Strongly Bound Polynuclear Anions Comprising Scandium Fluoride Building Blocks.

The stability of polynuclear anions composed of ScF3 building blocks was studied by using ab initio and density functional theory electronic structure methods and flexible basis sets. Thorough exploration of ground state potential energy surfaces of (Sc2F7)-, (Sc3F10)-, and (Sc4F13)- anions which may be viewed as comprising ScF3 fragments and the additional fluorine atom led to determining the isomeric structures thereof. It was found that the most stable isomers which are predicted to dominate at room temperature correspond to the compact structures enabling the formation of a large number of Sc-F-Sc bridging linkages rather than to the chain-like structures. The vertical electron detachment energies of the (ScnF3n+1)- anions were found to be very large (spanning the 10.85-12.29 eV range) and increasing with the increasing number of scandium atoms (n) and thus the ScF3 building blocks involved in the structure. Thermodynamic stability of (ScnF3n+1)- anions (i.e., their susceptibility to fragmentation) was also verified and discussed.

Finding Valence Antibonding Levels while Avoiding Rydberg, Pseudo-continuum, and Dipole-Bound Orbitals.

Electronic structure methods are now widely used to assist in the interpretation of many varieties of experimental data. The energies and physical characteristics (e.g., sizes, shapes, and spatial localization) of valence antibonding π* and σ* orbitals play key roles in a variety of chemical processes including photochemical reactions and electron attachment reductions and are used in Woodward-Hoffmann-type analyses to probe reaction energy barriers and energy surface intersections leading to internal conversion or intersystem crossings. One's ability to properly populate such valence antibonding orbitals within electronic structure calculations is often hindered by the presence of other molecular orbitals having similar energies. These intruding orbitals can be of Rydberg, pseudo-continuum, or dipole-bound characteristic. This article shows how, within the most widely available electronic structure codes, one can avoid the pitfalls presented by these intruding orbitals to properly populate a valence π* or σ* orbital and how to subsequently use that orbital in a calculation that includes electron correlation effects and thereby offers the possibility of chemically useful precision. Special emphasis is given to cases in which the electronic state is metastable.

Superhalogen Anions Supported by the Systems Comprising Alternately Aligned Boron and Nitrogen Central Atoms.

Using DFT/(B3LYP/wB97XD/B2PLYPD) and OVGF electronic structure methods with flexible atomic orbital basis sets, we examined the series of polynuclear superhalogen anions matching the (BF3(BN) n F4n+1)- formula (for n = 1-10,13,18-20) containing alternately aligned boron and nitrogen central atoms decorated with fluorine ligands. It was found that the equilibrium structures of these anions correspond to fully extended chains (with each B and N central atom surrounded by four substituents arranged in a tetrahedral manner) and thus mimic the globally stable fully extended (all-trans) conformations of higher n-alkanes. The vertical electron detachment energies of the (BF3(BN) n F4n+1)- anions were found to exceed 8 eV in all cases and gradually increase with the increasing number of n. The approximate limiting value of vertical electron binding energy that could be achieved for such polynuclear superhalogen anions was estimated as equal to ca. 10.7 eV.

The Mechanism of a Retro-Diels-Alder Fragmentation of Luteolin: Theoretical Studies Supported by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry Results.

The mechanisms of retro-Diels-Alder fragmentation of luteolin are studied theoretically using the Density Functional Theory method (B3LYP hybrid functional) together with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set and supported by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) results. The reaction paths leading to the formation of 1,3A- and 1,3B- fragment ions observed as the main spectral features in the ESI-MS spectrum are described and discussed, including the structures of the transition states and intermediate products. The heights of the activation energy barriers which have to be overcome along the reaction paths corresponding to 1,3-retrocyclization cleavage of the ionized luteolin are predicted to span the 69-94 kcal/mol range (depending on the initial isomeric structure) for the concerted retrocyclization mechanism and the 60-89 kcal/mol (first barrier) and 24-52 kcal/mol (second barrier) barriers for the stepwise mechanism (also depending on the initial isomeric structure). It is also demonstrated that the final fragmentation products (1,3A- and 1,3B-) are in fact represented by various isomeric systems which are not experimentally distinguishable. In addition, the absence of the spectral feature corresponding to the [M-B]- fragment ion formed by the rupture of the C-C bond connecting luteolin's B and C rings (which does not occur during the ESI-MS experiment) is explained by much larger energy barriers predicted for such a process.

