Insertion of H2C=CHX (X = F, Cl, Br, O(i)Pr) into (tBu3SiO)3TaH2 and beta-X-Elimination from (tBu3SiO)3HTaCH2CH2X (X = OR): relevance to Ziegler-Natta copolymerizations.

The insertion of H2C=CHX (X = OR; R = Me, Et, nPr, (i)Pr, CH=CH2, Ph) into (tBu3SiO)3TaH2 (1) afforded (tBu3SiO)3HTaCH2CH2X (2-CH2CH2X), which beta-X-eliminated to give ethylene and (tBu3SiO)3HTaX (3-X). beta-X-elimination rates were inversely proportional to the size of R. An X-ray crystallographic study of (tBu3SiO)3HTaCH2CH2O(t)Bu (2-CH2CH2O(t)Bu) revealed a distorted trigonal bipyramidal structure with an equatorial plane containing the hydride and a -CH2CH2O(t)Bu ligand with a staggered disposition. erythro- and threo-(tBu3SiO)3HTaCHDCHDOEt (2-CHDCHDOEt) are staggered in solution, according to (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies, and eliminated cis- and trans-HDC=CHD, respectively, helping verify the four-centered transition state for beta-OEt-elimination. When X = F, Cl, or Br, 2-CH2CH2X was not observed en route to 3-X, signifying that olefin insertion was rate-determining. Insertion rates suggested that substantial positive charge on the substituted carbon was incurred. The reactivity of other H2C=CHX with 1, and a discussion of the observations and their ramifications on the incorporation of functionalized monomers in Ziegler-Natta copolymerizations, are presented.     

Structures, electron affinities, and harmonic vibrational frequencies of C6H5X/C6H5X- (X = N, S, NH, PH, CH2, and SiH2)

The molecular structures and electron affinities of the C6H5X/C6H5X- (X = N, S, NH, PH, CH2, and SiH2) species have been determined using seven different density functional or hybrid Hartree-Fock density functional methods. The basis set used in this work is of double-zeta plus polarization quality with additional diffuse s- and p-type functions, denoted DZP++. These methods have been carefully calibrated (Chem. Rev. 2002, 102, 231). The geometries are fully optimized with each density functional theory (DFT) method, and discussed. Harmonic vibrational frequencies were found to be within 3.2% of available experimental values for most functionals. Three different types of the neutral-anion energy separations reported in this work are the adiabatic electron affinity (EA(ad)), the vertical electron affinity (EA(vert)), and the vertical detachment energy (VDE). The most reliable adiabatic electron affinities, obtained at the DZP++ BPW91 level of theory, are 1.45 (C6H5N), 2.29 (C6H5S), 1.57 (C6H5NH), 1.51 (C6H5PH), 0.91 (C6H5CH2), and 1.48 eV (C6H5SiH2), respectively. Compared with the experimental values, the average absolute error of the BPW91 method is 0.04 eV. The B3LYP and B3PW91 functionals also gave excellent predictions, with average absolute errors of 0.06 and 0.07 eV, respectively.     

Structures and electronic properties of Al7x0,- and Al13 X1,2,12- clusters with X=F, Cl, and Br

The structures, binding energies, and electronic properties for Al7X, Al7X-, Al13X-, Al13X2-, and Al13X12- (X = F, Cl, Br) were studied at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p) level. Among the systems studied, Al7 and Al13 clusters in Al7X and Al13X- reveal alkali-like and halogen-like superatom characters, respectively. Al7 can bind with one halogen atom to form a salt-like compound as Al7+delta-X-delta. Al13- can combine with one halogen atom to form a diatomic halogen anion Al13X-. However, when adding more halogens, the superatom structure would be destroyed, resulting in low-symmetry compounds with the center Al atom moving toward the cluster surface. The structures of Al13X1,2,12- (X = F, Cl, Br) are similar to those of X = I; however, their binding energies and electron structures are much different. In addition, the analyses of the calculated NBO charges show that Cl and Br have similar properties, but much different from F, when interacting with the Al clusters. The Al-Cl and Al-Br bonds have more covalent character in Al7X and Al13X2,12-, in contrast to the corresponding Al-F bond, which has prominent ionic character.     

