The prediction of nuclear quadrupole moments from ab initio quantum chemical studies on small molecules. I. The electric field gradients at the 14N and 2H nuclei in N2, NO, NO+, CN, CN−, HCN, HNC, and NH3

Nuclear quadrupole coupling constants for N2O: experiment and theory

The nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (NQCCs) for the nitrogen and oxygen nuclei in N(2)O have been determined using a variety of computational methods (MP2, QCISD, DFT with B3LYP, PBE0, and B3PW91 functionals, CCSD, CCSD(T), CASSCF, and MRCI) combined with correlation-consistent basis sets. When compared to the available experimental determinations, the results demonstrate that only CCSD(T) and MRCI methods are capable of accurately predicting the NQCCs of the central and terminal nitrogen atoms. The spin-rotation and magnetic shielding tensors have also been determined and compared to experimental measurements where available. (14)N and (17)O NMR relaxation data for N(2)O in the gas phase and a variety of solvents is reported. The increase in the ratio of (14)N spin-lattice relaxation times in solvent for the central and terminal nitrogens supports previous reports of the modification of the electric field gradients at these nuclei in van der Waals complexes. Ab initio computations for the linear FH···N(2)O complex confirm the large change in EFGs imposed by a single perturber.

The (14)N quadrupole coupling in hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD)

Using high-field NMR, we have determined the magnitude of the nuclear quadrupole interaction in hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), the explosive allegedly used in the London bombings of July 2005. The experimental quadrupolar coupling constant, 5.334 MHz, is in good agreement with quantum chemical calculations. The predicted single zero-field transition frequency should lie in a relatively empty part of the (14)N nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectrum; the spin relaxation rate is reasonably fast.

Multireference CI calculation of nuclear quadrupole coupling constants of CN+ and CN-: rovibrational dependence

The 14N quadrupole coupling constants of rovibrational levels of the X1sigma+ and c1sigma+ states of CN+, and the ground electronic state of CN- are calculated from molecular wavefunctions which explicitly describe nuclear displacement. From the electronic states considered, the excited 1sigma+ state of CN is predicted to exhibit the strongest N coupling, at least in the ground vibrational state. Compared to the vibrational dependence of the 14N QCC's, which is found to be significant in all cases, the rotational dependence is predicted to be unimportant. Special attention is paid to the assessment of adequacy of the expectation value approach to the evaluation of the electric field gradient tensor within the applied multireference configuration interaction formalism. Spectroscopic constants are derived from corresponding potential energy curves to testify to the quality of the correlated wave functions used.

The electric dipole polarity of the ground and low-lying metastable excited states of NF

NF (nitrogen monofluoride, fluoroimidogen) is isoelectronic with O2, and, like O2, it has a triplet configuration in the ground state, with two low-lying metastable singlet excited states. The dipole moment of the a 1Delta excited state was measured in 1973 to be 0.37 +/- 0.06 D; at the time its polarity was assumed to be normal (i.e., with the negative charge on the fluorine). However, high-level electronic structure calculations, which reproduce with high accuracy the known spectroscopic constants of the ground and excited states of NF, predict a dipole moment of -0.388 D for a 1Delta NF, indicating that, despite the electronegativities, this molecule carries a positive charge on fluorine. The other singlet state is predicted to have an even larger negative dipole moment; the ground-state triplet should have a very small positive moment. Singlet NF resembles in this respect CO and BF, from the N2 isoelectronic series, both of which also have negative dipole moments.