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Trinuclear and tetranuclear ruthenium carbonyls of the types Ru3(CO)n(NO)2, Ru3(N)(CO)n(NO), Ru3(N)2(CO)n, Ru3(N)(CO)n(NCO), Ru3(CO)n(NCO)(NO), Ru4(N)(CO)n(NO), Ru4(N)(CO)n(NCO), and Ru4(N)2(CO)n related to species observed experimentally in the chemistry of Ru3(CO)10(µ-NO)2 have been investigated using density functional theory. In all cases, the experimentally observed structures have been found to be low-energy structures. The low-energy trinuclear structures typically have a central strongly bent Ru–Ru–Ru chain with terminal CO groups and bridging nitrosyl, isocyanate, and/or nitride ligands across the end of the chain. The low-energy tetranuclear structures typically have a central Ru4N unit with terminal CO groups and a non-bonded pair of ruthenium atoms bridged by a nitrosyl or isocyanate group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The i-propyl + O2 reaction mechanism has been investigated by definitive quantum chemical methods to establish this system as a benchmark for the combustion of secondary alkyl radicals. Focal point analyses extrapolating to the ab initio limit were performed based on explicit computations with electron correlation treatments through coupled cluster single, double, triple, and quadruple excitations and basis sets up to cc-pV5Z. The rigorous coupled cluster single, double, and triple excitations/cc-pVTZ level of theory was used to fully optimize all reaction species and transition states, thus, removing some substantial flaws in reference geometries existing in the literature. The vital i-propylperoxy radical (MIN1) and its concerted elimination transition state (TS1) were found 34.8 and 4.4 kcal mol−1 below the reactants, respectively. Two β-hydrogen transfer transition states (TS2, TS2′) lie above the reactants by (1.4, 2.5) kcal mol−1 and display large Born–Oppenheimer diagonal corrections indicative of nearby surface crossings. An α-hydrogen transfer transition state (TS5) is discovered 5.7 kcal mol−1 above the reactants that bifurcates into equivalent α-peroxy radical hanging wells (MIN3) prior to a highly exothermic dissociation into acetone + OH. The reverse TS5 → MIN1 intrinsic reaction path also displays fascinating features, including another bifurcation and a conical intersection of potential energy surfaces. An exhaustive conformational search of two hydroperoxypropyl (QOOH) intermediates (MIN2 and MIN3) of the i-propyl + O2 system located nine rotamers within 0.9 kcal mol−1 of the corresponding lowest-energy minima. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thallium chemistry is experiencing unprecedented importance. Therefore, it is valuable to characterize some of the simplest thallium compounds. Stationary points along the singlet and triplet Tl 2H 2 potential energy surface have been characterized. Stationary point geometries were optimized with the CCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pwCVQZ‐PP method. Harmonic vibrational frequencies were computed at the same level of theory while anharmonic vibrational frequencies were computed at the CCSD(T)/aug‐cc‐pwCVTZ‐PP level of theory. Final energetics were obtained with the CCSDT(Q) method. Basis sets up to augmented quintuple‐zeta cardinality (aug‐cc‐pwCV5Z‐PP) were employed to obtain energetics in order to extrapolate to the complete basis set limits using the focal point approach. Zero‐point vibrational energy corrections were appended to the extrapolated energies in order to determine relative energies at 0 K. It was found that the planar dibridged isomer lies lowest in energy while the linear structure lies highest in energy. The results were compared to other group 13 M 2H 2 (M = B, Al, Ga, In, and Tl) theoretical studies and some interesting variations are found. With respect to experiment, incompatibilities exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five structures of Ge2H2 and Ge2H2+ are investigated in this study. Optimized geometries at the CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVQZ-PP level of theory were obtained. Focal point analyses were performed on these optimized geometries to determine relative energies using the CCSD(T) method with polarized basis sets up to quintuple-zeta. Energy corrections include full T and pertubative (Q) coupled-cluster effects plus anharmonic corrections to the zero-point vibrational energy. Relative ordering in energy from lowest to highest of the five Ge2H2+ structures is butterfly, germylidene, monobridged, trans, then linear. In neutral Ge2H2, the monobridged structure lies lower in energy than the germylidene structure. Fundamental vibrational frequencies and IR intensities were computed for the minima at the CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVTZ-PP level of theory to compare with experimental research. Partial atomic charges and natural bonding orbital analyses indicated that the positive charge of Ge2H2+ is contained in the region of the Ge–Ge bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1 : 2 reaction of the imidazole‐based dithiolate (2) with GeCl2 • dioxane in THF/TMEDA gives 3, a TMEDA‐complexed dithiolene‐based germylene. Compound 3 is converted to monothiolate‐complexed (5) and N‐heterocyclic carbene‐complexed (7) germanium(II) dithiolene complexes via Lewis base ligand exchange. A bis‐dithiolene‐based germylene (8), involving a 3c–4e S‐Ge‐S bond, has also been synthesized through controlled hydrolysis of 7. The bonding nature of 3, 5, and 8 was investigated by both experimental and theoretical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates four of the constitutional isomers of Si2H2+, namely the butterfly, vinylidene‐like, monobridged, and trans structures. These isomer geometries were all studied using the CCSD(T) method with basis sets as large as cc‐pV5Z. Higher level methods CCSDT and CCSDT(Q) were used for final energetics. It is found that the butterfly isomer has the lowest energy, followed by vinylidene‐like and monobridged structures; the trans structure has the highest energy of the four. All structures were compared with their neutral counterparts. Partial charges are computed and it is found that all isomers share the positive charge between the silicon atoms. NBO analysis shows that the cation Si−Si bond order is reduced by 0.5 relative to the neutral versions of the same isomer in the case of the butterfly, vinylidene‐like, and monobridged; and reduced by 0.6 for the trans isomer. Vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, and dipole moments are predicted to encourage the spectroscopic identification of Si2H2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "gold standard" CCSD(T) method is adopted along with the correlation consistent basis sets up to aug-cc-pV5Z-PP to study the mechanism of the hydrogen abstraction reaction H2Te + OH. The predicted geometries and vibrational frequencies for reactants and products are in good agreement with the available experimental results. With the ZPVE corrections, the transition state in the favorable pathway of this reaction energetically lies 1.2 kcal mol−1 below the reactants, which is lower than the analogous relative energies for the H2Se + OH reaction (−0.7 kcal mol−1), the H2S + OH reaction (+0.8 kcal mol−1) and the H2O + OH reaction (+9.0 kcal mol−1). Accordingly, the exothermic reaction energies for these related reactions are predicted to be 47.8 (H2Te), 37.7 (H2Se), 27.1 (H2S), and 0.0 (H2O) kcal mol−1, respectively. Geometrically, the low-lying reactant complexes for H2Te + OH and H2Se + OH are two-center three-electron hemibonded structures, whereas those for H2S + OH and H2O + OH are hydrogen-bonded. With ZPVE and spin–orbit coupling corrections, the relative energies for the reactant complex, transition state, product complex, and the products for the H2Te + OH reaction are estimated to be −13.1, −1.0, −52.0, and −52.6 kcal mol−1, respectively. Finally, twenty-eight DFT functionals have been tested systematically to assess their ability in describing the potential energy surface of the H2Te + OH reaction. The best of these functionals for the corresponding energtics are −9.9, −1.4, −46.4, and −45.4 kcal mol−1 (MPWB1K), or −13.1, −2.4, −57.1, and −54.6 kcal mol−1 (M06-2X), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydridotrioxygen (HO3) radical has been investigated in many previous theoretical and experimental studies over several decades, originally because of its possible relevance to the tropospheric HOx cycle but more recently because of its fascinating chemical bonding, geometric structure, and vibrational dynamics. We have executed new, comprehensive research on this vexing molecule via focal point analyses (FPA) to approach the ab initio limit of optimized geometric structures, relative energies, complete quartic force fields, and the entire reaction path for cis-trans isomerization. High-order coupled cluster theory was applied through the CCSDT(Q) and even CCSDTQ(P) levels, and CBS extrapolations were performed using cc-pVXZ (X = 2–6) basis sets. The cis isomer proves to be higher than trans by 0.52 kcal mol−1, but this energetic ordering is achieved only after the CCSDT(Q) milestone is reached; the barrier for cis → trans isomerization is a minute 0.27 kcal mol−1. The FPA central re(O–O) bond length of trans-HO3 is astonishingly long (1.670 Å), consistent with the semiexperimental re distance we extracted from microwave rotational constants of 10 isotopologues using FPA vibration-rotation interaction constants (αi). The D0(HO–O2) dissociation energy converges to a mere 2.80 ± 0.25 kcal mol−1. Contrary to expectation for such a weakly bound system, vibrational perturbation theory performs remarkably well with the FPA anharmonic force fields, even for the torsional fundamental near 130 cm−1. Exact numerical procedures are applied to the potential energy function for the torsional reaction path to obtain energy levels, tunneling rates, and radiative lifetimes. The cis → trans isomerization occurs via tunneling with an inherent half-life of 1.4 × 10−11 s and 8.6 × 10−10 s for HO3 and DO3, respectively, thus resolving the mystery of why the cis species has not been observed in previous experiments executed in dissipative environments that allow collisional cooling of the trans-HO3 product. In contrast, the pure ground eigenstate of the cis species in a vacuum is predicted to have a spontaneous radiative lifetime of about 1 h and 5 days for HO3 and DO3, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many binuclear nickel complexes have NiNi distances suggesting NiNi covalent bonds, including lantern‐type complexes with bridging bidentate ligands. This DFT study treats tetragonal, trigonal, and digonal lantern‐type complexes with the formamidinate, guanidinate, and formate ligands, besides some others. Formal bond orders (ranging from zero to two) are assigned to all the NiNi bonds on the basis of MO occupancy considerations. A VB‐based electron counting approach assigns plausible resonance structures to the dinickel cores. Model tetragonal complexes with the dimethylformamidinate and the dithioformate ligands have singlet ground states whose non‐covalently bonded NiNi distances are close to those in their experimentally known counterparts. Trigonal dinickel complexes are unknown, but are predicted to have quartet ground states with NiNi bonds of order 0.5. The model digonal complexes are predicted to have triplet ground states, but the predicted NiNi bond lengths are longer than those found in their experimentally known counterparts. This could owe to inadequate treatment of electron correlation by DFT in these short NiNi bonds with their multiconfigurational character. All the NiNi bond distances here are categorized into ranges according to the NiNi bond orders of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2, no NiNi bonds of order higher than two being identified. The NiNi bonds of given order in these lantern‐type complexes are consistently shorter than the corresponding NiNi bonds in dinickel complexes having carbonyl ligands, attributable to the metalmetal bond lengthening effect of CO ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous processes in atmospheric and combustion chemistry produce the vinoxy radical (•CH2CHO). To understand the fate of this radical and to provide reliable energies needed for kinetic modeling of such processes, we have examined its reaction with O2 using highly reliable theoretical methods. Utilizing the focal point approach, the energetics of this reaction and subsequent reactions were obtained using coupled-cluster theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. These extrapolated energies were appended with several corrections including a treatment of full triples and connected quadruple excitations, i.e., CCSDT(Q). In addition, this study models the initial vinoxy radical + O2 reaction for the first time with multireference methods. We predict a barrier for this reaction of approximately 0.4 kcal mol−1. This result agrees with experimental findings but is in disagreement with previous theoretical studies. The vinoxy radical + O2 reaction produces a 2-oxoethylperoxy radical which can undergo a number of unimolecular reactions. Abstraction of a β-hydrogen (a 1,4-hydrogen shift) and dissociation back to reactants are predicted to be competitive to each other due to their similar barriers of 21.2 and 22.3 kcal mol−1, respectively. The minimum-energy β-hydrogen abstraction pathway produces a hydroperoxy radical (QOOH) that eventually decomposes to formaldehyde, CO, and •OH. Two other unimolecular reactions of the peroxy radical are α-hydrogen abstraction (38.7 kcal mol−1 barrier) and HO2• elimination (43.5 kcal mol−1 barrier). These pathways lead to glyoxal + •OH and ketene + HO2• formation, respectively, but they are expected to be uncompetitive due to their high barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methylene amidogen radical (H2CN) plays a role in high-energy material combustion and extraterresterial atmospheres. Recent theoretical work has struggled to match experimental assignments for its CN and antisymmetric CH2 stretching frequencies (v2 and v5), which were reported to occur at 1725 and 3103 cm-1. Herein, we compute the vibrational energy levels of this molecule by extrapolating quadruples-level coupled-cluster theory to the complete basis limit and adding corrections for vibrational anharmonicity. This level of theory predicts that v2 and v5 should occur at 1646 and 2892 cm-1, at odds with the experimental assignments. To investigate the possibility of defects in our theoretical treatment, we analyze the sensitivity of our approach to each of its contributing approximations. Our analysis suggests that the observed deviation from experiment is too large to be explained as an accumulation of errors, leading us to conclude that these transitions were misassigned. To help resolve this discrepancy, we investigate possible byproducts of the H + HCN reaction, which was the source of H2CN in the original experiment. In particular, we predict vibrational spectra for cis-HCNH, trans-HCNH, and H2CNH using high-level coupled-cluster computations. Based on these results, we reassign the transition at 1725 cm-1 to v3 of trans-HCNH, yielding excellent agreement. Supporting this identification, we assign a known contaminant peak at 886 cm-1 to v5 of the same conformer. Our computations suggest that the peak observed at 3103 cm-1, however, does not belong to any of the aforementioned species. To facilitate further investigation, we use structure and bonding arguments to narrow the range of possible candidates. These arguments lead us to tentatively put forth formaldazine [(H2CN)2] as a suggestion for further study, which we support with additional computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three different reaction pathways are found for the reaction of bromine atom (Br) with the lowest-energy structure of the water trimer [uud-(H2O)3], initially using the MPW1K-DFT method. The three bromine pathways have closely related geometries and energetics, analogous to those found for the fluorine and chlorine reactions. The lowest-energy pathway of the Br + uud-(H2O)3 reaction was further investigated using the "gold standard" CCSD(T) method and the correlation-consistent basis sets up to cc-pVQZ(-PP). Based on the CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ(-PP)//CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ(-PP) results, the Br + (H2O)3 reaction is endothermic by 33.3 kcal mol−1. The classical barrier height is 29.0 kcal mol−1 between the reactants and the exit complex, and there is no barrier for the reverse reaction. The Br⋯(H2O)3 entrance complex is found to lie 4.7 kcal mol−1 below the separated reactants, and the HBr⋯(H2O)2OH exit complex is bound by 6.4 kcal mol−1 relative to the separated products. This potential energy profile is further corrected by the zero point energies and spin–orbit coupling effects. Structurally, the Br + (H2O)3 stationary points can be derived from those of the simpler Br + (H2O)2 reaction by judiciously appending a H2O molecule. The Br + (H2O)3 potential energy profile is compared with the Br + (H2O)2 and Br + H2O reactions, as well as to the valence isoelectronic Cl + (H2O)3 and F + (H2O)3 systems. It is reasonable to expect that the reactions between the bromine atom and larger water clusters would be similar to the Br + (H2O)3 reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical, convergent ab initio benchmark computations were performed followed by a systematic analysis of DFT performance for five pericyclic reactions comprising Diels-Alder, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, electrocyclic rearrangement, sigmatropic rearrangement, and double group transfer prototypes. Focal point analyses (FPA) extrapolating to the ab initio limit were executed via explicit quantum chemical computations with electron correlation treatments through CCSDT(Q) and correlation-consistent Gaussian basis sets up to aug′-cc-pV5Z. Optimized geometric structures and vibrational frequencies of all stationary points were obtained at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level of theory. The FPA reaction barriers and energies exhibit convergence to within a few tenths of a kcal mol−1. The FPA benchmarks were used to evaluate the performance of 60 density functionals (eight dispersion-corrected), covering the local-density approximation (LDA), generalized gradient approximations (GGAs), meta-GGAs, hybrids, meta-hybrids, double-hybrids, and range-separated hybrids. The meta-hybrid M06-2X functional provided the best overall performance [mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.1 kcal mol−1] followed closely by the double-hybrids B2K-PLYP, mPW2K-PLYP, and revDSD-PBEP86 [MAE of 1.4–1.5 kcal mol−1]. The regularly used GGA functional BP86 gave a higher MAE of 5.8 kcal mol−1, but it qualitatively described the trends in reaction barriers and energies. Importantly, we established that accurate yet efficient meta-hybrid or double-hybrid DFT potential energy surfaces can be acquired based on geometries from the computationally efficient and robust BP86/DZP level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binuclear alkyne manganese carbonyls of the type (RC≡CR')Mn2(CO)n (R and R'=methyl or dimethylamino; n=8, 7, 6) and their isomers related to the experimentally known (MeC2NEt2)Mn2(CO)n (n=8, 7) structures have been investigated by density functional theory. The alkyne ligand remains intact in the only low energy (Me2N)2C2Mn2(CO)8 isomer, which has a central Mn2C2 tetrahedrane unit and is otherwise analogous to the well‐known (alkyne)Co2(CO)6 derivatives except for one more CO group per metal atom. The low‐energy structures of the unsaturated (Me2N)2C2Mn2(CO)n (n=7, 6) systems include isomers in which the nitrogen atom of one of the dimethylamino groups as well as the C≡C triple bond of the alkyne is coordinated to the central Mn2 unit. In other low‐energy (Me2N)2C2Mn2(CO)n (n=7, 6) isomers the alkyne C≡C triple bond has broken completely to form two separate bridging dimethylaminocarbyne Me2NC ligands analogous to the experimentally known iron carbonyl complex (Et2NC)2Fe2(CO)6. The (alkyne)Mn2(CO)n (n=8, 7, 6) systems of the alkynes MeC≡CMe and Me2NC≡CMe with methyl substituents have significantly more complicated potential surfaces. In these systems the lowest energy isomers have bridging ligands derived from the alkyne in which one or two hydrogen atoms have migrated from a methyl group to one or both of the alkyne carbon atoms. These bridging ligands include allene, manganallyl, and vinylcarbene ligands, the first two of which have been realized experimentally in research by Adams and coworkers. Theoretical studies suggest that the mechanism for the conversion of the simple alkyne octacarbonyl (MeC2NMe2)Mn2(CO)8 to the dimethylaminomanganaallyl complex Mn2(CO)7[μ‐η4‐C3H3Me2] involves decarbonylation to the heptacarbonyl and the hexacarbonyl complexes. Subsequent hydrogen migrations then occur through intermediates with C−H−Mn agostic interactions to give the final product. Eight transition states for this mechanistic sequence have been identified with activation energies of ∼20 kcal/mol for the first hydrogen migration and ∼14 kcal/mol for the second hydrogen migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different reaction pathways are initially located for the reaction of Cl atom plus water trimer Cl + (H2O)3 → HCl + (H2O)2OH using a standard DFT method. As found for the analogous fluorine reaction, the geometrical and energetic results for the four chlorine pathways are closely related. However, the energetics for the Cl reaction are very different from those for fluorine. In the present paper, we investigate the lowest-energy chlorine pathway using the "gold standard" CCSD(T) method in conjunction with correlation-consistent basis sets up to cc-pVQZ. Structurally, the stationary points for the water trimer reaction Cl + (H2O)3 may be compared to those for the water monomer reaction Cl + H2O and water dimer reaction Cl + (H2O)2. Based on the CCSD(T) energies, the title reaction is endothermic by 19.3 kcal mol−1, with a classical barrier height of 16.7 kcal mol−1 between the reactants and the exit complex. There is no barrier for the reverse reaction. The Cl⋯(H2O)3 entrance complex lies 5.3 kcal mol−1 below the separated reactants. The HCl⋯(H2O)2OH exit complex is bound by 8.6 kcal mol−1 relative to the separated products. The Cl + (H2O)3 reaction is somewhat similar to the analogous Cl + (H2O)2 reaction, but qualitatively different from the Cl + H2O reaction. It is reasonable to expect that the reactions between the chlorine atom and larger water clusters may be similar to the Cl + (H2O)3 reaction. The potential energy profile for the Cl + (H2O)3 reaction is radically different from that for the valence isoelectronic F + (H2O)3 system, which may be related to the different bond energies between HCl and HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminyl anions are low‐valent, anionic, and carbenoid aluminum species commonly found stabilized with potassium cations from the reaction of Al‐halogen precursors and alkali compounds. These systems are very reactive toward the activation of σ‐bonds and in reactions with electrophiles. Various research groups have detected that the potassium atoms play a stabilization role via electrostatic and cation⋯π interactions with nearby (aromatic)‐carbocyclic rings from both the ligand and from the reaction with unsaturated substrates. Since stabilizing K⋯H bonds are witnessed in the activation of this class of molecules, we aim to unveil the role of these metals in the activation of the smaller and less polarizable H2 molecule, together with a comprehensive characterization of the reaction mechanism. In this work, the activation of H2 utilizing a NON‐xanthene‐Al dimer, [K{Al(NON)}]2 (D) and monomeric, [Al(NON)]− (M) complexes are studied using density functional theory and high‐level coupled‐cluster theory to reveal the potential role of K+ atoms during the activation of this gas. Furthermore, we aim to reveal whether D is more reactive than M (or vice versa), or if complicity between the two monomer units exits within the D complex toward the activation of H2. The results suggest that activation energies using the dimeric and monomeric complexes were found to be very close (around 33 kcal mol−1). However, a partition of activation energies unveiled that the nature of the energy barriers for the monomeric and dimeric complexes are inherently