Correlation effects on cis-trans energy differences in open-shell systems: The hoco radical as an example

Ab initio SCF and Cl calculations have shown that the most important factor in determining the relative energies of conformational isomers in free radicals is the movement of electron density into the singly occupied orbital. This is most favorable when an electron pair is situated trans to the radical site (trans correlation effect). In the HOCO radical we find that the trans isomer is more stable than the cis by 3.3 kcal/mol while SCF calculations yield virtually no energy difference between the two isomers. © 1983.