UCLA

Reported here is the first μSR study of the muon (A(μ)) and proton (A(p)) β-hyperfine coupling constants (Hfcc) of muoniated sec-butyl radicals, formed by muonium (Mu) addition to 1-butene and to cis- and trans-2-butene. The data are compared with in vacuo spin-unrestricted MP2 and hybrid DFT/B3YLP calculations reported in the previous paper (I), which played an important part in the interpretation of the data. The T-dependences of both the (reduced) muon, A(μ)′(T), and proton, A(p)(T), Hfcc are surprisingly well explained by a simple model, in which the calculated Hfcc from paper I at energy minima of 0 and near ±120° are thermally averaged, assuming an energy dependence given by a basic 2-fold torsional potential. Fitted torsional barriers to A(μ)′(T) from this model are similar (~3 kJ/mol) for all muoniated butyl radicals, suggesting that these are dominated by ZPE effects arising from the C−Mu bond, but for A(p)(T) exhibit wide variations depending on environment. For the cis- and trans-2-butyl radicals formed from 2-butene, A(μ)′(T) exhibits clear discontinuities at bulk butene melting points, evidence for molecular interactions enhancing these muon Hfcc in the environment of the solid state, similar to that found in earlier reports for muoniated tert-butyl. In contrast, for Mu−sec-butyl formed from 1-butene, there is no such discontinuity. The muon hfcc for the trans-2-butyl radical are seemingly very well predicted by B3LYP calculations in the solid phase, but for sec-butyl from 1-butene, showing the absence of further interactions, much better agreement is found with the MP2 calculations across the whole temperature range. Examples of large proton Hfcc near 0 K are also reported, due to eclipsed C−H bonds, in like manner to C−Mu, which then also exhibit clear discontinuities in A(p)(T) at bulk melting points. The data suggest that the good agreement found between theory and experiment from the B3LYP calculations for eclipsed bonds in the solid phase may be fortuitous. For the staggered protons of the sec-butyl radicals formed, no discontinuities are seen at all in A(p)(T), also demonstrating no further effects of molecular interactions on these particular proton Hfcc.