Carbon geometries

In almost all compounds that have pn-dn bonds, the central atom is connected to four atoms or three atoms and an unshared pair and the bonding is approximately tetrahedral. The pn-dn bond, therefore, does not greatly change the geometry of the molecule in contrast to the normal tc bond, which changes an atom from tetrahedral to trigonal. Calculations show that nonstabilized phosphonium ylids have nonplanar ylidic carbon geometries, whereas stabilized ylids have planar ylidic carbons. ... 

A Figure 24.1 Carbon geometries. The three common geometries around carbon are tetrahedral as in methane (CH4), trigonal planar as in formaldehyde (CH2O), and linear as in acetonitrile (CH3CN). Notice that in all cases each carbon atom forms four bonds. 

Stankevich IV, Nikerov MV, Bochvar DA, The structural chemistry of crystalline carbon geometry, stability and electronic spectrum, Russian Chemical Reviews, 53 640, 1984. 

Figure Bl.22.10. Carbon K-edge near-edge x-ray absorption (NEXAFS) speetra as a fiinotion of photon ineidenee angle from a submonolayer of vinyl moieties adsorbed on Ni(lOO) (prepared by dosing 0.2 1 of ethylene on that surfaee at 180 K). Several eleetronie transitions are identified in these speetra, to both the pi (284 and 286 eV) and the sigma (>292 eV) imoeeupied levels of the moleeule. The relative variations in the intensities of those peaks with ineidenee angle ean be easily eonverted into adsorption geometry data the vinyl plane was found in this ease to be at a tilt angle of about 65° from the surfaee [71], Similar geometrieal detenninations using NEXAFS have been earried out for a number of simple adsorbate systems over the past few deeades.

The origin of a torsional barrier can be studied best in simple cases like ethane. Here, rotation about the central carbon-carbon bond results in three staggered and three eclipsed stationary points on the potential energy surface, at least when symmetry considerations are not taken into account. Quantum mechanically, the barrier of rotation is explained by anti-bonding interactions between the hydrogens attached to different carbon atoms. These interactions are small when the conformation of ethane is staggered, and reach a maximum value when the molecule approaches an eclipsed geometry. 

To ensure that the arrangement of four atoms in a trigonal planar environment (e.g., a sp -hybridized carbon atom) remains essentially planar, a quadratic term like V(0) = (fe/2) is used to achieve the desired geometry. By calculating the angle 9 between a bond from the central atom and the plane defined by the central... 

Five-carbon fragment to illustrate distance geometry algorithm. 

Polarization functions are functions of a higher angular momentum than the occupied orbitals, such as adding d orbitals to carbon or / orbitals to iron. These orbitals help the wave function better span the function space. This results in little additional energy, but more accurate geometries and vibrational frequencies. 

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