Complete Basis Set Level Research Articles

Modeling σ-Bond Activations by Nickel(0) Beyond Common Approximations: How Accurately Can We Describe Closed-Shell Oxidative Addition Reactions Mediated by Low-Valent Late 3d Transition Metal?

Accurate modelings of reactions involving 3d transition metals (TMs) are very challenging to both ab initio and DFT approaches. To gain more knowledge in this field, we herein explored typical σ-bond activations of H-H, C-H, C-Cl, and C-C bonds promoted by nickel(0), a low-valent late 3d TM. For the key parameters of activation energy (ΔE‡) and reaction energy (ΔER) for these reactions, various issues related to the computational accuracy were systematically investigated. From the scrutiny of convergence issue with one-electron basis set, augmented (A) basis functions are found to be important, and the CCSD(T)/CBS level with complete basis set (CBS) limit extrapolation based on augmented double-ζ and triple-ζ basis pair (ADZ and ATZ), which produces deviations below 1 kcal/mol from the reference, is recommended for larger systems. As an alternative, the explicitly correlated F12 method can accelerate the basis set convergence further, especially after its CBS extrapolations. Thus, the CCSD(T)-F12/CBS(ADZ-ATZ) level with computational cost comparable to the conventional CCSD(T)/CBS(ADZ-ATZ) level, is found to reach the accuracy of the conventional CCSD(T)/A5Z level, which produces deviations below 0.5 kcal/mol from the reference, and is also highly recommendable. Scalar relativistic effects and 3s3p core-valence correlation are non-negligible for achieving chemical accuracy of around 1 kcal/mol. From the scrutiny of convergence issue with the N-electron basis set, in comparison with the reference CCSDTQ result, CCSD(T) is found to be able to calculate ΔE‡ quite accurately, which is not true for the ΔER calculations. Using highest-level CCSD(T) results of ΔE‡ in this work as references, we tested 18 DFT methods and found that PBE0 and CAM-B3LYP are among the three best performing functionals, irrespective of DFT empirical dispersion correction. With empirical dispersion correction included, ωB97XD is also recommendable due to its improved performance.

Multi-reference Ab initio calculations of 3d transition-metal dimers: Sc2

The problem of calculation of the electronic structure of transition-metal clusters (even dimers) still presents a challenge for computational chemistry. The reason is that the expansion of the ground state wave function on electronic configurations does not contain a principal configuration and a large number of reference configurations must be treated equally. Thus, the multi-reference (MR) approaches are, in general, mandatory. A short description of the MRCI methods is presented. The calculation of Sc2 at the MRCISD(+Q)/cc-pV5Z level, showed that the its ground state corresponds to a quintet, 5Σu−, in agreement with experiment and previous precise calculations. The triplet 3Σu− state is located about 1.1 kcal/mol above. We calculated the ground state, X5Σu−, of the Sc2 dimer by the MRCISD(+Q) method at the complete basis set (CBS) limit. This is the first MRCISD(+Q) calculation of 3d transition-metal clusters at the CBS limit. From the Mulliken population analysis and comparison with atomic energies follows that in the ground state Sc2 dissociates on one Sc in the ground state and the other in the second excited quartet state, 4Fu. The spectroscopic parameters of the ground potential curve, obtained by the Dunham analysis at the valence MRCISD(+Q)/CBS level, are: Re = 5.20 bohr, De = 50.37 kcal/mol, and e = 234.5 cm−1. The obtained value for the harmonic frequency agrees very well with the experimental one, e = 239.9 cm−1. From the indistinguishability of identical atoms in quantum mechanics follows that in spite of an asymmetric dissociation limit for Sc2, both Sc atoms have the same electron population and it is incorrect to consider them as different. Therefore, the accepted classification of the dimer states should be revised, since some of them are forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

Accurate calculation of the ionization energies of the chlorine lone pairs in 1,1,1-trifluoro-2-chloroethane (HCFC-133a).

