Mass Spectrometry of π-complexes of transition metals : IV. π-Cyclopentadienylirondicarbonyldichlorogermaniums

The mass spectra of C₅H₅(CO)₂FeGECl₂X (X = Cl, Me, Et, n-Pr or CH₂Ph) show very intensive rearrangement ions which are formed due to cyclopentadienyl ring migration from iron to the germanium atom or chlorine (subsituent) migration from germanium to atom.     

Spectroscopic study of hydrogen exchange processes and structure of intermediate complexes with intermolecular hydrogen bonds

The kinetics of hydrogen exchange in molecular systems with H-bonds has been studied by means of kinetic IR spectroscopy and low-temperature NMR spectroscopy. The experimental values of the rate constants and activation energies for molecules capable of forming H-bonds as both proton donors and proton acceptor are collected and analyzed from the point of view of the influence of H-bond formation ability of the molecules-partners. The evidence available testifies to a molecular mechanism of the H-exchange reactions in inert solvents and in the gas phase via the formation of cyclic bimolecular intermediates. The different mechanisms and the structure of intermediate complex of molecular H-exchange process in inert media are discussed and the possible paths of experimental elucidation of reaction mechanism are offered.     

Estimation of O-H bond dissociation energies in alcohols and acids from kinetic data

The O-H bond dissociation energies (D _O-H) in five alcohols and six acids have been determined from experimental data (rate constants of radical reactions). The ratio of the rate constants of the reactions R¹O˙+RH→R¹OH+R˙ and R ⁱ O˙+RH→R ⁱ OH+R˙ and the intersecting parabolas method are used in the estimation procedure. The D _O-H values are used to calculate the activation energies and rate constants for hydrogen abstraction from 2-methylbutane, butene-1, and cumene by alkoxyl and carboxyl radicals. The geometric parameters of the transition state are calculated for these reactions.     

A novel RNA motif based on the structure of unusually stable 2',5'-linked r(UUCG) loops

We have recently shown that hairpins containing 2',5'-linked RNA loops exhibit superior thermodynamic stability compared to native hairpins comprised of 3',5'-RNA loops [Hannoush, R. N.; Damha, M. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 12368-12374]. A remarkable feature of the 2',5'-r(UUCG) tetraloop is that, unlike the corresponding 3',5'-linked tetraloop, its stability is virtually independent of the hairpin stem composition. Here, we determine the solution structure of unusually stable hairpins of the sequence 5'-G(1)G(2)A(3)C(4)-(U(5)U(6)C(7)G(8))-G(9)(U/T(10))C(11)C(12)-3' containing a 2',5'-linked RNA (UUCG) loop and either an RNA or a DNA stem. The 2',5'-linked RNA loop adopts a new fold that is completely different from that previously observed for the native 3',5'-linked RNA loop. The 2',5'-RNA loop is stabilized by (a). U5.G8 wobble base pairing, with both nucleotide residues in the anti-conformation, (b). extensive base stacking, and (c). sugar-base and sugar-sugar contacts, all of which contribute to the extra stability of this hairpin structure. The U5:G8 base pair stacks on top of the C4:G9 loop-closing base pair and thus appears as a continuation of the stem. The loop uracil U6 base stacks above U5 base, while the cytosine C7 base protrudes out into the solvent and does not participate in any of the stabilizing interactions. The different sugar pucker and intrinsic bonding interactions within the 2',5'-linked ribonucleotides help explain the unusual stability and conformational properties displayed by 2',5'-RNA tetraloops. These findings are relevant for the design of more effective RNA-based aptamers, ribozymes, and antisense agents and identify the 2',5'-RNA loop as a novel structural motif.     

Radical addition reactions: factors determining the transition-state geometry

Interatomic distances in the reaction centers of the addition reactions of (i) H^· to the C=C, C=O, N≡C, and C≡C bonds, (ii) ^·CH₃ radical to the C=C, C=O, and C≡C bonds, and (iii) alkyl, aminyl, and alkoxyl radicals to olefin C=C bonds were determined using a new semiempirical method for calculating transition-state geometries of radical reactions. For all reactions of the type X^· + Y=Z → X— Y—Z^· the r ^# _X...Y distance in the transition state is a linear function of the enthalpy of reaction. Parameters of this dependence were determined for seventeen classes of radical addition reactions. The bond elongation, Δr ^# _X...Y, in the transition state decreases as the triplet repulsion, electronegativity difference between the atoms X and Y in the reaction center, and the force constant of the attacked multiple bond increase. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 894–902, April, 2005.     

