Accurate bond dissociation enthalpies by using doubly hybrid XYG3 functional

In this work, we examine the performance of XYG3, a newly developed doubly hybrid density functional (Zhang, Xu, and Goddard III, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009, 106, 4963), to calculate covalent bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE). We use 5 atoms, 32 molecular radicals, and 116 closed-shell molecules to set up 142 bond dissociation reactions. For the total of 148 heats of formation (HOFs) and 142 BDEs, XYG3 leads to mean absolute deviations (MADs) of 1.45 and 1.87 kcal/mol, respectively. In comparison with some other functionals, MADs for HOFs are 2.31 (M06-2X), 2.98 (B2PLYP-D), 3.04 (BMK), 3.96 (B3LYP), 4.47 (B2PLYP), 5.42 (B2GP-PLYP), 6.46 (PBE0), and 29.93 kcal/mol (B3P86), and the corresponding errors for BDEs are 2.06 (M06-2X), 2.25 (BMK), 2.51 (B2PLYP-D), 2.89 (B2GP-PLYP), 3.30 (B3P86), 3.44 (B2PLYP), 3.87 (PBE0), and 6.14 kcal/mol (B3LYP).     

碳氟键均裂解离能的密度泛函理论研究

运用6种密度泛函方法(B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, PBE1PBE, MPW1B95, MPW1K)对15个含氟有机化合物的碳氟键均裂解离能进行理论计算, 得到的理论值与实验值比较, 发现B3P86方法用于碳氟键均裂解离能的计算相对可靠. 使用验证后的理论方法对含氟杂环有机化合物和卤氟烃中的碳氟键均裂解离能进行了预测和分析, 并进一步讨论了α-取代基效应以及Hammett型取代基效应对碳氟键均裂解离能的影响.     

DFT study of the structural characteristics of the yttrium(3+) aqua ion

Density functional theory (DFT) using SVWN5, B3LYP, B3P86, O3LYP, B3PW91, B1LYP, B971, MPW1PW91, PBE1PBE, BHandH, and BHandHLYP density functionals was employed to study the structural characteristics of the Y(H₂O) ₈ ³⁺ yttrium aqua ion. The nonlocal hybrid GGA functionals show worse predictive ability in structural calculations of the Y(H₂O) ₈ ³⁺ aqua ion compared to the relatively simple combined functional BHandH and to the simplest SVWN5 functional in LSDA theory.     

Hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding of transition metal hydrides

Intermolecular interactions between a prototypical transition metal hydride WH(CO)₂NO(PH₃)₂ and a small proton donor H₂O have been studied using DFT methodology. The hydride, nitrosyl and carbonyl ligand have been considered as site of protonation. Further, DFT-D calculations in which empirical corrections for the dispersion energy are included, have been carried out. A variety of pure and hybrid density functionals (BP86, PW91, PBE, BLYP, OLYP, B3LYP, B1PW91, PBE0, X3LYP) have been considered, and our calculations indicate the PBE functional and its hybrid variation are well suited for the calculation of transition metal hydride hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding. Dispersive interactions make up for a sizeable portion of the intermolecular interaction, and amount to 20–30% of the bond energy and to 30–40% of the bond enthalpy. An energy decomposition analysis reveals that the H?H bond of transition metal hydrides contains both covalent and electrostatic contributions.     

Electronic structures of 4d transition metal monoxides by density functional theory

Bond distances, dissociation energies, ionization potentials and electron affinities of 4d transition metal monoxides from YO to CdO and their positive and negative ions were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BPW91, B3P86, BP86, SVWN, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. It was found that calculated properties are highly dependent on the functionals employed, especially for dissociation energy. For most neutral species, pure density functionals BLYP, BPW91 and BP86 have good performance in predicting dissociation energy than hybrid density functionals B3LYP, B3PW91 and B3P86. In addition, BLYP gives the largest bond distance compared with other density functional methods, while SVWN gives shortest bond distance, largest dissociation energy and electron affinity. For the ground state, the spin multiplicity of the charged species can be obtained by ± 1 of their corresponding neutral species.     

