Electronic structure and bonding in the ground state of Cu2

Extended basis set calculations have been performed for the ground state of Cu₂ using CI(SD) and the coupled pair functional (CPF) method, a size-consistent modification of CI(SD). Special emphasis is given to the discussion of (i) basis saturation effects (up to g functions were included), (ii) effects of cluster corrections to achieve size consistency, (iii) relativistic effects, which were included in first order from the Cowan-Griffin operator. The final results are R_e = 4.23 au = 2.238 A, D_e = 1.84 eV, in close agreement with experimental values of 4.20 au = 2.22 A and 2.05 eV, respectively.     

Electronic structure and properties of the ground state of copper in semiconducting cuprates

The spin-polarized discrete variational X_a method is used to calculate clusters that model the electronic structures of CuO, La₂CuO₄, and Nd₂CuO₄. It, is shown that in each of the compounds the unoccupied portion of the valence band involves mainly the O2p states, the contributions from the Cu3d orbitals being significantly smaller. The effects of the nature of holes in the valence band and of the structure of the close environment of copper on the low-energy CuK spectra and the X-ray photoelectron spectra of the above systems are discussed. Institute of Solid State Chemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated fromZhumal Struktumoi Khimii, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 636–643, July–August., 1995. Translated by I. Izvekova     

Electronic and geometric structure of fluorine-substituted benzyl radicals

According to the data from quantum-chemical calculations and theoretical analysis, the effect of fluorine atoms on the electronic and stereochemical structure of the benzyl radical depends substantially on their position. Fluorine atoms in the ring hinder the out-of-plane distortions of the CH₂ group, and substituted C₆F_nH_{5_n}-CH₂ radicals are accordingly planar radicals. On the other hand, the presence of -fluorine atoms assists pyramidal deformation of the methylene fragment, leading in the case of the ,-difluoro-substituted compounds to the formation of nonplanar pseudo-radical structures. Here the fluorine atoms in the ring at the p and o positions should increase somewhat while those at the m positions should reduce the capacity of the CF₂ group for deformation.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1069–1074, May, 1990.     

Electronic stabilization of ground state triplet carbenes

Based on systematic ab initio (CCSD(T)/cc-pVDZ) studies of substituent effects, we present a concept for the construction of electronically stabilized triplet ground state carbenes with singlet-triplet energy separations (DeltaEST) exceeding that of methylene. Sterically demanding and conjugating substituents were excluded from the selection of model compounds under investigation, as these either destabilize both the singlet and the triplet states or delocalize unpaired spins away from the carbene carbon. Negative partial charges on the carbene center allow for the prediction of the electronic stabilization of substituted carbenes. To decrease carbene reactivity, we chose beta-substituents with strong polar bonds. Among them, highly electronegative elements such as fluorine and oxygen enlarge the DeltaEST value with respect to hydrogen, while chlorine does not due to p-orbital participation.     

Electronic structure of the calcium monohydroxide radical

Effective valence shell Hamiltonian H(v) calculations are used to map out three-dimensional potential energy surfaces for the 12 lowest electronic states of the CaOH radical. Excitation energies and spectroscopic constants are compared with experiment and prior computations where available, but many previously unavailable data are provided, including excited state dipole moments and oscillator strengths. Particular attention is paid to clarify the nature of nonlinear and quasilinear excited states, Renner-Teller couplings, and state mixings. The F (2)Pi and G (2)Pi (6 (2)A(') and 8 (2)A(')) states are both found to possess nonlinear local minima, due to an avoided crossing. Attention is also focused on the characteristics of basis sets necessary in high-accuracy calculations for the CaOH radical.     

On the vibronic level structure in the NO3 radical. I. The ground electronic state

