Theoretical Investigations on Fluorine-Substituted Ethylene Dications C2HnF4-n 2+(n = 0–4)

The optimized geometries and energies of fluorine-substituted ethylene dications C₂H_nF_4-n ²⁺ (n = 0–4) have been investigated by means of ab initio methods. At the MP3/6-31G**//6-31G* + zero-point energy level of theory, the results predict that C₂F₄²⁺ and C₂HF₃²⁺ are planar, while C₂H₄²⁺, C₂H₃F²⁺ and 1,1—C₂H₂F₂²⁺ prefer a perpendicular geometry. For 1,2—C₂H₂F₂²⁺ an energy difference of only 0.3 kcal/mol is found between the (trans) planar and perpendicular structure. The stabilizations attributed to hyperconjugation, fluorine lone-pair donation, and (C? F) double-bond conjugation are discussed. A comparison is made for the C? C and C? F stretching frequencies determined at 6-31G*//6-31G* between the neutral and dicationic species. The theoretically determined ionization energies for the vertical process N⁺ → N²⁺ at the MP3/6-31G*//3-21G level are compared with experimental Q_min values.