Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.120, No.41, 8184-8189, 2016
Role of Hydrogen Bonding on the Reactivity of Thiyl Radicals: A Mass Spectrometric and Computational Study Using the Distonic Radical Ion Approach
Experimental and computational quantum chemistry investigations of the gas-phase ion molecule reactions between the distonic ions H3N(CH2)(n)S center dot (n = 2-) and the reagents dimethyl disulfide, allyl bromide, and allyl iodide demonstrate that intramolecular hydrogen bonding can modulate the reactivity of thiyl radicals. Thus, the 3-ammonium-1-propanethiyl radical (n = 3) exhibits the lowest reactivity of these distonic ions toward all substrates. Theoretical calculations on this distonic ion highlight that its most stable conformation involves a six-membered ring configuration, and that it has the strongest intramolecular hydrogen bond. In addition, the calculations indicate that the barrier heights for radical abstraction by this hydrogen-bond-stabilized 3-ammonium-l-propanethiyl radical are the highest among the systems examined, consistent with the experimental observations.