Photoresponsive Amide-Based Derivatives of Azobenzene-4,4'-Dicarboxylic Acid-Experimental and Theoretical Studies.

Azobenzene derivatives are one of the most important molecular switches for biological and material science applications. Although these systems represent a well-known group of compounds, there remains a need to identify the factors influencing their photochemical properties in order to design azobenzene-based technologies in a rational way. In this contribution, we describe the synthesis and characterization of two novel amides (L1 and L2) containing photoresponsive azobenzene units. The photochemical properties of the obtained compounds were investigated in DMSO by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, as well as 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the obtained results were rationalized via Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. After irradiation with UV light, both amides underwent trans to cis isomerization, yielding 40% and 22% of the cis isomer of L1 and L2 amides, respectively. Quantum yields of this process were determined as 6.19% and 2.79% for L1 and L2, respectively. The reverse reaction (i.e., cis to trans isomerization) could be achieved after thermal or visible light activation. The analysis of the theoretically determined equilibrium structure of the transition-state connecting cis and trans isomers on the reaction path indicated that the trans-cis interconversion is pursued via the flipping of the substituent, rather than its rotation around the N=N bond. The kinetics of thermal back-reaction and the effect of the presence of the selected ions on the half-life of the cis form were also investigated and discussed. In the case of L1, the presence of fluoride ions sped the thermal relaxation up, whereas the half-life time of cis-L2 was extended in the presence of tested ions.

Tracing the acid-base catalytic properties of MON2O mixed oxides (M = Be, Mg, Ca; N = Li, Na, K) by theoretical calculations.

The stability and acid-base properties of MON2O mixed oxides (where M = Be, Mg, Ca; N = Li, Na, K) are studied by using ab initio methods. It is demonstrated that (i) the basicity of such designed systems evaluated by estimation of electronic proton affinity and gas-phase basicity (defined as the electronic and Gibbs free energies of deprotonation processes for [MON2O]H+) were found significant (in the ranges of 272-333 and 260-322 kcal/mol, respectively); (ii) in each series of MOLi2O/MONa2O/MOK2O, the basicity increases with an increase of the atomic number of alkali metal involved; (ii) the Lewis acidity of the corresponding [MON2O]H+ determined with respect to hydride anion (assessed as the electronic and Gibbs free energies of H- detachment processes for [MON2O]H2) decreases as the basicity of the corresponding oxide increases. The thermodynamic stability of all [MON2O]H2 systems is confirmed by estimating the Gibbs free energies for the fragmentation processes yielding either H2 or H2O.

Electron attachment to representative cations composing ionic liquids.

Using ab initio electronic structure methods with flexible atomic orbital basis sets, we investigated the electronic structure and stability of reduction products of selected representative cations (C+) constituting ionic liquids. We found that an electron attachment to such cations leads to the neutral radicals, whereas a subsequent attachment of another (i.e., excess) electron leads to adiabatically stable anions only in two cases {[P(CH3)4]- and [MeMePyr]-}. The possibility of the formation of various dimers (such as CC+, CC, and CC-) was also considered, and the resulting systems were characterized by predicting their lowest energy structures, ionization potentials, electron affinities, and susceptibilities to the fragmentation process. Among the cations studied, only the [MeMePyr]+ was found to form a typical Rydberg radical (MeMePyr) and double-Rydberg anion ([MeMePyr]-), whereas the remaining cations were predicted to form neutral radicals of a primarily valence (MeMeIm and MePy) or mixed Rydberg-valence [P(CH3)4] character. Our calculations confirmed the stability of all CC+ and CC dimers against fragmentation yielding the corresponding monomers (the binding energies of 12.2-20.5 kcal/mol and 11.3-72.3 kcal/mol were estimated for CC+ and CC dimers, respectively). [(MeMePyr)2]- was identified as the only adiabatically stable CC- dimeric anion having its vertical electron detachment energy of 0.417 eV. We also found that in the [(MeMePyr)2]- anionic state, three outermost electrons are described by Rydberg orbitals, which results in the (σ)2(σ*)1 configuration.

