Balancing DFT Interaction Energies in Charged Dimers Precursors to Organic Semiconductors

Author(s):  
Alberto Fabrizio ◽  
Riccardo Petraglia ◽  
Clemence Corminboeuf

Accurately describing intermolecular interactions within the framework of Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) has resulted in numerous benchmark databases over the past two decades. By far, the largest efforts have been spent on closed-shell, neutral dimers for which today, the interaction energies and geometries can be accurately reproduced by various combinations of dispersion-corrected density functional approximations (DFAs). In sharp contrast, charged, open-shell dimers remain a challenge as illustrated by the analysis of the OREL26rad benchmark set consisting of pi-dimer radical cations. Aside from the methodological aspect, achieving a proper description of radical cationic complexes is appealing due to their role as models for charge carriers in organic semiconductors. In the interest of providing an assessment of more realistic dimer systems, we construct a dataset of large radical cationic dimers (CryOrel) and jointly train the 19 parameters of a dispersion corrected, range-separated hybrid density functional (wB97X-dDsC), with the objective of providing the maximum balance between the treatment of long-range London dispersion and reduction of the delocalization error. These conditions are essential to obtain accurate energy profiles and binding energies of charged, open-shell dimers. Comparisons with the performance of the parent wB97X functional series and state-of-the-art wavefunction based methods are provided. <br>

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Fabrizio ◽  
Riccardo Petraglia ◽  
Clemence Corminboeuf

Accurately describing intermolecular interactions within the framework of Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) has resulted in numerous benchmark databases over the past two decades. By far, the largest efforts have been spent on closed-shell, neutral dimers for which today, the interaction energies and geometries can be accurately reproduced by various combinations of dispersion-corrected density functional approximations (DFAs). In sharp contrast, charged, open-shell dimers remain a challenge as illustrated by the analysis of the OREL26rad benchmark set consisting of pi-dimer radical cations. Aside from the methodological aspect, achieving a proper description of radical cationic complexes is appealing due to their role as models for charge carriers in organic semiconductors. In the interest of providing an assessment of more realistic dimer systems, we construct a dataset of large radical cationic dimers (CryOrel) and jointly train the 19 parameters of a dispersion corrected, range-separated hybrid density functional (wB97X-dDsC), with the objective of providing the maximum balance between the treatment of long-range London dispersion and reduction of the delocalization error. These conditions are essential to obtain accurate energy profiles and binding energies of charged, open-shell dimers. Comparisons with the performance of the parent wB97X functional series and state-of-the-art wavefunction based methods are provided. <br>


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 641-666
Author(s):  
Yuezhi Mao ◽  
Matthias Loipersberger ◽  
Paul R. Horn ◽  
Akshaya Das ◽  
Omar Demerdash ◽  
...  

Quantum chemistry in the form of density functional theory (DFT) calculations is a powerful numerical experiment for predicting intermolecular interaction energies. However, no chemical insight is gained in this way beyond predictions of observables. Energy decomposition analysis (EDA) can quantitatively bridge this gap by providing values for the chemical drivers of the interactions, such as permanent electrostatics, Pauli repulsion, dispersion, and charge transfer. These energetic contributions are identified by performing DFT calculations with constraints that disable components of the interaction. This review describes the second-generation version of the absolutely localized molecular orbital EDA (ALMO-EDA-II). The effects of different physical contributions on changes in observables such as structure and vibrational frequencies upon complex formation are characterized via the adiabatic EDA. Example applications include red- versus blue-shifting hydrogen bonds; the bonding and frequency shifts of CO, N2, and BF bound to a [Ru(II)(NH3)5]2 + moiety; and the nature of the strongly bound complexes between pyridine and the benzene and naphthalene radical cations. Additionally, the use of ALMO-EDA-II to benchmark and guide the development of advanced force fields for molecular simulation is illustrated with the recent, very promising, MB-UCB potential.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew P. Harding ◽  
Laura J. Kingsley ◽  
Glen Spraggon ◽  
Steven Wheeler

The intrinsic (gas-phase) stacking energies of natural and artificial nucleobases were explored using density functional theory (DFT) and correlated ab initio methods. Ranking the stacking strength of natural nucleobase dimers revealed a preference in binding partner similar to that seen from experiments, namely G > C > A > T > U. Decomposition of these interaction energies using symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) showed that these dispersion dominated interactions are modulated by electrostatics. Artificial nucleobases showed a similar stacking preference for natural nucleobases and were also modulated by electrostatic interactions. A robust predictive multivariate model was developed that quantitively predicts the maximum stacking interaction between natural and a wide range of artificial nucleobases using molecular descriptors based on computed electrostatic potentials (ESPs) and the number of heavy atoms. This model should find utility in designing artificial nucleobase analogs that exhibit stacking interactions comparable to those of natural nucleobases. Further analysis of the descriptors in this model unveil the origin of superior stacking abilities of certain nucleobases, including cytosine and guanine.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon B. Bizzarro ◽  
Colin K. Egan ◽  
Francesco Paesani

