Pentafluoro(aryl)‐λ6‐tellanes and Tetrafluoro(aryl)(trifluoromethyl)‐λ6‐tellanes: From SF5 to the TeF5 and TeF4CF3 Groups

The TeF₅ group is significantly underexplored as a highly fluorinated substituent on an organic framework, despite it being a larger congener of the acclaimed SF₅ group. In fact, only one aryl‐TeF₅ compound (phenyl‐TeF₅) has been reported to date, synthesized using XeF₂. Our recently developed mild TCICA/KF approach to oxidative fluorination provides an affordable and scalable alternative to XeF₂. Using this method, we report a scope of extensively characterized aryl‐TeF₅ compounds, along with the first SC‐XRD data on this compound class. The methodology was also extended to the synthesis and structural study of heretofore unknown aryl‐TeF₄CF₃ compounds. Additionally, preliminary reactivity studies unveiled some inconsistencies with previous literature regarding phenyl‐TeF₅. Although our studies conclude that the arene‐based TeF₅ (and TeF₄CF₃) group is not quite as robust as the SF₅ group, we find that the TeF₅ group is more stable than previously thought, thus opening a door to explore new applications of this motif.     

Performance of the constrained minimization of the total energy in density functional approximations: the electron repulsion density and potential

In the constrained minimization method of Gidopoulos and Lathiotakis [N.I. Gidopoulos, N.N. Lathiotakis, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 224109 (2012)], the Hartree exchange and correlation Kohn-Sham potential of a finite N-electron system is replaced by the electrostatic potential of an effective charge density that is everywhere positive and integrates to a charge of N ? 1 electrons. The optimal effective charge density (electron repulsion density, ρ_rep) and the corresponding optimal effective potential (electron repulsion potential v_rep) are obtained by minimizing the electronic total energy in any density functional approximation. The two constraints are sufficient to remove the self-interaction errors from v_rep, correcting its asymptotic behavior at large distances from the system. In the present work, we describe, in complete detail, the constrained minimization method, including recent refinements. We also assess its performance in removing the self-interaction errors for three popular density functional approximations, namely LDA, PBE and B3LYP, by comparing the obtained ionization energies to their experimental values for an extended set of molecules. We show that the results of the constrained minimizations are almost independent of the specific approximation with average percentage errors 15%, 14%, 13% for the above DFAs respectively. These errors are substantially smaller than the corresponding errors of the plain (unconstrained) Kohn-Sham calculations at 38%, 39% and 27% respectively. Finally, we showed that this method correctly predicts negative values for the HOMO energies of several anions.     

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of O3 with selected organics at 296 K

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of O₃ with ethene, propene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, styrene, o-, m-, and p-cresol, o- and m-xylene, benzylchloride, acrylonitrile, and trichloroethene have been determined at 296 ± 2 K. The rate constants ranged from <5 × 10^?21 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 for m-xylene to 2.16 × 10^?17 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 for styrene, with those for ethene, propene, and 1-hexene being in excellent agreement with literature data.     

Computer modeling of smog chamber data: Progress in validation of a detailed mechanism for the photooxidation of propene and n-butane in photochemical smog

A detailed mechanism is presented for reactions occurring during irradiation of part-per-million concentrations of propene and/or n-butane and oxides of nitrogen in air. Data from an extensive series of well-characterized smog chamber experiments carried out in our 5800-liter evacuable chamber–solar simulator facility designed for providing data suitable for quantitative model validation were used to elucidate several unknown or uncertain kinetic parameters and details of the reaction mechanism. The mechanism was then tested against the data base from the smog chamber runs. In general, most calculated concentration–time profiles agreed with experiments to within the experimental uncertainties. Fits were usually attained to within ～±20% or better for ozone, NO, propene, and n-butane, to within ～±30% or better for NO₂, PAN, methyl ethyl ketone, 2-butyl nitrate, butyraldehyde, and (in runs not containing propene) methyl nitrate, to within ?±50% or better for the minor products 1-butyl nitrate and propene oxide, and to within a factor of 2 for methyl nitrate in propene-containing runs. Propionaldehyde was consistently underpredicted in all runs; it is probably a chamber contaminant. For formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, the major products in both systems, fits to within ?±20% were often obtained, yet for a number of experiments, significantly greater discrepancies were observed, probably as a result of experimental and/or analytical problems. The good fits to experimental data were attained only after adjusting several rate constants or rate constant ratios related to uncertainties concerning chamber effects or the chemical mechanism. The largest uncertainty concerns the necessity to include in the mechanism a significant rate of radical input from unknown sources in the smog chamber. Other areas where fundamental kinetic and mechanistic data are most needed before a predictive, detailed propene + n-butane-NO_x-air smog model can be completely validated concern other chamber effects, the O₃ + propene mechanism, decomposition rates of substituted alkoxy radicals, primary quantum yields for radical production as a function of wavelength for aldehyde and ketone photolyses, and the mechanisms and rates of reactions of peroxy radicals with NO and NO².     

