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Alessandrini S, Melosso M, Bizzocchi L, Barone V, Puzzarini C. The Semiexperimental Approach at Work: Equilibrium Structure of Radical Species. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:5833-5855. [PMID: 38991181 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c01758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
The so-called semiexperimental (SE) approach is a powerful technique for obtaining highly accurate equilibrium structures for isolated systems. This Featured Article describes its extension to open-shell species, thus providing the first systematic investigation on radical equilibrium geometries to be used for benchmarking purposes. The small yet significant database obtained demonstrates that there is no reduction in accuracy when moving from closed-shell species to radicals. We also provide an extension of the applicability of the SE approach to medium-/large-sized radicals by exploiting the so-called "Lego-brick" approach, which is based on the assumption that a molecular system can be seen as formed by smaller fragments for which the SE equilibrium structure is available. In this Featured Article we show that this model can be successfully applied also to open-shell species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Alessandrini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Mattia Melosso
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Bizzocchi
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Cristina Puzzarini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
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Di Grande S, Barone V. Toward Accurate Quantum Chemical Methods for Molecules of Increasing Dimension: The New Family of Pisa Composite Schemes. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:4886-4900. [PMID: 38847454 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c01673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The new versions of the Pisa composite scheme introduced in the present paper are based on the careful selection of different quantum chemical models for energies, geometries, and vibrational frequencies, with the aim of maximizing the accuracy of the overall description while retaining a reasonable cost for all the steps. In particular, the computation of accurate electronic energies has been further improved introducing more reliable complete basis set extrapolations and estimation of core-valence correlation, together with improved basis sets for third-row atoms. Furthermore, the reduced-cost frozen natural orbital (FNO) model has been introduced and validated for large molecules. Accurate molecular structures can be obtained avoiding complete basis set extrapolation and evaluating core-valence correlation at the MP2 level. Unfortunately, analytical gradients are not available for the FNO version of the model. Therefore, for large molecules, an accurate reduced-cost alternative is offered by evaluation of valence contributions with a double-hybrid functional in conjunction with the same MP2 contribution for core-valence correlation or by means of a one-parameter approximation. The same double-hybrid functional and basis set are employed to evaluate zero-point energies and partition functions. After the validation of the new models for small systems, a panel of molecular bricks of life has been used to analyze their performances for problems of current fundamental or technological interest. The fully black-box implementation of the computational workflow paves the way toward the accurate yet not prohibitively expensive study of medium- to large-sized molecules also by experimentally oriented researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Di Grande
- Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Largo San Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
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Lazzari F, Mendolicchio M, Barone V. Accurate Geometries of Large Molecules by Integration of the Pisa Composite Scheme and the Templating Synthon Approach. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:1385-1395. [PMID: 38347709 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c08382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
An effective yet reliable computational workflow is proposed, which permits the computation of accurate geometrical structures for large flexible molecules at an affordable cost thanks to the integration of machine learning tools and DFT models together with reduced scaling computations of vibrational averaging effects. After validation of the different components of the overall strategy, a panel of molecules of biological interest have been analyzed. The results confirm that very accurate geometrical parameters can be obtained at reasonable cost for molecules including up to about 50 atoms, which are the largest ones for which comparison with high-resolution rotational spectra is possible. Since the whole computational workflow can be followed employing standard electronic structure codes, accurate results for large-sized molecules can be obtained at DFT cost also by nonspecialists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Lazzari
- Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Mendolicchio
- Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
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Barone V. Quantum chemistry meets high-resolution spectroscopy for characterizing the molecular bricks of life in the gas-phase. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:5802-5821. [PMID: 38099409 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp05169b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
