Evaluating the accuracy of theoretical one‐bond 13C─13C scalar couplings and their ability to predict structure in a natural product

This study explores the feasibility of using a combination of experimental and theoretical 1‐bond ¹³C─¹³C scalar couplings (¹J_CC) to establish structure in organic compounds, including unknowns. Historically, ⁿJ_CC and ⁿJ_CH studies have emphasized 2 and 3‐bond couplings, yet ¹J_CC couplings exhibit significantly larger variations. Moreover, recent improvements in experimental measurement and data processing methods have made ¹J_CC data more available. Herein, an approach is evaluated in which a collection of theoretical structures is created from a partial nuclear magnetic resonance structural characterization. Computed ¹J_CC values are compared to experimental data to identify candidates giving the best agreement. This process requires knowledge of the error in theoretical methods, thus the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBE0 functionals are evaluated by comparing to 27 experimental values from INADEQUATE. Respective errors of ±1.2, ±3.8, and ±2.3 Hz are observed. An initial test of this methodology involves the natural product 5‐methylmellein. In this case, only a single candidate matches experimental data with high statistical confidence. This analysis establishes the intramolecular hydrogen‐bonding arrangement, ring heteroatom identity, and conformation at one position. This approach is then extended to hydroheptelidic acid, a natural product not fully characterized in prior studies. The experimental/theoretical approach proposed herein identifies a single best‐fit structure from among 26 candidates and establishes, for the first time, 1 configuration and 3 conformations to complete the characterization. These results suggest that accurate and complete structural characterizations of many moderately sized organic structures (<800 Da) may be possible using only ¹J_CC data.     

Analysis of the bond‐valence method for calculating 29Si and 31P magnetic shielding in covalent network solids

²⁹Si and ³¹P magnetic‐shielding tensors in covalent network solids have been evaluated using periodic and cluster‐based calculations. The cluster‐based computational methodology employs pseudoatoms to reduce the net charge (resulting from missing co‐ordination on the terminal atoms) through valence modification of terminal atoms using bond‐valence theory (VMTA/BV). The magnetic‐shielding tensors computed with the VMTA/BV method are compared to magnetic‐shielding tensors determined with the periodic GIPAW approach. The cluster‐based all‐electron calculations agree with experiment better than the GIPAW calculations, particularly for predicting absolute magnetic shielding and for predicting chemical shifts. The performance of the DFT functionals CA‐PZ, PW91, PBE, rPBE, PBEsol, WC, and PBE0 are assessed for the prediction of ²⁹Si and ³¹P magnetic‐shielding constants. Calculations using the hybrid functional PBE0, in combination with the VMTA/BV approach, result in excellent agreement with experiment. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

FTIR Emission Spectra, Molecular Constants, and Potential Curve of Ground State GeO

Extensive new high-temperature, high-resolution FTIR emission spectroscopy measurements for the five common isotopomers of GeO are combined with previous diode laser and microwave measurements in combined isotopomer analyses. New Dunham expansion parameters and an accurate analytical potential energy function are determined for the ground X1Sigma+ state. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Modeling NMR chemical shift: A survey of density functional theory approaches for calculating tensor properties

The NMR chemical shift, a six-parameter tensor property, is highly sensitive to the position of the atoms in a molecule. To extract structural parameters from chemical shifts, one must rely on theoretical models. Therefore, a high quality group of shift tensors that serve as benchmarks to test the validity of these models is warranted and necessary to highlight existing computational limitations. Here, a set of 102 13C chemical-shift tensors measured in single crystals, from a series of aromatic and saccharide molecules for which neutron diffraction data are available, is used to survey models based on the density functional (DFT) and Hartree-Fock (HF) theories. The quality of the models is assessed by their least-squares linear regression parameters. It is observed that in general DFT outperforms restricted HF theory. For instance, Becke's three-parameter exchange method and mpw1pw91 generally provide the best predicted shieldings for this group of tensors. However, this performance is not universal, as none of the DFT functionals can predict the saccharide tensors better than HF theory. Both the orientations of the principal axis system and the magnitude of the shielding were compared using the chemical-shift distance to evaluate the quality of the calculated individual tensor components in units of ppm. Systematic shortcomings in the prediction of the principal components were observed, but the theory predicts the corresponding isotropic value more accurately. This is because these systematic errors cancel, thereby indicating that the theoretical assessment of shielding predictions based on the isotropic shift should be avoided.