I have recently been interested in curved aromatic systems – see my own paper on double helicenes.¹ In this post, I cover four recent papers that discuss non-planar aromatic molecules.

The first paper² discusses the warped aromatic 1 built off of the scaffold of depleiadene 3. The crystal structure of 1 shows the molecule to be a saddle with near C_2v symmetry. B3LYP/6-31G computations indicate that the saddle isomer is 10.5 kcal mol^-1 more stable than the twisted isomer, and the barrier between them is 16.0 kcal mol^-1, with a twisted saddle intermediate as well.

The PES is significantly simpler for the structure lacking the t-butyl groups, 2. The B3LYP/6-31G PES of 2 has the saddle as the transition state interconverting mirror images of the twisted saddle isomer, and this barrier is only 1.8 kcal mol^-1. Figure 1 displays the twisted saddle and the saddle transition state. Clearly, the t-butyl groups significantly alter the flexibility of this C₈₆ aromatic surface. One should be somewhat concerned about the small basis set employed here, especially lacking polarization functions, and a functional that lacks dispersion correction. However, the computed geometry of 1 is quite similar to that of the x-ray structure.

Figure 1. B3LYP/6-31G optimized geometries of the isomer of 2.

The second paper presents 4, a non-planar aromatic based on [8]circulene 6.³ (See this post for a general study of circulenes.) [8]circulene has a tub-shape, but is flexible and can undergo tub-to-tub inversion. The expanded aromatic 4 is found to have a twisted shape in the x-ray crystal structure. A simplified model 5 was computed at B3LYP/6-31G(d) and the twisted isomer is 4.1 kcal mol^-1 lower in energy than the saddle (tub) isomer (see Figure 2). The barrier for interconversion of the two isomers is only 6.2 kcal mol^-1, indicating a quite labile structure.

Figure 2. B3LYP/6-31G(d) optimized geometries and relative energies (kcal mol^-1) of the isomers of 5.

The third paper presents a geodesic molecule based on 1,3,5-trisubstitued phenyl repeat units.⁴ The authors prepared 7, and its x-ray structure shows a saddle-shape. The NMR indicate a molecule that undergoes considerable conformational dynamics. To address this, they did some computations on the methyl analogue 8. The D_7h structure is 309 kcal mol^-1 above the local energy minimum structure, which is way too high to be accessed at room temperature. PM6 computations identified a TS only 0.6 kcal mol^-1 above the saddle ground state. (I performed a PM6 optimization starting from the x-ray structure, which is highly disordered, and the structure obtained is shown in Figure 3. Unfortunately, the authors did not report the optimized coordinates of any structure!)

Figure 3. PM6 optimized structure of 8.

The fourth and last paper describes the aza-buckybowl 9.⁵ The x-ray crystal structure shows a curved bowl shape with C_s symmetry. NICS(0) values were computed for the parent molecule 10 B3LYP/6-31G(d). These values are shown in Scheme 1 and the geometry is shown in Figure 4. The 6-member rings that surround the azacylopentadienyl ring all have NICS(0) near zero, which suggests significant bond localization.

Scheme 1. NICS(0) values of 10

Figure 4. B3LYP/6-31G(d) optimized structure of 10.

Our understanding of what aromaticity really means is constantly being challenged!

References

1. Bachrach, S. M., "Double helicenes." Chem. Phys. Lett. 2016, 666, 13-18, DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2016.10.070.

2. Ho, P. S.; Kit, C. C.; Jiye, L.; Zhifeng, L.; Qian, M., "A Dipleiadiene-Embedded Aromatic Saddle Consisting
of 86 Carbon Atoms." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 1581-1586, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201711437.

3. Yin, C. K.; Kit, C. C.; Zhifeng, L.; Qian, M., "A Twisted Nanographene Consisting of 96 Carbon Atoms." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 9003-9007, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201703754.

4. Koki, I.; Jennie, L.; Ryo, K.; Sota, S.; Hiroyuki, I., "Fluctuating Carbonaceous Networks with a Persistent
Molecular Shape: A Saddle-Shaped Geodesic Framework of 1,3,5-Trisubstituted Benzene (Phenine)." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 8555-8559, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201803984.

