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The full configuration interaction (FCI) study of the singlets vertical spectrum of the neutral beryllium trimer has been performed using atomic natural orbitals [3s2p1d] basis set. The FCI triangular equilibrium structure of the ground state has been used to calculate the FCI vertical excitation energies up to 4.8 eV. The FCI vertical ionization potential for the same geometry and basis set amounts to 7.6292 eV. The FCI dipole and quadrupole transition moments from the ground state are reported as well. The FCI electric quadrupole moment of the X (3)A(1) (') ground state has been also calculated with the same basis set (Theta(zz)=-2.6461 a.u., Theta(xx)=Theta(yy)=-1/2Theta(zz)). Twelve of the 19 calculated excited singlets are doubly excited states. Most of the states have large multiconfigurational character. These results provide benchmark values for electronic correlation multireference methods. (4ex6MO)CAS-SDCI values for the same energies and properties are also reported.

Triplet energy transfer (TET) from aromatic donors to 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene (COT) is an extreme case of "nonvertical" behavior, where the transfer rate for low-energy donors is considerably faster than that predicted for a thermally activated (Arrhenius) process. To explain the anomalous TET of COT and other molecules, a new theoretical model based on transition state theory for nonadiabatic processes is proposed here, which makes use of the adiabatic potential energy surfaces (PES) of reactants and products, as computed from high-level quantum mechanical methods, and a nonadiabatic transfer rate constant. It is shown that the rate of transfer depends on a geometrical distortion parameter gamma=(2g(2)/kappa(1))(1/2) in which g stands for the norm of the energy gradient in the PES of the acceptor triplet state and kappa(1) is a combination of vibrational force constants of the ground-state acceptor in the gradient direction. The application of the model to existing experimental data for the triplet energy transfer reaction to COT from a series of pi,pi(*) triplet donors, provides a detailed interpretation of the parameters that determine the transfer rate constant. In addition, the model shows that the observed decrease of the acceptor electronic excitation energy is due to thermal activation of C=C bond stretchings and C-C bond torsions, which collectively change the ground-state COT bent conformation (D(2d)) toward a planar triplet state (D(8h)).

A combined ab initio and experimental investigation has been performed of the main features of the electronic spectrum of acetone. Vertical transition energies have been calculated from the ground to the ny→π∗, π→π∗, σ→π∗, and the n=3 Rydberg states. In addition, the 1A1 energy surfaces have been studied as functions of the CO bond length. The 1A1 3p and 3d states were found to be heavily perturbed by the π→π∗ state. Resonant multiphoton ionization and polarization‐selected photoacoustic spectra of acetone have been measured and observed transitions were assigned on internal criteria. The calculated vertical transition energies to the ny→π∗ and all Rydberg states were found to be in agreement with experiment. This includes the 3s‐, all three 3p‐, and the A1, B1, and B2 3d‐Rydberg states. By contrast, there is little agreement between the calculated and experimental relative intensities of the A1 and B2 3d‐Rydberg transitions. In addition, anomalously intense high vibrational overtone bands of one of the 3p‐Rydberg transitions have been observed. These results confirm the strong perturbation of the 3p‐ and 3d‐Rydberg states by the π→π∗ state found in the theoretical calculation and support the calculated position of this unobserved state. merchan@uv.es

It is predicted that oriented BeO molecules would give rise to unprecedentedly strong, unidirectional electric ring current and an associated magnetic field upon excitation by a right or left circularly polarized laser pulse into the first excited degenerate singlet state. The strong toroidal electric ring current of this state is dominated by the ring current of the 1π± orbital about the molecular axis. Our predictions are based on the analysis of the orbital composition of the states involved and are substantiated by high level electronic structure calculations and wavepacket simulations of the laser-driven orientation and excitation dynamics. Luis.Serrano@uv.es

