Trigger bond analysis of nitroaromatic energetic materials using wiberg bond indices

The identification of trigger bonds, bonds that break to initiate explosive decomposition, using computational methods could help direct the development of novel, “green” and efficient high energy density materials (HEDMs). Comparing bond densities in energetic materials to reference molecules using Wiberg bond indices (WBIs) provides a relative scale for bond activation (%ΔWBIs) to assign trigger bonds in a set of 63 nitroaromatic conventional energetic molecules. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions enhance contributions of resonance structures that strengthen, or deactivate, the C NO₂ trigger bonds and reduce the sensitivity of nitroaniline‐based HEDMs. In contrast, unidirectional hydrogen bonding in nitrophenols strengthens the bond to the hydrogen bond acceptor, but the phenol lone pairs repel and activate an adjacent nitro group. Steric effects, electron withdrawing groups and greater nitro dihedral angles also activate the C NO₂ trigger bonds. %ΔWBIs indicate that nitro groups within an energetic molecule are not all necessarily equally activated to contribute to initiation. %ΔWBIs generally correlate well with impact sensitivity, especially for HEDMs with intramolecular hydrogen bonding, and are a better measure of trigger bond strength than bond dissociation energies (BDEs). However, the method is less effective for HEDMs with significant secondary effects in the solid state. Assignment of trigger bonds using %ΔWBIs could contribute to understanding the effect of intramolecular interactions on energetic properties. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Fluoride anion sensing mechanism of a BODIPY‐linked hydrogen‐bonding probe

The sensing mechanism of a fluoride‐anion probe BODIPY‐amidothiourea ( 1c ) has been elucidated through the density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. The theoretical study indicates that in the DMSO/water mixtures the fluorescent sensing has been regulated by the fluoride complex that formed between the probe 1c /two water molecules and the fluoride anion, and the excited‐state intermolecular hydrogen bond (H‐B) plays an important role in the fluoride sensing mechanism. In the first excited state, the H‐Bs of the fluoride complex 1cFH₂ are overall strengthened, which induces the weak fluorescence emission. In addition, molecular orbital analysis demonstrates that 1cFH₂ has more obvious intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character in the S₁ state than 1cH₂ formed between the probe 1c and two water molecules, which also gives reason to the weaker fluorescence intensity of 1cFH₂ . Further, our calculated UV‐vis absorbance and fluorescence spectra are in accordance with the experimental measurements. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

羟甲基功能化吡唑金属羰基化合物的合成及催化性质

研究了3(5)-羟甲基-5(3)-甲基吡唑(L~1),4-羟甲基吡唑(L2)及双(3-羟甲基-5-甲基吡唑)甲烷(L3)与羰基钨(钼)的反应,合成了一系列以单齿及双齿氮配位的羰基金属衍生物LW(CO)5(L=L1或L2)和L3M(CO)4(M=Mo或W)。通过核磁、红外及X射线单晶衍射分析,对这些化合物进行了详细的结构表征。结果表明,这些化合物往往通过O-H…O,N-H…O及O-H…OC-M等氢键作用,形成一维或二维金属有机超分子结构。并且依赖于配体中羟甲基所处的不同位置,这些金属有机超分子表现出明显不同的结构特征。初步的催化活性测试表明,这些新化合物在苯乙炔三聚反应中具有明显的催化活性。     

Strength of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonds

The concept of resonance-assisted hydrogen bonds(RAHBs)highlights the synergistic interplay between theπ-resonance and hydrogen bonding interactions.This concept has been well-accepted in academia and is widely used in practice.However,it has been argued that the seemingly enhanced intramolecular hydrogen bonding(IMHB)in unsaturated compounds may simply be a result of the constraints imposed by theσ-skeleton framework.Thus,it is crucial to estimate the strength of IMHBs.In this work,we used two approaches to probe the resonance effect and estimate the strength of the IMHBs in the two exemplary cases of the enol forms of acetylacetone and o-hydroxyacetophenone.One approach is the block-localized wavefunction(BLW)method,which is a variant of the ab initio valence bond(VB)theory.Using this approach,it is possible to derive the geometries and energetics with resonance shut down.The other approach is Edmiston’s truncated localized molecular orbital(TLMO)technique,which monitors the energy changes by removing the delocalization tails from localized molecular orbitals.The integrated BLW and TLMO studies confirmed that the hydrogen bonding in these two molecules is indeed enhanced byπ-resonance,and that this enhancement is not a result ofσconstraints.     

