Abstract: | The recently developed MSINDO version of the semiempirical SCF MO method SINDO1 has been parameterized for third‐row transition metals Sc to Zn. The set of reference data used for the previous parameterization of SINDO1 has been substantially increased by incorporating results of recent experiments and first‐principles calculations. A comparison of calculated heats of formation, geometries, ionization potentials, and dipole moments with literature values for more than 200 gas phase molecules is presented. The accuracy of the modified MSINDO version achieved for heats of formation and bond lengths has been considerably improved compared to SINDO1. Small clusters of transition metals and metal oxides were included in the parameterization to ensure accurate results for studies of larger systems. The application of the method to small transition metal complexes that were not included in the parameterization shows that the optimized parameters are transferable to other compounds. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 22: 861–887, 2001 |