different. The former is dominated by a more substantial distortion of the reactants (and increased interaction energies between them). Interestingly, during the oxidative addition, the distortion of the Al complex is minimal, while H2 distorts the most, usually over 0.77 ΔEdist≠. Overall, it is found here that electrostatic and induction energies between the complexes and H2 are the main stabilizing components up to the respective transition states. The results suggest that the K+ atoms act as stabilizers of the dimeric structure, and their cooperative role on the reaction mechanism may be negligible, acting as mere spectators in the activation of H2. Cooperation between the two monomers in D is lacking, and therefore the subsequent activation of H2 is wholly disengaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The n-propylperoxy radical has been described as a molecule of critical importance to studies of low temperature combustion. Ab initio methods were used to study this three-carbon alkylperoxy radical, normal propylperoxy. Reliable CCSD(T) (coupled-cluster theory, incorporating single, double, and perturbative triple)/ANO0 geometries were predicted for the molecule's five rotamers. For each rotamer, energetic predictions were made using basis sets as large as the cc-pV5Z in conjunction with coupled cluster levels of theory up to CCSDT(Q). Along with the extrapolations, corrections for relativistic effects, zero-point vibrational energies, and diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections were used to further refine energies. The results indicate that the lowest conformer is the gauche-gauche (GG) rotamer followed by the gauche-trans (0.12 kcal mol-1 above GG), trans-gauche (0.44 kcal mol-1), gauche'-gauche (0.47 kcal mol-1), and trans-trans (0.57 kcal mol-1). Fundamental vibrational frequencies were obtained using second-order vibrational perturbation theory. This is the first time anharmonic frequencies have been computed for this system. The most intense IR features include all but one of the C-H stretches. The O-O fundamental (1063 cm-1 for the GG structure) also has a significant IR intensity, 19.6 km mol-1. The anharmonicity effects on the potential energy surface were also used to compute vibrationally averaged rg,0K bond lengths, accounting for zero-point vibrations present within the molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pnictinidenes are an increasingly relevant species in main group chemistry and generally exhibit proclivity for the triplet electronic ground state. However, the elusive singlet electronic states are often desired for chemical applications. We predict the singlet‐triplet energy differences (ΔEST=ESinglet−ETriplet) of simple group 15 and 16 substituted pnictinidenes (Pn−R; Pn=P, As, Sb, or Bi) with highly reliable focal‐point analyses targeting the CCSDTQ/CBS level of theory. The only cases we predict to have favorable singlet states are P−PH2 (−3.2 kcal mol−1) and P−NH2 (−0.2 kcal mol−1). ΔEST trends are discussed in light of the geometric predictions as well as qualitative natural bond order analysis to elucidate some of the important electronic structure features. Our work provides a rigorous benchmark for the ΔEST of fundamental Pn−R moieties and provides a firm foundation for the continued study of heavier pnictinidenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of reactions between Lewis bases and an imidazole‐based dithione dimer (1) has been investigated. Both cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) (2) and N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) (4), in addition to N‐heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) (6), demonstrate the capability to cleave the sulphur–sulphur bonds in 1, giving carbene‐stabilized dithiolene (L0) zwitterions (3 and 5) and a spirocyclic silicon–dithiolene compound (7), respectively. The bonding nature of 3, 5, and 7 are probed by both experimental and theoretical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of reactions between Lewis bases and an imidazole‐based dithione dimer (1) has been investigated. Both cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) (2) and N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) (4), in addition to N‐heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) (6), demonstrate the capability to cleave the sulphur–sulphur bonds in 1, giving carbene‐stabilized dithiolene (L0) zwitterions (3 and 5) and a spirocyclic silicon–dithiolene compound (7), respectively. The bonding nature of 3, 5, and 7 are probed by both experimental and theoretical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactions between substituted isocyanates (RNCO) and other small molecules (e.g. water, alcohols, and amines) are of significant industrial importance, particularly for the development of novel polyurethanes and other useful polymers. We present very high-level ab initio computations on the HNCO + H2O reaction, with results targeting the CCSDT(Q)/CBS//CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ level of theory. Our results affirm that hydrolysis can occur across both the N＝C and C＝O bonds of HNCO via concerted mechanisms to form carbamate or imidic acid with ΔH0K barrier heights of 38.5 and 47.5 kcal mol−1. A total of 24 substituted RNCO + H2O reactions were studied. Geometries obtained with a composite method and refined with CCSD(T)/CBS single point energies determine that substituted RNCO species have a significant influence on these barrier heights, with an extreme case like fluorine lowering both barriers by close to 15 kcal mol−1 and most common alkyl substituents lowering both by approximately 3 kcal mol−1. Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis provides evidence that the predicted barrier heights are strongly associated with the occupation of the in-plane C–O* orbital of the RNCO reactant. Key autocatalytic mechanisms are considered in the presence of excess water and RNCO species. Additional waters (one or two) are predicted to lower both barriers significantly at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV(T+d)Z level of theory with strongly electron withdrawing RNCO substituents also increasing these effects, similar to the uncatalyzed case. The 298 K Gibbs energies are only marginally lowered by a second catalyst water molecule, indicating that the decreasing ΔH0K barriers are offset by loss of translational entropy with more than one catalyst water. Two-step 2RNCO + H2O mechanisms are characterized for the formation of carbamate and imidic acid. The second step of these two pathways exhibits the largest barrier and presents no clear pattern with respect to substituent choice. Our results indicate that an additional RNCO molecule might catalyze imidic acid formation but have less influence on the efficiency of carbamate formation. We expect that these results lay a firm foundation for the experimental study of substituted isocyanates and their relationship to the energetic pathways of related systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new estimator for three-center two-particle Coulomb integrals is presented. Our estimator is exact for some classes of integrals and is much more efficient than the standard Schwartz counterpart due to the proper account of distance decay. Although it is not a rigorous upper bound, the maximum degree of underestimation can be controlled by two adjustable parameters. We also give numerical evidence of the excellent tightness of the estimator. The use of the estimator will lead to increased efficiency in reduced-scaling one- and many-body electronic structure theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on their highly sophisticated crossed-beam experimental studies of the Al + CO2 → AlO + CO reaction, Honma and Hirata have directly challenged the results of earlier theoretical studies of this system. We report high level theoretical studies of this system. It is shown that, consistent with Honma-Hirata experimental conclusions, the previous theoretical prediction of a substantial barrier height for this reaction was incorrect. However, for the structures of the possible intermediates, in agreement with the 1992 theoretical