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Confinement induced thermodynamic and kinetic facilitation of some Diels–Alder reactions inside a CB[7] cavitand
Author(s) -
Chakraborty Debdutta,
Chattaraj Pratim Kumar
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of computational chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1096-987X
pISSN - 0192-8651
DOI - 10.1002/jcc.25094
Subject(s) - chemistry , diels–alder reaction , computational chemistry , density functional theory , natural bond orbital , cyclopentadiene , molecule , molecular orbital , non covalent interactions , photochemistry , organic chemistry , hydrogen bond , catalysis
The effect of geometrical confinement on the Diels–Alder reactions between some model dienes viz. furan, thiophene, cyclopentadiene, benzene, and a classic dienophile, ethylene has been explored by performing density functional theory‐based calculations. The effect of confinement has been imposed by a rigid macrocyclic molecule cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]). Results indicate that all the reactions become thermodynamically more favorable at 298.15 K temperature and one atmospheric pressure inside CB[7] as compared to the corresponding free gaseous state reactions. Moreover, the rate constants associated with the reactions experience manifold enhancement inside CB[7] as compared to the “unconfined” reactions. Suitable contribution from the entropy factor makes the concerned reactions more facile inside CB[7]. The energy gap between the frontier molecular orbitals of the dienes and dienophiles decrease inside CB[7] as compared to that in the free state reactions thereby allowing facile orbital interactions. The nature of interaction as well as bonding has been analyzed with the help of atoms‐in‐molecules, noncovalent interaction, natural bond orbital as well as energy decomposition analyses. Results suggest that all the guests bind with CB[7] in an attractive fashion. Primarily, noncovalent interactions stabilize the host–guest systems. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.