Triangular halogen trimers. A DFT study of the structure, cooperativity, and vibrational properties

Triangular halogen trimers (RX)3, where X = Br, I and R represents H, H3C, H2FC, HF2C, F3C, CH2=CH, CH[triple bond]C, and Ph, have been investigated using the density functional theory in the Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof method. We report herein the optimized geometries of the stable structures, their vibrational frequencies, and binding energies with the two- and three-body terms. All trimer structures possess a cyclic array of halogen atoms in the type II approach by virtue of the nonspherical atomic charge distribution around the halogens. The Br...Br interactions in trimers are very weak, whereas the I...I interactions in trimers are relatively stronger. While all bromine trimers and most of iodine trimers are predicted to be noncooperative, three of iodine trimers show weak cooperativity. The analysis of vibration modes reveals that all halogen trimers exhibit no especially remarkable frequency shifts. It is also shown that the electrostatic contribution plays a major role in the halogen...halogen interactions in halogen trimers. In contrast to bromine trimers, the relative contribution of charge-transfer component to the halogen...halogen interactions becomes more important for iodine trimers.

Supramolecular Chemistry of Halogens: Complementary Features of Inorganic (M−X) and Organic (C−X‘) Halogens Applied to M−X···X‘−C Halogen Bond Formation

Electronic differences between inorganic (M-X) and organic (C-X) halogens in conjunction with the anisotropic charge distribution associated with terminal halogens have been exploited in supramolecular synthesis based upon intermolecular M-X...X'-C halogen bonds. The synthesis and crystal structures of a family of compounds trans-[MCl(2)(NC(5)H(4)X-3)(2)] (M = Pd(II), Pt(II); X = F, Cl, Br, I; NC(5)H(4)X-3 = 3-halopyridine) are reported. With the exception of the fluoropyridine compounds, network structures propagated by M-Cl...X-C halogen bonds are adopted and involve all M-Cl and all C-X groups. M-Cl...X-C interactions show Cl...X separations shorter than van der Waals values, shorter distances being observed for heavier halogens (X). Geometries with near linear Cl...X-C angles (155-172 degrees ) and markedly bent M-Cl...X angles (92-137 degrees ) are consistently observed. DFT calculations on the model dimers {trans-[MCl(2)(NH(3))(NC(5)H(4)X-3)]}(2) show association through M-Cl...X-C (X not equal F) interactions with geometries similar to experimental values. DFT calculations of the electrostatic potential distributions for the compounds trans-[PdCl(2)(NC(5)H(4)X-3)(2)] (X = F, Cl, Br, I) demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy to activate C-X groups toward halogen bond formation by enhancing their electrophilicity, and explain the absence of M-Cl...F-C interactions. The M-Cl...X-C halogen bonds described here can be viewed unambiguously as nucleophile-electrophile interactions that involve an attractive electrostatic contribution. This contrasts with some types of halogen-halogen interactions previously described and suggests that M-Cl...X-C halogen bonds could provide a valuable new synthon for supramolecular chemists.

Syntheses of Hexakis(4-functionalized-phenyl)benzenes and Hexakis[4-(4‘-functionalized- phenylethynyl)phenyl]benzenes Directed to Host Molecules for Guest-Inclusion Networks

The syntheses of various types of hexakis(4-functionalized-phenyl)benzenes 1 and hexakis[4-(4'-functionalized-phenylethynyl)phenyl]benzenes 2 by the cobalt-catalyzed cyclotrimerization of diarylacetylenes and by the Sonogashira coupling reaction of 1e with arylacetylenes, respectively, are described. X-ray crystallographic analysis showed that host 1e or 2f forms a 2-D network by unique I...I or CH...O=C interactions, respectively.