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Access to accurate reference data is a prerequisite in order to translate chemical shifts to an absolute scale for inner-shell ionization energies. Calibration standards for oxygen 1s (O 1s) ionization energies are less well established than, for instance, for carbon 1s. To improve upon this situation, adiabatic and vertical O 1s ionization energies for gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) are critically reviewed and used to establish the most accurate values currently available: 541.085(17) and 541.253(17) eV, respectively. Combining these with new precise measurements of shifts in O 1s ionization energies for H2O, CO, and O2 allows us to establish equally accurate absolute ionization energies for these molecules as for CO2. The resulting adiabatic and vertical energies are 539.728(17) and 539.827(17) eV for H2O, 542.439(17) and 542.495(17) eV for CO, 543.285(17) and 543.294(17) eV for O2 (4Σ final state), and 544.338(17) and 544.423(17) eV for O2 (2Σ final state). It is proposed that O 1s in CO2 be adopted as a standard of higher precedence, and that H2O, CO, and O2 be used also. The O 1s ionization energies in these molecules occur in the range 540–543 eV. These proposed standards should provide optimal internal calibration for a wide range of oxygen-containing compounds. publishedVersion

International audience; We demonstrate that the possibility of monitoring relative photoionization cross sections over a large photon energy range allows us to study and disentangle shake processes and intramolecular inelastic scattering effects. In this gas-phase study, relative intensities of the carbon 1s photoelectron lines from chemically inequivalent carbon atoms in the same molecule have been measured as a function of the incident photon energy in the range of 300–6000 eV. We present relative cross sections for the chemically shifted carbon 1s lines in the photoelectron spectra of ethyl trifluoroacetate (the “ESCA” molecule). The results are compared with those of methyl trifluoroacetate and S-ethyl trifluorothioacetate as well as a series of chloro-substituted ethanes and 2-butyne. In the soft X-ray energy range, the cross sections show an extended X-ray absorption fine structure type of wiggles, as was previously observed for a series of chloroethanes. The oscillations are damped in the hard X-ray energy range, but deviations of cross-section ratios from stoichiometry persist, even at high energies. The current findings are supported by theoretical calculations based on a multiple scattering model. The use of soft and tender X-rays provides a more complete picture of the dominant processes accompanying photoionization. Such processes reduce the main photoelectron line intensities by 20–60%. Using both energy ranges enabled us to discern the process of intramolecular inelastic scattering of the outgoing electron, whose significance is otherwise difficult to assess for isolated molecules. This effect relates to the notion of the inelastic mean free path commonly used in photoemission studies of clusters and condensed matter.

“Substituent effects” is an important and useful concept in organic chemistry. Although there are many approaches to parametrizing the electronic and steric effects of substituents, the physical basis for the parameters is often unclear. The purpose of the present work is to explore the properties of chemical shifts in carbon 1s energies as a well-defined basis for characterizing substituents to an ethylene C═C moiety. To this end, high-resolution carbon 1s photoelectron spectra of six chloro-substituted ethenes and seven chloro-substituted propenes have been measured in the gas phase. Site-specific adiabatic ionization energies have been determined from the spectra using theoretical ab initio calculations to predict the vibrational structures. For two molecules, 3-chloropropene and 2,3-dichloropropene, the spectral analyses give quantitative results for the conformer populations. The observed shifts have been analyzed in terms of initial-state (potential) and relaxation effects, and charge relaxation has also been analyzed by means of natural resonance theory. On the basis of core-level spectroscopy and models, chlorine, methyl, and chloromethyl have been characterized in terms of their effect on the carbon to which they are attached (α site) as well as the neighboring sp2 carbon (β site). The derived spectroscopic substituent parameters are characterized by both inductive (electronegativity) effects and the ability of each substituent to engage in electron delocalization via the π system. Moreover, the adopted approach is extended to include substituent–substituent interaction parameters. publishedVersion

We have investigated the metal–ligand bond energies in C2H4–Pt(PH3)2 and C60–Pt(PH3)2 by means of ab initio correlated methods (MP2, MP4(SDQ), MP4, QCISD, CCSD and CCSD(T)) in conjunction with large basis sets. For D e (C2H4–Pt(PH3)2), an accurate value of 17.2 kcal/mol is established at the CCSD(T) level of theory. Due to the size of the system, the bond energy for the Buckminsterfullerene system was explored in terms of a sequence of model systems of increasing size, providing a D e estimate of 28.2 kcal/mol at the ONIOM(CCSD(T)/C14H8:MP2/C60) level of theory. The performance of a range of high-end density functionals (with and without dispersion) is evaluated for these systems by comparison to the best ab initio results. Among these, we find density functionals BLYP and B3LYP, augmented by Grimme’s D3 dispersion correction (to give the corresponding DFT-D methods), to provide good and consistent agreement with our best estimates. Next, DFT-optimised structures for C2H4–Pt(PPh3)2 and C60–Pt(PPh3)2 are p...

