Jan Schwabedissen

Carbonyl Diisocyanate CO(NCO)2: Synthesis and Structures in Solid State and Gas Phase

A modified synthesis for carbonyl diisocyanate, CO(NCO)2, starting from trichloroisocyanuric acid and diphosgene is described. In addition to the previously reported (13)C NMR resonances, the (15)N NMR shift is determined for the first time. The structure in the solid state was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) on in situ grown crystals, that in the gas phase was experimentally determined by electron diffraction (GED) and for single molecules theoretically by quantum-chemical calculations. The structures are compared and discussed with related systems. Quantum-chemical calculations as well as GED and XRD prove syn-syn to be the conformation of lowest energy. In quantum-chemical calculations and GED the presence of a syn-anti conformer was confirmed and the structure of this conformer was determined.

Tris(perfluorotolyl)borane-A Boron Lewis Superacid

Tris[tetrafluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borane (BTolF) was prepared by treating boron tribromide with tetrameric F3 CC6 F4 -CuI . The F3 CC6 F4 -CuI was generated from F3 CC6 F4 MgBr and copper(I) bromide. Lewis acidities of BTolF evaluated by the Gutmann-Beckett method and calculated fluoride-ion affinities are 9 and 10 %, respectively, higher than that of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (BCF) and even higher than that of SbF5 . The molecular structures of BTolF and BCF were determined by gas-phase electron diffraction, that of BTolF also by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Conformational and Bonding Properties of 3,3-Dimethyl- and 6,6-Dimethyl-1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane: A Case Study Employing the Monte Carlo Method in Gas Electron Diffraction.

Gas-phase structures of two isomers of dimethyl-substituted 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes, namely, 3,3-dimethyl- and 6,6-dimethyl-1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane molecules, have been determined by gas electron diffraction method. A new approach based on the Monte Carlo method has been developed and used for the analysis of precision and accuracy of the refined structures. It was found that at 57 °C 3,3-dimethyl derivative exists as a mixture of chair and boat conformers with abundances 68(8)% and 32(8)%, respectively. 6,6-Dimethyl-1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane at 50 °C has only one stable conformation with planar 5-ring within error limits. Theoretical calculations predict that the 6,6-dimethyl isomer is more stable in comparison to the 3,3-dimethyl isomer with energy difference 3-5 kcal mol(-1). In order to explain the relative stability and bonding properties of different structures the natural bond orbitals (NBO), atoms in molecules (AIM), and interacting quantum atoms (IQA) analyses were performed.

Application of classical simulations for the computation of vibrational properties of free molecules

In this study, we investigate the ability of classical molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations for modeling the intramolecular vibrational motion. These simulations were used to compute thermally-averaged geometrical structures and infrared vibrational intensities for a benchmark set previously studied by gas electron diffraction (GED): CS2, benzene, chloromethylthiocyanate, pyrazinamide and 9,12-I2-1,2-closo-C2B10H10. The MD sampling of NVT ensembles was performed using chains of Nose-Hoover thermostats (NH) as well as the generalized Langevin equation thermostat (GLE). The performance of the theoretical models based on the classical MD and MC simulations was compared with the experimental data and also with the alternative computational techniques: a conventional approach based on the Taylor expansion of potential energy surface, path-integral MD and MD with quantum-thermal bath (QTB) based on the generalized Langevin equation (GLE). A straightforward application of the classical simulations resulted, as expected, in poor accuracy of the calculated observables due to the complete neglect of quantum effects. However, the introduction of a posteriori quantum corrections significantly improved the situation. The application of these corrections for MD simulations of the systems with large-amplitude motions was demonstrated for chloromethylthiocyanate. The comparison of the theoretical vibrational spectra has revealed that the GLE thermostat used in this work is not applicable for this purpose. On the other hand, the NH chains yielded reasonably good results.

Dichlorophosphanyl isocyanate – spectroscopy, conformation and molecular structure in the gas phase and the solid state

Dichlorophosphanyl isocyanate, Cl2PNCO, was synthesized and characterized by IR, Raman and 31P NMR spectroscopy. The conformational properties and molecular structures were studied by using gas electron diffraction (GED), X-ray crystallography and quantum-chemical calculations. Extensive DFT and ab initio calculations show that the potential energy surface of Cl2PNCO upon rotating the P-N bond is rather flat; three conformers, namely syn, anti and gauche between the NCO group and the bisector of the ClPCl angle, were theoretically predicted. Experimentally, only one conformer was indicated by gas-phase IR spectroscopy and the preference for a gauche conformation in both gas phase and solid state was unambiguously ascertained by gas electron diffraction and X-ray crystallographic data. In the solid state, the Cl2PNCO molecules adopt a gauche conformation with two distinct dihedral angles Cl-P-N-C of -121.3(2) and 137.4(2)° and form polymeric chains through weak intermolecular CO contacts. Additionally, the dynamic character of the position of the isocyanate group of Cl2PNCO was examined in the gas phase.

Tetranitromethane: A Nightmare of Molecular Flexibility in the Gaseous and Solid States.

After numerous attempts over the last seven decades to obtain a structure for the simple, highly symmetric molecule tetranitromethane (C(NO2 )4 , TNM) that is consistent with results from diffraction experiments and spectroscopic analysis, the structure has now been determined in the gas phase and the solid state. For the gas phase, a new approach based on a four-dimensional dynamic model for describing the correlated torsional dynamics of the four C-NO2 units was necessary to describe the experimental gas-phase electron diffraction intensities. A model describing a highly disordered high-temperature crystalline phase was also established, and the structure of an ordered low-temperature phase was determined by X-ray diffraction. TNM is a prime example of molecular flexibility, bringing structural methods to the limits of their applicability.

Disulfuryl Dichloride ClSO2OSO2Cl: A Conformation and Polymorphism Chameleon

Disulfuryl dichloride ClSO2 OSO2 Cl was characterized by vibrational spectroscopy in the gaseous and liquid phase as well as in the Ar-matrix. By varying the temperature, certain bands could be assigned to several conformers. Gas-phase electron diffraction revealed a dominance of the anti-conformer at ambient temperature. The same conformation was found in the solid state. Via the in situ technique for crystallization, not less than four different modifications were identified. Among these different modifications, the structural parameters of the molecules remain relatively constant, but the aggregation pattern changes. Although the molecules aggregate by chlorine⋅⋅⋅oxygen contacts in each modification, the geometrical parameters of these interaction show significant differences and were evaluated and are in part inconsistent with the halogen bonding concept.