Far-infrared spectroscopy of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Both experimental and theoretical spectroscopic studies on small gas phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the far-infrared spectral region are reported. The experimental set-up based on thermal emission and Fourier transform far infrared analysis led to the detection of relatively broad vibrational bands, unresolved in rotation, representative of each molecule. Detailed theoretical investigations were performed, including both ab initio calculations and spectral simulations. For the majority of the samples, this study provides the first detection of the vibrational modes associated with the skeleton motions.     

Visualizing electron delocalization in contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Electron delocalization in contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules was examined through 3D isotropic magnetic shielding (IMS) contour maps built around the molecules using pseudo-van der Waals surfaces. The resulting maps of electron delocalization provided an intuitive, yet detailed and quantitative evaluation of the aromatic, non aromatic, and antiaromatic character of the local and global conjugated cyclic circuits distributed over the molecules. An attractive pictural feature of the 3D IMS contour maps is that they are reminiscent of the Clar π-sextet model of aromaticity. The difference in delocalization patterns between the two faces of the electron circuits in contorted PAHs was clearly visualized. For π-extended contorted PAHs, some splits of the π system resulted in recognizable patterns typical of smaller PAHs. The differences between the delocalization patterns of diastereomeric chiral PAHs could also be visualized. Mapping IMS on pseudo-van der Waals surfaces around contorted PAHs allowed visualization of their superimposed preferred circuits for electron delocalization and hence their local and global aromaticity patterns.

Electron delocalization in contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules was examined through 3D isotropic magnetic shielding (IMS) contour maps built around the molecules using pseudo-van der Waals surfaces.     

The characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Raman spectroscopy

High quality Raman spectra, substantially free from fluorescence interference, have been obtained from 11 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in the solid state, using a Fourier Transform spectrometer. These spectra are rich in sharp bands and, merely by utilizing the limited number of strong peaks it is possible to characterize each hydrocarbon uniquely. The presence of an appreciable number of peaks of medium intensity in each spectrum considerably increases the specificity. The scope and limitations of these spectra for analytical purposes are discussed.     

Accurate and efficient method for predicting thermochemistry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - bond-centered group additivity

A self-consistent estimation method for the thermochemical properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is presented. This method is based on enthalpies of formation (DeltaHf(degrees), entropies (S(degrees)298, and heat capacities (C(degrees)p obtained from B3LYP/6-31G(d) calculations of the total energies and frequencies for 139 PAHs, including C(60) and C(70) fullerenes. The enthalpies of formation were calculated using an optimized set of homodesmic reactions given the available experimental DeltaHf(degrees) of PAHs. The theoretical entropies were compared with the existing experimental entropies, and some inconsistencies in the experimental data were identified. The estimation method presented here is a systematic extension of the widely employed atom-centered group additivity method originally proposed by Benson. This new method is based on bond-centered groups that define bonds linking two atom-centered groups and specify the size of the rings to which they belong. In addition, a term to describe the resonance energy is included. The thermochemical properties of PAHs up to C(70) fullerene are estimated with a mean average deviation of 2.8 kcal mol(-1) in DeltaHf(degrees), 0.7 cal K(-1) mol(-1) in S(degrees)298, and about 0.5 cal K(-1) mol(-1) in the C(degrees)p. This bond-centered group additivity method for the thermochemical properties of PAHs significantly expands both the range of systems that can be estimated and the accuracy of the estimations. The results of this work also allow us to assess the quality of available experimental data. For example, there are strong indications that the literature DeltaHf(degrees)of benzo[k]fluoranthene is about 10 kcal mol(-1) too low.     

