The structures and energies of low-lying electronic states of AlN3, Al3N, and Al2N2 have been evaluated at
the HF, MP2, QCISD(T), CCSD, and CCSD(T) levels of theory, using the several basis sets of 6-31G* (for
HF), cc-pVDZ (for MP2 and QCISD(T)), and cc-pVTZ (for CCSD and CCSD(T)). The ground state of AlN3
is predicted to be a 1Σ+ state with a linear Al−N−N−N structure. The most stable species of Al3N is found,
however, to have D
3
h
symmetry and 1A‘1 ground state. For Al2N2, various isomers are found to be energetically
favorable. A rhombic isomer with the nitrogen atoms along the short diagonal and with a 1Ag electronic state
is the lowest in energy at the MP2/cc-pVDZ, QCISD(T)/cc-pVDZ, CCSD/cc-pVTZ, and CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ
levels. A linear structure Al−N−N−Al with a 3
electronic state is the second lowest. The third stable
isomer with the aluminum atoms bonded directly to the N2 π orbital seems to be one of the model species
for the sake of the nitrogen fixation. Our results suggest that the formation of a variety of the configuration
of Al2N2 is energetically plausible under the reaction conditions employed since the energy differences in the
Al2N2 species are relatively small.