A fully ab initio potential curve of near-spectroscopic quality for OH- ion: importance of connected quadruple excitations and scalar relativistic effects

A benchmark study has been carried out on the ground-state potential curve of the hydroxyl anion, OH-, including detailed calibration of both the l-particle and n-particle basis sets. The CCSD(T) basis set limit overestimates omega(e) by about 10 cm(-1), which is only remedied by inclusion of connected quadruple excitations in the coupled cluster expansion--or, equivalently, the inclusion of the 2pi orbitals in the active space of a multireference calculation. Upon inclusion of scalar relativistic effects (-3 cm(-1) on omega(e)), a potential curve of spectroscopic quality (sub-cm(-1) accuracy) is obtained. Our best computed EA(OH), 1.828 eV, agrees to three decimal places with the best available experimental value. Our best computed dissociation energies, D0(OH-) = 4.7796 eV and D0(OH) = 4.4124 eV, suggest that the experimental D0(OH) = 4.392 eV may possibly be about 0.02 eV too low.     

Conformations of allyl amine: theory vs experiment

The relative stabilities of the five conformers of allyl amine, a medium-size aliphatic molecule, were estimated by applying ab initio quantum mechanical methods at several levels of theory. The second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation method (MP2), quadratic configuration interaction including single and double excitations (QCISD), coupled-cluster with single and double excitations (CCSD) and CCSD plus perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] were applied. The Dunning correlation consistent basis sets (through aug-cc-pVQZ and cc-pV5Z) were employed. The MP2 energies relative to the energy of the cis-trans conformer reported here appear to approach the basis set limit. The predicted allyl amine conformer energies approaching the Hartree-Fock basis set limit are 158 cm-1 (cis-gauche), -5 cm-1 (gauche-trans), and -146 cm-1 (gauche-gauche). The same three relative energies near the MP2 basis set limit are 135, 103, and 50 cm-1, respectively. The analogous energies deduced from experiment are 173 +/- 12, 92 +/- 8, and 122 +/- 5 cm-1. The theoretical results obtained in the present study suggest that satisfactory predictions of the conformer energetics of allyl amine may be achieved only by theoretical methods that incorporate consideration of correlation effects in conjunction with large basis sets. Evaluation of the zero-point vibrational energy corrections is critical, due to the very small classical energy differences between the five conformers of allyl amine. Agreement between theory and experiment for the gauche-gauche conformational energy remains problematical.     

Density functional theory and ab initio studies of the structure and energetics of digallium tetraoxide, Ga2O4, in the gas phase

A systematic investigation on the neutral and anionic digallium tetraoxide, Ga(2)O(4) has been carried out by using density functional theory (DFT), second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), and the coupled cluster approach with single and double substitutions and a perturbative treatment of the triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. The geometry of neutral Ga(2)O(4) has been proposed earlier, from an experimental study, to adopt a D(2d) symmetry (J. Phys. Chem. 1979, 83, 656). However, the current research reveals that, out of the several isomers considered for neutral and anionic digallium tetraoxide, the (3)B(1u) and (2)B(3g) of the planar D(2h) geometry (7a-D(2h)) are the lowest-energy states for Ga(2)O(4) and Ga(2)O(4)(-). Our computations rule out the D(2d) geometry (3-D(2d)) as a viable contender for neutral Ga(2)O(4). The (3)B(2) (3-D(2d)) state is located above the (3)B(1u) (7-D(2h)) state by at least 4.26 eV. The energies of the low lying states, geometrical parameters, and energetic features (VEDE, AEDE, and AEA) are reported. The AEA of Ga(2)O(4) is calculated to be 3.94 eV (B3LYP), 3.24 eV (MP2), 3.42 eV [CCSD(T)//B3LYP], and 3.38 eV [CCSD(T)//MP2], respectively. In addition, the dissociation energy, D(e), for the process Ga(2)O(4) ((3)B(1u)) → 2GaO(2) ((2)A(2)) is 3.59 eV (B3LYP), 5.08 eV (MP2), 4.82 eV [CCSD(T)//B3LYP], and 4.80 eV [CCSD(T)//MP2]. The results obtained in this work are critically analyzed, discussed, and compared with those of the analogous metal oxides.     

From CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ-J to CCSD(T) complete basis set limit isotropic nuclear magnetic shieldings via affordable DFT/CBS calculations

It is shown that a linear correlation exists between nuclear shielding constants for nine small inorganic and organic molecules (N(2), CO, CO(2), NH(3), CH(4), C(2)H(2), C(2)H(4), C(2)H(6) and C(6)H(6)) calculated with 47 methods (42 DFT methods, RHF, MP2, SOPPA, SOPPA(CCSD), CCSD(T)) and the aug-cc-pVTZ-J basis set and corresponding complete basis set results, estimated from calculations with the family of polarization-consistent pcS-n basis sets. This implies that the remaining basis set error of the aug-cc-pVTZ-J basis set is very similar in DFT and CCSD(T) calculations. As the aug-cc-pVTZ-J basis set is significantly smaller, CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ-J calculations allow in combination with affordable DFT/pcS-n complete basis set calculations the prediction of nuclear shieldings at the CCSD(T) level of nearly similar accuracy as those, obtained by fitting results obtained from computationally demanding pcS-n calculations at the CCSD(T) limit. A significant saving of computational efforts can thus be achieved by scaling inexpensive CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ-J calculations of nuclear isotropic shieldings with affordable DFT complete basis set limit corrections.     

Benchmark calculations on the electron detachment energies of MO3* and M2O6* (M = Cr, Mo, W)

Neutral and anionic molecules of the monomers and dimers of the group VIB transition metal oxides (MO3 and M2O6) were studied with density functional theory (DFT) and coupled cluster CCSD(T) theory. Franck-Condon simulations of the photoelectron spectra were carried out for the transition from the ground state of the anion to that of the neutral molecule. Molecular structures from the DFT and CCSD(T) methods are compared. Electron detachment energies reported in the literature were evaluated. The calculated adiabatic and vertical electron detachment energies (ADEs and VDEs) were compared with the experimental results. CCSD(T) gives results within 0.12 eV for the ADEs. CCSD(T) predicts VDEs that are in error by as much as 0.3 eV for M = Cr. DFT hybrid functionals were found to give poor results for the ADEs and VDEs for M = Cr due to the substantial amount of multireference character in the wavefunction, whereas the pure DFT functionals give superior results. For M = Mo and W, excellent agreement was found for both CCSD(T) and many DFT fucntionals. The BP86 functional yields the best overall results for the VDEs of all the metal oxide clusters considered. Heats of formation calculated at the CCSD(T) level extrapolated to the complete basis set limit are also in good agreement with available experimental data.     

Explicitly correlated coupled-cluster theory using cusp conditions. II. Treatment of connected triple excitations

The coupled-cluster singles and doubles method augmented with single Slater-type correlation factors (CCSD-F12) determined by the cusp conditions (also denoted as SP ansatz) yields results close to the basis set limit with only small overhead compared to conventional CCSD. Quantitative calculations on many-electron systems, however, require to include the effect of connected triple excitations at least. In this contribution, the recently proposed [A. Ko?hn, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 131101 (2009)] extended SP ansatz and its application to the noniterative triples correction CCSD(T) is reviewed. The approach allows to include explicit correlation into connected triple excitations without introducing additional unknown parameters. The explicit expressions are presented and analyzed, and possible simplifications to arrive at a computationally efficient scheme are suggested. Numerical tests based on an implementation obtained by an automated approach are presented. Using a partial wave expansion for the neon atom, we can show that the proposed ansatz indeed leads to the expected (L(max)+1)(-7) convergence of the noniterative triples correction, where L(max) is the maximum angular momentum in the orbital expansion. Further results are reported for a test set of 29 molecules, employing Peterson's F12-optimized basis sets. We find that the customary approach of using the conventional noniterative triples correction on top of a CCSD-F12 calculation leads to significant basis set errors. This, however, is not always directly visible for total CCSD(T) energies due to fortuitous error compensation. The new approach offers a thoroughly explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12 method with improved basis set convergence of the triples contributions to both total and relative energies.     

