In one study, scientists sought to twist molecules until they break. Their aim was to challenge their understanding of chemical bonds. They were mainly interested in aromatic rings. Because, an aromatic molecule has several uses, particularly in pharmacology and in the materials industry. In fact, she has a reputation for being a particularly stable molecule.
If benzene is the best known among aromatic compounds, scientists operated on the tropylium. This research is of particular interest to the making chemicals like drugs and plastics.
The work was carried out by researchers from the University of York and Durham. The authors have published their full results in the journal Nature Chemistry.
We know more about chemical torsion
As part of their research, the scientists created overloaded aromatic rings. To do this, they used the tropylium which shares electrons arounda ring made up of seven carbon atoms. Concretely, each of these atoms represent points of attachment.
In fact, the seven points of attachment of the tropylium are of real interest to researchers. This allows them toaccumulate more groups of atoms around the aromatic ring, causing greater tension. This was not possible with the six carbon atoms of benzene.
In their experiments, the team found that the larger the clusters of atoms bound to the ring, the more intense the twist. It would seem that at a certain threshold, the ring is overloaded enough that it ends up writhing. This high level of bulk leads to a rearrangement of the molecule, which pinches in the middle. Nevertheless, it takes one significant overload to break the aromatic bond.
It’s all in the balance
Faced with these results, Paul McGonigal of the University of York, a member of the team, provided more precision. It seems that in overloaded molecules, a delicate balancing act takes place between deformation and bonding. Exactly, this phenomenon determines the structure, properties and applications potential of a material.
“The precise control of the twist of our molecules is unprecedented. We were able to not only bend an aromatic molecule to the maximum deformation it can tolerate, but also find out what happens when we exceed that limit. We hope that this study is a step that will allow us to deactivate and activate the aromatic bond in a more regular and controlled way. »
Paul McGonigal
SOURCE : SCITECHDAILY