Rotational barrier and thermodynamical parameters of furfural, thiofurfural, and selenofurfural in the gas and solution phases: theoretical study based on density functional theory method

Proton-transfer rate constants for the determination of organic indoor air pollutants by online mass spectrometry

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has become an indispensable analytical tool for indoor related sciences. With high-resolution techniques not only is the online monitoring of the selected ions in the gas phase possible, but also, with some limitations, the identification of substance mixtures without chromatographic separation. The quantification is carried out with the help of kinetic laws, which require knowledge of the conditions in the reaction chamber, the reduced ion moblilities and the reaction rate constant k_PT under these conditions. Ion-dipole collision theory can be used to calculate k_PT. One approach is an extension of Langevin's equation and is known as average dipole orientation (ADO). In a further development, the analytical solution of ADO was replaced by trajectory analysis, which resulted in capture theory. The calculations according to ADO and capture theory require precise knowledge of the dipole moment and the polarizability of the respective target molecule. However, for many relevant indoor related substances, these data are insufficiently known or not known at all. Consequently, the dipole moment μ_D and polarizability α of 114 organic compounds that are frequently found in indoor air had to be determined using advanced quantum mechanical methods. This required the development of an automated workflow that performs conformer analysis before computing μ_D and α using density functional theory (DFT). Then the reaction rate constants with the H₃O⁺ ion are calculated according to the ADO theory (k_ADO), capture theory (k_cap) and advanced capture theory for different conditions in the reaction chamber. The kinetic parameters are evaluated with regard to their plausibility and critically discussed for their applicability in PTR-MS measurements.

Two-dimensional character of internal rotation of furfural and other five-member heterocyclic aromatic aldehydes

The features of nuclear motion corresponding to the rotation of the formyl group (CHO) are studied for the molecules of furfural and some other five-member heterocyclic aromatic aldehydes by the use of MP2/6-311G** quantum chemical approximation. It is demonstrated that the traditional one-dimensional models of internal rotation for the molecules studied have only limited applicability. The reason is the strong kinematic interaction of the rotation of the CHO group and out-of-plane CHO deformation that is realized for the molecules under consideration. The computational procedure based on the two-dimensional approximation is considered for low lying vibrational states as more adequate to the problem.

Quantum mechanical study of the syn-anti isomerisation of 2-tellurophenecarboaldehyde: vive la différence

The syn- and anti-conformers of 2-tellurophenecarboaldehyde are studied in the gas phase. A transition state is also modelled for the syn-anti isomerisation. Computations are done using different methods namely HF, DFT/B3LYP, MP2 and CCSD(T). The basis set used for all atoms is 6-311++G(d,p) except that LanL2DZ ECP is used for tellurium atom only. The optimised molecular structures and related structural parameters of these conformers are reported. The energy differences between the syn- and anti-conformers, associated rotational barriers and thermodynamic parameters are derived from the computations. The infrared frequencies of these conformers are also reported with appropriate assignments. This study is extended to include solvent effect and the conformers are fully optimised (DFT/B3LYP) using the integral equation formalism in the Polarisable Continuum model. In the gas phase, the theoretical rate constant for the unimolecular conversion, anti conformer to transition state, is reported for the first time; DFT/B3LYP (4.82×10(30) s(-1)) and MP2 (7.81×10(30) s(-1)). It is found that the structures are not much affected by the solvents but energy difference increases and rotational barrier decreases. The results indicate that there is a close agreement with the predictions from the different theoretical methods. The results obtained are critically analysed and compared with the furan, thiophene and selenophene analogues. A major factor affecting conformational preference and the mole fraction is the charge on the chalcogen heteroatom in the ring. An interesting outcome of this work is that in both the gas phase and solutions, the syn conformer is more stable and exists almost exclusively.