Direct calculation of anharmonic vibrational states of polyatomic molecules using potential energy surfaces calculated from density functional theory

Molecular aspects of halide ion hydration: the cluster approach

This review provides a historical context for our understanding of the hydration shell surrounding halide ions and illustrates how the cluster systems can be used, in combination with theory, to elucidate the behavior of water molecules in direct contact with the anion. We discuss how vibrational predissociation spectroscopy, carried out with weakly bound argon atoms, has been employed to deduce the morphology of the small water networks attached to anions in the primary steps of hydration. We emphasize the importance of charge-transfer in the binary interaction, and discuss how this process affects the structures of the larger networks. Finally, we survey how the negatively charged water clusters (H2O)n(-) are providing a molecular-level perspective on how diffuse excess electrons interact with the water networks.

Vibrational spectroscopy and the development of new force fields for biological molecules

The role of vibrational spectroscopy in the testing of force fields of biological molecules and in the determination of improved force fields is discussed. Analysis shows that quantitative testing of potential energy surfaces by comparison with spectroscopic data generally requires calculations that include anharmonic couplings between different vibrational modes. Applications of the vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) method to calculations of spectroscopy of biological molecules are presented, and comparison with experiment is used to determine the merits and flaws of various types of force fields. The main conclusions include the following: (1) Potential surfaces from ab initio methods at the level of MP2 yield very satisfactory agreement with spectroscopic experimental data. (2) By the test of spectroscopy, ab initio force fields are considerably superior to the standard versions of force fields such as AMBER or OPLS. (3) Much of the spectroscopic weakness of AMBER and OPLS is due to incorrect description of anharmonic coupling between different vibrational modes. (4) Potential surfaces of the QM/MM (Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics) type, and potentials based on improved versions of semi-empirical electronic structure theory, which are feasible for large biological molecules, yield encouraging results by the test of vibrational spectroscopy.

Anharmonic vibrational spectra of hydroxylamine and its 15N, 18O, and deuterium substituted analogs

Vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) and correlation-corrected vibrational self-consistent field (CC-VSCF) methods were used to compute the anharmonic frequencies of fundamentals, overtones, and combination transitions of natural abundance hydroxylamine, 15NH2OH, NH2(18)OH, ND2OD, ND2OH, and NH2OD isotopomers at second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) in basis sets of triple-zeta quality. Frequencies of the fundamental transitions observed in the gas phase spectrum were reproduced by CC-VSCF treatment within 20 cm(-1) in TZV(d,p) and TZV(2d,2p) basis sets, and the change of basis set composition had only minor effect on the frequencies of the computed fundamentals. CC-VSCF computed wave numbers of overtone and combination transitions were typically within 1-40 cm(-1) of the gas phase band positions, except for those resulting from multiple excitations of v2, v3, and v7 fundamentals, because of a strong mutual coupling between these modes. Integral transition intensities calculated at MP2 level closely followed those of experimental spectrum, including intensity decrease in v1, 2v1, 3v1 progression, and 30-fold intensity increase of 2v8 in respect to that of v8 fundamental. The frequency of the OH torsional fundamental was found to be strongly dependent on the mode-mode interaction potential among v9 and v1, v7, v2, v4, v5 modes. Band shifts resulting from 15N, 18O and complete 2H substitutions were reproduced almost quantitatively by CC-VSCF computation in TZV(d,p) basis. Computed anharmonic isotope frequency shifts were different from those obtained in the harmonic approximation and no scaling procedure seemed capable of performing their interchange.

Ab initio calculations of anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy for hydrogen fluoride (HF)n (n = 3, 4) and mixed hydrogen fluoride/water (HF)n(H2O)n (n = 1, 2, 4) clusters

Anharmonic vibrational frequencies and intensities are computed for hydrogen fluoride clusters (HF)n, with n = 3, 4 and mixed clusters of hydrogen fluoride with water (HF)n(H2O)n where n = 1, 2. For the (HF)4(H2O)4 complex, the vibrational spectra are calculated at the harmonic level, and anharmonic effects are estimated. Potential energy surfaces for these systems are obtained at the MP2/TZP level of electronic structure theory. Vibrational states are calculated from the potential surface points using the correlation-corrected vibrational self-consistent field method. The method accounts for the anharmonicities and couplings between all vibrational modes and provides fairly accurate anharmonic vibrational spectra that can be directly compared with experimental results without a need for empirical scaling. For (HF)n, good agreement is found with experimental data. This agreement shows that the Møller-Plesset (MP2) potential surfaces for these systems are reasonably reliable. The accuracy is best for the stiff intramolecular modes, which indicates the validity of MP2 in describing coupling between intramolecular and intermolecular degrees of freedom. For (HF)n(H2O)n experimental results are unavailable. The computed intramolecular frequencies show a strong dependence on cluster size. Intensity features are predicted for future experiments.

Vibrational Spectra, DFT Calculations, and Assignments of the syn and the gauche Forms of Vinylphosphine

Infrared spectra (3500-600 cm(-1)) of vinylphosphine and its P-dideuterated derivative in the gas phase were recorded at 1 cm(-1) resolution. Both the infrared absorption bands of the syn and gauche conformers of the vinylphosphine were observed and assigned. The assignment was based on density functional theory calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-311G(d) level. The agreement between calculated and observed frequencies for both CH(2)&dbond;CHPH(2) and CH(2)&dbond;CHPD(2) was fairly good. The integrated intensities of isolated and overlapping vibrational bands were determined experimentally. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.