We present an analysis of the performances of a parameter free density functional model (PBE0) obtained combining the so called PBE generalized gradient functional with a predefined amount of exact exchange. The results obtained for structural, thermodynamic, kinetic and spectroscopic (magnetic, infrared and electronic) properties are satisfactory and not far from those delivered by the most reliable functionals including heavy parameterization. The way in which the functional is derived and the lack of empirical parameters fitted to specific properties make the PBE0 model a widely applicable method for both quantum chemistry and condensed matter physics.

Toward reliable density functional methods without adjustable parameters: The PBE0 model

6.2.2. Definition of Effective Properties 3064 6.3. Response Properties to Magnetic Fields 3066 6.3.1. Nuclear Shielding 3066 6.3.2. Indirect Spin−Spin Coupling 3067 6.3.3. EPR Parameters 3068 6.4. Properties of Chiral Systems 3069 6.4.1. Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) 3069 6.4.2. Optical Rotation (OR) 3069 6.4.3. VCD and VROA 3070 7. Continuum and Discrete Models 3071 7.1. Continuum Methods within MD and MC Simulations 3072

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Quantum mechanical continuum solvation models.

We present a new continuum solvation model based on the quantum mechanical charge density of a solute molecule interacting with a continuum description of the solvent. The model is called SMD, where the “D” stands for “density” to denote that the full solute electron density is used without defining partial atomic charges. “Continuum” denotes that the solvent is not represented explicitly but rather as a dielectric medium with surface tension at the solute−solvent boundary. SMD is a universal solvation model, where “universal” denotes its applicability to any charged or uncharged solute in any solvent or liquid medium for which a few key descriptors are known (in particular, dielectric constant, refractive index, bulk surface tension, and acidity and basicity parameters). The model separates the observable solvation free energy into two main components. The first component is the bulk electrostatic contribution arising from a self-consistent reaction field treatment that involves the solution of the nonho...

Universal solvation model based on solute electron density and on a continuum model of the solvent defined by the bulk dielectric constant and atomic surface tensions.

A new implementation of the conductor-like screening solvation model (COSMO) in the GAUSSIAN94 package is presented. It allows Hartree−Fock (HF), density functional (DF) and post-HF energy, and HF and DF gradient calculations:  the cavities are modeled on the molecular shape, using recently optimized parameters, and both electrostatic and nonelectrostatic contributions to energies and gradients are considered. The calculated solvation energies for 19 neutral molecules in water are found in very good agreement with experimental data; the solvent-induced geometry relaxation is studied for some closed and open shell molecules, at HF and DF levels. The computational times are very satisfying:  the self-consistent energy evaluation needs a time 15−30% longer than the corresponding procedure in vacuo, whereas the calculation of energy gradients is only 25% longer than in vacuo for medium size molecules.

Quantum Calculation of Molecular Energies and Energy Gradients in Solution by a Conductor Solvent Model

We report a combined experimental and computational study of several ruthenium(II) sensitizers originated from the [Ru(dcbpyH2)2(NCS)2], N3, and [Ru(dcbpyH2)(tdbpy)(NCS)2], N621, (dcbpyH2 = 4,4‘-dicarboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine, tdbpy = 4,4‘-tridecyl-2,2‘-bipyridine) complexes. A purification procedure was developed to obtain pure N-bonded isomers of both types of sensitizers. The photovoltaic data of the purified N3 and N621 sensitizers adsorbed on TiO2 films in their monoprotonated and diprotonated state, exhibited remarkable power conversion efficiency at 1 sun, 11.18 and 9.57%, respectively. An extensive Density Functional Theory (DFT)−Time Dependent DFT study of these sensitizers in solution was performed, investigating the effect of protonation of the terminal carboxylic groups and of the counterions on the electronic structure and optical properties of the dyes. The calculated absorption spectra are in good agreement with the experiment, thus allowing a detailed assignment of the UV−vis spectral features ...

Combined Experimental and DFT-TDDFT Computational Study of Photoelectrochemical Cell Ruthenium Sensitizers

The conductor-like solvation model, as developed in the framework of the polarizable continuum model (PCM), has been reformulated and newly implemented in order to compute energies, geometric structures, harmonic frequencies, and electronic properties in solution for any chemical system that can be studied in vacuo Particular attention is devoted to large systems requiring suitable iterative algorithms to compute the solvation charges: the fast multipole method (FMM) has been extensively used to ensure a linear scaling of the computational times with the size of the solute A number of test applications are presented to evaluate the performances of the method

Energies, structures, and electronic properties of molecules in solution with the C-PCM solvation model.

The polarizable continuum model (PCM), used for the calculation of molecular energies, structures, and properties in liquid solution has been deeply revised, in order to extend its range of applications and to improve its accuracy. The main changes effect the definition of solute cavities, of solvation charges and of the PCM operator added to the molecular Hamiltonian, as well as the calculation of energy gradients, to be used in geometry optimizations. The procedure can be equally applied to quantum mechanical and to classical calculations; as shown also with a number of numerical tests, this PCM formulation is very efficient and reliable. It can also be applied to very large solutes, since all the bottlenecks have been eliminated to obtain a procedure whose time and memory requirements scale linearly with solute size. The present procedure can be used to compute solvent effects at a number of different levels of theory on almost all the chemical systems which can be studied in vacuo.

New developments in the polarizable continuum model for quantum mechanical and classical calculations on molecules in solution

An approximate method, recently proposed to include in continuum solvation models the effects of electronic charge lying outside the solute cavity, has been adapted and implemented in the framework of the polarizable continuum model (PCM). This formulation exploits all the features already developed for the other PCM versions; it provides molecular free energies, gradients and second derivatives with respect to nuclear coordinates. The performances of this method have been tested in comparison with other PCM versions, in particular, we examined the reliability of this technique to reproduce actual volume charge distribution effects, compared to traditional procedures based on Gauss’ Law.

Polarizable dielectric model of solvation with inclusion of charge penetration effects

The hyperfine parameters of a number of representative free radicals have been computed by post‐Hartree–Fock and density functional approaches including averaging effects from large amplitude vibrations and solvent effects through a recent implementation of the polarizable continuum model. Our results show that fully ab initio hyperfine splittings are accurate enough to back the interpretation of experimental data and to allow an unbiased judgement of the role played by electronic, vibrational, and environmental effects in determining the observed value. The very good results obtained by a density functional approach including some Hartree–Fock exchange both for intrinsic values and for solvent shifts pave the route for the investigation of large biologically significant radicals in their natural aqueous medium.

Development and validation of reliable quantum mechanical approaches for the study of free radicals in solution

The performances of the B3LYP density functional in the computation of harmonic and anharmonic frequencies were tested using 14 standard basis sets of double and triple zeta quality for a set of semirigid molecules containing from 4 to 12 atoms. The quality of the results is assessed by comparison with the most reliable computations available in the literature. The study reveals that the relatively cheap 6-31+G(d,p) basis set performs a very good job for harmonic frequency calculations and that B3LYP anharmonicities are in close agreement with the reference values irrespective of the basis set used. On these grounds "hybrid force fields" are proposed to achieve the best compromise between computer time and quality of the results.

Nadia Rega

Papers

Energies, structures, and electronic properties of molecules in solution with the C-PCM solvation model.

New developments in the polarizable continuum model for quantum mechanical and classical calculations on molecules in solution

Polarizable dielectric model of solvation with inclusion of charge penetration effects

Development and validation of reliable quantum mechanical approaches for the study of free radicals in solution

Vibrational computations beyond the harmonic approximation: performances of the B3LYP density functional for semirigid molecules.