The electronic structure of some heterocycles with bridgehead nitrogen: photoelectron spectra and ab initio molecular orbital calculations

Abstract

He(I) and He(II) photoelectron spectra are reported for the cycl[3,3,3]azine (1), cycl[3,2,2]azine (2), indolizine (6) and imidazo[1,2-a] pyridine (7), as well as He(I) spectra for related compounds (3–5). Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to assign the spectra of 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, and to give information about the nature of the π-electron energy levels. The first IP for 1 is singularly low (5.86 eV), and this has been interpreted in terms of occupancy of the 1a 1'' orbital which is normally vacant in related compounds. In the cyclazines, the nitrogen lone pair seems to be split into two π-levels.