Theoretical Calculation of Jet Fuel Thermochemistry. 1. Tetrahydrodicylopentadiene (JP10) Thermochemistry Using the CBS-QB3 and G3(MP2)//B3LYP Methods

High-level ab initio calculations have been performed on the exo and endo isomers of gas-phase tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (THDCPD), a principal component of the jet fuel JP10, using the Gaussian G(x) and G(x)(MP(x)) composite methods, as well as the CBS-QB3 method, and using a variety of isodesmic and homodesmotic reaction schemes. The impetus for this work is to help resolve large discrepancies existing between literature measurements of the formation enthalpy Delta(f)H degrees (298) for exo-THDCPD. We find that use of the isodesmic bond separation reaction C(10)H(16) + 14CH(4) --> 12C(2)H(6) yields results for the exo isomer (JP10) in between the two experimentally accepted values, for the composite methods G3(MP2), G3(MP2)//B3LYP, and CBS-QB3. Application of this same isodesmic bond separation scheme to gas-phase adamantane yields a value for Delta(f)H degrees (298) within 5 kJ/mol of experiment. Isodesmic bond separation calculations for the endo isomer give a heat of formation in excellent agreement with the experimental measurement. Combining our calculated values for the gas-phase heat of formation with recent measurements of the heat of vaporization yields recommended values for Delta(f)H degrees (298)liq of -126.4 and -114.7 kJ/mol for the exo and endo isomers, respectively.