Extensive ab initio study of the electronic states of SCl including spin-orbit coupling

The effect of different basis sets for calculation of the spectroscopic constants of the ground state of sulfur monochloride (SCl) was analyzed using scalar relativistic multireference configuration interaction with single and double excitations plus Davidson correction. Then the generally contracted all-electronic correlation-consistent polarized valence quintuple zeta basis sets were selected to compute the electronic states of SCl including 12 valence and 9 Rydberg lambda-S states. The spin-orbit coupling effect was calculated via the state interaction approach with the full Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian. This effect splits these lambda-S states into 42 omega states. Potential-energy curves of all these states are plotted with the help of the avoided crossing rule between the electronic states of the same symmetry. The structural properties of these states are analyzed. Spectroscopic constants of bound excited states that have never been observed in experiment are obtained. The transition dipole moments and the Franck-Condon factors of several transitions from low-lying bound excited states to the ground state were also calculated.     

Density functional and spin-orbit ab initio study of CF3Br: molecular properties and electronic curve crossing

Quantum chemical calculations of CF(3)Br and the CF(3) radical are performed using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Molecular structures, vibrational frequencies, dipole moment, bond dissociation energy, and vertical excitation energies of CF(3)Br are calculated and compared with available experimental results. The performance of six hybrid and five hybrid meta functionals in DFT and TDDFT calculations are evaluated. The ωB97X, B3PW91, and M05-2X functionals give very good results for molecular structures, vibrational frequencies, and vertical excitation energies, respectively. The ωB97X functional calculates well the dipole moment of CF(3)Br. B3LYP, one of the most widely used functionals, does not perform well for calculations of the C-Br bond length, bond dissociation energy, and vertical excitation energies. Potential energy curves of the low-lying excited states of CF(3)Br are obtained using the multiconfigurational spin-orbit ab initio method. The crossing point between 2A(1) and 3E states is located near the C-Br bond length of 2.45 ?. Comparison with CH(3)Br shows that fluorination does not alter the location of the crossing point. The relation between the calculated potential energy curves and recent experimental result is briefly discussed.     

Size-expanded yDNA bases: an ab initio study

xDNA and yDNA are new classes of synthetic nucleic acids characterized by having base-pairs with one of the bases larger than the natural congeners. Here these larger bases are called x- and y-bases. We recently investigated and reported the structural and electronic properties of the x-bases (Fuentes-Cabrera et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, 21135-21139). Here we extend this study by investigating the structure and electronic properties of the y-bases. These studies are framed within our interest that xDNA and yDNA could function as nanowires, for they could have smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps than natural DNA. The limited amount of experimental structural data in these synthetic duplexes makes it necessary to first understand smaller models and, subsequently, to use that information to build larger models. In this paper, we report the results on the chemical and electronic structure of the y-bases. In particular, we predict that the y-bases have smaller HOMO-LUMO gaps than their natural congeners, which is an encouraging result for it indicates that yDNA could have a smaller HOMO-LUMO gap than natural DNA. Also, we predict that the y-bases are less planar than the natural ones. Particularly interesting are our results corresponding to yG. Our studies show that yG is unstable because it is less aromatic and has a Coulombic repulsion that involves the amino group, as compared with a more stable tautomer. However, yG has a very small HOMO-LUMO gap, the smallest of all the size-expanded bases we have considered. The results of this study provide useful information that may allow the synthesis of an yG-mimic that is stable and has a small HOMO-LUMO gap.     

Ab initio study including spin-orbit effects on the B-X transition of AgI

The lowest Omega = 0-,0+,1,2 fine-structure potential energy curves arising from the two lowest-lying singlet (X 1Sigma+ and 2 1Sigma+) and the first 3Pi electronic states of AgI were obtained through an effective Hamiltonian; the purely electronic LambdaSSigma energies were used as diagonal elements, which were calculated through extensive complete active space self-consistent field + averaged coupled pair functional calculations, with relativistic effective core potentials and optimized Gaussian basis sets for both atoms. The spin-orbit interactions were included using the Stuttgart effective spin-orbit potentials. For the excited Omega = 0+ states, very strong mixtures were found of the 2 1Sigma+ and 3Pi parents that lead to the fine-structure (0+) single B state (dominated by the 2 1Sigma+ parent at long distance), that explains the B <-- X transitions. The present results also explain the presence of a second long-distance minimum for the B0+ state, experimentally Rydberg-Klein-Rees fitted. These calculations produced, as a byproduct, a new lower-lying Omega = 0+ yet unobserved fine-structure state predicted to exist around 22,000 cm(-1). Our theoretical results are compared and discussed in the light of the experimental data for the B-X transitions in silver halides [J. Chem. Phys. 109, 9831 (1998)].     

