Towards an accurate molecular orbital theory for excited states : Ethene, butadiene, and hexatriene

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 ele…

Elementary presentation of self‐consistent intermediate Hamiltonians and proposal of two totally dressed singles and doubles configuration interaction methods

Intermediate Hamiltonians are effective Hamiltonians which are defined on an N‐dimensional model space but which only provide n<N exact eigenvalues and the projections of the corresponding eigenvectors onto the model space. For a single root research, the intermediate Hamiltonian may be obtained from the restriction of the Hamiltonian to the model space by an appropriate, uniquely defined dressing of the diagonal energies or of the first column. Approximate self‐consistent dressings may be proposed. The simplest perturbative form gives the same result as the original 2nd order intermediate Hamiltonian or the ‘‘shifted Bk’’ technique but it is of easier implementation. Self‐consistent inclus…

G2(MP2) study of the substituent effects in the H3BXHnMe3−n (X=N, P; n=0–3) donor–acceptor complexes

Abstract The complexation energies of H 3 BXH n Me 3− n (X=N, P; n =0–3) donor–acceptor complexes have been investigated at the G2(MP2) level of theory. MP2(Full)/6-31G(d) optimized geometries and G2(MP2) calculated complexation energies are in good agreement with experiment. Increasing methyl substitutions on `X' donor atom augments both the basicity of XH n Me 3− n Lewis bases and the stability of complex. The NBO partitioning scheme suggests that there is no correlation between the charge transfer and the complexation energies.

Comparative G2(MP2) molecular orbital study of [H 3 AlX(CH 3 ) 2 ] − (X=N, P, and As) and H 3 AlY(CH 3 ) 2 (Y=O, S, and Se) donor–acceptor complexes

Abstract [H3AlX(CH3)2]− (X=N, P, and As) and H3AlY(CH3)2 (Y=O, S, and Se) donor–acceptor complexes have been studied using G2(MP2) level of theory. The coordination mode, the structural and the methyl substitution effects upon complexation are analyzed. The interaction of the alane with the donor ligand is stronger in the anionic complexes than in the neutral ones and the methylated complexes are more stable than the hydrogenated ones. The coordination is ensured by tow interactions having a reverse character: interaction between a′ symmetry fragment molecular orbital (stabilizing) and interaction between a″ symmetry occupied molecular orbital (destabilizing) of the two fragments. A linear …

Fate of several hydroxyalkyl isoprene radicals: Formation of hydroxycarbonyl compounds

Abstract The fate of two hydroxyalkyl radicals derived from the oxidation of isoprene with OH radical, resulting in the formation of two hydroxycarbonyls, was investigated by means of theoretical quantum chemistry methods. All the stationary points were optimised at the UMP2/6-31G(d) level, and high-level ab initio calculations were performed at the QCISD(T)/6-31G(d) level of computation upon MP2 optimised structures in order to refine the energy of the molecules characterised. Our results show that the reaction of hydroxyalkyl radicals with O 2 is a very favoured pathway that explains the formation of the two hydroxycarbonyls optimised.

MCSCF determination of the KO molecule ground state.

Abstract Ab initio calculations at the MC/CASSCF level are used to determine in an accurate way the nature and position of the ground state of the KO molecule. The characteristic 2 Π and 2 Σ + alkali monoxide ionic states show a theoretical energy separation of about 0.04 eV, which produces opposite results by authors in favour of one or the other symmetry. We test the basis set dependence and active space dependence of the calculated energetical ordering of both states, with an extensive study of the active orbitais selection; the results show a ground state of 2 Σ + symmetry.

The chemical bonds in CuH, Cu2, NiH, and Ni2 studied with multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory

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@…

Substituent effect on ammonia–borane donor–acceptor complexes: a G2(MP2) molecular orbital study

Abstract H3BNHnMe3−n and Me3−nHnBNH3 (n=0–3) donor–acceptor complexes have been studied using the G2(MP2) method. Predicted equilibrium structures and dissociation energies have been correlated to the degree of substitution on the donor and the acceptor separately. It is found that successive methyl substitutions on boron reduce the dissociation energies of the complexes, contrary to the successive substitutions on nitrogen. The NBO partitioning scheme suggests that there is no correlation between the charge transfer and the dissociation energies. These results are interpreted in terms of the changes in the HOMO−LUMO gap, the type of acceptor and donor involved, and distortion of the accept…

