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Scope and Limitations of Baird's Theory on Triplet State Aromaticity: Application to the Tuning of Singlet–Triplet Energy Gaps in Fulvenes
Author(s) -
Ottosson Henrik,
Kilså Kristine,
Chajara Khalil,
Piqueras Mari Carmen,
Crespo Raül,
Kato Haruhisa,
Muthas Daniel
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.200700362
Subject(s) - aromaticity , fulvene , triplet state , singlet state , chemistry , computational chemistry , azulene , density functional theory , ab initio , photochemistry , molecule , atomic physics , excited state , physics , organic chemistry
Abstract Utilizing Baird's theory on triplet state aromaticity, we show that the singlet–triplet energy gaps (Δ E ST ) of pentafulvenes are easily varied through substitution by as much as 36 kcal mol −1 . This exploits the fact that fulvenes act as aromatic chameleons in which the dipoles reverse on going from the singlet ground state (S 0 ) to the lowest ππ* triplet state (T 1 ); thus, their electron distributions are adapted so as to achieve some aromaticity in both states. The results are based on quantum chemical calculations with the OLYP density functional theory method and the CASPT2 ab initio method, as well as spectroscopic determination of Δ E ST by triplet sensitization. The findings can also be generalized to fulvenes other than the pentafulvenes, even though the effect is attenuated as the size of the fulvene increases. Our studies thus reveal that triplet‐state aromaticity can greatly influence the properties of conjugated compounds in the T 1 state.