Radicals can be regarded as electrophilic/nucleophilic, depending on their tendency to attack sites of relatively higher/lower electron density. In this paper, an electrophilicity scale, global as well as local, and a nucleophilicity scale for 35 radicals is reported. The global electrophilicity scale correlates well with the nucleophilicity scale, suggesting that these concepts are inversely related.

In this work a complete and consistent set of 95 Benson group additive values (GAVs) for standard entropies S(o) and heat capacities C(p)(o) of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon radicals is presented. These GAVs include 46 groups, among which 25 radical groups, which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been reported before. The GAVs have been determined from a set of B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) ideal gas statistical thermodynamics values for 265 species, consistently with previously reported GAVs for standard enthalpies of formation. One-dimensional hindered rotor corrections for all internal rotations are included. The computational methodology has been compared to experimental entropies (298 K) for 39 species, with a mean absolute deviation (MAD) between experiment and calculation of 1.2 J mol(-1) K(-1), and to 46 experimental heat capacities (298 K) with a resulting MAD = 1.8 J mol(-1) K(-1). The constructed database allowed evaluation of corrections on S(o) and C(p)(o) for non-nearest-neighbor effects, which have not been determined previously. The group additive model predicts the S(o) and C(p)(o) within approximately 5 J mol(-1) K(-1) of the ab initio values for 11 of the 14 molecules of the test set, corresponding to an acceptable maximal deviation of a factor of 1.6 on the equilibrium coefficient. The obtained GAVs can be applied for the prediction of S(o) and C(p)(o) for a wide range of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon radicals. The constructed database also allowed determination of a large set of hydrogen bond increments, which can be useful for the prediction of radical thermochemistry.

Bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of a large series of molecules of the type A-B, where a series of radicals A ranging from strongly electrophilic to strongly nucleophilic are coupled with a series of 8 radicals (CH2OH, CH3, NF2, H, OCH3, OH, SH, and F) also ranging from electrophilic to nucleophilic, are computed and analyzed using chemical concepts emerging from density functional theory, more specifically the electrophilicities of the individual radical fragments A and B. It is shown that, when introducing the concept of relative radical electrophilicity, an (approximately) intrinsic radical stability scale can be developed, which is in good agreement with previously proposed stability scales. For 47 radicals, the intrinsic stability was estimated from computed BDEs of their combinations with the strongly nucleophilic hydroxymethyl radical, the neutral hydrogen atom, and the strongly electrophilic fluorine atom. Finally, the introduction of an extra term containing enhanced Pauling electronegativities in the model improves the agreement between the computed BDEs and the ones estimated from the model, resulting in a mean absolute deviation of 16.4 kJ mol(-1). This final model was also tested against 82 experimental values. In this case, a mean absolute deviation of 15.3 kJ mol(-1) was found. The obtained sequences for the radical stabilities are rationalized using computed spin densities for the radical systems.

Functionalized diamondoids show great potential as building blocks for various new optoelectronic applications. However, until now, only simple mono and double substitutions were investigated. In this work, we considered up to 10 and 6 sites for functionalization of the two smallest diamondoids, adamantane and diamantane, respectively, in search for diamondoid derivatives with a minimal and maximal HOMO-LUMO energy gap. To this end, the energy gap was optimized systematically using an inverse molecular design methodology based on the best-first search algorithm combined with a Monte Carlo component to escape local optima. Adamantane derivatives were found with HOMO-LUMO gaps ranging from 2.42 to 10.63 eV, with 9.45 eV being the energy gap of pure adamantane. For diamantane, similar values were obtained. The structures with the lowest HOMO-LUMO gaps showed apparent push-pull character. The push character is mainly formed by sulfur or nitrogen dopants and thiol groups, whereas the pull character is predominantly determined by the presence of electron-withdrawing nitro or carbonyl groups assisted by amino and hydroxyl groups via the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. In contrast, maximal HOMO-LUMO gaps were obtained by introducing numerous electronegative groups.

