Why 1,2‑quinone derivatives are more stable than their 2,3‑analogues?

In this work, we have studied the relative stability of 1,2- and 2,3-quinones. While 1,2-quinones have a closed-shell singlet ground state, the ground state for the studied 2,3-isomers is open-shell singlet, except for 2,3-naphthaquinone that has a closed-shell singlet ground state. In all cases, 1,2-quinones are more stable than their 2,3-counterparts. We analyzed the reasons for the higher stability of the 1,2-isomers through energy decomposition analysis in the framework of Kohn–Sham molecular orbital theory. The results showed that we have to trace the origin of 1,2-quinones’ enhanced stability to the more efficient bonding in the π-electron system due to more favorable overlap between the SOMOπ of the ·C4n−2H2n–CH·· and ··CH–CO–CO· fragments in the 1,2-arrangement. Furthermore, whereas 1,2-quinones present a constant trend with their elongation for all analyzed properties (geometric, energetic, and electronic), 2,3-quinone derivatives present a substantial breaking in monotonicity.European Union in the framework of European Social Fund through the Warsaw University of Technology Development Programme. O.A. S., H. S. and T.M. K

Computational study of Aromaticity in Porphyrinoid Systems and Photosensitizers from Chemical Bonding Descriptors

291 p.La presente tesis está dividida en dos bloques. El primer bloque se centra en una de las propiedadesafectadas por el error de deslocalización, la aromaticidad, presente en algunas aproximaciones delfuncional de la densidad. Se estudia el carácter aromático de sistemas una familia de porfirínas simples,una serie de anulenos y un anillo de seis porfirínas. También se discute el método computacionalapropiado para caracterizar la estructura electrónica de moléculas aromáticas medianas y grandes.Siguiendo la misma línea, en el segundo bloque de la tesis se han examinado diferentes familias defotosensibilizadores y catalizadores para diseñar un protocolo riguroso para el estudio de la estructuraelectrónica, la simulación de espectros UV-Vis y para el cálculo de potenciales redox. Losfotosensibilizadores son moléculas captadoras de luz que presentan excitaciones de transferencia decarga. La simulación de estas excitaciones está afectada también por las deficiencias de lasaproximaciones al funcional de la densidad

Exploring the validity of the Glidewell-Lloyd extension of Clar's pi-sextet rule: assessment from polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons

The Clar pi-sextet rule was formulated as a tool to qualitatively assign the local aromatic character of six-membered rings in benzenoid species. This simple rule has been widely validated both experimentally and theoretically. In 1984, Glidewell and Lloyd reported an extension of this rule to polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons having rings with any even number of carbon atoms in their structure. In this work, we assess the validity of the Glidewell-Lloyd extension in 69 polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons composed of different combinations of four-, six-, and eight-membered rings. Our results support the validity of this extension with some exceptions that are discussed. Finally, a minor modification to the rule is proposed

Relation Between Ring Currents and Hydrogenation Enthalpies for Assessing the Degree of Aromaticity

Magnetically induced ring-current strength susceptibilities and nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS) have been studied for 15 single-ring aromatic, antiaromatic, and nonaromatic molecules. The current densities have been calculated at the density functional theory (DFT), Hartree-Fock (HF) theory, and second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) levels using the gauge-including magnetically induced current method (GIMIC). The ring-current strength susceptibilities have been obtained by numerical integration of the current density flowing around the molecular ring. The calculated ring-current strength susceptibilities are almost independent of the level of theory. The relative degree of aromaticity deduced from the magnetic properties has been compared with the ones deduced from hydrogenation enthalpies that are considered to be proportional to aromatic stabilization energies (ASE). For the studied single-ring molecules, GIMIC, NICS, and ASE calculations yield similar trends. The study shows that there is a linear correlation between the magnetic and energetic criteria of aromaticity. The largest uncertainty originates from the accuracy of the energy data, because they are much more dependent on the employed computational level than the calculated magnetic properties. Thus, ring-current strength susceptibilities can be used for assessing the degree of aromaticity.Peer reviewe

Electron delocalization and aromaticity in low-lying excited states of archetypal organic compounds

