Solvent Effects on Internal Rotational Barriers in Furfural. NMR Measurements and ab-Initio Molecular Orbital Methods Using Continuum Models

Infrared spectroscopic measurements of the structure of organic thin films; furfural on Pd(111) and Au(111) surfaces

This work demonstrates the use of reflection–adsorption infrared spectroscopy for continually monitoring the structure of organic thin films as a function of thickness and temperature to complement diffraction methods.

Probing Intramolecular Interaction of Stereoisomers Using Computational Spectroscopy

Several model stereoisomers such as ferrocene (Fc), methoxyphenol, and furfural conformers are discussed. It was discovered that the Fc IR spectroscopic band(s) below 500cm−1 serve as fingerprints for eclipsed (splitting 17 (471–488)cm−1) and staggered Fc (splitting is ~2 (459–461)cm−1) in the gas phase. It is revealed that in the gas phase the dominance of the eclipsed Fc (D5h) at very low temperatures changes to a mixture of both eclipsed and staggered Fc when the temperature increases. However, in solvents such as CCl4, eclipsed Fc dominates at room temperature (300K) due to the additional solvation energy. Intramolecular interactions of organic model compounds such as methoxyphenols (guaiacol (GUA) and mequinol (MEQ)) and furfural, ionization energies such as the carbon 1s (core C1s), as well as valence binding energy spectra serve this purpose well. Hydrogen bonding alters the C1s binding energies of the methoxy carbon (C(7)) of anti-syn and anti-gauche conformers of GUA to 292.65 and 291.91eV, respectively. The trans and cis MEQ conformers, on the other hand, are nearly energy degenerate, whereas their dipole moments are significantly different: 2.66 Debye for cis and 0.63 Debye for trans-MEQ. Moreover, it is found that rotation around the Cring–OH and the Cring–OCH3 bonds differ in energy barrier height by ~0.50 kcal⋅mol−1. The Dyson orbital momentum profiles of the most different ionic states, 25a′ (0.35eV) and 3a′ (−0.33eV), between cis and trans-MEQ in outer valence space (which is measurable using electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS)), exhibit quantitative differences. Finally, the molecular switch from trans and cis-furfural engages with a small energy difference of 0.74 kcal mol−1, however, at the calculated C(3)(–H⋅⋅⋅O=C) site the C1s binding energy difference is 0.105eV (2.42 kcal mol−1) and the NMR chemical shift of the same carbon site is also significant; 7.58ppm from cis-furfural without hydrogen bonding.

Theoretical model of internal rotation in monosubstituted derivatives of furfural

The present work explores the effect of substitution in all free positions of furfural on conformational preferences of formyl group by using ab-initio calculations at the MP2/6-31G(p,d) level of theory. Theoretical modeling was made in vacuo. The selected substituents were -CH(3), NH(2), NO(2) and F groups in 3, 4, 5 and ipso carbonyl positions. Geometries of all derivatives were analyzed and it is ascertained that substitution has not important consequences on furan ring geometry. Differences of energy between OO-cis and trans conformers and energy barriers between them are described and extreme cases are explained. Interesting features appear in the cases of -NH(2) and -NO(2) groups, and particularly when the 3 and ipso carbonyl positions are substituted. Variations in energy barriers are correlated with variations in C2-C6 distances for the transition states and planar forms. Substitution effect on Mülliken charges are analyzed and related with internal rotation energy barriers and differences between conformers.

Solvent dependence of rotational energetics and formyl-proton long-range spin-spin coupling behavior of 2,6-dichloro- and 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehydes using dipolar couplings and temperature dependence of long-range couplings

The formyl rotational energetics, solvent effects on the energetics and formyl-proton spin-spin coupling behavior of 2,6-dichlorobenzaldehyde were studied by using dipolar couplings analysis and the temperature dependence of the spin-spin couplings. The general form of the rotational potential was taken from molecular mechanics and the conjugative sin2 Θ-type component (where Θ is the formyl-ring dihedral angle) was then optimized using the dipolar couplings obtained by analyzing 1H NMR and 13C proton satellite spectra in a liquid crystal solvent. The optimization based on the dipolar couplings gave the following rotational free energy potential: V(Θ) = 4.5 cos6 Θ + 10.7 (± 2.0) sin2 Θ, in kJ/mol. The analysis based on the temperature dependence of 6J data allowed estimation of solvent effects on the potential. For example, the potentials in acetone and in acetonitrile differ by a 1.0 sin2 2Θ (in kJ/mol). The chloroform solvent effect can be described by term of -1.0 cos6 Θ. When the formyl-proton six-bond coupling data was fit, assuming it obeyed the expression 6J(Θ) = 6J90 sin2 Θ + 6J0 and assuming 6J0 = 0.015 Hz, the analysis yielded 6J90 of -0.48 (± 0.03) Hz. The scalar coupling temperature dependence method was applied also to the conformational analysis of 2,6-dinitrobenzaldehyde.Key words: spin-spin coupling, dipolar coupling, solvent effect, rotational barrier, benzaldehyde.