Unusual and Conventional Dative Bond Formation by s2 Lone Pair Donation from Alkaline Earth Metal Atoms to BH3, AlH3, and GaH3.

Using ab initio electronic structure methods with flexible atomic orbital basis sets, we examined the nature of the bonding arising from donation of an ns2 electron pair on an alkaline earth atom (Mg or Ca) into a vacant n'p orbital on the group 13 atom of BH3, AlH3, or GaH3. We also examined what happens when an excess electron is attached to form corresponding molecular anions. Although the geometries of MgBH3, MgAlH3, MgGaH3, and CaBH3 are found to be much as one would expect for datively bound molecules, CaAlH3 and CaGaH3 were found to have very unusual geometries in that their Al-H or Ga-H bonds are directed toward the Ca atom rather than away, as in the other compounds. Internal electrostatic Coulomb attractions between the partially positively charged Ca center and the partially negatively charged H centers were suggested as a source of these unusual geometries. The other novel finding is that the electron affinities (EAs) of all six M'-MH3 species lie in the 0.7-1.0 eV range, which is suggestive of ionic electronic structures for the neutrals even though the partial charges on the alkaline earth centers are as low as 0.3 atomic units. Partial positive charge on the alkaline earth atoms combined with substantial electron affinities of the BH3, AlH3, and GaH3 groups, but only when distorted from planar geometries, were suggested to be the primary contributors to the large EAs.

Fate of Dipole-Bound Anion States when Hydrated.

Many strongly polar molecules can form an anion by attaching an electron to either an empty or half-filled valence-bound (VB) orbital or a so-called dipole-bound (DB) orbital. These two families of orbitals can be very different in their radial extent (the former are usually more compact, while the latter are quite diffuse) and in the degree to which they are affected by surrounding solvent molecules. In this study, the effects of hydration (representative of strong solvation) on the DB state of a model polar species are investigated with an eye toward determining whether this state is stabilized or even persists when a few to 100 water molecules surround the polar molecule. It is found that in the presence of up to ca. 10-12 water molecules, the excess electron can remain in a DB orbital. However, once there are enough water molecules to form a complete first hydration shell (or more), the excess electron migrates into an orbital localized on the outer surface of the water solvent cage. These findings have implications on the possible role of DB states as doorways to facilitating electron attachment and subsequent electron transfer to VB states. It is shown that even when the electron is bound to the surface of the surrounding solvent, the dipole potential of the solute molecule can influence where on the surface the electron binds. It is also illustrated that using continuum dielectric methods to describe the hydration of DB states is fraught with danger because much of the outermost electron density in such states penetrates outside the boundary of the cavity used in these methods.

Functionalization of the transition metal oxides FeO, CoO, and NiO with alkali metal atoms decreases their ionization potentials by 3-5 eV.

The existence and stabilities of various neutral metal oxides of formula MON and MON2 (M = Fe, Co, Ni; N = Li, Na) and their corresponding cations MON+ and MON2+ are predicted using density functional theory (B3LYP) with the 6-311 + G(d) basis set. Ab initio calculations carried out at the CCSD(T)/6-311 + G(3df) level of theory reveal that the ionization potentials (IPs) of the oxides MO decrease by ca. 3-5 eV upon functionalization with N to give either MON or MON2. The influences of the chemical constitution and local spin magnetic moment (on the transition metal atom) of the oxide or cation on its IP are presented and discussed.

Possible Formation of H3O+ Cations Due to Aluminum Fluoride Interactions with Water.

The isomeric structures formed by the aluminum fluoride (AlF3) system and surrounding water molecules were theoretically examined by employing MP2 and CCSD(T) methods and the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set together with the polarized continuum solvation model within a self-consistent reaction field treatment. The calculations performed for the AlF3·n(H2O) systems (n = 1-6) revealed that facial and meridional octahedral structures correspond to the lowest energy isomers for the AlF3·4H2O, AlF3·5H2O, and AlF3·6H2O systems, whereas the isomers containing the H3O+ and AlF3OH- fragments were predicted to be less stable by only 5-7 kcal/mol, which indicates the possible formation of the hydronium cations in such systems even at room temperature.

