Generation of Helical States - Breaking of Symmetries, Curie's Principle, and Excited States.

Herein, we deeply detail for the very first time mathematical concepts behind the generation of helical molecular orbitals (MOs) for linear chains of atoms. We first give a definition of helical MOs and we provide an index measuring how far a given helical states is from a perfect helical distribution. Structural properties of helical distribution for twisted N ${\left[N\right]}$ -cumulene and cumulene version of Möbius systems are given. We then give some simple structural assumptions as well as symmetry requirements ensuring the existence of helical MOs. Considering molecules which do not admit helical MOs, we provide a first way to induce helical states by the breaking of symmetries. We also explore an alternative way using excited conformations of given molecules as well as different electronic multiplicities.

CHNO - Formylnitrene, Cyanic, Isocyanic, Fulminic, and Isofulminic Acids and their Interrelationships at DFT and CASPT2 Levels of Theory.

Fulminic and cyanic acids played a decisive role in the conception of isomerism 200 years ago. Cyanic (HOCN), isocyanic (HNCO), and fulminic (HCNO) acids have been detected in several interstellar sources, but isofulminic acid (HONC) is little known. Here we examine the interrelationships between the four acids and formylnitrene, HC(O)N, at the CASPT2 and three DFT levels. Formylnitrene has a triplet ground state, T0, a closed shell singlet (CSS), S0, and an open-shell singlet (OSS), S1, lying ∼7 and 27 kcal/mol above T0, respectively. The CSS is weakly stabilized by a 12 kcal/mol bond between the N and the O atoms. A conical intersection 12 kcal/mol above T0 permits easy T0-S0 interchange. Formyl azide and formylnitrene (T0 and S0) are isomerized thermally to HNCO. HOCN is best obtained via dissociation of the nitrene (or of HNCO) to H• + NCO• radicals ∼46 kcal/mol above the T0 nitrene. Isofulminic acid, HONC, isomerizes readily to cyanic acid, HOCN, in thermal and photochemical reactions. Fulminic acid, HCNO, can isomerize to HNCO via CSS formylnitrene. Easy tautomerization prevents the preparation of HOCN in quantity. The barrier to isomerization is strongly reduced in small hydrogen-bonded aggregates so that trace amounts of HOCN can exist in equilibrium with HNCO.

Influence of solvents on the morphology of Langmuir and Langmuir-Schaefer films of PCBM and PCBM-based oligomers and polymers.

Fullerene-based polymers and oligomers combined with non-fullerene acceptors show extremely high efficiencies in organic photovoltaic devices. Furthermore, fullerene-based materials are of interest for use in anti-cancer and anti-viral treatments, where their presence can enhance the efficacy of medication considerably. Therefore, it remains important to understand their morphology and electronic properties to improve devices and technological applications. The main goal of this study is to prepare and characterize Langmuir and Langmuir-Schaefer films of PCBM-based materials to investigate the influence of different solvents such as chloroform, toluene, and xylene, and co-components on their morphology. PCBM-based materials were thus studied either alone or in mixtures with a polythiophene derivative (poly(3-hexythiophene), P3HT) commonly used in organic photovoltaic devices. The formation of Langmuir films was studied using surface pressure isotherms and Brewster's angle microscopy (BAM), where the homogeneity, phase behavior, and morphology of the films were investigated. In addition, Langmuir-Schaefer films were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman spectroscopy, providing information on the morphology of the solid films. This study has shown that it is possible to successfully fabricate Langmuir and Langmuir-Schaefer films of PCBM and PCBM-based oligomers and polymers, both pure and in mixtures with P3HT, to compare their organization, roughness, and optical properties. With the Langmuir films, it was possible to estimate the area of the molecules and visualize their aggregation through BAM images, establishing a relationship between the area occupied by these materials and the solvent used. All characterization techniques corroborate that the use of chloroform significantly reduced the roughness of the LS films mixed with P3HT and also presented a higher ordering compared to films prepared with xylene solutions.