An all-electron full configuration interaction (FCI) calculation of the adiabatic potential energy curves of some of the lower states of BeH molecule is presented. A moderately large ANO basis set of atomic natural orbitals (ANO) augmented with Rydberg functions has been used in order to describe the valence and Rydberg states and their interactions. The Rydberg set of ANOs has been placed on the Be at all bond distances. So, the basis set can be described as 4s3p2d1f3s2p1d(BeH)+4s4p2d(Be). The dipole moments of several states and transition dipole strengths from the ground state are also reported as a function of the R(Be-H) distance. The position and the number of states involved in several avoided crossings present in this system have been discussed. Spectroscopic parameters have been calculated from a number of the vibrational states that result from the adiabatic curves except for some states in which this would be completely nonsense, as it is the case for the very distorted curves of the 3s and 3p (2)Sigma(+) states or the double-well potential of the 4p (2)Pi state. The so-called "D complex" at 54 050 cm(-1) (185.0 nm) is resolved into the three 3d substates ((2)Sigma(+),(2)Pi,(2)Delta). A diexcited valence state is calculated as the lowest state of (2)Sigma(-) symmetry and its spectroscopic parameters are reported, as well as those of the 2 (2)Delta (4d) state The adiabatic curve of the 4 (2)Sigma(+) state shows a swallow well at large distances (around 4.1 A) as a result of an avoided crossing with the 3 (2)Sigma(+) state. The probability that some vibrational levels of this well could be populated is discussed within an approached Landau-Zerner model and is found to be high. No evidence is found of the E(4ssigma) (2)Sigma(+) state in the region of the "D complex". Instead, the spectroscopic properties obtained from the (4ssigma) 6 (2)Sigma(+) adiabatic curve of the present work seem to agree with those of the experimental F(4psigma) (2)Sigma(+) state. The FCI calculations provide benchmark results for other correlation models for the open-shell BeH system and evidence both the limitations and capabilities of the basis set.

We employ a series of state-of-the-art computational techniques to study the effect of inserting one or more Xe atoms in HC2H and HC4H, on the linear and nonlinear optical (L&NLO) properties of the resulting compounds. It has been found that the inserted Xe has a great effect on the L&NLO properties of the organoxenon derivatives. We analyze the bonding in HXeC2H, and the change of the electronic structure, which is induced by inserting Xe, in order to rationalize the observed extraordinary L&NLO properties. The derivatives, which are of interest in this work, have been synthesized in a Xe matrix. Thus the effect of the local field (LF), due to the Xe environment, on the properties of HXeC2H, has also been computed. It has been found that the LF effect on some properties is significant. The calculations have been performed by employing a hierarchy of basis sets and the techniques MP2 and CCSD(T) for taking into account correlation. For the interpretation of the results we have employed the complete active space valence bond and CASSCF/CASPT2 methods. Luis.Serrano@uv.es

Vertical excitation energies as well as related absolute photoabsorption oscillator strength data are very scarce in the literature for methane. In this study, we have characterized the three existing series of low-lying Rydberg states of CH4 by computing coupled cluster linear response (CCLR) vertical excitation energies together with oscillator strengths in the molecular-adapted quantum defect orbital formalism from a distorted Cs geometry selected on the basis of outer valence green function calculations. The present work provides a wide range of data of excitation energies and absolute oscillator strengths which correspond to the Rydberg series converging to the three lower ionization potential values of the distorted methane molecule, in energy regions for which experimentally measured data appear to be unavailable. Jose.V.Pitarch@uv.es Alfredo.Sanchez@uv.es Jose.Sanchez@uv.es

We present the results of an extended computational study of the electric and magnetic properties connected to Cotton-Mouton birefringences, on the trifluoro- and trichloroborides in the gas phase. The electric dipole polarizabilities, magnetizabilities, quadrupole moments, and higher-order hypersusceptibilities—expressed as quadratic and cubic frequency-dependent response functions—are computed within Hartree-Fock, density-functional, and coupled-cluster response theories employing singly and doubly augmented correlation-consistent basis sets and London orbitals in the magnetic property calculations. The results, which illustrate the capability of time-dependent density-functional theory for electron-rich systems, are compared with available experimental data. Revised values of both experimentally derived quadrupole moment of BF3, 2.72±0.15 a.u., and magnetizability anisotropy of BCl3, −0.45±0.09 a.u., both obtained in birefringence experiments that neglect the effects of higher-order hypersusceptibilities, are presented. In the theoretical limit the traceless quadrupole moments of BF3 and BCl3 are determined to be 3.00±0.01 and 0.71±0.01 a.u., respectively. Jose.M.Junquera@uv.es Alfredo.Sanchez@uv.es Jose.Sanchez@uv.es

