Topological characterization of HXO2 (X = Cl, Br, I) isomerization

The isomerization reactions of HOOX --> HOXO --> HXO2 (X = Cl, Br, I) have been studied by using the density functional theory. The breakage and formation of the chemical bonds of the titled reactions have been discussed by the topological analysis method of electronic density. The calculated results show that there is a transitional structure of a three-membered ring on each of the isomerization reaction paths. The "energy transition state (ETS)" and the "structure transition state (STS)" in all of the studied reactions have been found. In all these reactions, the position of the structure transition state and the scope of the structure transition region correlate well with the reaction energy. The STS appears after the ETS in the exothermic reaction but it appears before the ETS in the endothermic reaction. The less reaction energy there is, the wider scope of the structure transition region.     

几个P-ylide反应机理的量子拓扑研究

采用MP2(FC)/6-311++G(d,p)对磷叶立德和类磷叶立德自由基反应机理进行了探讨.优化了中间体、过渡态和产物的几何构型,并采用内禀反应坐标法进行追踪.侧重从量子拓扑学的角度,对反应过程中各点进行电子密度拓扑分析,讨论了反应过程中化学键的断裂、生成和化学键的变化规律.上述两个反应都经历三员环过渡态,找到了这类反应的能量过渡态和结构过渡态.     

几个硫-叶立德反应机理的量子拓扑研究

采用MP2(FC)/6-311++G(d,p)对硫叶立德和类硫叶立德自由基反应机理进行了探讨。优化了中间体、过滤态和产物的几何构型。本文侧重从量子拓扑学的角度,对IRC(内禀反应坐标)反应进程中各点进行电子密度拓扑分析,讨论了反应过程中化学键的断裂、生成和化学键的变化规律。找到了这类反应的能量过渡态和结构过渡态,上述两个反应都是先经历一个没有形成三元环拓扑结构的能量过渡态,再经历一个形成了三元环拓扑结构的结构过渡态,最后到达产物。     

Generalized electronic diabatic approach to structural similarity in two‐dimensional potential energy surfaces of various topologies

Active site properties in some proteins can be affected by conformational fluctuations of neighbor residues, even when the latter are not involved directly in the binding process. A local environment thus appears to alter the relevant potential energy surface and its reaction paths. Here, some aspects of this phenomenon are simulated within a generalized electronic diabatic (GED) scheme to study the geometry and structural similarity for a class of two‐dimensional (2D) energy surfaces. The electronic quantum state is a linear superposition of diabatic basis functions, each of which is taken to represent a single (pure) electronic state for the isolated material system. Here, we describe a model reaction of isomerization by shifts in amplitudes for three diabatic species (reactant, product, and an open‐shell transition state) coupled in an external field. The “effective” 2D energy surface in the field is characterized in terms of critical points, and the amplitudes along the main reaction paths. A new feature is the introduction of a phase diagram where all possible potential‐energy‐surface topologies (consistent with three‐state systems in two linear coordinates) are matched with actual model parameters. By varying the coupling strengths between diabatic states, we classify regions of this phase diagram in terms of electronic and structural similarities; some regions comprise models whose reaction paths have geometries that belong to the catchment region of the reactant, yet are electronically akin to the diabatic transition state or product. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Theoretical investigation on stability and isomerizations of CH3SO isomers

The stability and isomerizations of CH3SO isomers have been investigated at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p), MP2/6-311G(d,p), QCISD/6-311G(d,p), and CCSD(T)/6-311G(d,p) levels. Geometries of isomers and transition states (TS) have been optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G(d, p) level. Vibration analysis and the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculated at the same level have been applied to validate the connection of the stationary points. The four different methods give similar results: 11 isomers and 9 isomerization channels were found. CH3SO and CH2(S)OH are the most stable species among the 11 isomers. Furthermore, the breakage and formation of the chemical bonds in isomerization reactions have been discussed by the topological analysis method of electronic density. The "energy transition state (ETS)" and the "structure transition state (STS)" of all the isomerizations have been found. The topological analysis shows that the relative positions of ETS and STS are determined by reaction energy. The nonplanar four-member ring structure transition state (STS), which was first found in this paper, extended the concept of ring STS.     

ClO与ClO自由基反应机理及电子密度拓扑分析

利用密度泛函理论对ClO与ClO自由基反应机理进行了深入理论探讨,在B3LYP/6-311＋＋G（3df）水平上对该反应体系的反应物、中间体、过渡态及产物进行了几何构型优化,对反应通道进行了IRC(内禀反应坐标）路径解析,计算了沿各反应通道的能垒和离解能,并进行了零点能校正.从量子拓扑学的角度,对反应通道IRC途径上一些重要点进行了电子密度拓扑分析,讨论了反应过程中化学键的断裂、生成以及键的变化规律,找到了反应途径的能量过渡态和结构过渡态.     