The model Hamiltonian approach of Koppel et al. [Adv. Chem. Phys. 57, 59 (1984)] is used to analyze the electronic spectroscopy of the nitrate radical (NO3). Simulations of negative ion photodetachment of NO3-, the X 2A2'<--B 2E' dispersed fluorescence spectrum of NO3, and the B 2E'<--X 2A2' absorption spectrum are all in qualitative agreement with experiment, indicating that the model Hamiltonian contains most or all of the essential physics that govern the strongly coupled X 2A2' and B 2E' electronic states of the radical. All 14 bands seen in the dispersed fluorescence spectrum below 2600 cm-1 are assigned based on the simulations, filling in a few gaps left by previous work, and 7 additional bands below 4000 cm-1 are tentatively assigned. The assignment is predicated on the assumption that the nu3 level of NO3 is near 1000 cm-1 rather than 1492 cm-1 as is presently believed. Support for this reassignment (which associates the 1492 cm-1 band with the nu1+nu4 level) comes from both the model Hamiltonian spectrum and a Fourier-transform infrared feature at 2585 cm-1 that is consistent with the large and positive cross anharmonicity between nu1 and nu4 needed for the alternative 1492 cm-1 assignment. An apparent systematic deficiency exists in the treatment of the model Hamiltonian for levels involving nu4. A discussion of the correlation between energy levels in the rigid D3h and C2v limits is illustrative, and provides insight into just how hard it is to treat the degenerate bending coordinate (q4) of NO3 accurately.     

Detection of the ground state FO radical in the gas phase

Ground state FO radicals have been detected by molecular beam mass spectrometry as the product of the rapid reaction of F²P atoms with ozone in a discharge-flow system at 298°K, F + O₃ → FO + O₂. Rapid second order decay of FO occurred in a clean silica tube. Measurements of the appearance potentials of FO⁺ from FO and F₂O gave a value for the dissociation energy of FO, D₀⁰(F−O) = 2.2₅ ± 0.1₅ eV (215 ± 17 kJ mol⁻¹).     

Electronic structure of 1,3,5-triaminobenzene trication and related triradicals: doublet versus quartet ground state

Quantum chemical calculations have been carried out to determine the electronic ground state of the parent 1,3,5-triaminobenzene trication triradical (TAB3+,C6H9N3 3+) containing a six-membered benzene ring coupled with three exocyclic amino NH(*+)2 groups, each containing an unpaired electron, as the simplest model for high-spin polyarylamine polycations. Related triradicals, including the 1,3,5-trimethylenebenzene (TMB, C9H9) and its nitrogen derivatives such as the monocation C8H9N+, the dication C7H9N2 2+, and the neutral C8H8N, C7H7N2, and C6H6N3 systems containing NH groups, have also been considered. Results obtained using the CASSCF [multiconfigurational complete active space (SCF--self-consistent field)] method, with active spaces ranging from (9e/9o) to (15e/12o), followed by second-order perturbation theory [CASPT2 and MS-CASPT2 (MS--multistate)] with polarized 6-311G(d,p) and natural orbital (ANO-L) basis sets reveal the following: (i) both TAB3+ and TMB (D3h) have a quartet 4A"1 ground state with doublet-quartet 2B1-4A"1 energy gaps of 8.0+/-2.0 and 12.4+/-2.0 kcal/mol, respectively; (ii) in the neutral N series, the quartet state remains the electronic ground state, irrespective of the number of N atoms, but each with slightly reduced gap, 11 kcal/mol for C8H8N (4A"), 10 kcal/mol for C7H7N2 (4A2), and 9 kcal/mol for C6H6N3 (4A2); and (iii) the ground state of monoamino cation and diamino dication is a low-spin doublet state (2B1 for C8H9N+ and 2A2 for C7H9N2 2+) and lying well below the corresponding quartet state by 10 and 12 kcal/mol, respectively. In the monocationic and dicationic amino systems, a slight preference is found for the low-spin state, apparently violating Hund's rule. This effect is due to the splitting of the orbital energies and the presence of the positive charge whose delocalization strongly modifies the electronic distribution and some structural features. In the latter cations, the positive charge basically pushes unpaired electrons onto the ring forming a kind of distonic radical cations and thus gives a preference for a low-spin state.     

A DFT study of the ground state of the N3 radical

The X² Π_g ground state of the N₃ radical has been studied by means of the DFT approach with inclusion of nonlocal (gradient) terms. Many different Gaussian basis sets of increasing quality, from small split-shell type up to the TZPP class, have been used. For each of the basis sets, the experimentally known linear symmetric conformation has been optimized using the analytical gradient technique and the vibrational fundamentals have been calculated in the harmonic approximation using the numerical Hessian. For comparison, the standard UHF-type calculations have also been performed. Despite the fact that the Kohn-Sham equations have been resolved in the spin- and symmetryunrestricted manner, the nonlocal version of DFT is able to describe correctly the geometric properties and vibrational spectrum of this open-shell degenerate state, provided that a good quality polarized basis set is used. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Excited states of the benzyl radical

