molecules Article The Role of State-of-the-Art Quantum-Chemical Calculations in Astrochemistry: Formation Route and Spectroscopy of Ethanimine as a Paradigmatic Case Carmen Baiano 1 , Jacopo Lupi 1 , Nicola Tasinato 1 , Cristina Puzzarini 2,∗ and Vincenzo Barone 1,∗ 1 Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
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[email protected] (N.T.); 2 Dipartimento di Chimica “Giacomo Ciamician”, Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy * Correspondence:
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[email protected] (V.B.) Received: 31 May 2020; Accepted: 18 June 2020; Published: 22 June 2020 Abstract: The gas-phase formation and spectroscopic characteristics of ethanimine have been re-investigated as a paradigmatic case illustrating the accuracy of state-of-the-art quantum-chemical (QC) methodologies in the field of astrochemistry. According to our computations, the reaction between the amidogen, NH, and ethyl, C2H5, radicals is very fast, close to the gas-kinetics limit. Although the main reaction channel under conditions typical of the interstellar medium leads to methanimine and the methyl radical, the predicted amount of the two E,Z stereoisomers of ethanimine is around 10%. State-of-the-art QC and kinetic models lead to a [E-CH3CHNH]/[Z-CH3CHNH] ratio of ca. 1.4, slightly higher than the previous computations, but still far from the value determined from astronomical observations (ca. 3). An accurate computational characterization of the molecular structure, energetics, and spectroscopic properties of the E and Z isomers of ethanimine combined with millimeter-wave measurements up to 300 GHz, allows for predicting the rotational spectrum of both isomers up to 500 GHz, thus opening the way toward new astronomical observations.