The vertical ionization energies of the chlorine lone pairs in HCFC-133a have been calculated at the SCF (via Koopmans' theorem and including orbital relaxation) and correlated (ROMP2, OVGF, and ROCCSD(T)) levels. Dunning aug-cc-pVXZ (X = D, T, and Q) basis sets were employed, and the ROMP2 and ROCCSD(T) results were extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. Our highest-level results (obtained at the ROCCSD(T)/CBS level) were 11.99 and 12.08 eV for the Cl lone pairs of A″ and A' symmetry, respectively. The values obtained at the computationally much less demanding ROMP2/CBS level were just 0.10 and 0.13 eV higher than the highest-level ones. Using the Cl lone-pair band of the photoelectron spectrum of the HCF(2)Cl and CF(3)Cl molecules as a guide, it is considered very unlikely that these two lone pairs can be discriminated in the photoelectron spectrum of the title molecule. The use of the calculated IPs to estimate the energies of the Rydberg states of HCFC-133a is also discussed.

Improved parameterization of interatomic potentials for rare gas dimers with density-based energy decomposition analysis.

We examine interatomic interactions for rare gas dimers using the density-based energy decomposition analysis (DEDA) in conjunction with computational results from CCSD(T) at the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The unique DEDA capability of separating frozen density interactions from density relaxation contributions is employed to yield clean interaction components, and the results are found to be consistent with the typical physical picture that density relaxations play a very minimal role in rare gas interactions. Equipped with each interaction component as reference, we develop a new three-term molecular mechanical force field to describe rare gas dimers: a smeared charge multipole model for electrostatics with charge penetration effects, a B3LYP-D3 dispersion term for asymptotically correct long-range attractions that is screened at short-range, and a Born-Mayer exponential function for the repulsion. The resulted force field not only reproduces rare gas interaction energies calculated at the CCSD(T)/CBS level, but also yields each interaction component (electrostatic or van der Waals) which agrees very well with its corresponding reference value.

Accurate determination of the binding energy of the formic acid dimer: The importance of geometry relaxation

The formic acid dimer in its C2h-symmetrical cyclic form is stabilized by two equivalent H-bonds. The currently accepted interaction energy is 18.75 kcal/mol whereas the experimental binding energy D0 value is only 14.22 ±0.12 kcal/mol [F. Kollipost, R. W. Larsen, A. V. Domanskaya, M. Nörenberg, and M. A. Suhm, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 151101 (2012)]. Calculation of the binding energies De and D0 at the CCSD(T) (Coupled Cluster with Single and Double excitations and perturbative Triple excitations)/CBS (Complete Basis Set) level of theory, utilizing CCSD(T)/CBS geometries and the frequencies of the dimer and monomer, reveals that there is a 3.2 kcal/mol difference between interaction energy and binding energy De, which results from (i) not relaxing the geometry of the monomers upon dissociation of the dimer and (ii) approximating CCSD(T) correlation effects with MP2. The most accurate CCSD(T)/CBS values obtained in this work are De = 15.55 and D0 = 14.32 kcal/mol where the latter binding energy differs from the experimental value by 0.1 kcal/mol. The necessity of employing augmented VQZ and VPZ calculations and relaxing monomer geometries of H-bonded complexes upon dissociation to obtain reliable binding energies is emphasized.

Cation⋯π interaction and microhydration effects in complexes formed by pyrrolidinium cation and aromatic species in amino acid side chains

A computational study has been carried out in complexes formed by pyrrolidinium cation and aromatic units present in amino acid side chains. The interaction is stronger with indole (-21.9 kcal mol(-1) at the CCSD(T) complete basis set level) than with phenol (-17.4 kcal mol(-1)) or benzene (-16.1 kcal mol(-1)). Most stable structures show a N-H···π contact between pyrrolidinium cation and the phenyl ring of the three aromatic species, except in phenol complexes where the most stable minimum shows a N-HO hydrogen bond. In phenol and indole complexes, secondary contacts are established between the C-H groups of the carbon skeleton of pyrrolidinium and the aromatic rings or hydroxyl oxygen, being the main reason for the enhanced stability with respect to benzene, where these contacts are not possible. The interaction is mainly controlled by electrostatics, but contributions from induction and dispersion are also significant, especially the latter in indole complexes. These three attractive contributions increase their intensity when going from benzene to phenol and indole. Microhydration effects have been estimated by including up to three water molecules in the complexes. In monohydrated pyrrolidiniumbenzene complex the most stable structure shows the water molecule coordinated to the cation without interacting with the ring. In phenol and indole, otherwise, the water molecule interacts with both the cation and the aromatic species, forming a cyclic hydrogen bond pattern π(phenyl)···H-N-H···O-H···X (X = π, O). This pattern is also present among the most stable structures found for complexes with two and three water molecules, though a variety of almost isoenergetic minima showing different hydrogen bond patterns have been found. Water molecules remove the stability differences between phenol and indole complexes, which already with two water molecules show similar stabilities, though around 5 kcal mol(-1) larger than benzene ones.