Stability of Superhalogen Anions in the Aqueous Phase.

The issue of stability of superhalogen anions in an aqueous solution is investigated on the basis of theoretical calculations carried out at the CCSD(T)/6-311++G(d,p)//MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level for two representative negatively charged systems (NaF2- and AlF4-) whose fragmentation products differ in polarity. The presence of a water solvent is simulated independently by employing the polarized continuum solvation model and by involving eight H2O molecules explicitly to allow interactions at the molecular level. The best estimates of the Gibbs free energies characterizing the AlF4- and NaF2- fragmentation reactions in a water solvent are evaluated as equal to 33-34 and 12-14 kcal/mol, respectively (assuming the F- and AlF3/NaF products) or 14-15 and 26-28 kcal/mol, respectively (assuming the HF and AlF3OH-/NaFOH- products). The corresponding fragmentation routes are suggested to be nonoperative at T = 298.15 K. The conclusion concerning the thermodynamic stability of the AlF4- and NaF2- superhalogen anions in the aqueous phase is formulated and discussed.

Attaching an alkali metal atom to an alkaline earth metal oxide (BeO, MgO, or CaO) yields a triatomic metal oxide with reduced ionization potential and redirected polarity.

The existence of a series of neutral triatomic metal oxides MON and their corresponding cations MON (+) (M = Be, Mg, Ca; N = Li, Na, K) was postulated and verified theoretically using ab initio methods at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(3df)//MP2/6-311+G(3df) level of theory. The calculations revealed that the vertical ionization potentials (IPs) of the MON radicals (calculated using the outer-valence Green's function technique (OVGF) with the 6-311+G(3df) basis set) were ca. 2-3 eV smaller than the IPs of the corresponding MO and NO systems or that of the isolated M atom. Population analysis of the neutral triatomic MON molecules and their corresponding MO counterparts indicated that the attachment of an alkali metal atom to any oxide MO (BeO, MgO, CaO) reverses its polarity, which manifests itself as the redirection of the dipole moment vector.

Refinements to the Utah-Washington mechanism of electron capture dissociation.

Ab initio electronic structure calculations on a rather geometrically constrained doubly positivley charged parent peptide ion are combined with experimental data from others on three similar ions to refine understanding of the mechanistic steps in the Utah-Washington model of electron-capture and electron-transfer dissociation. The primary new findings are that (i) the electron need not first attach to a Rydberg orbital and subsequently be extracted by an SS σ* or amide π* orbital (rather, it can be guided directly into the SS σ* or amide π* orbital by the Rydberg orbital) and (ii) Coulomb and dipole potentials within the parent ion alter both the electron binding strengths and radial ranges of Rydberg orbitals located on the positively charged sites, which, in turn, alters the ranges over which the electron can be guided. These same potentials, when evaluated at disulfide or backbone amide sites, determine which disulfide σ* and amide π* orbitals are and are not susceptible to electron attachment leading to SS and N-Cα bond cleavage. Additional experiments on the same parent ions discussed here are proposed to further test and refine the UW model.

Prediction of thymine dimer repair by electron transfer from photoexcited 8-aminoguanine or its deprotonated anion.

Electronic structure methods are used to estimate differences in reaction barriers for transfer of an electron from singlet ππ* excited 8-aminoguanine (A) or deprotonated 8-aminoguanine anion (A(-)) to a proximal thymine dimer site compared to barriers when ππ* excited 8-oxoguanine (O) or deprotonated 8-oxoguanine (O(-)) serve as the electron donor. It is predicted that the barrier for photoexcited A should be lower than for photoexcited O, and the barrier for photoexcited A(-) should be lower than for photoexcited O(-). Moreover, A, O(-), and A(-) are predicted to have ππ* excited states at energies near where O does, which allows them to be excited by photons low enough in energy to avoid exciting or ionizing any of DNA's bases. The origin of the differences in barriers is suggested to be the lower ionization potential of A compared to O and the lower electron detachment energy of A(-) compared to O(-). Because O and O(-) have been experimentally shown to produce thymine dimer repair, it is proposed that A and A(-) are promising repair agents deserving experimental study.

