The monomolecular mechanism of the gas‐phase thermal decomposition of primary N‐nitramines

Using nonempirical methods and DFT‐methods the geometrical parameters formation enthalpies of molecules and radicals, energies dissociation of N? NO₂ bonds of primary and secondary N‐nitramines have been investigated. The basic tendencies in the changes of the geometrical and electronic structures, formation enthalpies, and dissociation energies have been analyzed in basic homologous series of nitramines. Various alternative mechanisms of the gas‐phase monomolecular thermal decomposition have been studied by of the example of N‐methylnitramine. The process of the aci‐form formation and its further multistage destruction is the most advantageous way of decomposition of the primary N‐nitramines. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Ground-based on-line measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) in the Pearl River Delta,China

Aiming at understanding the regional O₃ problem and the impacts of city to rural areas, ambient peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) were measured by an on-line instrument at a back garden site (BGS), and a receptor site for urban plume from Guangzhou city. The highest mixing ratios for PAN and PPN were 3.9 and 0.7 ppbv, respectively. PAN and PPN had a similar diurnal pattern as that of O₃. As revealed by the slope of the linear regression line between PPN and PAN, anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs) dominated photochemical O₃ production most of the time. From the correlation between PAN and O₃, the regional background level of O₃ was derived to be 28 ± 15 ppbv. Two night-time plumes containing elevated PAN and O₃ were observed, and the backward-trajectory analysis supported the transport of urban plume from Guangzhou city. Based on the temporal variation of PPN/PAN, two day-time episodes were also selected to discuss the influence from Guangzhou.     

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     

The reaction mechanism of the gas‐phase thermal decomposition kinetics of neopentyl halides: A DFT study

The kinetics and mechanisms of the gas‐phase elimination reactions of neopentyl chloride and neopentyl bromide have been studied by means of electronic structure calculations using density functional methods: B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p), B3LYP/ 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). The reaction channels that account in products formation have a common first step involving a Wagner‐Meerwein rearrangement. The migration of the halide from the terminal carbon to the more substituted carbon is followed by beta‐elimination of HCl or HBr to give two olefins: the Sayzeff and Hoffmann products. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that these eliminations proceed through concerted asynchronous process. The transition state (TS) located for the rate‐determining step shows the halide detached and bridging between the terminal carbon and the quaternary carbon, while the methyl group is also migrating in a concerted fashion. The TS is described as an intimate ion‐pair with a large negative charge at the halide atom. The concerted migration of methyl group provides stabilization of the TS by delocalizing the electron density between the terminal carbon and the quaternary carbon. The B3LYP/6‐31++G(d,p) allows to obtain reasonable energies and enthalpies of activation. The nature of these reactions is examined in terms of geometrical parameters, electron distribution, and bond order analysis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

氨基羧酸铁(III)配合物催化分解过氧化氢

用碘量法研究了[Fe（EDTA],[FeⅢ(DCTA)],[FeⅢ(EGTA)]催化分解H2O2反应，提出了反应动力学方程为-d[H2O2]/dt=k[FE(Ⅲ)][H2O2][H ]^-1，认为氨基羧酸铁（Ⅲ）配合物催化分解H2O2反应为键式自由基反应，反应中间体包括过氧铁（Ⅲ）配合物，氨基羧酸铁（Ⅱ）和HO-，HO2-自由基。     

Highly Selective “Turn‐On” Fluorescent and Colorimetric Sensing of Fluoride Ion Using 2‐(2‐Hydroxyphenyl)‐2,3‐dihydroquinolin‐4(1 H)‐one based on Excited‐State Proton Transfer

A simple, highly selective and sensitive colorimetric system for the detection of fluoride ion in an aqueous medium has been developed using 2‐(2‐hydroxyphenyl)‐2,3‐dihydroquinolin‐4(1 H)‐one. This system allows selective “turn‐on” fluorescence detection of fluoride ion, which is found to be dependent upon guest basicity. An excited‐state proton transfer is proposed to be the signaling mechanism, which is rationalized by DFT and TD‐DFT calculations. The present sensor can also be applied to detect fluoride levels in real water samples.     

