Highly Accurate Quartic Force Field and Rovibrational Spectroscopic Constants for the Azirinyl Cation (c-C2NH2+) and Its Isomers

Energy Landscape and Structural and Spectroscopic Characterization of Diazirine and Its Cyclic Isomers

Identifying new nitrogenated hydrocarbon molecules in the interstellar medium (ISM) is challenging because of the lack of comprehensive spectroscopic data from experiments. In this computational work, we focus on investigating the structures, relative energies, spectroscopic constants, and energy landscape of the cyclic isomers of diazirine (c-CH2N2) using ab initio quantum chemical methods. Density functional theory (DFT) methods and coupled cluster theory with singles and doubles including perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] and CCSD(T) with the explicitly correlated F12b correction [CCSD(T)-F12b] were employed for this purpose along with large correlation consistent cc-pVTZ, cc-pVQZ, and cc-pV5Z basis sets. Harmonic vibrational frequencies, infrared vibrational intensities, rotational constants, and dipole moments are reported. Anharmonic vibrational fundamentals along with centrifugal distortion constants, and vibration-rotation interaction constants are also reported for all the cyclic isomers. The energies computed with the CCSD(T) and CCSD(T)-F12b methods were extrapolated to the one-particle complete basis set (CBS) limit following a three-point formula. At the CCSD(T)-F12b/CBS level of theory, the 3,3H-diazirine (c-CH2N2) is the lowest energy cyclic isomer followed by 1,3H-diazirine, (E)-1,2H-diazirine, and (Z)-1,2H-diazirine, which are 20.1, 47.8, and 51.3 kcal mol-1 above the 3,3H-diazirine, respectively. Accurate structures and spectroscopic constants that are reported here could be useful for future identification of these cyclic nitrogenated organic molecules in the interstellar medium or circumstellar disks.

The unsolved issue with out-of-plane bending frequencies for CC multiply bonded systems

More than 30 years ago two groups independently identified a problem in the calculation of the out-of-plane bending (OPB) vibrational frequencies for the ethylene molecule using correlated electronic structure methods. Several studies have been done in the meantime to try and understand and resolve this issue. In so doing this problem has been found to be far more insidious than previously realized for acetylene-like and benzene-like molecules, which can become non-linear and non-planar, respectively. The one common feature that all molecules with this problem have is that they contain CC multiple bonds, and so this has been called the "CC multiple bond OPB frequency issue" or "the CC OPB problem." Various explanations for this problem have been advanced such as basis set superposition error, basis set incompleteness error, linear dependences in the basis set, proper balancing of the basis set between saturation and inclusion of higher angular momentum functions, etc. and possible solutions have arisen from these suggestions. All of these proposed solutions, however, amount to one main point connecting them all: modifying the one-particle basis set in some way. None of the explanations that have been advanced, however, really fit all of the data for all of the molecules where this problem has been identified, and importantly, none of these diagnostic tests have been applied to similar molecules where this issue does not appear. In this review, the studies over the last 30 plus years are discussed and relevant data from each of these is compared and contrasted. It is hoped that by collecting and analyzing the data from these studies a path forward to understanding and resolving this issue will become evident.