The carbon 1s photoelectron spectra of a series of aliphatic alkynes and alkenes that have the possibility of possessing two or more conformers have been recorded with high resolution. The two conformers of 2-hexyne and 4-methyl-1-pentyne, anti and gauche, have been identified and quantified from an analysis of their carbon 1s photoelectron spectra, yielding 30 ± 5% and 70 ± 6% anti conformers, respectively. In the case of 1-hexyne, the photoelectron spectrum is shown to provide partial information on the distribution of conformers. Central to these analyses is a pronounced ability of the C1s photoemission process to distinguish between conformers that display weak γ-CH/π hydrogen bonding and those that do not. For the corresponding alkene analogs, similar analyses of their C1s photoelectron spectra do not lead to conclusive information on the conformational equilibria, mainly because of significantly smaller chemical shifts and higher number of conformers compared with the alkynes.

Molecular LiCl and Li2Cl2 have been studied in the vapor phase with valence photoelectron and photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectroscopies. These two techniques determine the binding energies in fundamentally different ways. Binding energies obtained from photoelectron spectra are usually taken as the vertical ionization energies of the corresponding electronic states. In cases with several overlapping bands, corresponding to different electronic states, the coincidence measurement can separate the bands if the respective final states fragment differently. This applies well to the monomer case. To facilitate the determination of state-specific ionization energies in the dimeric molecule, a theoretical Franck-Condon analysis has been carried out. Moreover, ab initio coupled-cluster and density-functional-theory calculations have been used to analyze the fragmentation pattern based on asymptotic dissociation energies. The fragmentation pattern is largely common to all the accessible valence-ionized states of the chiller, consistent with rapid conversion to the ionic ground state before fragmentation. However, the highest-lying state of Li2Cl2+, (2)A(g). shows enhanced propensity for Li+ as dissociation product. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (Less)

The C is photoelectron spectrum of ethyl trifluoroacetate (CF3-CO-O-CH2-CH3), also known as the 'ESCA molecule', is the most illustrative showcase of chemical shifts in photoelectron spectroscopy. ...

Construction of accurate lineshape models for chlorosubstituted hydrocarbons is challenging. In this account the problem has been investigated thoroughly for the chloromethane series, CH4−nCln, n = 1–4, using high-resolution experimental data and extensive theoretical calculations. The C Cl bond contraction following ionization is a key parameter for a quantitative description of the vibrational excitation for all four molecules. We determine this quantity accurately for the title molecules and also propose approximate approaches that may applied to larger molecules. Having developed accurate vibrational lineshape models as well as reliable estimates of the instrumental broadening in each case, the carbon 1s hole lifetime broadening is determined from a fit to the experimental spectrum for each molecule. The resulting values for the lifetime broadening are 88 ± 5 meV for CH3Cl, 80 ± 5 meV for CH2Cl2, 74 ± 5 meV for CHCl3 and 62 ± 5 meV for CCl4. The lifetime widths decrease systematically with the number of chlorine substituents and correlate excellently with the valence occupancy of the core-ionized carbon. This indicates that the one-center model for Auger decay of the core hole is valid for the present series of molecules.

A database of 77 adiabatic carbon 1s ionization energies has been prepared, covering linear and cyclic alkanes and alkenes, linear alkynes, and methyl- or fluoro-substituted benzenes. Individual entries are believed to carry uncertainties of less than 30 meV in ionization energies and less than 20 meV for shifts in ionization energies. The database provides an unprecedented opportunity for assessing the accuracy of theoretical schemes for computing inner-shell ionization energies and their corresponding chemical shifts. Chemical shifts in carbon 1s ionization energies have been computed for all molecules in the database using Hartree-Fock, Møller-Plesset (MP) many-body perturbation theory of order 2 and 3 as well as various approximations to full MP4, and the coupled-cluster approximation with single- and double-excitation operators (CCSD) and also including a perturbational estimate of the energy effect of triple-excitation operators (CCSD(T)). Moreover, a wide range of contemporary density functional theory (DFT) methods are also evaluated with respect to computing experimental shifts in C1s ionization energies. Whereas the top ab initio methods reproduce the observed shifts almost to within the experimental uncertainty, even the best-performing DFT approaches meet with twice the root-mean-squared error and thrice the maximum error compared to CCSD(T). However, a number of different density energy functionals still afford sufficient accuracy to become tools in the analysis of complex C1s photoelectron spectra.