A DFT/TDDFT Investigation of Excited State Dynamical Mechanism of (E)‐1‐((2,2‐Diphenylhydrazono)methyl)naphthalen‐2‐ol

The excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism of a new compound (E )‐1‐((2,2‐diphenylhydrazono)methyl)naphthalen‐2‐ol ( EDMN ) sensor, reported and synthesized by Mukherjee et al . [Sensors Actuat. B‐Chem . 2014, 202 , 1190], is investigated in detail theoretically. The calculations on primary bond lengths, bond angles, and the corresponding infrared (IR) vibrational spectra and hydrogen‐bond energy involved in intramolecular hydrogen bond between the S₀ and S₁ states confirm that the intramolecular hydrogen bond is strengthened in the S₁ state, which reveals the tendency of ESIPT reaction. The fact that the experimental absorption and emission spectra are well reproduced demonstrates the rationality and effectiveness of the time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) level of theory we adopt here. Furthermore, intramolecular charge transfer based on the frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) gives indication of the ESIPT reaction. The constructed potential energy curves of both the S₀ and S₁ states while keeping the O─H distance of EDMN fixed at a series of values are used to illustrate the ESIPT process. The lower barrier of ~3.934 kcal/mol in the S₁ state potential energy curve (lower than the 8.254 kcal/mol in the S₀ state) provides the transfer mechanism.     

A Computational Study of the Mechanism of Hydrogen Evolution by Cobalt(Diimine‐Dioxime) Catalysts

Cobalt(diimine‐dioxime) complexes catalyze hydrogen evolution with low overpotentials and remarkable stability. In this study, DFT calculations were used to investigate their catalytic mechanism, to demonstrate that the initial active state was a Co^I complex and that H₂ was evolved in a heterolytic manner through the protonation of a Co^II? hydride intermediate. In addition, these catalysts were shown to adjust their electrocatalytic potential for hydrogen evolution to the pH value of the solution and such a property was assigned to the presence of a H⁺‐exchange site on the oxime bridge. It was possible to establish that protonation of the bridge was directly involved in the H₂‐evolution mechanism through proton‐coupled electron‐transfer steps. A consistent mechanistic scheme is proposed that fits the experimentally determined electrocatalytic and electrochemical potentials of cobalt(diimine‐dioxime) complexes and reproduces the observed positive shift of the electrocatalytic potential with increasing acidity of the proton source.     

Energy transfer dynamics and kinetics of elementary processes (promoted) by gas‐phase CO2‐N2 collisions: Selectivity control by the anisotropy of the interaction

In this work, we exploit a new formulation of the potential energy and of the related computational procedures, which embodies the coupling between the intra and intermolecular components, to characterize possible propensities of the collision dynamics in energy transfer processes of interest for simulation and control of phenomena occurring in a variety of equilibrium and nonequilibrium environments. The investigation reported in the paper focuses on the prototype CO₂–N₂ system, whose intramolecular component of the interaction is modeled in terms of a many body expansion while the intermolecular component is modeled in terms of a recently developed bonds‐as‐interacting‐molecular‐centers' approach. The main advantage of this formulation of the potential energy surface is that of being (a) truly full dimensional (i.e., all the variations of the coordinates associated with the molecular vibrations and rotations on the geometrical and electronic structure of the monomers, are explicitly taken into account without freezing any bonds or angles), (b) more flexible than other usual formulations of the interaction and (c) well suited for fitting procedures better adhering to accurate ab initio data and sensitive to experimental arrangement dependent information. Specific attention has been given to the fact that a variation of vibrational and rotational energy has a higher (both qualitative and quantitative) impact on the energy transfer when a more accurate formulation of the intermolecular interaction (with respect to that obtained when using rigid monomers) is adopted. This makes the potential energy surface better suited for the kinetic modeling of gaseous mixtures in plasma, combustion and atmospheric chemistry computational applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ethane cation decomposition characterization by EBMI spectroscopy: gas‐phase dissociative recombination as a source of secondary products