study of Sakai, we find striking disagreement with the experimental conclusion that the O-C-O moiety is nearly linear. The energies of the three entrance channel intermediates lie 14.4, 15.2, and 16.4 kcal mol-1 below separated Al + CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the 1 : 1 reaction of 3 with an N-heterocyclic carbene ({(Me)CN(i-Pr)}2C:) in THF resulted in ligand-substituted product 4, the corresponding 1 : 2 reaction (in the presence of H2O) gives the first structurally characterized germanium tris(dithiolene)dianion 5 as the major product and the "naked" dithiolene radical 6˙ as a minor by-product. The structure and bonding of 4 and 5 were probed by experimental and theoretical methods. Our study suggests that carbene-mediated partial hydrolysis may represent a new method to access tris(dithiolene) complexes of main-group elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A local density fitting scheme is considered in which atomic orbital (AO) products are approximated using only auxiliary AOs located on one of the nuclei in that product. The possibility of variational collapse to an unphysical "attractive electron" state that can affect such density fitting [P. Merlot, T. Kjærgaard, T. Helgaker, R. Lindh, F. Aquilante, S. Reine, and T. B. Pedersen, J. Comput. Chem. 34, 1486 (2013)] is alleviated by including atom-wise semidiagonal integrals exactly. Our approach leads to a significant decrease in the computational cost of density fitting for Hartree-Fock theory while still producing results with errors 2-5 times smaller than standard, nonlocal density fitting. Our method allows for large Hartree-Fock and density functional theory computations with exact exchange to be carried out efficiently on large molecules, which we demonstrate by benchmarking our method on 200 of the most widely used prescription drug molecules. Our new fitting scheme leads to smooth and artifact-free potential energy surfaces and the possibility of relatively simple analytic gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cyano radical (CN) is an abundant, open-shell molecule found in a variety of environments, including the atmosphere, the interstellar medium and combustion processes. In these environments, it often reacts with small, closed-shell molecules via hydrogen abstraction. Both carbon and nitrogen atoms of the cyano radical are reactive sites, however the carbon is more reactive with reaction barrier heights generally between 2–15 kcal mol−1 lower than those of the analogous nitrogen. The CN + HX → HCN/HNC + X, with X = H, CH3, NH2, OH, F, SiH3, PH2, SH, Cl, C2H, CN reactions have been studied at a high-level of theory, including CCSD(T)-F12a. Furthermore, kinetics were obtained over the 100–1000 K temperature range, showing excellent agreement with those rate constants that have been determined experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxiranes are a class of cyclic ethers formed in abundance during low‐temperature combustion of hydrocarbons and biofuels, either via chain‐propagating steps that occur from unimolecular decomposition of β‐hydroperoxyalkyl radicals (β‐̇QOOH) or from reactions of HȮO with alkenes. The cis‐ and trans‐isomers of 2,3‐dimethyloxirane are intermediates of n‐butane oxidation, and while rate coefficients for β‐̇QOOH → 2,3‐dimethyloxirane + ̇OH are reported extensively, subsequent reaction mechanisms of the cyclic ethers are not. As a result, chemical kinetics mechanisms commonly adopt simplified chemistry to describe the consumption of 2,3‐dimethyloxirane by convoluting several elementary reactions into a single step, which may introduce mechanism truncation error—uncertainty derived from missing or incomplete chemistry. The present research examines the isomer dependence of 2,3‐dimethyloxirane reaction mechanisms in support of ongoing efforts to minimize mechanism truncation error. Reaction mechanisms are inferred via the detection of products from Cl‐initiated oxidation of both cis‐2,3‐dimethyloxirane and trans‐2,3‐dimethyloxirane using multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry (MPIMS). The experiments were conducted at 10 Torr and temperatures of 650 K and 800 K. To complement the experiments, the enthalpies of stationary points on the ̇R + O2 surfaces were computed at the ccCA‐PS3 level of theory. In total, 28 barrier heights were computed on the 2,3‐dimethyloxiranylperoxy surfaces. Two notable aspects are low‐lying pathways that form resonance‐stabilized ketohydroperoxide‐type radicals caused by ̇QOOH ring‐opening when the unpaired electron is localized adjacent to the ether group, and cis‐trans isomerization of ̇R and ̇QOOH radicals, via inversion, which enable reaction pathways otherwise restricted by stereochemistry. Several species were identified in the MPIMS experiments from ring opening of 2,3‐dimethyloxiranyl radicals. Neither of the two conjugate alkene isomers prototypical of ̇R + O2 reactions were detected. Products were also identified from decomposition of ketohydroperoxide‐type radicals. The present work provides the first analysis of 2,3‐dimethyloxirane oxidation chemistry and reveals that consumption pathways are complex and require the expansion of submechanisms in chemical kinetics mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxiranes are a class of cyclic ethers formed in abundance during low‐temperature combustion of hydrocarbons and biofuels, either via chain‐propagating steps that occur from unimolecular decomposition of β‐hydroperoxyalkyl radicals (β‐̇QOOH) or from reactions of HOȮ with alkenes. Ethyloxirane is one of four alkyl‐substituted cyclic ether isomers produced as an intermediate from n‐butane oxidation. While rate coefficients for β‐̇QOOH → ethyloxirane + ȮH are reported extensively, subsequent reaction mechanisms of the cyclic ether are not. As a result, chemical kinetics mechanisms commonly adopt simplified chemistry to describe ethyloxirane consumption by convoluting several elementary reactions into a single step, which may introduce mechanism truncation error—uncertainty derived from missing or incomplete chemistry. The present work provides fundamental insight on reaction mechanisms of ethyloxirane in support of ongoing efforts to minimize mechanism truncation error. Reaction mechanisms are inferred from the detection of products during chlorine atom‐initiated oxidation experiments using multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry conducted at 10 Torr and temperatures of 650 K and 800 K. To complement the experiments, calculations of stationary point energies were conducted using the ccCA‐PS3 composite method on ̇R + O2 potential energy surfaces for the four ethyloxiranyl radical isomers, which produced barrier heights for 24 reaction pathways. In addition to products from ̇QOOH → cyclic ether + ȮH and ̇R + O2 → conjugate alkene + HOȮ, both of which were significant pathways and are prototypical to alkane oxidation, other species were identified from ring‐opening of both ethyloxiranyl and ̇QOOH radicals. The latter occurs when the unpaired electron is localized on the ether group, causing the initial ̇QOOH structure to ring‐open and form a resonance‐stabilized ketohydroperoxide‐type radical. The present work provides the first analysis of ethyloxirane oxidation chemistry, which reveals that consumption pathways are complex and may require an expansion of submechanisms to increase the fidelity of chemical kinetics mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In density cumulant functional theory (DCFT) the electronic energy is evaluated from the one-particle density matrix and two-particle density cumulant, circumventing the computation of the wavefunction. To achieve this, the one-particle density matrix is decomposed exactly into the mean-field (idempotent) and correlation components. While the latter can be entirely derived from the density cumulant, the former must be obtained by choosing a specific set of orbitals. In the original DCFT formulation [W. Kutzelnigg, J. Chem. Phys. 125, 171101 (2006)] the orbitals were determined by diagonalizing the effective Fock operator, which introduces partial orbital relaxation. Here we present a new orbital-optimized formulation of