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We report ab initio MO self-consistent field calculations for the ground state and first triplet excited state of methyl nitrate, $CH3ONO2$. The 3s2p basis set suggested by Dunning and $Hay1$ has been augmented with pi-polarization functions and additional diffuse 2p$\pi$ functions on the first row atoms. A total of seventy-five basis functions are used in our most extensive calculations. Electronic energies of the two states are reported as functions of the alkoxy-nitro bond length. Implications of the calculated potential energy curves to possible decomposition mechanisms will be discussed.