Enthalpy of formation and bond energies on unsaturated oxygenated hydrocarbons using G3MP2B3 calculation methods

Furan Fragmentation in the Gas Phase: New Insights from Statistical and Molecular Dynamics Calculations

We present a complete exploration of the different fragmentation mechanisms of furan (C₄H₄O) operating at low and high energies. Three different theoretical approaches are combined to determine the structure of all possible reaction intermediates, many of them not described in previous studies, and a large number of pathways involving three types of fundamental elementary mechanisms: isomerization, fragmentation, and H/H₂ loss processes (this last one was not yet explored). Our results are compared with the existing experimental and theoretical investigations for furan fragmentation. At low energies the first processes to appear are isomerization, which always implies the breaking of one C-O bond and one or several hydrogen transfers; at intermediate energies the fragmentation of the molecular skeleton becomes the most relevant mechanism; and H/H₂ loss is the dominant processes at high energy. However, the three mechanisms are active in very wide energy ranges and, therefore, at most energies there is a competition among them.

The C-H bond dissociation energy of furan: photoelectron spectroscopy of the furanide anion

Using photoelectron spectroscopy, we interrogate the cyclic furanide anion (C(4)H(3)O(-)) to determine the electron affinity and vibrational structure of the neutral furanyl radical and the term energy of its first excited electronic state. We present the 364-nm photoelectron spectrum of the furanide anion and measure the electron affinity of the X̃(2)A(') ground state of the α-furanyl radical to be 1.853(4) eV. A Franck-Condon analysis of the well-resolved spectrum allows determination of the harmonic frequencies of three of the most active vibrational modes upon X̃(2)A(') ← X̃(1)A(') photodetachment: 855(25), 1064(25), and 1307(40) cm(-1). These modes are ring deformation vibrations, consistent with the intuitive picture of furanide anion photodetachment, where the excess electron is strongly localized on the α-carbon atom. In addition, the Ã(2)A('') excited state of the α-furanyl radical is observed 0.68(7) eV higher in energy than the X̃(2)A(') ground state. Through a thermochemical cycle involving the known gas-phase acidity of furan, the electron affinity of the furanyl radical yields the first experimental determination of the C-H(α) bond dissociation energy of furan (DH(298)(C(4)H(3)O-H(α))): 119.8(2) kcal mol(-1).

Formation enthalpies and bond dissociation energies of alkylfurans. The strongest CX bonds known?

Enthalpies of formation, DeltaH(f)(298.15 K), of 2-methyl-, 3-methyl-, 2-ethyl-, 2-vinyl-, 2,3-dimethyl-, 2,4-dimethyl-, and 3,4-dimethylfurans are computed with three compound quantum chemical methods, CBS-QB3, CBS-APNO, and G3, via a number of isodesmic reactions. We show that previously experimentally determined enthalpies of formation of furan itself, 2,5-dimethyl-, 2-tert-butyl-, and 2,5-di-tert-butylfurans are self-consistent but that for 2-vinylfuran is most probably in error. The formation enthalpies of over 20 furyl and furfuryl radicals have also been determined and consequently the bond dissociation energies of a number of C-H, C-CH(3), C-F, C-Cl, and C-OH bonds. The ring-carbon-H bonds in alkylfurans are much stronger than previously thought and are among the strongest ever C-H bonds recorded exceeding 500 kJ mol(-1). The relative thermodynamic instability of the various furyl radicals means that bonds to methyl, fluorine, and chlorine are also unusually strong. This is as a consequence of the inability of the radical to effectively delocalize the unpaired electron and the geometrical inflexibility of the five-membered heterocyclic ring. By way of contrast the furfuryl radicals are more stable than similar benzyl radicals which results in weaker side-chain C-H bonds than the corresponding toluene derivatives (although stronger than the corresponding cyclopentadiene analogue). These results have implications for the construction of detailed chemical kinetic models to account for the thermal decomposition and oxidation of alkylfurans either in engines or in the atmosphere.

Substituent effects on the rearrangements of cyclohexyl to cyclopentyl radicals involving avermectin-related radicals

The rearrangement of a substituted cyclohexyl radical to a cyclopentylmethyl radical on the skeleton of avermectin B1 has been investigated using density functional (UB3LYP/6-31G(d)) and G3MP2B3 computational methods. The rearrangement is preferred when highly radical stabilizing groups are present at the 2- and 3-positions of the cyclohexyl radical. A substituent on the 3-position of the cyclohexyl radical enables ring-cleavage of the cyclohexyl radical, while a radical stabilizing substituent on the 2-position of the cyclohexyl radical stabilizes the final cyclopentylmethyl radical, enabling the overall rearrangement and reversing the normal thermodynamic preference for the hexenyl radical ring closure.