Thermal decomposition of decalin: an ab initio study

Density functional theory calculations (B3LYP and BH&HLYP functionals) of the potential energy surface have been performed to investigate the mechanisms of decalin breakdown, and the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus and transition state theory methods have been used to compute the high-pressure limit thermal rate constants for the new reaction pathways. The new pathways connect decalin to five primary monoaromatic species: benzene, toluene, styrene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. The reactions used for the new routes are carbon-carbon bond cleavage reaction, dissociation reaction, and hydrogen abstraction and addition reactions. A kinetic analysis was performed for pyrolytic conditions, and benzene, toluene, and xylene were identified as major products.     

An ab initio SCF study of the rotational isomerism in ethyl formate and propargyl formate

SCF computations using STO/3G orbitals have been made for methyl formate, ethyl formate and propargyl formate in order to investigate rotational isomerism in the last two molecules. The results are in good agreement with those of IR and microwave studies.     

Facile uncatalyzed mukaiyama aldol reactions: an ab initio study of the effects of substituents

High-level ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the G3(MP2) level of theory were carried out to investigate the effects of substituents on the energetics of the uncatalyzed Mukaiyama aldol reaction between trihydrosilyl enol ether and formaldehyde. The concerted pathway, via a twist-boat six-membered ring transition state, is strongly favored over the stepwise pathway which involves a four-membered ring oxetane intermediate. Six substituents (CH(3), NH(2), OH, F, SH, and CHO) on trihydrosilyl enol ether and eight substituents (CH(3), CF(3), NH(2), F, CHO, COOCH(3), CH=CH(2), and C(6)H(5)) on formaldehyde were considered. We find that the reaction exothermicity is the main factor that dominates reactivity. The calculated barriers vary considerably from 30 to 131 kJ mol(-1). With the exception of halogen substitution, the nucleophilicity of silyl enol ether and the electrophilicity of the aldehyde are important in promoting the reactivity of this class of aldol addition. The roles of frontier molecular orbital interactions and electrostatic interactions are also discussed. In addition, our study has revealed that employing substituents on both reactants can act in a cooperatively manner to reduce the activation barrier further. In particular, we predict that the reactions between NH(2)-substituted enol silane and CHO-, COOCH(3)-, and CF(3)-substituted aldehydes have remarkably low barriers (<12 kJ mol(-1)). Thus, these reactions may proceed readily without a catalyst below room temperature. Several substitutions on the silicon group, namely SiF(3), SiCl(3), SiMe(3), and silacyclobutyl, were considered. In agreement with experiment, the O-(silacyclobutyl) and O-(trichlorosilyl) derivatives are found to promote aldol reactivity.     

An ab initio SCF study of conformational isomerism in HNO2

The structures and complete force fields of cis and trans nitrous acid have been calculated with a (7, 3) basis set. The differences between the two stable isomers are reproduced well. The dipole moments, centrifugal distortion constants, vibrational frequencies and isotope shifts also agree satisfactorily with observed values. The fully optimized structures of rotamers corresponding to intermediate values of internal rotation around the N-O bond have been calculated to investigate structural changes during internal rotation. The considerable changes show the strong influence of π electron delocalization in the planar forms. The barrier is calculated to be 8.7 kcal mol⁻¹ in reasonable agreement with experimental values. Both the cis and trans barriers are calculated to be attractive dominant in contradiction to earlier work.     

AsH3 ultraviolet photochemistry: an ab initio view

Multireference configuration interaction calculations have been carried out for low-lying electronic states of AsH(3). Bending potentials for the nine lowest states of AsH(3) are obtained in C(3v) symmetry for As-H distances fixed at the ground state equilibrium value of 2.850 a(0), as well as for the minimum energy path constrained to R(1) = R(2) = R(3). The calculated equilibrium geometry and bond energy for the X (1)A(1) ground state agree very well with the previous experimental and theoretical data. It is shown that the lowest excited singlet state belongs to the (1)A(1) symmetry (in C(3v)), in contradiction to the previous calculations. This state is characterized by a planar equilibrium geometry. Asymmetric stretch potential energy surface (PES) cuts along the H(2)As-H recoil coordinate (at R(1) = R(2) = 2.850 a(0), θ = 123.9° and 90°) for numerous excited states and two-dimensional PESs for the X and ? states up to the dissociation limits are obtained for the first time. The ? (1)A(1), B(1)E-X (1)A(1) transition moments are calculated as well and used together with the PES data for the analysis of possible photodecay channels of arsine in its first absorption band.     

