Physisorption-induced C-H bond elongation in methane

H Oström1, H Ogasawara, L-A Näslund

  • 1Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Center, Fysikum, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.

Summary

Methane physisorption on platinum surfaces creates new electronic states. This occurs due to orbital mixing and charge polarization, minimizing repulsion and slightly elongating C-H bonds without forming chemical bonds.

Related Concept Videos

Inductive Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview01:27

Inductive Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview

The protons in unsubstituted alkanes are strongly shielded with chemical shifts below 1.8 ppm. Methine, methylene, and methyl protons appear at approximately 1.7, 1.2 and 0.7 ppm, while the proton signal from methane appears at 0.23 ppm. An electronegative substituent, such as chlorine, withdraws the electron density from the protons, increasing their chemical shift. Progressive substitution of the hydrogens in methane by chlorine shifts the proton signals increasingly downfield, to 3.05 ppm in...
Conformations of Ethane and Propane02:18

Conformations of Ethane and Propane

In an organic molecule, free rotation about the carbon-carbon single bond results in energetically different conformers of the molecule. Due to this rotation, called the internal rotation, ethane has two major conformations — staggered and eclipsed.
Staggered conformation is a low energy and more stable conformation with the C-H bonds on the front carbon placed at 60°dihedral angles relative to the C-H bonds on the back carbon, leading to a reduced torsional strain. In staggered ethane, the...
Conformations of Cycloalkanes02:29

Conformations of Cycloalkanes

Adolf von Baeyer attempted to explain the instabilities of small and large cycloalkane rings using the concept of angle strain — the strain caused by the deviation of bond angles from the ideal 109.5° tetrahedral value for sp3  hybridized carbons. However, while cyclopropane and cyclobutane are strained, as expected from their highly compressed bond angles, cyclopentane is more strained than predicted, and cyclohexane is virtually strain-free. Hence, Baeyer’s theory that was based on the...
Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals II03:35

Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals II

sp3d and sp3d 2 Hybridization
IR Absorption Frequency: Hybridization01:21

IR Absorption Frequency: Hybridization

Hydrocarbons such as alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes show characteristic C–H stretching absorption bands. These IR stretching frequencies depend on the hybridization of the involved carbon atom and can be explained in terms of the s character of each hybridized atomic orbital.
Among the sp, sp2, and sp3 hybridized orbitals, sp orbitals have the maximum s character (50%). Consequently, the electrons are held more closely to the nucleus, resulting in stronger and shorter C–H bonds that stretch at a...
¹H NMR: Long-Range Coupling01:27

¹H NMR: Long-Range Coupling

The coupling interactions of nuclei across four or more bonds are usually weak, with J values less than 1 Hz. While these are usually not observed in spectra, the presence of multiple bonds along the coupling pathway can result in observable long-range coupling.
In alkenes, spin information is communicated via σ–π overlap, as seen in allylic (four-bond) and homoallylic (five-bond) couplings. These coupling interactions are stronger when the σ bond is parallel to the alkene π orbitals.