On the Origin of the Enhanced Acidity of Chalcocyclopentadienes (Cyclopentadiene Chalcogenols) in the Gas Phase

The intrinsic acidity of chalcocyclopentadienes (CpXH; X=O, S, Se, Te) is investigated by high‐level G3B3 and G2 ab initio as well as B3LYP DFT calculations, which show that, independent of the nature of the heteroatom, all chalcocyclopentadienes are stronger acids in the gas phase than cyclopentadiene. However the acidity does not increase regularly down the group, and the acidity enhancement for Te derivatives is five times larger than for O derivatives, but only twice that of S‐containing compounds. The most favorable deprotonation process corresponds to loss of the proton attached to the heteroatom, with the sole exception of the 5‐substituted 1,3‐cyclopentadienes, for which the O and S derivatives are predicted to behave as carbon acids. No matter the nature of the heteroatom, the 1‐substituted 1,3‐cyclopentadienes are the strongest acids. The intrinsic acidity of all isomers, namely, 1‐substituted, 2‐substituted, and 5‐substituted 1,3‐cyclopentadienes, increases with increasing aromaticity of the anion formed on deprotonation, and therefore the Te compound is the strongest acid for the three series. However, the intrinsic acidity of chalcocyclopentadienes is not dictated by aromaticity, so that, in general, the most stable deprotonated species do not coincide with the most aromatic ones.     

Theoretical investigation (DFT and MP2) of the intermolecular proton transfer in the supersystems uracil-(H2O) n and uracil-(CH3OH) n (n = 1, 2)

Twelve binary and eight ternary H-bonded systems between uracil and water/methanol were investigated at the B3LYP and MP2 theoretical levels using 6 − 31 + G(d) basis functions. The binary and ternary systems that contain the hydroxo-uracil tautomer H-bonded with water and methanol were found to be the most stable complexes. The calculated energy barriers of the intermolecular proton exchange showed that the methanol molecule provokes larger reduction of the energy barrier of the intermolecular proton exchange reactions than the water molecule. Correspondence: Vassil B. Delchev, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria     

Theoretical dynamic studies on the reactions of CH3C(O)CH3-nCl(n) (n = 0-3) with the chlorine atom

The theoretical investigations were performed on the reaction mechanisms for the title reactions CH(3)C(O)CH(3) + Cl --> products (R1), CH(3)C(O)CH(2)Cl + Cl --> products (R2), CH(3)C(O)CHCl(2) + Cl --> products (R3), and CH(3)C(O)CCl(3) + Cl --> products (R4) by ab initio direct dynamics approach. Two different reaction channels have been found: abstract of the H atom from methyl (--CH(3)) group or chloromethyl (--CH(3-n)Cl(n)) group of chloroacetone and addition of a Cl atom to the carbon atom of the carbonyl group of chloroacetone followed by methyl or chloromethyl eliminations. Because of the higher potential energy barrier, the contribution of addition-elimination reaction pathway to the total rate constants is very small and thus this pathway is insignificant in atmospheric conditions. The rate constants for the H-abstraction reaction channels are evaluated by using canonical variational transition state theory incorporating with the small-curvature tunneling correction. Theoretical overall rate constants are in good agreement with the available experimental values and decrease in the order of k(1) > k(2) > k(3) > k(4). The results indicate that for halogenated acetones the substitution of halogen atom (F or Cl) leads to the decrease in the C--H bond reactivity and more decrease of reactivity is caused by F-substitution.     

Genetic algorithm for the determination of binodal curves in ternary systems polymer-liquid(1)-liquid(2) and polymer(1)-polymer(2)-solvent

A simple genetic algorithm for the numerical evaluation of binodal curves in ternary systems polymer-liquid (1)-liquid (2) and polymer (1)-polymer (2)-solvent is presented. The technique exploits a specifically developed restarting technique based on a combined elitist and zooming strategy on the last population at each iteration. The objective function (fitness) is represented by the weighted sum of the squared differences of chemical potentials of the two phases of each component, obtained evaluating first derivatives of Gibbs free energy of the mixture with respect to the number of moles of the components. The method proposed (a) is numerically stable since it does not require the evaluation of first derivatives of the objective function and (b) can be applied in a wide range of cases changing the equation of state. Several comparisons with simplified iterative procedures presented in the past in the technical literature both for mixtures of two polymers with identical characteristics in a solvent and for mixtures of solvent-nonsolvent-polymer with solvent-polymer interaction parameter equal to zero are reported. Finally, a comparison between present results and the "alternating tangent approach" is reported for two technically meaningful binary systems, when a simplified PC-SAFT equation of state is adopted. The comparisons show that reliable results can be obtained by means of the algorithm proposed and suggest that the procedure presented can be used for practical purposes.     

