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Furche, Filipp

Publications and source records attributed to Furche, Filipp.

Hydroselenation of olefins: elucidating the β-selenium effect

We report a light-promoted hydroselenation of alkenes with high anti -Markovnikov selectivity. Blue light activates an aryl diselenide to generate a seleno radical with subsequent addition into an alkene to form a β-seleno carbon radical. Hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) from the selenol to the carbon radical generates the linear selenide with high selectivity in preference to the branched isomer. These studies reveal a unique β-selenium effect, where a selenide β to a carbon radical imparts high anti -selectivity for radical addition through delocalization of the HAT transition state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Constructing the Mechanism of Dinoflagellate Luciferin Bioluminescence Using Computation

Dinoflagellate luciferin bioluminescence is unique since it does not rely on decarboxylation but is poorly understood compared to that of firefly, bacteria, and coelenterata luciferins. Here, in this work, we computationally investigate possible protonation states, stereoisomers, a chemical mechanism, and the dynamics of the bioluminescence intermediate that is responsible for chemiexcitation. Using semiempirical dynamics, time-dependent density functional theory static calculations, and a correlation diagram, we find that the intermediate’s functional group that is likely responsible for chemiexcitation is a 4-member ring, a dioxetanol, that undergoes [2π + 2π] cycloreversion and the biolumiphore is the cleaved structure. The simulated emission spectra and luciferase-dependent absorbance spectra agree with the experimental data, giving support to our proposed mechanism and biolumiphore. We also compute circular dichroism spectra of the intermediate’s four stereoisomers to guide future experiments in differentiating them.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

2.2.2-Cryptand complexes of neptunium(III) and plutonium(III)

New coordination environments are reported for Np(III) and Pu(III) based on pilot studies of U(III) in 2.2.2-cryptand (crypt). The U(III)-in-crypt complex, [U(crypt)I 2 ][I], obtained from the reaction between UI 3 and crypt, is treated with Me 3 SiOTf (OTf = O 3 SCF 3 ) in benzene to form the [U(crypt)(OTf) 2 ][OTf] complex. Similarly, the isomorphous Np(III) and Pu(III) complexes were obtained similarly starting from [AnI 3 (THF) 4 ]. All three complexes (1-An; An = U, Np, Pu) contain an encapsulated actinide in a THF-soluble complex. Finally, absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations are consistent with 5f 3 U(III), 5f 4 Np(III), and 5f 5 Pu(III) electron configurations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Importance of imposing gauge invariance in time-dependent density functional theory calculations with meta-generalized gradient approximations

It has been known for more than a decade that the gauge variance of the kinetic energy density τ leads to additional terms in the magnetic orbital rotation Hessian used in linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), affecting excitation energies obtained with τ-dependent exchange–correlation functionals. While previous investigations found that a correction scheme based on the paramagnetic current density has a small effect on benchmark results, we report more pronounced effects here, in particular, for the popular M06-2X functional and for some other meta-generalized gradient approximations (mGGAs). In the first part of this communication, this is shown by a reassessment of a set of five Ni(II) complexes for which a previous benchmark study that did not impose gauge invariance has found surprisingly large errors for excitation energies obtained with M06-2X. These errors are more than halved by restoring gauge invariance. The variable importance of imposing gauge invariance for different mGGA-based functionals can be rationalized by the derivative of the mGGA exchange energy integrand with respect to τ. In the second part, a large set of valence excitations in small main-group molecules is analyzed. For M06-2X, several selected n → π* and π→π$^{*}_{⊥}$ excitations are heavily gauge-dependent with average changes of –0.17 and –0.28 eV, respectively, while π→π$^{*}_{∥}$ excitations are marginally affected (–0.04 eV). Similar patterns, but of the opposite signs, are found for SCAN0. Here, the results suggest that reevaluation of previous gauge variant TDDFT results based on M06-2X and other mGGA functionals is warranted.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A 9.2-GHz clock transition in a Lu(II) molecular spin qubit arising from a 3,467-MHz hyperfine interaction

Spins in molecules are particularly attractive targets for next-generation quantum technologies, enabling chemically programmable qubits and potential for scale-up via self-assembly. Here, we report observation of one of the largest hyperfine interactions for a molecular system, A iso = 3467±50 MHz, along with an associated clock transition of unprecedented magnitude. This is achieved through chemical control of the degree of s-orbital mixing into the spin-bearing d-orbital associated with a series of spin-½ La(II) and Lu(II) complexes. Increased s-orbital character reduces spin-orbit coupling and enhances the electron-nuclear Fermi contact interaction. Both outcomes are advantageous for quantum applications: the former reduces spin-lattice relaxation, while the latter maximizes the hyperfine interaction that, in turn, generates a 9 gigahertz clock transition, leading to an increase in phase memory time from 1.0±0.4 to 12±1 microseconds for one of the Lu(II) complexes. Furthermore, these findings suggest strategies for development of molecular quantum technologies, akin to trapped ion systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