Calculation of Franck-Condon factors including anharmonicity: simulation of the C2H4+X2B3u<--C2H4X1A(g) band in the photoelectron spectrum of ethylene

Our new simple method for calculating accurate Franck-Condon factors including nondiagonal (i.e., mode-mode) anharmonic coupling is used to simulate the C2H4+X2B3u<--C2H4X1A(g) band in the photoelectron spectrum. An improved vibrational basis set truncation algorithm, which permits very efficient computations, is employed. Because the torsional mode is highly anharmonic it is separated from the other modes and treated exactly. All other modes are treated through the second-order perturbation theory. The perturbation-theory corrections are significant and lead to a good agreement with experiment, although the separability assumption for torsion causes the C2D4 results to be not as good as those for C2H4. A variational formulation to overcome this circumstance, and deal with large anharmonicities in general, is suggested.     

Oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to Pd. An ab initio benchmark and DFT validation study

We have computed a state-of-the-art benchmark potential energy surface (PES) for the archetypal oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to the palladium atom and have used this to evaluate the performance of 24 popular density functionals, covering LDA, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid density functionals, for describing this reaction. The ab initio benchmark is obtained by exploring the PES using a hierarchical series of ab initio methods [HF, MP2, CCSD, CCSD(T)] in combination with a hierarchical series of five Gaussian-type basis sets, up to g polarization. Relativistic effects are taken into account either through a relativistic effective core potential for palladium or through a full four-component all-electron approach. Our best estimate of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters is -10.8 (-11.3) kcal/mol for the formation of the reactant complex, 19.4 (17.1) kcal/mol for the activation energy relative to the separate reactants, and -4.5 (-6.8) kcal/mol for the reaction energy (zero-point vibrational energy-corrected values in parentheses). Our work highlights the importance of sufficient higher angular momentum polarization functions for correctly describing metal-d-electron correlation. Best overall agreement with our ab initio benchmark is obtained by functionals from all three categories, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid DFT, with mean absolute errors of 1.5 to 2.5 kcal/mol and errors in activation energies ranging from -0.2 to -3.2 kcal/mol. Interestingly, the well-known BLYP functional compares very reasonably with a slight underestimation of the overall barrier by -0.9 kcal/mol. For comparison, with B3LYP we arrive at an overestimation of the overall barrier by 5.8 kcal/mol. On the other hand, B3LYP performs excellently for the central barrier (i.e., relative to the reactant complex) which it underestimates by only -0.1 kcal/mol.     

The 1,2,4-triazolyl cation: thermolytic and photolytic studies

The generation of the 1,2,4-triazolyl cation (1) has been attempted by the thermolysis and photolysis of 1-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate (2) and the thermolysis of 1- and 4-diazonium-1,2,4-triazoles, using mainly mesitylene as the trapping agent. Thermolysis of 2 gave mostly 1,2,4-triazole, together with 3-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-2,4,6-trimethylpyridine, 4-(1,2,4-triazol-4-ylmethyl)-2,6-dimethylpyridine, and 4-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)-2,6-dimethylpyridine. Thermolysis of each of the diazonium salts in the presence of mesitylene again gave mainly triazole together with very low yields of 1-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene and the corresponding -4-yl isomer in about the same ratio. On the other hand, photolysis of 2 in mesitylene gave mainly 1-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene. A photoinduced electron transfer from mesitylene to 2 has been observed and preliminary laser flash photolyses of 2 and the corresponding 2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium salt have been carried out. The observed transients are explained as arising from the first excited states of the pyridinium salts rather than from 1. Ab initio MO calculations are reported and indicate that the predicted electronic ground-state of the triazolyl cation is a triplet state of B1 symmetry with five pi electrons, which corresponds to a diradical cation (1c). Possible mechanisms for the formation of the various products are proposed.     

The breakdown of the minimum polarizability principle in vibrational motions as an indicator of the most aromatic center

The vibrational motions that disobey the minimum polarizability principle (MPP) in pi-conjugated molecules are distortions of the equilibrium geometry that produce a reduction in the polarizability due to the localization of pi electrons. For aromatic species, this electronic localization is responsible for the subsequent reduction in the aromaticity of the system. In the present work, we diagonalize the Hessian matrix of the polarizability with respect to the vibrational nontotally symmetric normal coordinates, to calculate the nontotally symmetric distortions that produce the maximum breakdown of the MPP in a series of twenty polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It is shown that the nuclear displacements that break the MPP have larger components in those rings that possess the highest local aromaticity. Thus, these vibrational motions can be used as an indicator of local aromaticity.     

