Electronic absorption spectra of C3Cl, C4Cl, and their ions in neon matrices

Small carbides of third-row main group elements: structure and bonding in C3X compounds (X = K-Br)

The molecular structures of third-row main group tricarbides C(3)X (X = K-Br) have been studied by quantum chemical methods. It is found that less electronegative elements (K, Ca, Ga, Ge) favor either fan or rhombic structures (resulting from side interactions with either linear or triangular C(3) units), whereas the more electronegative elements (As, Se, Br) favor linear or three-membered ring structures (resulting from σ-type interactions with either linear or triangular C(3) units). The predicted global minima are of fan type for C(3)K, rhombic for C(3)Ca, C(3)Ga, and C(3)Ge, linear for C(3)As and C(3)Se, and a three-membered ring for C(3)Br. In order to aid in their possible experimental identification the molecular geometries, vibrational frequencies, IR intensities, and dipole moments have been provided. The nature of the interactions has been characterized through an analysis of the electronic charge density. In addition, the relative stability of the different isomers has been also rationalized in terms of an energy decomposition analysis.

A THEORETICAL STUDY OF CARBON CHAINS OF TYPE CNF(N = 1–7) IN NEUTRAL AND IONIC FORMS

The structures, binding energies, and molecular parameters of C n F clusters (n = 1–7) have been investigated theoretically on neutral and ionic forms with the RCCSD(T)//B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. It can be concluded that for the ground states the linear structures are stable only for CF , C 6 F , and C 7 F . Other neutral species of C n F (n = 2–5) are slightly bent. The variation in stability with growth of the carbon chain is flat but the ionization potential and electron affinity exhibit clear variations with the size of the clusters. Cation clusters with an even n value have triplet ground states whereas singlet ground states exist when n is odd. All anions except CF -, have singlet ground states. The alternation in stability is found in both cationic and anionic forms, but the trends are reversed. Predictions of several molecular properties may be useful in the identification of these species in the laboratory and in space.

Pure rotational spectra of the CCCF radical

Pure rotational transitions of a new carbon-chain radical CCCF in a supersonic jet have been observed for the first time using a Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer with a pulsed-discharge nozzle. The radical was produced by a pulsed electric discharge in a C(2)H(2) and CF(4) mixture diluted to 0.1% and 0.1% with Ne, respectively. Rotational transitions with spin and hyperfine splittings have been observed in the region from 9.1 GHz for N(K(a)K(c)) = 1(01)-0(00) to 27.3 GHz for N(K(a)K(c)) = 3(03)-2(02). The rotational constant, the spin-rotation interaction constant, and the hyperfine coupling constants due to the F nucleus have been precisely determined from the least-squares analysis, yielding B = 4555.8043(44), gamma(eff) = -7.105(16), b(F,eff) = 368(19), and c(eff) = -284.832(61) MHz. The determined molecular constants were compared with those obtained from high-level ab initio calculations and concluded that the CCCF radical has a bent ground state X(2)A(').

Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy of the CCCCl radical

Pure rotational spectra of the CCCCl radical in a supersonic jet have been observed for the first time by Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. The radical was produced by a pulsed electric discharge in a C(2)H(2) and CCl(4) mixture diluted to 0.3% and 0.2% with Ne, respectively. Transitions with spin and hyperfine splittings were observed for two isotopologs, CCC(35)Cl and CCC(37)Cl, in the region from 11.4 GHz for N=2-1 to 34.2 GHz for N=6-5. The molecular constants including the hyperfine coupling constants due to the Cl nucleus have been determined precisely. From the rotational analyses and high-level ab initio calculations, the molecular structure of the CCCCl radical is concluded to be bent in the ground electronic state.

C4Cl: Bent or linear?

The ground state structure for the CCCCCl radical was computed by using symmetry-adapted cluster configuration-interaction (SAC-CI) theory along with density functional theory to overcome the differences raised in the recently published paper [Y. Sumiyoshi et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 414, 82 (2005)] between the theory and the experiment. SAC-CI results clearly support the earlier experimental conclusion that the radical has the bent ground state structure corresponding to 2Pi symmetry. Contrarily, probably due to spin contamination, mixing of a bent doublet ground state with the quartet components of a linear structure, coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) calculations were unable to provide reliable results. Results obtained using density functional theory also show that the radical has a bent structure. Some low-lying doublet excited states were also studied using the SAC-CI theory. The energy difference between the ground Pi state and the nearby Sigma state is around 0.2 eV. The excitation energy for the transition with the largest oscillator strength agrees with the strongest absorption peak.

Electronic spectra of linear isoelectronic clusters C2n+1S and C2n+1Cl+ (n = 0-4): an ab initio study

Structures and stabilities of linear carbon chains C2n+1S and C2n+1Cl+ (n=0-4) in their ground states have been investigated by the CCSD and B3LYP approaches. The CASSCF calculations have been used to determine geometries of selected excited states of both isoelectronic series. Linear C2n+1S cluster has a cumulenic carbon framework, whereas its isoelectronic C2n+1Cl+ has a dominant character of acetylenic structure in the vicinity of terminal Cl. The vertical excitation energies of low-lying excited states have been calculated by the CASPT2 method. Calculations show that the excitation energies have nonlinear size dependence. The 2(1)Sigma+<--X1Sigma+ transition energy in C2n+1S has a limit of 1.78 eV, as the chain size is long enough. The predicted vertical excitation energies for relatively strong 1(1)Pi<--X1Sigma+ and 2(1)Sigma+<--X1Sigma+ transitions are in reasonable agreement with available experimental values. The spin-orbit effect on the spin-forbidden transition in both series is generally small, and the enhancement of the spin-forbidden transition by spin-orbit coupling exhibits geometrical and electronic structural dependence.