Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital interaction

Frontier Orbital theory supplies an additional assumption to this calculation. It considers only the interactions between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). These orbitals have the smallest energy separation, leading to a small denominator in the Klopman-Salem equation. The Frontier orbitals are generally diffuse, so the numerator in the equation has large terms. 

Dinitrogen has a dissociation energy of 941 kj/mol (225 kcal/mol) and an ionisation potential of 15.6 eV. Both values indicate that it is difficult to either cleave or oxidize N2. For reduction, electrons must be added to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of N2 at —7 eV. This occurs only in the presence of highly electropositive metals such as lithium. However, lithium also reacts with water. Thus, such highly energetic interactions ate unlikely to occur in the aqueous environment of the natural enzymic system. Even so, highly reducing systems have achieved some success in N2 reduction even in aqueous solvents. 

Now, examine the orbital on cyclohexanone lithium enolate most able to donate electrons. This is the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Identify where the best HOMO-electrophile overlap can occur. Is this also the most electron-rich site An electrophile will choose the best HOMO overlap site if it is not strongly affected by electrostatic effects, and if it contains a good electron-acceptor orbital (this is the lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital or LUMO). Examine the LUMO of methyl iodide and trimethylsilyl chloride. Is backside overlap likely to be successful for each The LUMO energies of methyl iodide and trimethylsilyl chloride are 0.11 and 0.21 au, respectively. Assuming that the lower the LUMO energy the more effective the interaction, which reaction, methylation or silylation, appears to be guided by favorable orbital interactions Explain. 

According to Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) theory, Diels-Alder reaction between an electron-rich diene and an electron-poor dienophile involves interaction between the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) on the diene and the lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) on the dienophile. The better the HOMO/LUMO overlap and the smaller their energy difference, the more favorable the interaction and the faster the reaction. 

Cycloaddition reactions are those in which two unsaturated molecules add together to yield a cyclic product. For example, Diels-AJder reaction between a diene (four tt electrons) and a dienophile (two tt electrons) yields a cyclohexene. Cycloadditions can take place either by suprafacial or antarafacial pathways. Suprafacial cycloaddition involves interaction between lobes on the same face of one component and on the same face of the second component. Antarafacial cycloaddition involves interaction between lobes on the same face of one component ancl on opposite faces of the other component. The reaction course in a specific case can be found by looking at the symmetry of the HOMO of one component and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the other component. 

Unsaturated organic molecules, such as ethylene, can be chemisorbed on transition metal surfaces in two ways, namely in -coordination or di-o coordination. As shown in Fig. 2.24, the n type of bonding of ethylene involves donation of electron density from the doubly occupied n orbital (which is o-symmetric with respect to the normal to the surface) to the metal ds-hybrid orbitals. Electron density is also backdonated from the px and dM metal orbitals into the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the ethylene molecule, which is the empty asymmetric 71 orbital. The corresponding overall interaction is relatively weak, thus the sp2 hybridization of the carbon atoms involved in the ethylene double bond is retained. 

According to frontier molecular orbital theory (FMO), the reactivity, regio-chemistry and stereochemistry of the Diels-Alder reaction are controlled by the suprafacial in phase interaction of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of one component and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the other. [17e, 41-43, 64] These orbitals are the closest in energy Scheme 1.14 illustrates the two dominant orbital interactions of a symmetry-allowed Diels-Alder cycloaddition. 

In more detail, the interaction energy between donor and acceptor is determined by the ionisation potential of the donor and the electron affinity of the acceptor. The interaction energy increases with lowering of the former and raising of the latter. In the Mulliken picture (Scheme 2) it refers to a raising of the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) and lowering of the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital). Alternatively to this picture donor-acceptor formation can be viewed in a Born-Haber cycle, within two different steps (Scheme 3). 

An unusual observation was noted when ethanolic solutions of 2-alkyl-4(5)-aminoimidazoles (25 R = alkyl) were allowed to react with diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate (62 R = H) [92JCS(P1)2789]. In addition to anticipated products (70), which were obtained in low yield ( 10%), the diimidazole derivatives (33 R = alkyl) were formed in ca.30% yield. The mechanism of formation of the diimidazole products (33) has been interpreted in terms of a reaction between the aminoimidazole (25) and its nitroimidazole precursor (27) during the reduction process. In particular, a soft-soft interaction between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the aminoimidazole (25) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the nitroimidazole (27) is favorable and probably leads to an intermediate, which on tautomerism, elimination of water, and further reduction, gives the observed products (33). The reactions of amino-imidazoles with hard and soft electrophiles is further discussed in Section VI,C. 

H2, N2, or CO dissociates on a surface, we need to take two orbitals of the molecule into account, the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (the HOMO and LUMO of the so-called frontier orbital concept). Let us take a simple case to start with the molecule A2 with occupied bonding level a and unoccupied anti-bonding level a. We use jellium as the substrate metal and discuss the chemisorption of A2 in the resonant level model. What happens is that the two levels broaden because of the rather weak interaction with the free electron cloud of the metal. 

Figure 1 shows the electron attachment energies (AE) and ionization potentials (IP) of silyl substituted 7t-systems and related compounds [4], AE can be correlated with the energy level of the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) and IP can be correlated with the energy level of the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital). For a-substituted 7t-systems, the introduction of a silyl group produces a decrease in the tc -(LUMO) level. This effect is attributed to the interaction between a low-lying silicon-based unoccupied orbital such as the empty d orbital of silicon and the it orbital (d -p interaction) as shown in Fig. 2. Recent investigations on these systems, however, indicate that d orbitals on silicon are not necessarily required for interpreting this effect a-effects of SiR3 can also be explained by the interaction between Si-R a orbitals and the 7r-system.

The mechanism of the Diels-Alder reaction involves a-overlap of the n-orbitals of two unsaturated systems. One molecule must donate electrons, from its highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the other. Also, the two interacting orbitals must have identical symmetry i.e. the phases of the terminal p-orbitals of each molecular orbital must match. There are two possible ways for this to happen the HOMO of the diene combining with the LUMO of the dienophile, and the LUMO of the diene with the HOMO of the dienophile (Figure 7.1). 

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