Nonadiabatic decomposition of gas-phase RDX through conical intersections: an ONIOM-CASSCF study

Topographical exploration of nonadiabatically coupled ground- and excited-electronic-state potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the isolated RDX molecule was performed using the ONIOM methodology: Computational results were compared and contrasted with the previous experimental results for the decomposition of this nitramine energetic material following electronic excitation. One of the N-NO(2) moieties of the RDX molecule was considered to be an active site. Electronic excitation of RDX was assumed to be localized in the active site, which was treated with the CASSCF algorithm. The influence of the remainder of the molecule on the chosen active site was calculated by either a UFF MM or RHF QM method. Nitro-nitrite isomerization was predicted to be a major excited-electronic-state decomposition channel for the RDX molecule. This prediction directly corroborates previous experimental results obtained through photofragmentation-fragment detection techniques. Nitro-nitrite isomerization of RDX was found to occur through a series of conical intersections (CIs) and was finally predicted to produce rotationally cold but vibrationally hot distributions of NO products, also in good agreement with the experimental observation of rovibrational distributions of the NO product. The ONIOM (CASSCF:UFF) methodology predicts that the final step in the RDX dissociation occurs on its S(0) ground-electronic-state potential energy surface (PES). Thus, the present work clearly indicates that the ONIOM method, coupled with a suitable CASSCF method for the active site of the molecule, at which electronic excitation is assumed to be localized, can predict hitherto unexplored excited-electronic-state PESs of large energetic molecules such as RDX, HMX, and CL-20. A comparison of the decomposition mechanism for excited-electronic-state dimethylnitramine (DMNA), a simple analogue molecule of nitramine energetic materials, with that for RDX, an energetic material, was also performed. CASSCF pure QM calculations showed that, following electronic excitation of DMNA to its S(2) surface, decomposition of this molecule occurs on its S(1) surface through a nitro-nitrite isomerization producing rotationally hot and vibrationally cold distributions of the NO product.