Structural versatility of the quasi-aromatic Möbius type zinc(II)-pseudohalide complexes : experimental and theoretical investigations

In this contribution we report for the first time fabrication, isolation, structural and theoretical characterization of the quasi-aromatic Mobius complexes [Zn(NCS)(2)L-I] (1), [Zn-2(mu(1,1)-N-3)(2)(L-I)(2)][ZnCl3(MeOH)](2)center dot 6MeOH (2) and [Zn(NCS)L-II](2)[Zn(NCS)(4)]center dot MeOH (3), constructed from 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-bis((phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylene)hydrazono)ethane (L-I) or benzilbis(acetylpyridin-2-yl)methylidenehydrazone (L-II), respectively, and ZnCl2 mixed with NH4NCS or NaN3. Structures 1-3 are dictated by both the bulkiness of the organic ligand and the nature of the inorganic counter ion. As evidenced from single crystal X-ray diffraction data species 1 has a neutral discrete heteroleptic mononuclear structure, whereas, complexes 2 and 3 exhibit a salt-like structure. Each structure contains a Zn-II atom chelated by one tetradentate twisted ligand L-I creating the unusual Mobius type topology. Theoretical investigations based on the EDDB method allowed us to determine that it constitutes the quasi-aromatic Mobius motif where a metal only induces the pi-delocalization solely within the ligand part: 2.44|e| in 3, 3.14|e| in 2 and 3.44|e| in 1. It is found, that the degree of quasi-aromatic pi-delocalization in the case of zinc species is significantly weaker (by similar to 50%) than the corresponding estimations for cadmium systems - it is associated with the Zn-N bonds being more polar than the related Cd-N connections. The ETS-NOCV showed, that the monomers in 1 are bonded primarily through London dispersion forces, whereas long-range electrostatic stabilization is crucial in 2 and 3. A number of non-covalent interactions are additionally identified in the lattices of 1-3

Excited state character of Cibalackrot-type compounds interpreted in terms of Hückel-aromaticity: a rationale for singlet fission chromophore design.

The exact energies of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states in organic chromophores are crucial to their performance in optoelectronic devices. The possibility of utilizing singlet fission to enhance the performance of photovoltaic devices has resulted in a wide demand for tuneable, stable organic chromophores with wide S1-T1 energy gaps (>1 eV). Cibalackrot-type compounds were recently considered to have favorably positioned excited state energies for singlet fission, and they were found to have a degree of aromaticity in the lowest triplet excited state (T1). This work reports on a revised and deepened theoretical analysis taking into account the excited state Hückel-aromatic (instead of Baird-aromatic) as well as diradical characters, with the aim to design new organic chromophores based on this scaffold in a rational way starting from qualitative theory. We demonstrate that the substituent strategy can effectively adjust the spin distribution on the chromophore and thereby manipulate the excited state energy levels. Additionally, the improved understanding of the aromatic characters enables us to demonstrate a feasible design strategy to vary the excited state energy levels by tuning the number and nature of Hückel-aromatic units in the excited state. Finally, our study elucidates the complications and pitfalls of the excited state aromaticity and antiaromaticity concepts, highlighting that quantitative results from quantum chemical calculations of various aromaticity indices must be linked with qualitative theoretical analysis of the character of the excited states

Excited state character of Cibalackrot-type compounds interpreted in terms of Hückel-aromaticity: a rationale for singlet fission chromophore design.

The exact energies of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states in organic chromophores are crucial to their performance in optoelectronic devices. The possibility of utilizing singlet fission to enhance the performance of photovoltaic devices has resulted in a wide demand for tuneable, stable organic chromophores with wide S1-T1 energy gaps (>1 eV). Cibalackrot-type compounds were recently considered to have favorably positioned excited state energies for singlet fission, and they were found to have a degree of aromaticity in the lowest triplet excited state (T1). This work reports on a revised and deepened theoretical analysis taking into account the excited state Hückel-aromatic (instead of Baird-aromatic) as well as diradical characters, with the aim to design new organic chromophores based on this scaffold in a rational way starting from qualitative theory. We demonstrate that the substituent strategy can effectively adjust the spin distribution on the chromophore and thereby manipulate the excited state energy levels. Additionally, the improved understanding of the aromatic characters enables us to demonstrate a feasible design strategy to vary the excited state energy levels by tuning the number and nature of Hückel-aromatic units in the excited state. Finally, our study elucidates the complications and pitfalls of the excited state aromaticity and antiaromaticity concepts, highlighting that quantitative results from quantum chemical calculations of various aromaticity indices must be linked with qualitative theoretical analysis of the character of the excited states

Three-Dimensional Fully π-Conjugated Macrocycles : When 3D-Aromatic and When 2D-Aromatic-in-3D?

