An ab initio comparison of dichalcogen hydrides

A theoretical study of HSH, HSeH, HTeH, HSSH, HSeSH, HSeSeH, HTeSH, HTeSeH, and HTeTeH was carried out by ab initio molecular orbital methods employing minimal Gaussian basis sets MINI-1 and MINI-1* of Huzinaga and his group. Both basis sets yield accurate estimates on the equilibrium geometries of monochalcogen hydrides. In the case of dichalcogen hydrides, however, the inclusion of d-polarization functions for sulfur, selenium, and tellurium greatly improve the accuracy of the geometry prediction. The unpolarized MINI-1 basis sets yield essentially correct orbital energies and therefore suffice for the comparative study on the electronic structures in similar molecules. The results with both basis sets imply close similarities in the electronic structures of SS, SeS, and SeSe bonds with more marked differences in bonds containing tellurium as a consequence of notably smaller orbital energy of the 5s- orbital of tellurium as compared to the corresponding orbitals in sulfur and selenium. The barriers to internal rotation about the chalcogen—chalcogen bond in all dichalcogen hydrides are similar. The cis- and trans-barrier heights are ca. 23 and 14 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The relative stabilities of different hydrides are discussed.