The chemical bond in polyphosphides: crystal structures, the electron localization function, and a new view of aromaticity in P4(2-) and P5(-)

The incongruent solvation of M(I)4P6 species (M(I) = K, Rb, Cs) in liquid ammonia leads to a broad variety of polyphosphides such as P7(3-), P11(3-), and the putatively aromatic P4(2-) and P5(-), which we investigated by using NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structure analysis. The structures of Cs2P4 x 2 NH3, (K@[18]crown-6)3K3(P7)2 x 10 NH3, Rb3P7 x 7 NH3, and (Rb@[18]crown-6)3P7 x 6 NH3 are discussed and compared. The electron localization function ELF is used in a comparison of the chemical bonding of various phosphorus species. The variances of the basin populations provide a well-established measure for electron delocalization and therefore aromaticity. While comparable variance is calculated for P4(2-) and P5(-) it is observed in the lone pairs rather than in the basin populations of the bonds as in the prototypical aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene or the cyclopentadienide anion. For this behavior, the term "lone pair aromaticity" is proposed.     

Prototropy,Intramolecular Interactions,Electron Delocalization,and Physicochemical Properties of 1,8-dihydroxy-9-anthrone—DFT-D3 Study of Substituent Effects

1,8-dihydroxy-9-anthrone are tricyclic compounds with a ketone group in the middle ring and two hydroxyl groups substituted in the side-aromatic rings what results in formation of two intramolecular hydrogen bonds in which the oxygen atom from the ketone group is the proton acceptor. 1,8-dihydroxy-9-anthrones in which intramolecular proton transfer between C10 and CO in the middle ring occurs, can exist in a tautomeric keto-enol equilibrium. For anthralin, the most important representative of this group, this equilibrium has been studied previously, but it has not been studied for its derivatives. Substituents in the middle ring change the geometry of 1,8-dihydroxy-9-anthrones so they are also expected to affect the keto-enol equilibrium. It is also important to study the effect of intramolecular hydrogen bonds on the structure of both tautomeric forms. It was found that the nature of the substituent in the middle ring could affect the antioxidant properties of the investigated compound.     

四同芳香性转烯及其羰基硼衍生物

运用G03W程序, 在高精度理论水平(B3P86/6-311＋G**)下, 对母体转烯(Hypostrophene)及其BCO衍生物的单态、三态、开壳层单态的Cope重排体系进行了理论研究: 对体系进行了相应的结构优化和频率计算, 并进一步计算了体系的重排势垒、反应能量、核独立化学位移值等理论参数. 文中首次提出具有四同芳香性的实例: 转烯的Cope重排过渡态. 计算同时表明BCO取代CH的行为使得进行Cope重排的反应物和过渡态的离域性、芳香性以及稳定性都得到很大的促进, 这可以从前线轨道的成键以及延伸方面得到合理的解释. 所得结果进一步验证了BCO基团的稳定性效应.     

Oxidation with a “Stopover” – Stable Zwitterions as Intermediates in the Oxidation of α-Tocopherol (Vitamin E) Model Compounds to their Corresponding ortho-Quinone Methides

As a prominent member of the vitamin E group, α-tocopherol is an important lipophilic antioxidant. It has a special oxidation chemistry that involves phenoxyl radicals, quinones and quinone methides. During the oxidation to the ortho-quinone methide, an intermediary zwitterion is formed. This aromatic intermediate turns into the quinone methide by simply rotating the initially oxidized, exocyclic methyl group into the molecule's plane. This initial zwitterionic intermediate and the quinone methide are not resonance structures but individual species, whose distinct electronic structures are separated by a mere 90° bond rotation. In this work, we hindered this crucial rotation, by substituting the affected methyl group with alkyl or phenyl groups. The alkyl groups slowed down the conversion to the quinone methide by 18-times, while the phenyl substituents, which additionally stabilize the zwitterion electronically, completely halted the conversion to the quinone methide at −78 °C, allowing for the first time the direct observation of a tocopherol-derived zwitterion. Employing a ¹³C-labeled model, the individual steps of the oxidation sequence could be observed directly by NMR, and the activation energy for the rotation could be estimated to be approximately 2.8 kcal/mol. Reaction rates were solvent dependent, with polar solvents exerting a stabilizing effect on the zwitterion. The observed effects confirmed the central relevance of the rotation step in the change from the aromatic to the quinoid state and allowed a more detailed examination of the oxidation behavior of tocopherol. The concept that a simple bond rotation can be used to switch between an aromatic and an anti-aromatic structure could find its use in molecular switches or molecular engines, driven by the specific absorption of external energy.     

Planar Tetracoordinate Silicon in Organic Molecules As Carbenoid-Type Amphoteric Centers: A Computational Study

Designing and synthesizing a stable compound with a planar tetracoordinate silicon (ptSi) center is a challenging goal for chemists. Here, a series of potential aromatic ptSi compounds composed of four conjugated rings shared by a centrally embedded Si atom are theoretically designed and computationally verified. Both Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations and potential energy surface scannings verify the high stability and likely existence of these compounds, particularly Si-16-5555 (SiN₄C₈H₈) with 16 π electrons, under standard ambient temperature and pressure. Notably, the Hückel aromaticity rule, which works well for single rings, is inconsistent with the high stability of Si-16-5555 where the 16 p electrons are spread over four five-membered rings fused together. Bonding analyses show that the strong electron donation from the peripheral 12-membered conjugated ring with 16 π electrons to the vacant central atomic orbital Si 3p_z leads to the stabilization for both the ptSi coordination and planar aromaticity. The partial occupation of Si 3p_z results in the peculiar carbenoid-type behaviors for the amphoteric center. By modulating the electron density on the ring with substituent groups, we can regulate the nucleophilic and electrophilic properties of the central Si.     