Calculated Dipole Moments for Silicon and Phosphorus Compounds of Astrophysical Interest

Dipole moments, which contribute to the intensities of rotational transitions and also affect reactivity, have been computed for nearly 80 compounds with up to 6 atoms containing silicon or phosphorus. More than a dozen of the set have been detected in interstellar or circumstellar media. The remaining ones are related to these, and several of them may be found in space in the future. We compare results from the commonly used B3LYP level of density functional theory with ab initio results at the coupled cluster CCSD(T)/RCCSD(T) levels of theory. Correlation consistent basis sets as large as quintuple ζ quality were used, and extrapolations to the estimated complete basis set (CBSE) limit were performed for almost all of the species with coupled cluster theory. In addition to evaluating the accuracy of the results against available data, we explore various issues: the critical importance of including diffuse basis functions, the range of basis set dependence exhibited by the suite of molecules, and the presence of low-lying excited states for some species. Dipole polarizabilities are also reported at the CCSD(T)/RCCSD(T) CBSE level.

Ab initio study of the π-π interactions between CO2 and benzene, pyridine, and pyrrole

The π–π interactions between CO2 and three aromatic molecules, namely benzene (C6H6), pyridine (C5H5N), and pyrrole (C4H5N), which represent common functional groups in metal-organic/zeoliticimidazolate framework materials, were characterized using high-level ab initio methods. The coupled-cluster with single and double excitations and perturbative treatment of triple excitations (CCSD(T)) method with a complete basis set (CBS) was used to calibrate Hartree–Fock, density functional theory, and second-order M⊘ller–Plesset (MP2) with resolution of the identity approximation calculations. Results at the MP2/def2-QZVPP level showed the smallest deviations (only about 1 kJ/mol) compared with those at the CCSD(T)/CBS level of theory. The strength of π–π binding energies (BEs) followed the order C4H5N > C6H6 ∼ C5H5N and was roughly correlated with the aromaticity and the charge transfer between CO2 and aromatic molecule in clusters. Compared with hydrogen-bond or electron donor–acceptor interactions observed during BE calculations at the MP2/def2-QZVPP level of theory, π–π interactions significantly contribute to the total interactions between CO2 and aromatic molecules. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Low-Lying Electronic States of Irn Clusters with n = 2–8 Predicted at the DFT, CASSCF, and CCSD(T) Levels

Low-lying structures of the small iridum clusters Ir(n) (n = 2-8) were optimized using DFT methods. Ir2 and Ir3 were also optimized using the CASSCF method. MRCI-SD (for Ir2) energies and CCSD(T) (for Ir2 and Ir3) energies of the leading configurations from the CASSCF calculations were done to predict the low-lying states. The normalized atomization energies (<AE>) for Ir(n) (n = 2-8) were calculated at the CCSD(T) level up to the complete basis set (CBS) limit in some cases using the B3LYP optimized geometries. The ground state for Ir2 is predicted to be (5)Δg, and the ground state of Ir3 is linear (2)Δg, with the D3h(4)A"1 state ~10 kcal/mol higher in energy at the CASSCF level without core-valence corrections and ~15 kcal/mol higher at the CCSD(T)/CBS level with spin-orbit and core-valence corrections. Inclusion of the spin orbit corrections in the normalized bond dissociation energies <AE> for Ir(n) is critical and will decrease the <AE> by ~15 kcal/mol for n ≥ 4. The <AE> for Ir(n) increases as n increases in general, and the <AE> is far from convergence to the bulk value at n = 8. The average coordination number (CN) and average bond length for the low energy Ir(n)clusters are far from being converged to the bulk values by n = 8.

