ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF THE DISILENYL RADICAL-ANION

According to quantum chemical calculations, the anion radical of disilene adopts a syn- or anti-pyramidal geometry. The former is not a stable entity on the electronic hypersurface and it decreases further in energy by rotation of the Si-Si bond. Energy optimization of various structural alternatives reveals for the anion radical an Si-Si bond slightly longer than a single bond. The anti geometry prefers a C2h geometry whereas the syn geometry resembles a silylene coupled with a silylene radical anion. The fragmentation of disilene into two silylene units is less exothermic for the neutral species than for the anion (radical), as examined by the ab initio calculations.