Sigma-aromaticity and sigma-antiaromaticity in saturated inorganic rings

The magnetic properties of a series of inorganic saturated rings, (SiH2)n, (GeH2)n, (NH)n, (PH)n, (AsH)n, On, Sn, and Sen (n = 3-6), exhibit zigzag behavior with ring size resembling that of aromatic and antiaromatic Hückel pi-systems and (CH2)n rings. Computed GIAO-SCF nucleus-independent chemical shifts (NICS) and localized (LMO) NICS analysis indicate that the sigma-ring electrons are chiefly responsible for this zigzag behavior. This evidence for sigma-aromaticity is further supported by theoretical strain energy (TSE). The Hückel 4n + 2/4n aromaticity/antiaromaticity rule for pi-electron systems applies well to the smaller saturated rings.     

The role of the 5f orbitals in bonding, aromaticity, and reactivity of planar isocyclic and heterocyclic uranium clusters

The molecular and electronic structures, stabilities, bonding features and magnetic properties of prototypical planar isocyclic cyclo-U n X n ( n = 3, 4; X = O, NH) and heterocyclic cyclo-U n (mu 2-X) n ( n = 3, 4; X = C, CH, NH) clusters as well as the E@[ c-U 4(mu 2-C) 4], (E = H (+), C, Si, Ge) and U@[ c-U 5(mu 2-C) 5] molecules including a planar tetracoordinate element E (ptE) and pentacoordinate U (ppU) at the ring centers, respectively, have been thoroughly investigated by means of electronic structure calculation methods at the DFT level. It was shown that 5f orbitals play a key role in the bonding of these f-block metal systems significantly contributing to the cyclic electron delocalization and the associated magnetic diatropic (magnetic aromaticity) response. The aromaticity of the perfectly planar cyclo-U n X n ( n = 3, 4; X = O, NH), cyclo-U n (mu 2-X) n ( n = 3, 4; X = C, CH, NH), E@[ c-U 4(mu 2-C) 4], (E = H (+), C, Si, Ge) and U@[ c-U 5(mu 2-C) 5] clusters was verified by an efficient and simple criterion in probing the aromaticity/antiaromaticity of a molecule, that of the nucleus-independent chemical shift, NICS(0), NICS(1), NICS zz (0) and the most refined NICS zz (1) index in conjunction with the NICS scan profiles. Natural bond orbital analyses provided a clear picture of the bonding pattern in the planar isocyclic and heterocyclic uranium clusters and revealed the features that stabilize the ptE's inside the six- and eight-member uranacycle rings. The ptE's benefit from a considerable electron transfer from the surrounding uranium atoms in the E@[ c-U 4(mu 2-C) 4], (E = H (+), C, Si, Ge) and U@[ c-U 5(mu 2-C) 5] clusters justifying the high occupancy of the np orbitals of the central atom E.     

Electron,hydride, and fluoride affinities of silicon-containing species: computational studies

The distance dependence of silicon substitution on the electron affinity (EA) of carbon radicals has been studied using computational methods in SiH3(CH2)nCH2 (A) and SiH2F(CH2)nCH2 (B). Large EAs result when n = 0 for both A and B. The result for A is compared with the experimental EA value of (CH3)3SiCH2. Similar comparisons with known EAs (CH3 and SiH3) establish the validity of the computational approach. Fluorine substitution in SiH2FCH2 is consistent with other fluorine substitution effects. When n > 1, the anions of both A and B cyclize to pentacoordinate structures in which silicon has trigonal bipyramidal geometry. The corresponding EA values raise important questions about computed EAs that result from profound geometry changes between radicals and anions. Anions that have not cyclized give rise to EA values more easily interpreted. Such results, combined with computations of vertical attachment energies, indicate that the EA values of A and B attenuate rapidly for n > 1, quickly approaching that of CH3. Pentacoordination effects of silicon anions were also studied for SiH4, (CH3)2SiH2, 1-silacyclopropane, 1-silacyclobutane, and 1-silacyclopentane.     

