Mechanistic Study on CpRh(III)-Catalyzed [3 + 2] Annulation of Aniline Derivatives with Vinylsilanes: A DFT Study.

The rhodium(III)-catalyzed reaction of aniline derivatives that contain a pyrimidine-directing group with vinylsilanes results in the formation of C3-substituted indoline derivatives. The reaction path and formation of the indoline product with density functional theory calculations were analyzed. This study reveals that the whole catalysis can be characterized in the following stages: (I) C-H activation via concerted metalation deprotonation, (II) 2,1-vinylsilane insertion, (III) deprotonation of the NH amide proton, (IV) the oxidation of Ag+, and (V) reductive elimination. These steps are kinetically and thermodynamically feasible for experimental realization under mild conditions, and the insertion step with a barrier of 22.0 kcal/mol should not only be the critical step of regioselectivity but also the rate-determining step during the whole catalysis. Computations reveal that the Ag+ oxidation can accelerate the reductive elimination step after the formation of natural intermediate, thus highlighting the role of Ag+ as a catalytic promoter for the oxidatively induced reactivity of the Rh catalyst in C3-substituted indoline synthesis.

Theoretical Investigations on the Rh(III)-Catalyzed Oxidative C-H Activation/Annulation of Salicylaldehydes with Masked Enynes: Mechanism Insights and Regioselectivity Origins.

The mechanism underlying the rhodium(III)-catalyzed reaction of the C-H alkenylation/annulation reaction of salicylaldehydes with enynes has been thoroughly investigated using DFT calculations. Based on mechanistic studies, our focus primarily lies on the regioselectivity of asymmetric alkynes inserting into the Rh-C bond and the involvement of the auxiliary group OAc- in these reactions. Our theoretical study uncovers that, with acetate assistance, a stepwise SN2' cyclization, 1,3-Rh migration, ß-H elimination, and reductive elimination process occur. Furthermore, we also explore the role of substitution at Cα (CH3 vs H) in the reaction. As demonstrated in this work, these findings are applicable to other related reactions.

A theoretical study based on DFT calculations on the different influence of functional groups on the C-H activation process via Pd-catalysed ß-X elimination.

We have performed a series of theoretical calculations for palladium-catalyzed ß-X elimination reactions. The DFT calculation combined with energy decomposition analysis shows the determining factors of reactivity. Such as, the elemental composition, the structure of different functional groups and the stronger steric repulsions contribution.

Theoretical analysis of expanded porphyrins: Aromaticity, stability, and optoelectronic properties.

Expanded porphyrin systems are capable of binding a variety of substrates due to their increased cavity size and aromatic nature, holding important applications as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents and as sensitizers for photodynamic therapy. It is there of fundamental interest to know the photoelectrical properties of expanded porphyrins using quantum chemistry calculations. In this work, we theoretically designed and screened a series of expanded porphyrins by incorporating terthiophene (TTH) and dithienothiophene (DTT) moieties. Our calculations showed that all the designed molecules exhibit excellent optoelectronic performance than the reference molecule. It is suggested that the porphyrin molecule with TTH moiety has better stability than the one with DTT moiety. Finally, we demonstrated that molecule 2 features with TTH moiety and the inverted selenophene ring outperform other molecules because it exhibits increased HOMO-LUMO gap, planar geometry, and strengthened aromaticity. We expect that this work can provide theoretical guidelines for the design of novel porphyrin materials.

CASSCF/CASPT2 calculation of the low-lying electronic states of the CH3Se neutral radical and its cation.