Free neutral CO2 clusters were produced by adiabatic expansion and characterized by carbon 1s (C1s) photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. The shift in C1s ionization energy (IE) between the cluster and the monomer, i.e., ΔIE = IE(cluster) – IE(monomer), was found to vary systematically with the experimental conditions. A functional relationship is established between the mean cluster size in the beam, ⟨N⟩, and ΔIE, in good agreement with theoretical calculations of shifts in ionization energy for model clusters. This makes it possible to use core-level photoelectron spectroscopy to monitor the mean cluster size and also to estimate ⟨N⟩ from expansion conditions.

Third-generation synchrotrons and high-resolution electron spectrometers coupled with modern theoretical techniques for molecular structure calculations have opened opportunities for measuring carbon 1s ionization energies in a large variety of complex molecules. Recent studies have provided new insights into the chemistry of substituent effects and on the effect of molecular conformation on inner-shell ionization energies.

Carbon 1s photoelectron spectra were measured for 1,1-dichloroethene and 1,3-cyclohexadiene adsorbed on Si(111)-7×7 and for gaseous cyclopentene and 1,1-dichloroethene. We explore closely how the molecular spectra of 1,1-dichloroethene and 1,3-cyclohexadiene change upon physisorption and show how gas-phase X-ray photoelectron spectra can be a useful tool for interpretation of spectra of physisorbed molecules. When assigning spectra of adsorbed states, it is frequently assumed that carbon 1s ionization energies (IE) group according to the hybridization state of the carbon atom and, moreover, that sp3-hybridized carbons have lower ionization energies than do sp2-hybridized carbons. These assumptions are explored by reviewing gas-phase spectra where it is possible to assign spectral peaks to individual carbon atoms without ambiguity. In cyclopentene, the carbon 1s ionization energies do group according to hybridization, albeit with the sp3 carbons at higher IE than the sp2 carbons. In propene, the 1s ionizat...

In N2O a detailed study of the vibrational distribution of the (X) over tilde state reached after decay of core-to-pi* excitation of N terminal, N central and 0 1s core levels is reported. We obser ...

Carbon 1s ionization energies have been measured for all of the carbon atoms in eight fluoromethylbenzenes. Enthalpies of protonation have been calculated for protonation at all of the ring carbons in the same molecules. These data together with previously reported data on fluorobenzenes and methylbenzenes provide the basis for studying the additivity of substituent effects and the correlation between enthalpies of protonation with core-ionization energies. Although a linear additivity model accounts reasonably well for both the ionization energies and the enthalpies of protonation, a better description, especially for the enthalpies, is obtained by inclusion of nonlinear terms that account for interactions between two substituents on the same molecule. There are families of nearly parallel correlation lines between enthalpies of protonation and core-ionization energies. The existence of several families can be primarily understood in terms of the linear additivity picture and more completely understood when the nonlinear terms are taken into account. The role of the methyl group as a polarizible pi-electron donor is contrasted with the role of fluorine, which is a substituent of low polarizibility that acts to withdraw electrons from the adjacent carbon and to donate electrons through resonance to the ring. The role of the hydrogen atoms as pi-electron acceptors in the protonated species is illustrated.

Single-component clusters of methyl chloride and methyl bromide have been produced by adiabatic expansion and their C 1s, Cl 2p and Br 3d photoelectron spectra recorded using synchrotron radiation and a high-resolution electron analyzer. The experimentally observed cluster-to-monomer shifts in core-level ionization energies are interpreted in terms of theoretical models based on molecular dynamics (MD) in conjunction with polarizable force fields developed and validated in the course of this work. MD simulations have also been used to explore the global and local structure of the clusters, providing evidence for a predominance of anti-parallel, head-to-tail arrangement of neighboring molecules. Whereas the cluster-to-monomer shifts are strongly dominated by polarization effects, the polarization contribution is very similar for ionization of carbon and the halogen, respectively. The difference in cluster shifts between the two ionization sites within the same molecule, C vs. Cl or C vs. Br, is thus determined by permanent electrostatic moments, i.e. the magnitude and direction of the permanent dipole moment and the local alignment of dipoles.

Single-component clusters of methanol and methyl chloride have been produced by adiabatic expansion, and their carbon 1s photoelectron spectra were recorded using synchrotron radiation and a high-resolution electron analyzer. The experimental spectra are interpreted by means of theoretical models based on molecular dynamics simulations. The data are used to explore to what extent core-level photoelectron spectra may provide information on the bonding mechanism and the geometric structure of clusters of polar molecules. The results indicate that the cluster-to-monomer shift in ionization energy and also the width of the cluster peak may be used to distinguish between hydrogen bonding and weaker electrostatic interactions. Moreover, the larger width of the cluster peak in methanol clusters as compared to methyl chloride clusters is partly due to the structured surface of methanol clusters. Theoretical modeling greatly facilitates the analysis of core-level photoelectron spectra of molecular clusters.