Vertical spectrum of ethene: uncontracted versus contracted correlation methods and the role of the adapted molecular orbitals

Abstract Ethylene vertical excitation energies (VEE) below 9.5 eV have been calculated with the complete active-space singles and doubles configuration interaction self-consistent size-consistent dressing (SC) 2 CAS–SDCI. The mean of the absolute deviation from experiment for the calculated VEE are 0.14, 0.05 and 0.03 eV for three different molecular orbital (MO) sets tried. The results show that an uncontracted method and a realistic MO set avoid the difficulties present in the calculation of the strongly mixed Rydberg-valence 1B 1u states.

A G2 study of H3BXHn (X=N, O, F, P, S, and Cl) donor–acceptor complexes

Abstract Complexation energies of H3BXHn complexes (X=N, O, F, P, S, and Cl; n=1, 2, 3) have been computed at the G2 level of theory. G2 results show that the H3BXH3 (X=N, P) complexes are more stable than H3BXH2 (X=O, S) and H3BXH (X=F, Cl) ones. This stability was related completely either to the nature of donor compounds, and to the pyramidalization of the monoborane. Two linear correlations were established. The first one is between experimental proton affinity of the XHn donor compounds, and complexation energies of the H3BXHn complexes. The second correlation is between the ∠HBH bond angles and the complexation energies of the H3BXHn complexes calculated at the G2 level of theory.

Ab initio molecular orbital study of the substituent effect on ammonia and phosphine–borane complexes

Abstract The complexation energies of H 3 BXH 3− n F n ( X =N, P; n =0–3) and the proton affinities of XH 3– n F n compounds have been investigated at the G2(MP2) level of theory. The G2(MP2) results show that the phosphine complexes are more stable than the corresponding ammonia ones. Increasing fluorine substitution on nitrogen atom reduces both the basicity of NH 3− n F n and the stability of ammonia complexes. For the phosphine complexes, the successive fluorine substitution on the phosphine increase the stability of H 3 BPH 3− n F n complexes although the reduction of the basicity of the PH 3– n F n ligands with this substitution. The NBO partitioning scheme shows that the stability of…

Totally dressed SDCI calculations: An application to HF and F2

A previously proposed procedure including the linked and unlinked contributions due to Triple and Quadruple excitations into a size-consistent SDCI-like model has been applied to HF and F2 single-bond systems. The procedure is a non-iterative approximation to the more general total dressing model, which is based on the intermediate Hamiltonians theory. Three basis sets have been employed: the correlation consistent cc-pVTZ basis, a similar one including 3d1f polarization functions, and another including one set of g polarization functions. Excellent agreement with experiment and high-quality calculations is obtained for both equilibrium distances and spectroscopic constants. The possibiliti…

Enthalpies of formation of isoprene’s major oxidation byproducts

Abstract The theoretical enthalpies of formation ( Δ f H 298 . 15 ∘ ) of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK, CH 2 CHC(O)CH 3 ), methacrolein (MACR, CH 2 C(CH 3 )CHO), and the radical products formed in their corresponding OH radical oxidations have been calculated with DFT (MPW1K/6-31+G(d,p)) and multilevel (MCCM-UT-CCSD(T)//MPW1K/6-31+G(d,p)) methods. The bond dissociation energies ( BDE , DH 298 . 15 0 ) of the H-atoms that can be abstracted from the MVK and MACR molecules, and the C–O forming bonds of the OH addition products are also calculated. The regioselectivity of the global reaction is discussed in terms of bond strength.

Ab initio molecular orbital study of the substituent effect on phosphine–borane complexes

Abstract Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to study the substituent effect on H 3 BPH n Me 3− n and Me 3− n H n BPH 3 ( n =0–3) phosphine–borane complexes. The ab initio results show that successive methyl substitution on the phosphine favours complex formation, contrary to successive methyl substitution on the borane. The natural bond orbitals partitioning scheme suggests that, in general, there is no correlation between the charge transfer and the complexation energies. It also shows the shortening of the P–H and P–C bond lengths, upon complexation, is due to the increasing `s' character of these bonds.

