Homoselenocysteine — An oxygen or selenium acid in the gas phase?

Abstract

The potential energy surface of l-homoselenocysteine (HSEC) has been explored through the use of B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) calculations. In this survey, seventy-seven different conformers have been located. These local minima can be classified in four groups, A–D. Structures A, B, and D are stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IMHBs) with the amino group acting as the hydrogen bond (HB) donor and the carbonyl group (structures A and D) or the hydroxyl group (structure B) as HB acceptors. The structures in set C present an IMHB with the amino group acting as the HB acceptor and the hydroxyl group as the HB donor. The stability order decreases in the following order: A > B > C > D. From their relative stabilities it can be concluded that only three of these conformers, namely A1, A4, and A5, would exist in the gas phase at room temperature. The most stable deprotonated form corresponds to a Se-deprotated species stabilized by a strong IMHB between the hydroxyl group and the Se atom. However, a direct deprotonation of the most stable neutrals lead to O-deprotonated species, which eventually isomerize to yield the global minimum. Hence, we can conclude that, quite unexpectedly, HSEC behaves as a Se acid in the gas phase, its intrinsic acidity being 1374 kJ mol–1at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) level of theory. The most stable protonated forms are systematically the N-protonated ones, the global minimum being a structure stabilized through an IMHB involving the protonated amino group as the HB donor and the SeH group as the HB acceptor. The calculated gas-phase proton affinity (PA) at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) level of theory is 930 kJ mol–1.