Publications by authors named "Benjamin Van der Veken"

The formation of C-H···N bonded complexes of halothane with ammonia has been studied using infrared and Raman spectroscopy of solutions in the liquid rare gases argon, krypton and xenon, of supersonic jet expansions and of room temperature vapor phase mixtures. For the solutions and for the vapor phase experiments, the formation of complexes with 1:1 and 1:2 stoichiometry was observed. The complexation enthalpy for the 1:1 complex was determined to be -20 (1) kJ mol(-1) in the vapor phase, -17.

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Using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, the formation of halogen bonded complexes of the trifluorohalomethanes CF(3)Cl, CF(3)Br and CF(3)I with ethene and propene dissolved in liquid argon has been investigated. For CF(3)Br and CF(3)I, evidence was found for the formation of C-X···π halogen bonded 1:1 complexes. At a higher ratio of CF(3)I/propene, weak absorptions due to a 2:1 complex were also observed.

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A vibrational assignment of the anaesthetic sevoflurane, (CF(3))(2)CHOCH(2)F, is proposed and its interaction with the aromatic model compound benzene is studied using vibrational spectroscopy of supersonic jet expansions and of cryosolutions in liquid xenon. Ab initio calculations, at the MP2/cc-pVDZ and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ levels, predict two isomers for the 1 : 1 complex, one in which the near-cis, gauche conformer of sevoflurane is hydrogen bonded through its isopropyl-hydrogen atom, the other in which the same conformer is bonded through a bifurcated hydrogen bond with the fluoromethyl hydrogen atoms. From the experiments it is shown that the two isomers are formed, however with a strong population dominance of the isopropyl-bonded species, both in the jet and liquid phase spectra.

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Using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, the formation of halogen bonded complexes of the trifluorohalomethanes CF(3)Cl, CF(3)Br and CF(3)I with dimethyl sulfide (DMS) dissolved in liquid krypton has been investigated. For CF(3)Br and CF(3)I, evidence was found for the formation of C-XS halogen bonded 1:1 complexes. At higher concentrations of CF(3)I weak absorptions due to a 2:1 complex were also observed.

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Oxidative alkylamination of electron-deficient (hetero)aromatic compounds, via the nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen, is a methodology that has made significant progress since the introduction of AgPy(2)MnO(4) as oxidant. This oxidant generally gives good conversions and yields, whereas the use of KMnO(4) only sometimes works equally well. In order to rationalize this, the reaction mechanism of oxidative alkylamination has been studied.

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Infrared spectra obtained in gas and liquid argon phases are reported for (12)CF(2) horizontal line(12)CH(2) and (12)CF(2) horizontal line(13)CH(2). These spectra firmly establish the positions of nu(3)(A(1)) and nu(6)(A(2)) for both isotopomers. Using anharmonicity constants from MP2 calculations, Fermi resonances affecting nu(1)(A(1)), nu(2)(A(1)), nu(3), and nu(8)(B(1)) are analyzed.

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Vibrational modes in an achiral molecule may acquire rotational strength by complexation to a chiral molecule, as happens for achiral solvent molecules complexed to a chiral solute. We investigate this transfer of chirality in vibrational circular dichroism for the pulegone molecule in CDCl(3) solvent from the point of view of the robustness concept introduced recently. It turns out that the transfer of chirality yields nonrobust modes, which means that, although they are observed in vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) experiments, the sign of these modes cannot be predicted reliably with standard (Density Functional Theory) VCD calculations.

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Infrared and Raman spectra of solutions in liquid argon and krypton containing dimethyl ether or its fully deuterated isotopomer and (12)CO(2) or (13)CO(2) are investigated. The spectra lead to new data on the nu(1) (CO(2) )/2 nu(2) (CO(2) ) resonances appearing in the complex of CO(2) with the ether. The experimental data, and their interpretation, is supported by MP2/6-311++G(2d,2p) calculations of the cubic and quartic force constants and of the first and higher order dipole moment derivatives required for the modelling of the Fermi and Darling-Dennison resonances observed.

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The formation of weakly bound molecular complexes between dimethyl ether (DME) and the trifluoromethyl halides CF(3)Cl, CF(3)Br and CF(3)I dissolved in liquid argon and in liquid krypton is investigated, using Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. For all halides evidence is found for the formation of C-X..

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The FTIR spectra of F(2)ClCH and Cl(3)CH(D) in mixtures with trimethylamine (TMA) have been studied in liquefied Kr in approximately 800-4000 cm(-1) frequency range. Spectroscopic evidence of a medium strength H-bond formation with conventional features has been found between these weak CH "proton donors" and TMA. The relative stability of the complexes has been determined in a series of temperature (T = 118-157 K) measurements of integrated intensities of vibrational bands ascribed to monomer and complex species.

