Issue 77, 2015

Modeling EPR parameters of nitrogen containing conjugated radical cations

Abstract

The accuracy of DFT methodology on modeling isotropic hyperfine coupling constants (hfccs or aiso) of conjugated radical cations containing 14N nucleus, intermediates involved in many biological and chemical processes, is investigated. A set of 222 hfccs, belonging to 50 radical species, are computed at the following levels of theory: PBE0/N07D, B3LYP/6-31G*, B3LYP/N07D, B3LYP/TZVP, and B3LYP/EPR-III, and compared to the available experimental values. In general, these five combinations of methods and basis sets estimate aiso(1H) in good agreement with experimental data. Conversely, selection of the basis set is of fundamental importance for accurate prediction of the 14N hfccs. A thorough analysis of the computed data allows us to establish that the best functional/basis set combination for obtaining accurate nitrogen coupling constants in conjugated radical cations is PBE0/N07D//B3LYP/6-31G*, which provides values with a discrepancy smaller than 1.5 G for most of constants. The model has been successfully tested on the calculation of 14N hfccs for different radical cation derivatives of syn-1,6:8,13-diimino[14]annulene, which is a highly demanding test because the strong experimental change in the aiso(14N) values critically depends on the local geometry of the diimino fragment which is function of the polymethylene chain length. Furthermore, a whole analysis of the computed structural parameters, NBO and distribution of the spin density of these annulene radicals has allowed to explain the huge increase of the aiso(14N) as well as their stability just for certain polymethylene chain length evidencing the formation of a N–N three electron σ bond.

Graphical abstract: Modeling EPR parameters of nitrogen containing conjugated radical cations

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 May 2015
Accepted
13 Jul 2015
First published
13 Jul 2015

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 62551-62562

Author version available

Modeling EPR parameters of nitrogen containing conjugated radical cations

L. Hermosilla, P. Calle and J. M. García de la Vega, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 62551 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA08758A

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