Ab initio studies of internal rotation barriers and vibrational frequencies of (C2H2)2, (CO2)2, and C2H2-CO2

We have performed large-scaleab initio calculations using second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) on the three van der Waals dimers formed from acetylene and carbon dioxide. Intermolecular geometrical parameters are reliably computed at this level of theory. Calculations of vibrational frequencies of the van der Waals modes, currently unobtainable by experimental means, give important information about the intermolecular potential and predict significant large-amplitude motion. Zero point energy contributions are shown to be vital in assessing the relative stability of conformations which are close in energy. Our studies suggest that the barrier to interconversion tunnelling in (CO₂)₂ is significantly smaller than previously inferred and is approximately the same as in (C₂H₂)₂. The reason for the rigidity of (CO₂)₂ is the difference in monomer centre-of-mass separation between ground state and transition state. We also show that, in addition to the previously observedC _2v form, the collinear form of C₂H₂-CO₂ is a local minimum on its potential energy surface.     

Static hyperpolarizability of the van der Waals complex CH4?N2

The static first hyperpolarizability of the van der Waals CH₄ N₂ complex was calculated. The calculations were carried out in the approximation of the rigid interacting molecules for a broad range of intermolecular separations (R = 6–40 a₀) and for six configurations at CCSD(T) level of theory using the correlation consistent aug-cc-pVTZ basis set with the basis set superposition error correction. It was shown that the long-range classical approximation, including the terms up to R⁻⁶, is in a good agreement with ab initio calculations for R > 11 a₀. It was found out that for the family of most stable configurations of the complex, the first hyperpolarizability invariants practically do not change (the changes are less than 0.1%). Under forming the stable van der Waals CH₄ N₂ complex, the intensity and degree of depolarization of the hyper-Rayleigh scattering are noticeable decreased (by ∼10%) to be compared with the free CH₄ and N₂ molecules. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quantum effects on the stability of the He5I2 van der Waals conformers

We present 15-dimensional quantum multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree calculations of the vibrational levels of the He₅I₂ van der Waals (vdW) complex employing an ab initio-based potential energy surface (PES). The energies and spatial features of such bound structures are analyzed, providing predictions on the structures and relative stabilities of its three lowest isomers. We found that the most stable isomer corresponds to all five He atoms encircling the I₂ molecule, indicating that in this case the anharmonic quantum effects do not stabilize the isomers involving a He atom in a linear configuration as reported previously for the smaller He_NI₂ systems. Such finding provides information on the overall structuring of the finite-size-solvent systems, highlighting the intriguing interplay between weak intermolecular interactions and quantum effects. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

3,17‐Dioxoandrost‐4‐en‐4‐yl acetate

The title compound, C₂₁H₂₈O₄, has a 4‐acetoxy substituent positioned on the steroid α face. The six‐membered ring A assumes a conformation intermediate between 1α,2β‐half chair and 1α‐sofa. A long Csp³—Csp³ bond is observed in ring B and reproduced in quantum‐mechanical ab initio calculations of the isolated molecule using a molecular‐orbital Hartree–Fock method. Cohesion of the crystal can be attributed to van der Waals interactions and weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds.     

Study on the nature of interaction of thiophene with various hydrides

The nature of interactions of thiophene with various hydrides (Y) (Y = HF, HCl, H₂O, H₂S, NH₃, PH₃) is investigated using ab initio calculations. In contrast with the previous results on similar furan complexes, only the π-type is observed for the thiophene complexes. Variations in complexes geometry can be accounted for by the differences in the electrostatic potential on the aromatic ring. To further study the nature of the intermolecular interactions, an SAPT (the symmetry-adapted perturbation theory) energy decomposition analysis was carried out and the results indicate that the dispersion and electrostatic interactions dominate the thiophene complexes.     

Cooperative effects in polymolecular nitrogen clusters

The structures and stabilities of the van der Waals clusters (N₂) _n (n = 2–8) have been evaluated using ab initio calculations at the MP2(full)/6–311+G* and CCSD(full)/6–311+G* level of theory. At n = 2–4, the formation of planar and three-dimensional structures is possible. At n > 4, only “globular” structures can be formed, whose formation energies increase with the cluster size. As the number of interacting molecules increases, the examined systems exhibit cooperative effects associated with non-additive enhancement of nonbonded intermolecular interactions.     

