Chalcogen–chalcogen-bond activation by an ambiphilic,doubly reduced organoborane

The 9,10-dimethyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene dianion salt Li₂[1] instantaneously reacts with the dichalcogens O₂(tBu)₂, S₂Me₂, S₂(pTol)₂, Se₂Ph₂, and Te₂Ph₂ under reductive cleavage of the chalcogen–chalcogen bonds to give lithium chalcogenides and neutral 1. In solution, the products are involved in rapid association/dissociation equilibria. In the crystalline state, 1 and Li[O(tBu)] form a diadduct, whereas Li[SMe] gives a B?B-bridged monoadduct. In the three remaining cases, the crystal lattices contain monoadducts of 1 with one tri- and one tetracoordinate boron atom.     

Ab initio versus CNDO potential surface calculations for Li2O and Al2O

Potential surfaces for Li₂O and Al₂O have been calculated by an ab initio SCF-LCAO-MO method and by the semiempirical CNDO method. For both molecules the semiempirical methods incorrectly imply unreasonable structures with very acute apex angles and very long bond distances — rather more like diatomic Li₂ or Al₂ molecules with O-atoms attached to their bonds. Our ab initio treatment does correctly predict a symmetrical linear configuration for Li₂O with bond distances in excellent agreement with experiment. This method also predicts a linear symmetrical structure for Al₂O, in agreement with experimental gas phase measurements but in disagreement with matrix-isolation studies.     

Ab Initio versus CNDO barrier calculations

Energy barrier curves to internal rotation in P₂H₄ and P₂F₄ have been studied by the ab initio SCF-LCAO-MO method in the gaussian approximation and by the CNDO method. For P₂H₄, two stable rotamers at 75 and 180 of equal energy and separated by a barrier of only 500 cal/mole are predicted, and the cis barrier computes to be 4.1 kcal/mole. A trans-only form of P₂F₄ is the theoretical structure with only an arrest in the barrier curve at the gauche position. The CNDO method does not produce reliable information concerning the number of stable rotamers, their precise configurations, or the heights of the barriers.

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Zusammenfassung Die Kurven der Energiebarriere bei der inneren Rotation von P₂H₄ und P₂F₄ wurden nach der ab initio SCF-LCAO-MO-Methode mit einer Basis von Gaussfunktionen sowie nach der CNDO-Methode untersucht. Beim P₂H₄ ergeben sich zwei stabile Rotamere von gleicher Energie bei 75 und 180 und getrennt durch eine Barriere von nur 500 cal/mol; die cis-Barriere berechnet sich zu 4.1 kcal/mol. Eine reine trans-Form von P₂F₄ ist die theoretische Struktur mit nur einem Sattelpunkt in der Energiekurve bei der gauche-Position. Die CNDO-Methode liefert keine genügend genauen Anhaltspunkte zur Zahl der stabilen Rotameren, ihren genauen Konfigurationen oder zu den Höhen der Barrieren.

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Résumé Les courbes d'énergie donnant les barrières de rotation interne ont été étudiées pour P₂H₄ et P₂F₄ par la méthode ab-initio SCF LCAO MO en base gaussienne et par la méthode CNDO. Pour P₂H₄ on prévoit deux rotamères stables de mÊme énergie à 75 et 180 séparés par une barrière de 500 cal/mole seulement, la barrière cis calculée étant de 4,1 kcal/mole. La structure théorique de P₂F₄ est la forme «tout-trans» avec seulement un arrÊt sur la courbe dans la position gauche. La méthode CNDO ne produit pas d'informations sûres en ce qui concerne les rotamères stables tant du point de vue de leurs configurations que de celui des barrières.

     

Protonization of purine, adenine, and guanine. NMR spectra and structure of mono, di, and tri cations

Proton NMR. spectra of purine, adenine, guanine and methylsubstituted guanines have been measured in CF₃COOH, FSO₃H and FSO₃H? SbF₅? SO₂ at 27° and low temperatures. These conditions permit to study multiple protonation of purines, using chemical shifts of CH, NH and OH protons. The spectra of mono-, di- and tri-cations are described and fully assigned.     