CH2XH→CH3X (X＝O, S, Se)异构化的量子拓扑研究

利用从头算和量子拓扑方法讨论了CH₂XH→CH₃X (X＝O, S, Se)异构化过程的反应机理. 着重从电子密度拓扑分析计算了反应进程中的各点, 讨论了反应进程中键的断裂和生成, 上述反应都经历了三元环过渡结构, 找到了这类反应的"能量过渡态"和"结构过渡态", 且结构过渡态均在能量过渡态之后出现. 三元结构过渡态结构出现的范围与反应热成正比.     

Effect of absolute laser phase on reaction paths in laser-induced chemical reactions

Potential surfaces, dipole moments, and polarizabilities are calculated by ab initio methods [unrestricted MP2(full)/6-311++G(2d,2p)] along the reaction paths of the F+CH4 and Cl+CH4 reaction systems. It is found that in general dipole moments and polarizabilities exhibit peaks near the transition state. In the case of X=F these peaks are on the products side and in the case of X=Cl they are on the reactants side indicating an early transition state in the case of fluorine and a late transition state in the case of chlorine. An analysis of the geometric changes along the reaction paths reveals a one-to-one correspondence between the peaks in the electric properties and peaks in the rate of change of certain internal geometric coordinates along the reaction path. Interaction with short infrared intense laser fields pulses leads to the possibility of interferences between the dipole and polarizability laser-molecule interactions as a function of laser phase. The larger dipole moment in the Cl+CH4 reaction can lead to the creation of deep wells (instead of energy barriers) and new strongly bound states in the transition state region. This suggests possible coherent control of the reaction path as a function of the absolute phase of the incident field, by significant modification of the potential surfaces along the reaction path and, in particular, in the transition state region.     

A transition path sampling study of the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme chorismate mutase

The study of the chemical steps in enzyme-catalyzed reactions represents a challenge for molecular simulation techniques. One concern is how to calculate paths for the reaction. Common techniques include the definition of a reaction coordinate in terms of a small set of (normally) geometrical variables or the determination of minimum energy paths on the potential energy surface of the reacting system. Both have disadvantages, the former because it presupposes knowledge of which variables are likely to be important for reaction and the latter because it provides a static picture and dynamical effects are ignored. In this paper, we employ the transition path sampling method developed by Chandler and co-workers, which overcomes some of these limitations. The reaction that we have chosen is the chorismate-mutase-catalyzed conversion of chorismate into prephenate, which has become something of a test case for simulation studies of enzyme mechanisms. We generated an ensemble of approximately 1000 independent transition paths for the reaction in the enzyme and another approximately 500 for the corresponding reaction in solution. A large variety of analyses of these paths was performed, but we have concentrated on characterizing the transition state ensemble, particularly the flexibility of its structures with respect to other ligands of the enzyme and the time evolution of various geometrical and energetic properties as the reaction proceeds. We have also devised an approximate technique for locating transition state structures along the paths.     

A quantum theory of chemical processes and reaction rates based on diabatic electronic functions coupled in an external field

The method discussed in this work provides a theoretical framework where simple chemical reactions resemble any other standard quantum process, i.e., a transition in quantum state mediated by the electromagnetic field. In our approach, quantum states are represented as a superposition of electronic diabatic basis functions, whose amplitudes can be modulated by the field and by the external control of nuclear configurations. Using a one-dimensional three-state model system, we show how chemical structure and dynamics can be represented in terms of these control parameters, and propose an algorithm to compute the reaction probabilities. Our analysis of effective energy barriers generalizes previous ideas on structural similarity between reactant, and product, and transition states using the geometry of conventional reaction paths. In the present context, exceptions to empirical rules such as the Hammond postulate appear as effects induced by the environment that supplies the external field acting on the quantum system.     

A second transition state for chain transfer to monomer in olefin polymerization promoted by group 4 metal catalysts

beta-Hydrogen transfer (BHT) to monomer is the dominant chain termination pathway for olefin polymerization promoted by group 4 metal catalysts. The transition state (TSA) for BHT studied in earlier work is characterized by a strong metal-hydrogen interaction. Our theoretical study of a series of homogeneous single-site polymerization catalysts reveals the existence of a second transition state (TSC), competitive with TSA, which has no direct metal-hydrogen interaction and strongly resembles that for the main-group metal aluminum. The balance between the two reaction paths is sensitive to choice of metal and ligand structure.     