The chalcogen bond has been acknowledged as an influential noncovalent interaction (NCI) between an electron-deficient chalcogen (donor) and a Lewis base (acceptor). This work explores the main features of chalcogen bonding through a large-scale computational study on a series of donors and acceptors spanning a wide range in strength and character of this type of bond: (benzo)chalcogenadiazoles (with Ch = Te/Se/S) versus halides and neutral Lewis bases with O, N, and C as donor atoms. We start from Pearson's hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) principle, where the hard nature of the chalcogen bond is quantified through the molecular electrostatic potential and the soft nature through the Fukui function. The σ-holes are more pronounced when going down in the periodic table and their directionality matches the structural orientation of donors and acceptors in the complexes. The Fukui functions point toward an n→σ*-type interaction. The initial conjectures are further scrutinized using quantum mechanical methods, mostly relating to the systems' electron density. A Ziegler-Rauk energy decomposition analysis shows that electrostatics plays a distinctly larger role for the soft halides than for the hard, uncharged acceptors, associated with the softness matching within the HSAB principle. The natural orbital for chemical valence analysis confirms the n→σ* electron donation mechanism. Finally, the electron density and local density energy at the bond critical point in the quantum theory of atoms in molecules study and the position of the spikes in the reduced density gradient versus density plot in the NCI theory situate the chalcogen bond in the same range as strong hydrogen bonds. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Theoretical design can be an important aid in the discovery of valuable stable radical systems. In this study, inverse molecular design was applied to thiadiazinyl radicals to maximize two fundamental electronic properties in chemistry, namely electrophilicity and nucleophilicity. We discovered that the thiadiazinyl structure can be made moderately nucleophilic or highly electrophilic, depending on the electronic character of its substituents. The most electrophilic thiadiazinyl radical displays the highest electrophilic character encountered so far for uncharged radical systems. The accumulated data relating to the influence of different substituents at the various sites has allowed us to propose thiadiazinyl radicals that are intrinsically stable and as electrophilic or nucleophilic as possible. Although the nucleophilicity optimum fulfills the additional requirement of being stable, a significant drop from highly to merely moderately electrophilic is observed for the new electrophilicity optimum.

The photocycloaddition reaction of benzene with ethylene has been studied at the CASSCF level, including the characterization of an extended conical intersection seam. We show that the regioselectivity is, in part, controlled by this extended conical intersection seam and that the shape of the conical intersection seam can be understood in terms of simple VB arguments. Further, the shape and energetics of the asynchronous segment of the conical intersection seam, suggests that 1,2 (ortho) and 1,3 (meta) will be the preferred regioselectivities with similar weight. The 1,4 (para) point on the conical intersection is higher in energy and corresponds to a local maximum on the seam. VB analysis shows that the pairs of VB structures along this asynchronous seam are the same and thus the shape will be determined mainly by steric effects. Synchronous structures on the seam are higher in energy and belong to a different branch of the seam separated by a saddle point on the seam. On S 1 we have documented three mechanistic pathways corresponding to transition states (with low barriers) between the reactants and the conical intersection seam: a mixed asynchronous/synchronous [1,2] ortho path, an asynchronous [1,3] meta path and a synchronous [1,3] meta path. 2 I IntroductionIn general, a photochemical reaction path has two branches: a branch on the excited state and a branch on the ground state. The two branches are connected at a point where the potential energy surfaces become degenerate known as a conical intersection (CI) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . However, a conical intersection is not an isolated point, but a collection of points, which we will refer to as a conical intersection "seam" 1,[8][9][10] . In this work we shall explore this feature in some depth for the case of the photochemical reactivity of ethylene and benzene. In the photocycloaddition of an arene and an alkene there are several possible regioselectivities (Scheme I). We will show that this regioselectivity is in part controlled by such an extended conical intersection seam.Experimental Background: Cycloadditions with alkenes are important and characteristic photochemical reactions of aromatic compounds. The prototype example of such a photocycloaddition is the reaction of benzene with ethylene [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] . Three cycloaddition modes (regioselectivity) can be distinguished (See Scheme 1): ortho-cycloaddition [1,2], meta-cycloaddition [1,3], and para-cycloaddition [1,4], and many applications of these reactions in organic synthesis have been described, as they afford the possibility to obtain polycyclic compounds in one step, which is important in the design of more complex molecular frameworks. Scheme 1 3The photocycloaddition reactions of arenes with alkenes have been extensively studied in order to rationalize the formation of the three possible cycloaddition products 11,16 . The meta-cycloaddition mode ([1,3] in our simplified notation) has been applied most extensively and is used as an important step in ...

The contributions of covalent and noncovalent interactions to the formation of classical adducts of bulky Lewis acids and bases and frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) were scrutinized by using various conceptual quantum chemical techniques. Significantly negative complexation energies were calculated for fourteen investigated Lewis pairs containing bases and acids with substituents of various sizes. A Ziegler-Rauk-type energy decomposition analysis confirmed that two types of Lewis pairs can be distinguished on the basis of the nature of the primary interactions between reactants; dative-bond formation and concomitant charge transfer from the Lewis base to the acid is the dominant and most stabilizing factor in the formation of Lewis acid-base adducts, whereas weak interactions are the main thermodynamic driving force (>50 %) for FLPs. Moreover, the ease and extent of structural deformation of the monomers appears to be a key component in the formation of the former type of Lewis pairs. A Natural Orbital for Chemical Valence (NOCV) analysis, which was used to visualize and quantify the charge transfer between the base and the acid, clearly showed the importance and lack of this type of interaction for adducts and FLPs, respectively. The Noncovalent Interaction (NCI) method revealed several kinds of weak interactions between the acid and base components, such as dispersion, π-π stacking, C-H⋅⋅⋅π interaction, weak hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding, and weak acid-base interactions, whereas the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) provided further conceptual insight into strong acid-base interactions.