The determination of accurate equilibrium molecular structures plays a fundamental role for understanding many physical-chemical properties of molecules, ranging from the precise evaluation of the electronic structure to the analysis of dynamical and environmental effects in tuning their overall behavior. For this purpose the so-called semiexperimental approach, based on a nonlinear least-squares fit of the moments of inertia associated with a set of available isotopologues, allows one to obtain very accurate results, without the unfavorable computational cost characterizing high-level quantum chemical methods. In the present work the MSR (Molecular Structure Refinement) software for the determination of equilibrium structures by means of the semiexperimental approach is presented, and its implementation is discussed in some detail. The software, which is interfaced with a powerful graphical user interface, includes different optimization algorithms, an extended error analysis, and a number of advanced features, the most remarkable ones concerning the choice of internal coordinates and the method of predicate observations. In particular, a new black-box scheme for defining automatically a suitable set of nonredundant internal coordinates of A symmetry in place of the customary Z-matrix has been designed and tested. Finally, the implementation of the method of the predicate observations is discussed and validated for a set of test molecules. As an original application, the method is employed for the determination of the semiexperimental structure for the most stable conformer of glycine.

Vibrational spectroscopy represents an active frontier for the identification and characterization of molecular species in the context of astrochemistry and astrobiology. As new missions will provide more data over broader ranges and at higher resolution, especially in the infrared region, which could be complemented with new spectrometers in the future, support from laboratory experiments and theory is crucial. In particular, computational spectroscopy is playing an increasing role in deepening our understanding of the origin and nature of the observed bands in extreme conditions characterizing the interstellar medium or some planetary atmospheres, not easily reproducible on Earth. In this connection, the best compromise between reliability, feasibility and ease of interpretation is still a matter of concern due to the interplay of several factors in determining the final spectral outcome, with larger molecular systems and non-covalent complexes further exacerbating the dichotomy between accuracy and computational cost. In this context, second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2) together with density functional theory (DFT) has become particularly appealing. The well-known problem of the reliability of exchange-correlation functionals, coupled with the treatment of resonances in VPT2, represents a challenge for the determination of standardized or “black-box” protocols, despite successful examples in the literature. With the aim of getting a clear picture of the achievable accuracy and reliability of DFT-based VPT2 calculations, a multi-step study will be carried out here. Beyond the definition of the functional, the impact of the basis set and the influence of the resonance treatment in VPT2 will be analyzed. For a better understanding of the computational aspects and the results, a short summary of vibrational perturbation theory and the overall treatment of resonances for both energies and intensities will be given. The first part of the benchmark will focus on small molecules, for which very accurate experimental and theoretical data are available, to investigate electronic structure calculation methods. Beyond the reliability of energies, widely used for such systems, the issue of intensities will also be investigated in detail. The best performing electronic structure methods will then be used to treat larger molecular systems, with more complex topologies and resonance patterns.

By combining rotational spectroscopyinsupersonic expansion with the capability of state-of-the-art quantumchemical computations in accurately determining structural and energetic properties,the genuine nature of as ulfur-sulfur chalcogen bond between dimethyl sulfide and sulfur dioxide has been unveiled in agas-jet environment free from collision, solvent and matrix perturbations.ASAPT analysis pointed out that electrostatic S···S interactions play the dominant role in determining the stability of the complex, largely overcoming dispersion and CÀH···O hydrogen-bond contributions.Indeed, in agreement with the analysis of the quadrupole-coupling constants and of the methyl internal rotation barrier,the NBO and NOCV/CD approaches show am arked charge transfer between the sulfur atoms.B ased on the assignment of the rotational spectra for 7i sotopologues,a na ccurate semiexperimental equilibrium structure for the heavy-atom backbone of the molecular complex has been determined, whichis characterized by aS ···S distance (2.947(3) )w ell belowt he sum of van der Waals radii.

This%is%the%final%accepted%manuscript%of:% % A.% Melli,% M.% Melosso,% N.% Tasinato,% et% al.% ROTATIONAL% AND% INFRARED% SPECTROSCOPY% OF% ETHANIMINE:%A%ROUTE%TOWARDS%ITS%ASTROPHYSICAL%AND%PLANETARY%DETECTION.%Astrophys.%J.% 855,%123%(2018);%DOI:%10.3847/1538U4357/aaa899% % Available%at:%https://doi.org/10.3847/1538U4357/aaa899% % ABSTRACTEthanimine, a possible precursor of amino acids, is considered an important prebiotic molecule and thus may play important roles in the formation of biological building-blocks in the interstellar medium. In addition, its identification in Titan's atmosphere would be important for understanding the abiotic synthesis of organic species. An accurate computational characterization of the molecular structure, energetics and spectroscopic properties of the E and Z isomers of ethanimine, CH 3 CHNH, has been carried out by means of a composite scheme based on coupled-cluster techniques, which also accounts for extrapolation to the complete basis-set limit and core-valence correlation correction, combined with density functional theory for the treatment of vibrational anharmonic e↵ects. By combining the computational results with new millimeter-wave measurements up to 300 GHz, the rotational spectrum of both isomers can be accurately predicted up to 500 GHz. Furthermore, our computations allowed us to revise the infrared spectrum of both E -and Z -CH 3 CHNH, thus predicting all fundamental bands with high accuracy.

In this work semi-experimental and theoretical equilibrium geometries of 10 sulfur-containing organic molecules, as well as 4 oxygenated ones, are determined by means of a computational protocol based on density functional theory. The results collected in the present paper further enhance our online database of accurate semi-experimental equilibrium molecular geometries, adding 13 new molecules containing up to 8 atoms, for 12 of which the first semi-experimental equilibrium structure is reported, to the best of our knowledge. We focus in particular on sulfurcontaining compounds, aiming both to provide new accurate data on some rather important chemical moieties, only marginally represented in the literature of the field, and to examine the structural features of carbon-sulfur bonds in the light of the previously presented linear regression approach. The structural changes issuing from substitution of oxygen by sulfur are discussed to get deeper insights on how modifications in electronic structure and nuclear potential can affect equilibrium geometries. With respect to our previous works, we perform non-linear constrained optimizations of equilibrium SE structures with a new general and user-friendly software under development in our group with updated definition of useful statistical indicators.