The valence electronic excited states of trans-1,3-butadiene and trans,trans-1,3,5-hexatriene from generalized valence bond and configuration interact

Self-consistent ab initio generalized valence bond (GVB) and configuration interaction (Cl) calculations are presented for the ground and valence electronic excited states of trans-1,3-butadine and all trans-1,3,5-hexatrine. Previous workers have suggested that (all trans) polyenes exhibit a parity-forbidden valence excited state (2¹ A_g at an energy just below that of the first dipole-allowed (1¹ B_u) state. We find such valence excited electronic states for butadiene (ΔE = 7.06 eV) and hexatriene (ΔE = 5.87 eV), but in both cases the excitation energy is considerably higher than the dipole-allowed transitions (zero-zero transitions at 5.95 eV and 4.95 eV, respectively). The lower two triplet states are found at 3.35 eV and 5.08 eV for butadie and at 2.71 eV and 4.32 eV in hexatrine, in good agreement with experimental values (3.2–3.3 eV and 4.92 eV for butadiene and 2.66 eV and 4.1–4.2 eV for hexatrine). Considering the states formed by removing one electron from the π space we found ion states at 8.95 eV and 11.40 eV for butadiene and at 8.33 eV, 10.53 eV, and 11.60 eV for hexatriene, in godo agreement with experimental results (9.0 eV and 11.5 eV for butadiene and 8.45 eV, 10.43 eV and 11.6 eV for hexatriene).