5. Yuki, T.; Shingo, I.; Kyoko, N., "A Hybrid of Corannulene and Azacorannulene: Synthesis of a Highly Curved Nitrogen-Containing Buckybowl." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 9818-9822, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201805678.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/C134H128/c1-123(2,3)57-37-65-66-38-58(124(4,5)6)42-70-74-46-62(128(16,17)18)50-82-94(74)110-106(90(66)70)105-89(65)69(41-57)73-45-61(127(13,14)15)49-81-93(73)109(105)119-113-97(81)85(131(25,26)27)53-77-78-54-87(133(31,32)33)99-83-51-63(129(19,20)21)47-75-71-43-59(125(7,8)9)39-67-68-40-60(126(10,11)12)44-72-76-48-64(130(22,23)24)52-84-96(76)112-108(92(68)72)107(91(67)71)111(95(75)83)121-115(99)103(78)118-104-80(56-88(134(34,35)36)100(84)116(104)122(112)121)79-55-86(132(28,29)30)98(82)114(120(110)119)102(79)117(118)101(77)113/h37-56H,1-36H3
InChIKey=GKUTUWMASUJSFD-UHFFFAOYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/C86H32/c1-9-33-34-10-2-14-38-42-18-6-22-46-50-26-30-55-56-32-28-52-48-24-8-20-44-40-16-4-12-36-35-11-3-15-39-43-19-7-23-47-51-27-31-54-53-29-25-49-45-21-5-17-41-37(13-1)57(33)73-74(58(34)38)78(62(42)46)84-70(50)66(55)81(65(53)69(49)83(84)77(73)61(41)45)82-67(54)71(51)85-79(63(43)47)75(59(35)39)76(60(36)40)80(64(44)48)86(85)72(52)68(56)82/h1-32H
InChIKey=MXCDWJZMTKLBDM-UHFFFAOYSA-N

3: InChI=1S/C18H12/c1-2-6-14-11-12-16-8-4-3-7-15-10-9-13(5-1)17(14)18(15)16/h1-12H
InChIKey=KVJJNMIHWIRGRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N

4: InChI=1S/C132H108O4/c1-125(2,3)53-29-65-66-30-54(126(4,5)6)34-70-74-38-58(130(16,17)18)42-78-86-46-82-63-51-91(135-27)92(136-28)52-64(63)84-48-88-80-44-60(132(22,23)24)40-76-72-36-56(128(10,11)12)32-68-67-31-55(127(7,8)9)35-71-75-39-59(131(19,20)21)43-79-87-47-83-62-50-90(134-26)89(133-25)49-61(62)81-45-85-77-41-57(129(13,14)15)37-73-69(33-53)93(65)109-110(94(66)70)114(98(74)78)122-106(86)118-103(82)104(84)120-108(88)124-116(100(76)80)112(96(68)72)111(95(67)71)115(99(75)79)123(124)107(87)119(120)102(83)101(81)117(118)105(85)121(122)113(109)97(73)77/h29-52H,1-28H3
InChIKey=ZLPRACZKLACDHX-UHFFFAOYSA-N

5: InChI=1S/C108H60O4/c1-37-13-49-50-14-38(2)18-54-58-22-42(6)26-62-70-30-66-47-35-75(111-11)76(112-12)36-48(47)68-32-72-64-28-44(8)24-60-56-20-40(4)16-52-51-15-39(3)19-55-59-23-43(7)27-63-71-31-67-46-34-74(110-10)73(109-9)33-45(46)65-29-69-61-25-41(5)21-57-53(17-37)77(49)93-94(78(50)54)98(82(58)62)106-90(70)102-87(66)88(68)104-92(72)108-100(84(60)64)96(80(52)56)95(79(51)55)99(83(59)63)107(108)91(71)103(104)86(67)85(65)101(102)89(69)105(106)97(93)81(57)61/h13-36H,1-12H3
InChIKey=ZSIVUKSPPZUSQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N

6: InChI=1S/C32H16/c1-2-18-5-6-20-9-11-22-13-15-24-16-14-23-12-10-21-8-7-19-4-3-17(1)25-26(18)28(20)30(22)32(24)31(23)29(21)27(19)25/h1-16H
InChIkey=BASWMOIVIHXTRC-UHFFFAOYSA-N