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of O3 with a series of carbonyls at 296 K

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of O₃ with the carbonyls acrolein, crotonaldehyde, methacrolein, methylvinylketone, 3-penten-2-one, 2-cyclohexen-1-one, acetaldehyde, and methylglyoxal have been determined at 296 ± 2 K. The rate constants ranged from <6 × 10^?21 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 for acetaldehyde to 2.13 × 10^?17 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 for 3-penten-2-one. The substituent effects of ? CHO and CH₃CO? groups on the rate constants are assessed and discussed, as are implications for the atmospheric chemistry of the natural hydrocarbon isoprene.     

In situ formation of ruthenium catalysts for the homogeneous hydrogenation of carbon dioxide

A total of 44 different phosphines were tested, in combination with [RuCl(2)(C(6)H(6))](2) and three other Ru(II) precursors, for their ability to form active catalysts for the hydrogenation of CO(2) to formic acid. Half (22) of the ligands formed catalysts of significant activity, and only 6 resulted in very high rates of production of formic acid. These were PMe(3), PPhMe(2), dppm, dppe, and cis- and trans-Ph(2)PCH=CHPPh(2). The in situ catalysts prepared from [RuCl(2)(C(6)H(6))](2) and any of these 6 phosphine ligands were found to be at least as efficient as the isolated catalyst RuCl(O(2)CMe)(PMe(3))(4). There was no correlation between the basicity of monophosphines (PR(3)) and the activity of the catalysts formed from them. However, weakly basic diphosphines formed highly active catalysts only if their bite angles were small, while more strongly basic diphosphines had the opposite trend. In situ (31)P NMR spectroscopy showed that trans-Ru(H)(2)(dppm)(2), trans-RuCl(2)(dppm)(2), trans-RuHCl(dppm)(2), cis-Ru(H)(O(2)CH)(dppm)(2), and cis-Ru(O(2)CH)(2)(dppm)(2) are produced as the major metal-containing species in reactions of dppm with [RuCl(2)(C(6)H(6))](2) under catalytic conditions at 50 degrees C.     

On the Form of Parametrized Gravitation in Flat Spacetime

In a framework describing manifestly covariant relativistic evolution using a scalar time , consistency demands that -dependent fields be used. In recent work by the authors, general features of a classical parametrized theory of gravitation, paralleling general relativity where possible, were outlined. The existence of a preferred time coordinate changes the theory significantly. In particular, the Hamiltonian constraint for is removed From the Euler-Lagrange equations. Instead of the 5-dimensional stress-energy tensor, a tensor comprised of 4-momentum density mid flux density only serves as the source. Building on that foundation, in this paper we develop a linear approximate theory of parametrized gravitation in the spirit of the flat spacetime approach to general relativity. Using a modified form of Kraichnan's flat spacetime derivation of general relativity, we extend the linear theory to a family of nonlinear theories in which the flat metric and the gravitational field coalesce into a single effective curved metric.     

Effects of ring strain on gas-phase rate constants. I. Ozone reactions with cycloalkenes

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of O₃ with a series of cycloalkenes and with cis-2-butene have been determined at 297 ± 1 K. The rate constants obtained were (in units of 10^?16 cm³/molecule·s): cis-2-butene, 1.38 ± 0.16; cyclopentene, 2.75 ± 0.33; cyclohexene, 1.04 ± 0.14; cycloheptene, 3.19 ± 0.36; 1,3-cyclohexadiene, 19.7 ± 2.8; 1,4-cyclohexadiene, 0.639 ± 0.074; bicyclo[2.2.1]-2-heptene, 21.4 ± 3.5; bicyclo[2.2.1]-2,5-heptadiene, 46.8 ± 12.9; and bicyclo[2.2.2]-2-octene, 0.728 ± 0.090. These data for cis-2-butene, cyclopentene, and cyclohexene are compared with previous literature data, and the effects of ring strain on the rate constants are discussed.