Description: This article discusses current applications of computational chemistry. This virtual issue of JACS Select is devoted to some of the computation chemistry that has recently been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). The 25 articles and Communications that appear in this issue of JACS Select were chosen on the basis of the enthusiasm of the referees for these manuscripts when they were reviewed, as well as on the number of times each of these articles has been accessed online since its publication. Diversity of subject matter was not a criterion used in selecting these 25 articles from the ca. 50 well-reviewed, frequently accessed articles that were initially considered. However, inspection of the list of the subjects covered - from amyloid fibril polymorphism to nucleation of amorphous calcium carbonate; from the structure of solid Li(NH3)4 to the role that solvation plays in the Thorpe-Ingold effect; and to the nonstatistical, gas-phase dynamics of [1,5] hydrogen shifts in chemically activated cyclopentadiene - reveals the diverse nature of some of the best papers in computational chemistry that have been published recently in JACS.

Description: This article discusses the experimental and predicted solubilities of 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic acid in select organic solvents of varying polarity and hydrogen-bonding character. Abstract: Experimental solubilities are reported for 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic acid dissolved in 16 alcohol, 5 alkyl alkanoate, 5 alkoxyalcohol and 6 ether solvents. The measured solubility data were correlated with the Abraham solvation parameter model. Mathematical expressions based on the Abraham model predicted the observed molar solubilities to within 0.083 log units.

Description: This article discusses stability studies of transition-metal isomers. Several hypotheses to elucidate the linkage isomer preference of the thiocyanate (SCN¯) ion have been offered. For complexes with small coordination numbers (i.e. 1 and 2) and groups 11 (Cu-triad) and 12 (Zn-triad) metals, different levels of theory and a variety of basis sets have been employed to study linkage isomerism. Similar results are obtained for all density functionals tested, pure and hybrid. Overall, good agreement, vis-á-vis experimentally identified linkage isomers, is achieved for ab initio techniques, whereas semiempirical quantum mechanical methods show a bias toward S-ligated isomers. Despite the seeming ease for the a priori prediction of the most stable thiocyanate isomers using acid/base principles, this research highlights the sensitivity of quantitative calculations of transition-metal linkage isomerism to the choice of basis set and electron correlation, particularly with post-Hartree-Fock treatments.

Description: This article discusses estimating solid-liquid phase change enthalpies and entropies. Abstract: A group additivity method based on molecular structure is described that can be used to estimate solid-liquid total phase change entropy (∆₀ᵀ(fus)S(tpce)) and enthalpy (∆₀ᵀ(fus)H(tpce)) of organic molecules. The estimation of these phase changes is described and numerous examples are provided to guide the user in evaluating these properties for a broad range of organic structures. A total of 1858 compounds were used in deriving the group values and these values are tested on a database of 260 additional compounds. The absolute average and relative errors between experimental and calculated values for these 1858 compounds are 9.9 J-mol⁻¹·K⁻¹ and 3.52 kJ·mol⁻¹, and 0.154 and 0.17 for ∆₀ᵀ(fus)S(tpce) and ∆₀ᵀ(fus)H(tpce), respectively. For the 260 test compounds, standard deviations of ± 13.0 J·mol⁻¹·K⁻¹ (∆₀ᵀ(fus)S(tpce)) and ±4.88 kJ mol⁻¹ (∆₀ᵀ(fus)H(tpce)) between experimental and calculated values were obtained. Estimations are provided for both databases. Fusion enthalpies for some additional compounds not included in the statistics are also included in the tabulation.

Description: This article discusses synthesis and reactivity of a coordinatively unsaturated Ruthenium(II) parent amido complex. The five-coordinate parent amido complex (PCP)Ru(CO)(NH2) (2) (PCP = 2,6-(CH2P-tBu2)2C6H3) has been prepared by two independent routes that involve deprotonation of Ru(II) ammine complexes. Complex 2 reacts with phenylacetylene to yield the Ru(II) acetylide complex (PCP)Ru(CO)(C≡CPh) (5) and ammonia. In addition, complex 2 rapidly activates dihydrogen at room temperature to yield ammonia and the previously reported hydride complex (PCP)Ru(CO)(H). The ability of the amido complex 2 to cleave the H-H bond is attributed to the combination of a vacant coordination site for binding/activation of dihydrogen and a basic amido ligand. Complex 2 also undergoes an intramolecular C-H activation of a methyl group on the PCP ligand to yield ammonia and a cyclometalated complex. The reaction of (PCP)Ru(CO)(CI) with MeLi allows the isolation of (PCP)Ru(CO)(Me) (8), and complex 8 undergoes an intramolecular C-H activation analogous to the amido complex 2 to produce methane and the cyclometalated complex. Determination of activation parameters for the intramolecular C-H activation transformations of 2 and 8 reveal identical ∆Hǂ {18(1) kcal/mol} with ∆Sǂ = -23(4) eu and -18(4) eu, respectively. Density functional theory has been applied to the study of intermolecular activation ...