<div> <div> <div> <p>Interaction energies of halide-water dimers, X<sup>-</sup>(H<sub>2</sub>O), and trimers, X<sup>-</sup>(H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>2</sub>, with X = F, Cl, Br, and I, are investigated using various many-body models and exchange-correlation functionals selected across the hierarchy of density functional theory (DFT) approximations. Analysis of the results obtained with the many-body models demonstrates the need to capture important short-range interactions in the regime of large inter-molecular orbital overlap, such as charge transfer and charge penetration. Failure to reproduce these effects can lead to large deviations relative to reference data calculated at the coupled cluster level of theory. Decompositions of interaction energies carried out with the absolutely localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (ALMO-EDA) method demonstrate that permanent and inductive electrostatic energies are accurately reproduced by all classes of XC functionals (from generalized gradient corrected (GGA) to hybrid and range-separated functionals), while significant variance is found for charge transfer energies predicted by different XC functionals. Since GGA and hybrid XC functionals predict the most and least attractive charge transfer energies, respectively, the large variance is likely due to the delocalization error. In this scenario, the hybrid XC functionals are then expected to provide the most accurate charge transfer energies. The sum of Pauli repulsion and dispersion energies are the most varied among the XC functionals, but it is found that a correspondence between the interaction energy and the ALMO EDA total frozen energy may be used to determine accurate estimates for these contributions. </p> </div> </div> </div>


2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2322-2334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Vianello ◽  
Zvonimir B. Maksić

The electronic and energetic properties of thymine (1) and 2-thiothymine (2) and their neutral and positively charged radicals are considered by a combined ab initio and density functional theory approach. It is conclusively shown that ionization of 1 and 2 greatly facilitates deprotonation of the formed radical cations thus making the proton transfer between charged and neutral precursor species thermodynamically favourable. The adiabatic ionization potential of 1 and 2 are analysed. It appears that ADIP(1) is larger than ADIP(2) by 10 kcal/mol, because of greater stability of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the former. It is also shown beyond any doubt that the spin density in neutral and cationic radical of 2 is almost exclusively placed on the σ-3p AO of sulfur implying that these two systems represent rather rare sigma-radicals. In contrast, the spin density of radicals of 1 is distributed over their π-network.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Ian Shuttleworth

A comparative study of the unreacted and reacted uniaxially strained Pt(111) and the layered (111)-Pt/Ni/Pt3Ni and (111)-Pt/Ni/PtNi3 surfaces has been performed using density functional theory (DFT). An in-depth study of the unreacted surfaces has been performed to evaluate the importance of geometric, magnetic and ligand effects in determining the reactivity of these different Pt surfaces. An analysis of the binding energies of oxygen and hydrogen over the high-symmetry binding positions of all surfaces has been performed. The study has shown that O and H tend to bind more strongly to the (111)-Pt/Ni/Pt3Ni surface and less strongly to the (111)-Pt/Ni/PtNi3 surface compared to binding on the equivalently strained Pt(111) surfaces. Changes in the surface magnetisation of the surfaces overlaying the ferromagnetic alloys during adsorption are discussed, as well as the behaviour of the d-band centre across all surfaces, to evaluate the potential mechanisms for these differences in binding. An accompanying comparison of the accessible density functionals has been included to estimate the error in the computational binding energies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3244
Author(s):  
Charuvaka Muvva ◽  
Natarajan Arul Murugan ◽  
Venkatesan Subramanian

A wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of protein aggregates in intraneuronal or extraneuronal brain regions. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the extracellular aggregates originate from amyloid-β proteins, while the intracellular aggregates are formed from microtubule-binding tau proteins. The amyloid forming peptide sequences in the amyloid-β peptides and tau proteins are responsible for aggregate formation. Experimental studies have until the date reported many of such amyloid forming peptide sequences in different proteins, however, there is still limited molecular level understanding about their tendency to form aggregates. In this study, we employed umbrella sampling simulations and subsequent electronic structure theory calculations in order to estimate the energy profiles for interconversion of the helix to β-sheet like secondary structures of sequences from amyloid-β protein (KLVFFA) and tau protein (QVEVKSEKLD and VQIVYKPVD). The study also included a poly-alanine sequence as a reference system. The calculated force-field based free energy profiles predicted a flat minimum for monomers of sequences from amyloid and tau proteins corresponding to an α-helix like secondary structure. For the parallel and anti-parallel dimer of KLVFFA, double well potentials were obtained with the minima corresponding to α-helix and β-sheet like secondary structures. A similar double well-like potential has been found for dimeric forms for the sequences from tau fibril. Complementary semi-empirical and density functional theory calculations displayed similar trends, validating the force-field based free energy profiles obtained for these systems.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 1045-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabaan AK Elroby ◽  
Kyu Hwan Lee ◽  
Seung Joo Cho ◽  
Alan Hinchliffe

Although anisyl units are basically poor ligands for metal ions, the rigid placements of their oxygens during synthesis rather than during complexation are undoubtedly responsible for the enhanced binding and selectivity of the spherand. We used standard B3LYP/6-31G** (5d) density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the complexation between spherands containing five anisyl groups, with CH2–O–CH2 (2) and CH2–S–CH2 (3) units in an 18-membered macrocyclic ring, and the cationic guests (Li+, Na+, and K+). Our geometric structure results for spherands 1, 2, and 3 are in good agreement with the previously reported X-ray diffraction data. The absolute values of the binding energy of all the spherands are inversely proportional to the ionic radius of the guests. The results, taken as a whole, show that replacement of one anisyl group by CH2–O–CH2 (2) and CH2–S–CH2 (3) makes the cavity bigger and less preorganized. In addition, both the binding and specificity decrease for small ions. The spherands 2 and 3 appear beautifully preorganized to bind all guests, so it is not surprising that their binding energies are close to the parent spherand 1. Interestingly, there is a clear linear relation between the radius of the cavity and the binding energy (R2 = 0.999).Key words: spherands, preorganization, density functional theory, binding energy, cavity size.


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