Approximations to complete basis set-extrapolated, highly correlated non-covalent interaction energies

The first-principles calculation of non-covalent (particularly dispersion) interactions between molecules is a considerable challenge. In this work we studied the binding energies for ten small non-covalently bonded dimers with several combinations of correlation methods (MP2, coupled-cluster single double, coupled-cluster single double (triple) (CCSD(T))), correlation-consistent basis sets (aug-cc-pVXZ, X = D, T, Q), two-point complete basis set energy extrapolations, and counterpoise corrections. For this work, complete basis set results were estimated from averaged counterpoise and non-counterpoise-corrected CCSD(T) binding energies obtained from extrapolations with aug-cc-pVQZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets. It is demonstrated that, in almost all cases, binding energies converge more rapidly to the basis set limit by averaging the counterpoise and non-counterpoise corrected values than by using either counterpoise or non-counterpoise methods alone. Examination of the effect of basis set size and electron correlation shows that the triples contribution to the CCSD(T) binding energies is fairly constant with the basis set size, with a slight underestimation with CCSD(T)∕aug-cc-pVDZ compared to the value at the (estimated) complete basis set limit, and that contributions to the binding energies obtained by MP2 generally overestimate the analogous CCSD(T) contributions. Taking these factors together, we conclude that the binding energies for non-covalently bonded systems can be accurately determined using a composite method that combines CCSD(T)∕aug-cc-pVDZ with energy corrections obtained using basis set extrapolated MP2 (utilizing aug-cc-pVQZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets), if all of the components are obtained by averaging the counterpoise and non-counterpoise energies. With such an approach, binding energies for the set of ten dimers are predicted with a mean absolute deviation of 0.02 kcal/mol, a maximum absolute deviation of 0.05 kcal/mol, and a mean percent absolute deviation of only 1.7%, relative to the (estimated) complete basis set CCSD(T) results. Use of this composite approach to an additional set of eight dimers gave binding energies to within 1% of previously published high-level data. It is also shown that binding within parallel and parallel-crossed conformations of naphthalene dimer is predicted by the composite approach to be 9% greater than that previously reported in the literature. The ability of some recently developed dispersion-corrected density-functional theory methods to predict the binding energies of the set of ten small dimers was also examined.     

Ab initio study of the structure, bonding, vibrational spectra, and energetics of XBS+ (where X=H, F, and Cl)

High level ab initio electronic structure calculations at the CCSD(T) level with augmented correlation-consistent basis set extrapolated to complete basis set limit have been performed on XBS and XBS+ for X=H, F, and Cl. The geometries have been optimized up through the aug-cc-pV5Z level and the vibrational frequencies have been calculated with the aug-cc-pVQZ basis sets. Analysis of the bonding in XBS and XBS+ using natural bond orbital analysis shows that the BS bond in XBS is a triple bond, while in XBS+ it is a double bond. The energetic properties of XBS cation and its first excited state are reported. The calculated adiabatic ionization potential is 11.11+/-0.01 eV as compared to the experimental value of 11.11+/-0.03 eV for HBS. The adiabatic ionization potentials for FBS and CIBS are 10.89+/-0.01 and 10.57+/-0.01 eV, respectively.     

On the accuracy of explicitly correlated coupled-cluster interaction energies--have orbital results been beaten yet?

The basis set convergence of weak interaction energies for dimers of noble gases helium through krypton is studied for six variants of the explicitly correlated, frozen geminal coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and noniterative triples [CCSD(T)-F12] approach: the CCSD(T)-F12a, CCSD(T)-F12b, and CCSD(T)(F12*) methods with scaled and unscaled triples. These dimers were chosen because CCSD(T) complete-basis-set (CBS) limit benchmarks are available for them to a particularly high precision. The dependence of interaction energies on the auxiliary basis sets has been investigated and it was found that the default resolution-of-identity sets cc-pVXZ/JKFIT are far from adequate in this case. Overall, employing the explicitly correlated approach clearly speeds up the basis set convergence of CCSD(T) interaction energies, however, quite surprisingly, the improvement is not as large as the one achieved by a simple addition of bond functions to the orbital basis set. Bond functions substantially improve the CCSD(T)-F12 interaction energies as well. For small and moderate bases with bond functions, the accuracy delivered by the CCSD(T)-F12 approach cannot be matched by conventional CCSD(T). However, the latter method in the largest available bases still delivers the CBS limit to a better precision than CCSD(T)-F12 in the largest bases available for that approach. Our calculations suggest that the primary reason for the limited accuracy of the large-basis CCSD(T)-F12 treatment are the approximations made at the CCSD-F12 level and the non-explicitly correlated treatment of triples. In contrast, the explicitly correlated second-order Mo?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2-F12) approach is able to pinpoint the complete-basis-set limit MP2 interaction energies of rare gas dimers to a better precision than conventional MP2. Finally, we report and analyze an unexpected failure of the CCSD(T)-F12 method to deliver the core-core and core-valence correlation corrections to interaction energies consistently and accurately.     