Experimental evidence for an effect of molecular conformation on inner-shell ionization energies has been observed for the first time. Examples are seen in the carbon 1s spectra of butyronitrile, 1-fluoropropane, and propanal, and other similar molecules. At room temperature these exist in two different conformations, with different distances and, hence, different Coulombic interactions between the negatively charged electronegative group and the methyl carbon. The experimental results are in accord with theoretical predictions with respect to both ionization energies and populations of the different conformers.

Core-level photoelectron spectra of free neutral methane clusters have been recorded. These spectra exhibit well-resolved surface and bulk features as well as vibrational fine structure. The vibrational structure in the cluster signal is well reproduced by a theoretical model that assumes independent contributions from inter- and intramolecular modes. The intramolecular contribution to the vibrational line-shape is taken to be equal to that of the monomer in the gas phase, while the intermolecular part is simplified to line broadening. An estimate of the cluster size has been made on the basis of the observed surface-to-bulk intensity ratio.

Theoretical models of lineshapes in Ar2p photoionization spectra have been calculated for free, neutral argon clusters of different sizes. The lineshape models are fitted to experimental spectra and used to estimate the mean cluster size realized in the experiment. The results indicate that size estimators working from stagnation conditions [R. Karnbach, M. Joppien, J. Stapelfeldt, J. Wörmer and T.Möller, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 1993, 64, 2838] may underestimate the mean cluster size.

Models of Cr(III)-silica were used to study C-H activation in ethane by oxidative addition as a possible route to catalytic dehydrogenation. This mechanism involves a formal double oxidation of chromium and a minimum energy crossing point (MECP) was located on the seam between the quartet spin potential energy surface of Cr(III) and the doublet spin potential energy surface of Cr(V). Subsequent to the change of spin state, the C-H activation path passes through a transition state on the doublet potential surface, leading to the formation of an ethylhydridochromium(V) complex. This complex represents only a shallow minimum on the potential energy surface and β-hydrogen transfer to complete the catalytic cycle must therefore take place in the extension of the C-H activation step. The combination of a significant activation energy and a small pre-exponential factor in the rate constant makes C-H activation by oxidative addition an unlikely mechanism for dehydrogenation in this system.

Carbon 1s ionization energies have been measured for 12 halomethanes. These together with earlier measurements provide 27 compounds for investigating the relationship between core-ionization energies and the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens. The ionization energies correlate nearly linearly with the sum of the electronegativities of the halogens attached to the central carbon. Both electronegativity and hardness play important roles in determining the ionization energy, and it is found that the linear relationship between ionization energy and electronegativity arises from an interplay of the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens and the length and ionicity of the carbon−halogen bond.

The carbon 1s photoelectron spectra of cyclohexane, cyclohexene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, and 1,4-cyclohexadiene have been measured. These have been analyzed in terms of a theoretical model of the vibronic structure that includes the effects of the changes in equilibrium geometry that accompany core ionization as well as those of vibronic coupling in the core-ionized molecule. This theoretical approach gives an excellent description of the vibronic structure and makes it possible to identify the contributions of the inequivalent carbon atoms to the spectra. The carbon 1s ionization energies are reported and used in the analysis of photoelectron spectra of adsorbed molecules.

The variation of conductivity with concentration of some onium salts in benzotrifluoride, (1′, 1″, 1″'-trifluoromethylbenzene), BTF, has been studied in the 10−6−10−2 M concentration range. All salts studied display a distinct maximum in the Λ− c 1 2 plots around 1 × 10−5 M preventing Λ° and the degree of dissociation to be determined. The concentration at which Λmax is observed decreases with increasing size of the tetraalkylammonium cations, with decreasing coordinating ability of the anions and with increasing temperature; i.e. with decreasing association constants as deduced from conductivity studies in other solvents. It is suggested that the solvent molecules form pairs or larger aggregates inducing a unique type of solvent-structure-enforced ion-pairing which at very low concentrations will subdue the anticipated increase in the molar conductivity upon further dilution. The presence of head-to-tail anti-parallel dimers in BTF, linked together by F…H interactions, has also been arrived at from quantum chemical calculations. The crystal structure of BTF is not yet known but the crystal structures of some higher-melting compounds like 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzonitrile and 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetonitrile have revealed the presence of weak intermolecular contacts between the fluorine atoms and the aromatic hydrogen atoms but no ππ interactions.