The three-dimensional intermolecular electric dipole moment surface of Ar–CO is calculated at the coupled cluster singles and doubles level of theory with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set extended with a 3s3p2d1f1g set of midbond functions. Using the rovibrational energies and wave functions of our recent study [J. Chem. Phys. 117, 6562 (2002)], temperature-dependent spectral intensities are evaluated and compared to available experimental data. Based on the theoretical spectrum, alternative assignments of the experimentally observed lines in the fundamental band of CO around 2160 and 2166 cm−1 are suggested. Thomas.Bondo@uv.es

The intermolecular potential-energy surface pertaining to the interaction between benzene and N2 is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Accurate intermolecular interaction energies are evaluated for the benzene–N2 van der Waals complex using the coupled cluster singles and doubles including connected triples [CCSD(T)] method and the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set extended with a set of 3s3p2d1f1g midbond functions. After fitting the energies to an analytic function, the intermolecular Schrödinger equation is solved to yield energies, rotational constants, and Raman-scattering coefficients for the lowest intermolecular levels of several benzene–N2 isotopomers. Experimentally, intermolecular Raman spectra of jet-cooled h6- and d6-benzene–N2 measured at 0.03 cm−1 resolution by mass-selective, ionization-detected stimulated Raman spectroscopies are reported. Seven intermolecular bands are assigned for each isotopomer, including transitions involving intermolecular bending and stretching vibrations and internal rotation about the benzene C6 axis. These Raman data, together with measured rotational constants and binding energies obtained by other groups on benzene–N2, agree well with the theoretical results. Such agreement points to the promise of the quantum chemical methodology employed herein in future investigations of larger van der Waals complexes. tbonpe@uv.es

The vertical spectrum of tetracyanoethylene was studied using coupled cluster theory. It was found that the lowest singlet-singlet transition, which corresponds to the excitation from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) excitation, occurs at 5.16 eV in the gas phase and is lowered approximately 0.1 eV due to solvent effects in acetonitrile. A parallel study on the ethene spectrum showed the quality of the basis sets and methods used, by placing the V state 7.92 eV above the ground state and giving an energy for the 0-0 transition of 5.42 eV to be compared with the experimental value of 5.50 eV.

A study of the intermolecular potential-energy surface (IPS) and the intermolecular states of the perprotonated and perdeuterated benzene–He complex is reported. From a fit to ab initio data computed within the coupled cluster singles and doubles including connected triples model for 280 interaction geometries, an analytic IPS including two- to four-body atom–atom terms is obtained. This IPS, and two other Lennard-Jones atom–atom surfaces from the literature, are each employed in dynamically exact (within the rigid-monomer approximation) calculations of J = 0 intermolecular states of the isotopomers. Rotational constants and Raman-scattering coefficients for intermolecular vibrational transitions are also calculated for each of the three surfaces. The calculated results are compared with experimental results reported herein pertaining to intermolecular Raman spectra of benzene–He. The calculated rotational constants are compared with experimental values from the literature. The fitted IPS of this work leads to calculated observables that match the experimental results very well. The IPSs from the literature are not as successful, specifically in regard to the intermolecular Raman spectra. Thomas.Bondo@uv.es

The lowest-energy band of the electronic spectrum of pyrrole has been studied with vibrational resolution by using multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) and its multistate extension (MS–CASPT2) in conjunction with large atomic natural orbital-type basis sets including Rydberg functions. The obtained results provide a consistent picture of the recorded spectrum in the energy region 5.5–6.5 eV and confirm that the bulk of the intensity of the band arises from a ππ∗ intravalence transition, in contradiction to recent theoretical claims. Computed band origins for the 3s,3p Rydberg electronic transitions are in agreement with the available experimental data, although new assignments are suggested. As illustrated in the paper, the proper treatment of the valence–Rydberg mixing is particularly challenging for ab initio methodologies and can be seen as the main source of deviation among the recent theoretical results as regards the position of the low-lying valence excited states of pyrrole. serrano@uv.es ; merchan@uv.es

The first three-dimensional ab initio intermolecular potential energy surface of the Ar–CO van der Waals complex is calculated using the coupled cluster singles and doubles including connected triples model and the augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence quadruple zeta (aug-cc-pVQZ) basis set extended with a (3s3p2d1f1g) set of midbond functions. The three-dimensional surface is averaged over the three lowest vibrational states of CO. Rovibrational energies are calculated up to 50 cm−1 above the ground state, thus enabling comprehensive comparison between theory and available experimental data as well as providing detailed guidance for future spectroscopic investigations of higher-lying states. The experimental transitions are reproduced with a root-mean-square error of 0.13 cm−1, excluding states observed around 25 cm−1 above the ground state. The latter states are at variance with the experimentally deduced ordering.

