Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol.98, No.9, 2298-2300, 1994
Isolated SO4(2-) and PO4(3-) Anions Do Not Exist
Ab initio theoretical methods that incorporate effects of orbital relaxation and electron correlation are used to examine the possibility that doubly or triply charged oxy anions of the class SO42-, SeO42-, TeO42-, or PO43-, AsO43-, SbO43- are stable relative to electron detachment in the absence of any surrounding medium. In all of these cases, our findings indicate quite clearly that these multiply charged oxy anions are not stable.