Comments on the electronic properties of cyclopropane,cyclobutane, and cyclohexane

Spectral quantities of cyclopropane, cyclobutane, cyclohexane, and of several derivatives, have been calculated by a semiempirical all-valence electron SCF-CI MO method. In cyclopropane, HOMO is practically localized in the carbon-frame, and LVMO is purely so. In cyclobutane, these two MO's are based on C-H bonds, while cyclohexane holds an intermediate position. Despite the overall similarity-experimental and computed-of the spectra of these molecules, assignments are non-parallel. Like cyclopropane, cyclobutane can extend conjugation, but to a diminished degree; cyclohexane behaves in this respect like an acyclic alkane. An interpretation of this gradation, in terms of the nature of high-lying MO's, is proposed.     

Theoretical studies on the conformation of saccharides

Conformations of 2-methoxytetrahydropyran as a model for the six-membered ring in aldopyranosides have been calculated by the PCILO method using the algorithm of the conjugated gradient to optimize the geometry. The calculated geometry of the fourteen basic forms of 2-methoxytetrahydropyran was found to be in agreement with the available data obtained by X-ray diffraction of pyranosides. The results indicate differences in the geometry of 2-methoxytetrahydropyran resulting from the change of the axial vs. equatorial position of the methoxyl group. These changes are particularly meaningful in the values of bond angles and they are in agreement with the anomeric and exoanomeric effects. The experimentally found differences in the energies of an axial (⁴ C ₁) and equatorial (¹ C ₄) conformer, G = 2.9–3.7 kJ/mol, and the dipole moment, = 1.20 ± 0.05 D (1D = 3.33 10^–30mAs) agree well with the calculated values E = 3.18 kJ/mol and <> = 1.18 D which, in turn, suggest that the axial conformer is preferred over the equatorial one by a ratio a:e = 78:22.     

An efficient ab initio gradient program

An ab initio Hartree-Fock gradient program is described. It is characterized by (1) efficiency of the gradient evaluation, and (2) capability of handling higher angular momentum (d andf) basis functions. The latter are constructed from shifted Cartesian Gaussian p-type primitives. A satisfactory solution is presented for the problems connected with the neglect of small integrals in a gradient program. Methods for increasing the efficiency of the SCF procedure are discussed.     

COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Haplophyllum myrtifolium

The chemical composition of the essential oil ofHaplophyllum myrtifoliumBoiss., endemic to Turkey, was examined by GC/MS. Ninety-seven compounds were characterized with linalool (12.8%), -caryophyllene (10.3 %), and methyleugenol (5.9 %) as the main constituents.     

Methyl trifluoropyruvate in the Pictet-Spengler reaction

Condensation of methyl trifluoropyruvate with 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine, tryptamine, and (D, L)-tryptophan yielded 1-methoxycarbonyl-1-trifluoromethyl-6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline, 1-methoxycarbonyl-1-trifluoromethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole, and Z-1-methoxycarbonyl-1-trifluoromethyl-3-carboxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole, respectively. The Z configuration of the latter was determined by x-ray structural analysis.A. N. Nesmayanov Institute of Organoelemental Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1831–1836, August, 1992.     

The crystal and molecular structures of 1,1′-divinyl-2,2′-biimidazolyl

The crystal and molecular structures of 1,1-divinyl-2,2-biimidazolyl (L) were determined by x-ray crystallographic analysis. It was established that the molecule of L has crystallographic symmetry 2 and a cisoid conformation with an angle of rotation of 128° between the imidazole rings. The length of the C²-C² bond is increased to 1.485(11) Å compared with the length of the analogous bond in unsubstituted 2,2-biimidazolyl (1.423 Å). Localization of the N=C multiple bond is observed [1.297(9) Å]. The other N-C bonds of the ring are almost equalized (1.374 Å) and are close to the standard values for bonds of the C _sp ²-N type in imidazoles. The angle between the plane of the heterocycle and the plane passing through the atoms of the vinyl group amounts to 7°.N. S. Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117907 Moscow. Irkutsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033 Irkutsk. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1376–1380, June, 1992.     

Study of modified silicas by inverse gas chromatography part II: Influence of chain length on surface properties of silicas grafted withα−ω diols

Summary The surface properties of silicas modified with – diols having between 4 and 16 carbon atoms were investigated by inverse gas chromatography. It is shown, that the value of the dispersive component of the surface energy does not change monotonously: a minimum value is recorded when the surface is covered by a monolayer of methylene groups. Further, when measuring the adsorption enthalpies of polar probes, an alternation of their H values is observed: grafts having an odd number of carbon atoms systematically show higher H values than the others. A trans-trans configuration of the grafted chains which allows optimum interactions is proposed, suggesting a preferential diesterification reaction of both terminal hydroxyl groups of odd diols.     

Moment characterization of localized orbitals

The parallel between orbital first and second electric moments and statistical first and second central moments is noted. Three measures of orbital spatial distribution in terms of their moments are proposed, and applied to the LMO's in a series of ten-electron hydrides. Consistent differences between bond and lone pair distributions are found. Using the statistical interpretation, for each LMO an effective solid angle around the central atom is postulated.     

Molecular orbital studies on the conformation of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)

In distinction to Extended Hückel Theory which predicts as the most stable conformation of free zwitterionic GABA a totally extended form, PCILO and SCF ab initio studies show that the intrinsically preferred conformation of the isolated molecule is a highly folded one, resulting from strong interactions between the two charged ends. Computations are also carried out for hydrated GABA in the supermolecule approach allowing moreover for the flexibility of binding of some of the water molecules of the first hydration shell. They predict the coexistence in solution of a large number of conformations showing different degrees of folding (or extension), a result confirmed by recent NMR studies. This and a number of similar results show that we have to adapt our thinking on the role of conformations in pharmacological activity to this situation, which was frequently obscured by the more abundant results of X-ray crystallography yielding a single conformation.