The electronic excited states of p-benzoquinone have been studied using multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) and extended atomic natural orbital (ANO) basis sets. The calculation of the singlet–singlet and singlet–triplet transition energies comprises 19 valence singlet excited states, 4 valence triplet states, and the singlet 3s,3p, and 3d members of the Rydberg series converging to the first four ionization limits. The computed vertical excitation energies are found to be in agreement with the available experimental data. Conclusive assignments to both valence and Rydberg states have been performed. The main features of the electronic spectrum correspond to the ππ∗ 1 1Ag→1 1B1u and ππ∗ 1 1Ag→3 1B1u transitions, computed to be at 5.15 and 7.08 eV, respectively. Assignments of the observed low-energy Rydberg bands have been proposed: An n→3p transition for the sharp absorption located at ca. 7.4 eV and two n→3d and π→3s transitions for the broad band observed at ca. 7.8 eV. The lowest triplet state is computed to be an nπ∗ 3B1g state, in agreement with the experimental evidence. pou@uv.es ; merchan@uv.es ; orti@uv.es

A theoretical study of the vibrational structure of the math 2A′ ground and math 2A′ excited states of the formyl radical, HCO, and its deuterated form, DCO, has been performed. The potential energy surfaces have been computed by means of a multiconfigurational perturbative method, CASPT2. The computed geometries and the harmonic and anharmonic frequencies are successfully compared to the available experimental information. The vibrational intensities of the transition math 2A′↔math 2A′ have been computed both for absorption and emission. The results lead to accurate determinations of several structural parameters and some reassignments of the vibrational transitions of the so-called hydrocarbon flame bands of the formyl radical. serrano@uv.es

The self-consistent size consistent on a complete active space singly and doubly configuration interaction (SC)2CAS-SDCI method is applied to excited states. The (SC)2 correction is performed on a closed shell state, and the excited states are obtained by diagonalization of the dressed matrix. A theoretical justification of the transferability of the improvement concerning the dressing state to all roots of the matrix is presented. The method is tested by three tests on the spectrum of small molecules. sanchezm@uv.es ; nebot@uv.es

Ab initio results for the electronic spectrum of all-trans-retinal and its truncated model 3-methyl-all-trans (10-s-cis)-2,4,6,8,10-undecapentaen-1-al are presented. The study includes geometry determination of the ground state. Vertical excitation energies have been computed using multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory through the CASPT2 formalism. The lowest singlet excited state in gas phase is predicted to be of nπ∗ character. The lowest triplet state corresponds, however, to a ππ∗ state. The most intense feature of the spectrum is due to the strongly dipole-allowed ππ∗ transition, in accordance with the observed maximum in the one-photon spectra. The vertical excitation energies of the Bu- and Ag-like states are found close, the latter ≈ 1 eV higher than the maximum in the two-photon spectra. Solvent effects and nonvertical nature of the observed maximum in the two-photon spectra are invoked in rationalizing the deviation with respect to the best present estimate for the Ag-like state. In addition, qualitative aspects of the one-bond photoisomerization about the C11 = C12 double bond of retinal are considered. The overall isomerization picture from 11-cis into all-trans-retinal, as taking place mainly along the triplet manifold, agrees with experimental evidence. merchan@uv.es ; gonzaler@uv.es

