Ab initio prediction of the potential energy surface and vibrational-rotational energy levels of calcium dihydride, CaH2.
The equilibrium structure and potential energy surface of calcium dihydride, CaH(2), have been determined from large-scale ab initio calculations using the coupled-cluster method, CCSD(T), in conjunction with basis sets of quadruple- and quintuple-zeta quality. The CaH(2) molecule was found to be quasilinear. The HCaH bending potential function was predicted to be extraordinarily flat near the minimum, located at the HCaH angle of 164 degrees. The barrier to linearity was calculated to be just 6 cm(-1). The vibrational-rotational energy levels of various isotopomers were predicted using the variational method. The calculated vibrational fundamental frequencies are in good agreement with the results of matrix-isolation studies, and the other predicted spectroscopic constants can assist in the future detection of calcium dihydride in the gas phase.
Koput
Jacek
J
Department of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznań, Poland. koput@amu.edu.pl