Several fully π-conjugated macrocycles with puckered or cage-type structures were recently found to exhibit aromatic character according to both experiments and computations. We examine their electronic structures and put them in relation to 3D-aromatic molecules (e.g., closo-boranes) and to 2D-aromatic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Using qualitative theory combined with quantum chemical calculations, we find that the macrocycles explored hitherto should be described as 2D-aromatic with three-dimensional molecular structures (abbr. 2D-aromatic-in-3D) and not as truly 3D-aromatic. 3D-aromatic molecules have highly symmetric structures (or nearly so), leading to (at least) triply degenerate molecular orbitals, and for tetrahedral or octahedral molecules, an aromatic closed-shell electronic structure with 6n + 2 electrons. Conversely, 2D-aromatic-in-3D structures exhibit aromaticity that results from the fulfillment of Hückel’s 4n + 2 rule for each macrocyclic path, yet their π-electron counts are coincidentally 6n + 2 numbers for macrocycles with three tethers of equal lengths. It is notable that 2D-aromatic-in-3D macrocyclic cages can be aromatic with tethers of different lengths, i.e., with π-electron counts different from 6n + 2, and they are related to naphthalene. Finally, we identify tetrahedral and cubic π-conjugated molecules that fulfill the 6n + 2 rule and exhibit significant electron delocalization. Yet, their properties resemble those of analogous compounds with electron counts that differ from 6n + 2. Thus, despite the fact that these molecules show substantial π-electron delocalization, they cannot be classified as true 3D-aromatics

Isolation of an Annulated 1,4-Distibabenzene Diradicaloid

Steffenfauseweh H, Rottschäfer D, Vishnevskiy Y, et al. Isolierung eines anellierten 1,4-Distibabenzol-Diradikaloids. Angewandte Chemie. 2023: e202216003

Isolation of an Annulated 1,4-Distibabenzene Diradicaloid

Steffenfauseweh H, Rottschafer D, Vishnevskiy Y, et al. Isolation of an Annulated 1,4-Distibabenzene Diradicaloid. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2023.The first 1,4-distibinine-1,4-diide compound [(ADC)Sb]2 (5) based on an anionic dicarbene (ADC) (ADC = PhC{N(Dipp)C}2, Dipp = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) is reported as a bordeaux-red solid. Compound 5, featuring a central six-membered C4Sb2 ring with formally Sb(I) atoms may be regarded as a base-stabilized cyclic bis-stibinidene in which each of the Sb atoms bears two lone-pairs of electrons. 5 undergoes 2e-oxidation with Ph3C[B(C6F5)4] to afford [(ADC)Sb]2-[B(C6F5)4]2 (6) as a brick-red solid. Each of the Sb atoms of 6 has an unpaired electron and a lone-pair. The broken-symmetry open-shell singlet diradical solution for (6)2+ is calculated to be 2.13 kcal/mol more stable than the closed-shell singlet. The diradical character of (6)2+ according to SS-CASSCF (state-specific complete active space self-consistent field) and UHF (unrestricted Hartree-Fock) methods amounts to 39% and 36%, respectively. Treatments of 6 with (PhE)2 yield [(ADC)Sb(EPh)]2[B(C6F5)4]2 (7-E) (E = S or Se). Reaction of 5 with (cod)Mo(CO)4 affords [(ADC)Sb]2-Mo(CO)4 (8). © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH

The role of the long-range exchange corrections in the description of electron delocalization in aromatic species

In this article, we address the role of the long-range exchange corrections in description of the cyclic delocalization of electrons in aromatic systems at the density functional theory level. A test set of diversified monocyclic and polycyclic aromatics is used in benchmark calculations involving various exchange-correlation functionals. A special emphasis is given to the problem of local aromaticity in acenes, which has been a subject of long-standing debate in the literature. The presented results indicate that the noncorrected exchange-correlation functionals significantly overestimate cyclic delocalization of electrons in heteroaromatics and aromatic systems with fused rings, which in the case of acenes leads to conflicting local aromaticity predictions from different criteriaThe research was supported in part by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP START 2015, stipend 103.2015, DS), National Science Centre, Poland (NCN SONATA, grant 2015/17/D/ST4/ 00558, DS) as well as the PL-Grid Infrastructure of the Academic Computer Centre CYFRONET, with the calculations performed on cluster platforms Zeus and Prometheus. MS thanks for the support of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (Project CTQ2014-54306-P), Generalitat de Catalunya (project number 2014SGR931, Xarxa de Referència en Química Teòrica i Computacional, and ICREA Academia prize), and European Fund for Regional Development (FEDER grant UNGI10-4E-801

