The basis set dependence of structures and energies of various states of cyclodisiloxane

Several common basis sets, ranging from minimal to double-zeta, are applied to study the neutral singlet and triplet as well as positive- and negative-ion doublet states of cyclodisiloxane. The effect of d-polarization function exponents on the equilibrium geometries and energies is analyzed. The d-type functions seem to be essential in the basis set of silicon, whereas their presence on oxygen is less critical. The optimum exponents (with respect to SCF energy) are determined to be 0.45 for Si and 0.60 for O, very close to those recommended for the 6–31G^** basis set. The best structural predictions are obtained with the 6–31G(2d, p) basis set, which contains two sets of d functions on the heavy atoms. The predicted Si? O bond length is 166 pm; the Si? Si and O? O distances are 237 and 232 pm, respectively, which correspond to an O—Si? O angle of 88.6°. The ground state is found to be a singlet. All higher states have longer Si? O bonds and Si—Si distances, whereas O—O distances are shorter. The energy separation between the singlet and other states is modified by electron correlation (MP treatment) by only a few kcal/mol.