Probing the structural and dynamical properties of liquid water with models including non-local electron correlation

MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallel algorithm for resolution of identity second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation calculation of analytical energy gradient for massively parallel multicore supercomputers

A massively parallel algorithm of the analytical energy gradient calculations based the resolution of identity Møller-Plesset perturbation (RI-MP2) method from the restricted Hartree-Fock reference is presented for geometry optimization calculations and one-electron property calculations of large molecules. This algorithm is designed for massively parallel computation on multicore supercomputers applying the Message Passing Interface (MPI) and Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP) hybrid parallel programming model. In this algorithm, the two-dimensional hierarchical MP2 parallelization scheme is applied using a huge number of MPI processes (more than 1000 MPI processes) for acceleration of the computationally demanding O(N⁵ ) step such as calculations of occupied-occupied and virtual-virtual blocks of MP2 one-particle density matrix and MP2 two-particle density matrices. The new parallel algorithm performance is assessed using test calculations of several large molecules such as buckycatcher C₆₀ @C₆₀ H₂₈ (144 atoms, 1820 atomic orbitals (AOs) for def2-SVP basis set, and 3888 AOs for def2-TZVP), nanographene dimer (C₉₆ H₂₄ )₂ (240 atoms, 2928 AOs for def2-SVP, and 6432 AOs for cc-pVTZ), and trp-cage protein 1L2Y (304 atoms and 2906 AOs for def2-SVP) using up to 32,768 nodes and 262,144 central processing unit (CPU) cores of the K computer. The results of geometry optimization calculations of trp-cage protein 1L2Y at the RI-MP2/def2-SVP level using the 3072 nodes and 24,576 cores of the K computer are presented and discussed to assess the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cation solvation with quantum chemical effects modeled by a size-consistent multi-partitioning quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method

In the condensed phase, quantum chemical properties such as many-body effects and intermolecular charge fluctuations are critical determinants of the solvation structure and dynamics.

Ab initio Electronic Structure of Liquid Water

Self-consistent GW calculations with efficient vertex corrections are employed to determine the electronic structure of liquid water. Nuclear quantum effects are taken into account through ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics simulations. We reveal a sizable band-gap renormalization of up to 0.7 eV due to hydrogen-bond quantum fluctuations. Our calculations lead to a band gap of 8.9 eV, in accord with the experimental estimate. We further resolve the ambiguities in the band-edge positions of liquid water. The valence-band maximum and the conduction-band minimum are found at -9.4 and -0.5  eV with respect to the vacuum level, respectively.

How van der Waals interactions determine the unique properties of water

Whereas the interactions between water molecules are dominated by strongly directional hydrogen bonds (HBs), it was recently proposed that relatively weak, isotropic van der Waals (vdW) forces are essential for understanding the properties of liquid water and ice. This insight was derived from ab initio computer simulations, which provide an unbiased description of water at the atomic level and yield information on the underlying molecular forces. However, the high computational cost of such simulations prevents the systematic investigation of the influence of vdW forces on the thermodynamic anomalies of water. Here, we develop efficient ab initio-quality neural network potentials and use them to demonstrate that vdW interactions are crucial for the formation of water's density maximum and its negative volume of melting. Both phenomena can be explained by the flexibility of the HB network, which is the result of a delicate balance of weak vdW forces, causing, e.g., a pronounced expansion of the second solvation shell upon cooling that induces the density maximum.

Challenging Dogmas: Hydrogen Bond Revisited

Hydrogen bond directionality in the water dimer is explained on the basis of symmetry-adapted intermolecular perturbation theory which directly separates the intermolecular interaction energy into four physically interpretable components: electrostatics, exchange-repulsion, dispersion, and induction. Analysis of these four main contributions to the binding energy allows a deeper understanding of the dominant factors ruling the mutual arrangement of the two monomers. A preference for the linear configuration is shown to be due to a subtle interplay of all four energy components. While the first-order terms, electrostatic and exchange-repulsion, almost perfectly cancel each other near the equilibrium geometry of the dimer, the importance of the second- and higher-order terms, induction and dispersion, becomes evident.

The effect of molecular dynamics sampling on the calculated observable gas-phase structures

In this study, we compare the performance of various ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) sampling methods for the calculation of the observable vibrationally-averaged gas-phase structures of benzene, naphthalene and anthracene molecules. Nose-Hoover (NH), canonical and quantum generalized-Langevin-equation (GLE) thermostats as well as the a posteriori quantum correction to the classical trajectories have been tested and compared to the accurate path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD), static anharmonic vibrational calculations as well as to the experimental gas electron diffraction data. Classical sampling methods neglecting quantum effects (NH and canonical GLE thermostats) dramatically underestimate vibrational amplitudes for the bonded atom pairs, both C-H and C-C, the resulting radial distribution functions exhibit nonphysically narrow peaks. This deficiency is almost completely removed by taking the quantum effects on the nuclei into account. The quantum GLE thermostat and a posteriori correction to the canonical GLE and NH thermostatted trajectories capture most vibrational quantum effects and closely reproduce computationally expensive PIMD and experimental radial distribution functions. These methods are both computationally feasible and accurate and are therefore recommended for calculations of the observable gas-phase structures. A good performance of the quantum GLE thermostat for the gas-phase calculations is encouraging since its parameters have been originally fitted for the condensed-phase calculations. Very accurate molecular structures can be predicted by combining the equilibrium geometry obtained at a high level of electronic structure theory with vibrational amplitudes and corrections calculated using MD driven by a lower level of electronic structure theory.