Development of a novel ReaxFF reactive potential for organochloride molecules.

This article presents a new reactive potential in the ReaxFF formalism. It aims to include the chlorine element and opens up the fields of use of ReaxFF to the whole class of organochloride compounds including conjugated or aromatic groups. Numerous compounds in this family raise global awareness due to their environmental impact, and such a reactive potential will help investigate their degradation pathways. The new force field, named CHONCl-2022_weak, belongs to the aqueous branch. The force field parameters were fitted against high-level quantum chemistry calculations, including complete active space self-consistent field/NEVPT2 calculations and density functional theory calculations, and their accuracy was evaluated using a validation set. The root means square deviation against quantum mechanics energies is 0.38 eV (8.91 kcal mol-1). From a structural point of view, the root means square deviation is about 0.06 Å for the bond lengths, 11.86° for the angles, and 4.12° for the dihedral angles. With CHONCl-2022_weak new force field, we successfully investigated the regioselectivity for nucleophilic or electrophilic attacks on polychlorinated biphenyls, which are toxic and permanent pollutants. The rotation barriers along the bond linking the two benzene rings, which is crucial in the toxicity of these compounds, are well reproduced by CHONCl-2022_weak. Then, our new reactive potential is used to investigate the chlorobenzene reactivity in the presence of hydroxyl radicals in atmospheric condition or in aqueous solution. The reaction pathways computed with ReaxFF agree with the quantum mechanics results. We showed that, in the presence of dioxygen molecules, in atmospheric condition, the oxidation of chlorobenzene likely leads to the formation of highly oxygenated compounds after the abstraction of hydrogen radicals. In water, the addition of a hydroxyl radical leads to the formation of chlorophenol or phenol molecules, as already predicted from plasma-induced degradation experiments.

Benzotriazoles and Triazoloquinones: Rearrangements to Carbazoles, Benzazirines, Azepinediones, and Fulvenimines.

The denitrogenative rearrangements of several types of benzotriazoles were investigated by DFT (B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)) and CASPT2(10,10)sp/6-311G(d,p) calculations. The Graebe-Ullmann synthesis of carbazoles 18 by pyrolysis or photolysis of 1-arylbenzotriazoles 14 proceeds without the involvement of benzazirines and without Wolff-type ring contraction to fulvenimines. However, 1-aryltetrahydrobenzotriazoles undergo both cyclization to tetrahydrocarbazole and ring contraction. Triazoloquinones like 34 undergo predominant ring contraction to aminofulvenediones like 38 and also ring expansion to azepinediones like 40 and cyclization to N-arylbenzaziridinediones 39, whereas carbazolediones are not formed. Denitrogenation of 1-methylbenzotriazole 64 results in a facile 1,2-H shift with formation of N-phenylmethanimine 67. 1-Cyanobenzotriazole 71 undergoes destructive pyrolysis with charring, and the calculations predict the occurrence of several low-activation energy reaction pathways.

Rearrangements of Aromatic Nitrile Oxides and Nitrile Ylides: Potential Ring Expansion to Cycloheptatetraene Derivatives Mimicking Arylcarbenes.

Nitrile imines, nitrile oxides and nitrile ylides are widely used in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. They also undergo thermal and photochemical rearrangements to carbodiimides, isocyanates, and ketenimines, respectively. Calculations at DFT and CASPT2 levels of theory reveal novel, potential rearrangements, in which the aromatic 1,3-dipoles mimic phenylcarbene and undergo ring expansion to cycloheptatetraene derivatives. These rearrangements can potentially take place in both the singlet ground states and the triplet excited states, and they are accelerated by m,m'-bis(dimethylamino) substitution on the phenyl moieties. The new rearrangement becomes the energetically preferred path for m,m'-bis(dimethylamino)benzonitrile oxide in the triplet state. In the m,m'-bis(dimethylamino)benzo nitrile ylide, the cyclization to the 2-phenyl-1-azirine is favored over the ring expansion to a cycloheptatetraene by ca. 5 kcal mol-1 in the singlet state. In the bent triplet states, 1,3-hydrogen shifts interconverting nitrile ylides are potentially possible.

