Molecular structure of N-chlorosuccinimide studied by gas-phase electron diffraction and quantum-chemical methods

The molecular structure of N-chlorosuccinimide has been studied by GED method at the nozzle temperature of 116 A degrees C. Vibrational corrections to the r (a) parameters, Delta(r (a) - r (e)), have been calculated using the scaled quadratic and cubic force constants from B3LYP/6-31G(df,p) calculations. The force field scaling has been carried out using the IR and Raman spectra of the solid N-chlorosuccinimide. The molecular skeleton and the bond conformation around nitrogen were found to be planar within large experimental errors. The equilibrium geometrical parameters derived from the experimental data assuming C (2v) molecular symmetry and those from MP2(fc)/6-311G(3df,2pd) calculations are in a good agreement.