Ab Initio Study on the Mechanism of Tropospheric Reactions of the Nitrate Radical with Haloalkenes:  Chloroethene

Dissociation energies within selected configuration interaction and perturbation theory

Abstract Selected configuration interaction (CI) calculations and second-order perturbational theory are used to truncate systematically multireference single and double excitation CI (MRCI) expansions in the calculation of the bond dissociation energies of several systems like the single-bonded LiF molecule or the multiple-bonded N2, NO and O2 diatomic systems. The method is extended to compute the CH bond dissociation energy ofethene C2H4. It is shown how the proposed scheme (perturbation-selected MRCI (MRCI-PS)) is able to reproduce the accuracy of complete MRCI expansions with only a small number of configurations variationally evaluated.

Ab Initio Study on the Mechanism of the Reactions of the Nitrate Radical with Haloalkenes:  1,2-Dichloroethene, 1,1-Dichloroethene, Trichloroethene, and Tetrachloroethene

A general mechanism for the reactions of the NO3 radical with 1,2-dichloroethene, 1,1-dichloroethene, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene is proposed from ab initio DFT calculations. The calculated mechanism shows three main parallel reaction pathways. For the systems where the two carbon atoms are differently substituted, the study includes both the attacks with Markownikoff and contra-Markownikoff orientation. The first reaction pathway leads to the formation of an epoxide along with the NO2 radical, the second one to the formation of carbonyl compounds, and the third one leads, through the cleavage of the C−C bond, to the formation of carbonyl compounds with a lower number of carbon a…

Ab initiostudy of the mechanism of the atmospheric reaction: NO2+ O3→ NO3+ O2

The atmospheric reaction NO2 + O3 --> NO3 + O2 (1) has been investigated theoretically by using the MP2, G2, G2Q, QCISD, QCISD(T), CCSD(T), CASSCF, and CASPT2 methods with various basis sets. The results show that the reaction pathway can be divided in two different parts at the MP2 level of theory. At this level, the mechanism proceeds along two transition states (TS1 and TS2) separated by an intermediate, designated as A. However, when the single-reference higher correlated QCISD methodology has been employed, the minimum A and the transition state TS2 are not found on the hypersurface of potential energy, which confirms a direct reaction mechanism. Single-reference high correlated and mu…

On the dissociation energy of Cu2 and CuH using a differential correlation approach

The energy contributions involved in the “dissociation-consistent configuration interaction” (DCCI) scheme proposed by Goddard and co-workers plus the dispersion effects associated with the valence MOs adjacent to the bond (DISP) are evaluated for the Cu2 and CuH systems, following the “configuration interaction by perturbation with multiconfigurational zeroth-order wavefunction selected by iterative process” (CIPSI) algorithm. Using a relativistic pseudopotential to represent the neon core of copper, and a flexible basis set for the valence shell, the results obtained with the CIPSI/DCCI (+ DISP) approach shows a good agreement with previous theoretical results employing basis sets of simi…

Ab initio study on the mechanism of the HCO+O2→HO2+CO reaction

Abstract The gas-phase reaction HCO+O 2 →CO+HO 2 has been investigated by means of ab initio calculations. The mechanism can proceed through either a direct hydrogen abstraction or addition of O 2 to the formyl radical. The energy barriers calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-311G(2df,2p) level of theory upon QCISD/6-311G(d,p) optimized structures are, respectively, of 2.98 kcal mol −1 for the direct abstraction and of 2.26 kcal mol −1 for the addition. Thus, the results obtained show that there is not a dominant pathway in the HCO+O 2 reaction under atmospheric conditions of temperature and pressure.

Size-consistent single-reference methods for electronic correlation: a unified formulation through intermediate hamiltonian theory

Using the intermediate hamiltonian theory as a unique conceptual frame and the technique of CI matrix dressing, a wide series of single-reference methods for the treatment of the ground state correlation are reviewed, compared, and sometimes improved. These methods range from independent excitation approximation (the very next step beyond MP2) to coupled cluster, going through the so-called electron pair approximations and the (SC)2CI formalism. A hierarchy of these methods can be established according to two criteria: These formulations in terms of diagonalizations of dressed CI matrices avoid convergence problems, but their main advantage is their flexibility, since they apply to multi-re…

Size-consistent self-consistent configuration interaction from a complete active space : Excited states

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

An ab initio CI study on the rotational barrier of the allyl anion

All-electron and pseudopotential non-empirical calculations have been performed on C 2v and C s (syn, anti) allyl anion conformations. Using a double-zeta valence-shell basis set within the Epstein-Nesbet definition of the unperturbed Hamiltonian, a value about 19 kcal/mol is found for the barrier to rotation of the allyl anion. This value is the theoretical value obtained with greater accuracy, and the lowest one for the rotational barrier.