Aryl Nitrile Imines and Diazo Compounds. Formation of Indazole, Pyridine N-Imine, and 2-Pyridyldiazomethane from Tetrazoles.

Both photolysis and flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of tetrazoles (1/5) are known to generate nitrile imines (13, 19, and 38), which rearrange to 1H-diazirines, imidoylnitrenes, and carbodiimides. Moreover, FVP of 5-aryltetrazoles is a convenient source of aryldiazo compounds (30/47) and arylcarbenes, including pyridylcarbenes. The factors that determine which path is followed are poorly understood. Calculations at the density functional theory and CASPT2 levels now examine cyclization of N-phenylnitrile imine 13 to indazole 17. A corresponding cyclization of C-phenylnitrile imine 19 can also lead to indazole, but this reaction, which passes through a carbenic nitrile imine, requires a much higher activation energy and is therefore not competitive with the known rearrangements to phenyldiazirines, ring expansion to diazenylcycloheptatetraene, or a new, potential rearrangement to cyanoazepine. C-(2-Pyridyl)nitrile imine 38 is predicted to undergo a new rearrangement to cyanopyridine N-imide 40 with an activation energy of 43 kcal/mol. The experimental observation that 2-pyridyldiazomethane 47 is actually formed requires a reaction with an energy barrier below 43 kcal/mol. This is found in the H-transfer from the tetrazole ring in 5-(2-pyridyl)tetrazole to the pyridine ring with a subsequent formation of 1H-2-(diazomethylene)pyridine and elimination of N2 with a barrier of ca. 26 kcal/mol. This new, facile mechanism has not previously been considered.

Using computed infrared intensities for the reduction of vibrational configuration interaction bases.

The Adaptive Vibrational Configuration Interaction (A-VCI) algorithm is an iterative process that computes the anharmonic spectrum of a molecule using nested bases to discretize the Hamiltonian operator. For large molecular systems, the size of the discretization space and the computation time quickly become prohibitive. It is therefore necessary to develop new methods to further limit the number of basis functions. Most of the time, the interpretation of an experimental infrared spectrum does not require the calculation of all eigenvalues but only those corresponding to vibrational states with significant intensity. In this paper, a technique that uses infrared intensities is introduced to select a subset of eigenvalues to be precisely calculated. Thus, we build smaller nested bases and reduce both the memory footprint and the computational time. We validate the advantages of this new approach on a well-studied 7-atom molecular system (C2H4O), and we apply it on a larger 10-atom molecule (C4H4N2).

Relating the molecular topology and local geometry: Haddon's pyramidalization angle and the Gaussian curvature.

The pyramidalization angle and spherical curvature are well-known quantities used to characterize the local geometry of a molecule and to provide a measure of regio-chemical activity of molecules. In this paper, we give a self-contained presentation of these two concepts and discuss their limitations. These limitations can bypass, thanks to the introduction of the notions of angular defect and discrete Gauss curvature coming from discrete differential geometry. In particular, these quantities can be easily computed for arbitrary molecules, trivalent or not, with bond of equal lengths or not. All these quantities have been implemented. We then compute all these quantities over the Tománek database covering an almost exhaustive list of fullerene molecules. In particular, we discuss the interdependence of the pyramidalization angle with the spherical curvature, angular defect, and hybridization numbers. We also explore the dependence of the pyramidalization angle with respect to some characteristics of the molecule, such as the number of atoms, the group of symmetry, and the geometrical optimization process.

Rearrangements of Nitrile Imines: Ring Expansion of Benzonitrile Imines to Cycloheptatetraenes and Ring Closure to 3-Phenyl-3 H-diazirines.