7: InChI=1S/C224H210/c1-211(2,3)197-99-169-85-183(113-197)184-86-170(100-198(114-184)212(4,5)6)157-66-149-67-158(79-157)172-88-187(117-200(102-172)214(10,11)12)188-90-174(104-202(118-188)216(16,17)18)161-70-151-71-162(81-161)176-92-191(121-204(106-176)218(22,23)24)193-95-179(109-207(123-193)221(31,32)33)165-74-153-75-166(83-165)180-96-195(125-208(110-180)222(34,35)36)196-98-182(112-210(126-196)224(40,41)42)168-77-154-76-167(84-168)181-97-194(124-209(111-181)223(37,38)39)192-94-178(108-206(122-192)220(28,29)30)164-73-152-72-163(82-164)177-93-190(120-205(107-177)219(25,26)27)189-91-175(105-203(119-189)217(19,20)21)160-69-150-68-159(80-160)173-89-186(116-201(103-173)215(13,14)15)185-87-171(101-199(115-185)213(7,8)9)156-65-148(64-155(169)78-156)141-50-127-43-128(51-141)130-45-132(55-143(150)53-130)134-47-136(59-145(152)57-134)138-49-140(63-147(154)61-138)139-48-137(60-146(153)62-139)135-46-133(56-144(151)58-135)131-44-129(127)52-142(149)54-131/h43-126H,1-42H3
InChIKey=ZDDKJXIESSWTIA-UHFFFAOYSA-N

8: InChI=1S/C182H126/c1-99-15-113-43-127(29-99)141-57-142-65-155(64-141)162-78-169-92-170(79-162)172-82-164-83-174(94-172)176-85-166-87-178(96-176)180-89-168-91-182(98-180)181-90-167-88-179(97-181)177-86-165-84-175(95-177)173-81-163(80-171(169)93-173)156-66-143(128-30-100(2)16-114(113)44-128)58-144(67-156)130-32-103(5)19-117(47-130)118-20-104(6)34-132(48-118)147-60-148(71-158(165)70-147)134-36-107(9)23-121(51-134)123-25-109(11)39-137(53-123)151-62-152(75-160(167)74-151)138-40-111(13)27-125(55-138)126-28-112(14)42-140(56-126)154-63-153(76-161(168)77-154)139-41-110(12)26-124(54-139)122-24-108(10)38-136(52-122)150-61-149(72-159(166)73-150)135-37-106(8)22-120(50-135)119-21-105(7)35-133(49-119)146-59-145(68-157(164)69-146)131-33-102(4)18-116(46-131)115-17-101(3)31-129(142)45-115/h15-98H,1-14H3
InChIKey=FJHGGHOTCCNJNI-UHFFFAOYSA-N

9: InChI=1S/C44H23N/c1-44(2,3)21-16-28-24-8-4-6-22-26-14-19-12-10-18-11-13-20-15-27-23-7-5-9-25-29(17-21)41(28)45-42(33(22)24)39-35(26)37-31(19)30(18)32(20)38(37)36(27)40(39)43(45)34(23)25/h4-17H,1-3H3
InChIKey=QHBWEZKXFSKCSM-UHFFFAOYSA-N

10: InChI=1S/C40H15N/c1-4-19-23-8-3-9-24-20-5-2-7-22-26-15-18-13-11-16-10-12-17-14-25-21(6-1)30(19)39-36-32(25)34-28(17)27(16)29(18)35(34)33(26)37(36)40(31(20)22)41(39)38(23)24/h1-15H
InChIKey=XWSUADIIRLXSBY-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Sarpong and Tantillo have examined the acid-catalyzed Prins/semipinacol rearrangement of hydroxylated pinenes, such as Reaction 1.¹

Interestingly, only the fenchone scaffold products, like 1, are observed and the camphor scaffold products, like 2, are not observed. Cation intermediates are likely, and this means that a primary alkyl shift is taking place in preference to a tertiary alkyl shift, see Scheme 1.

Scheme 1.

