Crossed-Molecular-Beam Study on the Formation of Phenylacetylene from Phenyl Radicals and Acetylene

The elusive phenylethynyl radical and its cation: synthesis, electronic structure, and reactivity

Alkynyl radicals and cations are crucial reactive intermediates in chemistry, but often evade direct detection. Herein, we report the direct observation of the phenylethynyl radical (C6H5CC˙) and its cation (C6H5CC+), which are two of the most reactive intermediates in organic chemistry. The radical is generated via pyrolysis of (bromoethynyl)benzene at temperatures above 1500 K and is characterized by photoion mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectroscopy (ms-TPES). Photoionization of the phenylethynyl radical yields the phenylethynyl cation, which has never been synthesized due to its extreme electrophilicity. Vibrationally-resolved ms-TPES assisted by ab initio calculations unveiled the complex electronic structure of the phenylethynyl cation, which appears at an adiabatic ionization energy (AIE) of 8.90 ± 0.05 eV and exhibits an uncommon triplet (3B1) ground state, while the closed-shell singlet (1A1) state lies just 2.8 kcal mol-1 (0.12 eV) higher in energy. The reactive phenylethynyl radical abstracts hydrogen to form ethynylbenzene (C6H5CCH) but also isomerizes via H-shift to the o-, m-, and p-ethynylphenyl isomers (C6H4CCH). These radicals are very reactive and undergo ring-opening followed by H-loss to form a mixture of C8H4 triynes, along with low yields of cyclic 3- and 4-ethynylbenzynes (C6H3CCH). At higher temperatures, dehydrogenation from the unbranched C8H4 triynes forms the linear tetraacetylene (C8H2), an astrochemically relevant polyyne.

Reaction mechanisms of C(3PJ) and C+(2PJ) with benzene in the interstellar medium from quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulations

While spectroscopic data on small hydrocarbons in interstellar media in combination with crossed molecular beam (CMB) experiments have provided a wealth of information on astrochemically relevant species, much of the underlying mechanistic pathways of their formation remain elusive. Therefore, in this work, the chemical reaction mechanisms of C(3PJ) + C6H6 and C+(2P) + C6H6 systems using the quantum mechanical molecular dynamics (QMMD) technique at the PBE0-D3(BJ) level of theory is investigated, mimicking a CMB experiment. Both the dynamics of the reactions as well as the electronic structure for the purpose of the reaction network are evaluated. The method is validated for the first reaction by comparison to the available experimental data. The reaction scheme for the C(3PJ) + C6H6 system covers the literature data, e.g. the major products are the 1,2-didehydrocycloheptatrienyl radical (C7H5) and benzocyclopropenyl radical (C6H5-CH), and it reveals the existence of less common pathways for the first time. The chemistry of the C+(2PJ) + C6H6 system is found to be much richer, and we have found that this is because of more exothermic reactions in this system in comparison to those in the C(3PJ) + C6H6 system. Moreover, using the QMMD simulation, a number of reaction paths have been revealed that produce three distinct classes of reaction products with different ring sizes. All in all, at all the collision energies and orientations, the major product is the heptagon molecular ion for the ionic system. It is also revealed that the collision orientation has a dominant effect on the reaction products in both systems, while the collision energy mostly affects the charged system. These simulations both prove the applicability of this approach to simulate crossed molecular beams, and provide fundamental information on reactions relevant for the interstellar medium.

Boron-Mediated Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage and Rearrangement of Benzene Forming the Borepinyl Radical and Borole Derivatives

The reaction of atomic boron with benzene in solid neon has been investigated by matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy with isotopic substitutions as well as quantum chemical calculations. The reaction is initiated by boron atom addition to benzene in forming an η²-(1, 4) π adduct (A). A borepinyl radical (B) formed by C-C bond insertion is also observed on annealing. The η²-(1,4) π adduct photoisomerizes to an unprecedented borole substituted vinyl radical intermediate (C) via ring-opening and rearrangement reactions involving an antiaromatic borole subunit. A previously unconsidered 1-ethynyl-2-dihydro-1H-borole radical (D) is generated as the final product under UV light irradiation. The results presented herein give new insight into the benzene carbon-carbon bond cleavage and rearrangement reactions mediated by a nonmetal and provide a possible route for the construction of heterocyclic borepinyl and borole species via benzene ring opening and rearrangement reactions.