Electronic states of the CH(3)Se and its cation CH(3)Se(+) have been studied using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods in conjunction with the ANO-RCC(TZP) basis set. To investigate the Jahn-Teller effect on the CH(3)Se radical, C(s) symmetry was used for CH(3)Se in calculations. The results show that the Jahn-Teller effect is very small (69 cm(-1)) and the 1(2)A' state is slightly more stable than the 1(2)A'' state (8 cm(-1)). The CH(3)Se has been found to have a 1(2)A' ground state with a C-Se bond distance of 1.975 A. The computed C-Se stretching nu(6)(a') frequency is 554.1 cm(-1), which is in good agreement with the experimental values of 600 +/- 60 cm(-1). The calculations for CH(3)Se at 3.621 and 5.307 eV are attributed to 1(2)A' --> 2(2)A'(1(2)A(1)) and 1(2)A' --> 2(2)A'', respectively. The vertical and adiabatic ionization energies were obtained to compare with the PES data.

A theoretical study of the low-lying electronic states of the AlCCH radical and its ions.

The AlCCH radical is a photolysis product of the aluminum-acetylene adducts and has been considered as a molecule with potential interest in astrophysics. In this study, the low-lying electronic states of the AlCCH radical, cation, and anion have been studied by using complete active space self-consistent field and multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory. The geometrical parameters, electron configurations, excitation energies, oscillator strengths, and harmonic vibrational frequencies are calculated in C(S) symmetry. For the X(1)Sigma(+) state of AlCCH, the calculated C-C and C-Al stretching modes are in good agreement with experimental reports. Moreover, the vertical excitation energy (T(v)) of 1(1)Pi is 3.68 eV, which is close to the experimental value of 3.57 eV. The electron transitions of AlCCH(+), X(2)Sigma(+) --> 1(2)Pi, X(2)Sigma(+) --> 2(2)Sigma(+), and X(2)Sigma(+) --> 1(2)Sigma(-), are predicted at 2.57, 4.51, and 4.61 eV, respectively. For AlCCH(-), the transition X(2)Pi --> 1(2)Sigma(-) occurs at 3.02 eV. The ionization potentials of AlCCH are computed in order to provide a theoretical guidance to the photoelectron spectrum of the AlCCH radical.

Seawater silicate fertilizer facilitated nitrogen removal via diatom proliferation.

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) enrichment accompanied by silicate deficiency in seawater can promote dinoflagellate growth over diatom growth and induce further negative ecological consequences. Here, we propose an easily exercisable method for silicate fertilization as a remedy of eutrophication. In the laboratory, rice husk ash (RHA) released silicate and phosphate in an atomic ratio range of 38-113 without a significant influence on DIN. During incubations of silicate-limited waters, low-dose fertilization increased the diatom/dinoflagellate ratio by 1-5 times. With the high-dose fertilizer addition, DIN, with an initial concentration of 7.63 ±â€¯0.95 µmol l-1, was exhausted in three days, and the diatom abundance increased by 19 times on the 5th day. The silicate fertilization method presented here can be applied independently in eutrophicated waters for dinoflagellate suppression and dissolved nitrogen removal; this method could also work as a supplementary measure to existing nutrient (N, P) reduction and biomanipulation efforts.

Theoretical studies on low-lying electronic states of cyanocarbene HCCN and its ionic states.

Geometries of 10, 7, and 6 low-lying states of the HCCN neutral radical, its anion and cation, were optimized by using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method in conjunction with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set, respectively. Taking the further correlation effects into account, the second-order perturbations (CASPT2) were carried out for the energetic correction. Vertical excitation energies (T(v)) at the ground state geometry of the HCCN neutral radical were calculated for 11 states. The results of our calculations suggest that the spin-allowed transitions of HCCN at 4.179, 4.395, 4.579, 4.727 and 5.506 eV can be attributed to X(3)A'' --> 2(3)A'', X(3)A'' --> (3)A', X(3)A --> 3(3)A'', X(3)A'' --> 2(3)A', and X(3)A'' --> 3(3)A', respectively. The singlet-triplet splitting gap of HCCN is calculated to be 0.738 eV. The vertical and adiabatic ionization energies were obtained to compare with the PES data. The results we obtained were consistent with the available experiment results.

A study of the hydrogen abstraction reactions of C2H radical with CH3CN, C2H5CN, and C3H7CN by dual-level generalized transition state theory.