Nitrile imines are important intermediates in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, and they are also known to undergo efficient, unimolecular rearrangements to carbodiimides via 1 H-diazirines and imidoylnitrenes under both thermal and photochemical reaction conditions. We now report a competing rearrangement, revealed by CASPT2(14,12) and B3LYP calculations, in which C-phenylnitrile imines 8 undergo ring expansion to 1-diazenyl-1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraenes 12 akin to the phenylcarbene-cycloheptatetraene rearrangement. Amino-, hydroxy-, and thiol-groups in the meta positions of C-phenylnitrile imine lower the activation energies for this rearrangement so that it becomes potentially competitive with the cyclization to 1 H-diazirines and hence rearrange to carbodiimides. The diazenylcycloheptatetraenes 12 thus formed can evolve further to cycloheptatetraene 30 and 2-diazenyl-phenylcarbene 16 over modest activation barriers, and the latter carbenes cyclize very easily to 2 H- and 3 H-indazoles, from which 6-methylenecyclohexadienylidene, phenylcarbene, fulvenallene, and their isomers are potentially obtainable. Moreover, another new rearrangement of benzonitrile imine forms 3-phenyl-3 H-diazirine, which is a precursor of phenyldiazomethane and hence phenylcarbene. This reaction is competitive with the ring expansion. The new rearrangements predicted here should be experimentally observable, for example, under matrix photolysis or flash vacuum pyrolysis conditions.

Selective recognition of acetylcholine over choline by a fluorescent cage.

A fluorescent hemicryptophane has been synthesized and can be used as a turn on receptor of acetylcholine. A binding constant of 2.4 × 104 M-1 was measured for this neurotransmitter, and its selective and sensitive detection over choline and choline phosphate was achieved. NMR and DFT calculations provide insight into the interactions involved in this selective recognition process.

Heteroarylcarbene-Arylnitrene Radical Cation Isomerizations.

5-Phenyltetrazole 1e is an important source of phenylnitrene or the phenylnitrene radical cation ( m/ z 91) under thermal, photochemical, and electron impact conditions. Similarly, 3- or 4-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridines 12b,c yield pyridylnitrene radical cations 9a•+ ( m/ z 92) upon electron impact. In contrast, 2-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridine 12a•+ generates 2-pyridyldiazomethane 24•+ and 2-pyridylcarbene 26•+ radical cations ( m/ z 119 and 91) upon electron impact. The 2-pyridylcarbene radical cation undergoes a carbene-nitrene rearrangement to yield the phenylnitrene radical cation. Calculations at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level have revealed facile H-transfer from the tetrazole to the pyridine ring in 2-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridine, 12a•+ → 21•+, taking place in the radical cations. Subsequent losses of N2 generate the pyridinium diazomethyl radical 22•+ or pyridinium-2-carbyne 23•+. These two ions can isomerize to 2-pyridyldiazomethane 24•+ and 2-pyridylcarbene 26•+, the latter rearranging to the phenylnitrene radical cations 9a•+. 13C-labeling of the tetrazole rings confirmed that 2-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridine 12a generates 2-pyridylcarbene/phenylnitrene radical cations retaining the 13C label, but 4-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridine 12c generates 4-pyridylnitrene 18c•+, which has lost the 13C label. 2-Pyridylcarbene/phenylnitrene radical cations ( m/ z 91) also constitute the base peak in the mass spectrum of 1,2,3-triazolo[1,5- a]pyridine 34. Similarly, 4-pyridylnitrene radical cation 18c•+ or its isomers ( m/ z 92) is obtained from 1,2,3-triazolo[1,5- a]pyrazine 36. Several other α-heteroaryltetrazoles behave in the same way as 2-(5-tetrazolyl)pyridine, yielding heteroarylcarbene/arylnitrene radical cations in the mass spectrometer, and this was confirmed by 13C-labeling in the case of 1-(5-tetrazolyl)isoquinoline 42-13C. In general, 5-aryltetrazoles generate arylnitrene radical cations under electron impact, but α-heteroaryltetrazoles generate α-heteroarylcarbene radical cations.

Phenylnitrene Radical Cation and Its Isomers from Tetrazoles, Nitrile Imines, Indazole, and Benzimidazole.

