Ligand-stabilized aromatic three-membered gold rings and their sandwichlike complexes

Electronic structure calculations (DFT) suggest that ligand-stabilized three-membered gold(I) rings constituting the core structure in a series of cyclo-Au3L(n)H(3-n) (L = CH3, NH2, OH and Cl; n = 1, 2, 3) molecules exhibit aromaticity, which is primarily due to 6s and 5d cyclic electron delocalization over the triangular Au3 framework (s- and d-orbital aromaticity). The aromaticity of the novel triangular gold(I) isocycles was verified by a number of established criteria of aromaticity. In particular, the nucleus-independent chemical shift, NICS(0), the upfield changes in the chemical shifts for Li+, Ag+, and Tl+ cations over the Au3 ring plane, and their interaction with electrophiles (e.g., H+, Li+, Ag+, and Tl+) are indicative for the aromaticity of the three-membered gold(I) rings. Interestingly, unlike the respective substituted derivatives of cyclopropenium cation and the bora-cyclopropene carbacyclic analogues, the aromatic Au3 rings, although exhibit comparable diatropicity, react with electrophiles in a different way affording 1:1 and 2:1 sandwichlike complexes. The bonding in the three-membered gold(I) rings is characterized by a common ring-shaped electron density, more commonly seen in aromatic organic molecules and in "all-metal" aromatics, such as the cyclo-[Hg3]4- tetraanion. Moreover, the cation-pi interactions in the 1:1 and 1:2 sandwichlike complexes formed upon reacting the Au3 rings with electrophiles, depending on the nature of the cation, are predicted to be predominantly electrostatic (Li+, Tl+) or covalent (H+, Ag+). The 1:2 complexes constitute a new class of sandwichlike complexes, which are expected to have novel properties and applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of new five-coordinate platinum nitrosyl derivatives: density functional theory study of their electronic structure

The neutral, five-coordinate platinum nitrosyl compounds [Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)(NO)] (2) [L=CNtBu (2 a), NC(5)H(4)Me-4 (2 b), PPhMe(2) (2 c), PPh(3) (2 d) and tht (2 e)] have been prepared by the reaction of [NBu(4)][Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)] (1) with NOClO(4) in CH(2)Cl(2). The ionic compound [N(PPh(3))(2)][Pt(C(6)F(5))(4)(NO)] (4) has been prepared in a similar way starting from the homoleptic species [N(PPh(3))(2)](2)[Pt(C(6)F(5))(4)] (3). Compounds 2 and 4 are all diamagnetic with [PtNO](8) electronic configuration and show nu(NO) stretching frequencies at around 1800 cm(-1). The crystal and molecular structures of 2 c and 4 have been established by X-ray diffraction methods. The coordination environment for the Pt center in both compounds can be described as square pyramidal (SPY-5). Bent nitrosyl coordination is observed in both cases with Pt-N-O angles of 120.1(6) and 130.2(7) degrees for 2 c and 4, respectively. The bonding mechanism of the nitrosyl ligand coordinated to various model [Pt(II)R(4)](2-) (R=H, Me, Cl, CN, C(6)F(5) or C(6)Cl(5)) and [Pt(C(6)F(5))(3)(L)](-) (L=CNMe, PH(3)) systems has been studied by density functional calculations at the B3LYP level of theory, using the SDD basis set. The R(4)Pt-NO and (C(6)F(5))(3)(L)Pt-NO interactions generally involve two components: i) a direct Pt-NO bonding interaction and ii) multicenter-bonding interactions between the N atom of the NO ligand and the donor atoms of the R and L ligands. Moreover, with the more complex R groups, C(6)F(5) or C(6)Cl(5), a third component has been found to arise, which involves multicenter electrostatic interactions between the positively charged NO ligand and the negatively charged halo-substituents in the ortho-position of the C(6)X(5) groups (X=F, Cl). The contribution of each component to the Pt-NO bonding in R(4)Pt-NO and (C(6)F(5))(3)(L)Pt-NO compounds seems to be modulated by the electronic and steric effects of the R and L ligands.     

