Semiempirical molecular-orbital calculations of dissociation energies of small molecules containing light elements

Abstract

A semiempirical molecular-orbital approach has been developed to calculate the dissociation energies of 57 second-row neutral and charged diatomic molecules. One-electron energies and wave functions were used. The 2s and 2p electrons have separate energies and separate values of Z 2S and Z 2P . Calculations were made with a CNDO/INDO FORTRAN programme modified to a level of approximation that is more similar to extended Hückel calculations than to either CNDO or INDO. The correlation between calculated and experimental dissociation energies was favourable with a relative standard deviation of 15%. Additionally, dipole moments for the molecules were calculated concurrently with the same parameters. The correlation between calculated and experimental dipole moments was favourable for seventeen molecules with a relative standard deviation of 19%. The correlation between calculated and experimental ionisation potentials for fourteen molecules was also favourable with a relative standard deviation of 11%. Also, a repulsion work function was formulated and used in this work between pairs of atoms. For 90% of the molecules studied, the maximum calculated dissociation energy occurred within ±0.1 Å of the experimental bond distance. The semiempirical methods used in the present work could be used for future studies of larger molecules, including organic molecules.