ChemInform Abstract: Comparative G2(MP2) Molecular Orbital Study of B3H7XH3 and H3BXH3 Donor-Acceptor Complexes (X: N, P, and As).

B3H7XH3 and H3BXH3 (X = N, P, and As) have been studied as donor−acceptor complex type at the G2(MP2) level of theory. Both single- and double-bridged structures of B3H7 Lewis acid are taken into account. Although the double-bridged structure is energetically favored in the isolated state, the coordination prefers the single-bridged one. The monoborane adducts adopt the staggered arrangement with C3v symmetry. The energetic analysis by natural bond orbital theory shows that the decrease of hyperconjugative contribution upon complexation in the B3H7 moiety has, as consequence, a loss of symmetry for B3H7XH3 (X= P and As) complexes. In the two series, the coordination is the result of two opp…

Ab initio study on the mechanism of the atmospheric reaction OH + O3--HO2 + O2.

The atmospheric reaction (1) OH + O 3 → + O 2 was investigated theoretically by using MP2, QCISD, QCISD(T), and CCSD(T) methods with various basis sets. At the highest level of theory, namely, QCISD, the reaction is direct, with only one transition state between reactants and products. However, at the MP2 level, the reaction proceeds through a two-step mechanism and shows two transition states, TS1 and TS2, separated by an intermediate, Int. The different methodologies employed in this paper consistently predict the barrier height of reaction (1) to be within the range 2.16 - 5.11 kcal mol -1 , somewhat higher than the experimental value of 2.0 kcal mol -1 .

Interacting induced dipoles polarization model for molecular polarizabilities. Reference molecules, amino acids and model peptides

Abstract We outline a method for the calculation of molecular dipole ( μ ) and quadrupole ( Θ = ) moments and dipole–dipole polarizabilities ( α = ) which we have successfully applied to a series of reference molecules, amino acids and model peptides. The results for μ are in line with CPHF reference calculations. In particular, the calculated positive value of CO is in agreement with both experimental and CI calculations. The computation of ( α = ) has been performed by the interacting induced dipoles polarization model that calculates tensor effective anisotropic point polarizabilities (method of Applequist et al.). The POLAR program cannot be used as a black box. Some tests should be per…

Theoretical study of the low‐lying states of trans‐1,3‐butadiene

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 …

Comparative G2(MP2) Molecular Orbital Study of B3H7XH3 and H3BXH3 Donor−Acceptor Complexes (X = N, P, and As)

B3H7XH3 and H3BXH3 (X = N, P, and As) have been studied as donor−acceptor complex type at the G2(MP2) level of theory. Both single- and double-bridged structures of B3H7 Lewis acid are taken into account. Although the double-bridged structure is energetically favored in the isolated state, the coordination prefers the single-bridged one. The monoborane adducts adopt the staggered arrangement with C3v symmetry. The energetic analysis by natural bond orbital theory shows that the decrease of hyperconjugative contribution upon complexation in the B3H7 moiety has, as consequence, a loss of symmetry for B3H7XH3 (X= P and As) complexes. In the two series, the coordination is the result of two opp…

MINDO/3 Study of the Rearrangement of 1-Methylcyclohexyl Cation to 1,2-Dimethylcyclopentyl Cation

The rearrangement of the 1-methylcyclohexyl cation to the 1,2-dimethylcyclopentyl cation has been studied by MINDO/3 calculations, as an application of the branching mechanism model for cycloalkanes. Possible intermediates and transition states have been characterized by diagonalization of their Hessian matrixes. Two nonequivalent pathways, α and β scissions, are relatively close in energy. The calculated transition states are almost equivalent in energy to those found for cyclohexyl cation. Hence, the energy barriers are higher for the rearrangement of the 1-methyl than for cyclohexyl cation, because the former is less stable than the latter.

