Aromaticity in Semi-Condensed Figure-Eight Molecules.

Electron delocalization and aromaticity was comparatively evaluated in recently synthesized figure-eight molecules made of two condensed U-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon moieties connected either by two single bonds or by two para-phenylene groups. The selected examples include molecules that incorporate eight-membered and sixteen-membered rings, as well as a doubly [5]helicene-bridged (1,4)cyclophane. We probe whether some electron delocalization could occur through the stereogenic single bonds in these molecules: Is aromaticity purely (semi-)local, or possibly also global in these molecules? It was concluded that the situation can go from a purely (semi-)local character when the dihedral angle at the connecting single bonds is large, such as in biphenyl, to a predominantly (semi-)local character with a minor global contribution when the dihedral angle is small, such as in the para-phenylene connectors of the [5] helicene-bridged cyclophane.

Conformational, Structural, and Chiroptical Properties of an Overcrowded Triply Fused Carbo[7]helicene.

Recently, the synthesis of the racemate of an overcrowded triply fused carbo[7]helicene of formula C66H36 with three carbo[7]helicenes fused within a central six-membered ring was described. This molecule was found to embed an extremely contorted central six-membered ring and two negative curvatures. We report herein the resolution of the corresponding enantiomers and their conformational, structural, photophysical, and chiroptical properties. The racemization of the triply fused carbo[7]helicene was determined to proceed at a rate of krac = 8.06 × 10-4 s-1 at 175 °C in ortho-dichlorobenzene, corresponding to a barrier to enantiomerization ΔGenant‡ = 140.4 kJ·mol-1, a value significantly lower than for pristine carbo[7]helicene. Interestingly, the crystalline structures of the racemic and enantiopure materials show some differences regarding the molecular geometry, with an increased negative curvature in the latter cases. This unusual curved delocalized π-conjugated system afforded notably green fluorescence at room temperature and far-red phosphorescence at low temperature. Finally, electronic circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence responses of the enantiopure compounds have been measured and showed very close absorption and emission dissymmetry factors, gabs and glum, respectively, of ca. 2.6 × 10-3, indicating a similar chiral rigid geometry for both ground and excited states.

Overcrowded Triply Fused Carbo[7]helicene.

This paper presents the synthesis and comprehensive analysis of a highly contorted and doubly negatively curved multihelicene compound, composed of three carbo[7]helicene units fused within a central six-membered ring. The synthesis of this compound involved a [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of 13,14-picyne, employing a Ni(0) catalyst, which exhibited superior performance compared to conventional Pd(0) catalysts. The evaluation of aromaticity in this triple carbo[7]helicene, utilizing magnetic and electronic criteria, led to noteworthy insights challenging the limitations of Clar's model of aromaticity.

A Triply [5]Helicene-Bridged (1,3,5)Cyclophane.

A rigid propeller-shaped conjugated triple macrocycle consisting of two nearly perfectly stacked benzene rings and three linking [5]helicene moieties has been synthesized using a glyoxylic Perkin approach. Analysis of the electron delocalization in this atypical aromatic molecule revealed global aromaticity and a 78 π-electron circuit along the edge of its triple loop, to the detriment of the two 6 π-electron circuits in the two stacked benzene rings.

Synthesis, Photophysical Properties, and Aromaticity of Pyrazine-Fused Tetrazapentalenes.

Pyrazine-fused 1,2,6,6a-tetrazapentalenes (PyTeAP) are zwitterionic tricyclic compounds exhibiting an original pattern with four consecutive nitrogen atoms. They were obtained by a challenging cyclization through the formation of a N-N bond under thermolytic conditions. Ten derivatives were synthesized, and the original scaffold of PyTeAP was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of one derivative. Examination of their photophysical properties in solution revealed blue fluorescence with λem = 416-426 nm. Theoretical investigations of the aromaticity in these compounds through magnetic criteria evidenced the presence of a dominant 14-electron circuit at the periphery.

Accurate computed singlet-triplet energy differences for cobalt systems: implication for two-state reactivity.

