The geometries of
[Os(NH3)4L
z
(η2-H2)](
z
+2)+
complexes, where molecular hydrogen is trans to the
Lz ligand,
have been calculated using density functional theory (DFT) and compared
with the results of MP2 calculations.
The quality of agreement between the DFT and MP2 geometries is
found to be dependent on the trans ligand
L
z
. When L
z
=
acetone, water, acetate, and chloride, the agreement between the DFT
and MP2 calculations
is generally reasonable, and for the L
z
=
acetate complex, the DFT and the MP2 predictions are in
acceptable
agreement with the experimental geometry. When
L
z
= hydride, pyridine, acetonitrile, cyanide,
hydroxylamine,
and ammonia, the DFT calculations predict a much shorter H−H bond
length and slightly longer Os−H
distances when compared with the MP2 values. As the potential
energy surfaces are very flat with respect
to the H−H stretch, the differences between the DFT and MP2
geometries correspond to energy differences
of approximately 3 kcal mol-1 when calculated
at the same level of theory. The differences between
the
DFT and MP2 predictions appear to correlate with the properties of the
trans ligand L
z
, in particular
its
σ-donor and π-acceptor/donor properties. The DFT predictions
of the Os−H2 interaction energy are
consistently
smaller by ∼25% than the corresponding MP2 values, but the agreement
is much better in the case of the
Os−L
z
bond. Solvation by water, estimated
by a self-consistent reaction field technique, is found to
have
little effect on the binding of H2, while significantly
reducing the binding energies of the trans ligands,
especially
those that are charged. The integrated atomic charges for the
dihydrogen ligand, obtained by the atoms in
molecules method, are slightly negative, while Os varies between 1.01
and 1.81. The DFT calculations
generally predict both species to be somewhat closer to neutral than
those obtained at the MP2 level; this is
consistent with the notion that DFT predicts stronger H−H but weaker
Os−H bonding than MP2, i.e., less
donation by Os into the antibonding σ* MO of
H2.