Clumped-isotope signatures at equilibrium of CH4, NH3, H2O, H2S and SO2

High precision Δi values at equilibrium determined by theoretical methods are imperatively needed as references for the development of new clumped-isotope thermometers (or tracers). In this study, quantum chemistry methods with corrections beyond the harmonic approximation are used to obtain the clumped-isotope signatures at equilibrium of several gas-phase molecules (i.e., CH4, NH3, H2O, H2S, and SO2). Here, we consider as many corrections to the traditional Bigeleisen-Mayer equation as possible to obtain accurate Δi values at equilibrium and their temperature dependences. The corrections include anharmonic correction for zero-point energy, anharmonic correction for vibrational excited states, vibration-rotation coupling correction for zero-point energy, vibration-rotation coupling correction for vibrational excited states, quantum mechanical correction to rotation, and centrifugal distortion correction, which are important for theoretical understanding of clumped-isotope signals. Specifically, molecular constants are calculated via second-order perturbative analysis at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level. The CCSD/6-311+G(3df,3pd) and CCSD/aug-cc-pVTZ levels are further employed to ensure the precision of harmonic frequencies of methane. For methane, a polynomial fit of ΔCH313D values over the temperature range of from 273.15 to 1000 K is obtained: ΔCH313D=0.002551000T4-0.116391000T3+1.013641000T2-0.436271000T Our results are slightly different from previous theoretical calculations, and may serve as new anchors for calibrating experimental observations.