Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr..
We have computed the synthetic infrared spectra of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons containing up to 54 carbon atoms. The species studied include ovalene, circumcoronene, dicoronylene, and hexabenzocoronene. We report spectra for anions, neutrals, cations, and multiply charged cations.
We study the energetics of CH2O + NH3-Yields CH2NH + H2O in the gas phase at the B3LYP and CCSD(T)levels. This reaction is shown to have a sizeable barrier. Ionization of NH3 reduces the barrier to about 5 kcal/mol. We also show that in water, a proton catalyzed mechanism yields no barriers in excess of the reaction endothermicity. Since this reaction has been proposed as one of the steps in interstellar synthesis of glycine, the simplest amino acid, this work suggests that the formation of amino acids is occurring in and/or on interstellar water ice grains, and not in the gas phase.
The interaction of a pyridine molecule with H and Cl atoms on a Si(111) surface is studied using a cluster model in conjunction with the B3LYP/6-3 1G level of theory. Regardless of the type of the neighboring atoms, the interaction of the pyridine with a hydrogen atom is very different from its interaction a chlorine atom. This system is discussed in terms of our atomic data storage proposal.
Heats of formation for cyclic C4F8 and C4F8+ are determined at the G3MP2 level. The several decomposition pathways are investigated. The calculations confirm that C4F8+ rearranges and its decomposition is responsible for both the C2F4+ and C3F5+ species observed in experiment. The heats of formation are presented for C4Fn and C4Fn+, n = 4-8.
It is now possible to compute IR (infrared) spectra of large molecules with an accuracy of 30 per cm, or better, using density function theory. This is true for cations, anions, and neutrals. Thus it possible to generate synthetic IR spectra that can help interpret experimental spectra and fill in for missing experimental data. These synthetic spectra can be used as input into interstellar models. In addition to IR spectra, it is possible to compute energetic properties to help understand which molecules can be formed in the interstellar environment.
The atomization energy of Mg4 is determined using the MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory. Basis set incompleteness, basis set extrapolation, and core-valence effects are discussed. Our best atomization energy, including the zero-point energy and scalar relativistic effects, is 24.6+/-1.6 kcal per mol. Our computed and extrapolated values are compared with previous results, where it is observed that our extrapolated MP2 value is good agreement with the MP2-R12 value. The CCSD(T) and MP2 core effects are found to have the opposite signs.
Correlation consistent basis sets are developed for a 13 electron correlation treatment of In atom. The basis sets are used in all-electron (AE) and effective core potential (ECP) calculations. The atomization energies of InCl and InCl3 are used as a test of the basis set. The results are extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The AE and ECP CCSD(T) CBS values are in very good mutal when the AE values are corrected for scalar relativistic effects. The best computed values are in good agreement with experiment.
Correlation consistent basis sets are developed for Ti atom. The polarization functions are optimized for the average of the 3F and 5F states. One series of correlation consistent basis sets is for 3d and 4s correlation, while the second series includes 3s and 3p correlation as well as 3d and 4s correlation. These basis sets are tested using the Ti 3F-5F separation and the dissociation energies of TiCl X4Phi, TiH X4Phi, and TiH(+) X3Phi. The CCSD(T) complete basis set limit values are determined by extrapolation. The Douglas Kroll approach is used to compute the scalar relativistic effect. Spin-orbit effects are taken from experiment and/or computed at the CASSCF level. The Ti 3F-5F separation is in excellent agreement with experiment, while the TiCl, TiH, and TiH(+) bond energies are in good agreement with experiment. Extrapolation with the valence basis set is consistent with other atoms, while including 3s and 3p correlation appears to make extrapolation.
The infrared spectra of six molecules, each of which contains a five-membered ring, and their cations are determined using density functional theory (DFT); both the B3LYP and BP86 functionals are used. The computed results are compared with the experimental spectra. For the neutral molecules, both methods are in good agreement with experiment. Even the Hartree-Fock (HF) approach is qualitatively correct for the neutrals. For the cations, the HF approach fails, as found for other organic ring systems. The B3LYP and BP86 approaches are in good mutual agreement for five of the six cation spectra, and in good agreement with experiment for four of the five cations where the experimental spectra are available. It is only for the fluoranthene cation, where the BP86 and B3LYP functionals yield different results; the BP86 yields the expected C2v symmetry, while the B3LYP approach breaks symmetry. The experimental spectra supports the BP86 spectra over the B3LYP, but the quality of the experimental spectra does not allow a critical evaluation of the accuracy of the BP86 approach for this difficult system.
The products of the reaction of Sc and dioxygen have been reinvestigated. By adding the electron-trapping molecule CC14, additional information about the IR spectra has been obtained, as well as the observation of new bands. New ab initio calculations are also performed on possible products of the Sc plus O2 reaction. The previously observed band at 722.5 per cm is assigned as the b2 mode of ScO2(-). Bands arising from ScO(+), Sc(O2)(+), and(O2)ScO are also assigned. We are still unable to assign any bands to OScO. The problems associated with the computational study of ScO2 are discussed.