Off the Beaten Path: Almost Clean Formation of Indene from the ortho-Benzyne + Allyl Reaction

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) play an important role in chemistry both in the terrestrial setting and in the interstellar medium. Various, albeit often inefficient, chemical mechanisms have been proposed to explain PAH formation, but few yield polycyclic hydrocarbons cleanly. Alternative and quite promising pathways have been suggested to address these shortcomings with key starting reactants including resonance stabilized radicals (RSRs) and o-benzyne. Here we report on a combined experimental and theoretical study of the reaction allyl + o-benzyne. Indene was found to be the primary product and statistical modeling predicts only 0.1% phenylallene and 0.1% 3-phenyl-1-propyne as side products. The quantitative and likely barrierless formation of indene yields important insights into the role resonance stabilized radicals play in the formation of polycyclic hydrocarbons.

Universal crossed beam imaging studies of polyatomic reaction dynamics

Crossed-beam imaging studies of polyatomic reactions show surprising dynamics not anticipated by extrapolation from smaller model systems.

A Barrierless Pathway Accessing the C9H9 and C9H8 Potential Energy Surfaces via the Elementary Reaction of Benzene with 1-Propynyl

The crossed molecular beams reactions of the 1-propynyl radical (CH₃CC; X²A₁) with benzene (C₆H₆; X¹A_1g) and D6-benzene (C₆D₆; X¹A_1g) were conducted to explore the formation of C₉H₈ isomers under single-collision conditions. The underlying reaction mechanisms were unravelled through the combination of the experimental data with electronic structure and statistical RRKM calculations. These data suggest the formation of 1-phenyl-1-propyne (C₆H₅CCCH₃) via the barrierless addition of 1-propynyl to benzene forming a low-lying doublet C₉H₉ intermediate that dissociates by hydrogen atom emission via a tight transition state. In accordance with our experiments, RRKM calculations predict that the thermodynamically most stable isomer – the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) indene – is not formed via this reaction. With all barriers lying below the energy of the reactants, this reaction is viable in the cold interstellar medium where several methyl-substituted molecules have been detected. Its underlying mechanism therefore advances our understanding of how methyl-substituted hydrocarbons can be formed under extreme conditions such as those found in the molecular cloud TMC-1. Implications for the chemistry of the 1-propynyl radical in astrophysical environments are also discussed.

Reactivity of the Indenyl Radical (C9 H7 ) with Acetylene (C2 H2 ) and Vinylacetylene (C4 H4 )

The reactions of the indenyl radicals with acetylene (C₂ H₂ ) and vinylacetylene (C₄ H₄ ) is studied in a hot chemical reactor coupled to synchrotron based vacuum ultraviolet ionization mass spectrometry. These experimental results are combined with theory to reveal that the resonantly stabilized and thermodynamically most stable 1-indenyl radical (C₉ H₇ ^. ) is always formed in the pyrolysis of 1-, 2-, 6-, and 7-bromoindenes at 1500 K. The 1-indenyl radical reacts with acetylene yielding 1-ethynylindene plus atomic hydrogen, rather than adding a second acetylene molecule and leading to ring closure and formation of fluorene as observed in other reaction mechanisms such as the hydrogen abstraction acetylene addition or hydrogen abstraction vinylacetylene addition pathways. While this reaction mechanism is analogous to the bimolecular reaction between the phenyl radical (C₆ H₅ ^. ) and acetylene forming phenylacetylene (C₆ H₅ CCH), the 1-indenyl+acetylene→1-ethynylindene+hydrogen reaction is highly endoergic (114 kJ mol^-1 ) and slow, contrary to the exoergic (-38 kJ mol^-1 ) and faster phenyl+acetylene→phenylacetylene+hydrogen reaction. In a similar manner, no ring closure leading to fluorene formation was observed in the reaction of 1-indenyl radical with vinylacetylene. These experimental results are explained through rate constant calculations based on theoretically derived potential energy surfaces.