Investigation of correlation between impact sensitivities and bond dissociation energies in some triazole energetic compounds

In this article, density functional theory has been utilized to study on the correlation between impact sensitivities h _50% and the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of nine triazole energetic explosives. By employing B3LYP and B3P86 method with the 6-311G** basis set, all the molecules have been fully optimized. The BDEs for removal of the NO₂ group in these compounds have also been calculated at the same level. Computed results show that BDEs calculated by B3LYP method are all less than those by B3P86 method. The relationship between the impact sensitivities and the weakest C–NO₂ bond dissociation energy (BDE) values have been investigated. The results indicate a good linear correlation between the impact sensitivity h _50% and the ratio (BDE/E) of the weakest BDE to the total energy E.     

The C−NO2 bond dissociation energies of some nitroaromatic compounds: DFT study

The C−NO₂ bond dissociation energies in nitrobenzene; 3-amino-nitrobenze; 4-amino-nitrobenze; 1,3-dinitrobenzene; 1,4-dinitrobenzene; 2-methyl-nitrobenzene; 4-methyl-nitrobenzene; and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene nitroaromatic molecules, are computed using B3LYP, B3PW91, B3P86 three-parameter hybrid Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods in conjunction with 6-31G^** basis set. By comparing the computed energies and experimental ones, it is found that B3P86/6-31G^** is not capable of predicting the satisfactory bond dissociation energy (BDE). The BDEs computed with both B3LYP/6-31G^** and B3PW91/6-31G^** for the nitroaromatic molecules are closer to the experimental ones than those obtained with B3P86/6-31G^**. But, when compared with the experimental one, the BDE from the B3LYP/6-31G^** has the maximum deviation, which is completely outside our desired target accuracy for chemical predictions (less than 2.00 kcal mol⁻¹). Therefore, we suggest B3PW91/6-31G^** method as a reliable method of computing the BDE for removal of the nitrogen dioxide group in the nitroaromatic compounds. In addition, the C−NO₂ BDEs for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB), diaminotrinitrobenzene (DATB), and picramide are studied with B3PW91/6-31G^** method.     

The confirmation of accurate combination of functional and basis set for transition‐metal dimers: Fe2, Co2, Ni2, Ru2, Rh2, Pd2, Os2, Ir2, and Pt2

Eight kinds of density functionals named B3LYP, PBE1PBE, B1B95, BLYP, BP86, G96PW91, mPWPW91, and SVWN along with two different valence basis sets (LANL2DZ and CEP‐121g) are employed to study the transition‐metal dimers for the elements of group VIII. By comparing the equilibrium bond distances, vibrational frequencies, and dissociation energies of the ground state of these dimers with the available experimental values and theoretical data, we show that the “pure” DFT methods (G96PW91, BLYP, and BP86) with great‐gradient approximation always give better results relative to the hybrid HF/DFT schemes (B3LYP, PBE1PBE, and B1B95). The striking case found by us is that the G96PW91 functional, which is not tested in previous systemic studies, always predicts the dissociation energy to be well. The Ru₂ and Os₂ dimers are sensitive to not only the functionals employed but also the valence basis sets adopted. The natural bond orbital population is analyzed, and the molecular orbitals of the unpaired electrons are determined. Furthermore, our results indicate that the s and d orbitals of these dimers always hybridize with each other except for Rh₂ and Pt₂ molecules. And by analyzing the electron configuration of the bonding atom, the dissociation limit of the ground state is obtained. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Is the spin‐orbit coupling important in the prediction of the 51V hyperfine coupling constants of VIVO2+ species? ORCA versus Gaussian performance and biological applications