A common method for the determination of several calcium channel blockers using an HPLC system with ultraviolet detection

We report a common HPLC method for the single or simultaneous determination of four calcium channel blockers (CCB), namely diltiazem (DTZ), verapamil (VER), nifedipine (NIF) and nitrendipine (NIT) and their active metabolites demetildiltiazem and deacetildiltiazem (MA and M1), norverapamil (NOR), and dehydronifedipine (DHN). DHN was first synthesised in our laboratory and different pH values of the mobil phase were subsequently prepared and tested for chromatographic separation. The detection system and the environmental light conditions were optimised. The best separations of all analytes were obtained using a C₁₈ column and a mobile phase of methanol, 0.04 M ammonium acetate, acetonitrile and triethylamine (2:2:1:0.04 v/v). Quantitation was performed using imipramine (IMI) as the internal standard. For DTZ and its metabolites (M1 and MA), the wavelength chosen was 237 nm; for VER and its metabolite NOR, it was 210 nm; and, finally for NIF and its metabolite DHN and NIT it was 216 nm. When a simultaneous analysis was carried out the wavelength was of 230 nm. The optimum pH were 7.90 and 7.10 when the separation of NIT and DTZ or VER and NIF were carried out, respectively, and 7.90 when a simultaneous separation was carried out. The detection limit of the assay was less than 8 ng ml⁻¹ for all compounds, with coefficients of variation less than 7% (for inter- and intra-day) over the concentration range of 1–1000 ng ml⁻¹. The retention times were less than 11 min. When NIF or NIT were studied, it was necessary to use a sodium vapour lamp in order to avoid the photodegradation which takes place under daylight conditions.     

Thermal and photochemical rearrangement of bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-en-2-one to the ketonic tautomer of phenol. Computational evidence for the formation of a diradical rather than a zwitterionic intermediate

The ground state (S(0)) and lowest-energy triplet state (T(1)) potential energy surfaces (PESs) concerning the thermal and photochemical rearrangement of bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-en-2-one (8) to the ketonic tautomer of phenol (11) have been extensively explored using ab initio CASSCF and CASPT2 calculations with several basis sets. State T(1) is predicted to be a triplet pipi lying 66.5 kcal/mol above the energy of the S(0) state. On the S(0) PES, the rearrangement of 8 to 11 is predicted to occur via a two-step mechanism where the internal cyclopropane C-C bond is broken first through a high energy transition structure (TS1-S(0)()), leading to a singlet intermediate (10-S(0)()) lying 25.0 kcal/mol above the ground state of 8. Subsequently, this intermediate undergoes a 1,2-hydrogen shift to yield 11 by surmounting an energy barrier of only 2.7 kcal/mol at 0 K. The rate-determining step of the global rearrangement is the opening of the three-membered ring in 8, which involves an energy barrier of 41.2 kcal/mol at 0 K. This high energy barrier is consistent with the fact that the thermal rearrangement of umbellulone to thymol is carried out by heating at 280 degrees C. Regarding the photochemical rearangement, our results suggest that the most efficient route from the T(1) state of 8 to ground state 11 is the essentially barrierless cleavage of the internal cyclopropane C-C bond followed by radiationless decay to the S(0) state PES via intersystem crossing (ISC) at a crossing point (S(0)()/T(1)()-1) located at almost the same geometry as TS1-S(0)(), leading to the formation of 10-S(0)() and the subsequent low-barrier 1,2-hydrogen shift. The computed small spin-orbit coupling between the T(1) and S(0) PESs at S(0)()/T(1)()-1 (1.2 cm(-)(1)) suggests that the ISC between these PESs is the rate-determining step of the photochemical rearrangement 8 --> 11. Finally, computational evidence indicates that singlet intermediate 10-S(0)() should not be drawn as a zwitterion, but rather as a diradical having a polarized C=O bond.     

Local aromaticity of [n]acenes, [n]phenacenes, and [n]helicenes (n = 1-9)

The local aromaticity of the six-membered rings in three series of benzenoid compounds, namely, the [n]acenes, [n]phenacenes, and [n]helicenes for n = 1-9, has been assessed by means of three probes of local aromaticity based on structural, magnetic, and electron delocalization properties. For [n]acenes our analysis shows that the more reactive inner rings are more aromatic than the outer rings. For [n]phenacenes, all indicators of aromaticity show that the external rings are the most aromatic. From the external to the central ring, the local aromaticity varies in a damped alternate way. The trends for the [n]helicene series are the same as those found for [n]phenacenes. Despite the departure from planarity in [n]helicenes, only a very slight loss of aromaticity is detected in [n]helicenes as compared to the corresponding [n]phenacenes. Finally, because of magnetic couplings between superimposed six-membered rings in the higher members of the [n]helicenes series, we have demonstrated that the NICS indicator of aromaticity artificially increases the local aromaticity of their most external rings.