Reinvestigation of the microwave and new high resolution far-infrared spectra of cis-methyl nitrite, CH3ONO: Rotational study of the two first torsional states

Sironneau, V.; Chelin, P.; Tchana, F. Kwabia; Kleiner, Isabelle; Pirali, Olivier; Roy, Pascale Le; Guillemin, Jean‐Claude; Orphal, J.; Margulès, L.; Motiyenko, R. A.; Cooke, Stephen A.; Youngblood, W. Justin; Agnew, A.; Dewberry, Christopher T.

doi:10.1016/j.jms.2011.02.014

Cited by 4 publications

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“…The unusual iso-coordinated long bonding, similar to HOON, was computationally predicted to exist in its methyl-containing analogue, CH 3 OON . Its isomers, methyl nitrite and nitromethane, are important model energetic materials that could be used as explosives and propellants, , and many studies focused on understanding the reaction mechanisms and kinetics of processes involving these compounds. ,− For example, the infrared multiphoton decomposition study by Wodtke, Hintsa, and Lee in 1986 reported that bond dissociation and isomerization of CH 3 NO 2 could produce CH 3 • + NO 2 • and CH 3 O • + NO • (through CH 3 ONO), respectively. The CH 3 NO 2 isomerization energy is 1.5 kcal/mol lower than the C–N bond dissociation energy, suggesting that CH 3 O • + NO • should be a kinetically more favorable product.…”

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confidence: 99%

Unusual In-plane Aromaticity Facilitates Intramolecular Hydrogen Transfer in Long-Bonded cis-Isonitrosyl Methoxide

2022

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The hydrogen-atom transfer from methoxy radical to nitric oxide, leading to the formation of formaldehyde and nitroxyl, represents a secondary reaction of photodissociation of methyl nitrite, which is used as rocket fuel. In this study, we explored the potential energy profile of the hydrogen-atom transfer using the electronic structure calculations at the DLPNO-CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory for two isomeric forms (cis and trans) of the pre-reaction complex. The cis-oriented pre-reaction complex has a weak elongated OO bond, which gets further elongated in the hydrogen transfer transition state. This OO bond stabilizes the pre-reaction complex by 32.9 kJ/mol. The OO-induced stabilization is even greater for the transition state (48.2 kJ/mol), which was unexpected because of the larger OO distance in the transition state structure. To address this paradox, we performed the electronic structure analysis of the reaction participants using the valence bond (VB) theory, natural resonance theory, topological analysis of the electron density and its derivatives, and analysis of the electron localization function distribution. This combined analysis led to the conclusion that the cis-transition state for hydrogen transfer, instead of being directly stabilized by the OO interaction, gained substantial stabilization from the in-plane five-center six-electron aromaticity.

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