A theoretical comparison of the lowest-lying singlet and triplet states of H2CBe and of HCBeH

The low-lying singlet and triplet states of H₂CBe and HCBeH are examined using ab inito molecular orbital theory. In agreement with earlier results, the lowest-lying structure of H₂CBe has C_2v symmetry and is a triplet with one π electron (³ B₁). The results presented here suggest that the lowest-energy singlet structure is the (¹B₁) open-shell singlet, also with C_2v symmetry, at least 2.5 kcal/mol higher in energy. The singlet C_2v structure with two π electrons (¹A₁) is 15.9 kcal/mol higher than ³B₁. All of these structures are bound with respect to the ground state of methylene and the beryllium atom. In HCBeH, linear equilibrium geometries are found for the triplet (³Σ) and singlet (¹Δ) states. The triplet is more stable than the singlet (¹Δ) by 35.4 kcal/mol, and is only 2.9 kcal/mol higher in energy than triplet H₂ CBe. Since the transition structure connecting these two triplet molecules is found to be 50.2 kcal/mol higher in energy than H₂ CBe, both triplet equilibrium species might exist independently. The harmonic vibrational frequencies of all structures are also reported.     

Bowl-shaped hydrocarbons related to C60

Ab initio studies at the HF/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-31G* levels are reported for two bowl-shaped hydrocarbons related to C₆₀: C₃₀H₁₂ and C₃₆H₁₂, of C₃ and C_3v symmetry, respectively. The former has an approximate heat of formation of 211 kcal/mol. Bowl-to-bowl interconversion may occur through a planar (C_3h) form of ca. 64 kcal/mol greater energy having one imaginary vibrational frequency. The larger C₃₆H₁₂ bowl has a calculated ΔH°_f of 265 kcal/mol. Its HF/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-31G*, and MM3 bond lengths are in good agreement with a recent X-ray structure. Chemical shifts for both compounds calculated by the GIAO method are in good agreement with the measured NMR spectra. The observed ¹³C chemical shifts increase with the extent of pyramidalization. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 189–194, 1998     

The structures of the hypho-compounds B5H and B6H14: Application of the combined ab initio/IGLO/NMR method

Ab initio and NMR chemical shift (IGLO) calculations on the TZP/MP2/6-31G^* level suggest a C_s ( 1c ), or the closely related C₁ ( 1d ) structure, rather than the proposed C_2v ( 1a ) geometry for hypho-B₅H₁₂⁻. The two equivalent C_s forms interconvert rapidly with a barrier of ca 5 kcal/mol. For hypho-B₆H₁₄ ( 2 ), at least six isomers examined lie within ca 7 kcal/mol in energy suggesting fluxional behavior, but none of the geometries (including the current proposals in the literature) reproduces the experimental chemical shifts.     

Theoretical study of association of acetylene,benzene, and carbonyl molecules “squeezed” inside fullerene cages

The equilibrium geometries, normal mode frequencies, magnetic shielding constants, and energetic characteristics of model endohedral 2(C₂H₂)@C₇₀, (C₄H₄)@C₇₀, 2(C₆H₆)C₈₄, (C₁₂H₁₂)@C₈₄, 6(CO)@C₈₄, and (C₆O₆)@C₈₄ clusters, mimicking the structure and properties of the guest molecules under “ultrahigh” pressures inside the fullerene cages, were calculated at the density functional theory B3LYP/6-31G and B3LYP/6-31G* levels. According to the calculations, all the structures under consideration correspond to local minima of the corresponding potential energy surfaces. The 2(C₂H₂)@C₇₀ isomer with two separated endohedral acetylene molecules turns out to be considerably less favorable than the (C₄H₄)@C₇₀ isomer with endohedral cyclobutadiene. The 2(C₆H₆)C₈₄ isomer with two separated endohedral benzene rings is almost 30 kcal/mol less favorable than the (C₁₂H₁₂)@C₈₄) isomer with distorted endohedral prismane. The 6(CO)@C₈₄ isomer with six separated carbonyl molecules is almost 45 kcal/mol less favorable than the (C₆O₆)@C₈₄ isomer in which the carbonyls are associated to form a more compact cyclic hexamer C₆O₆. The barriers separating the “associated” and “dissociated” (consisting of monomers) isomers are estimated at 10–15 kcal/mol. Calculations show that, in extremely tight endoclusters, the increase in compression and strain energy caused by the repulsion of the electronic shells of guest molecules and wall atoms is accompanied by a sharp energetic stabilization of compact associated isomers (including those poorly stable or unstable in the free state) as compared with the dissociated isomers, on the one hand, and by a sharp decrease in activation barriers, on the other hand. Both factors should favor the realization of association processes unlikely or impossible under common conditions.     