Accurate singlet-triplet energy differences for cobalt and rhodium complexes were calculated by using several wave function methods, such as MRCISD, CASPT2, CCSD(T) and BCCD(T). Relaxed energy differences were obtained by considering the singlet and triplet complexes, each at the minimum of their potential energy surfaces. Active spaces for multireference calculations were carefully checked to provide accurate results. The considered systems are built by increasing progressively the first coordination sphere around the metal. We included in our set two CpCoX complexes (Cp = cyclopentadienyl, X = alkenyl ligand), which have been suggested as intermediates in cycloaddition reactions. Indeed, cobalt systems have been used for more than a decade as active species in this kind of transformations, for which a two-state reactivity has been proposed. Most of the considered systems display a triplet ground state. However, in the case of a reaction intermediate, while a triplet ground state was predicted on the basis of Density Functional Theory results, our calculations suggest a singlet ground state. This stems from the competition between the exchange term (stabilising the triplet) and the accessibility of an intramolecular coordination (stabilising the singlet). This finding has an impact on the general mechanism of the cycloaddition reaction. Analogous rhodium systems were also studied and, as expected, they have a larger tendency to electron pairing than cobalt species.

Resonant Ionic, Covalent Bond, and Steric Characteristics Present in 1Σu+ States of Li2.

The molecular bonding in the excited states of the alkali dimers involves the resonant ionic, covalent bond and steric interactions. We show here the case of the 1Σu+ states of Li2 by ab initio calculation. These interactions as functions of the internuclear distance lead to complex potential energy curves, providing an important application for high resolution laser spectroscopy. The spectroscopic constants for the 4 and 5 1Σu+ states are obtained for the first time.

BenzAI: A Program to Design Benzenoids with Defined Properties Using Constraint Programming.

The BenzAI program can automatically generate benzenoids with defined structural constraints, like the number of hexagons, the number of carbon and/or hydrogen atoms, the existence of symmetries, the number of Kekulé structures, their diameter, or more elaborate criteria like their irregularity. BenzAI allows both automatic generation and manual building of benzenoids including or excluding defined patterns. For all benzenoids with less than 10 rings, it can extract IR spectra from a database that we generated. It computes local aromaticity for closed-shell and monoradical species using circuit-based algorithms. We present practical examples of what can be done with BenzAI for a diversity of cases.

Visualizing electron delocalization in contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Electron delocalization in contorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules was examined through 3D isotropic magnetic shielding (IMS) contour maps built around the molecules using pseudo-van der Waals surfaces. The resulting maps of electron delocalization provided an intuitive, yet detailed and quantitative evaluation of the aromatic, non aromatic, and antiaromatic character of the local and global conjugated cyclic circuits distributed over the molecules. An attractive pictural feature of the 3D IMS contour maps is that they are reminiscent of the Clar π-sextet model of aromaticity. The difference in delocalization patterns between the two faces of the electron circuits in contorted PAHs was clearly visualized. For π-extended contorted PAHs, some splits of the π system resulted in recognizable patterns typical of smaller PAHs. The differences between the delocalization patterns of diastereomeric chiral PAHs could also be visualized. Mapping IMS on pseudo-van der Waals surfaces around contorted PAHs allowed visualization of their superimposed preferred circuits for electron delocalization and hence their local and global aromaticity patterns.

Stereoselective Syntheses, Structures, and Properties of Extremely Distorted Chiral Nanographenes Embedding Hextuple Helicenes.

We report a molecular design and concept using π-system elongation and steric effects from helicenes surrounding a triphenylene core toward stable chiral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with a maximal π-distortion to tackle their aromaticity, supramolecular and molecular properties. The selective syntheses, and the structural, conformational and chiroptical properties of two diastereomeric large multi-helicenes of formula C90 H48 having a triphenylene core and embedding three [5]helicene units on their inner edges and three [7]helicene units at their periphery are reported based on diastereoselective and, when applicable, enantiospecific Yamamoto-type cyclotrimerizations of racemic or enantiopure 9,10-dibromo[7]helicene. Both molecules have an extremely distorted triphenylene core, and one of them exhibits the largest torsion angle recorded so far for a benzene ring (twist=36.9°).

Theoretical chemical ionization rate constants of the concurrent reactions of hydronium ions (H3 O+ ) and oxygen ions (O 2 + ) with selected organic iodides.