Comprehensive Experimental and Theoretical Study of Chemical Equilibria in the Reacting System of the tert-Amyl Methyl Ether Synthesis

The chemical equilibrium of the reactive system (methanol+isoamylenes<-->methyl tert-amyl ether) was studied in the temperature range 298-393 K in the liquid phase using the method of sealed ampoules as well as in the gaseous phase using a tubular flow reactor in the temperature range 355-378 K. In both cases, a cation exchanger Amberlist-15 was used as a heterogeneous catalyst. The reactive system of the methyl tert-amyl ether synthesis exhibits a strong nonideal behavior of the mixture compounds in the liquid phase. The knowledge of the activity coefficients is required in order to obtain the thermodynamic equilibrium constants Ka. Two well-established procedures, UNIFAC and COSMO-RS, have been used to assess activity coefficients of the reaction participants in the liquid phase. Thermodynamic equilibrium constants KP measured in the gaseous phase together with the vapor pressures of the pure compounds have been used to obtain Ka in the liquid phase on a consistent experimental basis in order to check the results obtained from the UNIFAC and COSMO-RS methods. Enthalpies of reactions DeltarH degrees of the methyl tert-amyl ether synthesis reaction in the gaseous and in the liquid phase were obtained from temperature dependences of the corresponding thermodynamic equilibrium constants. Consistency of the experimental data of DeltarH degrees was verified with help of enthalpies of formation and enthalpies of vaporization of methyl tert-amyl ether, methanol, and methyl-butenes, available from the literature. For the sake of comparison, high-level ab initio calculations of the reaction participants have been performed using the Gaussian-03 program package. Absolute electronic energy values, normal frequencies (harmonic approximation), and moments of inertia of the molecules have been obtained using G2(MP2), G3(MP2), and G3 levels. Using these results, calculated equilibrium constants and the enthalpy of reaction of the methyl tert-amyl ether synthesis in the gaseous phase based on the principles of statistical thermodynamics are found to be in acceptable agreement with the data obtained from the thermochemical measurements.

Computational Methods in Organic Thermochemistry. 1. Hydrocarbon Enthalpies and Free Energies of Formation

Standard state enthalpies and free energies of formation can be computed with reasonable accuracy (usually within 4 and often 2 kJ/mol) using high level model chemistries. A comparison set of nearly 300 organic compounds ranging from 1 to 10 carbon atoms having a variety of functional groups for which enthalpy and free energy literature values are available has been examined using G2, G2MP2, G3, G3MP2, G3B3, G3MP2B3, CBS-QB3, and density functional (B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)) model chemistries. G3 gives an average mean absolute deviation of 3.0 and 13.4 kJ/mol for the enthalpies and free energies, respectively, using the atomization method and 3.1 and 3.7 kJ/mol when bond separation reactions are employed. G3 and G3B3 are the most accurate overall; the related G3MP2 and G3MP2B3 are nearly as accurate and can compute larger molecules. CBS-QB3 was also found to be accurate but is more limited in the size of molecules that can be computed. The density functional energies were found to have large deviations from the literature values using either the atomization or the bond separation method. Regardless of the model employed, the free energies are increasingly underestimated by computation as the size of the molecule increases. A series of corrections applied to the aliphatic hydrocarbons is presented, which usually reduces the deviations to less than 4 kJ/mol regardless of the size of the molecule.

Quantum Chemical Study of the Structure and Thermochemistry of the Five-Membered Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles and Their Anions and Radicals

The nitrogen-containing heterocycles are of interest as high-energy-density materials for use as propellants and explosives, while the pyrolysis of these compounds is also important in understanding the evolution of unwanted NO and NO2 (NOx) from organic fuels such as coal and biomass. We have used ab initio and density functional methods to study the molecular structures and thermochemical properties of the five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocycles and their anions and radicals corresponding to respective heterolytic and homolytic loss of a hydrogen atom from either a nitrogen or carbon site. Many of these thermochemical properties have not previously been measured, especially for the heterocycles containing three and four nitrogen atoms. Using the theoretical methods CBS-APNO, G3, and G3B3, we calculate enthalpies of formation of 26.5, 42.4, 31.9, 63.7, 46.8, 81.0, and 79.0 kcal mol-1 for pyrrole, pyrazole, imidazole, 1,2,3-triazole, 1,2,4-triazole, 1H-tetrazole, and 2H-tetrazole. A correlation is developed between the number of nitrogen atoms in a heterocycle and its enthalpy, and we extrapolate this relationship to predict the enthalpy of formation of pentazole. N-H BDEs in the heterocycles typically increase with the number of nitrogen atoms in the molecule, while C-H BDEs are similar in all of the studied heterocycles, at around 120 kcal mol-1. In all cases the N-H BDEs are weaker than the C-H BDEs, suggesting abstraction of the N-H hydrogen atom is more likely. Deprotonation enthalpies and free energies reveal that the N-H protons become more acidic with increasing number of nitrogen atoms in the heterocycle. C-H protons are less acidic than N-H protons by ca. 49 kcal mol-1, or ca. 35 kcal mol-1 when adjacent to the NH group. Trends in N-H and C-H acidities can be qualitatively explained by electrostatic effects and electron affinities. From its use as a reference species in our calculations, we identify that the experimental enthalpy of pyrimidine (1,3-diazine) may be in error by ca. 1-3 kcal mol-1, and we recommend an enthalpy of formation of 44.8 +/- 1.0 kcal mol-1.