Theoretical study of the Si2NO potential energy surface

The structures, spectroscopies, and stabilities of the doublet Si₂NO radical are explored at the density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio levels. Seventeen isomers are located, connected by 26 interconversion transition states. At the CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(2df)//QCISD/6‐311G(d)+ZPVE level, three low‐lying isomers are predicted, that is, one bent species SiNSiO 3 (5.1 kcal/mol) containing the important Si?N triple bonding and two four‐membered ring isomers including cyclic cSiNSiO 1 (0.0) with Si? Si cross‐bonding with C_2v symmetry and puckered cSiNSiO 1′ (11.9) with divalent carbene character. Three low‐lying isomers 1, 1′, and 3 have reasonable kinetic stabilities and might be observable either experimentally or astrophysically. The possible formation strategies of 1, 1′, and 3 in laboratory and in space are discussed in detail. The calculated vibrational frequencies and possible formation processes of 3 are consistent with recent experimental observations. In light of the fact that no cyclic nitrogen‐containing species have been detected in space, two cyclic isomers 1 and 1′ could be promising candidates. Furthermore, the bonding nature of three isomers 1, 1′, and 3 is analyzed. The calculated results are also compared with those of the analogue C₂NO radical. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Is the stereomutation of methane possible?

Large basis set ab initio calculations at correlated levels, including MP2, single reference, as well as multireference configuration interaction, carried out on the methane potential energy surface, have located and characterized a transition structure for stereomutation (one imaginary frequency). This structure is best described as a pyramidal complex between singlet methylene and a side-on hydrogen molecule with C_s symmetry. At the single reference CI level, it lies 105 kcal/mol above the methane T_d-ground state but is stable relative to dissociation into CH₂(¹A₁) and H₂ by 13 kcal/mol at 0 K (with harmonic zero point energy (ZPE) corrections for all structures). Dissociation of the transition state into triplet methylene and hydrogen also is endothermic (by 4 kcal/mol), but single bond rupture to give CH and H^. is 3 kcal/mol exothermic. Thus, it does not appear likely that methane can undergo stereomutation classically beneath the dissociation limit. Confirming earlier conclusions, side-on insertion of ¹A₁ CH₂ into H₂ in a perpendicular geometry occurs without activation energy. Planar (D_4h) methane (130.5 kcal/mol) has four imaginary frequencies. Two of these are degenerate and lead to equivalent planar C_2v structures with one three-center, two-electron bond and two two-electron bonds and two imaginary frequencies. The remaining imaginary frequencies of the D_4h form lead to tetrahedral (T_d) and pyramidal (C_4v) methane. The latter has three negative eigenvalues in the force-constant matrix; one of these leads to the T_d global minimum and the other to the C_s (parallel) stereomutation transition structure. Multireference CI calculations with a large atomic natural orbitals basis set produce similar results, with the electronic energy of the C_s stereomutation transition state 0.7 ± 0.5 kcal/mol higher than that of CH + H^. dissociation products, and a ZPE-corrected energy which is 5 ± 1 kcal/mol higher. Also considered are photochemical pathways for stereomutation and the possible effects of nuclear spin, inversion tunneling, and the parity-violating weak nuclear interaction on the possibility of an experimental detection of stereomutation in methane. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Aqua(2,2′‐bi‐1H‐imidazole)chloro­copper(II) chloro­(imino­diacetato)copper(II) monohydrate

In the title compound, [CuCl(C₆H₆N₄)(H₂O)][Cu(C₄H₅NO₄)Cl]·H₂O, the Cu^II atom in the cation is coordinated by one Cl⁻ ion, two N atoms of the 2,2′‐biimidazole ligand and one aqua ligand. Within the anion, the Cu^II atom is bonded to one Cl⁻ ion, and one N and two O atoms of the imino­diacetate ligand. Neighbouring cations and anions are connected to each other by Cu·Cl semi‐coordination bonds of 2.830 (12) and 3.071 (12) Å, forming a Cu₂Cl₂ rectangular unit. The dinuclear units further link into a polymeric chain along the a axis through Cu·O_aqua interactions of 2.725 (3) Å. Including the long coordination bonds, the geometries around the Cu atoms in the cation and anion are square‐pyramidal and distorted octahedral, respectively.     