Interacting induced dipoles polarization model for molecular polarizabilities: application to benzothiazole (A)-benzobisthiazole (B) oligomers AB13A

Abstract We have outlined a method for the calculation of atomic net charges and molecular dipole-dipole,  α , dipole-quadrupole,  A , and quadrupole-quadrupole,  C , polarizabilities which we have successfully applied to benzothiazole (A)-benzobisthiazole (B) oligomers in the series AB1A to AB13A, and the results have been extrapolated to give predictions for polybenzobisthiazole. The calculation of  α ,  A and  C has been carried out by the interacting induced dipoles polarization model that calculates tensor effective anisotropic point polarizabilities (method of Applequist). The mean effective atomic αeffpolarizabilities for the monomeric unit are of the same order of magnitud…

Thermochemical analysis of the OH+C2H4→C2H4OH reaction using accurate theoretical methods

Abstract The radical addition of hydroxyl radical to ethene has been investigated using ab initio methods and density functional theory. The structure and energetics of reactants, prereaction complex, transition state structure and radical product have been optimized and vibrational frequencies have been calculated at the HF, MP2, B88, and B3LYP level using 6-31G* and 6-311G** basis sets. The energetics of the reaction is characterized within the MP2, DFT, G2, CBS, and BAC approaches. The evolution of the barrier height and reaction enthalpy has been systematically investigated with respect to the methodological approach employed. The best agreement with experimental results for the barrier…

Methyl vinyl ketone+OH and methacrolein+OH oxidation reactions: a master equation analysis of the pressure- and temperature-dependent rate constants.

High-level electronic structure calculations and master equation analyses were carried out to obtain the pressure- and temperature-dependent rate constants of the methyl vinyl ketone+OH and methacrolein+OH reactions. The balance between the OH addition reactions at the high-pressure limit, the OH addition reactions in the fall-off region, and the pressure-independent hydrogen abstractions involved in these multiwell and multichannel systems, has been shown to be crucial to understand the pressure and temperature dependence of each global reaction. In particular, the fall-off region of the OH addition reactions contributes to the inverse temperature dependence of the rate constants in the Ar…

Ab Initio Study on the Mechanism of Tropospheric Reactions of the Nitrate Radical with Alkenes:  Propene

An Ab Initio Study on the Mechanism of the Atmospheric Reaction NH2+O3→H2NO+O2

The atmospheric reaction NH 2 +0 3 →H 2 NO+O 2 has been investigated theoretically by using MP2, QCISD, QCISD(T), CCSD(T), CASSCF, and CASPT2 methods with various basis sets. At the MP2 level or theory, the hypersurface of the potential energy (HPES) shows a two step reaction mechanism. Therefore, the mechanism proceeds along two transition states (TS1 and TS2), seperated by an intermediate disignated as Int. However, when the single-reference higler correlated QCISD and the multiconfigurational CASSCF methodologies have been employed, the minimum structure Int and TS2 are not found on the HPES, which thus confirms a direct reaction mechanism. Single-reference high correlated and multiconfi…

Theoretical study of the OH addition to the endocyclic and exocyclic double bonds of the d-limonene

Abstract The initial step of the d-limonene + OH gas-phase reaction mechanism was investigated by means of ab initio calculations. We have considered eight different possibilities for the OH addition, corresponding to the two C–C double bonds, the two C atoms of each double bond, and the syn or anti orientation, with respect to the isopropenyl group (endocyclic attack) or the ring cycle (exocyclic attack). Activation energies calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-31G(d)//UMP2/6-31G(d) level, show that there are preferred orientations for the OH addition under atmospheric conditions of temperature and pressure.

DFT Theoretical Study on the Reaction Mechanism of the Nitrate Radical with Alkenes:  2-Butene, Isobutene, 2-Methyl-2-butene, and 2,3-Dimethyl-2-butene

A general mechanism for the reactions of the NO3 radical with 2-butene, isobutene, 2-methyl-2-butene, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene is proposed on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculati...

