Vibrational spectra of cyclooctatetraenyl alkali metal complexes [C8H8M2 (M = Na, K)]: A theoretical study

The cyclooctatetraenyl dianion (C₈H₈²⁻) π-conjugated system forms a stable complex system with alkali and some transition metals. The results of vibrational analysis for C₈H₈M₂ (M = Na, K) complexes were reported here. The geometries of C₈H₈M₂ (M = Na, K) were optimized using ab initio (HF, MP2, CCSD(T)) and DFT (B3LYP) methods with 6-311G** and 6-311++G** basis sets and the harmonic frequencies were obtained. To reproduce and compare with the experimental values the structurally similar molecules C₅H₅M (M = Na, K) and benzene were studied. The scale factors obtained from these systems were applied to predict the experimental frequencies of C₈H₈M₂ (M = Na, K). The force field and vibrational spectra are analyzed and the most probable assignments are proposed for all the fundamentals based on the potential energy distribution.