They proposed the following key steps in the reaction mechanism:

ωB97X-D/6-31+G(d,p) computations find a flat surface around cation intermediate 4: the TS leading to 5 and 6 are only 1.3 and 3.3 kcal mol^-1, respectively. Since these small barriers are quite susceptible to changes in basis set and functional, and since Tantillo has found many examples of post-transition state bifurcations in cation systems, the authors reasonably decided to conduct molecular dynamics trajectories originating at the TS connecting 3 and 4. The geometries of the critical points are shown in Figure 1.

The trajectory study shows all the usual characteristics of reactions that are under dynamic control. A third of the trajectories show recrossing of the barrier, typical of very flat surfaces. Nearly all of the remaining trajectories led to 5, with only 2 trajectories (~1%) leading to 6. The dynamics are understandable in terms of favoring the primary alkyl shift over the tertiary since a significantly smaller mass needs to move in the former case.

Figure 1. ωB97X-D/6-31+G(d,p) optimized geometries.

This is yet another study that implicates dynamic effects in routine reactions, one of many I have discussed over the years.

References

1. Blümel, M.; Nagasawa, S.; Blackford, K.; Hare, S. R.; Tantillo, D. J.; Sarpong, R., "Rearrangement of Hydroxylated Pinene Derivatives to Fenchone-Type Frameworks: Computational Evidence for Dynamically-Controlled Selectivity." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 9291-9298, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b05804.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/C17H20O2/c1-16-9-12-8-13(16)14(11-6-4-3-5-7-11)19-10-17(12,2)15(16)18/h3-7,12-14H,8-10H2,1-2H3/t12?,13?,14-,16?,17?/m0/s1
InChIKey=LTTUIPPXEHHMJS-XWTIBIIYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/C17H20O2/c1-16-10-19-15(11-6-4-3-5-7-11)13-8-12(16)9-14(18)17(13,16)2/h3-7,12-13,15H,8-10H2,1-2H3/t12?,13?,15-,16?,17?/m0/s1
InChIKey=GCKIOHNLJYVWKL-CMESGNGWSA-N

It never hurts to promote one’s science through clever names – think cubane, buckminsterfullerene, bullvalene, etc. Host-guest chemistry is not immune to this cliché too, and this post discusses the latest synthesis and computations of a nano-Saturn; nano-Saturns are a spherical guest molecule captured inside a ring host molecule. I discussed an example of this a number of years ago – the nano-Saturn comprised of C₆₀ fullerene surrounded by [10]cycloparaphenylene.

Yamamoto, Tsurumaki, Wakamatsu, and Toyota have prepared a nano-Saturn complex with the goal of making a flatter ring component.¹ The inner planet is modeled again by C₆₀ and the ring is the [24]circulene analogue 1. The x-ray crystal structure of this nano-Saturn complex is shown in Figure 1.

1: R = 2,4,6-tri-iso-propylphenyl
2: R = H

Figure 1. X-ray crystal structure of the nano-Saturn complex of 1 with C₆₀.

Variable temperature NMR experiments gave the binding values of ΔH = -18.1 ± 2.3 kJ mol^-1 and TΔS = 0.8 ± 2.2 kJ mol^-1 at 298 K. To gauge this binding energy, they computed the complex of C₆₀ with the parent compound 2 at B3LYP/6-1G(d)//M05-2X/6-31G(d), unfortunately without publishing the coordinates in the supporting materials. The computed binding enthalpy is ΔH = -50.6 kJ mol^-1, but this computation is for the gas phase. The computed structure shows close contacts of 0.29 nm between the fullerene and the C₉-proton of the anthracenyl groups, in excellent agreement with the x-ray structure. These weak C-H^…π interactions undoubtedly help stabilize the complex, especially given that the fullerene carries a very tiny Mulliken charge of +0.08 e.

