Electron affinities of cyano-substituted ethylenes

Abstract

Electron affinities of ethylene and six cyano-substituted ethylenes (cyanoethylene, 1, 1-dicyanoethylene, cis-1, 2-dicyanoethylene, trans-1, 2-dicyanothylene, tricyanoethylene, and tetracyanoethylene) were determined using six different density functional or hybrid Hartree-Fock/density functional methods. Equilibrium geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies for each species were determined with each density functional method. Experimental electron affinities exist for three of the six systems studied (cyanoethylene, trans-1, 2-dicyanoethylene, and tetracyanoethylene); for the three systems, the absolute average EA errors for the different methods are 0.10eV (BLYP), 0.19ev (BHLYP), 0.22eV (B3LYP), 0.20eV (BP86), 0.78eV (B3P86), and 0.81eV (LSDA). The electron affinities of gem-dicyanoethylene, cis-discyanoethylene, and tricyanoethylene are not known from experiment but are predicted here to be 1.23eV (gem-dicyanoethylene), 1.32eV (cis-dicyanoethylene), and 2.41eV (tricyanoethylene). Contrary to earlier suggestions, tetracyanoethylene is predicted to be planar, rather than twisted. Density functional theory predicts that the ²B_1u state of the ethylene anion lies lower than the ²B_2g state, which is reported by experimentalists as the (transient) ground state, and lower than the ²A_g state. Coupled-cluster results indicate that the ²A_g state is lower than either the ²B_2g or ²B_1u states. The energetic stabilization of cyano substitution on ethylene results from the π and π∗ conjugation of multiple cyano groups. The HOMO-LUMO gap in ethylene decreases with increasing cyano substitution, from 7.2eV in C₂H₄ to 3.8eV in C₂(CN)₄, explaining the extreme difference between the electron affinities of ethylene (negative) and tetracyanoethylene (∼T3.0eV).