Rotational Signatures of Dispersive Stacking in the Formation of Aromatic Dimers

The aggregation of aromatic species is dictated by inter‐ and intramolecular forces. Not only is characterizing these forces in aromatic growth important for understanding grain formation in the interstellar medium, but it is also imperative to comprehend biological functions. We report a combined r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2019-03, Vol.58 (10), p.3108-3113
Main Authors: Fatima, Mariyam, Steber, Amanda L., Poblotzki, Anja, Pérez, Cristóbal, Zinn, Sabrina, Schnell, Melanie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglomeration
aromatic dimers
Dibenzofuran
Dimers
Diphenyl ether
Dispersion
Fluorene
Free electrons
Interstellar matter
molecular complexes
Molecular interactions
non-covalent interactions
Organic chemistry
Oxygen atoms
Rotational spectra
rotational spectroscopy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The aggregation of aromatic species is dictated by inter‐ and intramolecular forces. Not only is characterizing these forces in aromatic growth important for understanding grain formation in the interstellar medium, but it is also imperative to comprehend biological functions. We report a combined rotational spectroscopic and quantum‐chemical study on three homo‐dimers, comprising of diphenyl ether, dibenzofuran, and fluorene, to analyze the influence of structural flexibility and the presence of heteroatoms on dimer formation. The structural information obtained shows clear similarities between the dimers, despite their qualitatively different molecular interactions. All dimers are dominated by dispersion interactions, but the dibenzofuran dimer is also influenced by repulsion between the free electron pairs of the oxygen atoms and the π‐clouds. This study lays the groundwork for understanding the first steps of molecular aggregation in systems with aromatic residues. Use the force: A combined rotational spectroscopic and quantum‐chemical study on diphenyl ether, dibenzofuran, and fluorene determined the influence of structural flexibility and the presence of heteroatoms on aromatic dimer formation. This furthers our understanding of the first steps of molecular aggregation in aromatic systems.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201812556