Die Bedeutung ionischer Bindungsanteile in Schwefeldioxid - Bindungsordnungen aus Röntgenbeugungsdaten

Reversing the Bond Length Alternation Order in Conjugated Polyenes by Substituent Effects

We have synthesised several push-pull substituted conjugated polyenes and determined their accurate C-C bond lengths and charge-density distributions by utilising quantum crystallographic techniques. In a series of alkene, dienes, and triene bearing two (trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl (triflyl) groups on the terminal carbon atom, unique reversal of the bond-length alternation (BLA) order has been observed. This is a pronounced aberration from the molecular structure predicted by the Lewis-structure-based neutral resonance structure. Such reversal of BLA order has not been observed in push-pull compounds bearing conventional electron-withdrawing groups such as carbonyl and cyano groups instead of triflyl groups. Bonding behaviour of both normal and reversed bond length alternating systems has been revealed by complementary bonding analysis using several bond descriptors based on the experimentally fitted wavefunctions.

Similarities and Differences between Crystal and Enzyme Environmental Effects on the Electron Density of Drug Molecules

The crystal interaction density is generally assumed to be a suitable measure of the polarization of a low-molecular weight ligand inside an enzyme, but this approximation has seldomly been tested and has never been quantified before. In this study, we compare the crystal interaction density and the interaction electrostatic potential for a model compound of loxistatin acid (E64c) with those inside cathepsin B, in solution, and in vacuum. We apply QM/MM calculations and experimental quantum crystallography to show that the crystal interaction density is indeed very similar to the enzyme interaction density. Less than 0.1 e are shifted between these two environments in total. However, this difference has non-negligible consequences for derived properties.

Revisiting a Historical Concept by Using Quantum Crystallography: Are Phosphate, Sulfate and Perchlorate Anions Hypervalent?

There are many examples of atoms in molecules that violate Lewis' octet rule, because they have more than four electron pairs assigned to their valence. These atoms are referred to as hypervalent. However, hypervalency may be regarded as an artifact arising from Lewis' description of molecules, which is based on the assumption that electrons are localized in two-center two-electron bonds and lone pairs. In the present paper, the isoelectronic phosphate (PO₄ ^3- ), sulfate (SO₄ ^2- ) and perchlorate (ClO₄ ^- ) anions were examined with respect to the concept of hypervalency. Lewis formulas containing a hypervalent central atom exist for all three anions. Based on X-ray wavefunction refinements of high-resolution X-ray diffraction data of representative crystal structures (MgNH₄ PO₄ ⋅6 H₂ O, Li₂ SO₄ ⋅H₂ O, and KClO₄ ), complementary bonding analyses were performed. In this way, experimental information from the new field of quantum crystallography validate long-known facts, or refute long-standing misunderstandings. It is shown that the P-O and S-O bonds are highly polarized covalent bonds and, thus, the increase in the valence population following three-center four-electron bonding is not sufficient to yield hypervalent phosphorus or sulfur atoms, respectively. However, for the highly covalent Cl-O bond, most bonding indicators imply a hypervalent chlorine atom.

Disulfuryl Dichloride ClSO2 OSO2 Cl: 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.

Quantum Crystallography: Current Developments and Future Perspectives

Crystallography and quantum mechanics have always been tightly connected because reliable quantum mechanical models are needed to determine crystal structures. Due to this natural synergy, nowadays accurate distributions of electrons in space can be obtained from diffraction and scattering experiments. In the original definition of quantum crystallography (QCr) given by Massa, Karle and Huang, direct extraction of wavefunctions or density matrices from measured intensities of reflections or, conversely, ad hoc quantum mechanical calculations to enhance the accuracy of the crystallographic refinement are implicated. Nevertheless, many other active and emerging research areas involving quantum mechanics and scattering experiments are not covered by the original definition although they enable to observe and explain quantum phenomena as accurately and successfully as the original strategies. Therefore, we give an overview over current research that is related to a broader notion of QCr, and discuss options how QCr can evolve to become a complete and independent domain of natural sciences. The goal of this paper is to initiate discussions around QCr, but not to find a final definition of the field.

Synthesis and Characterization of Stable Phosphorus Carbabetaines

Phosphorus 1,3- and 1,4-carbabetaines with 'P(+)-C-C(-)' and 'P(+)-C-C-C(-)' structures, respectively, in which the carbanion moiety was significantly stabilized by two trifluoromethylsulfonyl groups, have been synthesized and characterized. Analysis of their X-ray crystal structures revealed that any attractive interactions between the anionic and cationic moieties were negligibly weak. This result was corroborated by using natural bond orbital (NBO) and Bader's quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) models. In contrast, performing the same analysis of a known 1,3-carbabetaine equivalent, which can be drawn as a 'P(+)-C-C=C-O(-)' resonance structure, revealed pronounced charge-transfer interactions between the anionic and cationic moieties.

Validation of X-ray Wavefunction Refinement

In this work, the quality of the electron density in crystals reconstructed by the multipolar model (MM) and by X-ray wavefunction refinement (XWR) is tested on a set of high-resolution X-ray diffraction data sets of four amino acids and six tripeptides. It results in the first thorough validation of XWR. Agreement statistics, figures of merit, residual- and deformation-density maps, as well as atomic displacement parameters are used to measure the quality of the reconstruction relative to the measured structure factors. Topological analysis of the reconstructed density is carried out to obtain atomic and bond-topological properties, which are subsequently compared to the values derived from benchmarking periodic DFT geometry optimizations. XWR is simultaneously in better agreement than the MM with both benchmarking theory and the measured diffraction pattern. In particular, the obvious problems with the description of polar bonds in the MM are significantly reduced by using XWR. Similarly, modeling of electron density in the vicinity of hydrogen atoms with XWR is visibly improved.

Aspherical-atom modeling of coordination compounds by single-crystal X-ray diffraction allows the correct metal atom to be identified

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) is often considered the gold standard in analytical chemistry, as it allows element identification as well as determination of atom connectivity and the solid-state structure of completely unknown samples. Element assignment is based on the number of electrons of an atom, so that a distinction of neighboring heavier elements in the periodic table by XRD is often difficult. A computationally efficient procedure for aspherical-atom least-squares refinement of conventional diffraction data of organometallic compounds is proposed. The iterative procedure is conceptually similar to Hirshfeld-atom refinement (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A- 2008, 64, 383-393; IUCrJ. 2014, 1,61-79), but it relies on tabulated invariom scattering factors (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. B- 2013, 69, 91-104) and the Hansen/Coppens multipole model; disordered structures can be handled as well. Five linear-coordinate 3d metal complexes, for which the wrong element is found if standard independent-atom model scattering factors are relied upon, are studied, and it is shown that only aspherical-atom scattering factors allow a reliable assignment. The influence of anomalous dispersion in identifying the correct element is investigated and discussed.