Chemical analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for trace determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is described. This paper focuses on the development of SERS-active substrates that are specific for the characterization and spectroscopic study of PAHs. The SERS-active substrates are based on thin gold films evaporated on a glass surface previously treated with a mercaptoalkylsilane. SERS of PAHs was investigated over uncoated gold island films and over such films coated with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 1-propanethiol. Adsorption of PAHs on a plain SERS-active Au-film led to a surface-induced decomposition of PAHs, due to catalytic properties of nanostructured gold. Thus, the functionalization of the SERS-active substrates by means of SAM was done aiming at a specific chemical interaction toward PAHs. Thus, in addition to preventing decomposition of the PAHs, the coating also concentrates the hydrophobic PAHs close enough to the SERS-active interface. Results show that high sensitivity, SERS-active nanostructured gold substrates that show selectivity towards PAHs were obtained, with the following properties: strong intensification of the Raman signal, reproducibility, and stability over time. The employed methodology enables the observation of excellent Raman spectra of PAHs in aqueous environment at ppm levels.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by electron spin resonance spectrometry

The use of electron spin resonance spectrometry with a modern instrument is described for the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) down to nanogram levels, after adsorption on calcined silica/alumina. A single PAH or the total number of moles of PAHs can be determined. Implication for liquid chromatography are discussed.     

Cyclopentadiene annulated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: investigations of electron affinities

The adiabatic electron affinities of cyclopentadiene and 10 associated benzannelated derivatives have been predicted with both density functional and Hartree-Fock theory. These systems can also be regarded as benzenoid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) augmented with five-membered rings. Like the PAHs, the electron affinities of the present systems generally increase with the number of rings. To unequivocally bind an electron, cyclopentadiene must have at least two conventionally fused benzene rings. 1H-Benz[f]indene, a naphthalene-annulated cyclopentadiene, is predicted to have a zero-point energy corrected adiabatic electron affinity of 0.13 eV. Since the experimental E(A) of naphthalene is negative (-0.19 eV), the five-membered ring appendage contributes to the stability of the naphthalene-derived 1H-benz[f]indene radical anion significantly. The key to binding the electron is a contiguous sequence of fused benzenes, since fluorene, the isomer of 1H-benz[f]indene, with separated six-membered rings, has an electron affinity of -0.07 eV. Each additional benzene ring in the sequence fused to cyclopentadiene increases the electron affinity by 0.15-0.65 eV: the most reliable predictions are cyclopentadiene (-0.63 eV), indene (-0.49 eV), fluorene (-0.07 eV), 1H-benz[f]indene (0.13 eV), 1,2-benzofluorene (0.25 eV), 2,3-benzofluorene (0.26 eV), 12H-dibenzo[b,h]fluorene (0.65 eV), 13H-indeno[1,2-b]anthracene (0.82 eV), and 1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthacene (1.10 eV). In contrast, if the six-membered ring-fusion is across the C(2)-C(3) cyclopentadiene single bond, only a single benzene is needed to bind an electron. The theoretical electron affinity of the resulting molecule, isoindene, is 0.49 eV, and this increases to 1.22 eV for 2H-benz[f]indene. The degree of aromaticity is responsible for this behavior. While the radical anions are stabilized by conjugation, which increases with the size of the system, the regular indenes, like PAHs in general, suffer from the loss of aromatic stabilization in forming their radical anions. While indene is 21 kcal mol(-1) more stable than isoindene, the corresponding radical anion isomers have almost the same energy. Nucleus-independent chemical shift calculations show that the highly aromatic molecules lose almost all aromaticity when an extra electron is present. The radical anions of cyclopentadiene and all of its annulated derivatives have remarkably low C-H bond dissociation energies (only 18-34 kcal mol(-1) for the mono-, bi-, and tricyclics considered). Hydrogen atom loss leads to the restoration of aromaticity in the highly stabilized cyclopentadienyl anion congeners.     

Fluorescent detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ternary cyclodextrin complexes

Reported herein is a new method for the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which relies on energy transfer from the PAH to a near-infrared emitting squaraine fluorophore. This energy transfer occurs inside the γ-cyclodextrin cavity, with up to 35% emission observed from energy transfer compared with exciting the squaraine directly.     

