Monte Carlo configuration interaction applied to multipole moments,ionization energies,and electron affinities

The method of Monte Carlo configuration interaction (MCCI) (Greer, J. Chem. Phys. 1995a, 103, 1821; Tong, Nolan, Cheng, and Greer, Comp. Phys. Comm. 2000, 142, 132) is applied to the calculation of multipole moments. We look at the ground and excited state dipole moments in carbon monoxide. We then consider the dipole of NO, the quadrupole of N₂ and of BH. An octupole of methane is also calculated. We consider experimental geometries and also stretched bonds. We show that these nonvariational quantities may be found to relatively good accuracy when compared with full configuration interaction results, yet using only a small fraction of the full configuration interaction space. MCCI results in the aug‐cc‐pVDZ basis are seen to generally have reasonably good agreement with experiment. We also investigate the performance of MCCI when applied to ionisation energies and electron affinities of atoms in an aug‐cc‐pVQZ basis. We compare the MCCI results with full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (Booth and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2010, 132, 174104; Cleland, Booth, and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2011, 134, 024112) and “exact” nonrelativistic results (Booth and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2010, 132, 174104; Cleland, Booth, and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2011, 134, 024112). We show that MCCI could be a useful alternative for the calculation of atomic ionisation energies however electron affinities appear much more challenging for MCCI. Due to the small magnitude of the electron affinities their percentage errors can be high, but with regards to absolute errors MCCI performs similarly for ionisation energies and electron affinities. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Some reactions of diazomethane with polyfluoroazaolefins

The reactons of some polyfluoroazaolefins with diazomethane are described. Thus 5-H-decafluoro-2-aza-hex-2-(Z)-ene yields 1-trifluoro-methyl-2-fluoro-2-(1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl)-aziridine as the sole isolable product. However, undecafluoro-2-azahex-2(Z)-ene yields not only the corresponding aziridine, 1-trifluoromethyl-2-fluoro-2-(heptafluoropropyl) aziridine, but also 1-trifluoromethyl-5-(heptafluoropropyl)-1,2,3-triazole, and 1-trifluoromethyl-2-fluoromethyl-2-(heptafluoropropyl) aziridine. 5-H-octafluoro-2-azahexa-2(Z)4(Z)-diene yielded the expected aziridine and 1-trifluoromethyl-2-fluoromethyl-2-(1,1,3,3,-tetra-fluoroprop-2-enyl)aziridine. No products were observed as a result of reactions at the C = C bond and no triazole was isolated in this case. Nonafluoroazacyclohex-1-ene gave the corresponding aziridine and a small amount of a compound believed to be 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoro-1,8,9-triazabicyclo [4,3,0] nonadiene i.e. the triazole product.     

Unusually facile syntheses of [RuII(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) and [RuII(phen)3]2+ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline)

The salts [Ru^II(L–L)₃](CF₃SO₃)₂ (L–L = bpy or phen) have been prepared in high yields via reactions of [Ru^II(DMF)₆](CF₃SO₃)₂ (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), generated in situ by reduction of [Ru^III(DMF)₆]-(CF₃SO₃)₃, with an excess of bpy or phen at room temperature in DMF solutions.     

A re-investigation of the Fries rearrangement of 3-chlorophenyl acetate and synthesis of 2-azido-1-(4-(benzyloxy)-2-chlorophenyl)ethanone from 4-bromo-3-chlorophenol

The Fries rearrangement of 3-chlorophenyl acetate provided the expected 4-chloro-2-hydroxy-acetophenone as the major product and 2,4-diacetyl resorcinol and 2-chloro-4-hydroxy-acetophenone as minor products. 4-Benzyloxy-2-chloroacetophenone was prepared by a Heck reaction and then elaborated to 4-benzyloxy-2-chlorophenacyl azide.     

Optimizing conical intersections without derivative coupling vectors: application to multistate multireference second-order perturbation theory (MS-CASPT2)

We introduce a new method for optimizing minimal energy conical intersections (MECIs), based on a sequential penalty constrained optimization in conjunction with a smoothing function. The method is applied to optimize MECI geometries using the multistate formulation of second-order multireference perturbation theory (MS-CASPT2). Resulting geometries and energetics for conjugated molecules including ethylene, butadiene, stilbene, and the green fluorescent protein chromophore are compared with state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) and, where possible, benchmark multireference single- and double-excitation configuration interaction (MRSDCI) optimizations. Finally, we introduce the idea of "minimal distance conical intersections", which are points on the intersection seam that lie closest to some specified geometry such as the Franck-Condon point or a local minimum on the excited state.     

Polyfluoro-1,2-epoxy alkanes and cycloalkanes. Part IV [1]. Thermal reactions of the epoxides of the pentamer and hexamer oligomers of tetrafluoroethene

Oxirans (1) and (2), derived respectively from the pentamer and hexamer oligomers of tetrafluoroethene, were pyrolysed over pyrex glass at 300–500° alone and in the presence of cyclohexene, bromine and toluene. Thus, oxiran (1), pyrolysed alone, afforded perfluoro-2-methylbut-1-ene (3), perfluoro-2,3-dimethylpent-2-ene (4) and (E) and (Z) perfluoro-2,3-hex-3-ene (TFE tetramer) (5a, 5b). Co-pyrolysis of (1) with bromine afforded (E) and (Z) 2-bromoperfluoro-3-methylpent-2-ene (6a, 6b), whilst with toluene, (E) and (Z) 2H-perfluoro-3-methylpent-2-ene (7a, 7b) were obtained: (1) with excess cyclohexene also gave (7a, 7b). The oxiran (2), on pyrolysis alone, gave only (3). In the presence of bromine, (2) gave an equimolar mixture of 1-bromoperfluoro-3-methylpentan-2-one (8) and 3-bromoperfluoro-3-methylpentane (9). Co-pyrolysis of (2) with toluene yielded (3) and 3H-perfluoro-3-methylpentane (10). Pyrolysis of (2) with cyclohexene at 175° gave perfluoro-3-methyl-2-(1-methylpropyl)pent-2-en-1-oylfluoride (11), pentafluoroethylcyclohexane (12) and perfluoro[(1-ethyl-1-methylpropyl) (1-methylpropyl)]ketne (13).     

Accurate determination of the Ca:P ratio in rough hydroxyapatite samples by SEM‐EDS,PIXE and RBS—a comparative study

The Ca:P ratio in a certified standard of hydroxyapatite was determined by X‐ray spectrometry (XRS), with the X‐rays excited by both electrons and ions using energy dispersive spectroscopy on the scanning electron microscope (SEM‐EDS) and particle‐induced X‐ray emission (PIXE). The certified value of Ca:P was accurately verified by 3 MeV ⁴He⁺ Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). We show that the demonstrably rough surface of this sample does not cause perturbation of the Ca:P ratio within the uncertainties of each of the XRS measurements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.