Short chain volatile iodinated organic compounds (VIOCs) are of great importance in many fields that include atmospheric chemistry, agriculture, and environmental chemistry related to nuclear power plant safety. Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) allows for fast, sensitive, and online quantification of VIOCs if the chemical ionization (CI) reaction rate coefficients are known. In this work, the theoretical CI rate coefficients for the reactions of hydronium ions (H3 O+ ) and oxygen ions (O 2 + ) with selected atmospherically important short chain VIOCs are determined. The neutral CH3 I, CH2 I2 , C2 H5 I, iso-C3 H7 I, n-C3 H7 I, n-C4 H9 I, 2-C4 H9 I, n-C5 H11 I, 2-C5 H11 I, and 3-C5 H11 I have been chosen because these compounds are of atmospheric and environmental importance in the field of safety of nuclear plant reactors. Theoretical ion-molecule collision rate coefficients were determined using the Su and Chesnavich theory based on parametrized trajectory calculations. The proton affinity, ionization energy, dipole moment, and polarizability values of the neutral molecules were determined from density functional theory and coupled-cluster calculations. The newly calculated rate constants facilitate the use of the CI mass spectrometry in the atmospheric quantification of selected VIOCs.

Full-Dimensional Ab Initio Potential Energy Surface and Vibrational Energy Levels of Li2H.

We built a full-dimensional analytical potential energy surface of the ground electronic state of Li2H from ca. 20,000 ab initio multi-reference configuration interaction calculations, including core⁻valence correlation effects. The surface is flexible enough to accurately describe the three dissociation channels: Li (2s ²S) + LiH (¹Σ⁺), Li2 (¹Σg⁺) + H (1s ²S) and 2Li (2s ²S) + H (1s ²S). Using a local fit of this surface, we calculated pure (J = 0) vibrational states of Li2H up to the barrier to linearity (ca. 3400 cm-1 above the global minimum) using a vibrational self-consistent field/virtual state configuration interaction method. We found 18 vibrational states below this barrier, with a maximum of 6 quanta in the bending mode, which indicates that Li2H could be spectroscopically observable. Moreover, we show that some of these vibrational states are highly correlated already ca. 1000 cm-1 below the height of the barrier. We hope these calculations can help the assignment of experimental spectra. In addition, the first low-lying excited states of each B1, B2 and A2 symmetry of Li2H were characterized.

Potential energy surfaces of the electronic states of Li2F and Li2F(.).

The potential energy surfaces of the ground and low-lying excited states for the insertion reaction of atomic fluorine (F) and fluoride (F(-)) into the dilithium (Li2) molecule have been investigated. We have carried out explicitly correlated multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI-F12) calculations using Dunning's augmented correlation-consistent basis sets. For the neutral system, the insertion of F into Li2 proceeds via a harpoon-type mechanism on the ground state surface, involving a covalent state and an ionic state which avoid each other at long distance. A detailed analysis of the changes in the dipole moment along the reaction coordinate reveals multiple avoided crossings among the excited states and shows that the charge-transfer processes play a pivotal role for the stabilization of the low-lying electronic states of Li2F. For the anionic system, which is studied for the first time, the insertion of F(-) is barrierless for many states and there is a gradual charge transfer from F(-) to Li2 along the reaction path. We also report the optimized parameters and the spectroscopic properties of the five lowest states of the neutral and seven lowest states of the anionic systems, which are strongly stabilized with respect to their respective Li2 + F/F(-) asymptotes. The observed barrierless insertion mechanisms for both systems make them good candidates for investigation under the ultracold regime.

Recasting wave functions into valence bond structures: A simple projection method to describe excited states.

A method is proposed to obtain coefficients and weights of valence bond (VB) determinants from multi configurational wave functions. This reading of the wave functions can apply to ground states as well as excited states. The method is based on projection operators. Both energetic and overlap-based criteria are used to assess the quality of the resulting VB wave function. The approach gives a simple access to a VB rewriting for low-lying states, and it is applied to the allyl cation, to the allyl radical and to the ethene (notably to the V-state). For these states, large overlap between VB and multi reference wave functions are easily obtained. The approach proves to be useful to propose an interpretation of the nature of the V-state of ethene.

Analysis of the physical contributions to magnetic couplings in broken symmetry density functional theory approach.