Mechanistic insights into the Bazarov synthesis of urea from NH3 and CO2 using electronic structure calculation methods

The mechanism of the noncatalyzed and reagent-catalyzed Bazarov synthesis of urea has extensively been investigated in the gas phase by means of density functional (B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)) and high quality ab initio (CBS-QB3) computational techniques. It was found that the first step of urea formation from NH3(g) and CO2(g) corresponds to a simple addition reaction leading to the carbamic acid intermediate, a process being slightly endothermic. Among the three possible reaction mechanisms considered, the addition-elimination-addition (AEA) and the double addition-elimination (DAE) mechanisms are almost equally favored, while the concerted (C) one was predicted kinetically forbidden. The second step involves the formation of loose adducts between NH3 and carbamic acid corresponding to an ammonium carbamate intermediate, which subsequently dehydrates to urea. The formation of "ammonium carbamate" corresponds to an almost thermoneutral process, whereas its dehydration, which is the rate-determining step, is highly endothermic. The Bazarov synthesis of urea is strongly assisted by the active participation of extra NH3 or H2O molecules (autocatalysis). For all reaction pathways studied the entire geometric and energetic profiles were computed and thoroughly analyzed. The reaction scheme described herein can be related with the formation of both isocyanic acid, H-N=C=O, and carbamic acid, H2N-COOH, as key intermediates in the initial formation of organic molecules, such as urea, under prebiotic conditions.     

Influence of Pb(II) on the radical properties of humic substances and model compounds

The influence of Pb(II) ions on the properties of the free radicals formed in humic acids and fulvic acids was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. It is shown that, in both humic acid and fulvic acid, Pb(II) ions shift the radical formation equilibrium by increasing the concentration of stable radicals. Moreover, in both humic acid and fulvic acid, Pb(II) ions cause a characteristic lowering of the stable radicals' g-values to g = 2.0010, which is below the free electron g-value. This effect is unique for Pb ions and is not observed with other dications. Gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) and tannic acid are shown to be appropriate models for the free radical properties, i.e., g-values, Pb effect, pH dependence, of humic and fulvic acid, respectively. On the basis of density functional theory calculations for the model system (gallic acid-Pb), the observed characteristic g-value reduction upon Pb binding is attributed to the delocalization of the unpaired spin density onto the Pb atom. The present data reveal a novel environmental role of Pb(II) ions on the formation and stabilization of free radicals in natural organic matter.     

A New Class of “All‐Metal” Aromatic Hydrido‐Bridged Binary Coinage Metal Heterocycles. A DFT Study

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.     

DFT assessment of the spectroscopic constants and absorption spectra of neutral and charged diatomic species of group 11 and 14 elements

The spectroscopic constants and absorption spectra of neutral and charged diatomic molecules of group 11 and 14 elements formulated as [M₂]^+/0/? (M = Cu, Ag, Au), and [E₂]^+/0/? (E = C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb) have been calculated at the PBE0/Def2‐QZVPP level of theory. The electronic and bonding properties of the diatomics have been analyzed by natural bond orbital analysis approach and topology analysis by the atoms in molecules method. Particular emphasis was given on the absorption spectra of the diatomic species, which were simulated by time‐dependent density functional theory calculations employing the hybrid Coulomb‐attenuating CAM‐B3LYP density functional. The simulated absorption spectra of the [M₂]^+/0/? (M = Cu, Ag, Au) and [E₂]^+/0/? (E = C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb) species are in close resemblance with the experimentally observed spectra whenever available. The neutral M₂ and E₂ diatomics strongly absorb in the ultraviolet region, given rise to UVC, UVA and in a few cases UVB absorptions. In a few cases, weak absorbion bands also occur in the visible region. The absorption bands have thoroughly been analyzed and assignments of the contributing principal electronic transitions associated to individual excitations have been made. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the antisymmetric magnetic behavior of copper inverse-9-metallacrown-3 compounds