Computation of accurate geometrical structures and spectroscopic properties of large flexible molecules in the gas-phase is tackled at an affordable cost using a general exploration/exploitation strategy. The most distinctive feature of the approach is the careful selection of different quantum chemical models for energies, geometries and vibrational frequencies with the aim of maximizing the accuracy of the overall description while retaining a reasonable cost for all the steps. In particular, a composite wave-function method is used for energies, whereas a double-hybrid functional (with the addition of core-valence correlation) is employed for geometries and harmonic frequencies and a cheaper hybrid functional for anharmonic contributions. A thorough benchmark based on a wide range of prototypical molecular bricks of life shows that the proposed strategy is close to the accuracy of state-of-the-art composite wave-function methods, and is applicable to much larger systems. A freely available web-utility post-processes the geometries optimized by standard electronic structure codes paving the way toward the accurate yet not prohibitively expensive study of medium- to large-sized molecules by experimentally-oriented researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Barone
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
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Barone V, Lazzari F. Hunting for Complex Organic Molecules in the Interstellar Medium: The Role of Accurate Low-Cost Theoretical Geometries and Rotational Constants. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:10517-10527. [PMID: 38033327 PMCID: PMC10726368 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c06649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
A new approach to computation at affordable cost of accurate geometrical structures and rotational constants for medium-sized molecules in the gas phase is further improved and applied to a large panel of interstellar complex organic molecules. The most distinctive feature of the new model is the effective inclusion of core-valence correlation and vibrational averaging effects in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). In particular, a double-hybrid functional in conjunction with a quadruple-ζ valence/triple-ζ polarization basis set is employed for geometry optimizations, whereas a cheaper hybrid functional in conjunction with a split-valence basis set is used for the evaluation of vibrational corrections. A thorough benchmark based on a wide range of prototypical systems shows that the new scheme approaches the accuracy of state-of-the-art wave function methods with the computational cost of the standard methods (DFT or MP2) routinely employed in the interpretation of microwave spectra. Since the whole computational workflow involves the postprocessing of the output of standard electronic structure codes by a new freely available web utility, the way is paved for the accurate yet not prohibitively expensive study of medium- to large-sized molecules also by nonspecialists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Barone
- Scuola Normale Superiore, di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, Pisa 56125, Italy
| | - Federico Lazzari
- Scuola Normale Superiore, di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, Pisa 56125, Italy
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Stylianakis I, Zervos N, Lii JH, Pantazis DA, Kolocouris A. Conformational energies of reference organic molecules: benchmarking of common efficient computational methods against coupled cluster theory. J Comput Aided Mol Des 2023; 37:607-656. [PMID: 37597063 PMCID: PMC10618395 DOI: 10.1007/s10822-023-00513-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
We selected 145 reference organic molecules that include model fragments used in computer-aided drug design. We calculated 158 conformational energies and barriers using force fields, with wide applicability in commercial and free softwares and extensive application on the calculation of conformational energies of organic molecules, e.g. the UFF and DREIDING force fields, the Allinger's force fields MM3-96, MM3-00, MM4-8, the MM2-91 clones MMX and MM+, the MMFF94 force field, MM4, ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF) theory with different basis sets, the standard density functional theory B3LYP, the second-order post-HF MP2 theory and the Domain-based Local Pair Natural Orbital Coupled Cluster DLPNO-CCSD(T) theory, with the latter used for accurate reference values. The data set of the organic molecules includes hydrocarbons, haloalkanes, conjugated compounds, and oxygen-, nitrogen-, phosphorus- and sulphur-containing compounds. We reviewed in detail the conformational aspects of these model organic molecules providing the current understanding of the steric and electronic factors that determine the stability of low energy conformers and the literature including previous experimental observations and calculated findings. While progress on the computer hardware allows the calculations of thousands of conformations for later use in drug design projects, this study is an update from previous classical studies that used, as reference values, experimental ones using a variety of methods and different environments. The lowest mean error against the DLPNO-CCSD(T) reference was calculated for MP2 (0.35 kcal mol-1), followed by B3LYP (0.69 kcal mol-1) and the HF theories (0.81-1.0 kcal mol-1). As regards the force fields, the lowest errors were observed for the Allinger's force fields MM3-00 (1.28 kcal mol-1), ΜΜ3-96 (1.40 kcal mol-1) and the Halgren's MMFF94 force field (1.30 kcal mol-1) and then for the MM2-91 clones MMX (1.77 kcal mol-1) and MM+ (2.01 kcal mol-1) and MM4 (2.05 kcal mol-1). The DREIDING (3.63 kcal mol-1) and UFF (3.77 kcal mol-1) force fields have the lowest performance. These model organic molecules we used are often present as fragments in drug-like molecules. The values calculated using DLPNO-CCSD(T) make up a valuable data set for further comparisons and for improved force field parameterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Stylianakis
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Zervos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece
| | - Jenn-Huei Lii
- Department of Chemistry, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan
| | - Dimitrios A Pantazis
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Antonios Kolocouris
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece.
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Section of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Zografou, 15771, Athens, Greece.