Polymorphism in 2,6-dimethylpyridinium tetrachlorocuprate(II): Theoretical and crystallographic studies

A new polymorph of 2,6-dimethylpyridinium tetrachlorocuprate(II) has been prepared. The previously reported structure crystallizes in the Pbcn space group (henceforth polymorph I), while the one reported in this paper crystallizes in the C2/c space group. The NH⋯Cl hydrogen bonding interactions connect the cations and anions to form the structural unit in the two polymorphs. The supramolecular structure of the two polymorphs is developed based upon N(π)⋯Cl and non-classical CH⋯Cl hydrogen bonding interactions. The role of the N(π)⋯Cl is dominant in polymorph I. In contrast, the supramolecular structure of polymorph II is dominated by the CH⋯Cl hydrogen bonding interactions. The calculated electrostatic potential was used to rationalize the arrangement of the supramolecular synthons within the crystalline lattices and the hierarchy of the intermolecular interactions. The second difference between the two polymorphs is that the trans ClCuCl angles are larger in polymorph-II than polymorph I by ∼11°, resulting in a more flattened geometry for the [CuCl4]2- anions. DFT/B3LYP calculations indicate that the ClCuCl angle in the [CuCl4]2− anion is flexible. Although the average difference in the trans ClCuCl angles is reasonably large between the two polymorphs, the difference in their energies, estimated at the complete basis set level, is negligibly small (4kJ/mol). Also, calculations showed that the preferred geometry for the [CuCl4]2− anion is flattened tetrahedral with a mean trans angles around 127°, estimated at complete basis set level. These predicted geometries by calculations agree with experimental results based upon published crystal structures in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD).

Improved Potential Energy Surface of Ozone Constructed Using the Fitting by Permutationally Invariant Polynomial Function

New global potential energy surface for the ground electronic state of ozone is constructed at the complete basis set level of the multireference configuration interaction theory. A method of fitting the data points by analytical permutationally invariant polynomial function is adopted. A small set of 500 points is preoptimized using the old surface of ozone. In this procedure the positions of points in the configuration space are chosen such that the RMS deviation of the fit is minimized. New ab initio calculations are carried out at these points and are used to build new surface. Additional points are added to the vicinity of the minimum energy path in order to improve accuracy of the fit, particularly in the region where the surface of ozone exhibits a shallow van der Waals well. New surface can be used to study formation of ozone at thermal energies and its spectroscopy near the dissociation threshold.

The nature of binding in the ground state of the scandium dimer

For the study of the nature of binding in the Sc2 dimer, the ground state, X5Σu–, was calculated by the valence multireference configuration interaction method with single and double excitations plus Davidson correction, MRCISD (+Q), at the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The employment of the C2v symmetry group, allowed us to obtain the Sc atoms in different states at the dissociation limit. From the Mulliken population analysis and comparison with atomic energies follows that in the ground state Sc2 dissociates on one Sc in the ground state and the other in the second excited quartet state, 4Fu. The spectroscopic parameters of the ground potential curve, obtained at the valence MRCISD (+Q)/CBS level, are: Re = 5.20 bohr, De = 50.37 kcal/mol, and ωe = 234.5 cm-1. The obtained value for the harmonic frequency agrees very well with the experimental one, ωe = 239.9 cm-1. The dissociation energy with reference to the dissociation on two Sc in the ground states was estimated as De = 9.98 kcal/mol. In contrast with many other studied transition-metal dimers, which are attributed to the van der Waals bonded molecules, the Sc2 dimer is stabilized by the covalent bonding on the hybrid atomic orbitals.

Franck-Condon simulation of the photoelectron spectrum of AsCl2and the photodetachment spectrum of AsCl 2− employing UCCSD(T)-F12a potential energy functions: IE and EA of AsCl2

