The molecular structure of allenes and ketenes. Part 19. Photoelectron spectra and conformations of donor-substituted allenes
Abstract
HeI photoelectron (p.e.) spectra for the donor-substituted allenes RCHC
CH2[R =(CH3)3C (1), N(CH3)2(2), OCH3(3), OC2H5(5), OC(CH3)3(6), SCH3(4), SC2H5(7), SC(CH3)3(8)] are reported and assignments of p.e. bands with energies Iv < 12.5 eV are presented. Substitutent effects on the p.e. band positions can be interpreted in terms of intrinsic electronic effects of the groups R, vibronic coupling effects (of the Jahn–Teller or pseudo-Jahn–Teller-type, respectively) being negligible. Interactions of the substituents with the remote allenic C
C moiety are rationalized through Coulombic field effects and hyperconjugations. The lowest energy ionic states of (1)—(8) have geometries which deviate considerably from those of the neutral ground-state. In particular, (2+) and (8+) are shown to have bent C
C
C geometries. From the p.e. spectra it is inferred that compound (2) has a non-planar geometry. This is supported by MINDO/3 calculations. Furthermore, it is shown that all the radical cations exist in one largely preferred conformation. For the methyl and ethyl compounds (3), (5), (4), and (7) it is the s-cis conformation, whereas for the t-butyl molecules (6) and (8) the s-trans form is preferred.