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1. Origin of the ²⁹ Si NMR chemical shift in R ₃ Si–X and relationship to the formation of silylium (R ₃ Si ⁺ ) ions

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0DT02099K  

   Huynh, Winn; Conley, Matthew P. (November 2020, Dalton Transactions)

   null (Ed.)

   The origin in deshielding of 29 Si NMR chemical shifts in R 3 Si–X, where X = H, OMe, Cl, OTf, [CH 6 B 11 X 6 ], toluene, and O X (O X = surface oxygen), as well as i Pr 3 Si + and Mes 3 Si + were studied using DFT methods. At the M06-L/6-31G(d,p) level of theory the geometry optimized structures agree well with those obtained experimentally. The trends in 29 Si NMR chemical shift also reproduce experimental trends; i Pr 3 Si–H has the most shielded 29 Si NMR chemical shift and free i Pr 3 Si + or isolable Mes 3 Si + have the most deshielded 29 Si NMR chemical shift. Natural localized molecular orbital (NLMO) analysis of the contributions to paramagnetic shielding ( σ p ) in these compounds shows that Si–R (R = alkyl, H) bonding orbitals are the major contributors to deshielding in this series. The Si–R bonding orbitals are coupled to the empty p-orbital in i Pr 3 Si + or Mes 3 Si + , or to the orbital in R 3 Si–X. This trend also applies to surface bound R 3 Si–O X . This model also explains chemical shift trends in recently isolated t Bu 2 SiH 2 + , t BuSiH 2 + , and SiH 3 + that show more shielded 29 Si NMR signals than R 3 Si + species. There is no correlation between isotropic 29 Si NMR chemical shift and charge at silicon. 

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2. Coordination-induced O-H/N-H bond weakening by a redox non-innocent, aluminum-containing radical

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45721-1  

   Sinhababu, Soumen; Singh, Roushan Prakash; Radzhabov, Maxim R.; Kumawat, Jugal; Ess, Daniel H.; Mankad, Neal P. (December 2024, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Several renewable energy schemes aim to use the chemical bonds in abundant molecules like water and ammonia as energy reservoirs. Because the O-H and N-H bonds are quite strong (>100 kcal/mol), it is necessary to identify substances that dramatically weaken these bonds to facilitate proton-coupled electron transfer processes required for energy conversion. Usually this is accomplished through coordination-induced bond weakening by redox-active metals. However, coordination-induced bond weakening is difficult with earth’s most abundant metal, aluminum, because of its redox inertness under mild conditions. Here, we report a system that uses aluminum with a redox non-innocent ligand to achieve significant levels of coordination-induced bond weakening of O-H and N-H bonds. The multisite proton-coupled electron transfer manifold described here points to redox non-innocent ligands as a design element to open coordination-induced bond weakening chemistry to more elements in the periodic table. 

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3. Stability and Solid Solutions of Hydrous Alumino-Silicates in the Earth’s Mantle

   https://doi.org/10.3390/min10040330  

   Panero, Wendy R.; Caracas, Razvan (April 2020, Minerals)

   null (Ed.)

   The degree to which the Earth’s mantle stores and cycles water in excess of the storage capacity of nominally anhydrous minerals is dependent upon the stability of hydrous phases under mantle-relevant pressures, temperatures, and compositions. Two hydrous phases, phase D and phase H, are stable to the pressures and temperatures of the Earth’s lower mantle, suggesting that the Earth’s lower mantle may participate in the cycling of water. We build on our prior work of density functional theory calculations on phase H with the stability, structure, and bonding of hydrous phases D, and we predict the aluminum partitioning with H in the Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -MgO-H 2 O system. We address the solid solutions through a statistical sampling of site occupancy and calculation of the partition function from the grand canonical ensemble. We show that each phase has a wide solid solution series between MgSi 2 O 6 H 2 -Al 2 SiO 6 H 2 and MgSiO 4 H 2 -2 δ AlOOH + SiO 2 , in which phase H is more aluminum rich than phase D at a given bulk composition. We predict that the addition of Al to both phases D and H stabilizes each phase to higher temperatures through additional configurational entropy. While we have shown that phase H does not exhibit symmetric hydrogen bonding at high pressure, we report here that phase D undergoes a gradual increase in the number of symmetric H-bonds beginning at ∼30 GPa, and it is only ∼50% complete at 60 GPa. 

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4. Clarifying the quantum mechanical origin of the covalent chemical bond

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18670-8  

   Levine, Daniel S.; Head-Gordon, Martin (December 2020, Nature Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Lowering of the electron kinetic energy (KE) upon initial encounter of radical fragments has long been cited as the primary origin of the covalent chemical bond based on Ruedenberg’s pioneering analysis of H $${}_{2}^{+}$$ 2 + and H 2 and presumed generalization to other bonds. This work reports KE changes during the initial encounter corresponding to bond formation for a range of different bonds; the results demand a re-evaluation of the role of the KE. Bonds between heavier elements, such as H 3 C–CH 3 , F–F, H 3 C–OH, H 3 C–SiH 3 , and F–SiF 3 behave in the opposite way to H $${}_{2}^{+}$$ 2 + and H 2 , with KE often increasing on bringing radical fragments together (though the total energy change is substantially stabilizing). The origin of this difference is Pauli repulsion between the electrons forming the bond and core electrons. These results highlight the fundamental role of constructive quantum interference (or resonance) as the origin of chemical bonding. Differences between the interfering states distinguish one type of bond from another. 

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5. Characterization of a strong covalent Th3+–Th3+ bond inside an Ih(7)-C80 fullerene cage

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22659-2  

   Zhuang, Jiaxin; Morales-Martínez, Roser; Zhang, Jiangwei; Wang, Yaofeng; Yao, Yang-Rong; Pei, Cuiying; Rodríguez-Fortea, Antonio; Wang, Shuao; Echegoyen, Luis; de Graaf, Coen; et al (December 2021, Nature Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract The nature of the actinide-actinide bonds is of fundamental importance to understand the electronic structure of the 5 f elements. It has attracted considerable theoretical attention, but little is known experimentally as the synthesis of these chemical bonds remains extremely challenging. Herein, we report a strong covalent Th-Th bond formed between two rarely accessible Th 3+ ions, stabilized inside a fullerene cage nanocontainer as Th 2 @ I h (7)-C 80 . This compound is synthesized using the arc-discharge method and fully characterized using several techniques. The single-crystal X-Ray diffraction analysis determines that the two Th atoms are separated by 3.816 Å. Both experimental and quantum-chemical results show that the two Th atoms have formal charges of +3 and confirm the presence of a strong covalent Th-Th bond inside I h (7)-C 80 . Moreover, density functional theory and ab initio multireference calculations suggest that the overlap between the 7 s /6 d hybrid thorium orbitals is so large that the bond still exists at Th-Th separations larger than 6 Å. This work demonstrates the authenticity of covalent actinide metal-metal bonds in a stable compound and deepens our fundamental understanding of f element metal bonds. 

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