The currently most reliable theoretical estimates of the adiabatic ionization energies (AIE(0)) from the X̃(2)B(1) state of AsCl(2) to the X̃(1)A(1) and ã(3)B(1) states of AsCl 2+, and the electron affinity (EA(0)) of AsCl(2) , including ΔZPE corrections, are calculated as 8.687(11), 11.320(23), and 1.845(12) eV, respectively (estimated uncertainties based on basis-set effects at the RCCSD(T) level). State-of-the-art ab initio calculations, which include RCCSD(T), CASSCF/MRCI, and explicitly correlated RHF/UCCSD(T)-F12x (x = a or b) calculations with basis sets of up to quintuple-zeta quality, have been carried out on the X̃(2)B(1) state of AsCl(2) , the X̃(1)A(1) , ã(3)B(1) , and Ã(1)B(1) states of AsCl 2+, and the X̃(1)A(1) state of AsCl 2-. Relativistic, core correlation and complete basis-set (CBS) effects have been considered. In addition, computed UCCSD(T)-F12a potential energy functions of relevant electronic states of AsCl(2) , AsCl (2)(+), and AsCl( 2)(-) were used to calculate Franck-Condon factors, which were then used to simulate the valence photoelectron spectrum of AsCl(2) and the photodetachment spectrum of AsCl (2)(-), both yet to be recorded. Lastly, we have also computed the AIE and EA values for NCl(2) , PCl(2) , and AsCl(2) at the G4 level and for SbCl(2) at the RCCSD(T)/CBS level. The trends in the AIE and EA values of the group V pnictogen dichlorides, PnCl(2) , where Pn = N, P, As, and Sb, were examined. The AIE and EA of PCl(2) were found to be smaller than those of AsCl(2) , contrary to the order expected from the IE values of P and As.

Prediction of Reliable Metal−PH3 Bond Energies for Ni, Pd, and Pt in the 0 and +2 Oxidation States

Phosphine-based catalysts play an important role in many metal-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation reactions yet reliable values of their bond energies are not available. We have been studying homogeneous catalysts consisting of a phosphine bonded to a Pt, Pd, or Ni. High level electronic structure calculations at the CCSD(T)/complete basis set level were used to predict the M-PH(3) bond energy (BE) for the 0 and +2 oxidation states for M = Ni, Pd, and Pt. The calculated bond energies can then be used, for example, in the design of new catalyst systems. A wide range of exchange-correlation functionals were also evaluated to assess the performance of density functional theory (DFT) for these important bond energies. None of the DFT functionals were able to predict all of the M-PH(3) bond energies to within 5 kcal/mol, and the best functionals were generalized gradient approximation functionals in contrast to the usual hybrid functionals often employed for main group thermochemistry.

Stacking and Spreading Interaction in N-Heteroaromatic Systems

π-π interactions in heteroaromatic systems are ubiquitous in biological systems. In the present study, stabilization energies of stacked and hydrogen-bonded dimers of N-heteroaromatic systems (pyridine, pyrazine, sym-triazine, and sym-tetrazine) have been computed using a benchmark quality coupled cluster through the perturbative triples (CCSD(T)) method at the estimated complete basis set (CBS) limit. In the case of stacking, monomer units are found to be stacked in parallel planes with displaced geometries. The stabilization energies for the most stable stacked geometry of pyridine, pyrazine, sym-triazine, and sym-tetrazine dimers are found to be -3.39, -4.14, -4.02, and -3.90 kcal/mol, respectively at the est. CCSD(T)/CBS level of theory, which is clearly larger than the stabilization energy for the most stable geometry of the benzene dimer. In the case of spreading, hydrogen bonded dimers and trimers are stabilized by weak C-H···N interactions. The stabilization energies for the stacked and the spread out complexes are found to be comparable. The stabilization energy for the trimers is computed using the MP2, MP3, and B3LYP-D methods. The present study is aimed at unraveling the basis of preferred conformations of N-heteroaromatic dimers. These model systems explain partly the stability of double helical DNA and RNA structures that are formed by stacking and hydrogen bonding between nucleic acid bases.

