Theoretical prediction of the Abraham hydrogen bond acidity and basicity factors from a reaction field method.

A new methodology for the theoretical evaluation of the hydrogen bond acidity SigmaalphaH2 and basicity SigmabetaH2 Abraham descriptors is presented. The first step is a quantum mechanical calculation at the Hartree-Fock level using a moderate basis set, including the solute-solvent interaction through a Reaction Field method, namely the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM). The density charge on the surface of the cavity surrounding the solute, which contains the signature of the specificity of the molecule, is then translated into effective atomic charges through a suitable algorithm. These atomic charges can be related to the acidity and basicity properties of the molecule by a proper parametrization of empirical atomic factors, which account for the specific H-bonding capabilities of the individual atoms and group of atoms. The Abraham descriptors can be then evaluated with a high degree of accuracy for a large number of classes of molecules. Calculations performed for a set of 55 compounds give a standard deviation of 0.029 and 0.044 for SigmaalphaH2 and SigmabetaH2, respectively. The correlation coefficients are 0.994 and 0.974.

[(NH3)5Ru(1,2,4,5-tetrazine)]2+: synthesis and experimental and theoretical study of its solvatochromism in the visible spectral region.

The title compound has been first synthesized and fully characterized as both tetraphenylborate and perchlorate salt. Its 300-900 nm absorption spectrum, recorded in nitromethane, water, and dimethyl sulfoxide, reveals the peculiar existence of two distinct bands whose intensities depend on the solvent donor number. This feature can be attributed to two separate metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transitions, in agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained by extensive configuration interaction calculations, which take into account the solvent effects. The calculation of the potential energy curves of the ground and excited states along the Ru-tetrazine coordinate allows the interpretation of the relative intensities of the observed bands, as well as the interpretation of their line-shape profiles.