Bridged structures in multiply bonded silicon compounds: Disilyne,protonated disilyne and disilene

Ab initio SCF and electron correlation calculations are reported for the singlet ground state of the title compounds. These calculations confirm earlier findings that non-planar bridged Si₂H₂ is the most stable structure. For protonated disilyne (Si₂H³⁺) a bridged D_3h structure is the global mimimum. Two bridged structures of C_2v and C_2h symmetry are found in the case of disilene (Si₂H₄) which are only 14–17 kcal/mol above the D_2h structure.