Ab initio molecular orbital calculations

A series of non-empirical calculations on furan, pyrrole and 1,2,5-oxadiazole are reported in which the effect of polarisation functions added to the minimal 7s 3p basis on each atom is studied. The effect on these planar molecules is largely through the rather than the-system. A comparison with the results of work with scaled functions is reported. Both series are shown to lead to much improved agreement with the electron spectroscopy energy levels. The effect on the dipole moments of these changes in basis is more variable but, with the exception of furan, the agreement with experiment is improved in the present method.

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Zusammenfassung Für die Moleküle Furan, Pyrrol und 1,2,5-Oxadiazol wurde eine Reihe von nichtempirischen Rechnungen durchgeführt, in denen der Einfluß von zusätzlichen Polarisationsfunktionen zur minimalen 7s 3p-Basis an jedem Atom untersucht wird. Die Ergebnisse werden mehr durch die Art der Beschreibung des Systems der-Elektronen als durch diejenige der-Elektronen beeinflußt. Ein Vergleich mit den Ergebnissen bei Verwendung skalierter Funktionen wird durchgeführt. Beide Reihen von Ergebnissen zeigen eine verbesserte Übereinstimmung zu den Energiemeßwerten der Elektronenspektroskopie. Die Änderungen des berechneten Dipolmoments bei derartigen Basisvariationen sind größer als bei früheren Methoden. Die Übereinstimmung mit dem Experiment wird, mit Ausnahme von Furan, jedoch verbessert.

     

Ab initio molecular orbital studies of polyethylene deformation

A molecular LCAO Hartree-Fock procedure was used to calculate total energies of axially stretched normal paraffins containing up to nine carbon atoms. The results are used to model the mechanical properties of polyethylene.     

Ab initio molecular orbital theory study of GaAs clusters: The geometry

We have studied the structure and geometry of neutral and charged atomic clusters consisting of Ga and As atoms via ab initio Hartree–Fock (HF) and second‐order Møller–Plesset methods. The Ga_mAs_n cluster with m≠n composition prefers a nontetrahedral geometry in the charge neutral (q=0) state. These clusters tend to be stable in tetrahedral geometry when appropriately charged. The Ga_mAs_n cluster with m=n composition (1:1 ratio of Ga to As atoms) tends to be stable in a tetrahedral geometry in the charge neutral (q=0) state. With increasing size of the cluster, the geometry of Ga_nAs_n cluster approaches the zinc‐belende‐type crystalline structure. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 77: 563–573, 2000     

Ab initio molecular orbital studies for compounds of magnesium

Using a 6-311G** basis set with estimation of correlation energy at the MP2 level, structural and energetic data for 40 molecular species containing magnesium have been calculated. For about half the species studied, further energetic data were obtained using Pople's G2 method. Enthalpy changes at 298.15 K were obtained for isogyric reactions and standard enthalpies of formation were derived from these. Comparison of the standard enthalpies of formation with the sparse literature data suggests the MP2/6-311G** standard enthalpies of formation are accurate to ± 15 kJ mol^?1 and the corresponding G2 enthalpies accurate to ± 10 kJ mol^?1. The calculated ΔH [MgN, g] revealed a gross error in the currently accepted value for this function. It is intended that these results will be used to parameterize the semiempirical molecular orbital package, MOPAC, for the element magnesium. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of ground and low-lying electronic states of CoCN

The ground and low-lying excited states of CoCN have been studied by ab initio multireference single and double excitation configuration interaction (MR-SDCI) calculations with Davidson's correction Q and Cowan-Griffin's relativistic corrections. The electronic ground state of CoCN is (3)Phi(i) and the equilibrium geometry is linear with bond lengths of r(e)(Co-C)=1.8540 A and r(e)(C-N)=1.1677 A, substantially different from the experimentally derived values of r(0)(Co-C)=1.8827(7) A and r(0)(C-N)=1.1313(10) A. The first excited state is (3)Delta(i), separated from the ground state by 727 cm(-1). Larger dynamical electron correlation energy for the low-spin (3)Phi state than for the high-spin (5)Phi state makes the (3)Phi state to be the ground state, which is discussed in terms of the differences in natural orbitals. A new spin-orbit interaction scheme between the X (3)Phi(i) and 1 (3)Delta(i) states is proposed.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of dications of 1,5‐dichalcogenacyclooctanes

