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We report a mild approach to the synthesis of difluoro(aryl)-λ3-iodanes (aryl-IF2 compounds) and tetrafluoro(aryl)-λ5-iodanes (aryl-IF4 compounds) using trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCICA) and potassium fluoride (KF). Under these reaction conditions, selective access to either the I(III)- or I(V)-derivatives is predictable based solely on the substitution pattern of the iodoarene starting material. Moreover, the discovery of this TCICA/KF approach prompted detailed dynamic NMR, kinetic, computational, and crystallographic studies on the relationship between the IF2 group and the ortho-substituents on carefully designed probe molecules. It was during these experiments that the role of the ortho-substituent in inhibiting further oxidative fluorination of I(III)-compounds to I(V)-compounds during the reaction with TCICA and KF was revealed. Additionally, a notable exception to this empirical trend is discussed herein.

Key for the observed reactivity of λ3-iodanes, powerful reagents for the selective transfer of functional groups to nucleophiles, are the properties of the 3-center-4-electron bond involving the iodine atom and the two linearly arranged ligands. This bond is also involved in the formation of the initial complex between the λ3-iodane and a nucleophile, which can be a solvent molecule or a reactant. The bonding in such complexes can be described by means of σ-hole interactions. In halogen compounds, σ-hole interaction was identified as a force in crystal packing or in the formation of supramolecular chains. More recently, σ-hole interactions were also shown to affect the reactivity of the iodine-based hypervalent reagents. Relative to their monovalent counterparts, where the σ-hole is located on the extension of the sigma-bond, in the hypervalent species our DFT calculations reveal the formation of a nonclassical σ-hole region with one or even two maxima. This observation is also made in fully relativistic ...

In the context of the prediction of the (in-)stability of chemical compounds using machine learning tools, we are often confronted with a basic issue: Whereas much information is available on stable (existing) compounds, little is known about compounds that might well exist, but that have not yet been successfully synthesized, or compounds that are inherently unstable (kinetically and thermodynamically). In the search for Togni-type reagents, many of them kinetically instable, the stability of the prospects can be assessed based on the transition state for the conversion to their non-hypervalent inactive isomer. In earlier work, we determined the barriers of conversion for over one-hundred reagents, still not enough information to train a tool such as a vector support machine. Here, instead, we focus on the early intermediate structures expressed along the isomerization pathway, i.e. transition state searches are replaced by finding (local) minima. Based on an array of 382 Togni-type reagents whose behaviour was known in advance, we show that it is possible to have the machine predict the intermediate form expressed. The approach introduced here can be used to make predictions on the stability and possibly also the reactivity of Togni-type reagents in general.

In a recent study published in ChemComm, H. F. Schaefer and coworkers showed that the Togni trifluoromethyltation reagent and some of its derivatives appear in a high-energy hypervalent form. The (kinetic) stability of these reagents is granted by the five-membered ring of their benziodoxole-based scaffold, which prevents isomerization to the (inactive) acyclic ether form. Whereas the thermodynamic stability of these reagents can be predicted on the basis of the trans influence of the electrophilic substituent, no such descriptor was found for their kinetic stability. In this study, we explore an array of Togni-type reagents, and show that the barrier to isomerization can be predicted based on the bond length between the iodine atom and the electrophilic substituent. For compounds, where this correlation does not hold, we have a reliable indication that the structure of the transition state is at variance with those in the series.

Key for the observed reactivity of λ

An efficient descriptor model for fast screening of potential materials for solar cell applications is presented. It works for both excitonic and non-excitonic solar cells materials, and in addition to the energy gap it includes the absorption spectrum (α(E)) of the material. The charge transport properties of the explored materials are modelled using the characteristic diffusion length (Ld) determined for the respective family of compounds. The presented model surpasses the widely used Scharber model developed for bulk heterojunction solar cells. Using published experimental data, we show that the presented model is more accurate in predicting the achievable efficiencies. To model both excitonic and non-excitonic systems, two different sets of parameters are used to account for the different modes of operation. The analysis of the presented descriptor model clearly shows the benefit of including α(E) and Ld in view of improved screening results. Qatar scientists have designed a more accurate model for screening potential materials for use in solar cells. Fahhad Alharbi and colleagues at Hamad Bin Khalifa University sought to improve the accuracy of screening for next-generation solar cell materials by developing a computational model that includes information such as the material's absorption spectrum, which is omitted from the standard model. Tests against published experimental data showed that the new model can predict a material's efficiency—the proportion of solar energy it converts into useable energy—more precisely than the standard model. The new model has been modified to suit both excitonic solar cells, including organic photovoltaics, and non-excitonic solar cells, including inorganic semiconductors. It will now be tested in a large-scale virtual screening of organic compounds being considered for possible use as photovoltaics.

Data intense processes such as the establishment of quantitative structure–property relationships, the design of novel compounds and also the validation of new quantum chemical methods call for a structured approach for the processing of the results. Whereas in quantum chemistry there are established de facto standards for the computational methods, community standards for [exchange-] data formats are still under development. In this article we present a benchmark study of the (auxiliary-) basis set dependence of the binding energies of an array of conformers of the ethene dimer using the RI-MP2-F12 method. The study was performed using a version of the TURBOMOLE program package modified to provide output in an extended CML format to be imported in an eXist database. This infrastructure for the generation, archival, analysis, and exchange of quantum chemical data is briefly introduced in this article.

This computational study investigates the factors governing the selectivity of the reductive eliminations from rapidly equilibrating isomeric λ(3)-iodanes derived from a diaryl iodonium salt and a nucleophile. The chemoselectivity is mainly determined by the partial charge at the ipso-carbon atom involved in the 3-center-4-electron bond.