Characterisation of the thermodynamics, structure and dynamics of a water-like model in 2- and 3-dimensions

The physical properties of colloidal particles suspended in an aqueous environment are well-understood when the latter is considered to be a continuum and a structureless medium. However, this approach fails to explain complex phenomena, for example, the critical Casimir forces among colloids and the colloidal self-assembly near critical solvents, and the inertial contribution of the solvent molecules on the diffusion of non-spherical Brownian particles. Therefore, the role played by the solvent on the physical properties of colloidal dispersions is of paramount relevance. Recently, there has been an interest in the (non-trivial) diffusion mechanisms of a nano-colloidal particle in a solvent that undergoes a vapour-liquid transition. Nonetheless, the models typically used to incorporate the solvent details do not capture quantitatively the thermodynamic properties of real substances. It is then important to study the Brownian motion of colloids in more realistic models. To reach such goal, one first has to characterise the thermodynamic states and the microscopic features of the solvent. Hence, in this contribution, we have investigated the coexistence densities of a core-softened potential in two- and three-dimensions, whose potential parameters are able to capture some anomalies of water. We show that in the two-dimensional case, the potential model exhibits, besides the normal vapour-liquid coexistence region, additional liquid-liquid coexistence densities. We particularly focus our attention to the structural properties and the dynamical behaviour of the solvent around the liquid-liquid critical point and assess the differences with the three-dimensional case.

Calculation of Electrochemical Energy Levels in Water Using the Random Phase Approximation and a Double Hybrid Functional

Understanding charge transfer at electrochemical interfaces requires consistent treatment of electronic energy levels in solids and in water at the same level of the electronic structure theory. Using density-functional-theory-based molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration, the free energy levels of six redox couples in water are calculated at the level of the random phase approximation and a double hybrid density functional. The redox levels, together with the water band positions, are aligned against a computational standard hydrogen electrode, allowing for critical analysis of errors compared to the experiment. It is encouraging that both methods offer a good description of the electronic structures of the solutes and water, showing promise for a full treatment of electrochemical interfaces.

Why Is MP2-Water "Cooler" and "Denser" than DFT-Water?

Density functional theory (DFT) with a dispersionless generalized gradient approximation (GGA) needs much higher temperature and pressure than the ambient conditions to maintain water in the liquid phase at the correct (1 g/cm(3)) density during first-principles simulations. Conversely, ab initio second-order many-body perturbation (MP2) calculations of liquid water require lower temperature and pressure than DFT/GGA to keep water liquid. Here we present a unifying explanation of these trends derived from classical water simulations using a polarizable force field with different sets of parameters. We show that the different temperatures and pressures between DFT/GGA and MP2 at which the simulated water displays the experimentally observed liquid structure under the ambient conditions can be largely explained by their differences in polarizability and dispersion interaction, respectively. In DFT/GGA, the polarizability and thus the induced dipole moments and the hydrogen-bond strength are all overestimated. This hinders the rotational motion of molecules and requires a higher temperature for DFT-water to be liquid. MP2 gives a stronger dispersion interaction and thus shorter intermolecular distances than dispersionless DFT/GGA, which is why MP2-water is denser than DFT-water under the same external pressure.

Influence of Solvation and Dynamics on the Mechanism and Kinetics of Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution Reactions in Liquid Ammonia

The role of the solvent and the influence of dynamics on the kinetics and mechanism of the SNAr reaction of several halonitrobenzenes in liquid ammonia, using both static calculations and dynamic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, are investigated. A combination of metadynamics and committor analysis methods reveals how this reaction can change from a concerted, one-step mechanism in gas phase to a stepwise pathway, involving a metastable Meisenheimer complex, in liquid ammonia. This clearly establishes, among others, the important role of the solvent and highlights the fact that accurately treating solvation is of crucial importance to correctly unravel the reaction mechanism. It is indeed shown that H-bond formation of the reacting NH3 with the solvent drastically reduces the barrier of NH3 addition. The halide elimination step, however, is greatly facilitated by proton transfer from the reacting NH3 to the solvent. Furthermore, the free energy surface strongly depends on the halide substituent and the number of electron-withdrawing nitro substituents.

Neural network molecular dynamics simulations of solid–liquid interfaces: water at low-index copper surfaces

Molecular dynamics simulation of the water–copper interface have been carried out using high-dimensional neural network potential based on density functional theory.

An adaptive quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics method for the infrared spectrum of water: incorporation of the quantum effect between solute and solvent

Quantum effects in solute–solvent interactions, such as the many-body effect and the dipole-induced dipole, are known to be critical factors influencing the infrared spectra of species in the liquid phase.