Ni(+) reactions with aminoacetonitrile, a potential prebiological precursor of glycine

The gas-phase reactions between Ni(+) ((2)D(5/2)) and aminoacetonitrile, a molecule of prebiological interest as possible precursor of glycine, have been investigated by means of mass spectrometry techniques. The mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) spectrum reveals that the adduct ions [NC--CH(2)--NH(2), Ni(+)] spontaneously decompose by loosing HCN, H(2), and H(2)CNH, the loss of hydrogen cyanide being clearly dominant. The structures and bonding characteristics of the aminoacetonitrile-Ni(+) complexes as well as the different stationary points of the corresponding potential energy surface (PES) have been theoretically studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations carried out at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level. A cyclic intermediate, in which Ni(+) is bisligated to the cyano and the amino group, plays an important role in the unimolecular reactivity of these ions, because it is the precursor for the observed losses of HCN and H(2)CNH. In all mechanisms associated with the loss of H(2), the metal acts as hydrogen carrier favoring the formation of the H(2) molecule. The estimated bond dissociation energy of aminoacetonitrile-Ni(+) complexes (291 kJ mol(-1)) is larger than those measured for other nitrogen bases such as pyridine or pyrimidine and only slightly smaller than that of adenine.     

A microwave and quantum chemical study of cyclopropaneselenol

The microwave spectrum of cyclopropaneselenol, C 3H 5SeH, has been investigated in the 21.9-80 GHz frequency range. The microwave spectra of the ground vibrational state of five isotopologues of cyclopropaneselenol (C 3H 5 (82)SeH, C 3H 5 (80)SeH, C 3H 5 (78)SeH, C 3H 5 (77)SeH, and C 3H 5 (76)SeH) of one conformer, as well as the spectra of two vibrationally excited states of each of the C 3H 5 (80)SeH and C 3H 5 (78)SeH isotopologues of this rotamer, have been assigned. The H-C-Se-H chain of atoms is synclinal in this conformer, and there is no indication of further rotameric forms in the microwave spectrum. The b-type transitions of the ground vibrational state of the more abundant species C 3H 5 (80)SeH and C 3H 5 (78)SeH were split into two components, which is assumed to arise from tunneling of the proton of the selenol group between two equivalent synclinal potential wells. The tunneling frequencies were 0.693(55) MHz for C 3H 5 (80)SeH and 0.608(71) MHz for C 3H 5 (78)SeH. The microwave study has been augmented by high-level density functional and ab initio quantum chemical calculations, which indicate that the H-C-Se-H dihedral angle is approximately 75 degrees from synperiplanar (0 degrees).     

A microwave and quantum chemical study of cyclopropanethiol

The microwave spectra of cyclopropanethiol, C(3)H(5)SH, and one deuterated species C(3)H(5)SD, have been investigated in the 20 - 80 GHz frequency range. The spectra of the ground vibrational state and of three vibrationally excited states of the parent species of a conformer which has a synclinal ("gauche") arrangement for the H-C-S-H chain of atoms, was assigned. The H-C-S-H dihedral angle is 76(5)° from synperiplanar (0°). The b-type transitions of the ground and of the vibrationally excited states of the parent species were split into two components, which is assumed to arise from tunneling of the proton of the thiol group between two equivalent synclinal potential wells. No splitting was resolved in the spectrum of C(3)H(5)SD. The tunneling frequency of the ground vibrational state of C(3)H(5)SH is 1.664(22) MHz. The tunneling frequency of the first excited-state of the C-S torsion is 52.330(44) MHz, whereas this frequency is 26.43(13) and 3.286(61) MHz, respectively, for the first excited states of the two lowest bending vibrations. The dipole moment of the ground vibrational state of the parent species is μ(a) = 4.09(5), μ(b) = 2.83(11), μ(c) = 0.89(32), and μ(tot) = 5.06(16) × 10(-30) C m. The microwave study has been augmented by high-level density functional and ab initio quantum chemical calculations.     

The Mellin Transform and Spectral Properties of Toric Varieties

In this paper we apply the results of [W] on the twisted Mellin transform to problems in toric geometry. In particular, we use these results to describe the asymptotics of probability densities associated with the monomial eigenstates, z ^k , $ k \in \mathbb{Z}^{d} $ , in Bargmann space and prove an “upstairs” version of the spectral density theorem of [BGU]. We also obtain for the z ^k ’s, “upstairs” versions of the results of [STZ] on distribution laws for eigenstates on toric varieties.     

