Thermochemical properties of methyl-substituted cyclic alkyl ethers and radicals for oxiranes, oxetanes, and oxolanes: C-H bond dissociation enthalpy trends with ring size and ether site.

Cyclic ethers are an important product from the gas-phase reactions of hydrocarbon radicals with molecular oxygen in the atmospheric chemistry of diolefins and in low to moderate temperature combustion and oxidation reaction systems. They are also important in organic synthesis. Structures, and fundamental thermochemical parameters-enthalpy (ΔH°(f,298)), entropy (S°(298)), and heat capacity (C(p)(T))-have been calculated for a series of cyclic alkyl ethers and their carbon centered radicals. Enthalpies of formation (ΔH°(f,298)) are determined at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP/6-31G(2d,2p), and CBS-QB3 levels using several work reactions for each species. Entropy (S) and heat capacity (C(p)(T)) values from vibration, translational, and external rotational contributions are calculated using the rigid-rotor-harmonic-oscillator approximation based on the vibration frequencies and structures obtained from the density functional studies. Contributions from the internal methyl rotors are substituted for torsion frequencies. Calculated enthalpies of formation for a series of 12 cyclic ethers and methyl substituted cyclic ethers are in good agreement with available literature values. C-H bond dissociation enthalpies are reported for 28 carbon sites of 3 to 5 member ring cyclic ethers for use in understanding effects of the ring and the ether oxygen on kinetics and stability. Trends in carbon-hydrogen bond energies for the ring and methyl substituents relative to ring size and to distance from the ether group are described.