Theoretical Studies on Reaction Mechanism of CH3SO with NO

The potential energy surface （PES） of CH3SO radical with NO reaction has been studied at MP2/6-311G（2df, p） and QCISD/6-311G（2df, p） levels. Geometries of the reactants, transition states （TS） and products were optimized at B3LYP/6-311G （d,p） level. The geometries of the transition states were found for the first time. The calculated results show that the reaction can proceed via singlet-state or triplet-state PES. Because of the high energy barrier of triplet surface, the singlet surface reactions are dominant. The topological analysis of electron density shows that there are two kinds of structaral transition states （the bifurcation-type ring structure transition state and the T-shaped conflict structure transition state） in the titled reaction. The total electronic density of the reactants, TS and products and the spin electronic density on the triplet surface were also discussed in this paper.     

HCHO+X(X=F、Cl、Br)的反应机理

采用CCSD/6-311++G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)方法研究了HCHO与卤素原子X(X=F、Cl、Br)的反应机理. 计算结果表明, 卤素原子X(X=F、Cl、Br)主要通过直接提取HCHO中的H原子生成HCO+HX(X=F、Cl、Br). 另外还可以生成稳定的中间体, 中间体再通过卤原子夺氢和氢原子直接解离两个反应通道分别生成HCO+HX(X=F、Cl、Br)和H+XCHO(X=F、Cl、Br). 其中卤原子夺氢通道为主反应通道, HCO和HX(X=F、Cl、Br)为主要的反应产物; 且三个反应的活化能均较低, 说明此类反应很容易进行, 计算结果与实验结果符合很好. 电子密度拓扑分析显示, 在HCHO+X反应通道(b)中出现了T型结构过渡态, 结构过渡态(STS)位于能量过渡态(ETS)之后. 并且按F、Cl、Br的顺序, 结构过渡态出现得越来越晚.     

Steepest descent reaction path integration using a first-order predictor-corrector method

The theoretical treatment of chemical reactions inevitably includes the integration of reaction pathways. After reactant, transition structure, and product stationary points on the potential energy surface are located, steepest descent reaction path following provides a means for verifying reaction mechanisms. Accurately integrated paths are also needed when evaluating reaction rates using variational transition state theory or reaction path Hamiltonian models. In this work an Euler-based predictor-corrector integrator is presented and tested using one analytic model surface and five chemical reactions. The use of Hessian updating, as a means for reducing the overall computational cost of the reaction path calculation, is also discussed.     

DFT research on the dehydroxylation reaction of pyrophyllite 2. Characterization of reactants, intermediates, and transition states along the reaction path

We delineate the dehydroxylation reaction of pyrophyllite in detail by localizing the complete reaction path on the free energy surface obtained previously by Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and the implemented metadynamics algorithm ( Molina-Montes et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112, 7051 ). All intermediates were identified, and a transition state search was also undertaken with the PRFO algorithm. The characterization of this reaction and the atomic rearrangement in the intermediates and products at quantum mechanical level were performed for the two reaction paths found previously: (i) direct dehydroxylation through the octahedral hole (cross mechanism) or between contiguous hydroxyl groups (on-site mechanism) and (ii) two-step dehydroxylation assisted by apical oxygens for each of the two steps. New intermediates were found and determined structurally. The structural variations found for all intermediates and transition states are in agreement with experimental results. The formation of these structures indicates that the dehydroxylation process is much more complex than a first-order reaction and can explain the wide range of temperatures for completing the reaction, and these results can be extrapolated to the dehydroxylation of other dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicates.     

PathOpt—A global transition state search approach: Outline of algorithm

We propose a new algorithm to determine reaction paths and test its capability for Ar₁₂ and Ar₁₃ clusters. Its main ingredient is a search for the local minima on a (n?1) dimensional hyperplane (n = dimension of the complete system in Cartesian coordinates) lying perpendicular to the straight line connection between initial and final states. These minima are part of possible reaction paths and are, hence, used as starting points for an uphill search to the next transition state. First, path fragments are obtained from subsequent relaxations starting from these transition states. They can be combined with information from the straight line connection procedure to obtain complete paths. Our test computations for Ar₁₂ and Ar₁₃ clusters prove that PathOpt delivers several reaction paths in one round. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A hybrid elastic band string algorithm for studies of enzymatic reactions

