High-Pressure Studies of 1,3,5,7-Cyclooctatetraene: Experiment and Theory

Review of Applications of Density Functional Theory (DFT) Quantum Mechanical Calculations to Study the High-Pressure Polymorphs of Organic Crystalline Materials

Since its inception, chemistry has been predominated by the use of temperature to generate or change materials, but applications of pressure of more than a few tens of atmospheres for such purposes have been rarely observed. However, pressure is a very effective thermodynamic variable that is increasingly used to generate new materials or alter the properties of existing ones. As computational approaches designed to simulate the solid state are normally tuned using structural data at ambient pressure, applying them to high-pressure issues is a highly challenging test of their validity from a computational standpoint. However, the use of quantum chemical calculations, typically at the level of density functional theory (DFT), has repeatedly been shown to be a great tool that can be used to both predict properties that can be later confirmed by experimenters and to explain, at the molecular level, the observations of high-pressure experiments. This article's main goal is to compile, analyze, and synthesize the findings of works addressing the use of DFT in the context of molecular crystals subjected to high-pressure conditions in order to give a general overview of the possibilities offered by these state-of-the-art calculations.

Gas-Phase Formation of 1,3,5,7-Cyclooctatetraene (C8H8) through Ring Expansion via the Aromatic 1,3,5-Cyclooctatrien-7-yl Radical (C8H9•) Transient

Gas-phase 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene (C₈H₈) and triplet aromatic 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene (C₈H₈) were formed for the first time through bimolecular methylidyne radical (CH)-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (C₇H₈) reactions under single-collision conditions on a doublet surface. The reaction involves methylidyne radical addition to the olefinic π electron system of 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene followed by isomerization and ring expansion to an aromatic 1,3,5-cyclooctatrien-7-yl radical (C₈H₉^•). The chemically activated doublet radical intermediate undergoes unimolecular decomposition to 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene. Substituted 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene molecules can be prepared in the gas phase with hydrogen atom(s) in the 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene reactant being replaced by organic side groups. These findings are also of potential interest to organometallic chemists by expanding the synthesis of exotic transition-metal complexes incorporating substituted 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene dianion (C₈H₈^2-) ligands and to untangle the unimolecular decomposition of chemically activated and substituted 1,3,5-cyclooctatrien-7-yl radical, eventually gaining a fundamental insight of their bonding chemistry, electronic structures, and stabilities.

The electronically excited states of cyclooctatetraene-An analysis of the vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectrum by ab initio configuration interaction methods

A new synchrotron-based study of the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) absorption spectrum for cyclooctatetraene (COT) shows a series of broad peaks. A significant sharp structure was extracted from the strongest band between 5.9 and 6.3 eV by fitting this range of the spectrum to a polynomial; the regular residuals show a set of sharp peaks. Comparison of this region of the VUV with the photoelectron spectrum demonstrates the presence of several Rydberg states, all based on the lowest observed ionization energy ionic state. The UV onset contains a broad band in the range 4.0 eV-5.3 eV. Theoretical vertical excitation energies, determined by configuration interaction (CI) studies at the multireference multiroot singles and doubles CI level, enabled interpretation of the principal absorption bands of the VUV spectrum. Adiabatic excitation energies (AEEs) for several singlet and triplet valence states (V) were evaluated by multiconfiguration self-consistent field methods. Theoretical Rydberg series AEEs were obtained by use of extremely diffuse Gaussian orbitals in highly correlated wave-functions. The second moments of the charge distribution identify which roots are valence or Rydberg states. A contrast was found between some density functional methods and Hartree-Fock (HF) wave-functions during single-excitation CI, when degenerate orbitals were involved in the leading configurations. The 7a₁6e^* state contained the expected 8-membered ring in the density functional theory calculations. The HF wave-functions led to a 1,5-cross-ring interaction which converged on a singlet excited state of a bicyclo[3,3,0]octatriene; this is reminiscent of the photochemical conversion of COT to semibullvalene.