Quasi-aromatic Möbius Metal Chelates

We report the design as well as structural and spectroscopic characterizations of two new coordination compounds obtained from Cd­(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and polydentate ligands, benzilbis­(pyridin-2-yl)­methylidene­hydrazone (<b>L</b>^<b>I</b>) and benzilbis­(acetylpyridin-2-yl)­methylidene­hydrazone (<b>L</b>^<b>II</b>), in a mixture with two equivalents of NH₄NCS in MeOH, namely <b>[Cd­(SCN)­(NCS)­(L</b>^<b>I</b><b>)­(MeOH)]</b> (<b>1</b>) and <b>[Cd­(NCS)</b>_<b>2</b><b>(L</b>^<b>II</b><b>)­(MeOH)]</b> (<b>2</b>). Both <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> and <b>L</b>^<b>II</b> are bound via two pyridyl-imine units yielding a tetradentate coordination mode giving rise to the 12 π electron chelate ring. It has been determined for the first time (qualitatively and quantitatively), using the EDDB electron population-based method, the HOMA index, and the ETS-NOCV charge and energy decomposition scheme, that the chelate ring containing Cd^II can be classified as a quasi-aromatic Möbius motif. Notably, using the methyl-containing ligand <b>L</b>^<b>II</b> controls the exclusive presence of the NCS^– connected with the Cd^II atom (structure <b>2</b>), while applying <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> allows us to simultaneously coordinate NCS^– and SCN^– ligands (structure <b>1</b>). Both systems are stabilized mostly by hydrogen bonding, C–H···π interactions, aromatic π···π stacking, and dihydrogen C–H···H–C bonds. The optical properties have been investigated by diffused reflectance spectroscopy as well as molecular and periodic DFT/TD-DFT calculations. The DFT-based ETS-NOCV analysis as well as periodic calculations led us to conclude that the monomers which constitute the obtained chelates are extremely strongly bonded to each other, and the calculated interaction energies are found to be in the regime of strong covalent connections. Intramolecular van der Waals dispersion forces, due to the large size of <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> and <b>L</b>^<b>II</b>, appeared to significantly stabilize these systems as well as amplify the aromaticity phenomenon

Quasi-aromatic Möbius Metal Chelates

We report the design as well as structural and spectroscopic characterizations of two new coordination compounds obtained from Cd­(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and polydentate ligands, benzilbis­(pyridin-2-yl)­methylidene­hydrazone (<b>L</b>^<b>I</b>) and benzilbis­(acetylpyridin-2-yl)­methylidene­hydrazone (<b>L</b>^<b>II</b>), in a mixture with two equivalents of NH₄NCS in MeOH, namely <b>[Cd­(SCN)­(NCS)­(L</b>^<b>I</b><b>)­(MeOH)]</b> (<b>1</b>) and <b>[Cd­(NCS)</b>_<b>2</b><b>(L</b>^<b>II</b><b>)­(MeOH)]</b> (<b>2</b>). Both <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> and <b>L</b>^<b>II</b> are bound via two pyridyl-imine units yielding a tetradentate coordination mode giving rise to the 12 π electron chelate ring. It has been determined for the first time (qualitatively and quantitatively), using the EDDB electron population-based method, the HOMA index, and the ETS-NOCV charge and energy decomposition scheme, that the chelate ring containing Cd^II can be classified as a quasi-aromatic Möbius motif. Notably, using the methyl-containing ligand <b>L</b>^<b>II</b> controls the exclusive presence of the NCS^– connected with the Cd^II atom (structure <b>2</b>), while applying <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> allows us to simultaneously coordinate NCS^– and SCN^– ligands (structure <b>1</b>). Both systems are stabilized mostly by hydrogen bonding, C–H···π interactions, aromatic π···π stacking, and dihydrogen C–H···H–C bonds. The optical properties have been investigated by diffused reflectance spectroscopy as well as molecular and periodic DFT/TD-DFT calculations. The DFT-based ETS-NOCV analysis as well as periodic calculations led us to conclude that the monomers which constitute the obtained chelates are extremely strongly bonded to each other, and the calculated interaction energies are found to be in the regime of strong covalent connections. Intramolecular van der Waals dispersion forces, due to the large size of <b>L</b>^<b>I</b> and <b>L</b>^<b>II</b>, appeared to significantly stabilize these systems as well as amplify the aromaticity phenomenon