Isomerism in OBe3F3 + cation: anab initio study

Ab initio MP2/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^*+ZPE(HF/6-31G^*) calculations of the potential energy surface in the vicinity of stationary points and the pathways of intramolecular rearrangements between low-lying structures of the OBe₃F₃ ⁺ cation detected in the mass spectra of μ₄-Be₄O(CF₃COO)₆ were carried out. Ten stable isomers with di- and tricoordinate oxygen atoms were localized. The relative energies of six structures lie in the range 0–8 kcal mol⁻¹ and those of the remaining four structures lie in the range 20–40 kcal mol⁻¹. Two most favorable isomers, aC _2v isomer with a dicoordinate oxygen atom, planar six-membered cycle, and one terminal fluorine atom and a pyramidalC _3v isomer with a tricoordinate oxygen atom and three bridging fluorine atoms, are almost degenerate in energy. The barriers to rearrangements with the breaking of one fluorine bridge are no higher than 4 kcal mol⁻¹, except for the pyramidalC _3v isomer (∼16 kcal mol⁻¹). On the contrary, rearrangements with the breaking of the O−Be bond occur with overcoming of a high energy barrier (∼24 kcal mol⁻¹). A planarD _3h isomer with a tricoordinate oxygen atom and linear O−Be−H fragments was found to be the most favorable for the OBe₃H₃ ⁺ cation, a hydride analog of the OBe₃F₃ ⁺ ion; the energies of the remaining five isomers are more than 25 kcal mol⁻¹ higher. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 420–430, March, 1999.     

SCF,MP2, and CEPA-1 calculations on the OH ‥ O hydrogen bonded complexes (H2O)2 and (H2O-H2CO)

Counterpoise corrected ab initio calculations are reported for (H₂O)₂ and H₂O-H₂CO. Geometry searches were done in the moment-optimized basis DZP' at the SCF, MP2, and CEPA-1 levels of theory, followed by more accurate single-point calculations in basis ESPB, which includes bondfunctions to saturate the dispersion energy. The final equilibrium binding energies obtained are ?4.7 ±0.3 kcal/mol for a near-linear (H₂O)₂ structure and ?4.6 ±0.3 kcal/mol for a strongly bent HOH ‥ OCH₂ structure. The energy difference between these systems is much smaller than in all previous ab initio work. Cyclic (C_2h) and bifurcated (C_2v) transition structures for (H₂O)₂ are located at 1.0 ±0.1 kcal/mol and 1.9 ±0.3 kcal/mol above the global minimum, respectively. A new partitioning scheme is presented that rigorously partitions the MP2 correlation interaction energy in intra and intermolecular (dispersion) contributions. These terms are large (up to 2 kcal/mol) but of opposite sign for most geometries studied and hence their overall effect upon the final structures is relatively small. The relative merits of the MP2 and CEPA-1 approaches are discussed are discussed and it is concluded that for economical reasons MP2 is to be preferred, especially for larger systems.     

Theoretical studies of structure,stability, and chemical bonding in oxohydride OM4H6 complexes

The results of ab initio RHF/3-21G, RHF/6-31G*, and MP2/6-31G** / / HF/6-31G* calculations for 10 possible configurations of OM₄H₆ molecules (MO · 3MH₂, M = Be, Mg) are reported. Five isomers of OBe₄H₆ and three isomers of OMg₄H₆ have been found within an energy range of ã 15 kcal mol⁻¹. The “lanternlike” C_3v structure is the most favorable one for both complexes. Both molecules OM₄H₆ are stable to decomposition through all of the studied pathways. Chemical bonding in the OM_k polyhedra containing two-, three-and four-coordinated oxygen atoms is discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An ab initio study of the electronic structure of diimide

Ab initio calculations on the structure and geometry of the three isomers of N₂H₂ (trans-diimide, cis-diimide, and 1,1-dihydrodiazine) were performed both on HF and CI level using gaussian basis sets with polarization functions. The trans and cis isomers have singlet ground states; the trans isomer is found to be lower in energy than the cis isomer by 6.9 kcal/mol (HF) and 5.8 kcal/mol (CI), respectively. The barrier for the trans-cis isomerization is predicted to be 56 (HF) and 55 (CI) kcal/mol. H₂ N=N has a triplet ground state with a non-planar equilibrium geometry and a rather long NN bond of 1.34 Å. Its lowest singlet state, however, is planar with an NN double bond of 1.22 Å; it is found to lie about 3 kcal/mol above the triplet and 26 kcal/mol above the singlet ground state of trans-diimide.     