Use of PhPyCNO (-)/X (-) "blends" (PhPyCNOH = phenyl 2-pyridyl ketoxime; X (-) = OH (-), alkanoato, ClO 4 (-)) in copper chemistry yielded trinuclear clusters that have been characterized as inverse-9-metallacrown-3 compounds and accommodate one or two guest ligands. The magnetic behavior showed a large antiferromagnetic interaction and a discrepancy between the low-temperature magnetic behavior observed experimentally and that predicted from a magnetic model. The discrepancy between the Brillouin curve and the experimental result provides clear evidence of the influence of the antisymmetric interaction. Introducing the antisymmetric terms derived from the fit of the susceptibility data into the magnetization formula caused the simulated curve to become nearly superimposable on the experimental one. The EPR data indicated that the compound [Cu 3(PhPyCNO) 3(mu 3-OH)(2,4,5-T) 2] ( 1), where 2,4,5-T is 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetate, has isosceles or lower magnetic symmetry (delta not equal 0), that antisymmetric exchange is important ( G not equal 0), and that Delta E > hnu. The structures of the complexes 1 and [Cu 3(PhPyCNO) 3(mu 3-OH)(H 2O)(ClO 4) 2] ( 2) were determined using single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory were performed using the full crystal structures of 1, 2, [Cu 3(PhPyCNO) 3(OH)(CH 3OH) 2(ClO 4) 2] ( 3), and [Cu 3(PhPyCNO) 3(mu 3-OMe)(Cl)(ClO 4)] ( 4). The geometries of the model compounds [Cu 3(kappa (3) N, N, O-HNCHCHNO) 3(mu 3-OH)(mu 2-HCOO)(HCOO)] ( 5), [Cu 3(kappa (3) N, N, O-HNCHCHNO) 3(mu 2-HCOO)(HCOO)] (+) ( 6), [Cu 3(kappa (3) N, N, O-HNCHCHNO) 3(mu 3-O)] (+) ( 7), and [Cu 3(kappa (3) N, N, O-HNCHCHNO) 3] (3+) ( 8) were optimized at the same level of theory for both the doublet and quartet states, and vibrational analysis indicated that the resulting equilibrium geometries corresponded to minima on the potential energy surfaces. Both e g and t 2g magnetic orbitals seem to contribute to the magnetic exchange coupling. The latter contribution, although less important, might be due to overlap of the t 2g orbitals with the p-type orbitals of the central triply bridging oxide ligand, thereby affecting its displacement from the Cu 3 plane and contributing to the antiferromagnetic coupling. The crucial role of the triply bridging oxide (mu 3-O) ligand on the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between the three Cu(II) magnetic centers is further evidenced by the excellent linear correlation of the coupling constant J with the distance of the mu 3-O ligand from the centroid of the Cu 3 triangle.     

Unraveling the origin of the peculiar reaction field of triruthenium ring core structures

The molecular and electronic structures, stabilities, bonding features, and spectroscopic properties of prototypical ligand stabilized [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-X)3]0,3+ (X = H, BH, CH2, NH2, OH, Cl, NH, CO, O, PH2, CF2, CCl2, CNH, N3) isocycles have been thoroughly investigated by means of electronic structure calculation methods at the DFT level of theory. All [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-X)3]0,3+ species, except [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-H)3]3+, are predicted to be aromatic molecules. In contrast, the [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-H)3]3+ species exhibits a high antiaromatic character, which would be responsible for the well-established peculiar reaction field of hydrido-bridged triruthenium core structures. The aromaticity/antiaromaticity of the model [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-X)3]0,3+ isocycles was verified by an efficient and simple criterion in probing the aromaticity/antiaromaticity of a molecule, that of the nucleus-independent chemical shift, NICS(0), NICS(1), NICS(-1), NICSzz(1), and NICSzz(-1), along with the NICS scan profiles. The versatile chemical reactivity of the antiaromatic [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-H)3]3+ molecule related to the activation of small molecules that leads to the breaking of various strong single and double bonds is thoroughly investigated by means of electronic structure computational techniques, and the mechanistic details for a representative activation process, that of the dehydrogenation of NH3, to form a triply bridging imido-group (mu3-NH) face-capping the Ru3 ring are presented. Finally, the molecular and electronic structures, stabilities, and bonding features of a series of [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-H)3(mu3-Nuc)]0,1,2+ (Nuc = BH, BCN, BOMe, C4-, CH3-, CMe3-, N3-, NH, N3-, NCO-, OCN-, NCS-, O2-, S2-, OH-, P3-, POH2-, Cl-, O22-, NCH, AlMe, GaMe, C6H6, and cyclo-C3H2Me) products formed upon reacting the archetype [cyclo-Ru3(mu2-H)3]3+ molecule with the appropriate substrates are also comprehensibly analyzed.