A new bis(pyrenyl)azadiene-based probe for the colorimetric and fluorescent sensing of Cu(II) and Hg(II)

A novel colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor 2, made up of two pyrene units connected by a 2-aza-1,3-butadiene ionophore, was designed and prepared for the selective detection of Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ in the presence of other metal cations. This molecular sensor exhibits substantial colour changes and fluorescence enhancement upon complexation with these metal cations in acetonitrile solutions, with detection limits in the order of 10⁻⁶ M. Job's plots revealed a 1:1 stoichiometry rationalized by theoretical DFT calculations.     

Analysis of the Magnetic Coupling in a Mn(II)-U(V)-Mn(II) Single Molecule Magnet

[{Mn(TPA)I}{UO2(Mesaldien)}{Mn(TPA)I}]I formula (here TPA=tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and Mesaldien=N,N’-(2-aminomethyl)diethylenebis(salicylidene imine)) reported by Mazzanti and coworkers (Chatelain et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014 , 53, 13434) is so far the best Single Molecule Magnet (SMM) in the {3d–5f} class of molecules exhibiting barrier height of magnetization reversal as high as 81.0 K. In this work, we have employed a combination of ab initio CAS and DFT methods to fully characterize this compound and to extract the relevant spin Hamiltonian parameters. We show that the signs of the magnetic coupling and of the g-factors of the monomers are interconnected. The central magnetic unit [U^VO₂]⁺ is described by a Kramers Doublet (KD) with negative g-factors, due to a large orbital contribution. The magnetic coupling for the {Mn(II)-U(V)} pair is modeled by an anisotropic exchange Hamiltonian: all components are ferromagnetic in terms of spin moments, the parallel component J_Z twice larger as the perpendicular one J_⊥. The spin density distribution suggests that spin polarization on the U(V) center favors the ferromagnetic coupling. Further, the J_Z/J_⊥ ratio, which is related to the barrier height, was found to correlate to the corresponding spin contribution of the g-factors of the U(V) center. This correlation established for the first time offers a direct way to estimate this important ratio from the corresponding g^S-values, which can be obtained using traditional ab initio packages and hence has a wider application to other {3d–5f} magnets. It is finally shown that the magnetization barrier height is tuned by the splitting of the [U^VO₂]⁺ 5 f orbitals.     

Synthesis of (azidomethyl)phenylboronic acids

The synthesis of 2-, 3-, and 4-(azidomethyl)phenylboronic acids was carried out. The geometric and electronic structures were studied by quantum-chemical methods. The suggestion is made that there are weak intramolecular interactions between the boron atom and the nitrene nitrogen atom of the azido group.     

New parallel software (P_Anhar) for anharmonic vibrational calculations: application to (CH(3)Li)(2)

We present the development of a new parallel computer code (P_Anhar_v1.0) to calculate the vibrational spectrum of medium size molecules using a variational algorithm. The method is applied to the determination of a complete quartic anharmonic force field (B3LYP/cc-pVTZ) for methyllithium, leading to a new interpretation of experimental data.     

Structural studies of bis(histidinato)nickel(II): Combined experimental and computational studies

A distorted octahedral nickel(II) complex, [Ni(2-amino-3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propanoic acid)₂] (1), has been synthesized by a solvothermal method and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Geometry optimization in the gas phase and pyridine together with Hirshfeld surface and reduced density gradient analyses reveal that this complex shows different distortions from octahedral in the gas, liquid, and solid phases. The reason seems to be because of the presence of two intramolecular NH⋯O weak interactions in the gas phase and two sets of rather strong intermolecular NH⋯O and CH⋯O interactions in the solid phase. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations suggest that these different distortions result in different electronic absorption spectra.     

Quantum-chemical study of supramolecular complexes (DPyEt)n(AgNO3)m

The electronic structures and energies of formation of supramolecular complexes of dipyridylethylene with AgNO₃ were calculated by the semiempirical AM1/d method, at the Hartree—Fock level, and by the density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G*).     

