Structure of the CCl3CCl=NCH2C6H5 molecule and reorientations of its CCl3 group, according to ab initio calculations

The optimal geometry of the isolated CCl₃CCl=NCH₂C₆H₅ molecule and the intramolecular barrier to reorientations of its trichloromethyl group are calculated by the RHF/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-31G* methods. The barrier found (14.1 kJ mol^?1) is compared to that determined previously by ³⁵Cl NQR for a crystal of this compound, which allows estimation of the contribution of intermolecular interactions to braking of this motion of the CCl₃ group. The structural features of the molecule of this compound are consistently manifested in quantum-chemical calculations and NQR spectra.