DCFT where the energy is variationally minimized with respect to orbital rotations. This introduces important energy contributions and significantly improves the description of the dynamic correlation. In addition, it greatly simplifies the computation of analytic gradients, for which expressions are also presented. We offer a perturbative analysis of the new orbital stationarity conditions and benchmark their performance for a variety of chemical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethyl radical has been isolated and spectroscopically characterized in 4He nanodroplets. The band origins of the five CH stretch fundamentals are shifted by < 2 cm-1 from those reported for the gas phase species [S. Davis, D. Uy, and D. J. Nesbitt, J. Chem. Phys. 112, 1823 (2000); T. Häber, A. C. Blair, D. J. Nesbitt, and M. D. Schuder, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 054316 (2006)]. The symmetric CH2 stretching band (v1) is rotationally resolved, revealing nuclear spin statistical weights predicted by G12 permutation-inversion group theory. A permanent electric dipole moment of 0.28 (2) D is obtained via the Stark spectrum of the v1 band. The four other CH stretch fundamental bands are significantly broadened in He droplets and lack rotational fine structure. This broadening is attributed to symmetry dependent vibration-to-vibration relaxation facilitated by the He droplet environment. In addition to the five fundamentals, three a1′ overtone/combination bands are observed, and each of these have resolved rotational substructure. These are assigned to the 2v12, v4 + v6, and 2v6 bands through comparisons to anharmonic frequency computations at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level of theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scope of problems treatable by ab initio wavefunction methods has expanded greatly through the application of local approximations. In particular, atomic orbital (AO) based wavefunction methods have emerged as powerful techniques for exploiting sparsity and have been applied to biomolecules as large as 1707 atoms [S. A. Maurer, D. S. Lambrecht, D. Flaig, and C. Ochsenfeld, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 144107 (2012)]. Correlated wavefunction methods, however, converge notoriously slowly to the basis set limit and, excepting the use of large basis sets, will suffer from a severe basis set incompleteness error (BSIE). The use of larger basis sets is prohibitively expensive for AO basis methods since, for example, second-order Mo\ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) scales linearly with the number of atoms, but still scales as O(N5) in the number of functions per atom. Explicitly correlated F12 methods have been shown to drastically reduce BSIE for even modestly sized basis sets. In this work, we therefore explore an atomic orbital based formulation of explicitly correlated MP2-F12 theory. We present working equations for the new method, which produce results identical to the widely used molecular orbital (MO) version of MP2-F12 without resorting to a delocalized MO basis. We conclude with a discussion of several possible approaches to a priori screening of contraction terms in our method and the prospects for a linear scaling implementation of AO-MP2-F12. The discussion includes concrete examples involving noble gas dimers and linear alkane chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first‐row transition metal 1‐norbornyl derivatives CpM(nor) Cp = η5‐C5H5; nor = 1‐norbornyl; M = Ti to Cu), including the experimentally known CpNi(nor) reported by Lehmkuhl and Dimitrov, have been examined by density functional theory and benchmarked by the more accurate DLPNO‐CCSD(T) method. The lowest energy CpM(nor) structures for the later first row transition metals from manganese to copper are found to be high‐spin state structures in which the 1‐norbornyl ligand is bonded to the metal only through the M–C σ‐bond to the bridgehead carbon atom. The favored spin states range from doublet for CpCu(nor) to sextet for CpMn(nor). The pattern of favorable structure types changes for the CpM(nor) derivatives of the earlier first row transition metals to the left of manganese since all of their low energy structures have singly or doubly agostic 1‐norbornyl groups. The agostic C–H–M interactions in the CpM(nor) derivatives are characterized by their reduced density gradients and low ν(C–H) frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formic acid (FA) is a ubiquitous molecule found in the atmosphere, and is relevant to many important processes. The FA molecule generally exists as the trans isomer, which can decompose into H2O and CO (dehydration). It can also exist in the less favorable cis isomer which can decompose into H2 and CO2 (decarboxylation). Our work examines the complexes formed between each isomer of FA with water. We present geometries and vibrational frequencies obtained at the reliable CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory for seven FA⋯water complexes. We utilize the focal point method to determine CCSDT(Q)/CBS plus corrections binding energies of 7.37, 3.36, and 2.02 kcal mol−1 plus 6.07, 3.79, 2.60, and 2.55 kcal mol−1 for the trans-FA⋯water and cis-FA⋯water complexes, respectively. Natural bond orbital analysis is used to further decompose the interactions in each complex and gain insight into their relative strengths. Furthermore, we examine the effect that a single water molecule has on the barrier heights to each decomposition pathway by optimizing the transition states and verifying their connectivity with intrinsic reaction coordinate computations as well as utilizing a kinetic model. Water lowers the barrier to dehydration by at most 15.78 kcal mol−1 and the barrier to decarboxylation by up to 15.90 kcal mol−1. Our research also examines for the first time the effect of one water molecule on the interconversion barrier and we find that the barrier from trans to cis is not catalyzed by water due to the strong FA and water interactions. Our results highlight some instances where different binary complexes result in different decomposition pathways and even a case where one binary complex can form the same decomposition products via two distinct mechanisms. Our results provide a reliable benchmark of the FA⋯H2O system as well as provide insight into future studies of similar atmospheric systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable interest, from both experimental and theoretical perspectives, in molecules incorporating multiple bonds between main group elements. Herein, we not only consider the parent molecules HE=EH (E=As, Sb, Bi), but also a number of their isomers. For each E2H2 molecule, a number of different structures were optimized with four different DFT methods. Final structures were determined with the coupled cluster method CCSD(T) using large basis sets, namely cc‐pVQZ‐PP, incorporating relativistic psuedopotentials. All feasible dissociation pathways are examined. For all three E2H2 molecules the trans isomer lies lowest in energy, with the cis isomer higher by 2.7 (As), 2.1 (Sb), and 1.8 (Bi) kcal mol−1, respectively. However, both cis and trans structures should be observable, as large barriers (27.7, 20.5, and 17.7 kcal mol−1) separate them. For both the cis and trans structures, in the infrared the strong E‐H stretching frequencies should also be observable. Only the cis structures have dipole moments (0.62, 0.01, and 0.83 debye, respectively), and their observation by microwave spectroscopy would be stunning. Also considered were the higher energy vinylidene‐like, pyramidal, monobridged, and linear structures. We conclude that molecules such as HSb=SbH‐Fe(CO)4, HBi=BiH‐Fe(CO)4, and related systems, should be feasible synthetic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criegee intermediates are important targets for study in atmospheric chemistry because of their capacity to oxidize airborne species. Among these species, ammonia has received critical attention for its presence in polluted agricultural or industrial areas and its role in forming particulate matter and condensation nuclei. Although methylamine has been given less attention