References

1) Yuta, Y.; Eiji, T.; Kan, W.; Shinji, T., "Nano-Saturn: Experimental Evidence of Complex Formation of an Anthracene Cyclic Ring with C60." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 8199-8202, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201804430.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/C174H180/c1-91(2)121-78-150(97(13)14)164(151(79-121)98(15)16)163-90-128-71-139-70-127-59-109(37-38-120(127)77-162(139)163)110-39-49-140-129(60-110)72-130-61-111(40-50-141(130)165(140)170-152(99(17)18)80-122(92(3)4)81-153(170)100(19)20)112-41-51-142-131(62-112)73-132-63-113(42-52-143(132)166(142)171-154(101(21)22)82-123(93(5)6)83-155(171)102(23)24)114-43-53-144-133(64-114)74-134-65-115(44-54-145(134)167(144)172-156(103(25)26)84-124(94(7)8)85-157(172)104(27)28)116-45-55-146-135(66-116)75-136-67-117(46-56-147(136)168(146)173-158(105(29)30)86-125(95(9)10)87-159(173)106(31)32)118-47-57-148-137(68-118)76-138-69-119(128)48-58-149(138)169(148)174-160(107(33)34)88-126(96(11)12)89-161(174)108(35)36/h37-108H,1-36H3
InChIKey=AMDNULXMAMDTMX-UHFFFAOYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/C84H48/c1-13-61-25-62-15-3-51-33-75(62)43-73(61)31-49(1)50-2-14-63-26-64-16-4-52(34-76(64)44-74(63)32-50)54-6-18-66-28-68-20-8-56(38-80(68)46-78(66)36-54)58-10-22-70-30-72-24-12-60(42-84(72)48-82(70)40-58)59-11-23-71-29-69-21-9-57(39-81(69)47-83(71)41-59)55-7-19-67-27-65-17-5-53(51)35-77(65)45-79(67)37-55/h1-48H
InChIKey=ZYXXLAYETADMDM-UHFFFAOYSA-N

I recently posted on a paper proposing 1,2-benzoquinone and related compounds as the diene component for bioorthogonal labeling. Levandowski, Gamache, Murphy, and Houk report on tetrachlorocyclopentadiene ketal 1 as an active ambiphilic diene component.¹

1 is sterically congested to diminish self-dimerization and will react with both electron-rich and electron-poor dienes. To test it as an active diene in bioorthogonal labeling applications, they optimized the structures of the transition states at CPCM(water)/M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p)//CPCM(water)/M06-2X/6-31G(d) for the Diels-Alder reaction of 1 with a variety of dienophiles including trans-cyclooctene 2 and endo-bicyclononyne 3. These transition states are shown in Figure 1. The activation free energy is quite low for each: 18.1 kcal mol^-1 with 2 and 18.9 kcal mol^-1 with 3.

Figure 1. CPCM(water)/M06-2X/6-31G(d) optimized geometries for the TSs of the reaction of 1 with 2 and 3.

Experiments were successfully run using 1 as a label on a neuropeptide.

References

1) Levandowski, B. J.; Gamache, R. F.; Murphy, J. M.; Houk, K. N., "Readily Accessible Ambiphilic Cyclopentadienes for Bioorthogonal Labeling." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 6426-6431, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b02978.

InChIs

1:InChI=1S/C7H4Cl4O2/c8-3-4(9)6(11)7(5(3)10)12-1-2-13-7/h1-2H2
InChIkey=DXQQKKGWMVTLOJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Eckhardt and Schreiner have spectroscopically characterized the aminomethylene carbene 1.¹ Their characterization rests on IR spectra, with comparison to the computed AE-CCSD(T)/cc-pCVQZ anharmonic vibrational frequencies, and the UV-Vis spectra, with comparison to the computed B3LYP/6–311++G(2d,2p) transitions.

1 can be converted to 2 by photolysis. Interestingly, 1 does not convert to 2 after 5 days on the matrix in the dark. This is in distinct contrast to hydroxycarbene and related other carbene which undergo quantum mechanical tunneling (see this post and this post). Examination of the potential energy surface for the reaction of 1 to 2 at AE-CCSD(T)/cc-pCVQZ (see Figure 1) identifies that the lowest barrier is 45.8 kcal mol^-1, about 15 kcal mol^-1 larger than the barrier for the hydroxycarbene rearrangement. Additionally, the barrier width for 1 → 2 is 25% larger than for the hydroxycarbenes. Both of these suggest substantially reduced tunneling, and WKB analysis predicts a tunneling half-life of more than a billion years. The stability of 1 is attributed to the strong π-donor ability of nitrogen to the electron-poor carbene. This is reflected in a very short C-N bond (1.27 Å).