Aromaticity is a property usually linked to the ground state of stable molecules. Although it is well-known that certain excited states are unquestionably aromatic, the aromaticity of excited states remains rather unexplored. To move one step forward in the comprehension of aromaticity in excited states, in this work we analyze the electron delocalization and aromaticity of a series of low-lying excited states of cyclobutadiene, benzene, and cyclooctatetraene with different multiplicities at the CASSCF level by means of electron delocalization measures. While our results are in agreement with Baird's rule for the aromaticity of the lowest-lying triplet excited state in annulenes having 4n pi-electrons, they do not support Soncini and Fowler's generalization of Baird's rule pointing out that the lowest-lying quintet state of benzene and septet state of cyclooctatetraene are not aromatic

Aromaticity determines the relative stability of kinked vs. straight topologies in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

It is well-known that kinked phenacenes are more stable than their isomeric linear acenes, the archetypal example being phenanthrene that is more stable than anthracene by about 4-8 kcal/mol. In previous studies, the origin of the higher stability of kinked polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was found to be better π-bonding interactions, i.e., larger aromaticity, in kinked as compared to linear PAHs. Some years ago, however, Dominikowska and Palusiak (2011) found that dicationic linear anthracene is more stable than the dicationic kinked phenanthrene. Therefore, these authors showed that, in some cases, the linear topology in PAHs can be preferred over the kinked one. Our results using energy decomposition analyses in combination with the turn-upside-down approach show that the origin of the higher stability of dicationic anthracene is the same as in the neutral species, i.e., better π-bonding interactions. A similar result is found for the kinked and straight pyrano-chromenes. We conclude that the aromaticity is the driving force that determines the relative stability of kinked vs. straight topologies in PAHs

Aromatic Pathways in Porphyrinoids by Magnetically Induced Ring Currents

Peer reviewe

Successive modification of polydentate complexes gives access to planar carbon-and nitrogen-based ligands

以碳和氮为键合原子的多齿螯合物是配合物家族中非常重要的一类。具有更高齿数的平面构型NC螯合物实例相对较少，代表性的例子为四齿金属碳卟啉类化合物，这类螯合物以其独特的结构和丰富的物理化学性质引起广泛关注。然而平面五齿、六齿的NC螯合物由于几何构型“拥挤”导致合成难度高，该工作从含三元环内金属卡宾结构的CCCC型碳龙配合物出发，利用经典有机反应（炔烃对金属卡宾的插入反应），成功地实现了CCCCN/NCCCN型平面五齿螯合物的合成。这一研究为高配位型螯合物的合成提供了新思路并为平面五齿螯合物家族添加新成员。特别是，这些高配位型螯合物在可见光和近红外区域均有较好的吸收，表现出良好的光声成像、光热转换及声动力学性能。 该研究工作在张弘教授指导下完成，第一作者为iChEM博士后周小茜。该工作充分体现了多学科协同研究优势：相关化合物的合成、表征及理论计算工作由周小茜博士完成；声动力学性能研究由厦门大学公共卫生学院庞鑫博士及刘刚教授完成；光声成像研究由厦门大学公共卫生学院聂立铭教授完成。iChEM fellow卓庆德博士、博士生卓凯玥、陈志昕参与了部分实验工作。夏海平教授、香港科技大学林振阳教授和南京大学朱从青教授对研究工作给予了大力支持。【Abstract】Polydentate complexes containing combinations of nitrogen and carbon (N and C) ligating atoms are among the most fundamental and ubiquitous molecules in coordination chemistry, yet the formation of such complexes with planar high-coordinate N/C sites remains challenging. Herein, we demonstrate an efficient route to access related complexes with tetradentate CCCN and pentadentate CCCCN and NCCCN cores by successive modification of the coordinating atoms in complexes with a CCCC core. Combined experimental and computational studies reveal that the rich reactivity of metal-carbon bonds and the inherent aromaticity of the metallacyclic skeletons play key roles in these transformations. This strategy addresses the paucity of synthetic approaches to mixed N/C planar pentadentate chelating species and provides valuable insights into the synthesis of carbon-based high-coordinate complexes. Furthermore, the resulting complexes are the examples of organometallic species with combined photoacoustic, photothermal, and sonodynamic properties, which makes them promising for application in related areas.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21572185, 21561162001, and 81571744), the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (N_HKUST603/15), the Excellent Youth Foundation of Fujian Scientific Committee (2018J06024), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720170065).该工作得到国家自然科学基金委、香港研究资助局、福建省自然科学基金、厦门大学校长基金的资助