Carbon 1s photoelectron spectra for CF4 and CO have been measured at several photon energies near the carbon 1s threshold. The spectra have been analyzed in terms of the vibrational structure and the natural linewidth. For CO the vibrational structure shows evidence for anharmonicity in both the energy spacing and the intensity. Analysis of the results using an anharmonic model gives an equilibrium bond length for core-ionized CO that is 4.85 pm shorter than that of neutral CO. For CF4, the vibrational structure is very weak, and the analysis shows that the change in equilibrium CF bond length upon ionization is no more than 0.54 pm. Ab initio theoretical calculations give results in accord with these bond-length changes. The unusually small bond-length contraction in CF4 can be understood in terms of nonbonded fluorine–fluorine repulsion. The natural linewidth for core-ionized CO, 95±5 meV, is essentially the same as that of CH4. This result is in contrast with expectations based on the one-center model ...

Vibrational structures of the C1s and N1s photoelectron spectra of gas-phase HCN have been investigated using monochromated third-generation synchrotron radiation. Both spectra exhibit resolved fine structure associated with several vibrationally excited states. In the C1s spectrum a single vibrational progression is observed, while the N1s spectrum is more complex. High-level ab initio calculations were performed to simulate the spectra and the agreement with the experimental results is good. Based on the calculations, the C1s ionisation is found to induce vibrations solely in the CN stretching mode with an energy of 280 meV, while the N1s ionisation generates vibrations also in the CH stretching mode with an energy of about 387 meV, as well as combinations of these two modes.

Prospects of ethylene polymerization over pseudo-octahedral mononuclear Cr(II) sites as well as tetrahedral mononuclear Cr(II)-B sites with a coordinating silanol moiety have been examined by means of cluster models and gradient-corrected density functional theory. For the octahedral site, candidate active sites are considered to arise through reactions between ethylene and chromium. In the case of a Cr(II)-B site, the added complexity of reactive interactions with the coordinating silanol moiety is taken into account. In the case of propagation, emphasis is put on monomer insertion into a chromium–carbon single bond in four-coordinated Cr(IV) species. The mononuclear Cr(II)-B site is found to afford activation through hydrogen transfer from the coordinating silanol group, given that the silica matrix offers a minimum of strain to prepare the structure for ethylene coordination.

Vibrationally resolved C1s photoelectron spectra of benzene and d6-benzene have been recorded using monochromated synchrotron radiation at photon energies of 330 eV. The spectrum of normal benzene displays considerable vibrational structure. Particularly noteworthy is the strong excitation of a combined CCH-bending and CC-stretching mode which splits the main peak into two well-defined maxima. In d6-benzene, the vibrational energy levels are less well separated and the vibrational structure is reduced to strong asymmetry of the main peak and a broad tail extending toward higher ionization energy. The recorded spectra are analyzed using first-principle and curve-fitting procedures. A theoretical model that allows for incomplete localization of the core hole, results in very good fits to the experimental spectra of both benzene and d6-benzene.

Cluster models are constructed for mononuclear Cr(II) and Cr(III) sites as well as dinuclear Cr(II) sites of the reduced Cr/SiO2-based Phillips catalyst. The binding energies and structures of oligocarbonyl complexes formed at these cluster models have been computed using density functional theory. Furthermore, harmonic frequencies and infrared intensities are calculated for the carbonyl stretching modes of these complexes. The resulting parameters are compared to literature spectra of CO-exposed Phillips catalysts and related model systems. A reassignment is proposed for the infrared spectrum of carbon monoxide on the reduced Cr/silica system.

Adiabatic expansion of molecular vapors is a celebrated method for producing pure and mixed clusters of relevance in both applied and fundamental studies. The present understanding of the relationship between experimental conditions and the structure of the clusters formed is incomplete. We explore the role of the backing/carrier gas during adiabatic expansion of ethanol vapors with regard to cluster production and composition. Single-component clusters of ethanol were produced over a wide size-range by varying the rare gas (He, Ar) backing pressure, with Ar being more efficient than He in promoting the formation of pure ethanol clusters. However, at stagnation pressures Ps>1.34(4) bar and temperature 49(2) °C, synchrotron-based valence and inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy reveals condensation of Ar carrier gas on the clusters. Theoretical calculations of cluster geometries as well as chemical shifts in carbon 1s ionization energies confirm that the experimental observations are consistent with an ethanol core covered by an outer shell of argon. Experiments on the 1-propanol/Ar system display a similar pattern as described for ethanol/Ar, indicating a broader range of validity of the results.