A common challenge in theoretical biophysics is the identification of a minimum energy path (MEP) for the rearrangement of a group of atoms from one stable configuration to another. The structure with maximum energy along the MEP approximates the transition state for the process and the energy profile itself permits estimation of the transition rates. In this work we describe a computationally efficient algorithm for the identification of minimum energy paths in complicated biosystems. The algorithm is a hybrid of the nudged elastic band (NEB) and string methods. It has been implemented in the pDynamo simulation program and tested by examining elementary steps in the reaction mechanisms of three enzymes: citrate synthase, RasGAP, and lactate dehydrogenase. Good agreement is found for the energies and geometries of the species along the reaction profiles calculated using the new algorithm and previous versions of the NEB and string techniques, and also those obtained by the common method of adiabatic exploration of the potential energy surface as a function of predefined reaction coordinates. Precisely refined structures of the saddle points along the paths may be subsequently obtained with the climbing image variant of the NEB algorithm. Directions in which the utility of the methods that we have implemented can be further improved are discussed.     

Theoretical studies on the mechanism of C-P bond cleavage of a model alpha-aminophosphonate in acidic condition

Various reaction paths of the P-C bond cleavage of alpha-aminophosphonates in acidic media, resulting in the derivatives of phosphonic acid, has been investigated using density functional level of theories in the gas phase as well as in aqueous medium. Dimethyl (alpha-anilinobenzyl)phosphonate has been used as the model molecule and our investigation confirms a three steps process including protonation, P-C bond cleavage, and the transformation of the products from the final transition state (imine cation and H-phosphonate) through hydrolysis. The most favorable reaction path starts from the amino group protonation, followed by a proton transfer through N-H...O(P) hydrogen bond, and the P-C bond cleavage from the resulting protonated structure. Explicit inclusion of water molecules indicated that two waters are needed for the P-C bond cleavage, and the calculated mechanistic paths in this hydrated model are similar to those of the aqueous solvation model.     

The role of the putative catalytic base in the phosphoryl transfer reaction in a protein kinase: first-principles calculations

Protein kinases are important enzymes controlling the majority of cellular signaling events via a transfer of the gamma-phosphate of ATP to a target protein. Even after many years of study, the mechanism of this reaction is still poorly understood. Among many factors that may be responsible for the 1011-fold rate enhancement due to this enzyme, the role of the conserved aspartate (Asp166) has been given special consideration. While the essential presence of Asp166 has been established by mutational studies, its function is still debated. The general base catalyst role assigned to Asp166 on the basis of its position in the active site has been brought into question by the pH dependence of the reaction rate, isotope measurements, and pre-steady-state kinetics. Recent semiempirical calculations have added to the controversy surrounding the role of Asp166 in the catalytic mechanism. No major role for Asp166 has been found in these calculations, which have predicted the reaction process consisting of an early transfer of a substrate proton onto the phosphate group. These conclusions were inconsistent with experimental observations. To address these differences between experimental results and theory with a more reliable computational approach and to provide a theoretical platform for understanding catalysis in this important enzyme family, we have carried out first-principles structural and dynamical calculations of the reaction process in cAPK kinase. To preserve the essential features of the reaction, representations of all of the key conserved residues (82 atoms) were included in the calculation. The structural calculations were performed using the local basis density functional (DFT) approach with both hybrid B3LYP and PBE96 generalized gradient approximations. This kind of calculation has been shown to yield highly accurate structural information for a large number of systems. The optimized reactant state structure is in good agreement with X-ray data. In contrast to semiempirical methods, the lowest energy product state places the substrate proton on Asp166. First-principles molecular dynamics simulations provide additional support for the stability of this product state. The latter also demonstrate that the proton transfer to Asp166 occurs at a point in the reaction where bond cleavage at the PO bridging position is already advanced. This mechanism is further supported by the calculated structure of the transition state in which the substrate hydroxyl group is largely intact. A metaphoshate-like structure is present in the transition state, which is consistent with the X-ray structures of transition state mimics. On the basis of the calculated structure of the transition state, it is estimated to be 85% dissociative. Our analysis also indicates an increase in the hydrogen bond strength between Asp166 and substrate hydroxyl and a small decrease in the bond strength of the latter in the transition state. In summary, our calculations demonstrate the importance of Asp166 in the enzymatic mechanism as a proton acceptor. However, the proton abstraction from the substrate occurs late in the reaction process. Thus, in the catalytic mechanism of cAPK protein kinase, Asp166 plays a role of a "proton trap" that locks the transferred phosphoryl group to the substrate. These results resolve prior inconsistencies between theory and experiment and bring new understanding of the role of Asp166 in the protein kinase catalytic mechanism.