than ammonia, both theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that the additional methyl substitution on the ammonia derivatives increases the rate constants for some systems. This suggests that the methylamine addition to Criegee intermediates could be more significant to atmospheric processes. In this work, geometries are optimized at the DF-CCSD(T)/ANO1 level for the methylamine addition reactions to the simplest Criegee intermediate and the anti- and syn-methylated Criegee intermediates. Energies for each stationary point were computed at the CCSD(T)/CBS level with corrections from the CCSDT(Q) method. Rate constants are obtained for each reaction using canonical transition state theory. Although methylamine addition proved to be a more favorable reaction relative to ammonia addition, the significantly lower concentration of atmospheric methylamine limits the prevalence of these reactions, even in the most optimal conditions. It is unlikely that the methylamine addition to Criegee intermediates will contribute significantly to the consumption of Criegee intermediates in the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1-norbornyl (nor) ligand is known experimentally to form stable transition metal alkyl derivatives through direct metal–carbon bond formation. This appears to be related to its steric bulk and inaccessibility towards β-hydrogen elimination, as exemplified by the tetraalkyls (nor)4M, some of which are very stable. In this connection we have used density functional theory and the DLPNO-CCSD(T) method to investigate the 1-norbornylcobalt carbonyl derivatives (nor)Co(CO)n (n = 4, 3, 2, 1) and (nor)2Co2(CO)n (n = 7, 6, 5). Low-energy structures of the unsaturated systems (nor)Co(CO)n (n = 3, 2) and (nor)2Co2(CO)n (n = 6, 5) are found to have agostic hydrogen atoms from a CH2 group adjacent to the Co–C bond. Such agostic hydrogen atoms form a C–H–Co bridge with a bonding Co–H distance less than ∼2 Å. In such structures unsaturation is relieved by donation of an additional two electrons from the C–H bond of this norbornyl CH2 group. In addition, structures in which carbonyl migration from cobalt to carbon has occurred to form acyl norCO ligands are among the lowest energy structures. The resulting acyl carbonyl groups of the norCO ligands serve as spacers between the bulky 1-norbornyl ligand and the cobalt carbonyl moiety. Furthermore, such neutral norCO acyl ligands can either be one-electron donors to a cobalt atom, bonding solely through the carbonyl carbon, or three-electron donor η2-μ-norCO groups bridging a central Co2 unit through both the acyl carbon and oxygen atoms. The strengths of the agostic C–H–Co interactions have been characterized by their reduced density gradient (RDG) values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures and energetics of the bis(butadiene) complexes of the second row transition metals (C4H6)2M) M=Zr to Pd) have been investigated by density functional theory. The energetically accessible (C4H6)2M structures (M=Zr to Rh) are found to have only tetrahapto η4‐C4H6 ligands. The second row transition metals energetically prefer low spin states in their bis(butadiene) derivatives (C4H6)2M reflecting their increased ligand field strength relative to the first row transition metals. Thus the energies of the singlet and doublet spin states for (C4H6)2Ru and (C4H6)2Tc, respectively, are lower than their triplet and quartet spin state isomers in contrast to the corresponding iron and manganese systems, respectively. Furthermore, the staggered maximum spin (C4H6)2M structures with χ ≈ 90° having tetrahedral coordination of the central metal to the four C=C double bonds of the two butadiene ligands found as lowest energy structures for the first row transition metals are not found for the second row transition metals from Mo to Pd. Instead the lowest energy (C4H6)2M structures for the second row transition metals have an eclipsed confirmation with χ ≈ 0° implying square planar coordination of the central metal. The lowest energy structure of the palladium complex (C4H6)2Pd is anomalous since only one of the two butadienes is a tetrahapto ligand whereas the second butadiene is only a dihapto ligand leaving one uncomplexed C=C double bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction of carbene‐stabilized disilicon (1) with the lithium‐based dithiolene radical (2.) affords the first dianionic silicon tris(dithiolene) complex (3). Notably, the formation of 3 represents the unprecedented utilization of carbene‐stabilized disilicon (1) as a silicon‐transfer agent. The nature of 3 was probed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, and DFT computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction of carbene‐stabilized disilicon (1) with the lithium‐based dithiolene radical (2.) affords the first dianionic silicon tris(dithiolene) complex (3). Notably, the formation of 3 represents the unprecedented utilization of carbene‐stabilized disilicon (1) as a silicon‐transfer agent. The nature of 3 was probed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, and DFT computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All important stationary points on the potential energy surface (PES) for the reaction OH + (H2O)3 → (H2O)2OH + H2O have been fully optimized using the “gold standard” CCSD(T) method with the large Dunning correlation-consistent cc-pVQZ basis sets. Three types of pathways were found. For the pathway without hydrogen abstraction, the barrier height of the transition state (TS1) is predicted to lie 5.9 kcal mol−1 below the reactants. The two major complexes (H2O)3⋯OH (CP1 and CP2a) are found to lie 6.3 and 11.0 kcal mol−1, respectively, below the reactants [OH + (H2O)3]. For one of the H-abstraction pathways the lowest classical barrier height is predicted to be much higher, 6.1 kcal mol−1 (TS2a) above the reactants. For the other H-abstraction pathway the barrier height is even higher, 15.0 (TS3) kcal mol−1. Vibrational frequencies and the zero-point vibrational energies connected to the PES are also reported. The energy barriers for the H-abstraction pathways are compared with those for the OH + (H2O)2 and OH + H2O reactions, and the effects of the third water on the energetics are usually minor (0.2 kcal mol−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorocarbons have been shown experimentally by Baker and coworkers to combine with the cyclopentadienylcobalt (CpCo) moiety to form fluoroolefin and fluorocarbene complexes as well as fluorinated cobaltacyclic rings. In this connection density functional theory (DFT) studies on the cyclopentadienylcobalt fluorocarbon complexes CpCo(L)(CnF2n) (L = CO, PMe3; n = 3 and 4) indicate structures with perfluoroolefin ligands to be the lowest energy structures followed by perfluorometallacycle structures and finally by structures with perfluorocarbene ligands. Thus, for the CpCo(L)(C3F6) (L = CO, PMe3) complexes, the perfluoropropene structure has the lowest energy, followed by the perfluorocobaltacyclobutane structure and the perfluoroisopropylidene structure less stable by 8 to 11 kcal mol−1, and the highest energy perfluoropropylidene structure less stable by more than 12 kcal mol−1. For the two metal carbene structures Cp(L)Co＝C(CF3)2 and Cp(L)Co＝CF(C2F5), the former is more stable than the latter, even though the latter has Fischer carbene character. For the CpCo(L)(C4F8) (L = CO, PMe3) complexes, the perfluoroolefin complex structures have the lowest energies, followed by the perfluorometallacycle structures at 10 to 20 kcal mol−1, and the structures with perfluorocarbene ligands at yet higher energies more than 20 kcal mol−1 above the lowest energy structure. This is consistent with the experimentally observed isomerization of the perfluorinated cobaltacyclobutane complexes CpCo(PPh2Me)(–CFR–CF2–CF2–) (R = F, CF3) to the perfluoroolefin complexes CpCo(PPh2Me)(RCF＝CF2) in the presence of catalytic quantities of HN(SO2CF3)2. Further refinement of the relative energies by the state-of-the-art DLPNO-CCSD(T) method gives results essentially consistent with the DFT results summarized above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lowest lying singlet and triplet