Environmental effects on the structure of metal ion-DOTA complexes: an ab initio study of radiopharmaceutical metals

Quantum chemical calculations were performed to study the differences between the important radiopharmaceutical metals yttrium (Y) and indium (In) bound by DOTA and modified DOTA molecules. Energies were calculated at the MP2/6-31+G(d)//HF/6-31G(d) levels, using effective core potentials on the Y and In ions. Although the minimum energy structures obtained are similar for both metal ion-DOTA complexes, changes in coordination and local environment significantly affect the geometries and energies of these complexes. Coordination by a single water molecule causes a change in the coordination number and a change in the position of the metal ion in In-DOTA, but Y-DOTA is hardly affected by water coordination. When one of the DOTA carboxylates is replaced by an amide, the resulting structures show a large variation between the Y and In ions. A six-residue model of the active site containing metal ion-DOTA showed that the Y-DOTA structure optimized to a structure similar to the crystal structure but that the water molecule in In-DOTA disrupts the salt bridge between Arg98B and a carboxylate side chain of DOTA. These observed differences could in part explain the differential binding constants for Y-DOTA and In-DOTA to the antibody 2D12.5.     

Pseudorotation motion in tetrahydrofuran: an ab initio study

The use of different models based on experimental information about the observed level splitings, rotational constants, and far-infrared transition frequencies leads to different predictions on the equilibrium geometry for tetrahydrofuran. High-level ab initio calculations [coupled cluster singles, doubles (triples)/complete basis set (second order Moller-Plesset triple, quadrupole, quintuple)+zero-point energy(anharmonic)] suggest that the equilibrium conformation of tetrahydrofuran is an envelope C(s) structure. The theoretical geometrical parameters might be helpful to plan further microwave spectroscopic studies in order to get a physical interpretation of the measurements.     

Towards SiC surface functionalization: an ab initio study

We present a microscopic model of the interaction and adsorption mechanism of simple organic molecules on SiC surfaces as obtained from ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations. Our results open the way to functionalization of silicon carbide, a leading candidate material for biocompatible devices.     

Wheland intermediates: an ab initio valence bond study

The traditional resonance model for electrophilic attacks on substituted aromatic rings is revisited using high level valence bond (VB) calculations. A large π-donation is found in the X = NH(2) case and a weaker one for the X = Cl case, not only for ortho and para isomers but also for the meta case, which can be explained by considering five (not three) fundamental VB structures. No substantial π-effect is found in the X = NO(2) case, generally viewed as π-attractive.     

Extensive ab initio study of the valence and low-lying Rydberg states of BBr including spin-orbit coupling

The electronic states of the BBr molecule, including 12 valence states and 12 low-lying Rydberg states, have been studied at the theoretical level of MR-CISD+Q with all-electron aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets and Douglas-Kroll [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 82, 89 (1974)] scalar relativistic correction. The spin-orbit coupling effect in the valence states was calculated by the state interaction approach with the full Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian. This is the first multireference ab initio study of the excited electronic states of BBr. Potential energy curves of all states were plotted with the help of the avoided crossing rule between electronic states of the same symmetry. The structural properties of these states were analyzed. Computational results reproduced most experimental data well. The transition properties of the a (3)Pi(0(+) ), a (3)Pi(1), and A (1)Pi(1) states to the ground state X (1)Sigma(0(+) ) (+) transitions were obtained, including the transition dipole moments, the Franck-Condon factors, and the radiative lifetimes. The evaluated radiative lifetime of the a (3)Pi(0(+) ), and a (3)Pi(1) states are near 1 ms, much longer than that of the A (1)Pi(1) state.     

On the bond-stretch isomerism in the benzo[1,2:4,5]dicyclobutadiene system--an ab initio MR-AQCC study.

Bond-stretch isomerism in benzo[1,2:4,5]dicyclobutadienle (BDCB) has been investigated using the MR-AQCC/6-31G(d) method, a high-level multireference ab initio approach including size-extensivity corrections. The applied theoretical approach includes both nondynamical and dynamical electron correlation effects. Full MR-AQCC geometry optimizations of localized (1) and delocalized (3) isomers as well as the transition structure (TS) have been determined using D2h, symmetry restriction. The calculations show that both isomers are approximately of equal stability separated by a barrier with a height of about 5 kcal mol(-1). Thus, the present results strongly indicate that benzof[1,3:4,5]dicyclobutadiene is a very good candidate for an organic compound exhibiting bond-stretch isomerism, since isomers 1 and 3 correspond to true minima on the double-well potential energy surface, which are separated by a sufficiently high barrier. It is particularly important to emphasize that isomer 3 represents a realization of the highly elusive quasi-[10]annulene.     