Figure 1. Structures and energies of 1 and 2 and the transition states that connect them. The relative energies (kcal mol^-1) are computed at AE-CCSD(T)/cc-pCVQZ.

References

1) Eckhardt, A. K.; Schreiner, P. R., "Spectroscopic Evidence for Aminomethylene (H−C̈−NH2)—The
Simplest Amino Carbene." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 5248-5252, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201800679.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/CH3N/c1-2/h1H,2H2
InChIKey=KASBEVXLSPWGFS-UHFFFAOYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/CH3N/c1-2/h2H,1H2
InChIKey=WDWDWGRYHDPSDS-UHFFFAOYSA-N

This is a third post in a series dealing with very short or very long distances between atoms. Ishigaki, Shimajiri, Takeda, Katoono, and Suzuki have prepared three related analogues of hexaphenylethane that all have long C-C bonds.¹ The idea is to create a core by fusing two adjacent phenyls into a naphylene, and then protect the long C-C bond through a shell made up of large aryl groups, 1. Fusing another 5-member ring opposite to the stretched C-C bond (2) creates a scissor effect that should stretch that bond further, even more so in the unsaturated version 3.

Their M062-x/6-31G* computations predict an increasing longer C-C bond (highlighted in blue in the above drawing): 1.730 Å in 1, 1.767 Å in 2, and 1.771 Å in 3. The structure of 3 is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 1. M06-2x/6-31G(d) optimized structure of 3.

These three compounds were synthesized, and characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy. Their x-ray crystal structures at 200 K and 400K were also determined. The C-C distances are 1.742 Å (1), 1.773 Å (2) and 1.798 Å (3) with distances slightly longer at 400 K. These rank as the longest C-C bonds recorded.

References

1) Ishigaki, Y.; Shimajiri, T.; Takeda, T.; Katoono, R.; Suzuki, T., "Longest C–C Single Bond among Neutral Hydrocarbons with a Bond Length beyond 1.8 Å." Chem 2018, 4, 795-806, DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2018.01.011.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/C40H26/c1-5-17-32-27(11-1)23-24-28-12-2-6-18-33(28)39(32)36-21-9-15-31-16-10-22-37(38(31)36)40(39)34-19-7-3-13-29(34)25-26-30-14-4-8-20-35(30)40/h1-26H
InChIKey=IFIFQLGAOZULMX-UHFFFAOYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/C42H28/c1-5-13-33-27(9-1)17-18-28-10-2-6-14-34(28)41(33)37-25-23-31-21-22-32-24-26-38(40(37)39(31)32)42(41)35-15-7-3-11-29(35)19-20-30-12-4-8-16-36(30)42/h1-20,23-26H,21-22H2
InChIKey=HSJDZFLRPWJAGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N

3: InChI=1S/C42H26/c1-5-13-33-27(9-1)17-18-28-10-2-6-14-34(28)41(33)37-25-23-31-21-22-32-24-26-38(40(37)39(31)32)42(41)35-15-7-3-11-29(35)19-20-30-12-4-8-16-36(30)42/h1-26H
InChIKey=QQYNKBIOZSXWGD-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Schreiner and Grimme have examined a few compounds (see these previous posts) with long C-C bonds that are found in congested systems where dispersion greatly aids in stabilizing the stretched bond. Their new paper¹ continues this theme by examining 1 (again) and 2, using computations, and x-ray crystallography and gas-phase rotational spectroscopy and electron diffraction to establish the long C-C bond.

The distance of the long central bond in 1 is 1.647 Å (x-ray) and 1.630 Å (electron diffraction). Similarly, this distance in 2 is 1.642 Å (x-ray) and 1.632 Å (ED). These experiments discount any role for crystal packing forces in leading to the long bond.

A very nice result from the computations is that most functionals that include some dispersion correction predict the C-C distance in the optimized structures with an error of no more than 0.01 Å. (PW6B95-D3/DEF2-QZVP structures are shown in Figure 1.) Not surprisingly, HF and B3LYP without a dispersion correction predict a bond that is too long.) MP2 predicts a distance that is too short, but SCS-MP2 does a very good job.

Figure 1. PW6B95-D3/DEF2-QZVP optimized structures of 1 and 2.