Density functional theory calculations of the (51)V hyperfine coupling (HFC) tensor A, have been completed for eighteen V(IV)O(2+) complexes with different donor set, electric charge and coordination geometry. A tensor was calculated with ORCA software with several functionals and basis sets taking into account the spin-orbit coupling contribution. The results were compared with those obtained with Gaussian 03 software using the half-and-half functional BHandHLYP and 6-311g(d,p) basis set. The order of accuracy of the functionals in the prediction of A(iso), A(z) and dipolar term A(z,anis) is BHandHLYP > PBE0 > B3PW > TPSSh > B3LYP > BP86 > VWN5 (for A(iso)), BHandHLYP > PBE0 > B3PW > TPSSh > B3LYP > BP86 > VWN5 (for A(z)), B3LYP > PBE0 ～ B3PW ～ BHandHLYP > TPSSh > BP86 ～ VWN5 (for A(z,anis)). The good agreement in the prediction of A(z) with BHandHLYP is due to a compensation between the overestimation of A(iso) and underestimation of A(z,anis) (A(z) = A(iso) + A(z,anis)), whereas among the hybrid functionals PBE0 performs better than the other ones. BHandHLYP functional and Gaussian software are recommended when the V(IV)O(2+) species contains only V-O and/or V-N bonds, whereas PBE0 functional and ORCA software for V(IV)O(2+) complexes with one or more V-S bonds. Finally, the application of these methods to the coordination environment of V(IV)O(2+) ion in V-proteins, like vanadyl-substituted insulin, carbonic anhydrase, collagen and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase, was discussed.     

Accurate prediction of vertical electronic transitions of Ni(II) coordination compounds via time dependent density functional theory

Time dependent density functional theory calculations are completed for five Ni(II) complexes formed by polydentate peptides to predict the electronic absorption spectrum. The ligands examined were glycyl‐glycyl‐glycine (GGG), glycyl‐glycyl‐glycyl‐glycine (GGGG), glycyl‐glycyl‐histidine (GGH), glycyl‐glycyl‐cysteine (GGC), and triethylenetetramine (trien). Fifteen functionals and two basis sets were tested. On the basis of the mean absolute percent deviation (MAPD), the ranking among the functionals is: HSE06 ∼ MPW1PW91 ∼ PBE0 > ω‐B97x‐D ∼ B3P86 ∼ B3LYP ∼ CAM‐B3LYP > PBE ∼ BLYP ∼ BP86 > TPSS > TPSSh > BHandHLYP > M06 ≫ M06‐2X. Concerning the basis sets, the triple‐ζ def2‐TZVP performs better than the double‐ζ LANL2DZ. With the functional HSE06 and basis set def2‐TZVP the MAPD with respect to the experimental λ_max is 1.65% with a standard deviation of 1.26%. The absorption electronic spectra were interpreted in terms of vertical excitations between occupied and virtual MOs based on Ni‐d atomic orbitals. The electronic structure of the Ni(II) species is also discussed.     

Vibrational frequency scale factors for density functional theory and the polarization consistent basis sets

Calculated harmonic vibrational frequencies systematically deviate from experimental vibrational frequencies. The observed deviation can be corrected by applying a scale factor. Scale factors for: (i) harmonic vibrational frequencies [categorized into low (<1000 cm^?1) and high (>1000 cm^?1)], (ii) vibrational contributions to enthalpy and entropy, and (iii) zero‐point vibrational energies (ZPVEs) have been determined for widely used density functionals in combination with polarization consistent basis sets (pc‐n, n = 0,1,2,3,4). The density functionals include pure functionals (BP86, BPW91, BLYP, HCTH93, PBEPBE), hybrid functionals with Hartree‐Fock exchange (B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, PBE1PBE, mPW1K, BH&HLYP), hybrid meta functionals with the kinetic energy density gradient (M05, M06, M05‐2X, M06‐2X), a double hybrid functional with Møller‐Plesset correlation (B2GP‐PLYP), and a dispersion corrected functional (B97‐D). The experimental frequencies for calibration were from 41 organic molecules and the ZPVEs for comparison were from 24 small molecules (diatomics, triatomics). For this family of basis sets, the scale factors for each property are more dependent on the functional selection than on basis set level, and thus allow for a suggested scale factor for each density functional when employing polarization consistent basis sets (pc‐n, n = 1,2,3,4). A separate scale factor is recommended when the un‐polarized basis set, pc‐0, is used in combination with the density functionals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

PCM study of the solvent and substituent effects on bond dissociation energies of the C?NO bond

