Combined Computational and Experimental Studies of Trans- and Cis-Isomers of Potassium Diaquabis(Oxalato)Chromate (III)
The trans- and cis-isomers of potassium diaquabis(oxalato)chromate (III) were studied computationally and experimentally. The structures of trans- and cis-configurations of [Cr(H2O)2(C2O4)2]- were optimized by DFT methodology with various functionals namely: B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, TPSS, PBE, M06-L and ωB97X-D along with the more sophisticated MP2 method. The calculations show that the most stable forms for both isomers are in quartet states. The results from all DFT methods reveal that the cis-isomer is literally more stable than the trans-isomer with the lower average relative energy of 2.1 kcal/mol. These are consistent with the results from MP2 calculation and experimental observation. The absorption wavelengths for the excited states of trans- and cis-structures were calculated by the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method. For the experiments, the trans- and cis-isomers of potassium diaquabis(oxalato)chromate (III) were synthesized and characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Both isomers have two maximum absorption wavelengths at 415 and 560 nm.