References

1) Fokin, A. A.; Zhuk, T. S.; Blomeyer, S.; Pérez, C.; Chernish, L. V.; Pashenko, A. E.; Antony, J.; Vishnevskiy, Y. V.; Berger, R. J. F.; Grimme, S.; Logemann, C.; Schnell, M.; Mitzel, N. W.; Schreiner, P. R., "Intramolecular London Dispersion Interaction Effects on Gas-Phase and Solid-State Structures of Diamondoid Dimers." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 16696-16707, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b07884.

InChIs

1: InChI=1S/C28H38/c1-13-7-23-19-3-15-4-20(17(1)19)24(8-13)27(23,11-15)28-12-16-5-21-18-2-14(9-25(21)28)10-26(28)22(18)6-16/h13-26H,1-12H2
InChIKey=MMYAZLNWLGPULP-UHFFFAOYSA-N

2: InChI=1S/C26H34O2/c1-11-3-19-15-7-13-9-25(19,21(5-11)23(27-13)17(1)15)26-10-14-8-16-18-2-12(4-20(16)26)6-22(26)24(18)28-14/h11-24H,1-10H2
InChIKey=VPBJYHMTINJMAE-UHFFFAOYSA-N

The competition for finding molecules with ever-closer non-bonding H^…H interactions is heating up. I have previously blogged about 1, a in,in-Bis(hydrosilane) designed by Pascal,¹ with an H^…H distance of 1.57 Å, and also blogged about 2, the dimer of tri(di-t-butylphenyl)methane,² where the distance between methine hydrogens on adjacent molecules is 1.566 Å.

Now Pascal reports on 3, which shows an even closer H^…H approach.³

The x-ray structure of 3 shows the in,in relationship of the two critical hydrogens, H_A and H_B. Though the positions of these hydrogens were refined, the C-H distance are artificially foreshortened. A variety of computed structures are reported, and these all support a very short H^…H non-bonding distance of about 1.52 Å. The B3PW91-D3/cc-pVTZ optimized structure is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. B3PW91-D3/cc-pVTZ optimized structure of 3.

The authors also note an unusual feature of the ¹H NMR spectrum of 3: the H_B signal appears as a double with J_AB= 2.0 Hz. B3LYP/6–311++G(2df,2pd) NMR computations indicated a coupling of 3.1 Hz. This is the largest through-space coupling recorded.

References

1. Zong, J.; Mague, J. T.; Pascal, R. A., "Exceptional Steric Congestion in an in,in-Bis(hydrosilane)." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 13235-13237, DOI: 10.1021/ja407398w.

2. Rösel, S.; Quanz, H.; Logemann, C.; Becker, J.; Mossou, E.; Cañadillas-Delgado, L.; Caldeweyher, E.; Grimme, S.; Schreiner, P. R., "London Dispersion Enables the Shortest Intermolecular Hydrocarbon H···H Contact." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 7428–7431, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b01879.

3. Xiao, Y.; Mague, J. T.; Pascal, R. A., "An Exceptionally Close, Non-Bonded Hydrogen–Hydrogen Contact with Strong Through-Space Spin–Spin Coupling." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 2244-2247, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201712304.

InChI

3: InChI=1S/C27H24S3/c1-4-17-13-28-10-16-11-29-14-18-5-2-8-21-24(18)27-23(17)20(7-1)26(21)22-9-3-6-19(25(22)27)15-30-12-16/h1-9,16,26-27H,10-15H2
InChIKey=NJBHGDPNFALCTL-UHFFFAOYSA-N

At the recent ACS meeting in New Orleans, Ken Houk spoke at the Dreyfus award session in honor of Michele Parrinello. Ken’s talk included discussion of some recent molecular dynamics studies of pericyclic reactions. Because of their similarities in approaches and observations, I will discuss three recent papers from his group (which Ken discussed in New Orleans) in this post.

The Cope rearrangement, a fundamental organic reaction, has been studied extensively by computational means (see Chapter 4.2 of my book). Mackey, Yang, and Houk examine the degenerate Cope rearrangement of 1,5-hexadiene with molecular dynamics at the (U)B3LYP/6-31G(d) level.¹ They examined 230 trajectories, and find that of the 95% of them that are reactive, 94% are trajectories that directly cross through the transition zone. By this, Houk means that the time gap between the breaking and forming C-C bonds is less than 60 fs, the time for one C-C bond vibration. The average time in the transition zone is 35 fs. This can be thought of as “dynamically concerted”. For the other few trajectories, a transient diradical with lifetime of about 100 fs is found.

