MO calculations methods

Scheme 3 Enantioisomerization process of F-1E calculated by AM-1 semiempi MO calculation method.

Scheme 4 Conformational isomers obtained by PM-3 MO calculation method and explanation of highly diastereoselective photochemical cyclization of F-3 and F-4.

Here the partial expansion coefficients Cj appearing in eq.(lO) were calculated using the DV-X a molecular orbital (MO) calculation method[13]. They are necessary for the estimation of ifJ- in eq.(2) in the... 

Whereas it is generally sufficient (at least for the pubhshed methods) to specify the semi-empirical MO technique used in order to define the exact method used for the calculations, ab-initio theory offers far more variations, so that the exact level of the calculation must be specified. The starting point of most ab-initio jobs is an SCF calculation analogous to those discussed above for semi-empirical MO calculations. In ab-initio theory, however, all necessary integrals are calculated correctly, so that the calculations are very much (by a factor of about 1000) more time-consuming than their semi-empirical counterparts. 

The molecular electronic polarizability is one of the most important descriptors used in QSPR models. Paradoxically, although it is an electronic property, it is often easier to calculate the polarizability by an additive method (see Section 7.1) than quantum mechanically. Ah-initio and DFT methods need very large basis sets before they give accurate polarizabilities. Accurate molecular polarizabilities are available from semi-empirical MO calculations very easily using a modified version of a simple variational technique proposed by Rivail and co-workers [41]. The molecular electronic polarizability correlates quite strongly with the molecular volume, although there are many cases where both descriptors are useful in QSPR models. 

Th e ability to perform m oleciilar orbital (MO ) calculation s on m et-als is extremely useliil because molecular mechanics methods are gen erally unable to treat m etals. This is becau se m etals h ave a wide range of valences, oxidation states, spin multiplicities, and have 1111 usual bonding situations (e.g.. d%-p% back bonding). In addition. the 11 on direction al n at are o ( m etallic hon din g is less am en a-ble to a ball and spring interpretation. 

A number of MO calculations has been carried out, and these have had mixed success in predicting chemical reactivity or spectroscopic parameters such as NMR chemical shifts and coupling constants. Most early calculations did not take into account the contribution of the sulfur 3d-orbitals to the ground state, and this accounts for some of the discrepancies between calculations and experimental observations. Of the MO methods used, CNDO/2 and CNDO/S have been most successful the INDO approximation cannot be used because of the presence of the sulfur atom. 

In the RISM-SCF theory, the statistical solvent distribution around the solute is determined by the electronic structure of the solute, whereas the electronic strucmre of the solute is influenced by the surrounding solvent distribution. Therefore, the ab initio MO calculation and the RISM equation must be solved in a self-consistent manner. It is noted that SCF (self-consistent field) applies not only to the electronic structure calculation but to the whole system, e.g., a self-consistent treatment of electronic structure and solvent distribution. The MO part of the method can be readily extended to the more sophisticated levels beyond Hartree-Fock (HF), such as configuration interaction (Cl) and coupled cluster (CC). 

The molecular and liquid properties of water have been subjects of intensive research in the field of molecular science. Most theoretical approaches, including molecular simulation and integral equation methods, have relied on the effective potential, which was determined empirically or semiempirically with the aid of ab initio MO calculations for isolated molecules. The potential parameters so determined from the ab initio MO in vacuum should have been readjusted so as to reproduce experimental observables in solutions. An obvious problem in such a way of determining molecular parameters is that it requires the reevaluation of the parameters whenever the thermodynamic conditions such as temperature and pressure are changed, because the effective potentials are state properties. 

The relative merits of various MO methods have been discussed in die literature. In general, the ab initio type of calculations will be more reliable, but the semiempirical calculations are faster in terms of computer time. The complexity of calculation also increases rapidly as the number of atoms in the molecule increases. The choice of a method is normally made on the basis of evidence that the method is adequate for the problem at hand and the availability of appropriate computer programs and equipment. Results should be subjected to critical evaluation by comparison widi experimental data or checked by representative calculations using higher-level mediods. Table 1.12 lists some reported deviations from experimental AHf for some small hydrocarbons. The extent of deviation gives an indication of the accuracy of the various types of MO calculations in this application. 