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Thimmakondu VS, Karton A. CCSD(T) Rotational Constants for Highly Challenging C 5H 2 Isomers-A Comparison between Theory and Experiment. Molecules 2023; 28:6537. [PMID: 37764314 PMCID: PMC10537648 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28186537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We evaluate the accuracy of CCSD(T) and density functional theory (DFT) methods for the calculation of equilibrium rotational constants (Ae, Be, and Ce) for four experimentally detected low-lying C5H2 isomers (ethynylcyclopropenylidene (2), pentatetraenylidene (3), ethynylpropadienylidene (5), and 2-cyclopropen-1-ylidenethenylidene (8)). The calculated rotational constants are compared to semi-experimental rotational constants obtained by converting the vibrationally averaged experimental rotational constants (A0, B0, and C0) to equilibrium values by subtracting the vibrational contributions (calculated at the B3LYP/jun-cc-pVTZ level of the theory). The considered isomers are closed-shell carbenes, with cumulene, acetylene, or strained cyclopropene moieties, and are therefore highly challenging from an electronic structure point of view. We consider both frozen-core and all-electron CCSD(T) calculations, as well as a range of DFT methods. We find that calculating the equilibrium rotational constants of these C5H2 isomers is a difficult task, even at the CCSD(T) level. For example, at the all-electron CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVTZ level of the theory, we obtain percentage errors ≤0.4% (Ce of isomer 3, Be and Ce of isomer 5, and Be of isomer 8) and 0.9-1.5% (Be and Ce of isomer 2, Ae of isomer 5, and Ce of isomer 8), whereas for the Ae rotational constant of isomers 2 and 8 and Be rotational constant of isomer 3, high percentage errors above 3% are obtained. These results highlight the challenges associated with calculating accurate rotational constants for isomers with highly challenging electronic structures, which is further complicated by the need to convert vibrationally averaged experimental rotational constants to equilibrium values. We use our best CCSD(T) rotational constants (namely, ae-CCSD(T)/cc-pwCVTZ for isomers 2 and 5, and ae-CCSD(T)/cc-pCVQZ for isomers 3 and 8) to evaluate the performance of DFT methods across the rungs of Jacob's Ladder. We find that the considered pure functionals (BLYP-D3BJ, PBE-D3BJ, and TPSS-D3BJ) perform significantly better than the global and range-separated hybrid functionals. The double-hybrid DSD-PBEP86-D3BJ method shows the best overall performance, with percentage errors below 0.5% in nearly all cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkatesan S Thimmakondu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-1030, USA
| | - Amir Karton
- School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
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8
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Puzzarini C, Stanton JF. Connections between the accuracy of rotational constants and equilibrium molecular structures. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:1421-1429. [PMID: 36562443 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04706c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Rotational spectroscopy is the technique of choice for investigating molecular structures in the gas phase. Indeed, rotational constants are strongly connected to the geometry of the molecular system under consideration. Therefore, they are powerful tools for assessing the accuracy that quantum chemical approaches can reach in structural determinations. In this review article, it is shown how it is possible to measure the accuracy of a computed equilibrium geometry based on the comparison of rotational constants. But, it is also addressed what accuracy is required by computations for providing molecular structures and thus rotational constants that are useful to experiment. Quantum chemical methodologies for obtaining the "0.1% accuracy" for rotational constants are reviewed for systems ranging in size from small molecules to small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This accuracy for systems containing two dozen or so atoms opens the way towards future applications such as the accurate characterization of non-covalent interactions, which play a key role in several biological and technological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Puzzarini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Università di Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
| | - John F Stanton
- Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
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Fortenberry RC, McMahon RJ, Kaiser RI. 10 Years of the ACS PHYS Astrochemistry Subdivision. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:6571-6574. [PMID: 36172712 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c06091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan C Fortenberry
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, 322 Coulter Hall, University, Mississippi 38677-1848, United States
| | - Robert J McMahon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin─Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1322, United States
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
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Tasinato N, Pietropolli Charmet A, Ceselin G, Salta Z, Stoppa P. In Vitro and In Silico Vibrational-Rotational Spectroscopic Characterization of the Next-Generation Refrigerant HFO-1123. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:5328-5342. [PMID: 35930010 PMCID: PMC9393866 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c04680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Very short-lived substances have recently been proposed
as replacements
for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in turn being used in place of ozone-depleting
substances, in refrigerant applications. In this respect, hydro-fluoro-olefins
(HFOs) are attracting particular interest because, due to their reduced
global warming potential, they are supposed to be environmentally
friendlier. Notwithstanding this feature, they represent a new class
of compounds whose spectroscopic properties and reactivity need to
be characterized to allow their atmospheric monitoring and to understand
their environmental fate. In the present work, the structural, vibrational,
and ro-vibrational properties of trifluorothene (HFO-1123, F2C = CHF) are studied by state-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations.
The equilibrium molecular structure has an expected error within 2
mÅ and 0.2° for bond lengths and angles, respectively. This
represents the first step toward the computation of highly accurate
rotational constants for both the ground and first excited fundamental
vibrational levels, which reproduce the available experimental data
well within 0.1%. Centrifugal distortion parameters and vibrational–rotational
coupling terms are computed as well and used to solve some conflicting
experimental results. Simulation of the vibrational transition frequencies
and intensities beyond the double harmonic approximation and up to
three quanta of vibrational excitation provides insights into the
couplings ruling the vibrational dynamics and guides the characterization
of the gas-phase infrared spectrum experimentally recorded in the
range of 200–5000 cm–1. The full characterization
of the IR features is completed with the experimental determination
of the absorption cross sections over the 400–5000 cm–1 region from which the radiative forcing and global warming potential
of HFO-1123 are derived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Tasinato
- Scuola Normale Superiore, SMART Laboratory, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Pietropolli Charmet
- Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Via Torino 155, I-30172 Mestre, Italy
| | - Giorgia Ceselin
- Scuola Normale Superiore, SMART Laboratory, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Zoi Salta
- Scuola Normale Superiore, SMART Laboratory, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Paolo Stoppa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Via Torino 155, I-30172 Mestre, Italy
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Schweer SM, Nejad A, Suhm MA. Coupled proton vibrations between two weak acids: the hinge complex between formic acid and trifluoroethanol. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:26449-26457. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04176f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Raman and FTIR spectra of an acid–alcohol complex show complementary signatures from acidic and alcoholic OH stretching, proving its existence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie M. Schweer
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Goettingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Arman Nejad
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Goettingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Martin A. Suhm
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Goettingen, Tammannstr. 6, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
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