Unstable Chloronitrile Oxide, ClCNO, and Its Stable Ring Dimer: Generation, Spectroscopy, and Structure

Metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides

In this review recent advances in the metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides are highlighted, covering references from the period 2000 until August 2018.

Synthesis, spectroscopy and structure of the parent furoxan (HCNO)2

The parent furoxan (1,2,5-oxadiazole 2-oxide), synthesized from glyoxime and NO(2)(g), has been investigated in the gas phase for the first time by mid-infrared and He I photoelectron spectroscopy, and in the liquid phase by Raman spectroscopy. The ground-state geometry has been obtained from quantum-chemical calculations at the B3LYP, MPn (n = 2-4), CISD, QCISD, CCSD, CCSD(T), RSPTn (n = 2,3), MRCI, and MR-AQCC levels using 6-311++G(2d,2p), cc-pVTZ, aug-cc-pVTZ, cc-pCVTZ, and cc-pVQZ basis sets. Furoxan is predicted to be planar, with a strong exocyclic and a relatively weak endocyclic N-O bond. The furoxan moiety is electron rich, indicated e.g. by a large negative NPA charge (-0.46 e). According to various aromaticity indices, furoxan is nearly as aromatic as furan and furazan. Unlike alkyl- and cyano-substituted furoxans, the parent furoxan, upon thermolysis, does not cleave to the monomer nitrile oxide, yielding only HNCO, HCN, CO(2), CO, NO, and H(2)O decomposition products.

Gas-Phase Infrared and ab Initio Study of the Unstable CF3CNO Molecule and Its Stable Furoxan Ring Dimer

The unstable trifluoroacetonitrile N-oxide molecule, CF3CNO, has been generated in high yield in the gas phase from CF3BrC=NOH and studied for the first time by gas-phase mid-infrared spectroscopy. Cold trapping of this molecule followed by slow warming forms the stable ring dimer, bis(trifluoromethyl)furoxan, also investigated by gas-phase infrared spectroscopy. The spectroscopy provides an investigation into the vibrational character of the two molecules, the assignments supported by calculations of the harmonic vibrational frequencies using in the case of CF3CNO both ab initio (CCSD(T)) and density functional theory (B3LYP) and B3LYP for the ring dimer. The ground-state structures of both molecules were investigated at the B3LYP level of theory, with CF3CNO further investigated using coupled-cluster. The CCSD(T) method suggests a slightly bent (C(s)) structure for CF3CNO, while the B3LYP method (with basis sets ranging from 6-311G(d) to cc-pVTZ) suggests a close-to-linear or linear CCNO chain. The CCN bending potential in CF3CNO was explored at the CCSD(T)(fc)/cc-pVTZ level, with the results suggesting that CF3CNO exhibits strong quasi-symmetric top behavior with a barrier to linearity of 174 cm(-1). Since both isomerization and dimerization are feasible loss processes for this unstable molecule, the relative stability of CF3CNO with respect to the known cyanate (CF3OCN), isocyanate (CF3NCO), and fulminate (CF3ONC) isomers and the mechanism of the dimerization process to the ring furoxan and other isomers were studied with density functional theory.

Dimerizations of Nitrile Oxides to Furoxans Are Stepwise via Dinitrosoalkene Diradicals: A Density Functional Theory Study

Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G* level on the dimerization reactions of acetonitrile oxide and para-chlorobenzonitrile oxide to form furoxans indicate that these processes are stepwise involving dinitrosoalkene intermediates that have considerable diradical character. The rate-determining steps for these two reactions correspond to C-C bond formation. The retardation of dimerization in aromatic nitrile oxides arises from the interruption of conjugation between the nitrile oxide and aryl groups in the C-C bond formation step. The present study also suggests that the isomerization of single-ring furoxans occurs via a diradical intermediate mechanism.

Mechanistic aspects of the dehydration and dehydrohalogenation of halo-hydroxyformaldoxime conformers. A quantum chemical model study

A detailed exploration of the configurational and conformational space of chloro- and bromo-hydroxyformaldoximes, Xhfaox (X = Cl, Br) has been carried out with the aid of the B3LYP level of density functional theory, using the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The most stable configuration in each series of the Clhfaox and Brhfaox conformers corresponds to the Z-s-cis, s-trans configuration, while the highest energy Z-(s-trans, s-cis) conformers were found at 7.0(7.6) and 6.0(6.6) kcal mol(-1), respectively, at the B3LYP(QCISD(T)) levels of theory. Saddle points were also located on the PES of the Clhfaox and Brhfaox compounds corresponding to Z-(s-cis, s-cis) conformers at 13.8(14.9) and 13.6(14.6) kcal mol(-1), respectively, at the B3LYP(QCISD(T)) levels. Upon dehydration Xhfaox could afford a number of isomeric CXNO species. The dehydration processes of Xhfaox are predicted to be endothermic, the computed heats of reactions found in the range of 20.5 to 86.2 kcal mol(-1) and 15.9 to 100.4 kcal mol(-1) at the B3LYP and QCISD(T) levels, respectively. The reaction pathways for the addition of water to halo-fulminates yielding the most stable Xhfaox conformers was predicted to be concerted with a single transition structure, but are asynchronous with activation barriers of 32.8 and 43.0 kcal mol(-1) for the chloro- and bromo-derivatives, respectively. The PES governing the isomerization reactions of the CXNO isomers have also been calculated, and possible isomerization pathways have been delineated. Upon dehydrohalogenation the Xhfaox conformers yield hydroxy-isocyanate or hydroxy-fulminate, the former being more stable by 31.8(18.8) kcal mol(-1) at the B3LYP(QCISD(T)) levels of theory. The reaction pathways for the addition of HX to hydroxy-isocyanate were predicted to be slightly exothermic, the heats of reactions being -3.2 and -5.5 kcal mol(-1), respectively, and have to surmount high activation barriers of 39.7 and 35.0 kcal mol(-1), respectively. Similarly, the addition of HX to hydroxy-fulminate was predicted to be much more exothermic, the heats of reactions being -34.7 and -37.3 kcal mol(-1), respectively, and have to surmount much lower activation barriers of only 10.5 and 7.5 kcal mol(-1) respectively, at the B3LYP level. Finally, calculated structures, relative stability, and bonding properties of all stationary points located on the PES of the systems and reactions studied are thoroughly discussed with respect to computed electronic properties.

Toward an understanding of the furoxan-dinitrosoethylene equilibrium

The tautomerism of furoxan (1,2,5-oxadiazole-2-oxide) has been investigated by different computational methods comprising modern density functionals as well as single-reference and multi-reference ab initio methods. The ring-opening process to 1,2-dinitrosoethylene is the most critical step of the reaction and cannot be treated reliably by low-level computations. The existence of cis-cis-trans-1,2-dinitrosoethylene as a stable intermediate is advocated by perturbational methods, but high-level coupled-cluster calculations identify this as an artifact. In contrast to the analogous reaction in benzofuroxans, cis-cis-cis-1,2-dinitrosoethylene was found to be a transition state rather than a local minimum. Model potentials were used to explain the occurrence and the disappearing of transition states and local minima relative to the reaction of benzofuroxan. Low-lying triplet states that can be accessed due to spin-orbit coupling were investigated as taking part in alternative routes to a proposed singlet pathway. Barriers for rotations of the nitroso groups on the S(0) and T(1) surfaces are reported.