The ionic states of cyclooctatetraene: Analysis of a new experimental photoelectron spectrum by ab initio and density functional methods

A synchrotron-based study of the photoelectron spectrum (PES) for cyclooctatetraene (COT) is reported, and this has been subjected to theoretical analysis in unprecedented detail. Weak vibrational structure was observed on the lowest ionization energy (IE₁), but the peaks generally show very broad features. Multiconfiguration self-consistent field study confirms that the adiabatic IE (AIE) sequence is 1²A₁ < 1²B₁ < 2²A₁ < 1²A₂ < 2²B₁ < 3²A₁. The Tamm-Dancoff approximation gives an acceptable interpretation of the PES below 20 eV. Vibrational analysis of the PES bands by Franck-Condon methods predicts well-defined vibrational structure for these ionic states. The principal contributors to the PES envelopes are the a₁ modes, and only a few are responsible for the overall shape of most bands. The high density of vibrational states, together with the known D_2d ⇆ D_2d interconversion process, where the C=C and C-C bonds interchange, is attributed to the lack of the observed structure. The transition state (TS) structures for the interconversion above of several ionic states of COT have been elucidated. The intrinsic reaction coordinate procedure gave a planar TS for the X¹A₁ (D_2d) ⇆ ¹A_1g (D_4h) ⇆ X¹A₁ (D_2d) process; this shows alternating C-C (1.4791 Å), C=C (1.3261 Å), and C-H (1.0780 Å) bond lengths. The planar TS is a very shallow maximum, with energy varying with the method used, Hartree-Fock 0.575 eV and second order Møller-Plesset 0.653 eV. A polynomial containing quadratic, quartic, and sextic terms gives an effectively exact fit to the surface. The lowest ionic state of COT (X²A₁) shows a similar TS for the process X²A₁ (D_2d) ⇆ ²B_2u (D_4h). This structure has alternating C-C (1.4366 Å), C=C (1.3572 Å), and C-H (1.0756 Å) bonds.

Hexafluorobenzene under Extreme Conditions

We report the results from three high pressure experiments on hexafluorobenzene (C6F6). In the first experiment, Raman spectra were recorded up to 34.4 GPa. A phase transition from I → II was observed near 2 GPa. Near 8.8 GPa, a phase transition to an unreported phase (III) commenced. Above 20.6 GPa, yet another phase was observed (IV). Pressure cycling was employed to determine that, below 25.6 GPa, all pressure-induced alterations were reversible. However, at pressures above 20 GPa, dramatic spectral changes and broadening were observed at 25.6 and 34.4 GPa. The sample irreversibly changed into a soft solid with waxlike consistency when pressure was reduced to ambient and was recoverable. In the second experiment, IR spectra were collected up to 14.6 GPa. The phase transition (II → III) near 8.8 GPa was confirmed. An angular dispersive X-ray diffraction experiment was conducted to 25.6 GPa. Phase transitions above 1.4 GPa (I → II), above 5.5 GPa (II → III), above 10 GPa (III → IV), and above 15.5 GPa (IV → V) were observed. Near 25.6 GPa, long-range crystalline order was lost as the X-ray diffraction spectrum presented evidence of an amorphous solid.

Structural properties and halogen bonds of cyanuric chloride under high pressure

The effects of high pressure on cyanuric chloride (C(3)N(3)Cl(3)), a remarkable crystal structure dominated by halogen bonds, have been studied by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy in a diamond anvil cell. The results of high pressure experiments revealed that there was no obvious phase transition up to 30 GPa, indicating that halogen bonding is an effective noncovalent interaction to stabilize the crystal structure. Moreover, cyanuric chloride exhibited a high compressibility and a strong anisotropic compression, which can be explained by the layered crystal packing. Ab initio calculations were also performed to account for the high pressure Raman spectra and the high pressure behavior of halogen bonding.