Efficient calculation of ROA tensors with analytical gradients and fragmentation.

We present the results of calculations of Raman optical activity spectra of sizable systems from optical tensors of the fragments, the tensors calculated by an analytic approach at the time-dependent Hartree-Fock level of theory. The analytic approach permits large basis sets which, together with the limited geometrical extent of the fragments, obviates the need for the use of London-type orbitals. The implementation of the analytical gradient approach is formulated in the atomic orbital basis by using the elements of the density matrix as variational parameters. This makes the approach directly applicable to linear scaling methods. We do not solve the response equations for the geometrical distortions of the nuclei but determine instead the second-order perturbed densities with respect to the electromagnetic field perturbations. The number of perturbed density matrices that needs to be determined is thus independent of the number of nuclei, making the approach applicable to fragments with many nuclei and with good quality basis sets. Compared to numerical differentiation schemes, the analytical approach is about 10 times faster even for moderately sized molecules.

Total synthesis of junionone, a natural monoterpenoid from Juniperus communis L., and determination of the absolute configuration of the naturally occurring enantiomer by ROA spectroscopy.

Recently, we reported a novel access to 2,2-diethyl-3-[(E/Z)-prop-1-en-1-yl]cyclobutanone by an intramolecular nucleophilic substitution with allylic rearrangement (S(N)i') of (E)-6-chloro-3,3-diethylhept-4-en-2-one. The ring closure reaction was found to proceed with selective syn-displacement of the leaving group. This method was now applied to the total synthesis of junionone, an olfactorily interesting cyclobutane monoterpenoid isolated from Juniperus communis, L. S(N)i' Ring closure of the ketone enolate of (E)-3,3-dimethyl-5-[(2R,3R)-3-methyloxiran-2-yl]pent-4-en-2-one (R,R)-(E)-4' proceeded only after the epoxide moiety had been activated by Lewis acid and led to the junionone precursors (3R)- and (3S)-3-[(1E,3R)-3-hydroxybut-1-en-1-yl]-2,2-dimethylcyclobutanone (S/R,R)-(E)-3. The ratio of syn- and anti-conformers in the transitory molecular arrangement was found to depend on the nature of the Lewis acid. The absolute configuration of both the synthetic as well as the natural junionone, isolated from juniper berry oil, was determined by Raman Optical Activity (ROA) spectroscopy. Our experiments led to a novel synthetic route to both (+)- and (-)-junionone, the first determination of the absolute configuration of natural junionone, and to the development of a practical ROA procedure for measuring milligram quantities of volatile liquids.

1,4-dimethylenespiropentane: a unique model system for studying Fermi resonance in Raman optical activity.

The C(2)-symmetric title compound, a small, rigid hydrocarbon molecule with two distinct, strongly interacting vibrational chromophores, represents a unique model system for testing computational approaches to Raman optical activity (ROA) beyond the isolated molecule and the harmonic approximation. We show that the experimental Raman and ROA spectra are marked by the presence of strong Fermi resonances, and that the shape and relative size of the bands which we attribute to such resonances strongly depend on the solvent environment of the molecule. On the other hand, the dominant computed ROA couplet, arising from the C=C stretching vibrations, is absent in the spectra measured in the condensed phase. The strong dependence of the computed size of the couplet on the description of the diffuse part of the electron distribution suggests that this absence is due to nonspecific interactions in the condensed phase.