有机化学教学中使用共振式描述超共轭效应的探索

有机化学教学中通常使用分子轨道理论和价键理论中的共振论来描述π轨道的共轭效应,而对于类似的σ轨道的超共轭效应,通常只用轨道理论来描述,而基本不采用价键理论中的共振式描述。尝试用共振式来描述σ键的超共轭效应,发现不仅能够获得清晰易懂的图像,还能将有机化学中多个跨章节的知识点联系在一起,有利于知识的融会贯通,以及对电子结构和共振论的深入理解。     

肾上腺素与胞嘧啶相互作用的密度泛函理论研究

采用密度泛函理论（DFT）B3LYP方法和6-311＋G（d,p）基组对肾上腺素-胞嘧啶复合物进行结构优化和频率计算,得到15种稳定的复合物.研究发现,所有的复合物进行基组重叠误差（BSSE）校正后的相互作用能为-11.43^-48.96kJ/mol,符合氢键能量范围,相互作用能主要由氢键所贡献.结构和振动频率分析显示,氢键的形成使相应O（N）—H键的键长变长,对称伸缩振动频率减小,说明复合物中形成的氢键都是正常的红移型氢键.应用自然键轨道（NBO）理论和分子中的原子（AIM）理论对15种复合物的氢键性质和特征进行分析,发现氢键对于复合物的稳定性起着重要作用,当复合物形成2个或更多的氢键时,氢键的数目、类型及强度共同决定着复合物的稳定性,复合物基本符合三氢键〉二氢键〉单氢键的稳定顺序,三氢键复合物4是最稳定的,复合物3存在单氢键O—H…O,比部分二氢键复合物要稳定.     

Stack the Bowls: Tailoring the Electronic Structure of Corannulene‐Integrated Crystalline Materials

We report the first examples of purely organic donor–acceptor materials with integrated π‐bowls (πBs) that combine not only crystallinity and high surface areas but also exhibit tunable electronic properties, resulting in a four‐orders‐of‐magnitude conductivity enhancement in comparison with the parent framework. In addition to the first report of alkyne–azide cycloaddition utilized for corannulene immobilization in the solid state, we also probed the charge transfer rate within the Marcus theory as a function of mutual πB orientation for the first time, as well as shed light on the density of states near the Fermi edge. These studies could foreshadow new avenues for πB utilization for the development of optoelectronic devices or a route for highly efficient porous electrodes.     

Dynamic Covalent Identification of an Efficient Heparin Ligand

Despite heparin being the most widely used macromolecular drug, the design of small‐molecule ligands to modulate its effects has been hampered by the structural properties of this polyanionic polysaccharide. Now a dynamic covalent selection approach is used to identify a new ligand for heparin, assembled from extremely simple building blocks. The amplified molecule strongly binds to heparin (K_D in the low μm range, ITC) by a combination of electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, and CH–π interactions as shown by NMR and molecular modeling. Moreover, this ligand reverts the inhibitory effect of heparin within an enzymatic cascade reaction related to blood coagulation. This study demonstrates the power of dynamic covalent chemistry for the discovery of new modulators of biologically relevant glycosaminoglycans.     

Perfluorinated Covalent Triazine Framework Derived Hybrids for the Highly Selective Electroconversion of Carbon Dioxide into Methane

Developing cost‐effective electrocatalysts for high‐selectivity CO₂ electroreduction remains challenging. We herein report a perfluorinated covalent triazine framework (CTF) electrocatalyst that displays very high selectivity in the electroreduction of CO₂ to CH₄ with a faradaic efficiency of 99.3 % in aqueous electrolyte. Systematic characterization and electrochemical studies, in combination with density functional theory calculations, demonstrate that the presence of both nitrogen and fluorine in the CTF provides a unique pathway that is inaccessible with the individual components for CO₂ electroreduction.     

Recent progress in copper catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction

Henry reaction is one of the most classical reactions to construct synthetically useful product nitro alcohol, which as a privileged skeleton is widely distributed in various pharmaceuticals. This review summarizes the recent progress of copper-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction from 2011 to 2016. The significant progress that has been made in this area will be highlighted and some of challenges that the author believes may be hindering further progress will be revealed.