Effects of Cyano Substituents on Cyclobutadiene and Its Isomers

Abstract

The effects of cyano substitution on cyclobutadiene are explored using density functional, coupled-cluster, CASSCF, and CASPT2 calculations. An isodesmic reaction is employed to gauge the relative stabilization (DeltaH(rxn) degrees) of cyclobutadienes with varying numbers of cyano groups. Although density functional theory predicts a relatively large stabilization for the addition of four cyano substituents to cyclobutadiene (18.5 kcal/mol), coupled-cluster theory predicts a smaller stabilization (9.3 kcal/mol). The effect of the number of cyano groups on the singlet-triplet gaps is also investigated. NBO calculations lend insight into the structural trends of the triplets, and the comparison of coupled-cluster and CASSCF calculations sheds light on the multireference electronic character in these systems. The effect of tetracyano substitution on tetrahedrane and other C(4)H(4) isomers is also explored.