On the mechanism of the oxidation of cyclohexanone

Conclusions The parallel formation of hydroperoxide, lactone, and acids in the initial period of the initiated oxidation of cyclohexanone was established. The reaction RO₂ + cyclohexanone RO+lactone, RO acid, explaining this fact, was proposed.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Setiya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1108–1110, June, 1964     

Kinetic Parameters of Alkyl,Alkoxy, and Peroxy Radical Isomerization

The parabolic model of radical abstraction reactions is used to analyze experimental data on monomolecular hydrogen-atom transfer in the reactionsRC^.H(CH₂) _n CH₂R¹ RCH₂(CH₂) _n C^.HR¹(n= 2, 3, 4)RCH(O^.)(CH₂)₂CH₂R¹ RCH(OH)(CH₂)₂C^.HR¹ RCH(OO^.)(CH₂) _n CH₂R¹ RCH(OOH)(CH₂) _n C^.HR¹(n= 1, 2).The activation energies and rate constants that specify each class of these reactions are calculated. Alkyl radical isomerization is characterized by the following activation energies of a thermally neutral reaction depending on the cycle size in the transition state (nis the number of atoms in a cycle): E _{e , 0}(kJ/mol) = 46.6 (n= 6), 59.4 (n= 5), and 57.1 (n= 7). Alkoxy radicals isomerize with E _{e , 0}(kJ/mol) = 53.4 (n= 6), whereas peroxy radicals isomerize with E _{e , 0}(kJ/mol) = 53.2 (n= 6) and E _{e , 0}(kJ/mol) = 54.8 (n= 7). The E _{e , 0}value varies with changes in the cycle size and the strain energy in cycloparaffin C _n H_2n in the same manner. The activation energies E _{e , 0}for the intra- and intermolecular H-atom abstractions are compared. It is found that E _{e , 0}(isomerization) < E _{e , 0}(R^.+ R¹H) for alkyl radicals and that E _{e , 0}(isomerization) E _{e , 0}(RO^.(RO^.) + R¹H) for alkoxy and peroxy radicals.     

Polymerization of nitrogen in sodium azide

The high-pressure behavior of nitrogen in NaN(3) was studied to 160 GPa at 120-3300 K using Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity, laser heating, and shear deformation methods. Nitrogen in sodium azide is in a molecularlike form; azide ions N(3-) are straight chains of three atoms linked with covalent bonds and weakly interact with each other. By application of high pressures we strongly increased interaction between ions. We found that at pressures above 19 GPa a new phase appeared, indicating a strong coupling between the azide ions. Another transformation occurs at about 50 GPa, accompanied by the appearance of new Raman peaks and a darkening of the sample. With increasing pressure, the sample becomes completely opaque above 120 GPa, and the azide molecular vibron disappears, evidencing completion of the transformation to a nonmolecular nitrogen state with amorphouslike structure which crystallizes after laser heating up to 3300 K. Laser heating and the application of shear stress accelerates the transformation and causes the transformations to occur at lower pressures. These changes can be interpreted in terms of a transformation of the azide ions to larger nitrogen clusters and then polymeric nitrogen net. The polymeric forms can be preserved on decompression in the diamond anvil cell but transform back to the starting azide and other new phases under ambient conditions.     

The ν(OH/OD) band shape of strong hydrogen bonded dimers of phosphinic acids. Phenomenology and formation models

The infrared spectra of phosphinic acid R₂POOH dimers (R=CH₃, CH₂Cl, C₆H₅) have been studied in CCl₄ and CH₂Cl₂ solutions (T=300 K). The infrared spectra of deuterated R₂POOD dimers (R=CH₃, CH₂Cl) were also studied in the gas phase (T=400–550 K) and solid state (T=100–300 K). They are compared with previously studied spectra of the light (non-deuterated) dimers in the gas phase, in the solid state and in low-temperature argon matrices (T=12–30 K) in the 4000–400 cm⁻¹ spectral region. It is found that the strong and broad ν(OH) dimer bands have similar shapes, nearly equal values of bandwidth and low-frequency shift, and possess the Hadzi ABC structure irrespective of the type of acid, significant differences of dimerization enthalpies, influence of solvent, the type of H-bonded complexes (cyclic dimers in the gas phase, in solutions, and in inert matrices, and infinite chains in the solid state), and temperature in the range 12–600 K. Isotopic ratio of the first moments of light and deuterated acid bands has been measured. Analysis of the ν(OH/OD) band of hydrogen bonded dimers of phosphinic acids shows that the interaction between the two intermolecular bonds O–HOP in a cyclic complex plays virtually no role in the mechanism of the ν(OH/OD) band formation; the shape of ν(OH/OD) band is controlled mainly by the POOH(D)O fragment; and the band shape of strong hydrogen bonded complexes is formed by a number of vibrational transitions from the ground state to different combination levels in the region 3500–1500 cm⁻¹.