A microwave spectroscopic and quantum chemical study of propa-1,2-dienyl selenocyanate (H(2)==C==CHSeC[triple bond]N) and cyclopropyl selenocyanate (C(3)H(5)SeC[triple bond]N)

The microwave spectra of propa-1,2-dienyl selenocyanate, H(2)C==C==CHSeC[triple bond]N, and cyclopropyl selenocyanate, C(3)H(5)SeC[triple bond]N, are reported. The spectra of the ground and two vibrationally excited states of the (80)Se isotopologue and the spectrum of the ground state of the (78)Se isotopologue were assigned for one rotameric form of H(2)C==C[double bond, length as m-dash]CHSeC[triple bond]N. This conformer is characterized by a C-C-Se-C dihedral angle of 129(5) degrees from synperiplanar (0 degrees ) and is shown to be the global minimum of H(2)C[double bond, length as m-dash]C[double bond, length as m-dash]CHSeC[triple bond]N. The spectra of the ground and of three vibrationally excited states of the (80)Se isotopologue, as well as of the ground state of the (78)Se isotopologue of one rotamer of C(3)H(5)SeC[triple bond]N were assigned. This conformer has a H-C-Se-C dihedral angle of 80(4) degrees from synperiplanar and is at least 3 kJ mol(-1) more stable than any other form of the molecule. The microwave study has been augmented by quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+ +G(3df,3pd) and MP2/6-311+ +G(3df,3pd) levels of theory.     

More user-friendly phosphines? Molecular structure of methylphosphine and its adduct with borane, studied by gas-phase electron diffraction and quantum chemical calculations

The molecular structures of methylphosphine (CH(3)PH(2)) and methylphosphine-borane (CH(3)PH(2).BH(3)) have been determined from gas-phase electron diffraction data and rotational constants, employing the SARACEN method. The experimental geometric parameters generally showed a good agreement with those obtained using ab initio calculations and previous microwave spectroscopy studies. In order to assess the accuracy of the calculated structures a range of ab initio methods were used, including the CCSD(T) method, with correlation-consistent basis sets. The structural environment around the phosphorus atom was found to change significantly upon complexation with borane, with the P-C bond length shortening and the bond angles widening.     

H2S ultrafast dissociation probed by energy-selected resonant Auger electron-ion coincidence measurements

We have studied the ultrafast dissociation of the H2S molecule upon S 2p3/2-->6a1 inner-shell excitation by combining high-resolution resonant Auger spectroscopy and energy-selected Auger electron-ion coincidence measurements. Auger final states have been correlated to the different fragmentation pathways (S+, HS+, and H2S+ ions). As an original result, we evidence a three-step mechanism to describe the resonant production of S+: the Auger recombination in the HS* fragment is followed for the A 3Pi and c 1Pi states by the S++H fragmentation mechanism.     

Microwave and quantum chemical study of propa-1,2-dienyl thiocyanate (H2C=C=CHSC triple bond N)

The microwave spectrum of propa-1,2-dienyl thiocyanate (H2C=C=CHSC triple bond N) has been investigated in the 24-40 and 50-80 GHz spectral regions. The spectrum of one conformer was assigned. This rotamer, which has a C-C-S-C dihedral angle of about 134 degrees from synperiplanar, is at least 2 kJ/mol more stable than any other form. Two vibrationally excited states assumed to belong to the first excited state of the C-S torsional vibration and to a low bending mode were assigned. Their frequencies were determined to be 62(20) and 155(30) cm-1, respectively. The microwave work has been augmented by ab initio calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ and density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The B3LYP calculations are generally in better agreement with the observations than the MP2 calculations.     

The Electronic Structure of Some Cyanohydrins—A Spectroscopically Under‐Investigated Family of Compounds

Cyanohydrins are usually formed by addition of hydrogen cyanide to aldehydes or ketones while the elimination of HCN from cyanohydrins is easily observed upon heating. The low thermal stability of these highly boiling compounds leads to difficult studies in the gas phase where partial or complete decomposition is usually observed. Consequently, the reported physicochemical properties of such compounds in the gas phase are still scarce. Keeping with this, four simple cyanohydrins, the glycolonitrile and methyl, vinyl and ethynyl derivatives, have been selected. These are possible candidates for the Interstellar Medium, where the corresponding aldehydes and HCN have been detected, and could have played an important role in prebiotic chemistry, as already proposed for some of them. Three well‐suited spectroscopic techniques, namely, UV photoelectron, infrared, and Raman spectroscopies, in tandem with quantum calculations, have been chosen for the structure analysis. Photoelectron spectroscopy, successfully performed with gaseous compounds, provides the first comparative study on cyanohydrins in the gas phase.