Dehydrogenation Reactions of Cyclic C2B2N2H12 and C4BNH12 Isomers

The energetics for different dehydrogenation pathways of C(2)B(2)N(2)H(12) and C(4)BNH(12) cycles were calculated at the B3LYP/DGDZVP2 and G3(MP2) levels with additional calculations at the CCSD(T)/complete basis set level. The heats of formation of the different isomers were calculated from the G3(MP2) relative energies and the heats of formation of the most stable isomers of c-C(2)B(2)N(2)H(6), c-C(2)B(2)N(2)H(12), and c-C(4)BNH(12) at the CCSD(T)/CBS including additional corrections together with the previously reported value for c-C(4)BNH(6). Different isomers were analyzed for c-C(2)B(2)N(2)H(x) and c-C(4)BNH(x) (x = 6 and 12), and the most stable cyclic structures were those with C-C-B-N-B-N and C-C-C-C-B-N sequences, respectively. The energetics for the stepwise loss of three H(2) were predicted, and the most feasible thermodynamic pathways were found. Dehydrogenation of the lowest energy c-C(2)B(2)N(2)H(12) isomer (6-H(12)) is almost thermoneutral with DeltaH(3dehydro) = 3.4 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)/CBS level and -0.6 kcal/mol at the G3(MP2) level at 298 K. Dehydrogenation of the lowest energy c-C(4)BNH(12) isomer (7-H(12)) is endothermic with DeltaH(3dehydro) = 27.9 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)/CBS level and 23.5 kcal/mol at the G3(MP2) level at 298 K. Dehydrogenation across the B-N bond is more favorable as opposed to dehydrogenation across the B-C, N-C, and C-C bonds. Resonance stabilization energies in relation to that of benzene are reported as are NICS NMR chemical shifts for correlating with the potential aromatic character of the rings.

Encapsulation of Arn complexes by calix[4]arene: endo- vs. exo-complexes

The structure of the calix[4]arene(C4A)-Ar(n) complexes has been investigated by laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy, mass-selected resonant two-color two-photon ionization (2C-R2PI) spectroscopy, fragment detected IR photodissociation (FDIRPD) spectroscopy, and high level first principles electronic structure calculations at the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory. C4A has a very high ability to form van der Waals complexes with rare gas atoms. For the C4A-Ar dimer two isomers are observed. A major species shows a 45 cm(-1) red-shift of its band origin with respect to the monomer, while that of a minor species is 60 cm(-1). The binding energy of the major species is determined to be in the range of 350-2250 cm(-1) from 2C-R2PI spectroscopy and FDIRPD spectroscopy. Two isomers are also identified in the quantum chemical calculations, depending on whether the Ar atom resides inside (endo) or outside (exo) the C4A. We propose a scheme to derive CCSD(T)/Complete Basis Set (CBS) quality binding energies for the C4A-Ar complex based on CCSD(T) calculations with smaller basis sets and the ratio of CCSD(T)/MP2 energies for the smaller model systems benzene-Ar and phenol-Ar, for which the CCSD(T) level of theory converges to the experimentally determined binding energies. Our best computed estimates for the binding energies of the C4A-Ar endo- and endo-complexes at the CCSD(T)/CBS level of theory are 1560 cm(-1) and 510 cm(-1), respectively. For the C4A-Ar(2) trimer the calculations support the existence of two nearly isoenergetic isomers: one is the {2 : 0} endo-complex, in which the Ar(2) dimer is encapsulated inside the C4A cavity, and the other is the {1 : 1} endo-exo-complex, in which one Ar resides inside and the other outside the C4A cavity. However, the experimental evidence strongly suggests that the observed species is the {2 : 0} endo-complex. The endo structural motif is also suggested for the larger C4A-Ar(n) complexes because of the observed systematic red-shifts of the complexes with the number of bound Ar atoms suggesting that the Ar(n) complex is encapsulated inside the C4A cavity. The formation of the endo-complex structures is attributed to the anisotropy of the interaction with C4A during the complex formation in the expansion region.

Theoretical study of the C6H3 potential energy surface and rate constants and product branching ratios of the C2H(Σ+2)+C4H2(Σg+1) and C4H(Σ+2)+C2H2(Σg+1) reactions

