The potential energy surface for
C4H5
+ as calculated by ab
initio molecular orbital theory is reported
at two levels of theory, HF/6-31G(d,p) and
MP2(full)/6-311G(d,p). Fourteen minima have
been
located at HF/6-31G(d,p), but inclusion of electron correlation
reduced this number to nine. The
methylcyclopropenyl cation, 1, is the global minimum, and
the 2-cyclobutenyl (2), α-vinylvinyl
(3),
γ-methylpropargyl (4), α-methylpropargyl (5),
and 1-cyclobutenyl (6) cations are 9.1, 19.9,
25.3,
27.5, and 26.9 kcal/mol, respectively, above 1. Eleven
transition structures, permitting interconversion between the nine minima, are reported. Enthalpies of
formation (in kcal/mol) calculated
at MP4SDTQ/6-311++G(2df,p) are 231.4 for 1, 241.7
for 2, 246.9 for 3, 255.7 for 5, 259.9
for 6, and
264.3 for 7.