The 6-31G++ basis set: An economical basis set for correlated wavefunctions

The 6-31G ⁺⁺ basis set is described. This basis set is very similar to the existing 6-31G ^** set but is somewhat smaller through the use of five (rather than six) second-order Gaussians (d functions) and has polarization function exponents optimized for correlated rather than Hartree–Fock wavefunctions. The performance of 6-31G ⁺⁺ is compared with that of the 6-31G ^** and 6-31G ^** basis sets through calculation of the geometries and atomization energies for the set of molecules LiH, FH, H₂O, NH₃, CH₄, N₂, CO, HCN, and HCCH.     

On the additivity of basis set effects in some simple fluorine containing systems

The reactions F + H₂ → HF + H, HF → H + F, F → F⁺ + e^? and F + e^? → F^? were used as simple test cases to assess the additivity of basis set effects on reaction energetics computed at the MP4 level. The 6-31G and 6-311G basis sets were augmented with 1, 2, and 3 sets of polarization functions, higher angular momentum polarization functions, and diffuse functions (27 basis sets from 6-31Gd, p) to 6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd) and likewise for the 6-311G series). For both series substantial nonadditivity was found between diffuse functions on the heavy atom and multiple polarization functions (e.g., 6-31 + G(3d, 3p) vs. 6-31 + G(d, p) and 6-31G(3d, 3p)). For the 6-311G series there is an extra nonadditivity between d functions on hydrogen and multiple polarization functions. Provided that these interactions are taken into account, the remaining basis set effects are additive to within ±0.5 kcal/mol for the reactions considered. Large basis set MP4 calculations can also be estimated to within ±0.5 kcal/mol using MP2 calculations, est. E_MP4(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) ≈ E_MP4(6-31G(d, p)) + E_MP2(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) – E_MP2(6-31G(d, p)) or E_MP4(6-31 + G(d, p) + E_MP2(6-31 ++ G(3df, 3pd)) – E_MP2(6-31 + G(d, p)) and likewise for the 6-311G series.     

Cooperative atomic migrations in the associates of formic acid molecule with H2O...X systems (X=CH3OH,NH2OH,H2O2, HOF,and H2O)

The pathways and activation barriers of cooperative biproton migrations in the associates of the formic acid molecule with H₂O and X molecules (X=CH₃OH, NH₂OH, H₂O₂, FOH, and H₂O) are calculated by an ab initio method (3-21G and 6-31G^** basis sets). A cooperative triproton transfer occurs in the system with X=H₂O. The activation barriers of this transfer calculated in the 3-21G and 6-31G^** basis sets are 6.94 and 27.29 (through the structure of C₂ symmetry) or 7.99 and 26.08 kcal/mole (through the structure of C_s symmetry), respectively. In the systems with X=H₃COH, HOOH, and FOH, the biproton transfer is accompanied by synchronous shifts of two hydroxyl groups and overcomes high activation barriers (>40 kcal/mole), which is accounted for by poor stereochemical similarity for the low-barrier cooperative processes in the given molecular associates. Scientific Research Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry, Rostov State University. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 845–858, September–October, 1996. Translated by I. Izvekova     

A study of basis set effects on structures and electronic structures of phosphine oxide and fluorophosphine oxide

A variety of basis sets have been used for geometric and electronic structure studies. Electronic effects were measured using integrated spatial electron populations (ISEP). The two largest basis sets used, 6-31G* and DZ+P, give significantly different results. Use of two d-orbital sets (6-31G*[dd]) or decontraction of the 2sp shell on phosphorus has little further effect. d-Orbitals on oxygen are required for consistent electronic structure results, and d-orbitals on fluorine have a small but significant effect. Use of diffuse functions, required for anions, is not recommended with small basis sets on neutral molecules. Large negative charges (≈?1.5) on oxygen are given by all of the larger basis sets by the ISEP procedure and indicate that the PO bond in these compounds is largely semi-polar. The best simple symbolic representation of phosphine oxide is H₃P⁺? 0^?, rather than H₃P?0.     

