Ab initio molecular orbital study of the insertion of H2 into POSS compounds

Abstract

The insertion of one and two H2 molecules into polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) was investigated as a function of the size of the cage, using both Hartree-Fock (HF) and second order perturbation theory (MP2) methods. Also investigated was the same reaction into the heavier groups 4 and 14 metal-substituted POSS (metallasilsesquioxanes) such as Ge-POSS, Si/Ge-mixed POSS, and Ti- and Zr-POSS. The properties of these species in comparison with those of POSS are discussed.