ci9b00352_si_001.pdf (524.93 kB)
Isomerization and Decomposition of 2‑Methylfuran with External Forces
journal contribution
posted on 2019-07-17, 15:08 authored by Agnieszka Brzyska, Krzysztof WolińskiThe
primary goal of this project was to evaluate the performance
of the Standard and Enforced Geometry Optimization (SEGO) method which
we have recently developed. The SEGO method has been designed for
an automatic location of multiple minima on the molecular Potential
Energy Surface (PES), and its usefulness has been demonstrated so
far for three molecules only. In this project we applied the SEGO
method to explore the 2-methylfuran (2MF) PES. Our choice was not
accidental: this molecule recently gained a great deal of interest
as a potential candidate for biofuel, and therefore its pyrolysis
is extensively studied. To understand pyrolysis of 2MF a detailed
knowledge about its PES is needed. In these studies we explored the
2MF PES and located a surprisingly large number of local minima corresponding
to 2MF isomers and decomposition products. Some of the 2MF isomers
and fragments have amazing structures which most likely were previously
unknown. All structures presented in this paper were found in an automatic
manner as a result of the enforced chemical reactions driven by the
SEGO method. Thus, in these studies we have not only proven that the
SEGO method is a very efficient tool for exploring molecular potential
energy surfaces, but we also obtained very detailed knowledge about
the 2MF PES.