The dimerization of cyclopentadiene finds the two [4+2] pathways merging into a single bispericylic transition state. ² Only a small minority (13%) of the trajectories sample the region about the Cope rearrangement that interconverts the two mirror image dimers. These trajectories average about 60 fs in this space, which comes from the time separation between the formation of the two new C-C bonds. The majority of the trajectories quickly pass through the dimerization transition zone in about 18 fs, and avoid the Cope TS region entirely. These paths can be thought of as “dynamically concerted”, while the other set of trajectories are “dynamically stepwise”. It should be noted however that the value of S² in the Cope transition zone are zero and so no radicals are being formed.

Finally, Yang, Dong, Yu, Yu, Li, Jamieson, and Houk examined 15 different reactions that involve ambimodal (i.e. bispericyclic) transition states.³ They find a strong correlation between the differences in the bond lengths of the two possible new bond vs. their product distribution. So for example, in the reaction shown in Scheme 1, bond a is the one farthest along to forming. Bond b is slightly shorter than bond c. Which of these two is formed next is dependent on the dynamics, and it turns out the P_ab is formed from 73% of the trajectories while P_ac is formed only 23% of the time. This trend is seen across the 15 reaction, namely the shorter of bond b or c in the transition state leads to the larger product formation. When competing reactions involve bonds with differing elements, then a correlation can be found with bond order instead of with bond length.

Scheme 1

References

1) Mackey, J. L.; Yang, Z.; Houk, K. N., "Dynamically concerted and stepwise trajectories of the Cope rearrangement of 1,5-hexadiene." Chem. Phys. Lett. 2017, 683, 253-257, DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2017.03.011.

2) Yang, Z.; Zou, L.; Yu, Y.; Liu, F.; Dong, X.; Houk, K. N., "Molecular dynamics of the two-stage mechanism of cyclopentadiene dimerization: concerted or stepwise?" Chem. Phys. 2018, in press, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2018.02.020.

3) Yang, Z.; Dong, X.; Yu, Y.; Yu, P.; Li, Y.; Jamieson, C.; Houk, K. N., "Relationships between Product Ratios in Ambimodal Pericyclic Reactions and Bond Lengths in Transition Structures." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 3061-3067, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b13562.

Sometimes you run across a paper that is surprising for a strange reason: hasn’t this work been done years before? That was my response to seeing this paper on the structure of gauche-1,3-butadiene.¹ Surely, a molecule as simple as this has been examined to death. But, in fact there has been some controversy over whether the cis or gauche form is the second lowest energy conformation. Computations have indicated that the cis form is a transition state for interconverting the two gauche isomers, but experimental confirmation was probably so late in coming due to the small amount of the gauche form present and its small dipole moment.

This paper describes Fourier-transform microwave (FTMW) spectroscopy using two variants: cavity-enhanced FTMW combined with a supersonic expansion and chirped-pulse FTMW in a cryogenic buffer gas cell. In addition, computations were done at CCSD(T) using cc-pCVTZ through cc-pCV5Z basis sets and corrections for perturbative quadruples. The computed structure is shown in Figure 1. In addition to confirming this non-planar structure, with a C-C-C-C dihedral angle of 33.8°, they demonstrate the tunneling between the two mirror image gauche conformations, through the cis transition state.

Figure 1. Computed geometry of gauche-1,3-butadiene.

References

1. Baraban, J. H.; Martin-Drumel, M.-A.; Changala, P. B.; Eibenberger, S.; Nava, M.; Patterson, D.; Stanton, J. F.; Ellison, G. B.; McCarthy, M. C., "The Molecular Structure of gauche-1,3-Butadiene: Experimental Establishment of Non-planarity." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 1821-1825, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201709966.

InChIs

1,3-butadiene: InChI=1S/C4H6/c1-3-4-2/h3-4H,1-2H2
InChIKey=KAKZBPTYRLMSJV-UHFFFAOYSA-N