Geometry optimization and electronic structures of molecules H_3AXAH_3

The geometries of molecules H_3AXAH_3(X=O,S,Se and A=C,Si)have been optimizedusing STO-3G ab initio calculations and gradient method and the results are in good agreement withreported experimental values.From the STO-3G optimized geometries,we have also calculated theelectronic structures of these molecules using 4-31G and 6-31G basis sets to obtain the MO energies.atomic net charges and dipole moments.The ionization potentials calculated by 6-31G basis set are ingood agreement with experimental values.     

Theoretical study of the relative stabilities of H+(X)2 and H+(X)3 conformers and their clustering energies: X  CO and N2

Third-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory (MP 3) with a 6-31G** basis set was applied to study the relative stabilities of H⁺(X)₂ conformations (X ? CO and N₂) and their clustering energies. The effect of both basis set extensions and electron correlation is not negligible on the relative stabilities of the H⁺(CO)₂ clusters. The most stable conformation of H⁺(CO)₂ is found to be a C_∞v structure in which a carbon atom of CO bonds to the proton of H⁺(CO), whereas that of H⁺(N₂)₂ is a symmetry D_∞h structure. The second lowest energy conformations of H⁺(CO)₂ and H⁺(N₂)₂ lie within 2 kcal/mol above the energies of the most stable structures. Clustering energies computed using MP 3 method with the 6-31G** basis set are in good agreement with the experimental findings of Hiraoka, Saluja, and Kebarle. The low-lying singlet conformations of H⁺(X)₃ (X ? CO and N₂) have been studied by the use of the Hartree–Fock MO method with the 6-31G** basis set and second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory with a 4-31G basis set. The most stable structure is a T-shaped structure in which a carbon atom of CO (or a nitrogen atom of N₂) attacks the proton of the most stable conformation of H⁺(X)₂ clusters.     

Substituent effects in second-row molecules: Basis set performance in calculations of normal valency phosphorus and sulfur compounds

Ab inito molecular orbital calculations of the phosphorus- and sulfur-containing series PH₂X, PH₃X⁺, SHX, and SH₂X⁺ (X = H, CH₃, NH₂, OH, F) have been carried out over a range of Gaussian basis sets and the results (optimized geometrical structures, relative energies, and electron distributions) critically compared. As in first-row molecules there are large discrepancies between substituent interaction energies at different basis set levels, particularly in electron-rich molecules; use of basis sets lower than the supplemented 6-31G basis incurs the risk of obtaining substituent stabilizations with large errors, including the wrong sign. Only a small part of the discrepancies is accounted for by structural differences between the optimized geometries. Supplementation of low level basis sets by d functions frequently leads to exaggerated stabilization energies for π-donor substituents. Poor performance also results from the use of split valence basis sets in which the valence shell electron density is too heavily concentrated in diffuse component of the valence shell functions, again likely to occur in electron-rich molecules. Isodesmic reaction energies are much less sensitive to basis set variation, but d function supplementation is necessary to achieve reliable results, suggesting a marginal valence role for d functions, not merely polarization of the bonding density. Optimized molecular geometries are relatively insensitive to basis set and electron population analysis data, for better-than-minimal bases, are uniform to an unexpected degree.     

Theoretically Calculated Deformation Density of Small Molecules

Analysis of the theoretical electron deformation density based on EHMO and ab initio calculations has been applied to the simple molecules F₂, H₂O and SO₂ The effects from varied basis sets for such deformation density were sought. The accumulation of electron density between the bonded atoms calculated from EHMO and ab initio methods with STO-3G is generally under-estimated. Such phenomena are significantly improved by using split-valence basis sets e.g. 3–21G and 4–31G. The addition of d polarization functions is apparently important for the sulfur atom in sulfur-related bonding. 3–21G or 3–21G^* basis sets were found to provide not only valuable deformation density distributions of molecules but also comparable orbital energy states with respect to the experimental values.     