Maximum feasibility guideline in the design and analysis of protein folding potentials

Protein folding potentials are expected to have the lowest energy for the native shape. The Linear Programming (LP) approach achieves exactly that goal for a training set, or indicates that this goal is impossible to obtain. If a solution cannot be found (i.e., the problem is infeasible) two possible routes are possible: (a) choosing a new functional form for the potential, (b) finding the best potential with a feasible subset of the data, and (or) detecting inconsistent subset of the data in the training set. Here, we explore option (b). A simple heuristic for finding an approximate solution to an infeasible set of linear inequalities is outlined. An approximately feasible solution is obtained iteratively, starting from a certain initial guess, by computing a series of analytic centers of the polyhedra defined by all the inequalities satisfied at the subsequent iterations. Standard interior point algorithms for Linear Programming can be used to compute efficiently the analytic center of a polyhedron. We demonstrate how this procedure can be used for the design of folding potentials that are linear in their parameters. The procedure shows an improvement in the quality of the potentials and sometimes points to flaws in the original data.     

Iron-Iridium Mixed-Metal Carbonyl Clusters: A Mössbauer Study of the Structure and of the Adsorption of [Fe2Ir2(CO)12]2− on MgO

¹⁹³Ir and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to investigate the structure of the [Fe₂Ir₂(CO)₁₂]^2- cluster compound and the adsorption of this cluster on hydrated MgO. Supported samples were prepared by impregnation of the magnesia with solutions of [Et₄N]₂[Fe₂Ir₂(CO)₁₂] in acetone. The Mössbauer and FT-IR spectra of the MgO-supported cluster confirm that the bimetallic carbonyl is molecularly physisorbed onto MgO without undergoing any transformation or decomposition. The easy solvent extraction of the intact cluster from the oxide surface excludes ion pairing between the cluster anion and the Mg²⁺ surface sites. Mössbauer spectra are in agreement with the refined structure of the molecular cluster and the temperature dependence of the ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra above 80 K is consistent with the low degree of interaction of the cluster with the support. This technique, therefore, appears to be promising in order to infer structural information when X-ray determination fails.     

Studies on the Anode/Electrolyte Interfacein Lithium Ion Batteries

Summary.  Rechargeable lithium ion cells operate at voltages of 3.5–4.5 V, which is far beyond the thermodynamic stability window of the battery electrolyte. Strong electrolyte reduction and anode corrosion has to be anticipated, leading to irreversible loss of electroactive material and electrolyte and thus strongly deteriorating cell performance. To minimize these reactions, anode and electrolyte components have to be combined that induce the electrolyte reduction products to form an effectively protecting film at the anode/electrolyte interface, which hinders further electrolyte decomposition reactions, but acts as membrane for the lithium cations, i.e. behaving as a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). This paper focuses on important aspects of the SEI. By using key examples, the effects of film forming electrolyte additives and the change of the active anode material from carbons to lithium storage alloys are highlighted. Received May 30, 2000. Accepted June 14, 2000     

Collaborative study of EPA Method 317.0 for the determination of inorganic oxyhalide disinfection by-products in drinking water using ion chromatography with the addition of a postcolumn reagent for trace bromate analysis

The development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 317.0 is initiated to provide a sufficiently sensitive and fundamental technique for the compliance monitoring of trace levels of bromate in drinking water. After a comparative evaluation of Method 317.0 and elimination of a chlorite interference, this method is tested by a collaborative study in order to determine the precision and bias of the method and evaluate its potential role as a future compliance-monitoring method for inorganic disinfection by-products (DBPs) and trace bromate. This technique provides a practical method for future compliance monitoring for all of the inorganic oxyhalide DBPs including trace concentrations of bromate.     

An Argon–Oxygen Covalent Bond in the ArOH+ Molecular Ion

The OH⁺ cation is a well‐known diatomic for which the triplet (³Σ^?) ground state is 50.5 kcal mol^?1 more stable than its corresponding singlet (¹Δ) excited state. However, the singlet forms a strong donor–acceptor bond to argon with a bond energy of 66.4 kcal mol^?1 at the CCSDT(Q)/CBS level, making the singlet ArOH⁺ cation 3.9 kcal mol^?1 more stable than the lowest energy triplet complex. Both singlet and triplet isomers of this molecular ion were prepared in a cold molecular beam using different ion sources. Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in combination with messenger atom tagging shows that the two spin isomers exhibit completely different spectral signatures. The ground state of ArOH⁺ is the predicted singlet with a covalent Ar?O bond.