Molecular-orbital calculations, nomenclature

The simplest molecular orbital method to use, and the one involving the most drastic approximations and assumptions, is the Huckel method. One str ength of the Huckel method is that it provides a semiquantitative theoretical treatment of ground-state energies, bond orders, electron densities, and free valences that appeals to the pictorial sense of molecular structure and reactive affinity that most chemists use in their everyday work. Although one rarely sees Huckel calculations in the resear ch literature anymore, they introduce the reader to many of the concepts and much of the nomenclature used in more rigorous molecular orbital calculations. 

Protonation of the anion [SN2] by acetic acid in diethyl ether produces the thermally unstable sulfur diimide S(NH)2. Like all sulfur diimides, the parent compound S(NH)2 can exist as three isomers (Scheme 5.5). Ab initio molecular orbital calculations indicate that the (cis,cis) configuration is somewhat more stable than the (cis,trans) isomer, while the (trans,trans) isomer is expected to possess considerably higher energy. The alternative syn,anti or E,Z nomenclatures may also be used to describe these isomers. The structures of organic derivatives S(NR)2 (R = alkyl, aryl) are discussed in Section 10.4.2. 

A theoretical model corresponds to a choice of physical approximations. Performing an actual calculation also requires numerical approximations. In particular, a basis set must be selected. This is the set of functions used to describe the molecular orbitals. A large basis set contains many basis functions and describes orbital shapes better than a small basis set. However, the improved accuracy of a larger basis set is counterbalanced by greater computational cost. The nomenclature and notation for basis functions may appear mysterious, but do have logical structure some are described below. 

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