Effect of alkali metal coordination on gas-phase chemistry of the diphosphate ion: the MH(2)P(2)O(7) (-) ions

Systematic experimental and theoretical studies on anionic phosphate species in the gas phase are almost nonexistent, even though they could provide a benchmark for enhanced comprehension of their liquid-phase chemical behavior. Gaseous MH(2)P(2)O(7) (-) ions (M=Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs), obtained from electrospray ionization of solutions containing H(4)P(2)O(7) and MOH or M salts as a source of M(+) ions were structurally assayed by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+G* level of theory. The joint application of mass spectrometric techniques and theoretical methods allowed the MH(2)P(2)O(7) (-) ions to be identified as having a structure in which the linear diphosphate anion is coordinated to the M(+) ion (I) and provides information on gas-phase isomerization processes in the [PO(3)...MH(2)PO(4)](-) clusters II and the [P(2)O(6)...M...H(2)O](-) clusters IV. Studies of gas-phase reactivity by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) and triple quadrupole (TQ) mass spectrometry revealed that the MH(2)P(2)O(7) (-) ions react with selected nucleophiles by clustering, proton transfer and addition-elimination mechanisms. The influence of the coordination of alkali metal ions on the chemical behavior of pyrophosphate is discussed.     

Luminescent Eu(III) and Gd(III) trisbipyridine cryptates: experimental and theoretical study of the substituent effects.

Synthesis, absorption spectra and luminescebce properties of a series of lanthanide trisbipyridine cryptates Ln within R-Bpy x R-Bpy x R-Bpy, where Ln = Eu, Gd and R = H, COOH, COOCH3, CONH(CH2)2NH2 are described. Comparison of the unsubstituted parent compound with the substituted compounds shows that bipyridine substitution doesn't alter significantly the photophysical properties of the lanthanide cryptate. The absorption maximum is slightly red-shifted when three bipyridines are substituted, whereas substituting one bipyridines has a negligible effect on the absorption spectra. The experimental triplet state energy is between 21600 and 22 100 cm(-1) for the series of compounds and the luminescence lifetimes at 77 K are between 0.5 and 0.8 ms in HO2 and equal to 1.7 ms in D2O. The experimental characterizations are completed by DFT and TD-DFT calculations to assess the ability of these approaches to predict absorption maxima, triplet state energies and structural parameters of lanthanide cryptates and to characterize the electronic structure of the excited states. The calculations on the unsubstituted parent and substituted compounds show that absorption maxima and lowest 3pipi* triplet state energies can be accurately determined from density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent (TD) DFT calculations.     

Salts of the cobalt(I) complexes [Co(CO)5]+ and [Co(CO)2(NO)(2)]+ and the Lewis acid-base adduct [Co2(CO)7CO--B(CF3)3

The reaction of [Co(2)(CO)(8)] with (CF(3))(3)BCO in hexane leads to the Lewis acid-base adduct [Co(2)(CO)(7)CO--B(CF(3))(3)] in high yield. When the reaction is performed in anhydrous HF solution [Co(CO)(5)][(CF(3))(3)BF] is isolated. The product contains the first example of a homoleptic metal pentacarbonyl cation with 18 valence electrons and a trigonal-bipyramidal structure. Treatment of [Co(2)(CO)(8)] or [Co(CO)(3)NO] with NO(+) salts of weakly coordinating anions results in mixed crystals containing the [Co(CO)(5)](+)/[Co(CO)(2)(NO)(2)](+) ions or pure novel [Co(CO)(2)(NO)(2)](+) salts, respectively. This is a promising route to other new metal carbonyl nitrosyl cations or even homoleptic metal nitrosyl cations. All compounds were characterized by vibrational spectroscopy and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Semiempirical studies on the interactions of dialkyldi(aquo)tin cations, [R2Sn(H2O)2]2+, with selected nucleotides

Semiempirical calculations have been carried out on the interactions of [R₂Sn(H₂O)₂]²⁺, [R = H(CH₂)_n: n = 1–8], mainly with five nucleotides, 5′‐adenosine monophosphate (5′‐AMP), but also with guanosine 5′‐monophosphate (5′‐GMP), cytidine 5′‐monophosphate (5′‐CMP), uridine‐5′‐monophosphate (5′‐UMP) and inosine 5′‐monophosphate (5′‐IMP). The preferred sites of interaction were calculated to be the ribose O2 and O3 hydroxyl oxygens and/or the phosphate oxygens, with the nitrogen sites in the bases the least attractive to the tin compounds. This is in general agreement with experimental findings. Structures of the 1:1 coordination complexes vary from distorted tetrahedral, to distorted trigonal pyramidal to distorted octahedral geometries. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies in werner clathrates. Part 2. Structures of bis (isothiocyanato) tetra (4-phenylpyridine) nickel (II)· 4-dimethylsulphoxide,bis (isothiocyanato) tetra (3-methylpyridine) nickel (II)· chloroform and bis (isothiocyanato) tetra (3,5-dimethylpyridine) nickel (II)