Is tetrahedral H42+ a minimum? Anomalous behavior of popular basis sets with the standard p exponents on hydrogen

The nature of the tetrahedral H₄²⁺ stationary point (minimum or triply degenerate saddle) depends remarkably upon the theoretical level employed. Harmonic vibrational analyses with, e.g., the 6-31G** (and 6-31 + +G**) and Dunning's [4s2p1d;2s1p] [D95(d,p)] basis sets using the standard p exponent suggest (erroneously) that the T_d geometry is a minimum at both the HF and MP2 levels. This is not the case at definitive higher levels. The C₃H₄²⁺ structure with an apical H is another example of the failure of the calculations with the 6-31G**, 6-311G**, and D95(d,p) basis sets. Even at MP2/6-31G** and MP2/ cc-pVDZ levels, the C_3v structure has no negative eigenvalues of the Hessian. Actually, this form is a second-order saddle point as shown by the MP2/6-31G** calculation with the optimized exponent. The D_4h methane dication structure is also an example of the misleading performance of the 6-31G** basis set. In all these cases, energy-optimized hydrogen p exponents give the correct results, i.e., those found with more extended treatments. Optimized values of the hydrogen polarization function exponents eliminate these defects in 6-31G** calculations. Species with higher coordinate hydrogens may also be calculated reliably by using more than one set of p functions on hydrogen [e.g., the 6-31G(d,2p) basis set]. Not all cases are critical. A survey of examples, also including some boron compounds, provides calibration. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ab initio calculations of of pyridine and its 2- and 3-chloroderivatives

Ab initio calculations of the C₅H₅N, 2-. and 3-ClC₅H₄N molecules by the RHF method in the valence split 6-31G^* basis set with full optimization of the geometry have been carried out. The alternation of the charges on the atoms of the pyridine ring and of the populations of their p _x -orbitals is in agreement with the noninductive through -the-field interaction of the geminal atoms. The³⁵Cl NQR frequencies and the electric field gradient asymmetry parameters at the³⁵Cl nuclei in 2- and 3-CIC₅H₄N were estimated using the populations of the valentp-orbitals of the Cl atoms and their components. The³⁵Cl NQR frequency for the first compound is lower than that for the second one, mainly due to the higher p-electron population of its Cl atom.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2641–2644, November, 1996.     

Structures and stabilities of [C3H3O]+ ions in the gas phase: A molecular orbital study

The relative energies of 11 [C₃H₃O]⁺ ions are calculated by different molecular orbital methods (MINDO/3, MNDO, ab initio with 3-21G and 4-31G* basis set and configuration interaction). The four most stable structures are: a ([CH₂?CH? CO]⁺), b c ([CH?C? CHOH]⁺) and d ([CH₂?C?COH]⁺); their relative energies at the CI/4-31G*//3-21G level are 0, 117, 171 and 218 kJ mol^?1, respectively. The isomerizations c→[CH?CH? CHO]⁺→[CH₂?C? CHO]⁺→ a and dissociations into [C₂H₃]⁺+CO and [HCO]⁺+C₂H₂ are explored. The calculated potential energy profile reveals that the energy-determining step is the 1,3-H migration c→[CH?CH? CHO]⁺. This explains the value of unity of the branching ratio and the spread of kinetic energy released for the two dissociation channels.     

Steric and Electronic Structure of C6H5XCF3 Molecules (X = O or S): A Quantum-Chemical Study

