The effect of temperature on the photoacidity of merocyanine photoacids in water

Merocyanine photoacids are molecular photoswitches that can be used to regulate acid-base reactions reversibly. Despite their growing impact across multiple research areas including materials science and nanotechnology, the effect of temperature on their functioning in aqueous environments has not yet been explored. Here we employ variable-temperature pH and UV-Vis analyses to rationalize their temperature-dependent (photo)chemical behaviors in water, showing that their photoacidity is inversely proportional to the temperature (by ca. ?0.01 pK/°C).     

Theoretical study on the excited states of HCN

In the flash-photolysis of oxazole, iso-oxazole, and thiozole a transient band system was observed in the region 2500-3050 angstroms. This band system was attributed to a meta-stable form of HCN, i.e., either HNC or triplet HCN. Theoretical investigations have been carried out on the ground and excited states of HCN to characterize this and other experimentally observed transitions. The predicted geometries are compared with the experiment and earlier theoretical calculations. The present calculations show that the band system in the region 2500-3050 A corresponds to the transition 4 3-A' <-- 1 3-A' of HCN.     

Theoretical study on the interlay of hydrogen bonds in the trimers involving HCN and water

In this study, the hydration of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) has been investigated by means of quantum chemical ab initio calculations at the MP2/6‐311++G(3df,2p) level. Various HCN· · ·( H₂O)₂ and (HCN)₂· · ·H₂O complexes were optimized. Geometrics and energetics in these complexes have been analyzed. The hydration of the H atom leads to an elongation of the N?C and C? H bonds, whereas the hydration of the N atom results in a contraction of the N?C bond and a little elongation of the C? H bond. The interaction energy between each molecule pair in the trimers (except in HCN? H₂O? H₂O trimer) is increased relative to that in the respective dimer. The cooperativity of hydrogen bond in HCN? H₂O? H₂O trimer plays a negative contribution to the total interaction energy of the complex, whereas that in the other trimers is a positive contribution. Geometry and energy in H₂O? H₂OO? HCN? H₂O tetramer have also been analyzed. The binding energies in the trimers and tetramer have been studied by means of many‐body interaction analysis. The mechanism of HCN hydration was suggested. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Theoretical study of HCN and HNC neutral and charged clusters

A theoretical study of linear and cyclic clusters of (HCN)n and (HNC)n (up to n = 10) has been carried out by means of DFT and MP2 ab initio methods. The transition states linking the cyclic clusters show high energetic barriers that prevent the spontaneous transformation of the high-energy clusters, (HNC)n, into the low-energy ones, (HCN)n. The effect of the protonation/deprotonation of the linear clusters has also been explored. The results show that (HNC)n clusters with n values larger than six are thermodynamically more stable as charged systems than as neutral ones. The geometrical results have been analyzed using a Steiner-Limbach plot. The electron density and its Laplacian at the bond critical points correlate with the corresponding bond distances by means of two exponential functions, one for the open shell and another for the closed shell cases.     

Theoretical study on the complexation of the cesium cation with dibenzo-18-crown-6

Abstract  

By using quantum mechanical calculations, the most probable structures of free dibenzo-18-crown-6 ligand and the cationic complex species of Cs⁺ both with one and with two dibenzo-18-crown-6 ligands were derived. In these two complexes, the “central” cation Cs⁺ is bound by strong bond interactions to the corresponding ethereal oxygen atoms of the parent crown ligand.     

Theoretical study of HCN(+) + C2H2 reaction

A detailed theoretical investigation for the ion-molecule reaction of HCN (+) with C 2H 2 is performed at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) and CCSD(T)/6-311++G(3df,2pd) (single-point) levels. Possible energetically allowed reaction pathways leading to various low-lying dissociation products are probed. It is shown that eight dissociation products P 1 (H 2C 3N (+)+H), P 2 (CN+C 2H 3 (+)), P 3 (HC 3N (+)+H 2), P 4 (HCCCNH (+)+H), P 5 (H 2NCCC (+)+H), P 6 (HCNCCH (+)+H), P 7 (C 2H 2 (+)+HCN), and P 8 (C 2H 2 (+)+HNC) are both thermodynamically and kinetically accessible. Among the eight dissociation products, P 1 is the most abundant product. P 7 and P 3 are the second and third feasible products but much less competitive than P 1 , followed by the almost negligible product P 2 . Other products, P 4 (HCCCNH (+)+H), P 5 (HCNCCH (+)+H), P 6 (H 2NCCC (+)+H), and P 8 (C 2H 2 (+)+HNC) may become feasible at high temperatures. Because the intermediates and transition states involved in the reaction HCN (+) + C 2H 2 are all lower than the reactant in energy, the title reaction is expected to be rapid, as is consistent with the measured large rate constant at room temperature. The present calculation results may provide a useful guide for understanding the mechanism of HCN (+) toward other pi-bonded molecules.     

Theoretical studies of magnetic shielding in HCN and (HCN)2

The magnetic shielding tensors of the ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N nuclei in HCN dimer are calculated with GIAO SCF perturbation theory. The effects of electronic charge distribution and intermolecular interaction are studied. We showed that the shielding of the three nuclei cannot be interpreted by simple correlation to their electron population. A careful analysis of neighbouring atom contribution is required.     