The structures of Ni(NCS)₂(4-PhPy)₄·4DMSO and Ni(NCS)₂(3-MePy)₄·CHCl₃ have been elucidated. Movement of guest molecules through channels in the host structure was simulated by potential energy calculations. Ni(NCS)₂(3,5-diMePy)₄ does not form inclusion compounds. An intra-molecular potential energy study shows that theortho-hydrogens on the 3,5-dimethylpyridine ligands control the conformation of the molecule. The same result is obtained with the 4-methylpyridine ligand, which suggests that the extent of rotation of substituted pyridines about the Ni–N bounds is not a factor governing clathrate formation. Supplementary Data relating to this article are deposited with the British Library as Supplementary Publication No. SUP 82030 (43 pages).     

钼(钨)-钼-硫簇合物的~(95)Mo NMR研究

对含有[MS4]2-（M＝Mo，W）单元的一系列钼（钨）-钼-硫簇合物进行了95MoNMR研究，定性分析了95Mo化学位移随金属原子配位数、配位金属种类和配位金属配体改变而变化的规律。结果表明，随着[MoS4]2-配位金属原子数的增加，[MoS4]2-上Mo的化学位移逐渐向高场移动，这可归因于低氧化态MO0上的电子通过硫桥离域到高氧化态的Mo上。为了解析Mo0上化学位移的实验结果，采用MM＋力场对[（OC）4MOS2MoS2]2-和[｛（OC）4Mo｝MoS4]2-的晶体结构进行几何优化，使之更接近于溶液中的结构，然后利用Fenske－Hall方法计算Mo原子上的净电荷分布，计算结果较好地好择了Mo和Mo0化学位移的变化趋势。     

Hydride Ligands Make the Difference: Density Functional Study of the Mechanism of the Murai Reaction Catalyzed by [Ru(H)2(H2)2(PR3)2] (R=cyclohexyl)

The catalytic cycle for the Murai reaction at room temperature between ethylene and acetophenone catalyzed by [Ru(H)₂(H₂)₂(PMe₃)₂] has been studied computationally at the B3PW91 level. The active species is the ruthenium dihydride complex [Ru(H)₂(PMe₃)₂]. Coordination of the ketone group to Ru induces very easy C H bond cleavage. Coordination of ethylene after ketone de-coordination, followed by ethylene insertion into a Ru H bond, creates the Ru ethyl bond. Isomerization of the complex to a Ru^IV intermediate creates the geometry adapted to C C bond formation. Re-coordination of the ketone before the C C coupling lowers the energy of the corresponding TS. The highest point on the potential energy surface (PES) is the TS for the isomerization to the Ru^IV intermediate, which prepares the catalyst geometry for the C C coupling step. Inclusion of dispersion corrections significantly lowers the height of the overall activation barrier. The actual bond cleavage and bond forming processes are associated to low activation barriers because of the presence of hydrogen atoms around the Ru center. They act as redox buffers through formation and breaking of H H bonds in the coordination sphere. This flexibility allows optimal repartition of the various ligands according to the change in stereoelectronic demands along the catalytic cycle.     

Isolable tris(alkyne) and bis(alkyne) complexes of gold(I)

Golden trefoils: Tris(alkyne)gold complex [(coct)(3)Au][SbF(6)] (see picture; 1-SbF(6)) can be synthesized from cyclooctyne (coct) and AuSbF(6) generated in situ. Treatment of AuCl with cyclooctyne led to the bis(alkyne)gold complex [Au(coct)(2)Cl] (2). DFT analysis indicates that the cyclooctyne ligands are net electron donors in 1 but overall electron acceptors in 2. AuSbF(6) is shown to mediate [2+2+2] cycloaddition reactions of alkynes.     

Theoretical study of the walk rearrangement in perfluorotetramethyl (Dewar thiophene) exo-S-oxide

A theoretical study of the ‘walk’ rearrangement in bicyclo[2.1.0]pentene and perfluorotetramethyl (Dewar thiophene) exo-S-oxide has been carried out. Despite the differences between them, the results for both reactions show an enhancement of aromaticity in the transition state, which is consistent with a pericyclic behavior. NBO calculations show that the small activation energy for the second reaction can be interpreted in terms of a strong stabilization of the transition state by the exo-oxide substituent. So, the mechanism proposed in the past should be revised.