The hydrogen abstraction reactions C2H + CH3CN --> products (R1), C2H + CH3CH2CN --> products (R2), and C2H + CH3CH2CH2CN --> products (R3) have been investigated by dual-level generalized transition state theory. Optimized geometries and frequencies of all the stationary points and extra points along the minimum-energy path (MEP) are performed at the BH&H-LYP and MP2 methods with the 6-311G(d, p) basis set, and the energy profiles are further refined at the MC-QCISD level of theory. The rate constants are evaluated using canonical variational transition state theory (CVT) with a small-curvature tunneling correction (SCT) over a wide temperature range 104-2000 K. The calculated CVT/SCT rate constants are in good agreement with the available experimental values. Our calculations show that for reaction R2, the alpha-hydrogen abstraction channel and beta-hydrogen abstraction channel are competitive over the whole temperature range. For reaction R3, the gamma-hydrogen abstraction channel is preferred at lower temperatures, while the contribution of beta-hydrogen abstraction will become more significant with a temperature increase. The branching ratio to the alpha-hydrogen abstraction channel is found negligible over the whole temperature range.

Theoretical study on alkali-metal doped N3H3 complexes: an in-depth understanding of the origin of electride and alkalide and their large nonlinear optical properties.

By doping the model complexant N3H3 with one or two lithium atoms, the geometrical and electronic structures as well as static electric properties of the resulting Li(N3H3), (N3H3)Li' and Li(N3H3)Li' complexes can be explored using the B3LYP, BHandHLYP, CAM-B3LYP and MP2 methods. All three complexes, especially Li(N3H3), were found to have large first hyperpolarizabilities (ß 0). Meanwhile, Li(N3H3) and Li(N3H3)Li' exhibited electride and alkalide characteristics, respectively. The dependance of electric properties of alkalide Li(N3H3)Li' on the alkali atoms involved and the complexant layer number were revealed by investigating the related M(N3H3)Li' and Li(N3H3)M' (M = Na and K), and Li(N3H3) n Li' (n = 2, 3) systems. Note that the ß 0 value of alkalide M(N3H3)M' increased not only with the increasing atomic number of the M'(-) anion but also with that of the M(+) cation, which differs from previously reported cases. In addition, the electric properties of the Li(N3H3)Li' alkalide were enhanced by increasing the complexant layers. However, it was found that both the complexant-complexant and the complexant-Li' interactions reduced with the addition of N3H3 layers, so no stable structures were found for larger Li(N3H3) n Li' complexes. Graphical Abstract Geometrical and electronic structures as well as static electric properties of Li(N3H3), (N3H3)Li' and Li(N3H3)Li' complexes were explored using B3LYP, BHandHLYP, CAM-B3LYP and MP2 methods.

Ab initio study of the spectroscopy of (CH3)(3)CN and (CH3)(2)CHN.

Using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method with 6-311++g(3df,3pd) basis sets, a few electronic states of nitrenes (CH3)3CN and (CH3)2CHN and their positive ions are calculated. All calculated states are valence states, and their characteristics are discussed in detail. In order to investigate the Jahn-Teller effect on (CH3)3CN radical, Cs symmetry was used for (CH3)3CN and (CH3)2CHN in the calculations. The results of our calculations (CASPT2 adiabatic excitation energies and RASSI oscillator strengths) suggest that the calculated transitions of (CH3)3CN at 27,710 cm(-1) and (CH3)2CHN at 28,110 cm(-1) are attributed to 23A'' --> 13A'', while those of (CH3)3CN at 28,916 cm(-1) and (CH3)2CHN at 29,316 cm(-1) are attributed to 13A' --> 13A''. The vertical and adiabatic ionization energies were obtained to compare with the photoelectron spectroscopic data. These results are in agreement with previous experimental data. Also, we present a comprehensive review on the CAS calculation results for (CH3)nCH(3-n)N (n = 0-3) presented in our previous and present papers.