Photodissociation of dicarbon: How nature breaks an unusual multiple bond

The dicarbon molecule (C2) is found in flames, comets, stars, and the diffuse interstellar medium. In comets, it is responsible for the green color of the coma, but it is not found in the tail. It has long been held to photodissociate in sunlight with a lifetime precluding observation in the tail, but the mechanism was not known. Here we directly observe photodissociation of C2. From the speed of the recoiling carbon atoms, a bond dissociation energy of 602.804(29) kJ·mol−1 is determined, with an uncertainty comparable to its more experimentally accessible N2 and O2 counterparts. The value is within 0.03 kJ·mol−1 of high-level quantum theory. This work shows that, to break the quadruple bond of C2 using sunlight, the molecule must absorb two photons and undergo two “forbidden” transitions.

Is There a Quadruple Fe-C Bond in FeC(CO)3?

A recent computational paper (Kalita et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2020, 22, 24178–24180) reports the existence of a quadruple bond between a carbon and an iron atom in the FeC(CO)3 molecule. In this communication, we perform several computations on the same system, using both density functional theory and post-Hartree–Fock methods and find that the results, and in particular the Fe-C bond length and stretching frequency depend strongly on the method used. We ascribe this behavior to a strong multireference character of the FeC(CO)3 ground state, which explains the non-conclusive results obtained with single-reference methods. We therefore conclude that, while the existence of a Fe-C quadruple bond is not disproved, further investigation is required before a conclusion can be drawn.

Interaction of dirhenium(III) tryptophan complex compound with DNA and protein

We report about the interactions of dirhenium(III) compound cis-[Re2(Trp)2Cl4(CH3CN)2]Cl2 (I) with bovine serum protein (BSA) and guanine (G4) quadruplexes DNA by UV-Vis titration. Addition of I to BSA led to the interaction between these compounds with binding constant 5.6103 M–1 and hyperchromism (20.9%) of the main protein absorption band (280 nm). These results support our assumption about formation of the additional conjugated systems during the process of interaction with BSA. Stabilization of the quadruple bonded rhenium(III) complex compound was shown in the presence of BSA (the rate of destruction was reduced), that may be explained by interaction between amino acid residues of BSA and quadruple bond of dirhenium(III) complex compound. In addition, we have obtained data about strong hyperchromism (up to 100%) and significant shift of the maximum of absorption (blue shift) towards UV (2–9 nm) and visible (22 nm) regions in the spectra of mixtures G4s and I, that, in our opinion, correlated with a conformational change in DNA and with formation of additional conjugated systems around quadruple bond of I. In a whole, our work confirms the strong binding activity of a cluster dirhenium(III) compound towards G4 quadruplexes, that exceed the binding activity to proteins and witness to preferential interactions of I with G4 DNA in a living cell. These results may be used in DNA "silencing technology" and "antisense therapy".

Boron-Boron Quadruple Bond in Li3B2- and Li4B2 Clusters

Homopolar quadruple bonding to first row p-block elements is expected due to the presence of four valence orbitals accessible for bonding. Although, quadruple bonding in C2 has been proposed, no...

Is a Transition metal-Silicon Quadruple Bond Viable?

Quadruple bonding in heavier main group elements is not known albeit having four valence orbitals accessible for bonding. Here we report the unprecedented quadruple bonding between silicon atom and a...

Transition metal carbon quadruple bond: viability through single electron transmutation

Quadruple bonding to main group elements is extremely rare although they have four valence orbitals accessible for bonding.