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Jin B, Yuan C, Guo JC, Wu YB. CBe 4H 6: a molecular rotor with a built-in on-off switch. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:4778-4786. [PMID: 38305072 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr05695c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
It is highly challenging to control (stop and resume as needed) molecular rotors because their intramolecular rotations are electronically enabled by delocalized σ bonding, and the desired control needs to be able to destroy and restore such σ bonding, which usually means difficult chemical manipulation (substitution or doping atom). In this work, we report CBe4H6, a molecular rotor that can be controlled independently of chemical manipulation. This molecule exhibited the uninterrupted free rotation of Be and H atoms around the central carbon in first-principles molecular dynamics simulations at high temperatures (600 and 1000 K), but the rotation cannot be witnessed in the simulation at room temperature (298 K). Specifically, when a C-H bond in the CBe4H6 molecule adopts the equatorial configuration at 298 K, it destroys the central delocalized σ bonding and blocks the intramolecular rotation (the rotor is turned "OFF"); when it can adopt the axial configuration at 600 and 1000 K, the central delocalized σ bonding can be restored and the intramolecular rotation can be resumed (the rotor is turned "ON"). Neutral CBe4H6 is thermodynamically favorable and electronically stable, as reflected by a wide HOMO-LUMO gap of 7.99 eV, a high vertical detachment energy of 9.79 eV, and a positive electron affinity of 0.24 eV, so it may be stable enough for the synthesis, not only in the gas phase, but also in the condensed phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Jin
- Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage of Shanxi Province, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China
- Department of Chemistry, Xinzhou Normal University, 1 East Dunqi Street, Xinzhou, Shanxi, 034000, People's Republic of China
| | - Caixia Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage of Shanxi Province, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin-Chang Guo
- Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage of Shanxi Province, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan-Bo Wu
- Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage of Shanxi Province, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People's Republic of China
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Jin B, Wang ZR, Wu YB. Tetracoordinate or tricoordinate? Planar tetracoordinate nitrogen in the NBe4H4- cluster stabilized by multicenter bonds. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:054304. [PMID: 38341688 DOI: 10.1063/5.0188035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Realization of planar tetracoordinate arrangements of nitrogen atoms is challenging because their preference for localized bonding (caused by its high electronegativity) makes them typically tricoordinate. This is especially true for the more electronegative oxygen atoms. Herein, we computationally designed two clusters NBe4H4- and OBe4H4; they contain a planar tetracoordinate nitrogen (ptN) and planar tetracoordinate oxygen (ptO) atom, respectively. Remarkably, the former is a dynamically stable global minimum, while the latter is not. The bonding analysis proves that planar tetracoordination in NBe4H4- favors over tricoordination because of the presence of multicenter delocalized bonds. In contrast, the planar tricoordination dominates due to its weak delocalized bonding ability of oxygen in the OBe4H4 cluster. Moreover, the 6σ/2π double aromaticity due to multicenter delocalized bonds allows the NBe4H4- cluster to obtain additional stability. This cluster is a promising synthetic due its dynamic and thermodynamic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Jin
- Department of Chemistry, Xinzhou Normal University, 1 East Dunqi Street, Xinzhou 034000, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zai-Ran Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Xinzhou Normal University, 1 East Dunqi Street, Xinzhou 034000, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
- Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan-Bo Wu
- Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
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