NMR shieldings from density functional perturbation theory: GIPAW versus all-electron calculations

Ab initio study of stability and quadrupole coupling constants in borophosphates

The DFT method was used to predict the formation energies and quadrupole coupling constants CQ in a series of borophosphates: Li3BP2O8, Li2NaBP2O8, Na3BP2O8, Li2B3PO8, Na5B2P3O13, LiNa2B5P2O14 and Na3B6PO13 composed of different networks and different amounts of borate and phosphate units. The change in formation energies with increasing number of B atoms in this series is attributed to the multiplicity of boron sites and is explained by density of states calculations. The calculated CQ values of 7Li, 23Na and 11B are correlated with the coordination and distortion of polyhedra to elucidate the influence of local and more distant environments. As for the CQ of 11B, it should be in the ranges of 0.26-0.36, 0.48-0.84 and ∼1 MHz for boron tetrahedral distortion indices of 0.004-0.013, 0.015-0.019 and 0.033, respectively, whereas CQ ∼3.0 MHz corresponds to boron in a triangular site. The obtained numerical relationships make it possible to predict the quadrupole frequencies for these nuclei based only on their local environment, and vice versa, to propose structural models from NMR data. These results provide guidance for studying similar characteristics of other borophosphates, the structure of which varies depending on the initial reaction, composition and temperature.

Comparing GIPAW with numerically exact chemical shieldings: The role of two-center contributions to the induced current

In this study, we benchmark density functional theory gauge-including projector-augmented-wave (GIPAW) chemical shieldings against molecular shieldings for which basis set completeness has been achieved [Jensen et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 18, 21145 (2016)]. We demonstrate the importance of two-center corrections for GIPAW hydrogen shieldings. For the other nuclei studied, standard GIPAW is sufficiently accurate. We find that GIPAW can be pushed to closely approach the basis set limit. The only source of small inaccuracies lies in the contribution to the shielding that is caused by surface currents, which we estimate comparing GIPAW susceptibilities to converged molecular magnetizabilities.

Computation of NMR Shielding Constants for Solids Using an Embedded Cluster Approach with DFT, Double-Hybrid DFT, and MP2

In this work, we explore the accuracy of post-Hartree–Fock (HF) methods and double-hybrid density functional theory (DFT) for the computation of solid-state NMR chemical shifts. We apply an embedded cluster approach and investigate the convergence with cluster size and embedding for a series of inorganic solids with long-range electrostatic interactions. In a systematic study, we discuss the cluster design, the embedding procedure, and basis set convergence using gauge-including atomic orbital (GIAO) NMR calculations at the DFT and MP2 levels of theory. We demonstrate that the accuracy obtained for the prediction of NMR chemical shifts, which can be achieved for molecular systems, can be carried over to solid systems. An appropriate embedded cluster approach allows one to apply methods beyond standard DFT even for systems for which long-range electrostatic effects are important. We find that an embedded cluster should include at least one sphere of explicit neighbors around the nuclei of interest, given that a sufficiently large point charge and boundary effective potential embedding is applied. Using the pcSseg-3 basis set and GIAOs for the computation of nuclear shielding constants, accuracies of 1.6 ppm for ⁷Li, 1.5 ppm for ²³Na, and 5.1 ppm for ³⁹K as well as 9.3 ppm for ¹⁹F, 6.5 ppm for ³⁵Cl, 7.4 ppm for ⁷⁹Br, and 7.5 ppm for ²⁵Mg as well as 3.8 ppm for ⁶⁷Zn can be achieved with MP2. Comparing various DFT functionals with HF and MP2, we report the superior quality of results for methods that include post-HF correlation like MP2 and double-hybrid DFT.

UV-Curable Biobased Polyacrylates Based on a Multifunctional Monomer Derived from Furfural

The controlled polymerization of a new biobased monomer, 4-oxocyclopent-2-en-1-yl acrylate (4CPA), was established via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) (co)polymerization to yield polymers bearing pendent cyclopentenone units. 4CPA contains two reactive functionalities, namely, a vinyl group and an internal double bond, and is an unsymmetrical monomer. Therefore, competition between the internal double bond and the vinyl group eventually leads to gel formation. With RAFT polymerization, when aiming for a degree of polymerization (DP) of 100, maximum 4CPA conversions of the vinyl group between 19.0 and 45.2% were obtained without gel formation or extensive broadening of the dispersity. When the same conditions were applied in the copolymerization of 4CPA with lauryl acrylate (LA), methyl acrylate (MA), and isobornyl acrylate, 4CPA conversions of the vinyl group between 63 and 95% were reached. The additional functionality of 4CPA in copolymers was demonstrated by model studies with 4-oxocyclopent-2-en-1-yl acetate (1), which readily dimerized under UV light via [2 + 2] photocyclodimerization. First-principles quantum mechanical simulations supported the experimental observations made in NMR. Based on the calculated energetics and chemical shifts, a mixture of head-to-head and head-to-tail dimers of (1) were identified. Using the dimerization mechanism, solvent-cast LA and MA copolymers containing 30 mol % 4CPA were cross-linked under UV light to obtain thin films. The cross-linked films were characterized by dynamic scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, IR, and swelling experiments. This is the first case where 4CPA is described as a monomer for functional biobased polymers that can undergo additional UV curing via photodimerization.

A theoretical NMR study of selected benzazoles: Comparison of GIPAW and GIAO-PCM (DMSO) calculations

This paper compares the absolute shieldings obtained by gauge-including-projected-augmented-wave (GIPAW) to those obtained by gauge-invariant atomic orbital/Becke, 3-parameter, Lee-Yang-Parr (GIAO/B3LYP)/6-311++G(d,p)-polarizable continuum model (PCM, dimethyl sulfoxide) for nine benzazoles (benzimidazoles, indazoles, and benzotriazoles) recorded in the solid-state. Three nuclei were explored, ¹³ C, ¹⁵ N, and ¹⁹ F, and the gauge-including-projected-augmented-wave approach only proved better for ¹⁵ N MAS NMR.

The Rich Solid-State Phase Behavior of dl-Aminoheptanoic Acid: Five Polymorphic Forms and Their Phase Transitions

The rich landscape of enantiotropically related polymorphic forms and their solid-state phase transitions of dl-2-aminoheptanoic acid (dl-AHE) has been explored using a range of complementary characterization techniques, and is largely exemplary of the polymorphic behavior of linear aliphatic amino acids. As many as five new polymorphic forms were found, connected by four fully reversible solid-state phase transitions. Two low temperature forms were refined in a high Z' crystal structure, which is a new phenomenon for linear aliphatic amino acids. All five structures consist of two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded bilayers interconnected by weak van der Waals interactions. The single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transitions involve shifts of bilayers and/or conformational changes in the aliphatic chain. Compared to two similar phase transitions of the related amino acid dl-norleucine, the enthalpies of transition and NMR chemical shift differences are notably smaller in dl-aminoheptanoic acid. This is explained to be a result of both the nature of the conformational changes and the increased chain length, weakening the interactions between the bilayers.