Structures of d4 MH3X: a computational study of the influence of the metal and the ligands

Density functional theory (DFT, PBE0, and range separated DFT, RSH + MP2) and coupled-cluster with single and double and perturbative triple excitations (CCSD(T)) calculations have been used to probe the structural preference of d(4) MH(3)X(q) (M = Ru, Os, Rh(+), Ir(+), and Re(-); X = H, F, CH(3), CF(3), SiH(3), and SiF(3)) and of MX(4) (M = Ru; X = H, F, CH(3), CF(3), SiH(3), and SiF(3)). Landis et al. have shown that complexes in which the metal is sd(3) hybridized have tetrahedral and non-tetrahedral structures with shapes of an umbrella or a 4-legged piano stool. In this article, the influence of the metal and ligands on the energies of the three isomeric structures of d(4) MH(3)X and MX(4) is established and rationalized. Fluoride and alkyl ligands stabilize the tetrahedral relative to non-tetrahedral structures while hydride and silyl ligands stabilize the non-tetrahedral structures. For given ligands and charge, 4d metal favors more the non-tetrahedral structures than 5d metals. A positive charge increases the preference for the non-tetrahedral structures while a negative charge increases the preference for the tetrahedral structure. The factors that determine these energy patterns are discussed by means of a molecular orbital analysis, based on Extended Hückel (EHT) calculations, and by means of Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analyses of charges and resonance structures (NRT analysis). These analyses show the presence of through-space interactions in the non-tetrahedral structures that can be sufficiently stabilizing, for specific metals and ligands, to stabilize the non-tetrahedral structures relative to the tetrahedral isomer.     

Quantum chemistry study on cation structures of fluorinated and chlorinated germanes and their radicals

The structures and vibrational frequencies of cations of fluorinated and chlorinated germanes and radicals (GeHxXy+, X = F, Cl; x + y = 1-4) and protonated germanes are investigated theoretically at B3LYP/6-31+G(2df,p) level. For GeH2, GeHX, GeH2X, GeHX2, and germanes, the most stable cationic structures are largely distorted from their neutral ones and all can be viewed as ion complexes between a Ge-centered cation and a neutral atom or diatom. The ionization potentials, appearance energies, and proton affinities are obtained at Gaussian-3(CC) levels. Cations with the lowest energy (and adiabatic ionization potentials (in eV)) are Ge+-H2 (2B2, 8.94), Ge+-FH (9.42), Ge+-ClH (9.45), GeH3(+) (8.01), GeF+-H2 (7.71), GeCl+-H2 (8.01), GeF+-FH (7.69), GeCl+-ClH (7.80), GeH2(+)-H2 (10.45), GeH2(+)-FH (10.32), GeHF+-FH (10.64), GeF2(+)-FH (11.40), GeF4(+) (15.22), GeH2(+)-ClH (10.29), GeHCl+-ClH (10.33), GeCl2(+)-ClH (10.43), and GeCl4(+) (11.48). The most stable protonated germanes (and proton affinities (in kJ/mol, 0 K)) are GeH3(+)-H2 (658.3), GeH3(+)-FH (672.5), GeH2F+-FH (634.2), GeHF2(+)-FH (583.4), GeF3(+)-FH (516.3), GeH3(+)-ClH (672.7), GeH2Cl+-ClH (652.6), GeHCl2(+)-ClH (637.5), and GeCl3(+)-ClH (624.4), respectively. The G3 atomization energies of fluorinated Ge-species are found to be significantly different from G3X and G4 ones, and this may merit further investigation.     

Third-order Douglas-Kroll relativistic coupled-cluster theory through connected single, double, triple, and quadruple substitutions: applications to diatomic and triatomic hydrides

