| Abstract: | The vibrational structures of the photoelectron spectra for diatomic molecules can be accounted for in terms of the slope of the orbital energy curve in the conventional correlation diagram with respect to internuclear distance. The vibrational structures of the photoelectron spectra for simple polyatomic molecules HCN, C2H2, and AH2 type of hydrides can also be accounted for in terms of the slopes of the orbital energy curves in the correlation diagrams with respect to angles, as well as distances. Among all correlation diagrams, the slopes in the distance correlation diagram are related to the criterion for bond type—the positive for “bonding,” the negative for “antibonding,” while slopes with small magnitudes for “nonbonding.” The Fock matrix elements within the bond orbital basis provide heuristic and systematic rationalization of the slopes for the orbital energy curves. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 53–65, 2001 |