Variational formulation of perturbative explicitly-correlated coupled-cluster methods

We present a variational formulation of the recently-proposed CCSD(2)(R12) method [Valeev, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 106]. The centerpiece of this approach is the CCSD(2)(R12) Lagrangian obtained via L?wdin partitioning of the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) Hamiltonian. Extremization of the Lagrangian yields the second-order basis set incompleteness correction for the CCSD energy. We also developed a simpler Hylleraas-type functional that only depends on one set of geminal amplitudes by applying screening approximations. This functional is used to develop a diagonal orbital-invariant version of the method in which the geminal amplitudes are fixed at the values determined by the first-order cusp conditions. Extension of the variational method to include perturbatively the effect of connected triples produces the method that approximates the complete basis-set limit of the standard CCSD plus perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] method. For a set of 20 small closed-shell molecules, the method recovered at least 94.5/97.3% of the CBS CCSD(T) correlation energy with the aug-cc-pVDZ/aug-cc-pVTZ orbital basis set. For 12 isogyric reactions involving these molecules, combining the aug-cc-pVTZ correlation energies with the aug-cc-pVQZ Hartree-Fock energies produces the electronic reaction energies with a mean absolute deviation of 1.4 kJ mol(-1) from the experimental values. The method has the same number of optimized parameters as the corresponding CCSD(T) model, does not require any modification of the coupled-cluster computer program, and only needs a small triple-zeta basis to match the precision of the considerably more expensive standard quintuple-zeta CCSD(T) computation.     

Accurate ab initio structure, dissociation energy, and vibrational spectroscopy of the F(-)-CH4 anion complex

Accurate equilibrium structure, dissociation energy, global potential energy surface (PES), dipole moment surface (DMS), and the infrared vibrational spectrum in the 0-3000 cm(-1) range of the F(-)-CH4 anion complex have been obtained. The equilibrium electronic structure calculations employed second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) and coupled-cluster (CC) method up to single, double, triple, and perturbative quadruple excitations using the aug-cc-p(C)VXZ [X = 2(D), 3(T), 4(Q), and 5] correlation-consistent basis sets. The best equilibrium geometry has been obtained at the all-electron CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pCVQZ level of theory. The dissociation energy has been determined based on basis set extrapolation techniques within the focal-point analysis (FPA) approach considering (a) electron correlation beyond the all-electron CCSD(T) level, (b) relativistic effects, (c) diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections (DBOC), and (d) variationally computed zero-point vibrational energies. The final D(e) and D0 values are 2398 +/- 12 and 2280 +/- 20 cm(-1), respectively. The global PES and DMS have been computed at the frozen-core CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ and MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ levels of theory, respectively. Variational vibrational calculations have been performed for CH4 and F(-)-CH4 employing the vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) method as implemented in Multimode.     

