Potential energy alkanes

It has been known for more than a century that hydrocarbons containing double bonds are more reactive than their counterparts that do not contain double bonds. Alkenes are, in general, more reactive than alkanes. We call electrons in double bonds 71 electrons and those in the much less reactive C—C or CH bonds Huckel theory, we assume that the chemistry of unsaturated hydrocarbons is so dominated by the chemistry of their double bonds that we may separate the Schroedinger equation yet again, into an equation for potential energy. We now have an equation of the same fomi as Eq. (6-8), but one in which the Hamiltonian for all elections is replaced by the Hamiltonian for Ji electrons only... 

If we assume that there are certain ideal val ues for bond angles bond distances and so on itfol lows that deviations from these ideal values will destabilize a particular structure and increase its po tential energy This increase in potential energy is re ferred to as the strain energy of the structure Other terms for this increase include steric energy and steric strain Arithmetically the total strain energy ( ) of an alkane or cycloalkane can be considered as... 

One of the first studies to predict log P by using potential energy fields calculated using the GRID and CoMFA approaches was done by Kim [60]. The author investigated H, CH3 and H2O probes, and calculated the best models using the hydro-phobic probe H2O for relatively small series (20 or less compounds each) of furans, carbamates, pyridines and pyrazines. A similar study was performed by Waller [61] who predicted a small series of 24 polyhalogenated compounds. Recently, Caron and Ermondi [62] used a new version of Cruciani s software, VolSurf [63], to predict the octanol-water and alkane-water partition coefficients for 152 compounds with r = 0.77, q = 0.72, SDEP = 0.60 for octanol-water and r = 0.76, q = 0.71, SDEP = 0.85 for alkane-water. 

Considerable interest in the subject of C-H bond activation at transition-metal centers has developed in the past several years (2), stimulated by the observation that even saturated hydrocarbons can react with little or no activation energy under appropriate conditions. Interestingly, gas phase studies of the reactions of saturated hydrocarbons at transition-metal centers were reported as early as 1973 (3). More recently, ion cyclotron resonance and ion beam experiments have provided many examples of the activation of both C-H and C-C bonds of alkanes by transition-metal ions in the gas phase (4). These gas phase studies have provided a plethora of highly speculative reaction mechanisms. Conventional mechanistic probes, such as isotopic labeling, have served mainly to indicate the complexity of "simple" processes such as the dehydrogenation of alkanes (5). More sophisticated techniques, such as multiphoton infrared laser activation (6) and the determination of kinetic energy release distributions (7), have revealed important features of the potential energy surfaces associated with the reactions of small molecules at transition metal centers. 

The purpose of this article is to review some of the current endeavors in this developing field. To maintain brevity, the focus is on recent studies carried out in our own laboratory and in conjunction with Professor M.T. Bowers at the University of California at Santa Barbara, with emphasis on the use of kinetic energy release distributions and infrared laser multiphoton excitation to probe potential energy surfaces for the reactions of atomic metal ions with alkenes and alkanes. 

The noteworthy point is a shortening of C-C bond distance as compared to the aliphatic C-C bond distance which is 1.54 A. This shortening manifests itself in the development of special character of the bonds. Since the sp orbitals of carbon now cannot overlap as effectively as they do in alkanes where perfect end-on overlap occurs the bonds in cyclopropane becomes bent and weak and also lead to an angle strain and so the molecule has greater potential energy. So this bent or banana bond accounts for the most of the ring strain. 

Olivella, S. Sole, A. McAdoo, D.J. Griffin, L.L. Unimolecnlar Reactions of Ionized Alkanes Theoretical Study of the Potential Energy Surface for CH3 and CH4 Losses From Ionized Butane and Isohn-tane. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994, 94, 11078-11088. 

A short presentation of the Consistent Force Field is given, with emphasis on parametrization and optimization of energy function parameters. For best possible calculation of structure, potential energy functions with parameter values optimized on both structural and other properties must be used. Results from optimization with the Consistent Force Field on alkanes and ethers are applied to glucose, gentiobiose, maltose and cellobiose. Comparison is made with earlier and with parallel work. The meaning and use of conformational maps is discussed shortly. 

Figure 5.8 Qualitative potential energy diagram for rotation of ra-alkanes (below) and polysilanes with side groups C2H5 and larger (above). The proposed cisoid minimum near 40° is not shown.

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