Ab initio MO studies of nuclear spin-spin coupling constants in CH4, SiH4, AlH 4 ? and GeH4 systems

Summary Ab initio molecular orbital calculations of electron coupled nuclear spin-spin coupling constants are performed for CH₄, SiH₄, AlH ₄ ^– and GeH₄ systems using the SCF perturbation theory. Basis set dependence of the major contributing terms such as orbital diamagnetic, orbital paramagnetic, spin dipolar and Fermi contact terms are studied. The study also illustrates the relative importance of bond centred functions and nuclear centred polarization functions in predicting the directly bonded and geminal couplings in the systems selected. Basis sets having uncontracted cores functions and augmented with bond functions seem to predict most of these couplings fairly satisfactorily when compared to the experimental values.