The electrocyclization of heterosubstituted derivatives of (Z)-1,2,4,6-heptatetraene, (2Z)-2,4,5-hexatrien-1-imine and (2Z)-2,4,5-hexatrienal exhibit some features which suggest a pseudopericyclic mechanism. In order to examine this, a comprehensive study including the determination of magnetic properties to estimate aromaticity and an NBO analysis throughout the reaction path was conducted. The cyclization of 5oxo-2,4-pentadienal, a process of unequivocal pseudopericyclic nature, was studied for comparison. The results suggest that, although the lone electron pair on the heteroatom in the heptatetraene derivatives seemingly plays a crucial role in the reaction mechanism, it does not suffice to deprive the reaction from the essential features of a pericyclic disrotatory electrocyclization.

The ionic dissociation of H–X acids (X=F, Cl, Br, I) in water was examined by conducting a theoretical study on the properties of the clusters formed by the acids with up to five water molecules: X–H(H2O)n (n=1–5). Calculations were done using the DFT/B3LYP and MP2 methods in conjunction with the TZVP basis set and allowed the identification of several minima on the potential surfaces for the clusters. Based on the results, the MP2 method predicts a lower tendency to ionization than does the DFT/B3LYP method; however, both methods provide similar results. The dissociation characteristics of the acids were examined in terms of various parameters including the lengths of the bonds involved in the proton transfer and the frequencies associated with the X–H and O–H stretching modes in the bonds taking part in the proton transfer. The successive incorporation of water molecules to the cluster was found to lengthen X–H distances and simultaneously decrease O⋯H distances. In addition, the X–H stretching frequency underwent a marked redshift; the signal disappeared in the ionized structures, at the expense of a new series of bands around 2800 cm−1 due to stretching vibrations of the O–H bond in the H3O+ ion. Hydrogen fluoride failed to dissociate in the clusters considered; in fact, while some structures were ionized, they were not the most stable configurations for the corresponding clusters. In HCl and HBr, the dissociated structure was the most stable in the clusters of four or more water molecules (n=4–5); however, HBr exhibited a stronger tendency to dissociating above n=3. Finally, HI exhibited dissociation at n>2.

Stacking interactions have been evaluated, employing computational methods, in dimers formed by analogous aliphatic and aromatic species of increasing size. Changes in stability as the systems become larger are mostly controlled by the balance of increasing repulsion and dispersion contributions, while electrostatics plays a secondary but relevant role. The interaction energy increases as the size of the system grows, but it does much faster in π–π dimers than in σ–π complexes and more remarkably than in σ–σ dimers. The main factor behind the larger stability of aromatic dimers compared to complexes containing aliphatic molecules is related to changes in the properties of the aromatic systems due to electron delocalization leading to larger dispersion contributions. Besides, an extra stabilization in π–π complexes is due to the softening of the repulsive wall in aromatic species that allows the molecules to come closer.

Corannulene dimers made up of corannulene monomers with different curvature and substituents were studied using M06-2X, B97D and ωB97XD functionals and 6-31+G* basis set. Corannulene molecules were substituted with five alternating Br, Cl, CH(3), C(2)H or CN units. Geometric results showed that substituents gave rise to small changes in the curvature of corannulene bowls. So, there was not a clear relationship between the curvature of bowls and the changes on interaction energy generated by addition of substituents in the bowl. Electron withdrawing substituents gave rise to a more positive molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of the bowl, which was able to get a strong interaction with the negative MEP at the surface of a fullerene. Substitution with CN caused the largest effect, giving rise to the most positive MEP and to a large interaction energy of -24.64 kcal mol(-1), at the ωB97XD/6-31+G* level. Dispersive effects must be taken into account to explain the catching ability of the different substituted corannulenes. For unsubstituted dimers, calculations with DFT-D methods employing ωB97XD and B97D functionals led to similar results to those previously reported at the SCS-MP2/cc-pVTZ level for corannulene dimers (A. Sygula and S. Saebø, Int. J. Quant. Chem., 2009, 109, 65). In particular, the ωB97XD functional led to a difference of only 0.35 kcal mol(-1), regarding MP2 interaction energy for corannulene dimers. On the other hand, the M06-2X functional showed a general considerable underestimation of interaction energies. This functional worked quite well to study trends, but not to obtain absolute interaction energies.

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