RESUMO
The electronic structures of the HXY/XYH compounds (X[Double Bond]C,Si;Y[Double Bond]O,S) on the (2)A(') electronic ground state were investigated by applying the natural bond orbital (NBO) method to the computed B3LYP6-311G(**) wave functions. Different localized structures are proposed for the HXY and XYH isomers and the central XY unit is described as intermediate between a double and a triple bond in HCO, HCS, HSiO, and HSiS, similar to a double bond in COH, CSH, and SiSH, and clearly a single bond in SiOH. Through the comparison between the NBO results for the diatomic and hydrogenated compounds, the energy preferences on each pair of isomers and the computed geometrical parameters are explained. According to the structures proposed, the HXY compounds are sigma radicals with the spin density distributed along the molecular framework, while the XYH compounds are pi radicals with most of the unpaired spin located on an almost pure p orbital of the X atom. Finally, the amounts of spin density on natural atomic orbitals provided by the NBO method are used to explain the computed values of the isotropic and anisotropic hyperfine coupling constants.
RESUMO
Linear sulfur-carbon chains C(n)S (n=1-6) of astronomical interest were examined by means of several theoretical methods. The three smallest compounds of the series were chosen to evaluate the performance of several computational models, including Hartree-Fock theory, density functional theory with the Becke's three parameter exchange functional and the correlation functional of Lee, Yang, and Parr (B3LYP), and electron-correlated methods (second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation method (MP2), configuration interaction method including single and double excitations (CISD), and quadratic configuration interaction method including single and double excitations (QCISD) in combination with a large variety of basis sets. The systematic comparison between the experiment and theory indicates that the B3LYP/6-311G** method can be considered suitable for the study of the electronic structures of the C(n)S compounds. The electronic ground states of the C(n)S molecules alternate between 1Sigma and 3Sigma for odd and even values of n, respectively. The B3LYP/6-311G** wave functions for these electronic ground states were analyzed by means of the atoms in molecules (AIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) methods. Both approaches suggest that the electronic structures for the singlet and triplet compounds must be considered separately. According to the NBO method, singlet compounds can be properly represented by acetylenic structures with alternating single and triple bonds (S[triple bond]C-C[triple bond]C...). However, triplet compounds are better described by means of double bond-double bond cumulenic structures (S=C=C=C=C...) as a consequence of the average between different alpha and beta electronic densities. AIM delocalization indexes and NBO interactions between localized orbitals also indicate that these structures are strongly pi delocalized. Finally, the different singlet and triplet structures proposed provide a consistent explanation for the geometries, dipole moments, and spin-density values of the C(n)S compounds studied.
