Ab Initio Calculations on the Vinyl Fluoride Fragmentation Reactions

High level ab initio calculations for the fragmentation reactions of vinyl fluoride were performed. The relative energies calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-311G(2d,2p) level of theory, corrected with MP2/6-311G(2d,2p) zero-point energies (ZPEs), differ significantly from those obtained previously at a lower level of theory. The calculations suggest that both the threeand four-center HF elimination processes are likely to occur, with the three-center elimination favored over the four-center at high energies.