Can oxywater be made?

Ab initio quantum mechanical methods have been applied to an investigation of the oxywater (H2OO)hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) isomerization at high levels of theory. The investigation employed basis sets up to triple-zeta plus double polarization plus f functions (TZ2P+f) and levels of correlation up to coupled cluster including single, double, and perturbatively treated connected triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. Harmonic vibrational frequencies are obtained via finite differences of analytic gradients. Their infrared intensities are also reported. The classical barrier for isomerization of oxywater is substantial (5.7 kcal/mol) at the highest level of theory. Correction for zero-point vibrational energies yields a predicted activation energy of 3.3 kcal/mol. The equilibrium dipole moment of oxywater is predicted to be substantial, namely 4.5 D. Thus, oxywater indeed awaits synthesis.