Liquid Hydrogen Fluoride with an Excess Proton: Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study of a Superacid

Supermetal: SbF5-mediated methane oxidation occurs by C-H activation and isobutane oxidation occurs by hydride transfer

Sb^VF₅ is generally assumed to oxidize methane through a methanium-to-methyl cation mechanism. However, experimentally no H₂ is observed, and the mechanism of methane oxidation has remained unsolved for several decades. To solve this problem, density functional theory calculations with multiple chemical models (mononuclear and dinuclear) were used to examine methane oxidation by Sb^VF₅ in the presence of CO leading to the methyl acylium cation ([CH₃CO]⁺). While there is a low barrier for methane protonation by [Sb^VF₆]^-[H]⁺ (the combination of Sb^VF₅ and HF) to give the [Sb^VF₅]^-[CH₅]⁺ ion pair, H₂ dissociation is a relatively high energy process, even with CO assistance, and so this protonation pathway is reversible. While Sb-mediated hydride transfer has a reasonable barrier, the C-H activation/σ-bond metathesis mechanism with the formation of an Sb^V-Me intermediate is lower in energy. This pathway leads to the acylium cation by functionalization of the Sb^V-Me intermediate with CO and is consistent with no observation of H₂. Because this C-H activation/metal-alkyl functionalization pathway is higher in energy than methane protonation, it is also consistent with the experimentally observed methane hydrogen-to-deuterium exchange. This is the first time that evidence is presented demonstrating that Sb^VF₅ acts beyond a Bronsted superacid and involves C-H activation with an organometallic intermediate. In contrast to methane, due to the much lower carbocation hydride affinity, isobutane significantly favors hydride transfer to give the tert-butyl carbocation with concomitant Sb^V to Sb^III reduction. In this mechanism, the resulting highly acidic Sb^V-H intermediate provides a route to H₂ through protonation of isobutane, which is consistent with experiments and resolves the longstanding enigma of different experimental results for methane versus isobutane.

Cationic polycyclization of ynamides: building up molecular complexity

Polycyclization reactions are among the most efficient synthetic tools for the synthesis of complex, polycyclic molecules in a single operation from simple starting materials. We report in this manuscript a full account on the discovery and development of a novel cationic polycyclization from readily available ynamides. Simple activation of these building blocks under acidic conditions enables the generation of highly reactive activated keteniminium ions, which triggers an unprecedented cationic polycyclization yielding highly substituted polycyclic nitrogen heterocycles possessing up to seven fused cycles and three contiguous stereocenters.

Aqueous solutions: state of the art in ab initio molecular dynamics

The simulation of liquids by ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) has been a subject of intense activity over the last two decades. The significant increase in computational resources as well as the development of new and efficient algorithms has elevated this method to the status of a standard quantum mechanical tool that is used by both experimentalists and theoreticians. As AIMD computes the electronic structure from first principles, it is free of ad hoc parametrizations and has thus been applied to a large variety of physical and chemical problems. In particular, AIMD has provided microscopic insight into the structural and dynamical properties of aqueous solutions which are often challenging to probe experimentally. In this review, after a brief theoretical description of the Born-Oppenheimer and Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics formalisms, we show how AIMD has enhanced our understanding of the properties of liquid water and its constituent ions: the proton and the hydroxide ion. Thereafter, a broad overview of the application of AIMD to other aqueous systems, such as solvated organic molecules and inorganic ions, is presented. We also briefly describe the latest theoretical developments made in AIMD, such as methods for enhanced sampling and the inclusion of nuclear quantum effects.

A polarizable multistate empirical valence bond model for proton transport in aqueous solution

A multistate empirical valence bond model for proton transport in water, which explicitly includes solvent polarization, is presented. Polarization is included for each valence-bond state via induced point dipoles, and the model is parametrized to be used with an effective path integral derived potential surface, so as to include quantum effects of the transferring proton. The new model is shown to reproduce ab initio geometries and energetics for small protonated clusters. It is also shown that the new model gives a diffusion constant for the excess proton in water, which is in good agreement with experiment, and that the qualitative features of ab initio path integral simulations [D. Marx, M. E. Tuckerman, J. Hutter, and M. Parrinello, Nature (London) 397, 601 (1999)] are well reproduced.

Nuclear Quantum Effects and Hydrogen Bonding in Liquids

We have employed ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the role of nuclear quantum effects on the strength of hydrogen bonds in liquid hydrogen fluoride. Nuclear quantum effects are shown to be responsible for a stronger hydrogen bond and an enhanced dipole-dipole interaction, which lead, in turn, to a shortening of the H...F intrachain distance. The simulation results are analyzed in terms of the electronic density shifts with respect to a purely classical treatment of the nuclei. The observed enhanced hydrogen-bond interaction, which arises from a coupling of intra- and intermolecular effects, should be a general phenomenon occurring in all hydrogen-bonded systems.

Ab initio molecular dynamics with density functional theory

Recent applications of density functional theory base ab initio molecular dynamics in chemical relevant systems are reviewed. The emphasis is on the dynamical aspect in the study of structures, reaction mechanisms, and electronic properties in both the molecular and condensed phases. Examples were chosen from fluxional molecules, solution reactions, and biological systems to illustrate the broad potential applications and unique information that can be obtained from ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Recent advances in the development of efficient numerical algorithms for the prediction of spectroscopic properties are highlighted.