Differentiation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using electron capture negative chemical ionization

A number of isomeric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may be distinguished using electron capture negative chemical ionization when methane is used as a buffer gas, including benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[e]pyrene. The ionization behavior of these compounds may be predicted, on the basis of their electron afinities, allowing compounds to be distinguished without the use of standards.     

Palladium-catalyzed pentannulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

We present a new and versatile one-step synthesis of a series of small molecular chromophores based on cyclopentannulated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Easily available pyrene, anthracene, and perylene bromides serve as starting materials for the reactions. The formation of the five-membered ring is achieved by the straightforward palladium(0)-catalyzed carbannulation with various substituted acetylenes. This approach is applicable either to single or multiple annulation procedures leading to hitherto inaccessible PAH topologies. According to the resulting products of the diverse reactions, a mechanistic explanation is proposed. UV/Vis absorption as well as cyclovoltammetric measurements were performed for characterization demonstrating the value of this annulation technique. Optical absorptions of up to 780 nm and absorption coefficients ranging from 8000 to 34,000 M(-1) cm(-1) were detected.     

Simplified determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Accurate quantitative analysis for selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present on urban dust can be obtained by using a simple procedure consisting of sonic-probe extraction with cyclohexane; clean-up with Florisil((R))-XAD-4((R)), and measurement by high-resolution gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (HRGC/FID). The analysis can be further simplified by eliminating the clean-up step if HRGC/electron-impact mass-spectrometry (MS) is available. Both the FID and MS methods give results consistent with those obtained by standard procedures. The direct HRGC/MS procedure, combined with chemical ionization, can also be applied to the determination of polycyclic organic materials present in solvent-refined coal, shale oil and crude oil.     

Analysis of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Many nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAH) that are present in low concentrations in the environment and in emission sources have been shown to be mutagenic and/or carcinogenic. This paper reviews the current methods of analysis of these compounds with the emphasis on NPAH measurements in ambient particulate matter samples.     

Local aromaticity in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: electron delocalization versus magnetic indices

The local aromaticity of benzenoid rings is examined by means of the Polansky index (P) and generalized population analysis (GPA). The results are found to agree very well with recently published circuit-condensed ring currents and magnetic-energetic aromaticity indices, but no correlation is found with nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS). This is usually seen as a manifestation of the more general multidimensional nature of aromaticity. This paper examines the sources for the observed correlations, showing that some indices give conflicting results because they inherently reflect different phenomena.     

Epitaxial composite layers of electron donors and acceptors from very large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be considered as nanographenes, whose electron donating or accepting properties are controlled by their size and shape as well as functionalities in their periphery. Epitaxial thin films of them are targets for optoelectronic applications; however, large PAHs are increasingly difficult to process. Here we show that epitaxial layers of very large unsubstituted PAHs (C(42)H(18) and C(132)H(34)), as well as a mixed layer of C(42)H(18) with an electron acceptor, can be obtained by self-assembly from solution. The C(132)H(34) is by far the largest nanographene that up to now has been processed into ordered thin films; due to its size it cannot be sublimed in a vacuum. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies reveal that the interaction with the substrate induces a strong perturbation of the electronic structure of the pure donor in the first epitaxial monolayer. In a second epitaxial layer with a donor acceptor stoichiometry of 2:1 the molecules are unperturbed.     

Capturing polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles in electron donor–acceptor complexes

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High-resolution and cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR studies of tricarbonylchromium complexes with polycyclic aromatic ligands

The strategy of investigation of the structures and transformations of organometallic compounds by high-resolution NMR spectroscopy in solutions and in the solid state (cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR) was considered in relation to tricarbonylchromium complexes with polycyclic aromatic ligands.     

Enthalpies of formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Comparison of the experimental enthalpies of formation of 77 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with those calculated by semiempirical quantum-chemical methods showed that the AM1 approximation ensures the best agreement between the experimental and calculated values. The enthalpies of formation of 60 compounds of this series were calculated using the AM1 method and the corresponding linear regression equation.