Two-step evaluation of binding energy and potential energy surface of van der Waals complexes

Evaluation of intermolecular distance and binding energy (BE) of van der Waals complex/cluster at ab initio level of theory is computationally demanding when many monomers are involved. Starting from MP2 energy, we reached a two-step evaluation method of BE of van der Waals complex/cluster through reasonable approximations; BE = BE(HF) + sum Mi> Mj{BE (Mi- Mj)(MP2 or MP2.5) - BE(Mi-Mj)(HF)} where HF represents the Hartree-Fock calculation, Mi, Mj, etc. are interacting monomers, and MP2.5 represents the arithmetic mean of MP2 and MP3. The first term is the usual BE of the complex/cluster evaluated at the HF level. The second term is the sum of the difference in two-body BE between the correlated and HF levels of theory. This equation was applied to various van der Waals complexes consisting of up-to-four monomers at MP2 and MP2.5 levels of theory. We found that this method is capable of providing precise estimate of the BE and reproducing well the potential energy surface of van der Waals complexes/clusters; the maximum error of the BE is less than 1 kcal/mol and 1% in most cases except for several limited cases. The origins of error in these cases are discussed in detail.     

Collisional energy-transfer processes involving van der waals bonds

Collisional energy transfer to van der Waals complexes is studied via trajectory calculations. Efficient build-up of energy in the van der Waals bond and its subsequent fragmentation is a result of the flow of energy from translation through the chemically bonded molecular unit. Despite such an efficient energy flow, migration of the vibrational energy initially present in the molecular unit into the van der Waals bond is not important. V-V energy transfer between the excited molecular unit and the incident molecule is very inefficient. O₂ is chosen for the model calculations.     

Use of test particle calculations for the derivation of van der Waals parameters used in force fields

Test particle calculations are employed to derive van der Waals parameters for methane. It is shown that it is possible to derive these parameters completely based on ab initio calculations. The newly derived parameters are tested in molecular dynamics calculations of liquid methane and the results are compared with the results of existing force fields. It is shown that the newly derived parameters perform better in the prediction of the density, the heat of vaporization, and the self-diffusion coefficient of methane. Scaling of the parameters to account for systematic errors in the employed ab initio method does not generally improve the parameters with respect to the properties calculated. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Multiobjective evolutionary algorithm with many tables for purely ab initio protein structure prediction

This article focuses on the development of an approach for ab initio protein structure prediction (PSP) without using any earlier knowledge from similar protein structures, as fragment‐based statistics or inference of secondary structures. Such an approach is called purely ab initio prediction. The article shows that well‐designed multiobjective evolutionary algorithms can predict relevant protein structures in a purely ab initio way. One challenge for purely ab initio PSP is the prediction of structures with β‐sheets. To work with such proteins, this research has also developed procedures to efficiently estimate hydrogen bond and solvation contribution energies. Considering van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrogen bond, and solvation contribution energies, the PSP is a problem with four energetic terms to be minimized. Each interaction energy term can be considered an objective of an optimization method. Combinatorial problems with four objectives have been considered too complex for the available multiobjective optimization (MOO) methods. The proposed approach, called “Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms with many tables” (MEAMT), can efficiently deal with four objectives through the combination thereof, performing a more adequate sampling of the objective space. Therefore, this method can better map the promising regions in this space, predicting structures in a purely ab initio way. In other words, MEAMT is an efficient optimization method for MOO, which explores simultaneously the search space as well as the objective space. MEAMT can predict structures with one or two domains with RMSDs comparable to values obtained by recently developed ab initio methods (GAPF_CG, I‐PAES, and Quark) that use different levels of earlier knowledge. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Parallel ab initio and molecular mechanics investigation of polycoordinated Zn(II) complexes with model hard and soft ligands: Variations of binding energy and of its components with number and charges of ligands

In this study we compare the binding energies of polycoordinated complexes of Zn²⁺ within cavities composed of model “hard” (H₂O, OH⁻) or “soft” (CH₃SH, CH₃S⁻) ligands. Ab initio supermolecule computations are performed at the HF and MP2 levels using extended basis sets to determine the binding energies and their components as a function of: the number of ligands, ranging from three to six; the net charge of the cavity; and the “hard” versus “soft” character of the ligands. These ab initio computations are used to test the reliability of the SIBFA molecular mechanics procedure, originally formulated and calibrated on the basis of ab initio computations, for such charged systems. The SIBFA intermolecular interaction energies match the corresponding ab initio values using a coreless effective potential split‐valence basis set with a relative error of ≤3%. Extensions to binuclear Zn²⁺ complexes, such as those that occur in the Zn‐binding sites of Gal4 and β‐lactamase proteins, are performed to test the applicability of the methodology for such systems. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 1011–1039, 2000     