The electron effective attenuation length (EAL) in free, neutral ethane clusters has been determined at 40 eV kinetic energy by combining carbon 1s x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical lineshape modeling. More specifically, theory is employed to form model spectra on a grid in cluster size (N) and EAL (λ), allowing N and λ to be determined by optimizing the goodness-of-fit χ(2)(N, λ) between model and observed spectra. Experimentally, the clusters were produced in an adiabatic-expansion setup using helium as the driving gas, spanning a range of 100-600 molecules in mean cluster size. The effective attenuation length was determined to be 8.4 ± 1.9 Å, in good agreement with an independent estimate of 10 Å formed on the basis of molecular electron-scattering data and Monte Carlo simulations. The aggregation state of the clusters as well as the cluster temperature and its importance to the derived EAL value are discussed in some depth.

HCl dissociation in methanol clusters is studied by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and experimentally by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. From theoretical simulations of HCl in oligomers and medium-sized clusters of methanol, two states of solvation are identified for HCl: an intermediate proton-sharing (ion pair) state and a fully dissociated state. Lowering the temperature from 150 to 100 K is found to promote full dissociation over the proton-sharing state. The dissociation of HCl is well reflected in the experimental chlorine 2p photoelectron spectrum recorded for a beam of clusters formed by adiabatic expansion of the vapor over a solution of HCl in methanol. In order to reproduce the observed Cl 2p spectrum by means of theoretical line-shape modeling, one needs to take into account both the intermediate proton-sharing state and the fully dissociated state.

High-resolution molecular X-ray photoelectron spectra of second-row atoms may reveal broadening or even splitting of the 2p 3/2 peak as compared to the 2p 1/2 component of the spectrum. This splitting reflects the lifted degeneracy of atomic 2p orbitals at sites of less than cubic symmetry and is referred to as molecular-field splitting (MFS). The prospect of using second-order Moller–Plesset theory (MP2) for ab initio calculation of the MFS for sulfur 2p 3/2 levels is examined. This method is subsequently applied to compute the MFS in ethynyl, ethenyl, and ethyl sulfur pentafluoride, resulting in values of 80, 116 and 121 meV, respectively. The initial-state contribution to the splitting is analyzed in terms of asymmetry in the electron density at sulfur, on the one hand, and in terms of the sulfur-ligand overlap density and electron density at the groups bonded to sulfur, on the other. At the Koopmans' theorem level of theory, the main source of splitting in the title compounds is found to be s–d hybridization of sulfur. At post-SCF levels of theory, core-valence electron correlation contributes substantially to the MFS, in proportion to the occupational asymmetry of the S3p shell. The realization that mixing of sulfur atomic orbitals of the same parity may add important contributions to the electric-field gradient at the core, resolves the observed diversity in the relative importance of core-valence electron correlation between different classes of sulfur compounds.

Direct insertion of ethylene into the chromium−carbon bond in singly charged bis(imido)chromium(VI) cations has been investigated for n-alkyl and benzyl as starting polymer chains. Frontside coordination of ethylene takes place without activation to give a stable complex. Subsequent insertion into the Cr−alkyl bond requires a free energy of activation of 15 kcal/mol and an even higher barrier in the case of a benzyl ligand. Near the transition state, the reaction coordinate is dominated by inversion of the metal complex. Ethylene coordination in the backside mode requires considerable activation, and the additional increase in free energy through loss of entropy makes direct coordination unlikely. An indirect route to the β-agostic backside π-complex is found by inversion of the corresponding frontside ethylene−chromium complex. This rearrangement takes place via a transition state that has comparable or slightly lower free energy than that of direct insertion starting from the frontside π-complex. Howeve...

Cluster models are constructed for mononuclear Cr(II) sites of the Cr/SiO2 Phillips catalyst for ethylene polymerization, displaying chromium covalently bound to two oxygen ligands. Based on these models, gradient-corrected density functional theory has been used to compare different routes of initiation and chain propagation with respect to structure, thermodynamical, and kinetical properties. It is shown that, for these sites, propagation mechanisms that involve four-coordinated chromium lead to activation energies that are incompatible with high catalytic activity. In the case of a chromacycloalkane intermediate, the relative rates of β-hydrogen transfer and monomer insertion are in agreement with the observed production of 1-hexene during early stages of polymerization. However, the anchoring site needs to be fairly strained before the activation energies drop significantly below 100 kJ/mol. On the other hand, a monoalkylchromium site supports insertion of ethylene into the Cr–alkyl bond according to the Cossee mechanism, with an activation energy of 56 kJ/mol relative to the ethylene–chromium precursor complex.

