Development of an efficient geometry optimization method for water clusters

A geometry optimization method for water clusters (H(2)O)(n) was developed in the present study. The method was applied to the TIP3P and TIP4P water clusters in the range of n < or = 30, and the resulting structures were compared with the global-minimum structures in the literature (n < or = 25 for the TIP3P potential and n < or = 30 for the TIP4P potential). The method failed to reproduce the previously reported global minimum of the n = 24 TIP4P cluster. However, it was possible to find new global minima for the n = 24, 26-30 TIP3P cluster and the TIP4P clusters of 25, 28, 29, and 30 molecules.