Characterizing cavities in model inclusion molecules: a comparative study

We have selected fullerene-60 and -70 cavities as model systems in order to test several methods for characterizing inclusion molecules. The methods are based on different technical foundations such as a square and triangular tessellation of the molecule taken as a unitary sphere, spherical tessellation of the molecular surface, numerical integration of the atomic volumes and surfaces, triangular tessellation of the molecular surface, and a cubic lattice approach to a molecular space. Accurate measures of the molecular volume and surface area have been performed with the pseudo-random Monte Carlo (MCVS) and uniform Monte Carlo (UMCVS) methods. These calculations serve as a reference for the…

G2(MP2) molecular orbital study of the substituent effect in the H3BPH3−nFn (n=0–3) donor–acceptor complexes

Abstract The complexation energies of H3BPH3−nFn (n=0–3) and the proton affinities of PH3−nFn compounds have been investigated at the G2(MP2) level of theory. G2(MP2) results show that the successive fluorine substitution on the phosphine increases the stability of H3BPH3−nFn complexes although the basicity of the PH3−nFn ligands reduces with this substitution. The NBO partitioning scheme shows that this stability was related to the hyperconjugation effect. It proves also that the shortening of the P–H and P–F bond lengths, upon complexation, is due to an increasing `s' character in these bonds.

A mutliconfigurational study of low-lying electronic states of KO

Abstract Potential energy curves and spectroscopic parameters of several electronic states of the KO molecule have been calculated using multi-configurational methods. The KO B 2Π state, first time theoretically described, presents a strong avoided crossing with the A 2Π state, and allows for the explanation of the observed fluorescence of the KO molecule. Eleven electronic states have been studied at all the internuclear distances. Effects of complete active space and basis set selections on the results are also analyzed.

A theoreticalab initiostudy on the H2NO + O3reaction

The deviation of the NH2 pseudo-first-order decay Arrhenius plots of the NH2 + O3 reaction at high ozone pressures measured by experimentalists, has been attributed to the regeneration of NH2 radicals due to the subsequent reactions of the products of this reaction with ozone. Although these products have not yet been characterized experimentally, the radical H2NO has been postulated, because it can regenerate NH2 radicals through the reactions: H2NO + O3 NH2 + O2 and H2NO + O3 HNO + OH + O2. With the purpose of providing a reasonable explanation from a theoretical point of view to the kinetic observed behaviour of the NH2 + O3 system, we have carried ab initio electronic structure calculat…

A G2(MP2) theoretical study of substituent effects on H3BNHnCl3−n (n= 3-0) donor-acceptor complexes

Abstract The complexation energies of H3BNHnCl3−n (n= 3-0) complexes and the proton affinities of NHnCl3−n compounds have been computed at the G2(MP2) level of theory. G2(MP2) results show that the successive chlorine substitution on the ammonia decreases both the basicity of the NHnCl3−n ligands and the stability of H3BNHnCl3−n complexes. The findings are interpreted in terms of the rehybridisation of the nitrogen lone-pair orbital. The NBO partitioning scheme shows that the variation of the N-H and N-Cl bond lengths, upon complexation, is due to variation of “s” character in these bonds.

Torsional effects on the molecular polarizabilities of the benzothiazole (A)-benzobisthiazole (B) oligomer A-B13-A

Abstract We outline a method for the calculation of multipole moments and molecular dipole-dipole ( ), dipole-quadrupole ( ), and quadrupole-quadrupole ( ) polarizabilities, which we have successfully applied to benzothiazole (A)-benzobisthiazole (B) oligomer A-B13-A. Three model rotational isomers have been characterized: (1) the fully planar (000) rotational isomer; (2) a conformation with each unit rotated 10° in the alternate direction (+−+), and (3) a rotational isomer with each unit rotated 10° in the same direction (+++). The dipole moment, μ , is smaller for isomers 000 and +−+ than for isomer +++. The calculation of , , and has been performed by use of the interacting induced dipol…

Theoretical study of the OH addition to the β-pinene

The initial step of the mechanism of the OH + β-pinene gas-phase reaction was investigated by means of ab initio calculations. Four different possibilities for the OH addition to the double bond are discussed, corresponding to the addition on each C atom of the double bond, and for each one, either the syn or anti OH attack to the two methyl groups on the (bi)cyclic molecule. Energy barriers calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-31G(d) level of theory on UMP2/6-31G(d) optimised structures, show that there are preferred orientations for the OH addition under atmospheric conditions of temperature and pressure.

Selected dissociation‐ and correlation‐consistent configuration interaction by a perturbative criterion

We propose a perturbative criterion to select the most important dissociation‐ or correlation‐consistent type of contributions to perform generalized valence bond‐configuration interaction (GVB‐CI) calculations, dissociation‐consistent configuration interaction (DCCI) or correlation‐consistent configuration interaction (CCCI) approach, respectively. The procedure presented is computationally less demanding than the CCCI proposed by Goddard and co‐workers. To ensure the distance consistency of the MOs used, the nonvalence virtual orbitals are obtained by a projection technique. The results obtained for a few test calculations show the ability of the suggested approach to get close results to…

Diagonalization of large matrices: a new parallel algorithm.

