Ab‐Initio MRD‐CI calculations for breaking a chemical bond in a molecule in a crystal or other solid environment. II.H₃C—NO₂ decomposition of nitromethane in a nitromethane crystal with voids

Abstract

Recently we extended our strategy for MRD-CI (multireference double excitation-configuration interaction) calculations based on localizedilocal orbitals and an "effective" CI Hamiltonian for molecular decompositions of large molecules to breaking a chemical bond in a molecule in a crystal or other solid environment. Our technique involves solving a quantum chemical ab-initio SCF explicitly for a system of a reference molecule surrounded by a number of other molecules in the multipole environment of more distant neighbors. The resulting canonical molecular orbitals are then localized and the localized occupied and virtual orbitals in the region of interest are included explicitly in the MRD-CI with the remainder of the occupied localized orbitals being folded into an "effective" CI Hamiltonian. The MRD-CI calculations are carried out for breaking a bond in the reference molecule. This method is completely general. The space treated explicitly quantum chemically and the surrounding space can have voids, defects, deformations. dislocations, impurities, dopants, edges and surfaces, boundaries, etc. We previously applied this procedure successfully to the H,C-N02 bond dissociation of nitromethane in a nitromethane crystal with extensive testing of the number of molecules that have to be included explicitly in the sCF and how many molecules have to be represented by more distant multipoles. The results indicated that it took more energy to dissociate the H3C-NOI bond when the nitromethane molecule was in the crystal than it did to dissociate that bond in the free nitromethane molecule. In this present study we have investigated the effect of voids (both in the nitromethane molecules treated explicitly in the SCF and those in the environment represented by multipoles) on the calculated H3C-NOI bond dissociation energies.

Some molecular/crystalline factors that affect the sensitivities of energetic materials: molecular surface electrostatic potentials, lattice free space and maximum heat of detonation per unit volume

“…It is furthermore relevant that C-NO 2 [69,70] and N-NO 2 [71,72] bonds are weaker and more easily broken when the molecule is at a crystal surface or by a lattice void (i.e., free space) than when it is in the bulk. Void-related rupture of N-NO 2 bonds in RDX was indeed observed in a molecular dynamics simulation by Nomura et al [26].…”

Ab initio MRD–CI calculations on cubane (neutral, carbocation, carboanion) and dissociation of nitrocubanes based on localized orbitals

“…We have previously carried out ab initio MODPOT MRD-CI studies for the relative H3C-N02 dissociation energies in an isolated nitromethane molecule and in a nitromethane molecule in a nitromethane crystal [18,19] and for the relative Me2N-N02 dissociation energies in an isolated dimethylnitramine molecule and in a dimethylnitramine molecule in a dimethylnitramine crystal [20].…”