Surprising Dynamics Phenomena in the Diels–Alder Reaction of C ₆₀ Uncovered with AI

We performed an extensive artificial intelligence-accelerated quasi-classical molecular dynamics investigation of the time-resolved mechanism of the Diels-Alder reaction of fullerene C₆₀ with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene. In a substantial fraction (10%) of reactive trajectories, the larger C₆₀ noncovalently attracts the 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene long before the barrier so that the diene undergoes the series of complex motions including roaming, somersaults, twisting, and twisting somersaults around the fullerene until it aligns itself to pass over the barrier. These complicated processes could be easily missed in typically performed quantum chemical simulations with shorter and fewer trajectories. After the barrier is passed, the bonds take longer to form compared to the simplest prototypical Diels-Alder reaction of ethene with 1,3-butadiene despite high similarities in transition states and barrier widths evaluated with intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations. C₆₀ is mainly responsible for these differences as its reaction with 1,3-butadiene is similar to the reaction with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene: the only substantial difference being that the extra methyl groups double the probability of the prolonged alignment phase in dynamics. These additional calculations of C₆₀ with 1,3-butadiene could be performed via active learning more easily by reusing the data generated for the other two reactions, showing the potential for larger-scale exploration of the effects of different substrates in the same types of reactions.