title: The trigonal bipyramidal MN3M species: a new kind of aromatic complex containing a multiple-fold aromatic N3 subunit.
abstract: A new kind of aromatic trigonal bipyramidal MN3M (M=Be, B, Mg, Al, and Ca) species, with all real frequencies, is obtained at the MP2/6-311+G(3d) level. The nucleus-independent chemical shift values are -102.16 ppm for the N3 (3-) ring, and -74.09, -79.39, -65.06, -74.44, and -62.33 ppm (at the geometrical center of the trigonal bipyramid) for BeN3Be, BN3B, MgN3Mg, AlN3Al, and CaN3Ca, respectively. Molecular orbital analysis indicates that the regular triangular N3 (3-) ring and each MN3M species have three aromatic six-electron systems (pi, sigma(p), and sigma(s)) and exhibit threefold aromaticity. The CaN3Ca species has a very low vertical ionization energy of 3.64 eV at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(3d) level, which is even lower than the ionization energy (3.9 eV) of the Cs atom. Therefore, CaN3Ca can be considered as a new superalkali species. A further study on the CaN3CaCl molecule confirms the superalkali characteristics of CaN3Ca. Two interesting phenomena are explored in the MN3M species: the delocalized electron cloud of the N3 subunit is elongated by two M cations, and the electron clouds of two M cations are distended by the N3 (3-) ring.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhi-Ru
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chia-Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sun