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The complex of halothane (CF(3)CBrClH) with ([D(3)])methyl fluoride is investigated theoretically by means of ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level and experimentally by infrared spectroscopy of solutions in liquid krypton. The complexation energy is calculated to be -12.5 kJ mol(-1).

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The VCD spectra of pulegone, dissolved in CDCl3, CD2Cl2 and CS2 have been recorded in the frequency range from 1000 to 3000 cm(-1). The assignment of the absolute configuration was performed by comparing the experimental data with theoretical spectra computed at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. Analysis of the agreement in several spectral regions revealed significant shortcomings when comparing with vacuum calculations.

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Urinary modified nucleosides have a potential role as cancer biomarkers, and most of the methods used in their study have utilized low-pressure phenylboronate affinity chromatography materials for the purification of the cis-diol-containing nucleosides. In this study, a boronate HPLC column was surprisingly shown not to trap the nucleosides as would be expected from experience with the classic Affigel 601 resin but showed only partial selectivity toward cis-diol groups while other groups exhibited better retention. In aprotic conditions, trapping of nucleosides was possible; however, the selectivity toward cis-diol-containing compounds was lost with the Lewis basicity of available nitrogens being the main determinant of retention.

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The complex of halothane (CHClBrCF(3)) and dimethyl ether has been investigated experimentally in solutions of liquid krypton using infrared spectroscopy and theoretically using ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level. The formation of a 1:1 complex was experimentally detected. The most stable ab initio geometry found is the one in which the C--H bond of halothane interacts with the oxygen atom of dimethyl ether.

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Infrared spectra of solutions of trifluoroethene and dimethyl ether, acetone, or oxirane in liquid krypton and liquid argon have been studied. For each Lewis base the formation of a 1:1 complex with the Lewis acid was observed. The C-H stretching of trifluoroethene being perturbed by a strong Fermi resonance, the complexes with trifuloroethene-d were also investigated and showed that in each case the hydrogen bond between the acid and base is of the traditional, red-shifting type.

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DFT calculations were performed on (S)-methyl tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylate to facilitate the interpretation of IR and VCD spectra. The potential energy surface could not be described unambiguously using the 6-31G* basis set in combination with different density functionals including B1LYP, B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, B98, BHandH, BHandHLYP, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. In contrast, a uniform conformational picture could be found using the cc-pVTZ basis set.

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Carboxylic acids are known for their strong intermolecular associations. With chiral carboxylic acids, this behavior can be studied using vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylic acid 1, a chiral building block for beta-lactam antibiotics, is studied by emphasizing the effect of the dimerization.

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Variable temperature (-55 to -150 degrees C) studies of the infrared spectra (3200-100 cm(-1)) of cyclopropylmethyl isothiocyanate, c-C(3)H(5)CH(2)NCS, dissolved in liquefied rare gases (Xe and Kr), have been carried out. The infrared spectra of the gas and solid, as well as the Raman spectrum of the liquid, have also been recorded from 3200 to 100 cm(-1). By analyzing six conformer pairs in xenon solutions, a standard enthalpy difference of 228 +/- 23 cm(-1) (2.

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Mid-infrared spectra of mixed solutions in liquid xenon containing fluoroform and either ammonia or pyridine have been investigated at temperatures between 173 and 213 K. For both Lewis bases, a new band is found in the CH stretching region at a frequency approximately 5 cm(-1) higher than that of monomer fluoroform, which is assigned to a complex between fluoroform and the Lewis base. A detailed analysis of the nu1/2nu(4) Fermi resonance in the proton donor shows that the blue shifts observed for the complexes are not caused by a strengthening of the CH bond during the complexation, but are due to the changes in the Fermi resonance interactions.

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Complexation enthalpies of the complexes of the haloforms HCCl(n)F(3-)(n) (n = 0-3) with dimethyl ether, oxirane, and acetone have been determined in liquid krypton and/or liquid argon using infrared spectroscopy. The same quantities were derived starting from ab initio complexation energies, calculated at the MP2=FULL/aug-cc-VTZ level, and by correcting these energies for thermodynamic and solvent contributions. The two sets of data are compared and discussed.

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In-source collision induced dissociation was applied to access second generation ions of protonated guanosine. The in-source gas-phase behavior of [BH2]+-NH3 (m/z 135, C5H3N4O+) was investigated. Adduct formation and reactions with available solvent molecules (H2O and CH3OH) were demonstrated.

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The absolute configurations of two precursors, that is, 1-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-propanol and 1-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-propanamine, of a potent 2-mercapto-imidazole CCR-2 receptor antagonist, JNJ-27553292, were determined using vibrational circular dichroism. As a consequence, the absolute configuration of the antagonist itself was also determined. The two precursor compounds were subjected to a thorough conformational analysis and rotational strengths were calculated at the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level of theory.

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