We present heats of formation and bond energies for Group-III compounds obtained from calculations of molecular ground-state I electronic energies. Data for compounds of the form MXn are presented, where M = B, Al, Ga, and In, X = He H, Cl, and CH3, and n = 1-3. Energies for the B, Al, and Ga compounds are obtained from G2 predictions, while those for the In compounds are obtained from CCSD(T)/CBS calculations; these are the most accurate calculations for indium-containing compounds published to date. In most cases, the calculated thermochemistry is in good agreement with published values derived from experiments for those species that have well-established heats of formation. Bond energies obtained from the heats of formation follow the expected trend (Cl much greater than CH3 approx. H). However, the CH3M-(CH3)2 bond energies obtained for trimethylgallium and trimethylindium are considerably stronger (greater than 15 kcal/mol) than currently accepted values.
InXn atomization energies are computed for n = 1-3 and X = H, Cl, and CH3. The geometries and frequencies are determined using density functional theory. The atomization energies are computed at the coupled cluster level of theory. The complete basis set limit is obtained by extrapolation. The scalar relativistic effect is computed using the Douglas-Kroll approach. While the heats of formation for InH, InCl and InCl3 are in good agreement with experiment, the current results show that the experimental value for In(CH3)3 must be wrong.
Accurate heats of formation are computed for SFn, SFn+, and SFn-, for n=1-6. The geometries and vibrational frequencies are determined at the B3LY-P level of theory. The energetics are determined at the CCSD(T) level of theory. Extrapolation to the basis set limit is discussed. The temperature dependence of the heat of formation, heat capacity, and entropy are computed for the temperature range 300 to 4000 approx. K and fit to a polynomial.
The ground and low-lying electronic states of CaN2(+) are studied at several levels of theory. The results for the X(sup 2)Sigma(+) state and the excited (2)(sup 2)Pi state, arising from occupying the Ca 4p orbital, are in good agreement with experiment. The analogous states of Ca(N2)2(+) are studied using the same theoretical approaches, and predictions are made as to the changes caused by the addition of the second N2 ligand.
The addition of tight functions to sulphur and extrapolation to the complete basis set limit are required to obtain accurate atomization energies. Six different extrapolation procedures are tried. The best atomization energies come from the series of basis sets that yield the most consistent results for all extrapolation techniques. In the variable alpha approach, alpha values larger than 4.5 or smaller than 3, appear to suggest that the extrapolation may not be reliable. It does not appear possible to determine a reliable basis set series using only the triple and quadruple zeta based sets. The scalar relativistic effects reduce the atomization of SO and SO2 by 0.34 and 0.81 kcal/mol, respectively, and clearly must be accounted for if a highly accurate atomization energy is to be computed. The magnitude of the core-valence (CV) contribution to the atomization is affected by missing diffuse valence functions. The CV contribution is much more stable if basis set superposition errors are accounted for. A similar study of SF, SF(+), and SF6 shows that the best family of basis sets varies with the nature of the S bonding.
Ab initio electronic structure calculations are performed to support and to help interpret the experimental work reported in the proceeding manuscript. The CCSD(T) approach, in conjunction with a large basis set, is used to compute spectroscopic constants for the X(exp 1)Epsilon(+) and (3)II states of ZnO and the X(exp 2)Epsilon(+) state of ZnO(-). The spectroscopic constants, including the electron affinity, are in good agreement with experiment. The ZnO EA is significantly larger than that of O, thus relative to the atomic ground state asymptotes, ZnO(-) has a larger D(sub o) than the (1)Epsilon(+) state, despite the fact that the extra electron goes into an antibonding orbital. The changes in spectroscopic constants can be understood in terms of the X(exp 1)Epsilon(+) formally dissociating to Zn (1)S + O (1)D while the (3)II and (2)Epsilon(+) states dissociate to Zn (1)S + O (3)P and Zn (1) and O(-) (2)P, respectively.
The bond energies of 8 chemically bound diatomics are computed using several basis sets with and without bond functions (BF). The bond energies obtained using the aug-pVnZ+BF basis sets (with a correction for basis set superposition error, BSSE) tend to be slightly smaller that the results obtained using the aug-pV(n+I)Z basis sets, but slightly larger than the BSSE corrected aug-pV(n+I)Z results. The aug-cc-pVDZ+BF and aug-cc-pVTZ+BF basis sets yield reasonable estimates of bond energies, but, in most cases, these results cannot be considered highly accurate. Extrapolation of the results obtained with basis sets including bond functions appears to be inferior to the results obtained by extrapolation using atom-centered basis sets. Therefore bond functions do not appear to offer a path for obtaining highly accurate results for chemically bound systems at a lower computational cost than atom centered basis sets.
The heats of formation of GaC13 and its fragments are computed. The geometries and frequencies are obtained at the B3LYP level. The CCSD(T) approach is used to solve the correlation problem. The effect of Ga 3d correlation is studied, and found to affect the bond energies by up to 1 kcal/mol. Both basis set extrapolation and bond functions are considered as ways to approach the basis set limit. Spin-orbit and scalar relativistic effects are also considered.