The molecular and electronic structures of the dications of three homonuclear and three heteronuclear dichalcogenacyclooctanes (chalcogen = S, Se, or Te) were investigated by ab initio molecular orbital calculations. Four energy‐minimum structures were located for each dication. Three of those (chair‐chair, boat‐boat, and boat‐chair) have the cis configuration with respect to the chalcogen lone pairs, and the remaining one has the trans configuration. The cis isomers were found to be much more stable than the trans isomer. Among the three cis structures, the stability is in the order of boat‐chair > boat‐boat > chair‐chair for all dications. This order can be explained by considering the nonbonding H···H interactions. The chair‐chair structure (C_2v symmetry) of the 1,5‐dithiacyclooctane dication has a very low vibrational frequency of a₂ symmetry, and its LUMO energy is lower than those of boat‐boat and boat‐chair. These can rationalize the fact that in the crystalline state the dication adopts a distorted C₂ chair‐chair conformation. The transition states between the three conformers of the homonuclear dications were also located. The corresponding energy barriers are relatively low, which is consistent with their NMR spectra. The relative stabilities of the homonuclear and heteronuclear dications were elucidated on the basis of their energies and those of the corresponding neutral compounds. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 11:31–41, 2000     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of the tautomerism of 4-hydroxy-2-pyridinone

Ab initio calculations were performed on 2,4-pyridinediol, 4-hydroxy-2-pyridinone, and 2hydroxy-4-pyridinone at the HF /3-21G level with full geometry optimization. Two conformations of the hydroxyl group were considered for each tautomer. Corrections for polarization functions, electron correlation, and zero point energy were made by comparison with previous calculations on 2- and 4-pyridinone tautomerism which included these contributions. The most stable structure is 4-hydroxy-2-pyridinone, in agreement with experiment. Relative to 4-hydroxy-2-pyridinone, the energies of the other tautomers are estimated to be 1.9 kcal/mol for 2,4-pyridinediol and 8.9 kcal/mol for 2-hydroxy-4-pyridinone. These are in accord with the experimental values 0.3 ± 1.9 and 10.6 ± 1.9 kcal/mol, respectively, deduced from equilibration studies of the tautomeric methyl derivatives.     

Ab initio molecular orbital studies of nonidentity allyl transfer reactions

Ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations are carried out on the nonidentity allyl transfer processes, X^? + CH₂CHCH₂Y ? CH₂CHCH₂ X + Y^?, with X^? = H, F, and Cl and Y = H, NH₂, OH, F, PH₂, SH, and Cl. The Marcus equation applies well to the allyl transfer reactions. The transition state (TS) position along the reaction coordinate and the TS structure are strongly influenced by the thermodynamic driving force, whereas the TS looseness is originated from the intrinsic barrier. The intrinsic barrier, ΔE, looseness, %L?, and absolute asymmetry, %AS?, are well correlated with the percentage bond elongation, %CY? = [(d ? d)/d] × 100 and/or %CX?. The %CY? and the bond orders indicate that a stronger nucleophile and/or a stronger nucleofuge (or a better leaving group) leads to an earlier TS on the reaction coordinate with a lesser degree of bond making as well as bond breaking. These are consistent with the Bell-Evans-Polanyi principle and the Leffler-Hammond postulate. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations for butadiene and its ions

Ab initio calculations are reported for cis and trans butadiene and some of their ions. The calculations are compared with semi-empirical results, and used to predict coupling constants.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of the insertion of H2 into POSS compounds