Coupled-cluster methods including through and up to the connected single, double, triple, and quadruple substitutions have been derived and implemented automatically for sequential and parallel executions by an algebraic and symbolic manipulation program TCE (TENSOR CONTRACTION ENGINE) for use in conjunction with a one-component third-order Douglas-Kroll approximation for relativistic corrections. A combination of the converging electron-correlation methods, the accurate relativistic reference wave functions, and the use of systematic basis sets tailored to the relativistic approximation has been shown to predict the experimental singlet-triplet separations within 0.02 eV (0.5 kcal/mol) for five triatomic hydrides (CH2, NH2+, SiH2, PH2+, and AsH2+), the experimental bond lengths (re or r0) within 0.002 angstroms, rotational constants (Be or B0) within 0.02 cm(-1), vibration-rotation constants (alphae) within 0.01 cm(-1), centrifugal distortion constants (De) within 2%, harmonic vibration frequencies (omegae) within 8 cm(-1) (0.4%), anharmonic vibrational constants (xomegae) within 2 cm(-1), and dissociation energies (D0(0)) within 0.02 eV (0.4 kcal/mol) for twenty diatomic hydrides (BH, CH, NH, OH, FH, AlH, SiH, PH, SH, ClH, GaH, GeH, AsH, SeH, BrH, InH, SnH, SbH, TeH, and IH) containing main-group elements across the second through fifth rows of the periodic table. In these calculations, spin-orbit effects on dissociation energies, which were assumed to be additive, were estimated from the measured spin-orbit coupling constants of atoms and diatomic molecules, and an electronic energy in the complete-basis-set, complete-electron-correlation limit has been extrapolated in two ways to verify the robustness of the results: One assuming Gaussian-exponential dependence of total energies on double through quadruple zeta basis sets and the other assuming n(-3) dependence of correlation energies on double through quintuple zeta basis sets.     

富勒烯衍生物C50X(X=SiH2,PH,S)的结构及稳定性的理论研究

用从头算HF/3-21G方法研究了C50的环加成衍生物C50X(X=SiH2, PH, S)所有可能的异构体的结构与稳定性, 计算结果表明, SiH2基团、PH基团与S原子在C50上环加成的优先加成位置相同, 都为C3—C4类键和C4—C4类键, 并且相应形成[5,6]-闭环和[5,5]-闭环结构的最稳定异构体; 决定C50X(X=SiH2, PH, S)各异构体稳定性的主要因素, 因加成位置以及发生加成反应的C—C键的单双键类型的不同, 可能是张力、共轭效应或者二者的共同作用. 进一步比较了C50X(X=SiH2, PH, S)与C50X(X=CH2, NH, O)的结构和稳定性等, 并总结出规律性的结论, 即加成原子的大小和加成位置C—C键的类型是影响形成开环或闭环结构的C50环加成衍生物的两种主要因素.     

Structures and energies of isolobal (BCO)n and (CH)n cages

The structures and energies of isolobal (CH)n and (BCO)n polyhedral species, computed at the B3LYP density functional theory level, reveal contrasts in behavior. The strain energies of the (BCO)n cages are much smaller. Also unlike the (CH)n cages, the most stable (BCO)n polyhedra (n > or = 10) prefer structures with the largest number of three-membered rings. The planar (or nearly planar) faces of the cage systems were modeled by computations on planar, isoelectronic (CH2)n (Dnh) and (HBCO)n (Cnv) rings. While the strain energies of all the planar carbon rings, relative to the most stable D5h (CH2)5, were large, the strain energies of all the planar (HBCO)n (Cnv) rings were small. Remarkably, the three-membered (HBCO)3 (C3v) ring was the most stable. Finally, large (BCO)n systems prefer tubelike rather than cage structures.     

Effects of substituents on the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of HCGeX (X = H, CH3, F, and Cl) isomers. A theoretical study

The effect of substitution on the potential energy surfaces of HC identical to GeX (X = H, CH3, F, and Cl) were explored using density functional theory (B3LYP) and QCISD methods. The theoretical findings suggest that (H)(X)C = Ge: is the minimum on the singlet potential energy surface, regardless of the substituents (X) used. On the other hand, HC identical to GeX and XC identical to GeH are found to be local minima on the surface, but they are neither kinetically nor thermodynamically stable.     