On the basis of a dressed matrices formalism, a new algorithm has been devised for obtaining the lowest eigenvalue and the corresponding eigenvector of large real symmetric matrices. Given an N × N matrix, the proposed algorithm consists in the diagonalization of (N - 1)2 × 2 dressed matrices. Both sequential and parallel versions of the proposed algorithm have been implemented. Tests have been performed on a Hilbert matrix, and the results show that this algorithm is up 340 times faster than the corresponding LAPACK routine for N = 10(4) and about 10% faster than the Davidson method. The parallel MPI version has been tested using up to 512 nodes. The speed-up for a N = 10(6) matrix is fair…

An ab initio study on the mechanism of the F+O3→FO+O2 reaction: comparative reactivity study along the isoelectronic NH2, OH and F radicals series

Abstract The title reaction has been theoretically studied by using MP2, QCISD, QCISD(T), CCSD(T), CASSCF, and CASPT2 methods with various basis sets. At single-reference MP2 and QCISD levels of theory, the potential energy hypersurface (HPES) shows a two-step reaction mechanism through two transition states (TS1 and TS2) and an intermediate (Int). However, the multiconfigurational CASSCF HPES shows a one-step reaction mechanism, as was previously found for the NH2 + O3 and OH + O3 reactions. The results show that the reactivity of the isoelectronic series of NH2, OH, and F radicals increases from the amino radical to the fluorine atom.

Ab Initio Study of the Mechanism and Thermochemistry of the Atmospheric Reaction NO + O3 → NO2 + O2

The atmospheric reaction between NO and ozone has been investigated using ab initio methods. The structures of all reactants, products, intermediates, and transition states of reaction 1 have been optimized and characterized at the UMP2(full) level of theory. The 6-31G(d), 6-311G(d), and 6-311G(df) basis sets have also been used to calibrate the effect of the basis set functions on the optimized structures and energies of all stationary points. Finally, we have reoptimized at the UMP4(SDQ, full)/6-31G(d) and 6-311G(d) levels. The energetics of the reaction has been studied more accurately within the G2 and G2(MP2) schemes. Also, QCISD(T)/6-311G(d) single-point calculations have been perform…

Theoretical study of the formation reaction of the methyl vinyl ketone: A conformational approach

The formation reaction of both isomers of the methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) from the corresponding alkoxy radicals was investigated by means of theoretical methods based on quantum chemistry. Perturbative unrestricted Moller–Plesset (UMP2) and density functional methods B3LYP and BH and HLYP were used to obtain the stationary points on the potential energy surface. In addition to this, the interconversion reaction between both isomers of the MVK was studied, characterizing the corresponding transition state. A conformational study was done, and the energy and geometry of the stationary points located were analyzed by means of ab initio calculations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum …

Analysis of the CIPSI/DCCI approach to characterize the HF AND F2 single bond

Abstract The aim of the present work is to account for the main differential correlation contributions occurring during the bond breaking process of HF and F2 molecules in an accurate and inexpensive way. Starting from the dissociation-consistent configuration interaction (DCCI) scheme by Goddard and co-workers the corresponding contributions are evaluated within the framework reported by Malrieu and co-workers, namely configuration interaction by perturbation with multiconfigurational zeroth-order wavefunction selected by iterative process (CIPSI). In addition, the DCCI scheme has been improved by introducing the dispersion effects associated with the valence MOs adjacent to the bond. The …

Pressure dependence in the methyl vinyl ketone + OH and methacrolein + OH oxidation reactions: an electronic structure study.