Theoretical study of the intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction for furan-HCl and furan-CHCl<Subscript>3</Subscript> complexes

The nature of the intermolecular hydrogen bond for the furan-HCl and furan-CHCI₃ complexes has been studied using ab initio calculations with MP2 level of theory. The new hydrogen bond type of C(CI)-H...O and π interactions are studied also. It is shown that, for the optimized geometries of furan-CHCI₃, C-H bond lengths contract and vibrational frequencies are blue-shifted, while for the furan-HCl complex, H-CI bond lengths elongate and vibrational frequencies are red-shifted. In addition, the NBO analysis indicates that, for the furan-CHCI₃ complex, the charge transfers from the lone pair of the proton acceptor to both σ *(CH) antibonding MO and lone pairs of CI atom.     

A theoretical study of the rotational isomers of nitrosomethanol by semiempirical (AM1) and ab initio methods

The conformational potential energy surface as a function of the two internal torsion angles in C-nitrosomethanol has been obtained using the semiempirical AM1 method. Optimized geometries are reported for the local minima on this surface and also for the corresponding points on the HF/6-31G, 6-31G*, and 6-31G** surfaces. All methods predict cis and trans minima which occur in degenerate pairs, each pair being connected by a transition state of C_s symmetry. The AM1 structures are found to compare well with the corresponding ab initio structures. Ab initio HF/6-31G and HF/6-31G* harmonic vibrational frequencies are reported for the cis and trans forms of nitrosomethanol. When scaled appropriately the calculated frequencies are found to compare well with experimental frequencies. The ab initio calculations predict the energy barrier for cis → trans isomerization to be between 5.8 and 6.5 kcal/mol with the trans → cis isomerization barrier lying between 2.3 and 6.5 kcal/mol. The corresponding AM1 energy barriers are around 1 kcal/mol lower in energy. The ab initio calculations predict the barrier to conversion between the two cis rotamers to be very small with the AM1 value being around 1 kcal/mol. Both AM1 and ab initio calculations predict interconversion between trans rotamers to require between 1.2 and 1.4 kcal/mol.     

17‐Oxo‐5α‐androstane‐3α,4β‐diyl diacetate and 17‐oxo‐5β‐androstane‐3α,4β‐diyl diacetate

The title compounds, both C₂₃H₃₄O₅, are the 5α and 5β configurations of two diacetate epimers. The 5β‐diacetate crystallizes in an hexagonal structure, unusual for steroid molecules. The unit cell has an accessible solvent volume of 358 ų, responsible for clathrate behaviour. The 5β‐epimer also features some shorter than average bond lengths in the 3α,4β‐acetoxy groups. The conformations of the molecules of both epimers are compared with those obtained through abinitio quantum chemistry calculations. Cohesion of the crystals can be attributed to van der Waals and weak molecular C—H⋯O interactions.     

Effect of the character of homo- and heteronuclear chemical bond on the intermolecular interaction energy and properties of halogens and hydrogen halides

The effect of the chemical bond character (the degrees of covalence C _c, metallicity C _m, and ionicity C _i) on the bond rigidity and the components of the van der Waals intermolecular interaction have been shown for halogens and hydrogen halides as an example. The force constant is determined by the chemical bond character. The intermolecular interaction energy of these compounds can be quantified using the C _m and C _i values of the constituent bonds. Thus, the known treatment of intermolecular interaction as residual or secondary to the chemical interaction has been proved to be correct.     

Anisotropy of the van der Waals Configuration of Atoms in Complex,Condensed, and Gas-Phase Molecules

Anisotropic van der Waals (vdW) radii of 5b–7bsubgroup elements were determined from structures of gas-phase van der Waals complexes and crystal molecular compounds. The anisotropy of the van der Waals configuration of atoms was shown to decrease when going from isolated molecules to the condensed state. Variations in intermolecular distances, which are usually explained in terms of the formation of hydrogen bonds, are substantially governed by the anisotropic effect.     