The CI method is used in the -electron approximation with orbitals for closed and open shells to calculate the properties of excited doublet states with allowance for all singly excited configurations and some doubly excited ones, and also for the first quartet and sextet states, which are calculated in the one-configuration approximation via the open-shell theory. The energies and transition moments agree satisfactorily with the available experimental evidence. A classification and assignment is given for the excited terms. Truncation of the complete set of singly excited configurations greatly distorts the calculated spectrum. Inclusion of doubly excited configurations in the CI also produces a substantial change in the spectrum; in some cases it alters the order of adjacent terms. Conversion in CI from basis closed-shell orbitals to open-shell ones produces a considerable lowering of all terms in the spectrum. As in the case of triplet terms for molecules, weakening of electron interaction brings the lowest excited term of the radical closer to the ground-state term. The electron-density and spin-density distributions are calculated for the excited states.     

Vibronic coupling in the benzyl radical

The vibronic perturbations among the lowest excited states of benzyl, computed by a CNDO/S program in the floating-orbital scheme, are presented. The ν_8b (ν_18b) modes are the vibrations that most strongly (weakly) couple the quasidegenerate 1A₂ and 2B₂ states. The results are relevant to the interpretation of benzyl emission and absorption spectra.     

Ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of the benzyl radical

Ultraviolet (UV) photodissociation dynamics of jet-cooled benzyl radical via the 4(2)B(2) electronically excited state is studied in the photolysis wavelength region of 228 to 270 nm using high-n Rydberg atom time-of-flight (HRTOF) and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) techniques. In this wavelength region, H-atom photofragment yield (PFY) spectra are obtained using ethylbenzene and benzyl chloride as the precursors of benzyl radical, and they have a broad peak centered around 254 nm and are in a good agreement with the previous UV absorption spectra of benzyl. The H + C(7)H(6) product translational energy distributions, P(E(T))s, are derived from the H-atom TOF spectra. The P(E(T)) distributions peak near 5.5 kcal mol(-1), and the fraction of average translational energy in the total excess energy, , is ～0.3. The P(E(T))s indicate the production of fulvenallene + H, which was suggested by recent theoretical studies. The H-atom product angular distribution is isotropic, with the anisotropy parameter β ≈ 0. The H/D product ratios from isotope labeling studies using C(6)H(5)CD(2) and C(6)D(5)CH(2) are reasonably close to the statistical H/D ratios, suggesting that the H/D atoms are scrambled in the photodissociation of benzyl. The dissociation mechanism is consistent with internal conversion of the electronically excited benzyl followed by unimolecular decomposition of the hot benzyl radical on the ground state.     

The flourescence lifetime of the benzyl radical

Time resolved fluorescence of the benzyl, monomethylbenzyl and dimethylbenzyl radicals strapped in rigid solvents at low temperatures has been observed using the second harmonic of the ruby laser at the exciting source. The fluorescence lifetimes of these radicals are very long (10^?7–10^?6 sec), which are influenced considerably by the methyl substituents. The long fluorescence lifetimes of the benzyl radical and its methyl derivatives are interpreted in terms of the forbidden character of the first doublet-doublet electronic transition.     

Fourier transform millimeter-wave spectroscopy of the ethyl radical in the electronic ground state

The pure rotational spectrum of the ethyl radical (C2H5) has been detected for the first time with the Fourier transform millimeter-wave spectrometer. The ethyl radical is produced by discharging the C2H5I gas diluted in Ar. The 1(01)-0(00) rotational transition of the ethyl radical is observed in the frequency range from 43,680 to 43,780 MHz. The observed spectrum shows a very complicated pattern of the fine and hyperfine structures of a doublet radical with the nuclear spins of five protons. The fine and hyperfine components are assigned with the aid of measurements of the Zeeman splittings. As a result, the 22 lines are ascribed to the transitions in the ground vibronic state (A2"). The rotational constant, the spin-rotation interaction constant, and hyperfine interaction constants are determined by the least-squares fit. The Fermi contact term of the alpha-proton is determined to be -64.1654 MHz in the gas phase, indicating that the structure of the -CH2 is essentially planar. The present rotational spectroscopic study further supports that the methyl group of the ethyl radical can be regarded as a nearly free internal rotor with a low energy barrier. A few unassigned lines still remain, which may be vibrational satellites of the internal rotation mode.