Ab initio SCF studies of the molecular structure of XeF6, IF 6 − , and TeF 6 2− in non-octahedral geometries

All-electron SCF calculations in contracted large Gaussian basis sets were performed for the molecules in the isoelectronic series XeF₆, IF ₆ ^– , and TeF ₆ ^2– . Molecular equilibrium geometry of these molecules was studied first in O _h symmetry. Then, the gradient minimization technique was used to determine molecular structure of the studied systems near the local minima corresponding to C _3v and C _2v geometries involved in the internal motion.In the O _h symmetry, TeF ₆ ^2– and IF ₆ ^– are bound by 172 and 104 kcal/mol, respectively. The total energy of XeF₆ is larger than the sum of total energies of the constituent atoms by 192 kcal/mol. Lowering the symmetry to C _3v and C _2v results in an energy gain of about 20 kcal/mol for all studied systems.     

Dimeric (isoquinoline)(N‐salicylidene‐d,l‐glutamato)copper(II) ethanol solvate

The title racemic complex, bis[μ‐N‐(2‐oxidobenzylidene)‐d ,l ‐glutamato(2−)]bis[(isoquinoline)copper(II)] ethanol disolvate, [Cu₂(C₁₂H₁₁NO₅)₂(C₉H₇N)₂]·2C₂H₆O, adopts a square‐pyramidal Cu^II coordination mode with a tridentate N‐salicylideneglutamato Schiff base dianion and an isoquinoline ligand bound in the basal plane. The apex of the pyramid is occupied by a phenolic O atom from the adjacent chelate molecule at an apical distance of 2.487 (3) Å, building a dimer located on the crystallographic inversion center. The Cu...Cu spacing within the dimers is 3.3264 (12) Å. The ethanol solvent molecules are hydrogen bonded to the dimeric complex molecules, forming infinite chains in the a direction. The biological activity of the title complex has been studied.     

Low-Concentration C2H6 Capture Enabled by Size Matching in the Ultramicropore

Low-concentration ethane capture is crucial for environmental protection and natural gas purification. The ideal physisorbent with strong C₂H₆ interaction and large C₂H₆ uptake at low-concentration level has rarely been reported, due to the large pK_a value and small quadrupole moment of C₂H₆. Herein, we demonstrate the perfectly size matching between the ultramicropore (pore size of 4.6 Å) and ethane (kinetic diameter of 4.4 Å) in a nickel pyridine-4-carboxylate metal–organic framework (IISERP-MOF 2 ), which enables the record-breaking performance for low concentration C₂H₆ capture. IISERP-MOF 2 exhibits the large C₂H₆ adsorption enthalpy of 56.7 kJ/mol, and record-high C₂H₆ uptake at low pressure of 0.01–0.1 bar and 298 K (1.8 mmol/g at 0.01 bar). Molecule simulations and C₂H₆-loading crystal structure analysis revealed that the maximized interaction sites in IISERP-MOF 2 with ethane molecule originates the strong C₂H₆ adsorption. The dynamic breakthrough experiments for gas mixtures of C₂H₆/N₂(1/999, v/v) and C₂H₆/CH₄ (5/95, v/v) proved the excellent low-concentration C₂H₆ capture performance.     

Thermal reactions of ethane-d6–acetylene and D2–acetylene mixtures behind shock waves

A study of the thermal decomposition of an acetylene–ethane-d₆ mixture indicates that the rate constant for hydrogen abstraction from acetylene by methyl is more than 20 times less than for abstraction from ethane. Isotopic exchange is initiated by a rapid reaction between product D atoms and C₂H₂. A series of experiments involving the reactions of a D₂–acetylene mixture indicated that a molecular exchange process was also occurring, and it was shown that d[C₂HD]/dt = k[D₂]^0.7[C₂H₂]^0.3, effective activation energy = 15.8 kcal/mol. This mechanism made an insignificant contribution to isotope exchange in C₂H₂–C₂D₆ mixtures.     