Phenylnitrene radical cations m/ z 91, C6H5N, 8a•+ are observed in the mass spectra of 1-, 2-, and 5-phenyltetrazoles, even though no C-N bond is present in 5-phenyltetrazole. Calculations at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory indicate that initial formation of the C-phenylimidoylnitrene 13•+ and/or benzonitrile imine radical cation 19•+ from 1 H- and 2 H-5-phenyltetrazoles 11 and 12 is followed by isomerizations of 13•+ to the phenylcyanamide ion 15•+ over a low barrier. A cyclization of imidoylnitrene ion 13•+ onto the benzene ring offers alternate, very facile routes to the phenylnitrene ion 8a•+ and the phenylcarbodiimide ion 14•+ via the azabicyclooctadienimine 16•+. Eliminations of HNC or HCN from 14•+ and 15•+ again yield the phenylnitrene radical cation 8a•+. A direct 1,3-H shift isomerizing phenylcarbodiimide ion 14•+ to the phenylcyanamide ion 15•+ requires a very high activation energy of 114 kcal/mol, and this reaction needs not be involved. The benzonitrile imine -3-phenyl-1 H-diazirine-phenylimidoylnitrene-phenylcarbodiimide/phenylcyanamide rearrangement has parallels in thermal and photochemical processes, but the facile cyclization of imidoylnitrene 13•+ to azabicyclooctadienimine 16•+ is facilitated by the positive charge making the nitrene more electrophilic. Furthermore, the benzonitrile imine radical cation 19•+ can cyclize to indazole 24•+, and a series of intramolecular rearrangements via hydrogen shifts, ring-openings and ring closures allow the interconversion of numerous ions of composition C7H6N2•+, including 19•+, 24•+, the benzimidazole ion 38•+ and o-aminobenzonitrile ion 40•+, all of which can eliminate either HCN or HNC to yield the C6H5N•+ ions of phenylnitrene, 8a•+, and/or iminocyclohexadienylidene, 34•+. Moreover, benzonitrile imine 19•+ can behave like a benzylic carbenium ion, undergoing a novel ring expansion to cycloheptatetraenyldiazene 45•+. The N-phenylnitrile imine ion 2d•+ derived from 2-phenyltetrazole 1d cleaves efficiently to the phenylnitrene ion 8a•+ but may also cyclize to the indazole ion 24•+. The N-phenylimidoylnitrene 59•+ derived from 1-phenyltetrazole 5d undergoes facile isomerization to the phenylcyanamide ion 15•+ and hence phenylnitrene radical cation 8a•+.

Trimethylsilylnitrene and Its Surprising Rearrangement to N-(Dimethylsilyl)methanimine via Silaziridine and Silaazomethine Ylide.

Photolysis of trimethylsilyl azide at 254 nm in Ar matrix at 15 K generates the triplet ground state trimethylsilylnitrene 2 aT, observed by ESR spectroscopy (|D/hc|=1.540 cm-1 ; |E/hc|=0.0002 cm-1 ). Calculations at the CASPT2(14,13) level reveal the open-shell singlet nitrene 2 aS(1 A") is a discrete intermediate lying ≈38 kcal mol-1 above the triplet. The normally expected rearrangement of the nitrene 2 aS to dimethylsilanimine 3 a has a high calculated barrier (33 kcal mol-1 ), which explains why this product has never been observed. Instead, the singlet nitrene 2 aS inserts into a methyl C-H bond to yield silaziridine 12 via an activation barrier of only 6 kcal mol-1 . Ring opening of 12 generates a 1-silaazomethine ylide 13, in which a facile 1,2-H shift yields N-(dimethylsilyl)methanimine 5, all with barriers well below the energy of the singlet nitrene.

Phenylnitrene Radical Cation Rearrangements.

