Reply to ‘comment on “extending Hirshfeld‐I to bulk and periodic materials”’

The issues raised in the comment by Manz are addressed through the presentation of calculated atomic charges for NaF, NaCl, MgO, SrTiO $$_3$$ , and La $$_2$$ Ce $$_2$$ O $$_7$$ , using our previously presented method for calculating Hirshfeld‐I charges in solids (Vanpoucke et al., J. Comput. Chem. doi: 10.1002/jcc.23088). It is shown that the use of pseudovalence charges is sufficient to retrieve the full all‐electron Hirshfeld‐I charges to good accuracy. Furthermore, we present timing results of different systems, containing up to over 200 atoms, underlining the relatively low cost for large systems. A number of theoretical issues are formulated, pointing out mainly that care must be taken when deriving new atoms in molecules methods based on “expectations” for atomic charges. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Extending Hirshfeld‐I to bulk and periodic materials

In this work, a method is described to extend the iterative Hirshfeld‐I method, generally used for molecules, to periodic systems. The implementation makes use of precalculated pseudopotential‐based electron density distributions, and it is shown that high‐quality results are obtained for both molecules and solids, such as ceria, diamond, and graphite. The use of grids containing (precalculated) electron densities makes the implementation independent of the solid state or quantum chemical code used for studying the system. The extension described here allows for easy calculation of atomic charges and charge transfer in periodic and bulk systems. The conceptual issue of obtaining reference densities for anions is discussed, and the delocalization problem for anionic reference densities originating from the use of a plane wave basis set is identified and handled. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reply to “Comment on the Comparative Use of the Electron Density and Its Laplacian”

In our reply to the preceding comment by Richard Bader we show that the statements of the author are not justified and that he contradicts his own previous work.     

Comment on “density and physical current density functional theory” by Xiao‐Yin Pan and Viraht Sahni

A recent paper by Xiao‐Yin Pan and Viraht Sahni [Int. J. Quant. Chem. 110, 2833 (2010)] claims that current density functional theory should be based on the physical current density rather than the paramagnetic current density, as in the standard Vignale‐Rasolt formulation. In this comment we show that the claims in the paper by Pan and Sahni are erroneous. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reply to “Comment on Aromatic‐Backbone Interactions in Model α‐Helical Peptides”

In response to Van Mourik's comments on our paper (J Comput Chem 2007, 28, 1208.) we present an extended version of our rotation method. We also prove that intramolecular interaction energies as well the basis set superposition errors calculated with our rotation method are comparable with those obtained by the counterpoise method of Boys and Bernardi (Mol Phys 1970, 19, 533). In intramolecular interaction energy calculations, if the interacting groups are in proximity, our rotation method is recommended to avoid artificial interactions, which can be induced by fragmentation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.J Comput Chem, 2008     

Comment on “Stabilization of Low‐Valent Iron(I) in a High‐Valent Vanadium(V) Oxide Cluster”

A recent Communication in this journal reported the stabilization of low‐valent iron(I) in a fully oxidized polyoxovanadate. With no ligand‐field argument to support such an assignment, a re‐evaluation of the data accompanied by detailed computational analysis reveals the redox chemistry is localized to the polyoxovanadate, and when reduced, instigates a spin transition at iron.     

A Constrained Disorder Refinement: “Reinvestigation of “Single‐Crystal X‐ray Structure of 1,3‐Dimethylcyclobutadiene” by M. Shatruk and I. V. Alabugin”

Shatruk and Alabugin propose an alternative structural model for the observed electron density that we have attributed to the photochemical formation of 1,3‐dimethylcyclobutadiene in a protective solid crystalline matrix. The main criticism from Shatruk and Alabugin concerns the modeling of the disorder in the calixarene cavity and in particular the neglect of a residual electron density close to the O1 atom. We published (Chem. Eur. J. 2011 , 17, 10021) our opinion concerning this “ignored peak” in the Supporting Information of the paper. The current response to the Correspondence demonstrates that Shatruk and Alabugin have over‐modeled our data by assigning a small electron density peak, which is hardly more than the density corresponding to a hydrogen atom, to an under‐occupied oxygen site, using inappropriate refinement contraints.     

The dual sense of the term “element,” attempts to derive the Madelung rule,and the optimal form of the periodic table,if any

This article concerns various foundational aspects of the periodic system of the elements. These issues include the dual nature of the concept of an “element” to include element as a “basic substance” and as a “simple substance.” We will discuss the question of whether there is an optimal form of the periodic table, including whether the left‐step table fulfils this role. We will also discuss the derivation or explanation of the [n + ?, n] or Madelung rule for electron‐shell filling and whether indeed it is important to attempt to derive this rule from first principles. In particular, we examine the views of two chemists, Henry Bent and Eugen Schwarz, who have independently addressed many of these issues. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Comment on “Symbolic Calculation of Two‐Center Overlap Integrals Over Slater‐type Orbitals”

Published by Gümü?. and Özdo?an formulas for the evaluation of two‐center overlap integrals (Gümü?, S.; Özdo?an, T. J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 2004, 51, 243) are critically analyzed. It is demonstrated that the formulas presented in this work are not original and they can easily be derived from the relationships contained in our papers (Guseinov, I. I. J. Phys. B 1970 , 3, 1399; Phys. Rev. A 1985 , 32, 1864; J. Mol Struct. (Theochem) 1995 , 336, 17) by changing the summation indices and application of a simple algebra. It should be noted that the symbolic results of overlap integrals between different combinations of quantum numbers given in Table 1 and 2 can also be obtained from the use of established in above mentioned our papers general formulas or presented in the literature relations for overlap integrals in terms of the products of molecular auxiliary functions A_n(p) and B_n(pt) (see, e.g., Lofthus, A. Mol. Phys. 1962 , 5, 105).     

Carbon Nanotubes Fed on “Carbs”: Coating of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Dextran Sulfate

A facile and easily reproducible technique for assembling biohybrid nanoparticles is a core feature that is highly desired for biomedical applications, considering the nature and limited lifespan of the biopolymers used. Here we show a simple and effective method to enfold single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using an anionic polysaccharide, dextran sulfate. After their interactions, SWNTs were rendered dispersible in aqueous solution and were shortened and unbundled to their basic dimension. Atomic force microscopy analysis was extensively employed to elucidate the mechanism of their interfacing. This biohybrid nanoparticle holds promise for biological and biomedical applications due to the synergistic unique properties of SWNTs and dextran sulfate.