A vacuum ultraviolet photoionization study on high-temperature decomposition of JP-10 (exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene)

High-temperature pyrolysis of JP-10 in flow reactors were performed both experimentally and theoretically. Dozens of products were detected and the decomposition pathways of JP-10 were discussed.

Role of hydrogen abstraction acetylene addition mechanisms in the formation of chlorinated naphthalenes. 1. A quantum chemical investigation

The addition of chloroacetylene or tetrachlorovinylacetylene to 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl radicals, leading to the formation of tetra-, penta-, and hexachloronaphthalene congeners, has been explored at the M06-2X/6-311+G(3df,3p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The accuracy of this method was justified by comparing the barriers of several pertinent reactions against energies from single point calculations at the B3LYP/cc-pVDZ, CCSD(T)/6-31G(d), and G2MS levels. Bittner-Howard and Frenklach hydrogen abstraction acetylene addition mechanisms were developed, as was a channel based on acetylene additions to chlorinated [4.2.0]octa-1,3,5-trien-7-yl congeners. While the latter channel exhibits relatively high C2HCl addition barriers and may be a minor growth channel at best, both the Bittner-Howard and Frenklach sequences appear facile. In all mechanisms, the additions of C2HCl leading to a β-chlorinated adduct is favored by ∼15 kJ mol(-1) relative to the α-chlorinated analogue, and the addition products typically access a variety of facile cyclization channels. The α-chlorinated product of C2HCl addition to 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl, however, undergoes a particularly rapid Cl-loss leading to 1-ethynyl-2,4,5-trichlorobenzene, effectively shutting down further growth. Generalization implies that α-chlorinated C6H5-CH═CH congeners do not participate in growth reactions. Addition of 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl to the C≡C bond of tetrachlorovinylacetylene and subsequent cyclization is found to be a facile route to hexachloronaphthalene formation and may be operative in fully chlorinated systems where the C6Cl5-CCl═CCl congeners cannot participate in the major growth processes.

Role of hydrogen abstraction acetylene addition mechanisms in the formation of chlorinated naphthalenes. 2. Kinetic modeling and the detailed mechanism of ring closure

The dominant formation mechanisms of chlorinated phenylacetylenes, naphthalenes, and phenylvinylacetylenes in relatively low pressure and temperature (∼40 Torr and 1000 K) pyrolysis systems are explored. Mechanism elucidation is achieved through a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques, the former employing a novel simplification of kinetic modeling which utilizes rate constants in a probabilistic framework. Contemporary formation schemes of the compounds of interest generally require successive additions of acetylene to phenyl radicals. As such, infrared laser powered homogeneous pyrolyses of dichloro- or trichloroethylene were perturbed with 1,2,4- or 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene. The resulting changes in product identities were compared with the major products expected from conventional pathways, aided by the results of our previous computational work. This analysis suggests that a Bittner-Howard growth mechanism, with a novel amendment to the conventional scheme made just prior to ring closure, describes the major products well. Expected products from a number of other potentially operative channels are shown to be incongruent with experiment, further supporting the role of Bittner-Howard channels as the unique pathway to naphthalene growth. A simple quantitative analysis which performs very well is achieved by considering the reaction scheme as a probability tree, with relative rate constants being cast as branching probabilities. This analysis describes all chlorinated phenylacetylene, naphthalene, and phenylvinylacetylene congeners. The scheme is then tested in a more general system, i.e., not enforcing a hydrogen abstraction/acetylene addition mechanism, by pyrolyzing mixtures of di- and trichloroethylene without the addition of an aromatic precursor. The model indicates that these mechanisms are still likely to be operative.

