Density functional studies of molecular polarizabilities. 10. Fulvenes and fulvalenes

Abstract

We report accurate Ab Initio Hartree Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies of the static dipole polarizabilities and first hyperpolarizabilities of the [n] fulvene and the [n,m] fulvalene series of molecules (with n, m = 3,5,7). Calculations are also reported for the parent cycloalkenes: cyclopropene, cyclopentadiene and cycloheptatriene (1-3 respectively). Geometries were optimized at the HF/6-311G(3d,2p) level of theory. All the fulvenes (4-6) and the smaller fulvalenes (7, 9 and 10) are found to be planar. Pentaheptafulvalene (11) is slightly non-planar whilst heptafulvalene (12) has a folded C2h structure. Calculated C-C bond lengths are consistently smaller than the experimental values. Dipole polarizabilities and non-zero hyperpolarizabilities were calculated at the HF/6-311++G(3d,2p) and BLYP/6-311++G(3d,2p) levels of theory, using HF/6-311G(3d,2p) geometries. Dipole polarizabilities correlate well with those given on the basis of atom additivity. Molecules (8), (9) and (11) show very large dipole hyperpolarizabilities.