Estimated MP2 and CCSD(T) interaction energies of n-alkane dimers at the basis set limit: comparison of the methods of Helgaker et al. and Feller

The MP2 (the second-order M?ller-Plesset calculation) and CCSD(T) (coupled cluster calculation with single and double substitutions with noniterative triple excitations) interaction energies of all-trans n-alkane dimers were calculated using Dunning's [J. Chem. Phys. 90, 1007 (1989)] correlation consistent basis sets. The estimated MP2 interaction energies of methane, ethane, and propane dimers at the basis set limit [EMP2(limit)] by the method of Helgaker et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 106, 9639 (1997)] from the MP2/aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D and T) level interaction energies are very close to those estimated from the MP2/aug-cc-pVXZ (X=T and Q) level interaction energies. The estimated EMP2(limit) values of n-butane to n-heptane dimers from the MP2/cc-pVXZ (X=D and T) level interaction energies are very close to those from the MP2/aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D and T) ones. The EMP2(limit) values estimated by Feller's [J. Chem. Phys. 96, 6104 (1992)] method from the MP2/cc-pVXZ (X=D, T, and Q) level interaction energies are close to those estimated by the method of Helgaker et al. from the MP2/cc-pVXZ (X=T and Q) ones. The estimated EMP2(limit) values by the method of Helgaker et al. using the aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D and T) are close to these values. The estimated EMP2(limit) of the methane, ethane, propane, n-butane, n-pentane, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, and n-decane dimers by the method of Helgaker et al. are -0.48, -1.35, -2.08, -2.97, -3.92, -4.91, -5.96, -6.68, -7.75, and -8.75 kcal/mol, respectively. Effects of electron correlation beyond MP2 are not large. The estimated CCSD(T) interaction energies of the methane, ethane, propane, and n-butane dimers at the basis set limit by the method of Helgaker et al. (-0.41, -1.22, -1.87, and -2.74 kcal/mol, respectively) from the CCSD(T)/cc-pVXZ (X=D and T) level interaction energies are close to the EMP2(limit) obtained using the same basis sets. The estimated EMP2(limit) values of the ten dimers were fitted to the form m0+m1X (X is 1 for methane, 2 for ethane, etc.). The obtained m0 and m1 (0.595 and -0.926 kcal/mol) show that the interactions between long n-alkane chains are significant. Analysis of basis set effects shows that cc-pVXZ (X=T, Q, or 5), aug-cc-pVXZ (X=D, T, Q, or 5) basis set, or 6-311G** basis set augmented with diffuse polarization function is necessary for quantitative evaluation of the interaction energies between n-alkane chains.     

Probing phenylalanine/adenine pi-stacking interactions in protein complexes with explicitly correlated and CCSD(T) computations

To examine the effects of pi-stacking interactions between aromatic amino acid side chains and adenine bearing ligands in crystalline protein structures, 26 toluene/(N9-methyl)adenine model configurations have been constructed from protein/ligand crystal structures. Full geometry optimizations with the MP2 method cause the 26 crystal structures to collapse to six unique structures. The complete basis set (CBS) limit of the CCSD(T) interaction energies has been determined for all 32 structures by combining explicitly correlated MP2-R12 computations with a correction for higher-order correlation effects from CCSD(T) calculations. The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the 26 crystal structures range from -3.19 to -6.77 kcal mol (-1) and average -5.01 kcal mol (-1). The CCSD(T) CBS limit interaction energies of the optimized complexes increase by roughly 1.5 kcal mol (-1) on average to -6.54 kcal mol (-1) (ranging from -5.93 to -7.05 kcal mol (-1)). Corrections for higher-order correlation effects are extremely important for both sets of structures and are responsible for the modest increase in the interaction energy after optimization. The MP2 method overbinds the crystal structures by 2.31 kcal mol (-1) on average compared to 4.50 kcal mol (-1) for the optimized structures.     

Small clusters of aluminum and tin: highly correlated calculations and validation of density functional procedures

We present results of molecular electronic structure treatments of multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) type for clusters Al(n) and Sn(n) in the range up to n = 4, and of coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples corrections (CCSD(T)) type in the range up to n = 10. Basis sets of quadruple zeta size are employed, computed energy differences, such as cohesive energies, E(coh), or dissociation energies for the removal of a single atom, D(e), differ from the complete basis set limit by only a few 0.01 eV. MRCI and CCSD(T) results are then compared to those obtained from density functional theory (DFT) treatments, which show that all computational procedures agree with the general features of D(e) and E(coh). The best agreement of DFT with CCSD(T) is found for the meta-GGA (generalized gradient approximation) TPSS (Tao, Perdew, Staroverov, Scuseria) for which D(e) differs from CCSD(T) by at most 0.15 eV for Al(n) and 0.21 eV for Sn(n). The GGA PBE (Perdew, Burke, Ernzerhof) is slightly poorer with maximum deviations of 0.23 and 0.24 eV, whereas hybrid functionals are not competitive with GGA and meta-GGA functionals. A general conclusion is that errors of D(e) and/or energy differences of isomers computed with DFT procedures may easily reach 0.2 eV and errors for cohesive energies E(coh) 0.1 eV.     

