Investigation of the gas-phase structure and rotational barrier of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate and comparison with covalent sulfonates

Maria E. Defonsi Lestard, Maria E. Tuttolomondo, Eduardo L. Varetti, Derek A. Wann, Heather E. Robertson, David W. H. Rankin, Aida Ben Altabef

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The molecular structure of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, CF3SO2OSi(CH3)3, has been determined in the gas phase from electron-diffraction data supplemented by ab initio (MP2) and DFT calculations using 6-31G(d), 6-311++G(d,p) and 6-311G++(3df,3pd) basis sets. Both experimental and theoretical data indicate that only one gauche conformer is possible by rotating about the O-S bond. The anomeric effect is a fundamental stereoelectronic interaction and presents a profound influence on the electronic geometry. We have investigated the origin of the anomeric effect by means of NBO and AIM analysis. A natural bond orbital analysis showed that the lp π[O bonded to Si] → σ*[C-S] hyperconjugative interaction favors the gauche conformation. In addition, comparison of the structural and stereoelectronic properties of the title molecule with those of silyl trifluoromethanesulfonate and methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate has been carried out.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)376-382
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Molecular Structure
Volume984
Issue number1-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2010

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Gas electron diffraction
  • ab initio calculations
  • DFT calculations
  • Internal barrier to rotation
  • Fourier-type expansion
  • Natural bond orbital analysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Investigation of the gas-phase structure and rotational barrier of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate and comparison with covalent sulfonates'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this