Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026
Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics
Published on: September 28, 2016
Gas phase structures, energetics, and potential energy surfaces of disilacyclohexanes
Ingvar Arnason1, Palmar I Gudnason, Ragnar Björnsson
1Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 3, IS-107 Reykjavik, Iceland.
Abstract:
The molecular structures of 1,4-, 1,3-, and 1,2-disilacyclohexanes (denoted as 14, 13, and 12, respectively) were investigated by means of gas electron diffraction (GED). Each molecule was found to possess a chair as the most stable conformation in the gas phase, the point group being C(2h), C(s), and C(2), respectively. Experimental GED structures are in good agreement with theoretical calculations (MP2/cc-pVTZ and B3LYP/cc-pVTZ). A qualitative ring strain analysis suggests 14 to be the most stable and 12 the least stable of the parent disilacyclohexanes. Relative energy calculations with the G4 model chemistry protocol, on the other hand, predict 13 to be the most stable isomer, 5.9 and 14.2 kcal/mol more stable than 14 and 12, respectively. The enhanced stability of 13 compared to 14 is in agreement with an analysis on endocyclic bond lengths and bond polarities. The heats of formation (G4 calculations) are predicted to be -12.3, -18.1, and -3.9 kcal/mol for 14, 13, and 12, respectively. The potential energy surface (PES) and the lowest energy path for the chair-to-chair inversion have been calculated for each isomer. In addition to the two chair forms in each case and some half-chair or sofa-like transition states (four in the case of 14, and two in the case of 13), there are two twist forms found as stationary points on the PES of 14, six twist and six boat forms on the PES of 13, and four twist and six boat forms on the PES of 12.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Stability of Substituted Cyclohexanes
The two chair conformations of cyclohexanes undergo rapid interconversion at room temperature. Both forms have identical energies and stabilities, each comprising equal amounts of the equilibrium mixture. Replacing a hydrogen atom with a functional group makes the two conformations energetically non-equivalent.
For example, in...
02:11Conformations of Cyclohexane
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
02:37Disubstituted Cyclohexanes: cis-trans Isomerism
In cyclohexane, the substituents can occupy different positions generating distinct isomers.
02:29Conformations of Cycloalkanes
02:02Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...
01:16Structure of Conjugated Dienes
Conjugated dienes are compounds characterized by the presence of alternating double and single bonds. In a conjugated system like 1,3-butadiene, the unhybridized 2p orbital on each carbon overlaps continuously, allowing the π electrons to be delocalized across the entire molecule. In contrast, this type of overlap does not occur in cumulated and isolated dienes, such as 2,3-pentadiene and 1,4-pentadiene, respectively. Instead, the π electrons remain localized between the double...