Current rectification by asymmetric molecules: an ab initio study

Current rectification effect in an asymmetric molecule HCOO-C6H4-(CH2)n sandwiched between two aluminum electrodes has been studied using an ab initio nonequilibrium Green's function method. The conductance of the system decreases exponentially with the increasing number n of CH2. The phenomenon of current rectification is observed such that a very small current appears at negative bias and a sharp negative differential resistance at a critical positive bias when n>or=2. The rectification effect arises from the asymmetric structure of the molecule and the molecule-electrode couplings. A significant rectification ratio of approximately 38 can be achieved when n=5.     

Glycine interaction with carbon nanotubes: an ab initio study

The interaction of the glycine radical on the side walls of both armchair and zigzag single walled carbon nanotubes is investigated by density functional theory. It is found that the interaction potential of the N-centered glycine radical with the tubes has a minimum of 16.9 (armchair) and 20.2 (zigzag) kcal/mol with respect to the dissociation products. In contrast, the C-centered radical, which is 22.7 kcal/mol lower in energy than the N-centered radical, does not form stable complexes with both types of carbon nanotubes.     

Electron attachment in ice-HCl clusters: an ab initio study

Experimental work has shown that small amounts of HCl strongly enhance electron capture in ice films. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of adsorbed HCl on the interaction of electrons with small clusters of water. Studies were made with clusters of 6 and 12 water molecules with various geometries both with and without one HCl attached. A number of distinct HCl coordination motifs were examined. All of the neutral structures with HCl exhibited zero thresholds for electron attachment and formed dipole bound anionic states (DBS). The relaxation processes for these "initial DBS" depended on the number of H(2)O (n) and on the number and type of H-bonds to the HCl (x). The initial DBS of systems with only O-H...Cl H-binding underwent dissociative electron attachment (DEA), forming H atoms. Relaxation for systems with ClH...OH(2) bonds was more complex. For the two layer n = 12 systems with x = 2 or 3 the HCl proton moved to the nearest oxygen to form H(3)O(+). Then rearrangement of the proton network occurred, and the Cl(-) became solvated by three HO-H...Cl(-) bonds. The presence of Cl(-) and H(3)O(+) increases the dipole moment and the electron binding energy (EBE) of the network. Further stabilization is achieved by decay into deeper DBS electron traps and/or by reaction of the excess electron with H(3)O(+) to form H(*) atoms. The HCl(H(2)O)(6) clusters with a single Cl-H...OH(2) bond behaved differently. They increased their stability by becoming more linear. This raised the dipole moment and the EBE therefore increased, reducing the total energy. None of these species showed any signs of increasing the number of H-bonds to Cl. The implication of these observations for the interpretation of the results of the experiments with 0.2 monolayer of HCl on 5 monolayer of H(2)O at 20 K, and on the possible role of cosmic ray-induced ionization in polar stratospheric clouds in ozone depletion is discussed.     

Ozone-water 1:1 complexes O3-H2O: an ab initio study

Ab initio MO calculations have been carried out for the ozone-water 1:1 complexes in order to elucidate the structures and electronic state of the complexes. The QCISD calculations indicated that three structures are obtained as stable forms of O(3)-H(2)O. The most stable structure of O(3)-H(2)O has C(s) symmetry where the central oxygen of O(3) and all atoms of H(2)O are located on the molecular C(s) plane. The dipole of H(2)O orients toward the central oxygen atom of O(3) (i.e., dipole orientation form). The other two forms are cis and trans forms of O(3)-H(2)O where all atoms are located on the molecular plane, and a hydrogen of H(2)O binds to one of the terminal oxygen atoms of O(3) by a hydrogen bond. The binding energies of O(3) to H(2)O for dipole, cis, and trans forms are calculated to be 2.39, 2.27, and 2.30 kcal/mol, respectively, at the QCISD(T)/6-311++G(3df,3pd)//QCISD/6-311++G((d,p) level. The dipole orientation form is more stable in energy than the cis and trans forms. Rotational constants for the dipole orientation form are calculated to be A = 11.897, B = 4.177, and C = 3.318 GHz which are in good agreement with the experimental values (A = 11.961, B = 4.174, and C = 3.265 GHz). The electronic states of O(3)-H(2)O were discussed on the basis of theoretical results.