Enthalpy of the gas-phase CO2 + Mg reaction from ab initio total energies

Various highly accurate ab initio composite methods of Gaussian-n (G1, G2, G3), their variations (G2(MP2), G3(MP2), G3//B3LYP, G3(MP2)//B3LYP), and complete basis set (CBS-Q, CBS-Q//B3LYP) series of models were applied to compute reaction enthalpies of the ground-state reaction of CO2 with Mg. All model chemistries predict highly endothermic reactions, with DeltaH(298) = 63.6-69.7 kcal x mol(-1). The difference between the calculated reaction enthalpies and the experimental value, evaluated with recommended experimental standard enthalpies of formation for products and reactants, is more than 20 kcal x mol(-1) for all methods. This difference originates in the incorrect experimental enthalpy of formation of gaseous MgO given in thermochemical databases. When the theoretical formation enthalpy for MgO calculated by a particular method is used, the deviation is reduced to 1.3 kcal x mol(-1). The performance of the methodologies used to calculate the heat of this particular reaction and the enthalpy of formation of MgO are discussed.