Simulant molecules with trivalent or pentavalent phosphorus atoms: bond dissociation energies and other thermodynamic and structural properties from quantum chemical models.

The CBS-QB3 and G4 thermochemical models have been used to generate energetic, structural, and spectroscopic data on a set of molecules with trivalent or pentavalent phosphorus atoms that can serve as simulants of chemical warfare agents. Based on structural data, the conformational stabilities of these molecules are explained in terms of the anomeric interaction within the OPOC and OPSC fragments. For those cases where experimental data are available, comparisons have been made between calculated and previously reported vibrational frequencies. All varieties of bond dissociation energies have been examined except those for C-H and P═O bonds. In trivalent phosphorus molecules, the O-C and S-C bonds have the lowest dissociation energies. In the pentavalent phosphorus set, the S-C bonds, followed by P-S bonds, have the lowest dissociation energies. In the fluorinated simulant molecules, the P-F bond is strongest, and the P-C or O-C bonds are weakest.