Tosyl esters of cinchonidine and cinchonine alkaloids: the structure–reactivity relationship in the hydrolysis to 9‐epibases

In the crystal structures of the diastereoisomers of O‐tosylcinchonidine [(9R)‐cinchon‐9‐yl 4‐methylbenzenesulfonate], (I), and O‐tosylcinchonine [(9S)‐cinchon‐9‐yl 4‐methylbenzenesulfonate], (II), both C₂₆H₂₈N₂O₃S, both molecules are in an anti‐closed conformation and, in each case, the position of the aryl ring of the tosylate system is influenced by an intramolecular C—H...O hydrogen bond. The molecular packing in (I) is influenced by weak intermolecular C—H...O and C—H...π interactions. The crystal structure of (II) features C—H...π interactions and van der Waals forces only. The computational investigations using RHF/6–31G** ab initio and AM1 semi‐empirical methods performed for (I) and (II) and their protonated species show that the conformational and energetic parameters of the molecules are correlated with differences in their reactivity in hydrolysis to the corresponding 9‐epibases.     

用DVR方法研究Ar-HF和Ar-DF的振转光谱

本文用离散变量表示(DVR)方法研究了Ar-HF和Ar-DF体系的振转光谱。对这两个体系的已观测到的振转能级, 用DVR方法得到的计算值与实验结果十分吻合, 误差一般小于0.1cm^-^1, 最大偏差为0.24cm^-^1对Ar-HF的(1113)态。该研究结果与Hutson等用耦合孔道法得到的计算结果基本一致, 但对(3210)振动能级和对(3002)-(3110)态的能级分裂值, 本文计算结果更接近观测值。     

Hydrogen sulphide H2S and noble gases (Ng = He,Ne, Ar,Kr, Xe,Rn) complexes: A theoretical study of their dynamics,spectroscopy, and interactions

In this work, some basic features of the intermolecular bond in gas phase H₂S-Ng complexes (Ng = He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn) have been investigated in detail, coupling information from scattering experiments with results of quantum chemical calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level. Spectroscopic constants, rotovibrational energies, and lifetime as a function of temperature have been evaluated for the complete family of H₂S-Ng systems, and an extensive study of involved intermolecular interactions has been performed. In particular, their nature has been characterized by exploiting Atoms-In-Molecules (AIM), Non-Covalent Interactions (NCI), Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory (SAPT), and Charge Displacement (CD) methods, and it was found that all complexes are bound essentially by near-isotropic van der Waals forces, perturbed by weak-stabilizing charge (electron) transfer contributions. Obtained results also show that these additional contributions increase from He up to Rn, providing an appreciable chemical-stabilizing effect of the noncovalent intermolecular bond for H₂S-heavier Ng systems.     

The Role of High Excitations in Constructing Sub-spectroscopic Accuracy Intermolecular Potential of He-HCN: Critically Examined by the High-Resolution Spectra with Resonance States

Interpreting high-resolution rovibrational spectra of weakly bound complexes commonly requires spectroscopic accuracy (<1 cm^-1) potential energy surfaces (PES). Constructing high-accuracy ab initio PES relies on the high-level electronic structure approaches and the accurate physical models to represent the potentials. The coupled cluster approaches including single and double excitations with a perturbational estimate of triple excitations (CCSD(T)) have been termed the "gold standard" of electronic structure theory, and widely used in generating intermolecular interaction energies for most van der Waals complexes. However, for HCN-He complex, the observed millimeter-wave spectroscopy with high-excited resonance states has not been assigned and interpreted even on the ab initio PES computed at CCSD(T) level of theory with the complete basis set (CBS) limit. In this work, an effective three-dimensional ab initio PES for HCN-He, which explicitly incorporates dependence on the Q₁ (C-H) normal-mode coordinate of the HCN monomer has been calculated at the CCSD(T)/CBS level. The post-CCSD(T) interaction energy has been examined and included in our PES. Analytic two-dimensional PESs are obtained by least-squares fitting vibrationally averaged interaction energies for v₁(C-H)=0, and 1 to the Morse/Long-Range potential function form with root-mean-square deviations (RMSD) smaller than 0.011 cm^-1. The role and significance of the post-CCSD(T) interaction energy contribution are clearly illustrated by comparison with the predicted rovibrational energy levels. With or without post-CCSD(T) corrections, the value of dissociation limit (D₀) is 8.919 or 9.403 cm^-1, respectively. The predicted millimeter-wave transitions and intensities from the PES with post-CCSD(T) excitation corrections are in good agreement with the available experimental data with RMS discrepancy of 0.072 cm^-1. Moreover, the infrared spectrum for HCN-He complex is predicted for the first time. These results will serve as a good starting point and provide reliable guidance for future infrared studies of HCN doped in (He)_n clusters.