The potential functions of internal rotation around the Csp ²-X bond in C₆H₅XCF₃ molecules (X = O or S) were obtained by quantum-chemical calculations in the HF/6-31G(d), MP2(f)/6-31G(d), and B3LYP/6-31G(d) approximations. The calculations were performed in the range of torsion angles (angle between the planes of the benzene ring and Csp ²-X-Csp ³ bonds) from 0° to 90° with a 15° step. The barriers to rotation around the Csp ²-X bonds (kJ mol^{- 1}) were evaluated: for C₆H₅XCF₃, 7.60 (HF), 3.04 (MP2), and 1.04 (B3LYP); for C₆H₅XCF₃, 16.57 (HF), 14.67 (MP2), and 8.73 (B3LYP). The geometries (bond angles and bond lengths), Koopmans ionization potentials, and dipole moments of the molecules were calculated. The hybridization, energy, and population of the lone electron pairs of the heteroatoms, and also the energy of their resonance interaction with antibonding orbitals and the natural atomic charges were evaluated using the NBO approach.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study on the gas phase SN2 reaction F + CH3Cl → CH3F + Cl

Ab-initio molecular orbital (MO) and direct ab initio dynamics calculations have been applied to the gas phase S_N2 reaction F⁻ + CH₃Cl → CH₃F + Cl⁻. Several basis sets were examined in order to select the most convenient and best fitted basis set to that of high-quality calculations. The Hartree–Fock (HF) 3−21+G(d) calculation reasonably represents a potential energy surface calculated at the MP2/6−311++G(2df,2pd) level. A direct ab initio dynamics calculation at the HF/3−21+G(d) level was carried out for the S_N2 reaction. A full dimensional ab initio potential energy surface including all degrees of freedom was used in the dynamics calculation. Total energies and gradients were calculated at each time step. Two initial configurations at time zero were examined in the direct dynamics calculations: one is a near collinear collision, and the other is a side-attack collision. It was found that in the near collinear collision almost all total available energy is partitioned into two modes: the relative translational mode between the products (40%) and the C − F stretching mode (60%). The other internal modes of CH₃F were still in the ground state. The lifetimes of the early- and late-complexes F⁻ … CH₃Cl and FCH₃ … Cl⁻ are significantly short enough to dissociate directly to the products. On the other hand, in the side-attack collision, the relative translation energy was about 20% of total available energy.     

Ab initio studies on ONH3, ONF3 and OCF 3 − , using polarization functions and configuration interaction methods

SCF geometry optimizations, using double-zeta basis sets with polarization functions, either as d-orbitals or bond functions, were performed on ONH₃, ONF₃, and OCF ₃ ^? . The bonding in these molecules is discussed with the help of orbital density plots and Mulliken population analyses. ONF₃ can be explained as donor-acceptor product of O with NF₃. For OCF ₃ ^? , diffuse functions have also been added to the basis set. The CF distance is predicted to be 1.39 Å, in qualitative agreement with the known infrared spectrum. With the best basis set, the NF distance of ONF₃ is too short by 0.08 Å at the SCF level. A geometry optimization by the configuration-interaction method gives the NF distance as well as the ON distance in excellent agreement with experimental results.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study of the structures and energies of neutral and charged bimolecular complexes of NH3 with the hydrides AHn (A = N,O, F,P, S,and Cl)

Hartree-Fock 6-31G(d) structures for the neutral, positive ion, and negative ion bimolecular complexes of NH₃ with the first- and second-row hydrides AH_n (AH_n = NH₃, OH₂, FH, PH₃, SH₂, and ClH) have been determined. All of the stable neutral complexes except (NH₃)₂, the positive ion complexes with NH₃ as the proton acceptor, and the negative ion complexes containing first-row anions exhibit conventional hydrogen bonded structures with essentially linear hydrogen bonds and directed lone pairs of electrons. The positive ion complex NH₄⁺ …? OH₂ has the dipole moment vector of H₂O instead of a lone pair directed along the intermolecular line, while the complexes of NH₄⁺ with SH₂, FH, and ClH have structures intermediate between the lone-pair directed and dipole directed forms. The negative ion complexes containing second-row anions have nonlinear hydrogen bonds. The addition of diffuse functions on nonhydrogen atoms to the valence double-split plus polarization 6-31G(d,p) basis set usually decreases the computed stabilization energies of these complexes. Splitting d polarization functions usually destabilizes these complexes, whereas splitting p polarization functions either has no effect or leads to stabilization. The overall effect of augmenting the 6-31G(d,p) basis set with diffuse functions on nonhydrogen atoms and two sets of polarization functions is to lower computed stabilization energies. Electron correlation stabilizes all of these complexes. The second-order Møller–Plesset correlation term is the largest term and always has a stabilizing effect, whereas the third and fourth-order terms are smaller and often of opposite sign. The recommended level of theory for computing the stabilization energies of these complexes is MP2/6-31+G(2d,2p), although MP2/6-31+G(d,p) is appropriate for the negative ion complexes.     

