Theoretical Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Quadruple-Bonded Dimolybdenum(II,II) and Ditungsten(II,II) Paddlewheel Complexes: Performance of Common Density Functional Theory Methods

Abstract

We have revisited the gas-phase photoelectron spectra of quadruplebonded dimolybdenum(II,II) and ditungsten(II,II) paddlewheel complexes with modern density functional theory methods and obtained valuable calibration of four well-known exchange−correlation functionals, namely, BP86, OLYP, B3LYP*, and B3LYP. All four functionals were found to perform comparably, with discrepancies between calculated and experimental ionization potentials ranging from <0.1 to ∼0.5 eV, with the lowest errors observed for the classic pure functional BP86. All four functionals were found to reproduce differences in ionization potentials (IPs) between analogous Mo₂ and W₂ complexes, as well as large, experimentally observed ligand field effects on the IPs, with near-quantitative accuracy. The calculations help us interpret a number of differences between analogous Mo₂ and W₂ complexes through the lens of relativistic effects. Thus, relativity results in not only significantly lower IPs for the W₂ complexes but also smaller HOMO−LUMO gaps and different triplet states relative to their Mo₂ counterparts.