Several methods of quantitative description of molecular structure based on the concepts of valence bond theory have been developed. These methods employ orbitals similar to localized valence bond orbitals, but permitting modest delocalization. These orbitals allow many fewer structures to be considered and remove the need for incorporating many ionic structures, in agreement with chemical intuition. To date, these methods have not been as widely applied in organic chemistry as MO calculations. They have, however, been successfully applied to fundamental structural issues. For example, successful quantitative treatments of the structure and energy of benzene and its heterocyclic analogs have been developed. It remains to be seen whether computations based on DFT and modem valence bond theory will come to rival the widely used MO programs in analysis and interpretation of stmcture and reactivity. 

Quantum chemical calculations (see also theory, MO calculation, ah initio methods) Quinghaosu Quinodimethanes... 

In MO calculations, a wave function is formulated that is a linear combination of the atomic orbitals that have overlapped (this method is often called the linear combination of atomic orbitals, or LCAO). Addition of the atomic orbitals gives the bonding MO ... 

For planar unsaturated and aromatic molecules, many MO calculations have been made by treating the a and n electrons separately. It is assumed that the o orbitals can be treated as localized bonds and the calculations involve only the tt electrons. The first such calculations were made by Hiickel such calculations are often called Hiickel molecular orbital (HMO) calculations Because electron-electron repulsions are either neglected or averaged out in the HMO method, another approach, the self-consistent field (SCF), or Hartree-Fock (HF), method, was devised. Although these methods give many useful results for planar unsaturated and aromatic molecules, they are often unsuccessful for other molecules it would obviously be better if all electrons, both a and it, could be included in the calculations. The development of modem computers has now made this possible. Many such calculations have been made" using a number of methods, among them an extension of the Hiickel method (EHMO) and the application of the SCF method to all valence electrons. ... 

Molecular mechanics (also known diS force-field calculations) is a method for the calculation of conformational geometries. It is used to calculate bond angles and distances, as well as total potential energies, for each conformation of a molecule. Steric enthalpy can be calculated as well. Molecular orbital calculations (p. 34) can also give such information, but molecular mechanics is generally easier, cheaper (requires less computer time), and/or more accurate. In MO calculations, positions of the nuclei of the atoms are assumed, and the wave equations take account only of... 

The sequence of operations involved in a PPP-MO calculation is illustrated in the flow diagram shown in Figure 2.13. The method is illustrated for the case of 4-aminoazobenzene, 15c. The first step involves devising a numbering system for all of the atoms that contribute to the 7r-system of the molecule. Secondly the total number of 7r-electrons in the... 

Table 2.4 shows a comparison of the experimental and PPP-MO calculated electronic spectral data for azobenzene and the three isomeric monoamino derivatives. It is noteworthy that the ortho isomer is observed to be most bathochromic, while the para isomer is least bathoch-romic. From a consideration of the principles of the application of the valence-bond approach to colour described in the previous section, it might have been expected that the ortho and para isomers would be most bathochromic with the meta isomer least bathochromic. In contrast, the data contained in Table 2.4 demonstrate that the PPP-MO method is capable of correctly accounting for the relative bathochromicities of the amino isomers. It is clear, at least in this case, that the valence-bond method is inferior to the molecular orbital approach. An explanation for the failure of the valence-bond method to predict the order of bathochromicities of the o-, m- and p-aminoazobenzenes emerges from a consideration of the changes in 7r-electron charge densities on excitation calculated by the PPP-MO method, as illustrated in Figure 2.14. 

A thiepin is formally isoelectronic with the 8ic-electron 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene and 1,3,5-cycloheptatrienide ion and, if planar, may actually be antiaromatic. Recently, the question of the antiaromaticity of thiepin has been the subject of interest for both synthetic and theoretical chemists. The apparent instability of the thiepin ring system is in good agreement with theoretical calculations. Dewar and Trinajstic 68) have reported that the thiepin is considered to be weakly antiaromatic (RE = — 1.45 kcal mol-1) based on PPP SCF MO calculations. On the other hand, Hess Jr. and Schaad 69) have found it to be substantially antiaromatic (RE = —0.232 J) by using the Huckel MO method. This result was also supported by a graph-theoretical treatment by Aihara 70). 

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