High-level electronic structure calculations were carried out for the study of the reaction pathways in the OH-initiated oxidations of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). For the two conformers of MVK (called synperiplanar and antiperiplanar), the addition channels of OH to the terminal and central carbon atom of the double bond dominate the overall rate constant, whereas the abstraction of the methyl hydrogen atoms has no significant kinetic role. In the case of MACR, only the antiperiplanar conformer is important in its reactivity. In addition, the lower Gibbs free energy barrier for MACR corresponds to the aldehydic hydrogen abstraction reaction, which will be somewhat mor…

Self‐consistent intermediate Hamiltonians : A coupled cluster type formulation of the singles and doubles configuration interaction matrix dressing

This paper presents a new self‐consistent dressing of a singles and doubles configuration interaction matrix which insures size‐consistency, separability into closed‐shell subsystems if localized molecular orbitals (MOs) are used, and which includes all fourth order corrections. This method yields, among several schemes, a reformulation of the coupled cluster method, including fully the cluster operators of single and double excitations, and partially those of the triples (Bartlett’s algorithm named CCSDT‐1a). Further improvement can be easily included by adding exclusion principle violating corrections. Since it leads to a matrix diagonalization, the method behaves correctly in case of nea…

Theoretical ab initio study of the vinylcarbene-CuO complex: application to last step of the propylene partial oxidation mechanism on Cu2O

Abstract Using non-empirical pseudopotentials, we have performed a theoretical study on the last step of the propylene partial oxidation mechanism, the acrolein desorption from the catalyst surface. To represent the catalyst we have used a simplified model of a catalyst active site. We have study the C 3 H 4 CuO complex, analysing the dissociation process of the oxygenated complex from a metallic centre. The results indicate that this complex dissociates into cis - and trans -acrolein and a metal site, in a process without energetic barrier.

Universal model for the calculation of all organic solvent–water partition coefficients

Abstract We present the basis for building a universal organic solvation model to calculate solubility in any organic solvent and in water, as well as the organic solvent–water partition coefficient ( P ). Log P values are of the same order of magnitude as reference calculations but for a few cases which are discussed. Normalized log P contributions are sensitive to the rest of the atoms. When comparing porphin with phthalocyanine, the latter results in an amphipathic molecule. For C 70 , the contribution of a–e carbons to log P correlates with the distances from the nearest pentagon. The method has been also applied to benzobisthiazole oligomers and phenyl alcohols.

A CI study of the CuCO and CuCO+ complexes

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 remai…

Theoretical spectroscopic parameters of the alkali monofluorides LiF, NaF and KF

Abstract Multireference configuration interaction and second-order perturbation theory are used to determine accurate spectroscopic parameters for the ground state of the alkali monofluorides from LiF to KF. Systematic saturation of the spdf subspaces of the atomic basis sets for the electron affinity of fluorine and the ionization potential of the metals have been shown to be more efficient than for the approximate dissociation energies in the molecule. the calculated rotational and vibrational constants and transitions for the three systems show excellent agreement with the expeirmental data.

ChemInform Abstract: An ab initio CI Study on the Rotational Barrier of the Allyl Anion.

All-electron and pseudopotential non-empirical calculations have been performed on C 2v and C s (syn, anti) allyl anion conformations. Using a double-zeta valence-shell basis set within the Epstein-Nesbet definition of the unperturbed Hamiltonian, a value about 19 kcal/mol is found for the barrier to rotation of the allyl anion. This value is the theoretical value obtained with greater accuracy, and the lowest one for the rotational barrier.

Use of parallel computing to improve the accuracy of calculated molecular properties

Calculation of electron correlation energy in molecules is unavoidable in accurate studies of chemical reactivity. However, these calculations involve, a computational effort several, even in the simplest cases, orders of magnitude larger than the computer power nowadays available. In this work the possibility of parallelize the calculations of the electron correlation energy is studied. The formalism chosen is the dressing of matrices in both distributed and shared memory parallel systems MIMD. Algorithms developed on PVM are presented, and the results are evaluated on several platforms. These results show that the parallel techniques are useful in order to decrease very appreciably the ti…

General occurrence of polar twisted minima in the ionic singlet excited surfaces of polyenes

Except for a few cases, the lowest closed shell SCF solutions for the twisted geometries of polyenes involves delocalized nonpolarized MO’s, and represents a meaningless mixture of radicalar gound state and ionic excited states. Higher (quasi) solutions allow a realistic approach of the polarized ionic states. Orthogonality to the radicalar ground state may be imposed without important loss of energy. Further extensive CI does not modify significantly the situation. These statements are illustrated through ab initio calculations of butadiene and hexatriene. This approach allows us to show that slight distortions stablize polar minima even in ’’homosymmetric’’ molecules such as all‐trans hex…