碱金属原子簇的结构和稳定性

基于从体心立方碱金属晶体优化确立的多体展开势能函数，本文通过坐标优化研究了碱金属原子簇Ｘｎ（Ｘ＝Ｌｉ，Ｎａ，Ｋ，Ｒｂ，Ｃｓ）的结构和稳定性。发现：（１）Ｘｎ原子簇（ｎ＝４－２１）倾向于形成畸变四面体结构单元，（Ｔｄ）的密堆积，分子表面被三元环（Ｄ３ｈ）所覆盖，其中Ｘ７－Ｘ１５最优化结构中包含五角双锥Ｘ７（Ｄ５ｈ）结构单元，具有区域五重对称轴；（２）“微观晶体碎片”的分层优化结果表明，体心立方、面心     

On the vibrational spectra and structural parameters of methyl, silyl, and germyl azide from theoretical predictions and experimental data

The infrared and Raman spectra of methyl, silyl, and germyl azide (XN3 where X=CH3, SiH3 and GeH3) have been predicted from ab initio calculations with full electron correlation by second order perturbation theory (MP2) and hybrid density function theory (DFT) by the B3LYP method with a variety of basis sets. These predicted data are compared to previously reported experimental data and complete vibrational assignments are provided for all three molecules. It is shown that several of the assignments recently proposed [J. Mol. Struct. (Theochem.) 434 (1998) 1] for methyl azide are not correct. Structural parameters for CH3N3 and GeH3N3 have been obtained by combining the previously reported microwave rotational constants with the ab initio MP2/6-311+G(d,p) predicted values. These "adjusted r0" parameters have very small uncertainties of +/-0.003 A for the XH distances and a maximum of +/-0.005 A for the heavy atom distances and +/-0.5 degrees for the angles. The predicted distance for the terminal NN bond which is nearly a triple bond is much better predicted by the B3LYP calculations, whereas the fundamental frequencies are better predicted by the scaled ab initio calculations. The results are discussed and compared to those obtained for some similar molecules.     

Theoretical prediction of new dipole-bound singlet states for anions of interstellar interest

Anions that exhibit dipole-bound singlet states have been proposed as a potential class of molecules that may be identified in the interstellar medium. Using high-level coupled cluster theory, we have computed the dipole moments, electron binding energies, and excited states of 14 neutral radicals and their corresponding closed-shell anions. We have calibrated our methods against experimental data for CH(2)CN(-) and CH(2)CHO(-) and demonstrated that coupled cluster theory can closely reproduce experimental dipole moments, electron binding energies, and excitation energies. Using these same methods, we predict the existence of dipole-bound excited states for six of the 14 previously unknown anions, including CH(2)SiN(-), SiH(2)CN(-), CH(2)SiHO(-), SiN(-), CCOH(-), and HCCO(-). In addition, we predict the existence of a valence-bound excited state of CH(2)SiN(-) with an excitation wavelength near 589 nm.     

The triplet state of cytosine and its derivatives: electron impact and quantum chemical study

The excitation of the lowest electronic states and vibrational excitation of cytosine (C) have been studied using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS, 0-100 eV) with angular analysis. The singlet states have been found to be in good agreement with UV-VIS absorption results on sublimed films, slightly blueshifted by about 0.1 eV. The EEL spectra recorded at residual energy below 2 eV show clear shoulders at energy losses of 3.50 and 4.25 eV (+/-0.1 eV). They are assigned to the lowest triplet electronic states of cytosine. Energies and molecular structures of the lowest-lying triplet state of C and its methylated and halogenated 5-X-C, 6-X-C, and 5-X, 6-X-C substituted derivatives (X=CH3, F, Cl, and Br) have been studied using quantum chemical calculations with both molecular orbital and density functional methods, in conjunction with the 6-311++G(d,p), 6-311++G(3df,2p), and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets. The triplet-singlet energy gap obtained using coupled-cluster theory [CCSD(T)] and density functional theory (DFT) methods agrees well with those derived from EELS study. The first C's vertical triplet state is located at 3.6 eV, in good agreement with experiment. The weak band observed at 4.25 eV is tentatively assigned to the second C's vertical triplet excitation. For the substituted cytosines considered, the vertical triplet state is consistently centered at 3.0-3.2 eV above the corresponding singlet ground state but about 1.0 eV below the first excited singlet state. Geometrical relaxation involving out-of-plane distortions of hydrogen atoms leads to a stabilization of 0.6-1.0 eV in favor of the equilibrium triplet. The lowest-lying adiabatic triplet states are located at 2.3-3.0 eV. Halogen substitution at both C(5) and C(6) positions tends to reduce the triplet-singlet separations whereas methylation tends to enlarge it. The vibrational modes of triplet cytosine and the ionization energies of substituted derivatives were also evaluated.     

