Structures and energetics of hydrocarbon molecules in a wide hydrogen chemical potential range

Abstract

We report a collection of lowest-energy structures of hydrocarbon molecules C_{m}H_{n} (m=1-18; n=0-2m+2). The structures are examined within a wide hydrogen chemical potential range. The genetic algorithm combined with Brenner's empirical potential is applied for the search. The resultant low-energy structures are further studied by ab initio quantum chemical calculations. The lowest-energy structures are presented with several additional low-energy structures for comparison. The results are expected to provide useful information for some unresolved astronomical spectra and the nucleation of growth of nano-diamond film.