Limited previous experience with the mean value total dressing (MVTD) method had shown that MVTD energies for closed shell systems are generally better than CCSD(T) ones compared to FCI. The method, previously published as total dressing 2′(td-2′), is based on the single reference intermediate Hamiltonian theory. It is not a CC method but deals in a great part with the same physical effects that CC methods that incorporate amplitudes of triples such as CCSDT or its CCSDT-1n approaches. A number of test calculations comparing to diverse CC methods, as well as FCI and experiment when available, have been performed. The tests concern equilibrium energies in NH3 and CH2, equilibrium energies and distances in some diatomics (BF, NO+, CN+, C2, BeO), different bond breaking situations (H2O, BH, HF, SiH2) and spectroscopic properties of different bonding conditions (Li2, LiNa, LiBe+, NeH+, and O3). The results are in general closer to the full CCSDT ones in the equilibrium regions and close to CCSDT-1 along most dissociation curves. A few exceptions to this rule are analyzed with the help of an approach to MVTD that does not take into account the effects of linked quadriexcitations. Such analysis suggests the interest of improving the treatment of effects of linked triples in the MVTD model. The separate contributions of linked and unlinked triples and quadruples are also analyzed for some of the above diatomics representing different behaviors of bond breaking. The interest of such analysis is illustrated in the NeH+ molecule. The MVTD results show, in general, a high quality, provided that the nature of the correlation problem does not become largely multiconfigurational, as occurs in multiple bond dissociation or in the asymmetric stretching of ozone. garciain@uv.es ; sanchezm@uv.es ; sanchez@uv.es

Algorithms for calculating singlet excitation energies in the coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) model are discussed and an implementation of an atomic-integral direct algorithm is presented. Each excitation energy is calculated at a cost comparable to that of the CCSD ground-state energy. Singlet excitation energies are calculated for benzene using up to 432 basis functions. Basis-set effects of the order of 0.2 eV are observed when the basis is increased from augmented polarized valence double-zeta (aug-cc-pVDZ) to augmented polarized valence triple-zeta (aug-cc-pVTZ) quality. The correlation problem is examined by performing calculations in the hierarchy of coupled cluster models CCS, CC2, CCSD, and CC3, as well as by using the CCSDR(3) perturbative triples corrections. The effect of triple excitations are less than 0.2 eV for all excitations except for the 21E2gstate. The calculated excitation energies are compared with experiment and other theoretical results. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.

The electronic spectrum of bithiophene in the energy range up to 6.0 eV has been studied using multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory (CASPT2) and a basis set of ANO type, with split valence quality and including polarization functions on all heavy atoms. Calculations were performed at a planar (trans) and twisted geometry. The calculated ordering of the excited singlet states is 1Bu, 1Bu, 1Ag, 1Ag, and 1Bu with 0–0 transition energies: 3.88, 4.15, 4.40, 4.71, and 5.53 eV, respectively. The first Rydberg transition (3s) has been found at 5.27 eV. The results have been used in aiding the interpretation of the experimental spectra, and in cases where a direct comparison is possible there is agreement between theory and experiment. rubio@uv.es ; merchan@uv.es ; orti@uv.es

The performance of multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory has been analyzed for the description of the bonding in CuH, Cu2, NiH, and Ni2. Large basis sets based on atomic natural orbitals (ANOS) were employed. The effects of enlarging the active space and including the core‐valence correlation contributions have also been analyzed. Spectroscopic constants have been computed for the corresponding ground state. The Ni2 molecule has been found to have a 0+g ground state with a computed dissociation energy of 2.10 eV, exp. 2.09 eV, and a bond distance of 2.23 Å. The dipole moments of NiH and CuH are computed to be 2.34 (exp. 2.4±0.1) and 2.66 D, respectively. pou@uv.es ; merchan@uv.es ; nebot@uv.es

A newly proposed quantum chemical approach for ab initio calculations of electronic spectra of molecular systems is applied to the molecules ethene, trans‐1,3‐butadiene, and trans‐trans‐1,3,5‐hexatriene. The method has the aim of being accurate to better than 0.5 eV for excitation energies and is expected to provide structural and physical data for the excited states with good reliability. The approach is based on the complete active space (CAS) SCF method, which gives a proper description of the major features in the electronic structure of the excited state, independent of its complexity, accounts for all near degeneracy effects, and includes full orbital relaxation. Remaining dynamic electron correlation effects are in a subsequent step added using second order perturbation theory with the CASSCF wave function as the reference state. The approach is here tested in a calculation of the valence and Rydberg excited singlet and triplet states of the title molecules, using extended atomic natural orbital (ANO) basis sets. The ethene calculations comprised the two valence states plus all singlet and triplet Rydberg states of 3s, 3p, and 3d character, with errors in computed excitation energies smaller than 0.13 eV in all cases except the V state, for which the vertical excitation energy was about 0.4 eV too large. The two lowest triplet states and nine singlet states were studied in butadiene. The largest error (0.37 eV) was found for the 2 1Bu state. The two lowest triplet and seven lowest singlet states in hexatriene had excitation energies in error with less than 0.17 eV. serrano@uv.es ; merchan@uv.es ; nebot@uv.es

