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A combined experimental and theoretical study has been carried out on 4-fluoro-threonine, the only naturally occurring fluorinated amino acid. Fluorination of the methyl group significantly increases the conformational complexity with respect to the parent amino acid threonine. The conformational landscape has been characterized in great detail, with special attention given to the inter-conversion pathways between different conformers. This led to the identification of 13 stable low-energy minima. The equilibrium population of so many conformers produces a very complicated and congested rotational spectrum that could be assigned through a strategy that combines several levels of quantum chemical calculations with the principles of machine learning. Twelve conformers out of 13 could be experimentally characterized. The results obtained from the analysis of the intra-molecular interactions can be exploited to accurately model fluorine-substitution effects in biomolecules., (© 2023 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Phenylmethanimine is an aromatic imine with a twofold relevance in chemistry: organic synthesis and astrochemistry. To tackle both aspects, a multidisciplinary strategy has been exploited and a new, easily accessible synthetic approach to generate stable imine-intermediates in the gas phase and in solution has been introduced. The combination of this formation pathway, based on the thermal decomposition of hydrobenzamide, with a state-of-the-art computational characterization of phenylmethanimine laid the foundation for its first laboratory observation by means of rotational electric resonance spectroscopy. Both E and Z isomers have been accurately characterized, thus providing a reliable basis to guide future astronomical observations. A further characterization has been carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, showing the feasibility of this synthetic approach in solution. The temperature dependence as well as possible mechanisms of the thermolysis process have been examined., (© 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The 1:1 complex of ammonia with pyridine is characterized by using state-of-the-art quantum-chemical computations combined with pulsed-jet Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. The computed potential energy landscape indicates the formation of a stable σ-type complex, which is confirmed experimentally: analysis of the rotational spectrum shows the presence of only one 1:1 pyridine-ammonia adduct. Each rotational transition is split into several components owing to the internal rotation of NH 3 around its C 3 axis and to the hyperfine structure of both 14 N quadrupolar nuclei, thus providing unequivocal proof that the two molecules form a σ-type complex involving both a N-H⋅⋅⋅N and a C-H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bond. The dissociation energy (BSSE- and ZPE-corrected) is estimated to be 11.5 kJ mol -1 . This work represents the first application of an accurate yet efficient computational scheme, designed for the investigation of small biomolecules, to a molecular cluster., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The structural and energetic features of the C-H⋅⋅⋅π interaction and the internal dynamics of the CHF3 group change drastically in going from benzene-CHF3 to indan-CHF3 , according to the analysis of the rotational spectrum of the latter complex generated in a supersonic expansion., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The rotational spectra of two isotopologues of the 1:1 complex between chlorotrifluoromethane and formaldehyde have been recorded and analyzed by using Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. Only one rotamer was detected, with the two constituent molecules held together through a Cl⋅⋅⋅O halogen bond (R(Cl⋅⋅⋅O) = 3.048 Å). The dimer displays two simultaneous large-amplitude intramolecular motions. The internal rotation of formaldehyde around its symmetry axis (V2 = 28(5) cm(-1)) splits all the rotational transitions into two component lines with a relative intensity ratio of 1:3. On the other hand, the almost free internal rotation (V3 ≈ 2.5 cm(-1)) of the CF3 symmetric top increases the "rigid" value of the rotational constant A by almost one order of magnitude. In addition, all the transitions display a hyperfine structure due to the (35)Cl (or (37)Cl) nucleus quadrupole effects., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The rotational spectra of several isotopologues of the 1:1 complex between the inhaled anesthetic isoflurane and water have been recorded and analyzed by using Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. The rotational spectrum showed a single rotamer, corresponding to the configuration in which the most stable conformer of isolated isoflurane is linked to the water molecule through an almost linear C-H⋅⋅⋅O weak hydrogen bond. All transitions display a hyperfine structure due to the (35)Cl (or (37)Cl) nuclear quadrupole effects., (Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)