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Updated: Dec 27, 2025
12:11
Computation of Atmospheric Concentrations of Molecular Clusters from ab initio Thermochemistry
Published on: April 8, 2020
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Elusive Cyanoform: Computational Probing Its Stability and Reactivity with Accurate Ab Initio Methods
Marek Szczepaniak1, Jerzy Moc1
1Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University, F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Wroclaw, Poland.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. A
|March 5, 2020
Summary
This study investigates the reactivity of cyanoform (HC(CN)3) using advanced computational methods. Hydration is a key exothermic reaction, with water molecule assistance facilitating the process and stabilizing products.
Area of Science:
- Computational Chemistry
- Quantum Chemistry
- Chemical Reactivity
Background:
- Cyanoform (HC(CN)3) is a highly reactive and difficult-to-isolate compound.
- Understanding its stability and reaction pathways is crucial for chemical synthesis and safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To computationally investigate the reaction mechanisms and stability of cyanoform.
- To determine the most accurate theoretical molecular parameters for related cyanocarbons.
Main Methods:
- Coupled-Cluster with Singles and Doubles incorporating a perturbative treatment of Triple excitations with F12 factors (CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVTZ-F12//CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ) level of theory.
- Calculation of energies for 22 pertinent reactions.
- Analysis of structures, binding energies, and Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) data.
Main Results:
- Identified several exothermic reaction pathways for cyanoform, particularly hydration.
- Elucidated a gas-phase hydration mechanism where water addition to the nitrile group is rate-limiting, aided by an additional water molecule.
- Confirmed intramolecular O-H···O═C hydrogen bonding in the planar isomer of cyanoform dihydrate.
- Found that non-conventional C-H···N hydrogen bonds contribute to the stability of [HC(CN)3]n clusters (n=2,4).
- Calculated highly accurate gas-phase molecular parameters for cyanocarbons C2(CN)4, C2(CN)6, and C6(CN)6.
Conclusions:
- The study provides valuable theoretical insights into the reactivity and stability of cyanoform and related compounds.
- The findings contribute to the accurate theoretical characterization of highly reactive carbon-nitrogen compounds.
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