The electronic structure and the rearrangements of the phenylnitrene radical cation C6H5N.+ 2.+ have been investigated at DFT and CASPT2(7,9) levels of theory. The 2B2 state has the lowest energy of five identified electronic states, and it can undergo ring expansion to the 1-azacycloheptetetraene radical cation 4.+ with an activation energy of ca. 28 kcal/mol. Ring opening and recyclization provide a route to 5-cyanocyclopentadiene radical cation 8.+, which may undergo facile 1,5-hydrogen shifts. The 2-, 3-, and 4-pyridylcarbene radical cations 31.+, 35.+ , and 39.+ interconvert with the phenylnitrene radical cation via azacycloheptatetraenes with activation barriers <35 kcal/mol. The carbene-carbene and carbene-nitrene rearrangements, ring expansions, ring contractions, ring openings (e.g., to cyanopentadienylidene 28.+), and cyclizations taking place in all these radical cations are completely analogous to the thermal and photochemical rearrangements.

Triplet States of Tetrazoles, Nitrenes, and Carbenes from Matrix Photolysis of Tetrazoles, and Phenylcyanamide as a Source of Phenylnitrene.

Photolysis of 1- and 5-aryltetrazoles at 5-10 K using a 266 nm laser immediately generates their triplet excited states, which are characterized by their electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra with zero-field splitting parameters D = 0.12-0.13 cm-1 and E = 0.002-0.008 cm-1. Further photolysis of all of the aryltetrazoles affords arylnitrenes ( D ≅ 1 cm-1), and in the case of 5-aryltetrazoles also arylcarbenes ( D ≅ 0.5 cm-1). The formation of arylnitrenes from 5-aryltetrazoles, where no aryl-N bond is present, is explained by the photochemical rearrangement of initially formed nitrile imines ArCN+N-R to carbodiimides. The monosubstituted carbodiimide PhN═C═NH isomerizes to phenylcyanamide, PhNH-CN, and photolysis of the latter causes rapid elimination of HCN and formation of phenylnitrene. When N-methyl groups are present in the tetrazoles, methylnitrene, CH3-N, is formed too. In the case of 5-phenyltetrazole, additional hydrogen shift and fragmentation afford cyano- and isocyanonitrenes, NCN and CNN.

Direct Observation of an Imidoylnitrene: Photochemical Formation of PhC(=NMe)-N and Me-N from 1-Methyl-5-phenyltetrazole.

The imidoylnitrene 8, N-methyl-C-phenylimidoylnitrene, has been generated by laser photolysis of 1-methyl-5-phenyltetrazole 6 at 5 K and characterized by its ESR spectrum (|D/hc|=0.9602, |E/hc|=0.0144 cm-1 ). In addition, the triplet excited states of 6 and of 2-methyl-5-phenyltetrazole 11 were also observed by ESR spectroscopy in the 5 K matrices (6: |D/hc|=0.123 cm-1 , E/hc=0.0065 cm-1 , 11: |D/hc|=0.126 cm-1 , |E/hc|=0.0056 cm-1 ). The imidoylnitrene 8 is unstable both thermally (disappearing at 80 K) and photochemically (disappearing on continued irradiation at 266 nm). Methyl(phenyl)carbodiimide is the end product of photolysis.

Imidoylnitrenes R'C(═NR)-N, Nitrile Imines, 1H-Diazirines, and Carbodiimides: Interconversions and Rearrangements, Structures, and Energies at DFT and CASPT2 Levels of Theory.

