Experimental and theoretical evidence of basic site preference in polyfunctional superbasic amidinazine: N(1),N(1)-dimethyl-N(2)-beta-(2-pyridylethyl)formamidine.

The gas-phase basicity (GB) of the flexible polyfunctional N(1),N(1)-dimethyl-N(2)-beta-(2-pyridylethyl)formamidine (1) containing two potential basic sites (the ring N-aza and the chain N-imino) is obtained from proton-transfer equilibrium constant measurements, using Fourier-transform ion-cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Comparison of the experimental GB obtained for 1 with those reported for model amidines and azines indicates that the chain N-imino in the amidine group is the favored site of protonation. Semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio calculations (HF, MP2, and DFT), performed for 1 and its protonated forms, confirm this interpretation.

Enhanced Li+ binding energies in alkylbenzene derivatives: the scorpion effect.

The gas-phase lithium cation basicities (LCBs; Gibbs free energy of binding) of ethyl-, n-butyl-, and n-heptylbenzene have been measured by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. The structures of the corresponding complexes and their relative stabilities were investigated through the use of B3LYP/6-311G(+)(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) density functional theory calculations. For n-butylbenzene and n-heptylbenzene, the most stable adducts correspond to pi complexes in which the alkyl chain coils toward the aromatic ring to favor its interaction with the metal cation.

Lithium-cation/pi complexes of aromatic systems. The effect of increasing the number of fused rings.

The gas-phase lithium cation basicities (LCBs) of naphthalene, azulene, anthracene, and phenanthrene were measured by means of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. The structures of the corresponding complexes and their relative stabilities were investigated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. In the theoretical survey, pyrene, coronene, [3]phenylene, angular [3]phenylene, and circumcoronene were also included.