Ab initio SCF CI study of the electronic spectrum of s-tetrazine

Configuration interaction (CI) studies of ground, n→ π* and π→ π* electronically excited states are reported for s-tetrazine. The first n→ π* singlet excited state (¹ B _3u ), which is responsible for the purple-red colour of the molecule, is calculated at 2·80 eV, compared to the experimental transition energy of 2·22–2·70 eV. The singlet-triplet split of the first n→ π* states (¹ B _3u and ³ B _3u states) is calculated to be 0·76 eV.

The interaction of nitrogen lone pair orbitals (n-orbitals) is studied in terms of the ordering of the n π* excited states and found that the SCF orbital ordering is qualitatively in accord with the ordering of the n π* excited states in the CI level.

The first π→ π* excited state (¹ B _2u ) is calculated at 5·99 eV, slightly above the observed range of absorption. Numerous other high-lying singlet states as well as the triplet states have been calculated and they are used to verify several proposals relating to the excited state dynamics in the photo-physical studies of s-tetrazine.