The peculiar trend of cyclic perfluoroalkane electron affinities with increasing ring size

The adiabatic electron affinities (AEAs), vertical electron affinities (VEAs), and vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of cyclic perfluoroalkanes, c-C(n)F(2n) (n = 3-7), and their monotrifluoromethyl derivatives were computed using various pure and hybrid density functionals with DZP++ (polarization and diffuse function augmented double-zeta) basis sets. The theoretical AEA of c-C(4)F(8) at KMLYP/DZP++ is 0.70 eV, which exhibits satisfactory agreement with the 0.63 +/- 0.05 eV experimental value. The nonzero-point-corrected AEA of c-C(4)F(8) is predicted to be 0.41 eV at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory, which shows a slight deviation of 0.11 eV from the KMLYP estimated value of 0.52 eV for the same. With the zero-point correction from the MP2/6-311G(d) [Gallup, G. A. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2004, 399, 206] level of theory combined with the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ result, the most reliable estimate of AEA of c-C(4)F(8) is 0.60 eV. c-C(3)F(6)(-), c-C(4)F(8)(-), and c-C(5)F(10)(-) are unusual in preferring planar to near planar ring structures. The ZPE-corrected AEAs of c-C(n)F(2n) increase from n = 3 (0.24 eV) to n = 5 (0.77 eV), but then dramatically fall off to 0.40 eV for both n = 6 and n = 7. All of the other functionals predict the same trend. This is due to a change in the structural preference: C(s)() c-C(6)F(12)(-) and C(1) c-C(7)F(14)(-) are predicted to favor nonplanar rings, each with an exceptionally long C-F bond. (There also is a second, higher energy D3d minimum for C(6)F(12)(-).) The SOMOs as well as the spin density plots of the c-PFA radical anions reveal that the "extra" electron is largely localized on the unique F atoms in the larger n = 6 and n = 7 rings but is delocalized in the multiatom SOMOs of the three- to five-membered ring radical anions. The computed AEAs are much larger than the corresponding VEAs; the latter are not consistent with different functionals. The AEAs are substantially larger when a c-C(n)()F(2)(n)() fluorine is replaced by a -CF(3) group. This behavior is general; PFAs with tertiary C-F bonds have large AEAs. The VDEs for all the anions are substantial, ranging from 1.89 to 3.64 eV at the KMLYP/DZP++ level.     

Explicit correlation and basis set superposition error: the structure and energy of carbon dioxide dimer

We have investigated the slipped parallel and t-shaped structures of carbon dioxide dimer [(CO(2))(2)] using both conventional and explicitly correlated coupled cluster methods, inclusive and exclusive of counterpoise (CP) correction. We have determined the geometry of both structures with conventional coupled cluster singles doubles and perturbative triples theory [CCSD(T)] and explicitly correlated cluster singles doubles and perturbative triples theory [CCSD(T)-F12b] at the complete basis set (CBS) limits using custom optimization routines. Consistent with previous investigations, we find that the slipped parallel structure corresponds to the global minimum and is 1.09 kJ mol(-1) lower in energy. For a given cardinal number, the optimized geometries and interaction energies of (CO(2))(2) obtained with the explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12b method are closer to the CBS limit than the corresponding conventional CCSD(T) results. Furthermore, the magnitude of basis set superposition error (BSSE) in the CCSD(T)-F12b optimized geometries and interaction energies is appreciably smaller than the magnitude of BSSE in the conventional CCSD(T) results. We decompose the CCSD(T) and CCSD(T)-F12b interaction energies into the constituent HF or HF CABS, CCSD or CCSD-F12b, and (T) contributions. We find that the complementary auxiliary basis set (CABS) singles correction and the F12b approximation significantly reduce the magnitude of BSSE at the HF and CCSD levels of theory, respectively. For a given cardinal number, we find that non-CP corrected, unscaled triples CCSD(T)-F12b/VXZ-F12 interaction energies are in overall best agreement with the CBS limit.     