The decomposition products of the d₆‐ethane cation following charge‐transfer ionization with Ar⁺, under conditions of varying ionization electron current, have been isolated in solid argon matrices at 18 K and examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Gas samples containing 1 : 1600 d₆‐ethane : Ar were subjected to electron bombardment by using either a high (pin) or a low (plate) ionization density anode configuration with ionization currents between 20 and 150 μA. Under high ionization density conditions, the observed major products were d₄‐ethene (C₂D₄) and d₂‐acetylene (C₂D₂), with smaller yields of C₂D₅, C₂D₃, and C₂D. The yield of each dehydrogenation product was enhanced with increased current. Analogous experiments employing the low ionization density plate anode resulted in reduced C₂D₆ destruction and the formation of only C₂D₄ and C₂D₂. The results suggest the onset of dissociative recombination processes under high ion density conditions. In this context, the results can be interpreted as a dissociative recombination of primary ion products, which gives rise to further dehydrogenation, and appearance of additional neutral radical products. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the mechanism for the gas-phase water-mediated decomposition and the formation of hydrates of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)

There is uncertainty in the mechanism for the hydrolysis of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), and experimental attempts to detect products of the direct reaction have been unsuccessful. Ab initio calculations are used to examine the energetics of water-mediated decomposition of gas-phase PAN into acetic acid and peroxynitric acid. On the basis of ab initio calculations, an alternative reaction mechanism for the decomposition of PAN is proposed. The calculations indicate that the barrier for one water addition to PAN is large. However, including additional water molecules reveals a substantially lower energy route. The calculations suggest that the formation of PAN hydrate complexes are energetically favorable and stable. Additional waters are increasingly efficient at stabilizing hydrated PAN.     

Hypervalent radical formation probed by electron transfer dissociation of zwitterionic tryptophan and tryptophan‐containing dipeptides complexed with Ca2+ and 18‐crown‐6 in the gas phase

The relationship between peptide structure and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) is important for structural analysis by mass spectrometry. In the present study, the formation, structure and reactivity of the reaction intermediate in the ETD process were examined using a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. ETD product ions of zwitterionic tryptophan (Trp) and Trp‐containing dipeptides (Trp‐Gly and Gly‐Trp) were detected without reionization using non‐covalent analyte complexes with Ca²⁺ and 18‐crown‐6 (18C6). In the collision‐induced dissociation, NH₃ loss was the main dissociation pathway, and loss related to the dissociation of the carboxyl group was not observed. This indicated that Trp and its dipeptides on Ca²⁺(18C6) adopted a zwitterionic structure with an NH₃⁺ group and bonded to Ca²⁺(18C6) through the COO^? group. Hydrogen atom loss observed in the ETD spectra indicated that intermolecular electron transfer from a molecular anion to the NH₃⁺ group formed a hypervalent ammonium radical, R‐NH₃, as a reaction intermediate, which was unstable and dissociated rapidly through N–H bond cleavage. In addition, N–C_α bond cleavage forming the z₁ ion was observed in the ETD spectra of Trp‐GlyCa²⁺(18C6) and Gly‐TrpCa²⁺(18C6). This dissociation was induced by transfer of a hydrogen atom in the cluster formed via an N–H bond cleavage of the hypervalent ammonium radical and was in competition with the hydrogen atom loss. The results showed that a hypervalent radical intermediate, forming a delocalized hydrogen atom, contributes to the backbone cleavages of peptides in ETD. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Small molecule‐mediated glass transition of acrylic copolymers: Effect of hydrogen bonding strength on glass transition temperature