Ab initio CCSD(T)cc-pVTZ//B3LYP6-311G(**) and CCSD(T)/complete basis set (CBS) calculations of stationary points on the C(6)H(3) potential energy surface have been performed to investigate the reaction mechanism of C(2)H with diacetylene and C(4)H with acetylene. Totally, 25 different C(6)H(3) isomers and 40 transition states are located and all possible bimolecular decomposition products are also characterized. 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-tridehydrobenzene and H(2)CCCCCCH isomers are found to be the most stable thermodynamically residing 77.2, 75.1, and 75.7 kcal/mol lower in energy than C(2)H + C(4)H(2), respectively, at the CCSD(T)/CBS level of theory. The results show that the most favorable C(2)H + C(4)H(2) entrance channel is C(2)H addition to a terminal carbon of C(4)H(2) producing HCCCHCCCH, 70.2 kcal/mol below the reactants. This adduct loses a hydrogen atom from the nonterminal position to give the HCCCCCCH (triacetylene) product exothermic by 29.7 kcal/mol via an exit barrier of 5.3 kcal/mol. Based on Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations under single-collision conditions, triacetylene+H are concluded to be the only reaction products, with more than 98% of them formed directly from HCCCHCCCH. The C(2)H + C(4)H(2) reaction rate constants calculated by employing canonical variational transition state theory are found to be similar to those for the related C(2)H + C(2)H(2) reaction in the order of magnitude of 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) for T = 298-63 K, and to show a negative temperature dependence at low T. A general mechanism for the growth of polyyne chains involving C(2)H + H(C[triple bond]C)(n)H --> H(C[triple bond]C)(n+1)H + H reactions has been suggested based on a comparison of the reactions of ethynyl radical with acetylene and diacetylene. The C(4)H + C(2)H(2) reaction is also predicted to readily produce triacetylene + H via barrierless C(4)H addition to acetylene, followed by H elimination.

Benchmark calculations on the adiabatic ionization potentials of M–NH3 (M=Na,Al,Ga,In,Cu,Ag)

The ground states of the M-NH(3) (M=Na,Al,Ga,In,Cu,Ag) complexes and their cations have been studied with density functional theory and coupled cluster [CCSD(T)] methods. The adiabatic ionization potentials (AIPs) of these complexes are calculated, and these are compared to results from high-resolution zero-electron kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy. By extrapolating the CCSD(T) energies to the complete basis set (CBS) limit and including the core-valence, scalar relativistic, spin-orbit, and zero-point corrections, the CCSD(T) method is shown to be able to predict the AIPs of these complexes to better than 6 meV or 0.15 kcal/mol. 27 exchange-correlation functionals, including one in the local density approximation, 13 in the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), and 13 with hybrid GGAs, were benchmarked in the calculations of the AIPs. The B1B95, mPW1PW91, B98, B97-1, PBE1PBE, O3LYP, TPSSh, and HCTH93 functionals give an average error of 0.1 eV for all the complexes studied, with the B98 functional alone yielding a maximum error of 0.1 eV. In addition, the calculated metal-ammonia harmonic stretching frequencies with the CCSD(T) method are in excellent agreement with their experimental values, whereas the B3LYP method tends to underestimate these stretching frequencies. The metal-ammonia binding energies were also calculated at the CCSD(T)/CBS level, and are in excellent agreement with the available experimental values considering the error limits, except for Ag-NH(3) and Ag(+)-NH(3), where the calculations predict stronger bond energies than measured by about 4 kcal/mol, just outside the experimental error bars of +/-3 kcal/mol.

Hydrogen-Bonded Nucleic Acid Base Pairs Containing Unusual Base Tautomers: Complete Basis Set Calculations at the MP2 and CCSD(T) Levels

The total interaction energies of altogether 15 hydrogen-bonded nucleic acid base pairs containing unusual base tautomers were calculated. The geometry properties of all selected adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine hydrogen-bonded base pairs enable their incorporation into DNA. Unusual base pairing patterns were compared with Watson-Crick H-bonded structures of the adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine pairs. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the MP2 interaction energy and the CCSD(T) correction term, determined as the difference between the CCSD(T) and MP2 interaction energies, was evaluated. Extrapolation to the MP2 CBS limit was done using the aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ results, and the CCSD(T) correction term was determined with the 6-31G*(0.25) basis set. Final interaction energies were corrected while taking into account both tautomeric penalization determined at the CBS level and solvation/desolvation free energies. The situation for the adenine-thymine pairs is straightforward, and tautomeric pairs are significantly less stable than the Watson-Crick pair consisting of the canonical forms. In the case of the guanine-cytosine pair, the Watson-Crick structure made by canonical forms is again the most stable. The other two structures are, however, energetically rather similar (by 5 and 6 kcal/mol), which provides a very small but non-negligible chance of detecting these structures in the DNA double helix (1:5000). Due to the fact that DNA bases and base pairs incorporated into DNA are solvated less favorably than in isolated systems, this probability represents the very upper limit. The results clearly show how precisely the canonical building blocks of DNA molecules were chosen and how well their stability is maintained.