Paul L. A. Popelier

Bio: Paul L. A. Popelier is an academic researcher from University of Manchester. The author has contributed to research in topics: Multipole expansion & Ab initio. The author has an hindex of 56, co-authored 252 publications receiving 14232 citations. Previous affiliations of Paul L. A. Popelier include University of Antwerp & McMaster University.

Characterization of c-h-o hydrogen-bonds on the basis of the charge-density

Abstract: It is shown that the total charge density is a valid source to confirm hydrogen bonding without invoking a reference charge density. A set of criteria are proposed based on the theory of “atoms in molecules” to establish hydrogen bonding, even for multiple interactions involving C-H-O hydrogen bonds. These criteria are applied to several van der Waals complexes. Finally a bifurcated intramolecular C-H-O hydrogen bond is predicted in the anti-AIDS drug AZT, which may highlight a crucial feature of the biological activity of a whole class of anti-AIDS drugs. Almost all the methods of physical chemistry, spectroscopy, and diffraction can be used to recognize and study hydrogen bonding.] Each technique focuses on specific properties in order to detect and characterize this phenomenon in its own way. This work is concerned with the manifestation of hydrogen bonding in the charge density obtained from ab initio calculations. Whereas crystallographers have concluded upon hydrogen bonding via purely geometrical criteria, recent deformation density2 studies allow one to observe hydrogen bonding beyond mere ge~metry.~ However, it is not necessary to subtract an arbitrary (promolecular) charge density from the total density to reveal hydrogen bonding, not even in the interpretation of X-ray experiment^.^ Boyd and Choi have shown in two important contribution^^^^ that the theory of “atoms in molecules’’ (AIM)7,8 can be used to characterize hydrogen bonding solely from the (total) charge density for a large set of acceptor molecules, involving HF and HC1 as donors. In a next stage Carroll and Bader performed a more extended analysis on a large set of BASE-HF comple~es.~ This theory has not only provided new insights in conventional intermolecular hydrogenI0.’ ] bonding but has also been successful in intramolecularI33l4 and x-type hydrogen bonds.I5 Drawing from earlier ob~ervations~~~~ ~.’~~~~ and the present work, we formulate eight concerted effects occurring in the charge density which are indicative of hydrogen bonding. All of these effects can be viewed as necessary criteria to conclude that hydrogen bonding is present. By observation one of these conditions has proven to be sufficient as well. This case study on C-H-O interactions shows that this less common type of hydrogen bonding obeys all of the proposed criteria. Moreover, the multiple interactions appearing in the present five examples do not impair the consistency of the global phenomenon of hydrogen bonding as it expresses itself in the charge density. In spite of an early affirmative infrared review,I6 the old controversy on whether C-H-O hydrogen bonds really exist continued for another decade,” but now the dust has settled’* (for an entertaining account of this controversy, see ref 19). The importance of these bonds has been recognized in crystal engineering’9,20 since C-H-O contacts have a determining influence on packing motifs.21

Atoms in Molecules. An Introduction

Abstract: 1. The Electron Density 2. The Gradient Vector Field 3. The Atom 4. The Bond 5. The Full Topology 6. Structural Change 7. The Quantum Atom 8. The Laplacian 9. Electrostatics 10. Bond Characterisation

Characterization of a Dihydrogen Bond on the Basis of the Electron Density

Abstract: A new type of hydrogen bond, called a dihydrogen bond, has recently been introduced. In this bond a hydrogen is donated to another (hydridic) hydrogen. We apply a set of criteria developed in the context of the theory of “atoms in molecules” that were previously successfully used to study conventional hydrogen bonds. This method enables one to characterize the dihydrogen bond on the basis of the electron density only. We investigated a dimer structure of BH3NH3 at the ab initio level which contains two dihydrogen bonds that differ in strength. The combination of a theoretical density with our hydrogen-bonding criteria turns out to be a valuable new and independent source of information complementary to techniques such as NMR, IR, and structural crystallography.

Potential energy surfaces fitted by artificial neural networks.

Abstract: Molecular mechanics is the tool of choice for the modeling of systems that are so large or complex that it is impractical or impossible to model them by ab initio methods. For this reason there is a need for accurate potentials that are able to quickly reproduce ab initio quality results at the fraction of the cost. The interactions within force fields are represented by a number of functions. Some interactions are well understood and can be represented by simple mathematical functions while others are not so well understood and their functional form is represented in a simplistic manner or not even known. In the last 20 years there have been the first examples of a new design ethic, where novel and contemporary methods using machine learning, in particular, artificial neural networks, have been used to find the nature of the underlying functions of a force field. Here we appraise what has been achieved over this time and what requires further improvements, while offering some insight and guidance for the development of future force fields.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

A grid-based Bader analysis algorithm without lattice bias

Abstract: A computational method for partitioning a charge density grid into Bader volumes is presented which is efficient, robust, and scales linearly with the number of grid points. The partitioning algorithm follows the steepest ascent paths along the charge density gradient from grid point to grid point until a charge density maximum is reached. In this paper, we describe how accurate off-lattice ascent paths can be represented with respect to the grid points. This improvement maintains the efficient linear scaling of an earlier version of the algorithm, and eliminates a tendency for the Bader surfaces to be aligned along the grid directions. As the algorithm assigns grid points to charge density maxima, subsequent paths are terminated when they reach previously assigned grid points. It is this grid-based approach which gives the algorithm its efficiency, and allows for the analysis of the large grids generated from plane-wave-based density functional theory calculations.

The hydrogen bond in the solid state.

Abstract: The hydrogen bond is the most important of all directional intermolecular interactions. It is operative in determining molecular conformation, molecular aggregation, and the function of a vast number of chemical systems ranging from inorganic to biological. Research into hydrogen bonds experienced a stagnant period in the 1980s, but re-opened around 1990, and has been in rapid development since then. In terms of modern concepts, the hydrogen bond is understood as a very broad phenomenon, and it is accepted that there are open borders to other effects. There are dozens of different types of X-H.A hydrogen bonds that occur commonly in the condensed phases, and in addition there are innumerable less common ones. Dissociation energies span more than two orders of magnitude (about 0.2-40 kcal mol(-1)). Within this range, the nature of the interaction is not constant, but its electrostatic, covalent, and dispersion contributions vary in their relative weights. The hydrogen bond has broad transition regions that merge continuously with the covalent bond, the van der Waals interaction, the ionic interaction, and also the cation-pi interaction. All hydrogen bonds can be considered as incipient proton transfer reactions, and for strong hydrogen bonds, this reaction can be in a very advanced state. In this review, a coherent survey is given on all these matters.