states of HBCN−, HCCN, HNCN+, HAlCN−, HSiCN, HPCN+, HGaCN−, HGeCN, and HAsCN+ were studied using the CCSDT(Q)/CBS//CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory. Periodic trends in geometries, singlet–triplet gaps, and barriers to linearity were established and analyzed. The first row increasingly favors the triplet state, with a singlet–triplet gap (ΔEST = Esinglet − Etriplet) of 3.5 kcal mol−1, 11.9 kcal mol−1, and 22.6 kcal mol−1, respectively, for HBCN−, HCCN, and HNCN+. The second row increasing favors the singlet state, with singlet–triplet gaps of −20.4 kcal mol−1 (HAlCN−), −26.6 kcal mol−1 (HSiCN), and −26.8 kcal mol−1 (HPCN+). The third row also favors the singlet state, with singlet–triplet gaps of −26.8 kcal mol−1 (HGaCN−), −33.5 kcal mol−1 (HGeCN), and −33.1 kcal mol−1 (HAsCN+). The HXCN species have larger absolute singlet–triplet energy gaps compared to their parent species XH2 except for the case of X = N+. The effect of the substitution of hydrogen with a cyano group was analyzed with isodesmic bond separation analysis and NBO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative conformational analysis (Eliel, Stereochemistry of Organic Compounds, Wiley-Interscience, 1994) has been with us at least as long as Pitzer's landmark 1937 paper (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1937, 59, 276) on ethane. Cyclohexanes have played a critical role in the quest for understanding. Notably, 1,2,3,4,5,6 hexachlorocyclohexane (C6H6Cl6) was apparently synthesized for the first time by Michael Faraday in 1825 (Philos. Trans. R. Soc., B, 1825, 115, 440). The γ-1,2,3,4,5,6 hexachlorocyclohexane molecule subsequently acquired the common name lindane. Although banned or limited by many countries in 2006, nearly one billion tons of lindane has been manufactured and employed, mostly in agriculture, but also for treatment of human diseases such as lice. Although not as well characterized as lindane, other chlorocyclohexanes have been made and to some degree characterized. The pioneering experimental conformational studies by LeFevre and coworkers (J. Chem. Soc. B, 1970, 1608) of 1,2 dichlorocyclohexane, 1,1,2 trichlorocyclohexane, and 1,2,3,4,5,6 hexachlorocyclohexane are particularly noteworthy. The chlorocyclohexanes have also played a role in the development of molecular mechanics methods by Allinger and coworkers (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1983, 105, 1716 and 1723). In the present research, we report the first systematic studies of all the chlorocyclohexanes, excluding those with two chlorines attached to a single carbon atom. We make careful comparisons with previous experimental and computational studies. A simple system is established to estimate the relative energies of the different isomers of a particular molecular species. Predicted dipole moments range from identically zero to 5.7 Debye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mechanistic study demonstrates that an unusual η1‐coordinated alkyne complex is critical for the 1‐pentyne 1,1‐diboration reaction. The comparative studies suggest the "pull–push" antagonistic effect arising from Lewis acidity and steric congestion as the reason for the existence of η1‐coordinated alkyne complexes. Analogous η1‐coordinated alkene complexes are also predicted and seem to be promising for their application to the important olefin polymerization reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density cumulant functional theory (DCFT) is one of a number of nascent electron correlation methods that are derived from reduced density matrices and cumulants thereof, instead of the wavefunction. Deriving properties from the density cumulant naturally yields methods that are size extensive and size consistent. In this work, we derive expressions for the analytic gradient, with respect to an external perturbation, for the DCFT-06 variant of density cumulant functional theory. Despite the fact that the DCFT-06 energy functional is stationary with respect to the density cumulant, the analytic gradients of the energy require the solution of perturbation-independent equations for both orbital and cumulant response. These two sets of linear response equations are coupled in nature and are solved iteratively with the solution of orbital and cumulant response equations each macroiteration, exhibiting rapid convergence. The gradients are implemented and benchmarked against coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) and CCSD with perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)], as well as accurate empirically corrected experimental data, for a test set comprising 15 small molecules. For most of the test cases, results from DCFT-06 are closer to CCSD(T) and empirical data than those from CCSD. Although the total energy and analytic gradient have the same asymptotic scaling, the present experience shows that the computational cost of the gradient is significantly lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetric and asymmetric triple excitation corrections for the orbital-optimized coupled-cluster doubles (OO-CCD or simply 'OD' for short) method are investigated. The conventional symmetric and asymmetric perturbative triples corrections [(T) and (T)Λ] are implemented, the latter one for the first time. Additionally, two new triples corrections, denoted as OD(Λ) and OD(Λ)T, are introduced. We applied the new methods to potential energy surfaces of the BH, HF, C2, N2, and CH4 molecules, and compare the errors in total energies, with respect to full configuration interaction, with those from the standard coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), with perturbative triples [CCSD(T)], and asymmetric triples correction (CCSD(T)Λ) methods. The CCSD(T) method fails badly at stretched geometries, the corresponding nonparallelity error is 7-281 kcal mol-1, although it gives reliable results near equilibrium geometries. The new symmetric triples correction, CCSD(Λ), noticeably improves upon CCSD(T) (by 4-14 kcal mol-1) for BH, HF, and CH4; however, its performance is worse than CCSD(T) (by 1.6-4.2 kcal mol-1) for C2 and N2. The asymmetric triples corrections, CCSD(T)Λ and CCSD(Λ)T, perform remarkably better than CCSD(T) (by 5-18 kcal mol-1) for the BH, HF, and CH4 molecules, while for C2 and N2 their results are similar to those of CCSD(T). Although the performance of CCSD and OD is similar, the situation is significantly different in the case of triples corrections, especially at stretched geometries. The OD(T) method improves upon CCSD(T) by 1-279 kcal mol-1. The new symmetric triples correction, OD(Λ), enhances the OD(T) results (by 0.01-2.0 kcal mol-1) for BH, HF, and CH4; however, its performance is worse than OD(T) (by 1.9-2.3 kcal mol-1) for C2 and N2. The asymmetric triples corrections, OD(T)Λ and OD(Λ)T, perform better than OD(T) (by 2.0-6.2 kcal mol-1). The latter method is slightly better for the BH, HF, and CH4 molecules. However, for C2 and N2 the new results are similar to those of OD(T). For the BH, HF, and CH4 molecules, OD(Λ)T provides the best potential energy curves among the considered methods, while for C2 and N2 the OD(T) method prevails. Hence, for single-bond breaking the OD(Λ)T method appears to be superior, whereas for multiple-bond breaking the OD(T) method is better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explicitly correlated ab initio methods have been used to compute full quartic force fields for the three chain minima for HOOOOH, which are found to lie within 1 kcal mol-1. The CCSD(T)-F12 method with the cc-pVTZ-F12 basis set was used to compute equilibrium structures, anharmonic vibrational frequencies, and rotational constants for HOOH, HOOOH, and three chain isomers of HOOOOH, with the two former force fields being used as benchmarks for the latter three. The full quartic force fields were computed in such a way as to yield fundamental frequencies for all isotopologues at once. The present research confirms the recent experimental identification of HOOOH and provides reliable force fields in support of future experimental work on the enigmatic bonding paradigms involved in the HOOOOH chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]