Estudio computacional de transferencia electrónica intramolecular en tríadas conjugadas ferroceno-puente-aceptor

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the present work is to analyze, from the theoretical point of view through quantum chemical calculations, the potentially useful donor behaviour of ferrocene in recognition processes of metal cations, as well as the stabilization of electronic deficiencies to ferrocenyl groups. This allows the study of intramolecular electron transfer phenomenon in a variety of ferrocene-bridge-acceptor triads, as well as the effect of the nature and length of -conjugated spacers by means of geometric (bond alternation) and electronic (degree of electronic transfer, gap, dipole moment, ...) parameters of the molecule. On the other hand, it is important to know the inherent mechanism by which the variation of the mono or bi-directional conductive capacity of a molecular cable occurs, in order to optimize its design according to the type of properties (bi-directional driver, or semiconductor diode, switch, etc.) to be obtained. For this purpose, the theoretical study is focused on both the geometrical features and the electronic structure of different molecular cables with ferrocene-bridge-acceptor structure and how the variation of these structural characteristics are related to the phenomenon of electron transfer along the molecular cable. Calculated geometries of the compounds under study were fully optimized at the DFT level with the Gaussian 09 or ORCA v. 2.9 packages, using the B3LYP functional. As "basis sets", Pople 6-31G* functions for the first chronological stage of this work or Ahlrichs def2-TZVP in the rest, were used. In all optimizations with ORCA, Grimme's semi-empirical correction taking into account most dispersive forces that contribute to energy was employed. The computational study shows that ferrocene acts as electron donor species towards a variety of external electrophiles through either a nonbonding electron pair at the iron atom or through electrons located at the Cp ligands. On the other hand, the study of exocyclic bond distortion in the ferrocene unit, in a wide range of monofunctionalized ferrocenes, with respect to their deviation from coplanarity to the Cp moiety, shows that there is a good relationship between the stabilization of positive charges or electron deficiencies at the exocyclic atom directly bound to ferrocene, with some geometric and electronic parameters. Finally, the study of a set of push-pull compounds with donor-bridge-acceptor structure and bismetallocenes linked through different -conjugated bridges shows that intramolecular electron transfer between the two electroactive (or metal) centres is indeed possible. In addition, in some particular cases it is possible to detect a switch or amplifier functionality when a reversible protonation-deprotonation process takes place. Thus, imine (-CH=N-) and 2-aza-1,3-butadiene (AZD) bridges exhibit directional behaviour on protonation, as they act as a switch in case of imines A-CH=N-D (1 2) and azadienes D-AZD-A (1 4) systems, whereas their D-CH=N-A (1 2) and A-AZD-D (1 4) isomers behave as amplifiers.