In order to obtain chemical insight from shifts in core-ionization energies, Δ I , it is often desirable to separate the initial-state contribution, Δ V , from that caused by relaxation in the final state, Δ R . These quantities are related through Δ I =Δ V −Δ R . Whereas the chemical shift itself, Δ I , may be measured very accurately, the scope of the present contribution is to provide a tool for accurate quantification of the initial-state contribution Δ V to the measured shift. Common procedures of estimating Δ V either from Hartree–Fock orbital energies or from electrostatic potentials at nuclear positions are examined. Whereas orbital energies suffer from the neglect of valence-electron correlation, the use of electrostatic potentials does not take proper account of the finite extension of core orbitals. In order to circumvent both of these problems, a reformulation valid for any valence-correlated wave function is presented for V , the energy needed to remove a core electron without relaxation of spectator electrons. The resulting expression may be seen as an extension of Koopmans’ theorem, and reduces to the former in the case of a Hartree–Fock wave function. This extended Koopmans’ theorem is used to compare initial-state effects in X-ray photoelectron spectra for a set of simple hydrocarbons.

The barrier to ethylene insertion into the chromium−methyl bond in Cp(H2O)CrMe+ (1), Cp(THF)CrMe+ (2), Cp(imidazol-2-ylidene)CrMe+ (3), (H2NC2H4C5H4)CrMe+ (4), and (Me2NC2H4C5H4)CrMe+ (5) has been calculated using gradient-corrected density functional theory (DFT) and compared to experimentally recorded activity data for homogeneous Cr(III)-based polymerization catalysts. The lack of correlation between the two data sets shows that the observed differences in activity among these catalysts do not originate from a difference in the ability of the various Cp(donor)CrR+ complexes to instigate the bond-breaking and -forming phases of the Cossee−Arlman-type insertion step. Rather, the superior performance of the donor-substituted Cp−Cr catalysts is probably associated with the enforced proximity of the donor group to the metal, demonstrating the importance of the constant presence of the donor ligand in the inner coordination sphere of the chromium atom. For 5, insertion of a second ethylene molecule has also ...

High-resolution S2p photoelectron spectra have been measured for sulfur dichloride and dimethyl sulfide. By means of efficient fitting procedures and theoretical analyses, the vibrational fine structure has been disentangled from the molecular-field induced splitting of the S2p3/2 core-ionized level. The resulting molecular-field splitting is determined to be 177 meV in the case of SCl2 and 104 meV for (CH3)2S. Ab initio calculations that include core–valence electron correlation are able to reproduce these values to within 3 meV. Theoretical predictions of the molecular-field splitting are presented for a series of related sulfur compounds, SX2, where X=H, NH2, CN, and F.

The geometric structure of nine gaseous molecules obeying the generic formula CrOm(OH)n has been determined by gradient-corrected density functional theory, with good agreement with experimental values where available. Cr−ligand bond energies have been determined for all of the molecules by use of the high-level ab initio method CCSD(T) in conjunction with PCI-X and G2(MP2/CC) extrapolation schemes. In combination with computed harmonic vibrational frequencies, the bond dissociation energies are used to form enthalpies of formation. The resulting set represents the best set of consistent values available for the title molecules.

CrOH(g) is studied for the first time by theory, using accurate configuration interaction (CI) methods in conjunction with large basis sets. The ground and lowest excited state are established for the neutral and singly ionized molecule. The ionization potential is computed to 7.54 ± 0.05 eV, which, when applied to experimental results for CrOH+ [Magnera, T. F.; David, D. E.; Michl, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 4100. Kang, H.; Beauchamp, J. L. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1986, 108, 7502] opens access to experimental data on the bond dissociation energy in Cr−OH. Accurate quantum chemical methods have been applied to the calculation of bond dissociation energies of gaseous CrOH, CrF, and CrO. For the singly bound molecules the values obtained, D0(Cr−OH) = 3.74 ± 0.10 eV and D0(CrF) = 5.04 ± 0.10 eV, constitute the most accurate thermodynamical data available for these compounds. The high accuracy has been realized through the use of a dissociation process which is analogous to electron-attachment induced dissocia...

Direct ethylene insertion for the title Cr(III) system is shown to be a feasible reaction, which suggests that polymerization with the recently developed homogeneous Cr(III)-based catalysts follows...

