Thermochemical Property Estimation of Hydrogenated Silicon Clusters

The thermochemical properties for selected hydrogenated silicon clusters (SixHy, x = 3-13, y = 0-18) were calculated using quantum chemical calculations and statistical thermodynamics. Standard enthalpy of formation at 298 K and standard entropy and constant pressure heat capacity at various temperatures, i.e., 298-6000 K, were calculated for 162 hydrogenated silicon clusters using G3//B3LYP. The hydrogenated silicon clusters contained ten to twenty fused Si-Si bonds, i.e., bonds participating in more than one three- to six-membered ring. The hydrogenated silicon clusters in this study involved different degrees of hydrogenation, i.e., the ratio of hydrogen to silicon atoms varied widely depending on the size of the cluster and/or degree of multifunctionality. A group additivity database composed of atom-centered groups and ring corrections, as well as bond-centered groups, was created to predict thermochemical properties most accurately. For the training set molecules, the average absolute deviation (AAD) comparing the G3//B3LYP values to the values obtained from the revised group additivity database for standard enthalpy of formation and entropy at 298 K and constant pressure heat capacity at 500, 1000, and 1500 K were 3.2%, 1.9%, 0.40%, 0.43%, and 0.53%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis of the revised group additivity parameter database revealed that the group parameters were able to predict the thermochemical properties of molecules that were not used in the training set within an AAD of 3.8% for standard enthalpy of formation at 298 K.