Positive ion chemistry of SiH4/NF3 gaseous mixtures studied by ion trap mass spectrometry

Extreme NMR shielding in fluoro-nitrogen cations

The structure and NMR shielding of a set of N-F containing cations is reported to near-quantitative accuracy from extensive ab initio calculations. Currently, the shortest experimentally confirmed N-F bond is 1.2461(10) Å in NNF+, however CCSD(T)-F12b/cc-pVQZ-F12 optimised geometries suggest that even shorter N-F bonds are possible for both monocations (1.236 Å, HNF+) and dications (1.098 Å, NF2+). NMR shielding constants have been calculated in a composite manner with individual components from coupled-cluster expansions up to CCSDTQP and basis sets up to aug-cc-pCV8Z, together with vibrational and relativistic corrections. 15N and 19F NMR chemical shifts correlate well with available experimental data. Extreme 19F chemical shifts are predicted for HNF+ (1628.9 ppm) and NH2F2+ (1298.0 ppm), which are by far the largest 19F chemical shifts ever reported and well outside the known range of +865 ppm (F2O2) to -448 ppm (ClF). The 15N chemical shift of -1283.07 ppm in HNF+ is similarly extreme, being well outside the known range of 15N chemical shifts of -730 to 260 ppm (CH3NO2 reference). This work highlights the application of state-of-the-art theoretical techniques, and provides accurate NMR properties of both isolated and yet unknown N-F cations, which can serve to guide and supplement NMR experimentation.

Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Gas-Phase Reactions of Germyl Radicals with NF3: Homolytic Substitution at the Nitrogen Atom vs Fluorine Abstraction

In this paper, we report on the unexplored reaction mechanisms of bimolecular homolytic substitution (S_H2) between GeH₃ radicals and the nitrogen atom of NF₃. The S_H2 reactions are studied both experimentally and theoretically with ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The experimental results of X-ray irradiation of mixtures of GeH₄ and NF₃ show the formation of GeH₃-NF₂ and GeH₃-F. The trend of product yields as a function of the increase in GeH₄ partial pressure in the irradiated mixtures evidences the predominant role of GeH₃ radicals. Particularly, the S_H2 mechanism can be hypothesized for the reaction between GeH₃ radicals and NF₃ molecules leading to GeH₃-NF₂. This mechanism is further confirmed by the increase in GeH₃-NF₂ yield observed if O₂ is added, as a radical scavenger, to the reaction mixture. In agreement with the experimental data, from the calculations performed at the CCSD(T) and G3B3 levels of theory, we observe that the GeH₃-NF₂ product actually occurs from a bimolecular homolytic substitution by the GeH₃ radical, which attacks the N atom of NF₃, and this reaction is in competition with the fluorine abstraction reaction leading to GeH₃F, even if other mechanisms may be involved in the formation of this product.

Bimolecular Homolytic Substitutions at Nitrogen: An Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Gas-Phase Reactions of Alkyl Radicals with NF3

The X-ray irradiation of binary mixtures of alkyl iodides R-I (R=CH3 , C2 H5 , or i-C3 H7 radicals) and NF3 produces R-NF2 and R-F. Based on calculations performed at the CCSD(T), MRCI(SD+Q), G3B3, and G3 levels of theory, the former product arises from a bimolecular homolytic substitution reaction (SH 2) by the alkyl radicals R, which attack the N atom of NF3 . This mechanism is consistent with the suppression of R-NF2 by addition of O2 (an efficient alkyl radical scavenger) to the reaction mixture. The R-F product arises from the attack of R to the F atom of NF3 , but additional contributing channels are conceivably involved. The F-atom abstraction is, indeed, considerably more exothermic than the SH 2 reaction, but the involved energy barriers are comparable, and the two processes are comparably fast.

Gas-phase reactions of SiH(n)+ (n = 1,2) with NF3: a computational investigation on the detailed mechanistic aspects

The mechanism of the gas-phase reactions of SiH(n)(+) (n = 1,2) with NF(3) were investigated by ab initio calculations at the MP2 and CAS-MCSCF level of theory. In the reaction of SiH(+), the kinetically relevant intermediates are the two isomeric forms of fluorine-coordinated intermediate HSi-F-NF(2)(+). These species arise from the exoergic attack of SiH(+) to one of the F atoms of NF(3) and undergo two competitive processes, namely an isomerization and subsequent dissociation into SiF(+) + HNF(2) , and a singlet-triplet crossing so to form the spin-forbidden products HSiF(+) + NF(2). The reaction of SiH(2)(+) with NF(3) involves instead the concomitant formation of the nitrogen-coordinated complex H(2)Si-NF(3)(+) and of the fluorine-coordinated complex H(2)Si-F-NF(2)(+). The latter isomer directly dissociates into NF(2)(+) + H(2)SiF, whereas the former species preferably undergoes the passage through a conical intersection point so to form a H(2) SiF-NF(2)(+) isomer, which eventually dissociates into H(2)SiF(+) and NF(2).

Positive ion chemistry of SiH4/GeF4 gaseous mixtures studied by ion trap mass spectrometry and ab initio calculations

The positive ion chemistry occurring in SiH(4)/GeF(4) gaseous mixtures was investigated by ion trap mass spectrometry and ab initio theoretical calculations. The GeF(3)(+) cation, the only fragment obtained from ionized GeF(4), was unreactive towards SiH(4). All the primary ions SiH(n)(+) (n = 0-3) react instead with GeF(4) so to form SiF(+) or SiH(2)F(+). The latter species reacts in turn with SiH(4) and GeF(4) so to form SiH(3)(+) and SiHF(2)(+), respectively. The potential energy profiles conceivably involved in these reactions were investigated by ab initio calculations performed at the MP2 and coupled cluster (CCSD(T)) level of theory.