Amino acids form strongly bound anions when substituted with superhalogen ligands.

The properties of AA-Y(-) anions (where AA = cysteine, aspartic acid, lysine; Y = BF3, PF5) were investigated at the ab initio Outer Valence Green's Function (OVGF)∕6-311++G(3df,3pd)∕∕MP2∕6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. It is shown that introducing a superhalogen-like substituent to an amino acid (i.e., Cys, Asp, and Lys) results in obtaining molecules that bind an excess electron relatively strongly. The electronic stabilities of such resulting daughter anions are predicted to be substantial (5.3-6.9 eV).

Mechanism for repair of thymine dimers by photoexcitation of proximal 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine.

A wide range of experimental data from earlier studies by other workers are combined with recent data from the Burrows group to interpret that group's thymine dimer (T = T) repair rate data for 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG)-containing DNA duplexes. The focus of this effort is to explain (i) how and why the repair rates vary as the sequence location and distance of the OG relative to the T═T is changed and (ii) why the spatial extent over which repair is observed is limited to OG-T═T distances of ~6 Å. It is proposed that, if the OG and T═T are within ~5-6 Å, a Coulomb potential moves the energy of the OG(+)···T═T(-) ion-pair state below the photoexcited OG*···T═T state, even in the absence of full solvent relaxation, thus enhancing forward electron transfer from OG* to T═T by allowing it to occur as a radiationless internal conversion process rather than by overcoming a solvation-related barrier. The rate of this forward electron transfer is estimated to be ~10% of the decay rate of the photoexcited OG*. For OG-to-T═T distances beyond 5-6 Å, electron transfer is still exothermic, but it must occur through solvent reorganization, overcoming an energy barrier, which presumably renders this rate too slow to be detected in the experiments under study here. Once an electron has been injected into the T═T, as many other workers have shown, the reaction proceeds through two low-energy barriers first connecting T═T(-) to an intermediate in which the C(5)-C(5') bond of the cyclobutane unit is cleaved, and onward to where the cyclobutane unit is fully broken and two intact thymine sites are established. Our ab initio data show that the energy landscape for these bond cleavages is altered very little by the presence of the proximal OG(+) cation, which therefore allows us to use data from the earlier studies to conclude that it takes ~100 ps for complete bond cleavage to occur. The experimentally determined overall T═T repair quantum yield of 1% then allows us to estimate the rate at which an electron is transferred from the T═T(-) anion back to the OG(+) cation as 10 times the rate of bond cleavage. The experimental variations in T═T repair rates among several sequences are shown to be reasonably consistent with an exponential OG-to-T═T distance dependence, e(-ßR), with a decay parameter of ß = 0.6 Å(-1). Finally, suggestions are offered for experimental studies that would test the predictions offered here and shed further light on the OG-induced T═T repair mechanism.

Theoretical search for alternative nine-electron ligands suitable for superhalogen anions.

The calculations performed at the OVGF/6-311++G(3df,3pd)//MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level for the representative NaX(2)(-) and AlX(4)(-) anions matching the MX(k+1)(-) superhalogen formula and utilizing 9-electron systems (i.e., consisting of various possible combinations of atoms containing nine electrons when brought together) revealed that the OH, Li(2)H(3), and NH(2) groups might be considered as alternative ligands X due to their thermodynamic stability and large values of electron binding energy (approaching or even exceeding 6 eV in some cases). All aluminum-containing AlX(4)(-) anions (excluding Al(HBLi)(4)(-)) were predicted to be thermodynamically stable, whereas the NaX(2)(-) anions for X = CH(3), HBLi, CLi, BeB, and H(2)BeLi were found to be susceptible to the fragmentations leading to Na(-) loss. Among the MX(k+1)(-) (M = Na, Al; X = Li(2)H(3), OH, H(2)BeLi, BeB, NH(2), HBLi, CH(3), Be(2)H, CLi) anions utilizing systems containing 9 electrons (and thus isoelectronic with the F atom) the largest vertical electron detachment energy of 6.38 eV was obtained for Al(OH)(4)(-).