We present a new and simple scheme that aims to decompose into its main physical contributions the magnetic exchange interaction between two unpaired electrons. It is based on the popular broken-symmetry density functional theory (DFT) approach and relies on the frozen orbital capabilities of the local self-consistent field method. Accordingly, the magnetic exchange interaction energy can be separated into three main contributions: the direct exchange between magnetic orbitals, the spin polarization of the core orbitals, and the relaxation of the magnetic orbitals (kinetic exchange). This decomposition scheme is applied to a series of binuclear inorganic magnetic compounds both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic. The direct exchange is determined from the restricted DFT description. On the one hand, starting from the restricted orbital set and relaxing only the magnetic orbitals provides the kinetic exchange contribution and an estimate of the t and U parameters of the generalized Anderson mechanism. On the other hand, relaxing the core orbitals only introduces the spin polarization contribution. The decomposition leads to almost additive contributions. The effect of the amount of Hartree-Fock exchange on the different contributions is analyzed.

Bonding of gold with unsaturated species.

Interactions of gold(I) catalysts with alkenes and alkynes are analyzed. Neutral chlorido, and cationic phosphine and N-heterocyclic carbene complexes are studied. High-level ab initio calculations are performed to benchmark the accuracy of popular DFT methods. Donation and backdonation contributions in the bond between the gold fragment and the alkene/alkyne substrate are discussed. These contributions depend on the nature of the gold fragment, but also on the substituents on the alkene/alkyne.

Magnetic exchange coupling in bis-nitroxides: a theoretical analysis of the solvent effects.

Magnetic properties of nitroxide radicals can be greatly affected by solvent effects. In this study, the change of the magnetic exchange interaction J, coupling the two unpaired electrons of a model solvated antiferromagnetic bis-iminyl-nitroxide molecule (2IN), is rationalized thanks to different geometric and electronic criteria provided by density functional theory calculations. It is shown that for a given geometry, simple tools can be used to analyze with good accuracy the dependence of J with the solvent polarity. Estimates of two important magnetic parameters are given: the magnetic orbitals exchange and the in-site energy gap between ionic and neutral configurations. 2IN can be engaged in different hydrogen-bonds with first shell water molecules, modifying both the 2IN geometry and the electrostatic potential felt by the molecule. In all, the additivity of electrostatic and hydrogen-bond solvent effects is found to be responsible for J variations as large as 50%.

Hückel-Lewis projection method: a "weights watcher" for mesomeric structures.

A new approach to extract the coefficients and weights of Lewis structures from the Hückel wave function is designed: Hückel-Lewis projection (HL-P). The weights are obtained by projection on overlapping Lewis structures. This straightforward alternative to ab initio approaches is detailed and used on typical cases, including acrolein, allyl radical, pyrrole-like systems, and imidazolylidene. A trust parameter is defined and shown as a guide to retrieve the most important Lewis structures. The emblematic examples of butadiene and benzene are chosen to illustrate the use of this parameter.

Molecular properties and potential energy surfaces of the cyanides of the groups 1 and 11 metal atoms.

Ab initio calculations on the metal (groups 1 and 11) cyanide complexes show two stable configurations for the ground state geometry, a linear cyanide (MCN) and a triangular (MNC) form with an obtuse M-N-C angle. Lithium complex may exist in a linear isocyanide (MNC) form, but it cannot be differentiated from the triangular configuration because of the flatness of the potential energy surface connecting the two isomers. The metal atom and cyano radical are bonded through a strongly ionic configuration (M+CN-) in both geometrical forms. The MNC triangular form is a very floppy structure having one low frequency for the bending mode, whereas the MCN linear form is more rigid. The CN complexes of the alkali atoms have a triangular geometry as the lowest energy conformer, while the noble metal atoms prefer the linear cyanide one. The relative stability of the two isomers, dipole moments, and effective charges are reported in this paper. The essential aspects of the potential energy surfaces for the ground and the first excited states exhibiting a closely avoided crossing are also explained.

Experimental and theoretical studies of the quenching of Li(3p,4p) by N2.

Quenching mechanisms of the Li3p and Li4p states in collision with the nitrogen molecule are studied by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and by a quantum chemical calculation. The Li3p state is observed to be efficiently quenched to the Li3s state detected as intense 3s-->2p emission. The Li4p state is efficiently quenched to the Li4s and Li3d states detected as 4s-2p and 3d-2p emissions, respectively. The potential-energy surfaces for the Li(2s-4p)N2 states show a large number of conical intersections and avoided crossings resulting from the couplings between the ionic [Li+(N2)-] and covalent configurations. There are a large number of stable excited states, and we give here the spectroscopic constants for the lowest two stable isomers correlating to Li2p+N2.