Assessment of local response dispersion method for open-shell systems

Density Functional Response Calculations of Dispersion Coefficients C6 and C9 of Closed- and Open-Shell Systems

Dipole polarizabilities and C₆ and C₉ dispersion coefficients are computed for closed- and open-shell atoms and molecules, using dynamic (time-dependent) density functional (TD-DFT) linear response theory as implemented in the response module of the NWChem quantum chemistry package. The response module is capable of accurate calculations of these properties, based on spin-restricted and spin-unrestricted formalisms. The calculated static polarizabilities and dispersion coefficients are compared to available experimental and other theoretical data. The behavior of the dynamic polarizability at imaginary frequencies is analyzed for differently sized closed- and open-shell systems. An interpolation method enforcing the monotonic decrease of the polarizability with increasing imaginary frequency is beneficial for the integration used to obtain C₆ and C₉. Scaling of the TD-DFT data by ratios of the static polarizability, which can be calculated with a variety of methods, including highly accurate theories, may be used as a leading-order correction.

Dataset of noncovalent intermolecular interaction energy curves for 24 small high-spin open-shell dimers

We introduce a dataset of 24 interaction energy curves of open-shell noncovalent dimers, referred to as the O24 × 5 dataset. The dataset consists of high-spin dimers up to 11 atoms selected to assure diversity with respect to interaction types: dispersion, electrostatics, and induction. The benchmark interaction energies are obtained at the restricted open-shell CCSD(T) level of theory with complete basis set extrapolation (from aug-cc-pVQZ to aug-cc-pV5Z). We have analyzed the performance of selected wave function methods MP2, CCSD, and CCSD(T) as well as the F12a and F12b variants of coupled-cluster theory. In addition, we have tested dispersion-corrected density functional theory methods based on the PBE exchange-correlation model. The O24 × 5 dataset is a challenge to approximate methods due to the wide range of interaction energy strengths it spans. For the dispersion-dominated and mixed-type subsets, any tested method that does not include the triples contribution yields errors on the order of tens of percent. The electrostatic subset is less demanding with errors that are typically an order of magnitude smaller than the mixed and dispersion-dominated subsets.

Concave or convex π-dimers: the role of the pancake bond in substituted phenalenyl radical dimers

π-stacking phenalenyl radical dimers are overwhelmingly convex (a) and not concave (b) due to electron sharing at the SOMO centers.