The insertion of one and two H₂ molecules into polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) was investigated as a function of the size of the cage, using both Hartree-Fock (HF) and second order perturbation theory (MP2) methods. Also investigated was the same reaction into the heavier groups 4 and 14 metal-substituted POSS (metallasilsesquioxanes) such as Ge-POSS, Si/Ge-mixed POSS, and Ti- and Zr-POSS. The properties of these species in comparison with those of POSS are discussed.     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations on the pyrazine-lithium ion pair

The results of ab initio molecular orbital calculations are presented for the pyrazine^?/Li⁺ ion pair. It is shown that the lowest energy conformation is where the lithium occupies a position in the plane of the pyrazine ring, along the C ₂ axis passing through the nitrogen atoms.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of Fe(CO) n (n = 1–3)

Geometry optimization was performed for the ground states of FeCO, Fe(CO)₂, and Fe(CO)₃ at various levels of ab initio calculations, and the bond lengths and dissociation energies obtained were in reasonable agreement with experimental results. The nature of bonding was studied for these molecules using a complete-active-space self-consistent-field method. From the Mulliken population analysis, it was found that the traditional donation and back donation mechanism is valid for these molecules, including Fe(CO)₃, which has a pyramidal structure. Received: 27 September 1999 / Accepted: 13 January 2000 / Published online: 19 April 2000     

An Ab initio molecular orbital study of the systematics in the photoelectron spectra of halomethanes

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations on fluoro- and chloro-methanes, CH_4—nX_n, predict the correct trends in the photoelectron spectra except in the case of the C(2s) bands of fluoromethanes. Thus, the calculated energies corresponding to the lone pair, σ (CX) and C(1s) bands increase with increasing n as found experimentally; the C(2s) energy in chloromethanes decreases with increasing n, again, in agreement with experiment.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of the hydrogen-bonded pyrrole ⃛acetonitrile complex

The total dipole moments, molecular energies, and π-electron densities for the linear and orthogonal pyrrole ?acetonitrile hydrogen-bonded complexes were studied in the ab initio valence bond framework using the minimal STO -3G basis set. That the orthogonal conformation, although slightly less stable than the other, is predominant as observed in carbon tetrachloride, can be explained by its relatively high symmetry number.     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculation on the rotational isomerism of 1,2-dichloroethane and 1-chloropropane

Ab initio MO calculations on the total energies of the rotational isomers of 1,2-dichloroethane and 1-chloropropane were performed to estimate the energy differences and the potential functions. The torsional energy levels were calculated by the harmonic rotator model. The calculation including the configuration interaction with single and double excitations on 1,2-dichloroethane improved the agreement with the experimental energy difference between the trans and gauche forms. Vibrational frequencies of 1,2-dichloroethane were also calculated by the ab initio MO method. The results are in good correlation with experimentally established values by Shimanouchi.     

Ab initio molecular orbital analysis of acetaldehyde dimers.: Thermodynamic properties

The surface of the acetaldehyde dimer was studied by MP2/6-31+G^* ab initio calculations and some of the minima thus located were used in subsequent optimizations and single-point calculations at the B3-LYP/6-311+G(2d,p), MP2/6-311+G(2d,p), MP2/aug-cc-pDVZ and MP2/aug-cc-pTVZ levels. An overall of six minima in two distinct groups were detected, one group consisting of planar configurations and the other of more stable, non-planar (spatial) configurations of the two monomers. Some of the dimer thermodynamic properties were calculated from its harmonic frequencies and a comparison between the experimental values for the thermodynamic properties and the calculated values is discussed.     

Ab initio molecular dynamics study of liquid methanol

We present a density-functional theory based molecular-dynamics study of the structural, dynamical, and electronic properties of liquid methanol under ambient conditions. The calculated radial distribution functions involving the oxygen and hydroxyl hydrogen show a pronounced hydrogen bonding and compare well with recent neutron diffraction data, except for an underestimate of the oxygen–oxygen correlation. We observe that, in line with infrared spectroscopic data, the hydroxyl stretching mode is significantly red-shifted in the liquid. A substantial enhancement of the dipole moment is accompanied by significant fluctuations due to thermal motion. Our results provide valuable data for improvement of empirical potentials.