DFT study of three C22H14 isomers of tripentaprismane

Structures, energies, and vibrational frequencies have been calculated for the three C₂₂H₁₄ isomers of tripentaprismane at the B3LYP/6‐31G** level of theory. Thus, the three C₂₂H₁₄ isomers of tripentaprismane have the form of coplanar tripentaprismane‐cage molecules. Symmetries of isomer 1, 2, and 3 are C_2v, C_s, and C_2v, respectively. Heats of formation of the three C₂₂H₁₄ isomers are estimated in the present work. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006     

A Theoretical Study of Complex Formation between Formaldehyde and Lithium

Ab initio SCF and CI calculations on the cationic and neutral complexes of formaldehyde and lithium are reported. For the cationic complex CH₂O/Li⁺, the stabilization energy of 41.7 kcal/mol obtained from the SCF calculation increases to 51.6 kcal/mol if a configuration interaction is introduced. For the neutral complex CH₂O^?/Li⁺, the C_2v-conformer of the ²A₁-state with the equilibrium bond distances of d(C? O) = 1.23 Å and d (O? Li) = 1.90 Å is calculated to be more stable than the ₂B₁-state with d (C? O) = 1.34 Å, and d (O? Li) = 1.65 Å. Charge transfer and polarization effects upon complex formation are discussed.     

New Suberato‐bridged Supramolecular Layers: Crystal Structure of [Cu2(phen)2(C8H12O4)2] · 3 H2O with phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline

The reaction of CuCl₂ · 2 H₂O, 1,10‐phenanthroline (phen), suberic acid and Na₂CO₃ in a CH₃CN–H₂O solution yielded blue needle‐like crystals of [Cu₂(phen)₂(C₈H₁₂O₄)₂] · 3 H₂O. The crystal structure (monoclinic, P2₁/n, a = 10.756(2) Å, b = 9.790(2) Å, c = 18.593(4) Å, β = 91.15(3)°, Z = 2, R = 0.043, wR² = 0.1238) consists of suberato‐bridged [Cu₂(phen)₂(C₈H₁₂O₄)_4/2] layers and hydrogen bonded H₂O molecules. The Cu atoms are coordinated by two N atoms from one bidentate chelating phen ligand and three carboxyl O atoms from different suberato ligands to form distorted [CuN₂O₃] square‐pyramids with one carboxyl O atom at the apical position (d(Cu–N) = 2.017(2), 2.043(3) Å, basal d(Cu–O) = 1.936(2), 1.951(2) Å and axial d(Cu–O) = 2.389(2) Å). Two [CuN₂O₃] square‐pyramids are condensed via a common O–O edge to a centrosymmetric [Cu₂N₄O₄] dimer with the Cu…Cu distance of 3.406(1) Å indicating no interaction between Cu atoms. The resultant [Cu₂N₄O₄] dimers are interlinked by the tridentate suberato ligands to form [Cu₂(phen)₂(C₈H₁₂O₄)_4/2] layers parallel to (101). These are assembled via π‐π stacking interactions into 3D network with H₂O molecules in the tunnels extending in the [010] direction.     

An Azelaato‐bridged Dinuclear Copper(II) Complex, [Cu2(phen)2(C9H14O4)2] · 6 H2O (phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline)

The title compound [Cu₂(phen)₂(C₉H₁₄O₄)₂] · 6 H₂O was prepared by the reaction of CuCl₂ · 2 H₂O, 1,10‐phenanthroline (phen), azelaic acid and Na₂CO₃ in a CH₃OH/H₂O solution. The crystal structure (monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 22.346(3), b = 11.862(1), c = 17.989(3) Å, β = 91.71(1)°, Z = 4, R = 0.0473, wR² = 0.1344 for 4279 observed reflections) consists of centrosymmetric dinuclear [Cu₂(phen)₂(C₉H₁₄O₄)₂] complexes and hydrogen bonded H₂O molecules. The Cu atom is square‐planar coordinated by the two N atoms of the chelating phen ligand and two O atoms of different bidentate bridging azelaate groups with d(Cu–N) = 2.053, 2.122(2) Å and d(Cu–O) = 1.948(2), 2.031(2) Å. Two azelaate anions bridge two common Cu atoms via the terminal O atoms (d(C–O) = 1.29(2) Å; d(C–C) = 1.550(4)–1.583(4) Å). Phen ligands of adjacent complexes cover each other at distances of about 3.62 Å, indicating π‐π stacking interaction, by which the complexes are linked to 1 D bands.