Quantum chemistry study on cation structures of fluorinated and chlorinated germanes and their radicals

The structures and vibrational frequencies of cations of fluorinated and chlorinated germanes and radicals (GeHxXy+, X = F, Cl; x + y = 1-4) and protonated germanes are investigated theoretically at B3LYP/6-31+G(2df,p) level. For GeH2, GeHX, GeH2X, GeHX2, and germanes, the most stable cationic structures are largely distorted from their neutral ones and all can be viewed as ion complexes between a Ge-centered cation and a neutral atom or diatom. The ionization potentials, appearance energies, and proton affinities are obtained at Gaussian-3(CC) levels. Cations with the lowest energy (and adiabatic ionization potentials (in eV)) are Ge+-H2 (2B2, 8.94), Ge+-FH (9.42), Ge+-ClH (9.45), GeH3(+) (8.01), GeF+-H2 (7.71), GeCl+-H2 (8.01), GeF+-FH (7.69), GeCl+-ClH (7.80), GeH2(+)-H2 (10.45), GeH2(+)-FH (10.32), GeHF+-FH (10.64), GeF2(+)-FH (11.40), GeF4(+) (15.22), GeH2(+)-ClH (10.29), GeHCl+-ClH (10.33), GeCl2(+)-ClH (10.43), and GeCl4(+) (11.48). The most stable protonated germanes (and proton affinities (in kJ/mol, 0 K)) are GeH3(+)-H2 (658.3), GeH3(+)-FH (672.5), GeH2F+-FH (634.2), GeHF2(+)-FH (583.4), GeF3(+)-FH (516.3), GeH3(+)-ClH (672.7), GeH2Cl+-ClH (652.6), GeHCl2(+)-ClH (637.5), and GeCl3(+)-ClH (624.4), respectively. The G3 atomization energies of fluorinated Ge-species are found to be significantly different from G3X and G4 ones, and this may merit further investigation.