Halogenated silanes, radicals, and cations: Theoretical predictions on ionization energies, structures and potential energy surfaces of cations, proton affinities, and enthalpies of formation

Quantum chemistry study has been carried out on the structure and energetics of halogenated silanes, radicals, and cations (SiHxXy0,+1, X = F, Cl, Br; x + y = 1–4). The geometries are optimized at B3LYP/6-31+G(2df,p) level. The adiabatic ionization energiess (IEas), relative energetics of cations, proton affinities (PAs) of silanes, and the enthalpies of formation are predicted using G3(CC) model chemistry. Non-classical ion complex structures are found for hydrogenated cations and transition states connecting classical and non-classical structures are also located. The most stable cations for silylene and silyl radicals have their classical divalent and trivalent structures, and those for silanes have non-classical structures except for SiH3Br+ and SiH2Br2+. The non-classical structures for halosilane cations imply difficulty in experimentally measurement of the adiabatic ionization energies using photoionization or photoelectron studies. For SiH3X, SiH2X2, and SiHX3, the G3(CC) adiabatic IEas to classical ionic structures closest to their neutrals agree better with the photoelectron spectroscopic measurements. The transition states between classical and non-classical structures also hamper the photoionization determination of the appearance energies for silylene cations from silanes. The G3(CC) results for SiHx0,+1 agree excellently with the photoionization mass spectrometric study, and the results for fluorinated and chlorinated species also agree with the previous theoretical predictions at correlation levels from BAC-MP4 to CCSD(T)/CBS. The predicted enthalpy differences between SiH2Cl+, SiHCl2+, and SiCl3+ are also in accordance with previous kinetics study. The G3(CC) results show large discrepancies to the collision-induced charge transfer and/or dissociation reactions involving SiFx+ and SiClx+ ions, for which the G3(CC) enthalpies of formation are also significantly differed from the previous theoretical predictions, especially on SiFx+ (x = 2–4). The G3(CC) IEa and PA of SiF4 are significantly different from previous experimental and theoretical studies; however, they are supported by current benchmark calculations at level of CCSD(T)/CBS + core-valence correction.