Differences in the Abilities to Mechanically Eliminate Activation Energies for Unimolecular and Bimolecular Reactions

Dissociation Without Detonation: A DFT Analysis of the Thermally Induced Fragmentation of Binary Sulfur-Nitrogen Rings and Cages

Potential thermal dissociation pathways available to binary sulfur nitrides have been explored by density functional theory methods, and the results interpreted in terms of their known thermochemical behavior. The cyclic cation/anion pair S3N3± both undergo concerted (4 + 2) cycloreversions to afford the 3-membered thiadiazirine ring c-NSN and, respectively, the SNS± cation/anions. A similar pathway has been identified for S4N2, leading to S3 and c-NSN. More complex multistep routes for the elimination of c-NSN have been identified for the bicyclic cation/anion pair S4N5±, as well as for the neutral cage structures S4N4 and S5N6. For the S4N5+ cation a transition state for competing skeletal scrambling via a 1,3-nitrogen σ-bond shift has been located. For the multiply charged cations S3N22+ and S4N42+, dissociation mechanisms are driven by charge repulsion effects, affording SNS+/SN+ and S3N3+/SN+ respectively. Channels leading to loss of NS+ from the cyclic cation species S4N3+ and S5N5+ have also been examined, and the possible role of open-chain and cyclic S3N2-based intermediates in the formation of S2N2 during the thermal cracking of S4N4 over silver wool is explored.

Experimental and theoretical elucidation of SPAAC kinetics for strained alkyne-containing cycloparaphenylenes

Tuning strained alkyne reactivity via organic synthesis has evolved into a burgeoning field of study largely focused on cyclooctyne, wherein physical organic chemistry helps guide rational molecular design to produce molecules with intriguing properties. Concurrent research in the field of carbon nanomaterials has produced new types of strained alkyne macrocycles, such as cycloparaphenyleneacetylenes, that possess uniquely curved aromatic π systems but hover on the edge of stability. In 2018, we introduced a strained alkyne scaffold that marries the synthetic accessibility and stability of cyclooctyne with the curved π system of carbon nanomaterials. These molecules are strained alkyne-containing cycloparaphenylenes (or [n+1]CPPs), which have been shown to possess size-dependent reactivity as well as the classic characteristics of the unfunctionalized parent CPP, such as a tunable HOMO-LUMO gap and bright fluorescence for large sizes. Herein, we elaborate further on this scaffold, introducing two modifications to the original design and fully characterizing the kinetics of the strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) for each [n+1]CPP with a model azide. Additionally, we explain how electronic (the incorporation of fluorine atoms) and strain (a meta linkage which heightens local strain at the alkyne) modulations affect SPAAC reactivity via the distortion-interaction computational model. Altogether, these results indicate that through a modular synthesis and rational chemical design, we have developed a new family of tunable and inherently fluorescent strained alkyne carbon nanomaterials.

Theoretical simulation of the infrared signature of mechanically stressed polymer solids

Mechanical stress leads to deformation of strands in polymer solids, including elongation of covalent bonds and widening of bond angles, which changes the infrared spectrum. Here, the infrared spectrum of solid polymer samples exposed to mechanical stress is simulated by density functional theory calculations. Mechanical stress is described with the external force explicitly included (EFEI) method. The uneven distribution of the external stress on individual polymer strands is accounted for by a convolution of simulated spectra with a realistic force distribution. N-Propylpropanamide and propyl propanoate are chosen as model molecules for polyamide and polyester, respectively. The effect of a specific force on the polymer backbone is a redshift of vibrational modes involving the C-N and C-O bonds in the backbone, while the free C-O stretching mode perpendicular to the backbone is largely unaffected. The convolution with a realistic force distribution shows that the dominant effect on the strongest infrared bands is not a shift of the peak position, but rather peak broadening and a characteristic change in the relative intensities of the strongest bands, which may serve for the identification and quantification of mechanical stress in polymer solids.

Analysis of the Acting Forces in a Theory of Catalysis and Mechanochemistry

The theoretical description of a chemical process resulting from the application of mechanical or catalytical stress to a molecule is performed by the generation of an effective potential energy surface (PES). Changes for minima and saddle points by the stress are described by Newton trajectories (NTs) on the original PES. From the analysis of the acting forces we postulate the existence of pulling corridors built by families of NTs that connect the same stationary points. For different exit saddles of different height we discuss the corresponding pulling corridors; mainly by simple two-dimensional surface models. If there are different exit saddles then there can exist saddles of index two, at least, between. Then the case that a full pulling corridor crosses a saddle of index two is the normal case. It leads to an intrinsic hysteresis of such pullings for the forward or the backward reaction. Assuming such relations we can explain some results in the literature. A new finding is the existence of roundabout corridors that can switch between different saddle points by a reversion of the direction. The findings concern the mechanochemistry of molecular systems under a mechanical load as well as the electrostatic force and can be extended to catalytic and enzymatic accelerated reactions. The basic and ground ansatz includes both kinds of forces in a natural way without an extra modification.