We present extensive ab initio calculations on the low‐lying electronic states of trans‐1,3‐butadiene within the multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) framework by selecting the configurations with a perturbative criterion. The X 1Ag ground state and 1 3Bu, 1 3Ag, 2 1Ag, and 1 1Bu valence excited states have been calculated at a fixed geometry. The results obtained are in good agreement with previous experimental and calculated values, and could help to understand polyene spectroscopy, photochemistry, and photophysics. The advantages of a MRCI method where the most important contributions to the total MRCI wave function, perturbatively selected, are treated variationally, and the remaining terms are evaluated by means of a perturbational approach, are also discussed. Furthermore, a criterion in order to build a correlation‐consistent configuration interaction space is stated and, therefore, a reliable approximation to achieve accurate energy differences is obtained. Several monoelectronic molecular‐orbital basis functions are tried in order to select the most adequate to describe each state. Luis.Serrano@uv.es ; Jose.Sanchez@uv.es ; Ignacio.Nebot@uv.es

The excited states of the water molecule have been analyzed by using the extended quantum-chemical multistate CASPT2 method, namely, MS-CASPT2, in conjunction with large one-electron basis sets of atomic natural orbital type. The study includes 13 singlet and triplet excited states, both valence and 3s-, 3p-, and 3d-members of the Rydberg series converging to the lowest ionization potential and the 3s- and 3p-Rydberg members converging to the second low-lying state of the cation, 1 math. The research has been focused on the analysis of the valence or Rydberg character of the low-lying states. The computation of the 1 math state of water at different geometries indicates that it has a predominant 3s-Rydberg character at the equilibrium geometry of the molecule but it becomes progressively a valence state described mainly by the one-electron 1b1→4a1 promotion, as expected from a textbook of general chemistry, upon elongation of the O–H bonds. The described valence-Rydberg mixing is established to be originated by a molecular orbital (MO) Rydbergization process, as suggested earlier by R. S. Mulliken [Acc. Chem. Res. 9, 7 (1976)] . The same phenomenon occurs also for the 1 math state whereas a more complex behavior has been determined for the 2 math state, where both MO Rydbergization and configurational mixing take place. Similar conclusions have been obtained for the triplet states of the molecule. Mercedes.Rubio@uv.es Luis.Serrano@uv.es Manuela.Merchan@uv.es

By using the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation method CASPT2, including corrections for the basis set superposition error, the lowest-singlet excited state of the face-to-face π-stacked cytosine homodimer is revealed to be bound by about half an eV, being the source of an emissive feature consistent with the observed redshifted fluorescence. Gloria.Olaso@uv.es Daniel.Roca@uv.es Luis.Serrano@uv.es Manuela.Merchan@uv.es

MO CI calculations are carried out using an optimal space of valence virtual MOs obtained by means of a projection technique, as a linear combination of the AOs which are more occupied in the molecular Fock space. Localization of the occupied MOs and nonvalence virtual MOs is also achieved. The overall procedure is proven to be quite advantageous and well suited to obtain potential energy curves which keep the same physical meaning along the range of distances studied. Using a slightly better than double‐zeta quality basis set, a valence CAS‐CI, and selected CI wave function by the CIPSI algorithm have revealed a possible weak van der Waals interaction for the 2Σ+ state of CuCO, which remains when polarization functions are added to the basis set for the carbon and oxygen atoms. Even though the CuCO 2Π and CuCO+ 1Σ+ states are energetically close, the nature of the interactions is quite different, π bonding and mainly electrostatic, respectively. The results give further support to the view of the neutral metal–CO interaction as a balance of σ repulsion and π backbonding. However, it is proposed that the driving force for the positive ion metal–CO interaction becomes essentially electrostatic. Ignacio.Nebot@uv.es ; Manuela.Merchan@uv.es ; Enrique.Orti@uv.es