A computational quest for the effects of fused rings on the stability of Hammick carbenes type remote N‐heterocyclic carbenes

Substituent effects of fused six, and five‐membered aromatic rings are investigated on the stability, aromaticity, charge distribution, nucleophilic (N), and electrophilic (ω) characters of 20 singlet (s) and triplet (t) Hammick carbenes, at B3LYP/AUG‐cc‐pVTZ and M06‐2X/AUG‐cc‐pVTZ. Results display: (a) The higher thermodynamic and kinetic stability is revealed by carbenes situated between two nitrogen and/or two oxygen heteroatoms of two substituted rings, in a “W” arrangement toward the carbenic center; (b) Regardless of the arrangement, the order of thermodynamical and kinetic stabilization for fused rings is pyrrole > furan > thiophene > phosphole. (c) The substituted Hammick carbenes with two fused heterocyclics, in a given arrangement, show more stability than unsubstituted Hammick carbene; (d) While two five‐membered heterocyclic rings stabilize their corresponding substituted carbenes, two benzene rings destabilize Hammick carbene; (e) In all structures, s species emerges as ground state, exhibiting more stability than its t state; (f) The scrutinized s carbenes show higher N and lower ω than their corresponding t states.     

3,4-二硒方酸芳香性和气相酸性的理论研究

在ＲＨＦ／６－３１１Ｇ水平优化得到３,４－二硒方酸（３,４－二氢硒基－３－环丁烯－１,２－二酮）３ 种平面构象异构体的平衡几何构型。进一步用ＭＰ２（ｆｕｌｌ）／６－３１１Ｇ／／ＲＨＦ／／６－３１１Ｇ方法计算单点能量,发现ＺＺ型异构体是能量最低构象,且ＺＺ和ＺＥ型能量非常接近。用优化的最稳定构象ＺＺ型异构体在ＲＨＦ／６－３１１Ｇ／／ＲＨＦ／６－３１１Ｇ、ＲＨＦ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ／／ＲＨＦ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ、ＭＰ２（ｆｕｌｌ）／６－３１１＋ Ｇ／／ＲＨＦ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ 和Ｂ３ＬＹＰ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ／／Ｂ３ＬＹＰ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ水平计算其气相酸性（ΔＧ°）和同键反应芳香性稳定化能（ＨＡＳＥ）。用基团加和法（ｇｒｏｕｐ ｉｎｃｒｅｍ ｅｎｔ ａｐ－ｐｒｏａｃｈ ） 在 ＲＨＦ／６－３１１ ＋ Ｇ／／ＲＨＦ／６－３１１ ＋ Ｇ 和 Ｂ３ＬＹＰ／６－３１１ ＋ Ｇ／／Ｂ３ＬＹＰ／６－３１１＋ Ｇ水平计算其磁化率增量（Λ）。计算结果指出标题化合物的同键反应芳香性稳定化能和磁化率增量均为负值,表明它具有芳香性,实现了标题化合物芳香性的几何、能量和磁性的判定。     

Crystallographic study of self‐organization in the solid state including quasi‐aromatic pseudo‐ring stacking interactions in 1‐benzoyl‐3‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)thiourea and 1‐benzoyl‐3‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)thiourea

1‐Benzoylthioureas contain both carbonyl and thiocarbonyl functional groups and are of interest for their biological activity, metal coordination ability and involvement in hydrogen‐bond formation. Two novel 1‐benzoylthiourea derivatives, namely 1‐benzoyl‐3‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)thiourea, C₁₆H₁₆N₂O₃S, (I), and 1‐benzoyl‐3‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)thiourea, C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₂S, (II), have been synthesized and characterized. Compound (I) crystallizes in the space group P , while (II) crystallizes in the space group P 2₁/c . In both structures, intramolecular N—H…O hydrogen bonding is present. The resulting six‐membered pseudo‐rings are quasi‐aromatic and, in each case, interact with phenyl rings via stacking‐type interactions. C—H…O, C—H…S and C—H…π interactions are also present. In (I), there is one molecule in the asymmetric unit. Pairs of molecules are connected via two intermolecular N—H…S hydrogen bonds, forming centrosymmetric dimers. In (II), there are two symmetry‐independent molecules that differ mainly in the relative orientations of the phenyl rings with respect to the thiourea cores. Additional strong hydrogen‐bond donor and acceptor –OH groups participate in the formation of intermolecular N—H…O and O—H…S hydrogen bonds that join molecules into chains extending in the [001] direction.     

Ruthenocene‐Type Complexes of N‐Fused Porphyrins

Ruthenocene‐type hybrid complexes with N‐fused porphyrinato ligands, [Ru(NFp)Cp] (NFp=N‐fused porphyrin, Cp=cyclopentadienyl), have been prepared and characterized by NMR and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy, cyclovoltammetry, and X‐ray crystallography. [Ru(NFp)Cp] is a common low‐spin ruthenium(II) complex and shows strong aromaticity. The Ru–Cp distance (1.833 Å) in [Ru(NFp)Cp] is comparable to that in [RuCp₂] (1.840 Å). DFT calculations on [Ru(NFp)Cp] showed the unequivocal contribution of the RuCp moiety as well as the NFp moiety to both the HOMO and LUMO, constructing a three‐dimensional d–π conjugated system. The HOMO–LUMO gaps of [Ru(NFp)Cp] are insensitive to the substituents on the NFp ligand, which is illustrated spectroscopically as well as theoretically. This is in sharp contrast to the ligand precursor, the N‐fused porphyrin, in which the HOMO–LUMO gap is affected by substituents in a similar manner to standard porphyrins and related macrocycles.