Quantum chemical calculations are used to estimate the equilibrium C? NO bond dissociation energies (BDEs) for eight X? NO molecule (X = CCl₃, C₆F₅, CH₃, CH₃CH₂, iC₃H₇, tC₄H₉, CH₂CHCH₂, and C₆H₅CH₂). These compounds are studied by employing the hybrid density functional theory (B3LYP, B3PW91, B3P86) methods together with 6‐31G** and 6‐311G** basis sets and the complete basis set (CBS‐QB3) method. The obtained results are compared with the available experimental results. It is demonstrated that B3P86/6‐31G** and CBS‐QB3 methods are accurate for computing the reliable BDEs for the X? NO molecule. Considering the inevitably computational cost of CBS‐QB3 method and the reliability of the B3P86 calculations, B3P86 method with 6‐31G** basis set may be more suitable to calculate the BDEs of the C? NO bond. The solvent effects on the BDEs of the C? NO bond are analyzed and it is shown that the C? NO BDEs in a vacuum computed by using B3PW91/6‐311G** method are the closest to the computed values in acetontrile and the average solvent effect is 1.48 kcal/mol. Subsequently, the substituent effects of the BDEs of the C? NO bond are further analyzed and it is found that electron denoting group stabilizes the radical and as a result BDE decreases; whereas electron withdrawing group stabilizes the group state of the molecule and thus increases the BDE from the parent molecule. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Which density functional is close to CCSD accuracy to describe geometry and interaction energy of small noncovalent dimers? A benchmark study using Gaussian09

A benchmark study on all possible density functional theory (DFT) methods in Gaussian09 is done to locate functionals that agree well with CCSD/aug‐cc‐pVTZ geometry and Ave‐CCSD(T)/(Q‐T) interaction energy (E_int) for small non‐covalently interacting molecular dimers in “dispersion‐dominated” (class 1), “dipole‐induced dipole” (class 2), and “dipole‐dipole” (class 3) classes. A DFT method is recommended acceptable if the geometry showed close agreement to CCSD result (RMSD < 0.045) and E_int was within 80–120% accuracy. Among 382 tested functionals, 1–46% gave good geometry, 13–44% gave good E_int, while 1–33% satisfied geometry and energy criteria. Further screening to locate the best performing functionals for all the three classes was made by counting the acceptable values of energy and geometry given by each functionals. The meta‐generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional M06L was the best performer with total 14 hits; seven acceptable energies and seven acceptable geometries. This was the only functional “recommended” for at least two dimers in each class. The functionals M05, B2PLYPD, B971, mPW2PLYPD, PBEB95, and CAM‐B3LYP gave 11 hits while PBEhB95, PW91B95, Wb97x, BRxVP86, BRxP86, HSE2PBE, HSEh1PBE, PBE1PBE, PBEh1PBE, and PW91TPSS gave 10 hits. Among these, M05, B971, mPW2PLYPD, Wb97x, and PW91TPSS were among the “recommended” list of at least one dimer from each class. Long‐range correction (LC) of Hirao and coworkers to exchange‐correlation functionals showed massive improvement in geometry and E_int. The best performing LC‐functionals were LC‐G96KCIS and LC‐PKZBPKZB. Our results predict that M06L is the most trustworthy DFT method in Gaussian09 to study small non‐covalently interacting systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

PCM study of the solvent and substituent effects on bond dissociation energies of the O?NO Bond—A DFT study

A PCM continuum model, at the B3LYP, B3P86, and B3PW91 three‐parameter hybrid DFT methods with 6‐311G** basis set, is used to study the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of benzyl nitrites. Compared the computed results with the experimental values, it is noted that B3PW91 functional is the best method to compute the BDEs of benzyl nitrites. The solvent and substituent effects on the BDEs of the O? NO bond are analyzed, and it is shown that the BDE of the O? NO bond decreases with the increment of the Hammett constants of substituent groups on benzene for benzyl nitrites except C₆H₅CH₂O? NO. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Electronic Structures of 5d Transition Metal Monoxides by Density Functional Theory