Electron correlation contribution to the physisorption of CO on MgF2(110)

We have performed CCSD(T), MP2, and DF-LMP2 calculations of the interaction energy of CO on the MgF(2)(110) surface by applying the method of increments and an embedded cluster model. In addition, we performed periodic HF, B3LYP, and DF-LMP2 calculations and compare them to the cluster results. The incremental CCSD(T) calculations predict an interaction energy of E(int) = -0.37?eV with a C-down orientation of CO above a Mg(2+) ion at the surface with a basis set of VTZ quality. We find that electron correlation constitutes about 50% of the binding energy and a detailed evaluation of the increments shows that the largest contribution to the correlation energy originates from the CO interaction with the closest F ions on the second layer.     

Focal point analysis of the singlet-triplet energy gap of octacene and larger acenes

A benchmark theoretical study of the electronic ground state and of the vertical and adiabatic singlet-triplet (ST) excitation energies of n-acenes (C(4n+2)H(2n+4)) ranging from octacene (n = 8) to undecacene (n = 11) is presented. The T1 diagnostics of coupled cluster theory and further energy-based criteria demonstrate that all investigated systems exhibit predominantly a (1)A(g) singlet closed-shell electronic ground state. Singlet-triplet (S(0)-T(1)) energy gaps can therefore be very accurately determined by applying the principle of a focal point analysis (FPA) onto the results of a series of single-point and symmetry-restricted calculations employing correlation consistent cc-pVXZ basis sets (X = D, T, Q, 5) and single-reference methods [HF, MP2, MP3, MP4SDQ, CCSD, and CCSD(T)] of improving quality. According to our best estimates, which amount to a dual extrapolation of energy differences to the level of coupled cluster theory including single, double, and perturbative estimates of connected triple excitations [CCSD(T)] in the limit of an asymptotically complete basis set (cc-pV∞Z), the S(0)-T(1) vertical (adiabatic) excitation energies of these compounds amount to 13.40 (8.21), 10.72 (6.05), 8.05 (3.67), and 7.10 (2.58) kcal/mol, respectively. In line with the absence of Peierls distortions (bond length alternations), extrapolations of results obtained at this level for benzene (n = 1) and all studied n-acenes so far (n = 2-11) indicate a vanishing S(0)-T(1) energy gap, in the limit of an infinitely large polyacene, within an uncertainty of 1.5 kcal/mol (0.06 eV). Lacking experimental values for the S(0)-T(1) energy gaps of n-acenes larger than hexacene, comparison is made with recent optical and electrochemical determinations of the HOMO-LUMO band gap. Further issues such as scalar relativistic, core correlation, and diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections (DBOCs) are tentatively examined.     

Accurate energetics of small molecules containing third-row atoms Ga-Kr: a comparison of advanced ab initio and density functional theory

Advanced ab initio [coupled cluster theory through quasiperturbative triple excitations (CCSD(T))] and density functional (B3LYP) computational chemistry approaches were used in combination with the standard and augmented correlation consistent polarized valence basis sets [cc-pVnZ and aug-cc-pVnZ, where n=D(2), T(3), Q(4), and 5] to investigate the energetic and structural properties of small molecules containing third-row (Ga-Kr) atoms. These molecules were taken from the Gaussian-2 (G2) extended test set for third-row atoms. Several different schemes were used to extrapolate the calculated energies to the complete basis set (CBS) limit for CCSD(T) and the Kohn-Sham (KS) limit for B3LYP. Zero point energy and spin orbital corrections were included in the results. Overall, CCSD(T) atomization energies, ionization energies, proton affinities, and electron affinities are in good agreement with experiment, within 1.1 kcal/mol when the CBS limit has been determined using a series of two basis sets of at least triple zeta quality. For B3LYP, the overall mean absolute deviation from experiment for the three properties and the series of molecules is more significant at the KS limit, within 2.3 and 2.6 kcal/mol for the cc-pVnZ and aug-cc-pVnZ basis set series, respectively.