The structures, energies, and rearrangements of imidoylnitrenes H-C(═NH)-N, H2N-C(═NH)-N, Ph-C(═NH)-N, H-C(═NPh)-N, and MeO-C(═NCN)-N (10a-e) are investigated at DFT and CASPT2 levels of theory. Imidoylnitrenes are potentially formed by pyrolysis or photolysis of azides, tetrazoles (6, 6'), or sydnones. Unlike most acylnitrenes, the imidoylnitrenes 10 have triplet ground states. The first excited states are the open-shell singlets (OSSs), lying between ca. 4 and 20 kcal mol-1 above the triplets at the CASPT2 level. The second excited states are the closed-shell singlets (CSSs), lying >50 kcal mol-1 higher in energy. The OSS imidoylnitrenes can ring-close to 1H-diazirines 9 with very low activation energies (2-12 kcal mol-1), and the 1H-diazirines can then rearrange to nitrile imines 8 with activation energies of 37-48 kcal mol-1. Conversely, nitrile imines generated directly by pyrolysis or photolysis of 2,5-substituted tetrazoles 6 can rearrange to 1H-diazirines 9 and imidoylnitrenes 10 with activation energies of 37-60 kcal mol-1. Finally, the imidoylnitrenes 10 can rearrange to carbodiimides 11 with modest activation barriers of 12-20 kcal mol-1. Calculated vibrational data, UV-vis spectra, and spin densities in the triplet states are also reported, and zero-field splitting parameters |D/hc| in the range 0.9-1 cm-1 and nonzero |E/hc| values are predicted.

Iminocyclohexadienylidenes: Carbenes or Diradicals? The Hetero-Wolff Rearrangement of Benzotriazoles to Cyanocyclopentadienes and 1H-Benzo[b]azirines.

The thermal rearrangements of benzotriazole 1 to fulvenimine 4 and 1H-benzazirine 7 are investigated at DFT and CASPT2 levels of theory. Ring opening of benzotriazole 1 to 2-diazo-cyclohexadienimine 2 followed by N2 elimination affords Z- and E-2-iminocyclohexadienylidenes 3, which have triplet ground states (3A″). The open-shell singlet (OSS) (1A″) and closed-shell singlet (CSS) (1A') of 3 lie ∼15 and 40 kcal/mol higher in free energy, respectively. The OSS 3 (1A″) is best described as a 1,3-diradical, whereas the CSS (1A') has the character of a carbene. A hetero-Wolff rearrangement of OSS 3 yields fulvenimine 4, which is a precursor of cyanocyclopentadiene 5, with a calculated activation barrier of 38 kcal/mol at the CASPT2(8,8) level, whereby there is a surface crossing from the OSS to the CSS near the transition state. The barrier for cyclization to 1H-benzo[b]azirine 7 is only ∼13 kcal/mol. Therefore, reaction paths involving the singlet iminocyclohexadienylidene diradicals 3 will necessarily cause equilibration with 1H-benzazirine 7 prior to ring contraction to iminofulvene 4 and cyanocyclopentadiene 5, in agreement with experimental observations based on 13C labeling. The thermolysis of 1-acetylbenzotriazole 7 leads to the analogous N-acetyl-diazocyclohexadienimines 8, N-acetyliminocyclohexadienylidene diradicals 9, and N-acetylfulvenimine 10. The E-N-acetyliminocyclohexadienylidene E9 ring closes to the N-acetyl-1H-benzazirine 11 prior to ring contraction to N-acetylfulvenimine 10, and the Z-N-acetyl-2-diazocyclohexadienimine Z8 ring closes to 2-methylbenzoxazole 12. 1H-benzazirines are predicted to be spectroscopically observable species.

A-VCI: A flexible method to efficiently compute vibrational spectra.

The adaptive vibrational configuration interaction algorithm has been introduced as a new method to efficiently reduce the dimension of the set of basis functions used in a vibrational configuration interaction process. It is based on the construction of nested bases for the discretization of the Hamiltonian operator according to a theoretical criterion that ensures the convergence of the method. In the present work, the Hamiltonian is written as a sum of products of operators. The purpose of this paper is to study the properties and outline the performance details of the main steps of the algorithm. New parameters have been incorporated to increase flexibility, and their influence has been thoroughly investigated. The robustness and reliability of the method are demonstrated for the computation of the vibrational spectrum up to 3000 cm-1 of a widely studied 6-atom molecule (acetonitrile). Our results are compared to the most accurate up to date computation; we also give a new reference calculation for future work on this system. The algorithm has also been applied to a more challenging 7-atom molecule (ethylene oxide). The computed spectrum up to 3200 cm-1 is the most accurate computation that exists today on such systems.