order Møller–Plesset (MP2) and density functional theory (DFT) levels of theory. The 2,5‐twist and 1,4‐boat conformers of the axial sulfoxides are stabilized by transannular interaction between the sulfinyl oxygen and silicon to give trigonal bipyramidal geometry at silicon. The stability of conformers containing pentacoordinate silicon is governed by the balance of the transannular sulfinyl oxygen–silicon coordination, nonbonded H…H and O…Hlg_ax interactions, electronegativity of Hlg_ax and nucleofugality of Hlg_eq, and may approach the stability of the lowest‐energy chair conformers. The effect of pentacoordination on the energy and geometry of Si‐halogenated 4‐silathiane S‐oxides is analyzed as a function of the halogen nature and position. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

A DFT study on the insertion of CO2 into styrene oxide catalyzed by 1‐butyl‐3‐methyl‐Imidazolium bromide ionic liquid

Green systems able to capture or fix CO₂ are becoming more important specially to reduce environmental impacts. In this work, the mechanism of insertion of CO₂ into styrene oxide (STYO) both in the absence and presence of the catalyst 1‐butyl‐3‐methyl‐imidazolium bromide (BMIm Br) was investigated through calculations based on density functional theory in the ωB97X‐D level. Two different routes were considered and it was shown they are energetically available and compete against each other. For both routes, the rate‐determinant step is the ring opening of STYO resulting from the nucleophilic attack of the Br^? on the C atom from STYO and is associated mainly to the participation of the cation and the anion from the catalyst in the reaction. Reactive indices and noncovalent interaction analysis were used as a tool to investigate this reason. This work allowed a better comprehension of the underlying mechanism and the supplied data provide valuable support for the design of new more efficient ionic liquid catalyst. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Nitrogen‐Rich Energetic Monoanionic Salts of 3,4‐Bis(1 H‐5‐tetrazolyl)furoxan

3,4‐Bis(1H‐5‐tetrazolyl)furoxan (H₂BTF, 2 ) and its monoanionic salts that contain nitrogen‐rich cations were readily synthesized and fully characterized by multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C) and IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and elemental analyses. Hydrazinium ( 3 ) and 4‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazolium ( 7 ) salts crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n and have calculated densities of 1.820 and 1.764 g cm^?3, respectively. The densities of the energetic salts range between 1.63 and 1.79 g cm^?3, as measured by a gas pycnometer. Detonation pressures and detonation velocities were calculated to be 23.1–32.5 GPa and 7740–8790 m s^?1, respectively.     

The Many Faces of FOX‐7: A Precursor to High‐Performance Energetic Materials

New derivatives of 1,1‐diamino‐2, 2‐dinitroethene (FOX‐7) are reported. These highly oxygen‐ and nitrogen‐rich compounds were fully characterized using IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis (EA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). X‐ray structure determination of (E)‐1,2‐bis{(E)‐2‐chloro‐1‐(chloroimino)‐2,2‐dinitroethyl}diazene) ( 10 ), N1, N2‐dichloro‐1, 2‐diazenedicarboximidamide ( 11 ), and (E,E)‐N,N′‐1,2‐ethanediylidenebis(2, 2‐dinitro‐2‐chloro‐ethanamine) ( 12 ) was helpful in their characterization. Heats of formation (HOF) were calculated (Gaussian 03) and combined with experimental densities to estimate the detonation velocities (D) and pressures (P) of the high‐energy‐density materials (HEDMs) (EXPLO5, v6.01). The compounds exhibit good thermal stability, high density, positive HOF, acceptable oxygen balances, and excellent detonation properties, which often are superior to that of 1,3,5‐trinitroperhydro‐1,3,5‐triazine (RDX).     

DFT study on the second‐order nonlinear optical property of 12‐vertex close‐carborane derivatives

Density functional theory (DFT) BHandHLYP method based on the 6‐31G(d) level was employed to optimize the structures of 12‐vertex substituted carboranes. The finite field (FF) method was adopted to study their second‐order nonlinear optical coefficients. Moreover, the electron spectra of systems were analyzed. The results show carboranes with alkali‐metal substituted have considerably large first hyperpolarizability (β_tot) values which is 2–3 order of magnitude larger than that of unsubstituted carborane (14.5 a.u). For halogen and organic group substituted systems, however, the β_tot values are only enhanced by one order of magnitude. The β values of carboranes obviously enhance after alkali‐metal substitution. This study may evoke the possibility to explore a new thriving area, i.e., alkali‐metal substituted carboranes for NLO application. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

2,6-二氨基-3,5-二硝基吡嗪-1-氧化物(LLM-105)晶体结构、安全性及密度泛函理论研究

利用DMSO和水的混合溶剂培养出2,6-二氨基-3,5-二硝基吡嗪-1-氧化物(LLM-105)的单晶,晶体属单斜晶系,空间群为Pna2(1)。运用Dmol3中的密度泛函理论计算了LLM-105的晶体性质,态密度计算表明C-N 为该物质的热解引发键。通过设计等键反应预测得到LLM-105的生成热(HOF),结合HOF与晶体密度利用 Kamlet-Jacobs公式得到该物质的爆速、爆压;键断裂能的计算结果表明 C-NO2为热解引发键。运用微热量仪对其进行比热容测定,由比热容与温度的关系式及LLM-105的热分解参数得到了该化合物从开始分解到爆炸所需的时间即绝热至爆时间。     

