arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S. Parthiban.
In this 2nd chapter of the book Quantum Mechanical Prediction of Thermochemical Data" (ed. Jerzy Cioslowski, Kluwer, 2001; ISBN 0-7923-7077-5), we review the nonempirical computational thermochemistry methods W1 and W2 theory and their variants. The chapter is made available online following a change in publisher E-print policy.
The total atomization energy at absolute zero, (TAE$_0$) of benzene, C$_6$H$_6$, was computed fully {\em ab initio} by means of W2h theory as 1306.6 kcal/mol, to be compared with the experimentally derived value 1305.7+/-0.7 kcal/mol. The computed result includes contributions from inner-shell correlation (7.1 kcal/mol), scalar relativistic effects (-1.0 kcal/mol), atomic spin-orbit splitting (-0.5 kcal/mol), and the anharmonic zero-point vibrational energy (62.1 kcal/mol). The largest-scale calculations involved are CCSD/cc-pV5Z and CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ; basis set extrapolations account for 6.3 kcal/mol of the final result. Performance of more approximate methods has been analyzed. Our results suggest that, even for systems the size of benzene, chemically accurate molecular atomization energies can be obtained from fully first-principles calculations, without resorting to corrections or parameters derived from experiment.
The performance of two recent {\em ab initio} computational thermochemistry schemes, W1 and W2 theory [J.M.L. Martin and G. de Oliveira, J. Chem. Phys. 111, 1843 (1999}], is assessed for an enlarged sample of thermochemical data consisting of the ionization potentials and electron affinities in the G2-1 and G2-2 sets, as well as the heats of formation in the G2-1 and a subset of the G2-2 set. We find W1 theory to be several times more accurate for ionization potentials and electron affinities than commonly used (and less expensive) computational thermochemistry schemes such as G2, G3, and CBS-QB3: W2 theory represents a slight improvement for electron affinities but no significant one for ionization potentials. The use of a two-point $A+B/L^5$ rather than a three-point $A+B/C^L$ extrapolation for the SCF component greatly enhances the numerical stability of the W1 method for systems with slow basis set convergence. Inclusion of first-order spin-orbit coupling is essential for accurate ionization potentials and electron affinities involving degenerate electronic states: inner-shell correlation is somewhat more important for ionization potentials than for electron affinities, while scalar relativistic effects are required for the highest accuracy. The mean deviation from experiment for the G2-1 heats of formation is within the average experimental uncertainty. W1 theory appears to be a valuable tool for obtaining benchmark quality proton affinities.