Molecular Structure of Chloral (CCl3CHO) in the Lowest Excited Singlet State

The structure and the conformational behavior of the chloral CCl₃CHO molecule in the lowest excited singlet state (S₁) was investigated by CASSCF and CI ab initio quantum-chemical methods. It is shown that electronic excitation S₁S₀ causes significant changes in the molecular structure, namely, CCl₃ top rotation and pyramidalization of the carbonyl (CCHO) fragment. A relationship between the torsional and inversion vibrations of chloral in the S₁ state has been found. For large-amplitude nuclear motions corresponding to the torsional and inversion vibrations, the corresponding one- and two-dimensional problems were solved. The results are compared with the experimental data and with the results of previous calculations for the lowest excited triplet (T₁) state.