Poly(styrene‐co‐ethyl acrylate) [P(St‐co‐EA)] with different ratios of St/EA was mixed with the small molecule 4,4′‐thio‐bis(6‐tert‐butyl‐m‐methyl phenol) (AO300) to investigate the influence of hydrogen bonding strength on the glass transition behavior. The glass transition temperature (T_g) linearly increased after adding AO300, and the slope value decreased with increased St/EA ratio. All lines could be extended to 62 °C, demonstrating that T_g of the small molecule in situ detected by the polymer chain was much higher than that by small molecule itself (29 °C). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that the small molecules began to be self‐associated at a concentration where the hydrogen bonded carbonyl ratio of the bulk polymer was approximately 0.5 and irrespective of the St/EA ratio. Above the critical loading, the mixture's T_g negatively deviated from the linearly extended lines because of self‐association of the small molecules. The apparent T_g of AO300 was found to strongly depend on intermolecular hydrogen bonding number and strength. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 400–408     

Catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by Cu/M heterobimetallic complexes (M = Mn, Zn) with Schiff bases in the presence of electrolytes

A study was carried out on the effect of electrolytes KCl, CaCl₂, MnCl₂, ZnCl₂, CuCl₂, KNO₃, Ca(NO₃)₂, Mn(NO₃)₂, Zn(NO₃)₂, and Cu(NO₃)₂ on the kinetics of the decomposition of H₂O₂ catalyzed by [Cu(L¹/L²)][MCl₄] complexes (M = Zn, Mn; L¹ is 4,6,6-trimethyl-1,9-diamino-3,7-diaza-3-nonene, L² is 1,15-dihydroxy-7,9,9-trimethyl-3,6,10,13-tetraaza-6-pentadecene). The chloride ions were found to reversibly inhibit the catalyst. The major kinetic characteristics of this reaction were obtained using a mathematical model taking account of the reversible and irreversible inhibition of the catalyst. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 240–247, July–August, 2008.     

From the mobile proton to wandering hydride ion: mechanistic aspects of gas‐phase ion chemistry

Structural characterization of molecular species by mass spectrometry supposes the knowledge of the type of ions generated and the mechanism by which they dissociate. In this context, a need for a rationalization of electrospray ionization(+)(?) mass spectra of small molecules has been recently expressed. Similarly, at the other end of the mass scale, efforts are currently made to interpret the major fragmentation processes of protonated and deprotonated peptides and their reduced forms produced in electron capture or electron transfer experiments. Most fragmentation processes of molecular and pseudo‐molecular ions produced in the ion source of a mass spectrometer may be described by a combination of several key mechanistic steps: simple bond dissociation, formation of ion‐neutral complex intermediates, hydrogen atom, hydride ion or proton migrations and nucleophilic attack. Selected crucial aspects of these elementary reactions, occurring inside positively charged ions, will be recalled and illustrated by examples taken in recent mass spectrometry literature. Emphasis will be given on the protonation process and its consequence in terms of structure and energetic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical Study of the Nontraditional Enol‐Based Photoacidity of Firefly Oxyluciferin

A theoretical analysis of the enol‐based photoacidity of oxyluciferin in water is presented. The basis for this phenomenon is found to be the hydrogen‐bonding network that involves the conjugated photobase of oxyluciferin. The hydrogen‐bonding network involving the enolate thiazole moiety is stronger than that of the benzothiazole phenolate moiety. Therefore, enolate oxyluciferin should be stabilized versus the phenolate anion. This difference in strength is attributed to the fact that the thiazole moiety has more potential hydrogen‐bond acceptors near the proton donor atom than the benzothiazole moiety. Moreover, the phenol‐based excited‐state proton transfer leads to a decrease in the hydrogen‐bond acceptor potential of the thiazole atoms. The ground‐state enol‐based acidity of oxyluciferin is also studied. This phenomenon can be explained by stabilization of the enolate anion through strengthening of a bond between water and the nitrogen atom of the thiazole ring, in an enol‐based proton‐transfer‐dependent way.