Solvent effects theoretical calculations

A theoretical, comparative study of the tautomerism of 56 five-membered heterocyclic rings announced in (76AHC(Sl)l) has appeared (81MI40402). The stabilities of the three forms for 5-pyrazolones, 5-pyrazolethiones and 5-aminopyrazoles have been calculated by a simple Hiickel o) iterative method. The relative energies and the substituent and solvent effects are in agreement with the experimental results. 

Having considered how solvents can affect the reactivities of molecules in solution, let us consider some of the special features that arise in the gas phase, where solvation effects are totally eliminated. Although the majority of organic preparative reactions and mechanistic studies have been conducted in solution, some important reactions are carried out in the gas phase. Also, because most theoretical calculations do not treat solvent effects, experimental data from the gas phase are the most appropriate basis for comparison with theoretical results. Frequently, quite different trends in substituent effects are seen when systems in the gas phase are compared to similar systems in solution. 

Tliis interpretation is based only upon the structural and electronic properties of the pyridinium cations. Tire calculation of relative activation Ijarri-ers for the competing substitution reactions will give more reliable results —especially if solvent effects are included in the calculations. In order to assess the reliability of actual theoretical methods as applied to model sys-... 

Another approach was used some years ago by Dewar and Storch (1989). They called attention to solvent effects in ion-molecule reactions which do not yield an activation energy in theoretical calculations related to gas-phase conditions, but which are known to proceed with measureable activation energy in solution. Dewar and Storch therefore make a distinction between intrinsic barriers due to chemical processes and desolvation barriers due to chemical processes. 

The second group of studies tries to explain the solvent effects on enantioselectivity by means of the contribution of substrate solvation to the energetics of the reaction [38], For instance, a theoretical model based on the thermodynamics of substrate solvation was developed [39]. However, this model, based on the determination of the desolvated portion of the substrate transition state by molecular modeling and on the calculation of the activity coefficient by UNIFAC, gave contradictory results. In fact, it was successful in predicting solvent effects on the enantio- and prochiral selectivity of y-chymotrypsin with racemic 3-hydroxy-2-phenylpropionate and 2-substituted 1,3-propanediols [39], whereas it failed in the case of subtilisin and racemic sec-phenetyl alcohol and traws-sobrerol [40]. That substrate solvation by the solvent can contribute to enzyme enantioselectivity was also claimed in the case of subtilisin-catalyzed resolution of secondary alcohols [41]. 

Another aspect that has been theoretically studied109,124,129 is experimental evidence that Diels-Alder reactions are quite sensitive to solvent effects in aqueous media. Several models have been developed to account for the solvent in quantum chemical calculations. They may be divided into two large classes discrete models, where solvent molecules are explicitly considered and continuum models, where the solvent is represented by its macroscopic magnitudes. Within the first group noteworthy is the Monte Carlo study... 

Theoretical considerations leading to a density functional theory (DFT) formulation of the reaction field (RF) approach to solvent effects are discussed. The first model is based upon isolelectronic processes that take place at the nucleus of the host system. The energy variations are derived from the nuclear transition state (ZTS) model. The solvation energy is expressed in terms of the electrostatic potential at the nucleus of a pseudo atom having a fractional nuclear charge. This procedure avoids the introduction of arbitrary ionic radii in the calculation of insertion energy, since all integrations involved are performed over [O.ooJ The quality of the approximations made are discussed within the frame of the Kohn-Sham formulation of density functional theory. 

In this review we discuss the theoretical frame which may serve as a basis for a DFT formulation of solvent effects for atoms and molecules embedded in polar liquid environments. The emphasis is focused on the calculation of solvation energies in the context of the RF model, including the derivation of an effective energy functional for the atomic and molecular systems coupled to an electrostatic external field. 

In chapter 2, Profs. Contreras, Perez and Aizman present the density functional (DF) theory in the framework of the reaction field (RF) approach to solvent effects. In spite of the fact that the electrostatic potentials for cations and anions display quite a different functional dependence with the radial variable, they show that it is possible in both cases to build up an unified procedure consistent with the Bom model of ion solvation. The proposed procedure avoids the introduction of arbitrary ionic radii in the calculation of insertion energy. Especially interesting is the introduction of local indices in the solvation energy expression, the effect of the polarizable medium is directly expressed in terms of the natural reactivity indices of DF theory. The paper provides the theoretical basis for the treatment of chemical reactivity in solution. 

A vibronic coupling model for mixed-valence systems has been developed over the last few years (1-5). The model, which is exactly soluble, has been used to calculate intervalence band contours (1, 3, 4, 5), electron transfer rates (4, 5, 6) and Raman spectra (5, 7, 8), and the relation of the model to earlier theoretical work has been discussed in detail (3-5). As formulated to date, the model is "one dimensional (or one-mode). That is, effectively only a single vibrational coordinate is used in discussing the complete ground vibronic manifold of the system. This is a severe limitation which, among other things, prevents an explicit treatment of solvent effects which are... 

There is, therefore, a good deal of work for theoretical chemists, dedicated to merging the calculations of the separate steps of extraction of metal ions into a whole. Only such a united approach will allow us to analyze correctly all the factors that affect the thermodynamics of extraction. The greatest challenge stems from the need to evaluate solvent effects by the use of more accurate, explicit solvation models. That will require quantum mechanical calculations on extremely large systems consisting of many hundred molecules, thousands of atoms. 

Various instruments of theoretical chemistry have been widely to describe separate steps of solvent extraction of metal ions. Because of the complexity of solvent extraction systems, there is still no unified theory and no successful approach aimed at merging the extraction steps. It has already been pointed out that the challenging problem for theoreticians dealing with solvent extraction of metals, in particular with thermodynamic calculations, is to evaluate correctly solvent effects by the use of the most accurate explicit solvation models and QM calculations. However, such calculations on extremely large sets consisting of hundreds or even thousands of molecules, necessary to model all aspects of the extraction systems, are still impossible due to both hardware and software limitations. 

It is well known that a solvent can canse dramatic changes in rates and even mechanisms of chemical reactions. Modem theoretical chemistry makes it possible to incorporate solvent effects into calcnlations of the potential energy surface in the framework of the continnnm and explicit solvent models. In the former, a solvent is represented by a homogeneous medium with a bulk dielectric constant. The second model reflects specific molecule-solvent interactions. Finally, calculations of the potential energy surface in the presence or absence of solvents can be performed at various theory levels that have been considered in detail by Zieger and Autschbach [10]. 

---