Gas-phase structures of aminodifluorophosphines determined using electron diffraction data and computational techniques

The molecular structures of a family of eight aminodifluorophosphines, (PF2)NRR'(R, R' = H, CH3, SiH3, GeH3, PF2), have been redetermined using gas-phase electron diffraction data and high-level ab initio molecular-orbital calculations. The SARACEN method has allowed the application of flexible restraints, giving greater accuracy and precision of structure, while the SHRINK program has allowed curvilinear corrections for vibrational effects to be applied to intramolecular distances. The more accurate structures of these eight compounds show consistent patterns of effects attributable to the various substituents, while conformations are dominated by the requirement that adjacent phosphorus and nitrogen lone pairs of electrons should be orthogonal.     

DFT studies of the conformational/structural dependencies of geminal 1H,1H scalar coupling 2J(H,H') in substituted methanes

A study is presented of the structural dependencies for scalar, interproton J-coupling across two bonds in a series of substituted methanes. The coupled perturbed, density functional theory method with a B3PW91 functional and aug-cc-pVTZ-J basis sets is used to examine coupling between geminal protons (2)J(H,H') in methane and a series of substituted compounds CH(3)X (X = CH3, CH(2)CH(3), CH=CH2, CH=O, and NH2) as functions of the dihedral angle phi measured about the C1-X2 bonds. All four contributions are obtained but all conformational effects are dominated by the Fermi contact term. Simple linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO)-molecular orbital (MO) sum-over-states methods are used to examine the relationships of the coupling constants with dihedral angles as well as internal H-C-H and H-C1-X2 angles. This study explores some novel aspects of geminal H-H coupling including an analysis of the asymmetry in the conformational dependencies arising from non-next-nearest neighbor interactions. For each of the substituted methanes, explicit trigonometric/exponential expressions are given and these accurately reproduce the (2)J(H,H') structural dependencies with standard deviations usually less than 0.03 Hz. The molecular structures for representative bicyclic molecules were fully optimized, and DFT results for (2)J(H,H') reproduce all the trends in the experimental data. A discussion is given on the applicability of the equations for H--H coupling in the substituted methanes to coupling in the bicyclic molecules.     

Influence of chelate substituents on the structure and spin state of unsaturated [N(SiMe2CH2PtBu2)2]Ru-X

Density functional theory calculations on the conformational preferences in the two fused five-membered rings of anionic N(SiR2CH2PR'2)2 chelated to RuX+ are compared to several experimental structures (X=halide). The calculations consider the structures of both singlet and triplet states and reveal that both the four tBu groups and the crowded juncture (N(SiMe2)2) of the two rings must be included computationally to understand the observed structures. Computational experiments with different substituents R and R' show the reality of N-->Ru pi donation. The cases where X=H and CH3 are also studied.     

Theoretical study on the reactivities of stannylene and plumbylene and the origin of their activation barriers

The potential energy surfaces corresponding to the reactions of heavy carbenes with various molecules were investigated by employing computations at the B3LYP and CCSD(T) levels of theory. To understand the origin of barrier heights and reactivities, the model system (CH3)2X+Y (X=C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb; Y=CH4, SiH4, GeH4, CH3OH, C2H6, C2H4, and C2H2) was chosen for the present study. All reactions involve initial formation of a precursor complex, followed by a high-energy transition state, and then a final product. My theoretical investigations suggest that the heavier the X center, the larger the activation barrier, and the less exothermic (or the more endothermic) the chemical reaction. In particular, the computational results show that (CH3)2Sn does not insert readily into C-H, Si-H, C-H, Ge-H, or C-C bonds. It is also unreactive towards C=C bonds, but is reactive towards C identical with C and O-H bonds. My theoretical findings are in good agreement with experimental observations. Furthermore, a configuration mixing model based on the work of Pross and Shaik is used to rationalize the computational results. It is demonstrated that the singlet-triplet splitting of a heavy carbene (CH3)2X plays a decisive role in determining its chemical reactivity. The results obtained allow a number of predictions to be made.