Theoretical study of the uranyl complexation by hydroxamic and carboxylic acid groups

A theoretical study on the complexation of uranyl cation (UO2(2+)) by three different functional groups of a calix[6]arene cage, that is, two hydroxamic and a carboxylic acid function, has been carried out using density functional theory calculations. In particular, interaction energies between the uranyl and the functional groups have been used to determine their affinity toward uranyl, whereas pKa calculations give some information on the availability of the functional groups in the extraction conditions. On the one hand, calculations of the interaction energies have pointed out clearly a better affinity with the hydroxamic groups. The stabilization of this complex was rationalized in terms of a stronger electrostatic interaction between the uranyl cation and the hydroxamic groups. The presence of a water molecule in the first coordination sphere of uranyl does not destabilize the complex, and the most stable complex is obtained with two functional groups and two water molecules, leading to a coordination number of 8 for the central uranium atom. On the other hand, pKa theoretical evaluation shows that both hydroxamic (deprotonated on the oxygen site) and carboxylic groups are potential extractants in aqueous medium with a preference for carboxylic functions at low pH. Moreover, these data allowed to unambiguously identify the oxygen of the alcohol function as the favored deprotonation site on the hydroxamic function.     

Theoretical study of molecular interactions of phosphorus ylide with HF, HCN, and HN3

The molecular interactions between phosphorous ylide (PY) and HX molecules (X?=?F, CN, and N₃) were investigated using the MP2 method at 6-311++G(2d,2p) basis set. Three different patterns including non-classical hydrogen bond H···C, X···P interaction and classical hydrogen bond H···X were found for complex formation between PY and HX molecules. From the predicted models, stability of the H···C type complexes are greater than other types. Quantum theories of atoms in molecules and natural bond orbitals methods have been applied to analyze the intermolecular interactions. Good correlations have been found between the interaction energies (SE), the second-order perturbation energy E ⁽²⁾, and the charge transfer qCT in the studied systems.     

HCN消除反应机理的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论方法从HCN氧化和水解两个方面研究了HCN消除反应机理,并考虑了HCN的直接消除反应(途径Ⅰ和途径Ⅱ)和CuO上的HCN消除反应(途径Ⅲ和途径Ⅳ)。途径Ⅰ为HCN与2个O2分子生成CO2、NO和H原子;途径Ⅱ为HCN与1个O2分子和1个H2O分子生成 CO2和NH3;途径Ⅲ为CuO上HNCO水解为CO2和NH3;途径Ⅳ为CuO上HCN水解为CO和NH3。研究发现,途径III速控步骤的活化自由能垒为157.32 kJ/mol,比途径Ⅱ中HNCO水解降低12.34 kJ/mol;比途径Ⅳ降低了63.8 kJ/mol。可见,HNCO是HCN净化过程中的重要中间体,CuO的加入降低了反应能垒,促进了HCN消除。     

Theoretical study of molecular interactions of sulfur ylide with HF, HCN, and HN3

The molecular interactions between sulfur ylide (SY) and HX molecules (X = F, CN, and N₃) were investigated using the MP2 method at 6-311++G(2d,2p) basis set. Three different patterns including non-classical hydrogen bond (HB) H···C and classical HB H···X were found for complex formation between SY and HX molecules. Stability of the H···C type complexes are greater than H···X complexes. Quantum theories of atoms in molecules, natural bond orbitals, and energy decomposition analysis methods have been applied to analyze the intermolecular interactions. Good correlations have been found between the interaction energies (SE), the second-order perturbation energy E ⁽²⁾ and the charge transfer qCT in the studied systems.     

Theoretical insight to the complexation of some transition metals with cryptand

The most practicable complexes formed between Cryptand[2.2.2] and hydrated Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) cations (denoted as [ML]⁺²) were modeled using computational chemistry methods. The energies of complexation reactions were calculated in both gas phase and solution at B3LYP/6-31+G(d) and B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2pd) levels of theory. The accuracy of selected computational methods was confirmed with comparison between available X-ray data and computational results. The results suggested that [CuL]⁺² and [CoL]⁺² structures could be the most and the least stable systems, respectively. The nature of metal-ligand interactions based on quantum theory of atoms in molecule (QTAIM) was discussed for all the complexes. This analysis confirmed the ionic nature of metal-ligand interactions due to electron density values for M-O bonds and M-N interactions. Natural bond orbital (NBO) and natural energy decomposition analysis (NEDA) were utilized to explain more details of interaction between divalent cations and donor atoms of the ligand.

     

Theoretical study of the effect of water in the process of proton transfer of glycinamide

For the purpose of investigating the tautomerism from glycinamide (G) to glycinamidic acid (G*) induced by proton transfer, we carried out a study of structural interconversion of the two tautomers and the relative stabilizing influences of water during the tautomerization process. Throughout the study, we used density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory, also considering the correction functions, that is, the effect of basis set superposition error (BSSE). Totally, 42 geometries, including fourteen important transition states, were optimized, and their geometric parameters have also been discussed in detail. Water molecules were gradually put in three different regions in the vicinity of G and its tautomer G*. The calculation results indicate that water in two of these regions can protect G from tautomerizing to G*, while in another region, water can assist in the tautomerism; this reveals that water molecules have stabilization and mutagenicity effects for G simultaneously.     

Theoretical study of the gas-phase reaction of hydrogen isocyanate with water

Transition states for the two probable pathways for the gas-phase hydrolysis of hydrogen isocyanate have been determined using the MINDO /3 method. Activation barriers obtained showed that the one-step mechanism is preferred to the two-step mechanism involving an intermediate. It was shown that the reaction of polymeric water has lower activation barrier than the reaction of monomeric water. Energy and charge decomposition analysis showed that in the former less energy is required in the deformation of molecules for the transition state (TS ) formation due to the cyclic flow of electronic charges in the TS .     

Theoretical study of possible products of the combination of H2O and HCN

Twenty-two structures with the empirical formula H₃CNO are presented. These structures are examined since they have the same formula as the H₂O…HCN complex. The H₂O…HCN potential energy surface is of interest to chemists studying the water catalyzed polymerization of HCN. Structures, thermodynamics, and vibrational spectra are examined.