Ab initio CPHF calculations of the static polarizability and second hyperpolarizability of small molecules: Comparisons between standard and moderately large basis sets augmented with diffuse functions

Static polarizability and second hyperpolarizability have been calculated for a number of small molecules? CO₂, OCS, CS₂, C₂H₂, C₂H₆, C₃H₈, cyclo-C₃H₆, C₃H₄, C₃H₆, SiH₄, Si₂H₆? in the framework of the coupled-perturbed Hartree-Fock (CPHF ) theory. The linear and nonlinear coefficients have been calculated with standard Gaussian basis sets and 3-21G bases moderately enlarged with diffuse functions. It is shown that the parallel component of the polarizability saturates rapidly, which suggests that a 3-21G basis containing s and p diffuse functions is sufficient to reproduce α_zz. For the α_xx and α_yy components, a 3-21G basis with s, p, and d diffuse functions is required. In general, the concordance between α computed with this basis set and the experimental static polarizability is at least of the order of 80%. On the contrary, the computation of the second hyperpolarizability with the same basis set for CO₂, CS₂, and C₂H₂ gives values that are 30% too low, compared to the experimental value. Better results are observed for ethane, propane, and cyclopropane for which the error is lower than 50%. The better agreement observed for the saturated compounds can probably be explained by their saturated character.     

Theoretical study on the reaction mechanism of (CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript>CO<Superscript>.</Superscript> radical with NO

The reaction mechanism of (CH₃)₃CO^. radical with NO is theoretically investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. The results show that the reaction is multi-channel in the single state and triplet state. The potential energy surfaces of reaction paths in the single state are lower than that in the triple state. The balance reaction: (CH₃)₃CONO⇔(CH₃)₃CO^.+NO, whose potential energy surface is the lowest in all the reaction paths, makes the probability of measuring (CH₃)₃CO^. radical increase. So NO may be considered as a stabilizing reagent for the (CH₃)₃CO^. radical.     

Ab initio studies of F−(H2O)n and Cl−(H2O)n clusters for n = 1, 2

Ab initio Hartree–Fock calculations are performed on hydrates of the F^? and Cl^? ions using 6-31G, 6-31G**, and 6-21G basis sets. Geometries and binding energies are obtained. An estimate of the correlation energy is provided by an MP2/6-31G (Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation) calculation. Comparisons are made between the Cl^?(SO₂) and the Cl^?(H₂O) complexes.     

Highly symmetrical phthalocyanines and perfluorophthalocyanines: The quantum-chemical study

By the quantum-chemical method (U)B3LYP/6-31G(d ₅,p) are determined point symmetry group (D _4h ) and equilibrium structure of phthalocyanine (PcH₂), phthalocyaninates PcBe, PcMg, PcCo, PcNi, PcCu, PcZn, perfluorophthalocyaninates ^FPcNi, ^FPcCu, ^FPcZn, cations Pc⁺Mt, ^FPc⁺Mt and anion PcCo⁻. In the approximation (U)B3LYP/6-311++G(3d ₅ f ₇,p)//6-31G(d ₅,p) is achieved the satisfactory accuracy of the calculation of ionization potentials of the studied molecules. Effect of nuclear relaxation at the ionization is 0.07±0.06 eV; correction for “zero” vibrations does not exceed 0.01 eV. Perfluorination increases ionization potentials by 0.7–0.8 eV.