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, and dissociation energies of the diatomic 5d transition metal (except La) monoxides and their positively and negatively charged ions were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BPW91, B3P86, BP86, MPW1PW91, PBE1PBE, and SVWN. Our calculation shows that for each individual species, the calculated properties are quite sensitive to the method used. Compared with hybrid density functional method B3PW91 (B3P86), pure density functional method BPW91 (BP86) gives longer bond distance (lower vibrational frequency) from HfO to PtO for neutral species, HfO⁺ to IrO⁺ for cationic species, and HfO⁻ to AuO⁻ for anionic species. While for B3LYP and BLYP, the trend was observed for cationic species from HfO⁺ to IrO⁺ and anionic species from HfO⁻ to AuO⁻ (except TaO⁻), but not for neutrals. Pure density function methods BLYP, BPW91, and BP86 give larger dissociation energy compared with hybrid density functional methods B3LYP, B3PW91, and B3P86. SVWN in most cases gives the smallest bond distance, while BLYP gives the largest value. MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE show the same performance in predicting the spectroscopic constants. In addition, useful empirical criteria that one has obtained the ground states of a species and its ions are the spin multiplicities of a neutral and its single charged ions which differs by ±1.     

Structures and excitation energies of Zn–tetraarylporphyrin analogues: A theoretical study

The photophysical properties of β-substituted Zn–tetraarylporphyrin (ZnTAP) analogues used as dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells were studied using density functional theory (DFT). Singlet-excitation energy calculations of ZnTAP analogues were performed using time-dependent DFT with B3LYP, B3PW91, PBE0 exchange–correlation functionals at 6-31G(d) and 6-31+G(d) basis sets using B3LYP/6-31G(d) geometries. The PBE0 functional at 6-31+G(d) basis set provided a better correlation with the experimental data for both B- and Q-bands. The inclusion of solvation effect in the calculations provided a good agreement in terms of B:Q_ave ratio of the oscillator strengths for both analogues with the experimental values. Analogue 2 has a higher and a more balanced charge-carrier transport rates than analogue 1. In general, the addition of an electron-donating group in the meso-substituent (analogue 2) resulted in a narrower band gap, higher oscillator strength, a more red-shifted absorption spectra, and better charge-transfer characteristics than analogue 1.     

O-H bond dissociation enthalpies of oximes: a theoretical assessment and experimental implications

By using a multilayer composite ab initio method ONION-G3B3, we calculated O-H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of 58 oximes that were measured experimentally. Experimental BDEs derived from thermal decomposition kinetics and calorimetric measurements were found to be consistent with the theory. However, the electrochemical method was found to give questionably high BDEs possibly due to errors in the measurement of pKa's or redox potentials. Subsequently, the performances of a variety of DFT functionals including B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, BHandH, BHandHLYP, BMK, PBE1PBE, MPW1KCIS, mPWPW91, MPW1B95, and MPW1K were tested to calculate oxime O-H BDEs, where ROBHandHLYP was found to be the most accurate. By using this method, we calculated O-H BDEs of over 140 oximes in a systematic fashion. All of the calculated O-H BDEs fell in the range from 76.8 to 89.8 kcal/mol. An amino group on the azomethine carbon was found to strengthen the O-H bond, whereas bulky alkyl substituents on oximes decreased O-H BDEs due to their large steric-strain-relieving effects in the process of O-H bond cleavage. Para substituents had little effect on the BDEs of benzaldoximes and phenyl methyl ketoximes. Finally, on the basis of a spin distribution calculation, aryl-, alkyl-, and carbonyl-substituted iminoxyl radicals were found to be sigma-radicals, whereas amino-substituted iminoxyl radicals were of pi-structure.     

Density functional study of AuXq (X = O, S, Se, Te, q = +1, 0, -1) molecules

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, electron affinity, ionization potential, and dissociation energies of the title molecules were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, BHLYP, BLYP, BP86, mPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE. It was found that the ground electronic state is doublet for neutral species, singlet for the anion, and triplet for the cation, in agreement with experiments and previous theoretical studies. The calculated properties are highly dependent on the functionals employed, in particular for the dissociation energy. The predicted bond distances and vibrational frequencies are in agreement with experiments and previous theoretical results. BP86 and BLYP have relatively good performance in reproducing the experimental results, while BHLYP is the worst functional method compared with the other density functional methods used for the title molecules.