Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.119, No.4, 652-658, 2015
The Molecular Structure of Methylfluoroisocyanato Silane: A Combined Microwave Spectral and Theoretical Study
The structure of methylfluoroisocyanato silane (Me-SiHF-NCO) has been deduced by a combination of microwave (MW) spectra including data from C-12,C-13, N-14,N-15, and Si-28,Si-29,Si-30 isotopomers, and ab initio calculations. The rotational constants (RC) for the most abundant isotopes are A = 6301.415(45), B = 1535.078(39), and C = 1310.485(39) MHz. The symmetric quartic centrifugal distortion constants have been identified, using the Ir representation for C-1 symmetry, which includes the 3-fold rotor. The spectra of the isotopomer combinations gave a partial substitution structure where the C2Si3, Si3N4, and N4C9 bond lengths are 1.8427(70), 1.7086(77), and 1.2120(90)angstrom; although the C2Si3N4 angle is close to tetrahedral (109.71 degrees (52)), the Si3N4C9 angle is wide (157.69 degrees (18)). The rotational constants are only consistent with a trans-orientation for each of the dihedral angles (HC2Si3N4, C2Si3N4C9, and Si3N4C9O10). The structural analysis was completed by calculations of the equilibrium structure, using MP3 in conjunction with an aug-cc-pVTZ basis set (434 Cartesian basis functions). This gave A = 6240.324, B = 1518.489, and C = 1297.819 MHz. The equilibrium structure bond lengths for C2Si3, Si3N4, and N4C9 were 1.8485, 1.7147, and 1.1947 angstrom, with the C2Si3N4 and Si3N4C9 angles 109.55 and 156.67 degrees, respectively. Although the SiNC polynomial bending surface is complex, the data points can be fit to the simple form V(x) = 50.36(91)x4 - 7.53(44)x(5), with comparatively little loss of accuracy. The A-rotational constant is strongly influenced by the Si3N4C9 angle, and smaller bases lead to this angle being nearly linear. The theoretical results suggest a very heavily polarized molecule, which is supported by the positions of the local electron density minima within the bonds and electron density calculations.