Hydrogen abstraction/acetylene addition revealed

For almost half a century, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been proposed to play a key role in the astrochemical evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and in the chemistry of combustion systems. However, even the most fundamental reaction mechanism assumed to lead to the simplest PAH naphthalene--the hydrogen abstraction-acetylene addition (HACA) mechanism--has eluded experimental observation. Here, by probing the phenylacetylene (C8 H6 ) intermediate together with naphthalene (C10 H8 ) under combustion-like conditions by photo-ionization mass spectrometry, the very first direct experimental evidence for the validity of the HACA mechanism which so far had only been speculated theoretically is reported.

Crossed molecular beam study on the formation of phenylacetylene and its relevance to Titan's atmosphere

The crossed molecular beam experiment of the deuterated ethynyl radical (C(2)D; X(2)Sigma(+)) with benzene [C(6)H(6)(X(1)A(1g))] and its fully deuterated analog [C(6)D(6)(X(1)A(1g))] was conducted at a collision energy of 58.1 kJ mol(-1). Our experimental data suggest the formation of the phenylacetylene-d(6) via indirect reactive scattering dynamics through a long-lived reaction intermediate; the reaction is initiated by a barrierless addition of the ethynyl-d(1) radical to benzene-d(6). This initial collision complex was found to decompose via a tight exit transition state located about 42 kJ mol(-1) above the separated products; here, the deuterium atom is ejected almost perpendicularly to the rotational plane of the decomposing intermediate and almost parallel to the total angular momentum vector. The overall experimental exoergicity of the reaction is shown to be 121 +/- 10 kJ mol(-1); this compares nicely with the computed reaction energy of -111 kJ mol(-1). Even though the experiment was conducted at a collisional energy higher than equivalent temperatures typically found in the atmosphere of Titan (94 K and higher), the reaction may proceed in Titan's atmosphere as it involves no entrance barrier, all transition states involved are below the energy of the separated reactants, and the reaction is exoergic. Further, the phenylacetylene was found to be the sole reaction product.

Reaction dynamics of phenyl radicals in extreme environments: a crossed molecular beam study

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)organic compounds that consist of fused benzene ringsand their hydrogen-deficient precursors have attracted extensive interest from combustion scientists, organic chemists, astronomers, and planetary scientists. On Earth, PAHs are toxic combustion products and a source of air pollution. In the interstellar medium, research suggests that PAHs play a role in unidentified infrared emission bands, diffuse interstellar bands, and the synthesis of precursor molecules to life. To build clean combustion devices and to understand the astrochemical evolution of the interstellar medium, it will be critical to understand the elementary reaction mechanisms under single collision conditions by which these molecules form in the gas phase. Until recently, this work had been hampered by the difficulty in preparing a large concentration of phenyl radicals, but the phenyl radical represents one of the most important radical species to trigger PAH formation in high-temperature environments. However, we have developed a method for producing these radical species and have undertaken a systematic experimental investigation. In this Account, we report on the chemical dynamics of the phenyl radical (C(6)H(5)) reactions with the unsaturated hydrocarbons acetylene (C(2)H(2)), ethylene (C(2)H(4)), methylacetylene (CH(3)CCH), allene (H(2)CCCH(2)), propylene (CH(3)CHCH(2)), and benzene (C(6)H(6)) utilizing the crossed molecular beams approach. For nonsymmetric reactants such as methylacetylene and propylene, steric effects and the larger cones of acceptance drive the addition of the phenyl radical to the nonsubstituted carbon atom of the hydrocarbon reactant. Reaction intermediates decomposed via atomic hydrogen loss pathways. In the phenyl-propylene system, the longer lifetime of the reaction intermediate yielded a more efficient energy randomization compared with the phenyl-methylacetylene system. Therefore, two reaction channels were open: hydrogen losses from the vinyl and from the methyl groups. All fragmentation pathways involved tight exit transition states. In the range of collision energies investigated, the reactions are dictated by phenyl radical addition-hydrogen atom elimination pathways. We did not observe ring closure processes with the benzene ring. Our investigations present an important step toward a systematic investigation of phenyl radical reactions under single collision conditions similar to those found in combustion flames and in high-temperature interstellar environments. Future experiments at lower collision energies may enhance the lifetimes of the reaction intermediates, which could open up competing ring closure channels to form bicyclic reaction products.