Reactions of 2‐Unsubstituted 1H‐Imidazole 3‐Oxides with 2,2‐Bis(trifluoromethyl)ethene‐1,1‐dicarbonitrile: A Stepwise 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloaddition

The reaction of 1,4,5‐trisubstituted 1H‐imidazole‐3‐oxides 1 with 2,2‐bis(trifluoromethyl)ethene‐1,1‐dicarbonitrile ( 7 , BTF) yielded the corresponding 1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐imidazol‐2‐ones 10 and 2‐(1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐imidazol‐2‐ylidene)malononitriles 11 , respectively, depending on the solvent used. In one example, a 1 : 1 complex, 12 , of the 1H‐imidazole 3‐oxide and hexafluoroacetone hydrate was isolated as a second product. The formation of the products is explained by a stepwise 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition and subsequent fragmentation. The structures of 11d and 12 were established by X‐ray crystallography.     

Experimental and Theoretical Studies on the Rearrangement of 2‐Oxoazepane α,α‐Amino Acids into 2′‐Oxopiperidine β2,3,3‐Amino Acids: An Example of Intramolecular Catalysis

Enantiopure β‐amino acids represent interesting scaffolds for peptidomimetics, foldamers and bioactive compounds. However, the synthesis of highly substituted analogues is still a major challenge. Herein, we describe the spontaneous rearrangement of 4‐carboxy‐2‐oxoazepane α,α‐amino acids to lead to 2′‐oxopiperidine‐containing β^2,3,3‐amino acids, upon basic or acid hydrolysis of the 2‐oxoazepane α,α‐amino acid ester. Under acidic conditions, a totally stereoselective synthetic route has been developed. The reordering process involved the spontaneous breakdown of an amide bond, which typically requires strong conditions, and the formation of a new bond leading to the six‐membered heterocycle. A quantum mechanical study was carried out to obtain insight into the remarkable ease of this rearrangement, which occurs at room temperature, either in solution or upon storage of the 4‐carboxylic acid substituted 2‐oxoazepane derivatives. This theoretical study suggests that the rearrangement process occurs through a concerted mechanism, in which the energy of the transition states can be lowered by the participation of a catalytic water molecule. Interestingly, it also suggested a role for the carboxylic acid at position 4 of the 2‐oxoazepane ring, which facilitates this rearrangement, participating directly in the intramolecular catalysis.     

A comparative study of two polymorphs of bis(1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropan‐2‐aminium) carbonate

Alkanolamines have been known for their high CO₂ absorption for over 60 years and are used widely in the natural gas industry for reversible CO₂ capture. In an attempt to crystallize a salt of (RS)‐2‐(3‐benzoylphenyl)propionic acid with 2‐amino‐2‐methylpropan‐1‐ol, we obtained instead a polymorph (denoted polymorph II) of bis(1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropan‐2‐aminium) carbonate, 2C₄H₁₂NO⁺·CO₃²⁻, (I), suggesting that the amine group of the former compound captured CO₂ from the atmosphere forming the aminium carbonate salt. This new polymorph was characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis at low temperature (100 K). The salt crystallizes in the monoclinic system (space group C2/c, Z = 4), while a previously reported form of the same salt (denoted polymorph I) crystallizes in the triclinic system (space group P, Z = 2) [Barzagli et al. (2012). ChemSusChem, 5 , 1724–1731]. The asymmetric unit of polymorph II contains one 1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropan‐2‐aminium cation and half a carbonate anion, located on a twofold axis, while the asymmetric unit of polymorph I contains two cations and one anion. These polymorphs exhibit similar structural features in their three‐dimensional packing. Indeed, similar layers of an alternating cation–anion–cation neutral structure are observed in their molecular arrangements. Within each layer, carbonate anions and 1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylpropan‐2‐aminium cations form planes bound to each other through N—H…O and O—H…O hydrogen bonds. In both polymorphs, the layers are linked to each other via van der Waals interactions and C—H…O contacts. In polymorph II, a highly directional C—H…O contact (C—H…O = 156°) shows as a hydrogen‐bonding interaction. Periodic theoretical density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that both polymorphs present very similar stabilities.     

PO → Si intramolecular coordination in the derivatives of 1,4‐phosphasilacyclohexane 1‐oxides

The chair and boat conformers for a series of derivatives of 1,4‐phosphasilacyclohexane 1‐oxides have been calculated at the B3LYP/6‐311+G** level of theory in the gas phase and taking into account the effect of solvent polarity using the IEF‐PCM model. The stability of the boat conformers containing pentacoordinate silicon due to formation of the P?O→Si intramolecular coordination bond depends on the environment of the phosphorus atom and polarity of the solvent, and the strength of the transannular bond depends also on the nature of the substituents at the silicon atom. The highly polar boat conformers are strongly stabilized in the DMSO solution. NBO analysis showed the importance of the σ(C? Si) → σ*(H₃C? N) hyperconjugative interaction in the two H₃C? N? C? Si fragments of the ring favoring the formation of the pentacoordinate silicon atom. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009