The PM3(tm) method has been applied to several systems of relevance to catalytic polymerization of olefins, for catalysts containing Ti, Zr or Cr. With some exceptions, PM3(tm) calculations reproduce experimental geometries of stable, closed-shell, precursors well. For stationary points along the path of monomer insertion into a metal-alkyl bond, the comparison is made to structures obtained by optimization using various first-principle methods. Large errors are uncovered for the transient structures, in particular pertaining to metal-ethylene coordination and agostic interactions. The energy profiles for four insertion reactions are computed by gradient-corrected density functional (DFTG) methods, using molecular structures taken from PM3(tm) and first-principle geometry optimizations, respectively. The chromium case is promising, giving values for the barrier to monomer insertion of 11 and 9 kcal/mol based on PM3(tm) and DFTG geometries, respectively. The Ti- and Zr-based systems are predicted to proceed downhill based on PM3(tm) structures, whereas small barriers are found when using first-principle structures. A hybrid PM3(tm)-DFTG procedure is suggested for geometry optimization, which facilitates an accurate estimate of the barrier when applied to one of the zirconium systems.

The structure of molecular clusters of diameters at or below a nanometer is important both in nucleation phenomena and potentially for the preparation and application of nanoparticles. Little is known about the relationship between the structure and composition of the cluster and about the interplay between cluster composition, size, and temperature. The present project explores how the structure of mixed CH3OH/CCl4 clusters vary with composition and size; implicitly by changing the amount of noncondensing backing gas and thus the capacity to remove heat during cluster condensation, and explicitly through theoretical models. Experimentally, molecular clusters were produced by coexpansion of helium and a vapor of azeotropic methanol/tetrachloromethane composition in a supersonic nozzle flow. The clusters were subsequently characterized by means of carbon 1s photoelectron spectroscopy. Additional information was obtained by molecular-dynamics simulations of clusters at 3 different sizes, 4 different compositions and several temperatures, and using polarizable force fields. Mixed clusters were indeed obtained in the coexpansion experiments. The clusters show an increasing degree of surface coverage by methanol as the backing pressure is lowered, and at the lowest helium pressure the cluster signal from tetrachloromethane has almost vanished. The MD simulations show a gradual change in cluster structure with increasing methanol contents, from that of isolated rings of methanol at the surface of a tetrachloromethane core, to a contiguous methanol cap covering more than half of the cluster surface, to that of subclusters of tetrachloromethane submerged in a methanol environment. Both experimental and computational results support a thermodynamical driving force for methanol to dominate the surface structure of the mixed clusters. At high helium pressure, the growing clusters may cool efficiently, possibly impeding the diffusion of methanol to the surface. At low helium pressure, methanol is completely dominating the outermost few layers of the clusters, possibly in parts caused by preferential loss of tetrachloromethane through evaporative cooling.

Carbon 1s photoelectron spectra for 2-butyne (CH3C CCH3) measured in the photon energy range from threshold to 150 eV above threshold show oscillations in the intensity ratio C2,3/C1,4. Similar oscillations have been seen in chloroethanes, where the effect has been attributed to EXAFS-type scattering from the substituent chlorine atoms. In 2-butyne, however, there is no high-Z atom to provide a scattering center and, hence, oscillations of the magnitude observed are surprising. The results have been analyzed in terms of two different theoretical models: a density-functional model with B-spline atom-centered functions to represent the continuum electrons and a multiple-scattering model using muffin-tin potentials to represent the scattering centers. Both methods give a reasonable description of the energy dependence of the intensity ratios.

Mixed CH(4)/CF(4) clusters as well as pure clusters of CF(4) were produced by adiabatic expansion and studied by carbon 1s (C1s) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Evidence is presented that CH(4) and CF(4) do indeed form binary clusters in CH(4)/CF(4) coexpansion experiments and that these clusters exhibit radial structure; i.e., CF(4) is primarily found in the bulk. The interpretation of the photoelectron spectra is supported by calculations of C1s ionization energies based on theoretical clusters models.

A summary of properties of water-in-crude oil emulsions from the Norwegian Continental Shelf or model water-in-oil emulsions is given. A separation method for the indigenous surface active crude oil components based on adsorption/extraction was developed. These components and their films were characterized by M w determinations, FT-IR, Langmuir-Blodgett, surface/interfacial tension, dielectric spectroscopy and interactions with chemical destabilizers. The stability/instability properties of authentic water-in-crude oil emulsions can be reproduced by model W/O emulsions stabilized by the interfacially active crude oil fraction. Processes inside the water droplets and at the W/O interface taking place upon destabilization were followed by means of dielectric spectroscopy.

Binary mixed monomolecular films of poly(benzyl-methacrylate) and arachidic acid at the water/air interface have been studied with respect to compatibility and stability. The surface pressure — area isotherms indicate compatibility of the two components. However, the miscible state is unstable at high surface pressures. This is demonstrated by the constant pressure relaxation of the mixtures. There is a mechanism of separation and nucleation of the arachidic acid from the film for mixtures with high polymer content at a surface pressure of 30 mN/m. For lower concentrations of polymer in the mixtures and at a surface pressure of 20 mN/m the fatty acid is stabilized by the polymer.