Infrared and quantum-chemical studies of the structure and vibrations of methyldisilylamine

Abstract Infrared spectra are reported from labelled species of methyldisilylamine (N(CH 3 )(SiH 3 ) 2 ) in the gas and solid phase. Quantum-chemical (QC) calculations of structure and force field have been carried out at HF, MP2 and B3LYP levels using 6-31G ∗ and 6-311G ∗∗ basis sets. The equilibrium structure belongs to the point group C s with the plane of symmetry at right angles to the NSi 2 angle and a slight non-planarity of the CNSi 2 moiety ( C s ,⊥ ). Spectra in the ν SiH region however suggest an effective C 2 v structure, with two distinct types of SiH bond. Two strong SiH bonds lie in the skeletal plane, eclipsing each other. The single ν is CH band in the CHD 2 species suggest…