Alexander O. Mitrushchenkov

Local and density fitting approximations within the short-range/long-range hybrid scheme: Application to large non-bonded complexes

We introduce local and density fitting approximations into a hybrid approach which couples short-range density functionals with long-range wave-functions. The use of density fitting methods within the local-correlation approximation makes it possible to tackle bigger systems than without these methods, so that we are now able to treat systems of biological interest within the DFT/ab initio scheme. In first benchmark calculations, we apply it to the S22 database of Hobza and co-workers for binding energies of weakly bound molecular clusters.

First-principles based multiscale model of piezoelectric nanowires with surface effects

A continuum model of nanowires incorporating surface piezoelectricity is proposed which extends the electric enthalpy energy with surface terms. The corresponding equations are solved by a numerical method using finite elements technique. A methodology is introduced to compute the surface piezoelectric coefficients by first-principles calculations through the Berry phase theory. We provide the e33s, e31s, and e15s piezoelectric coefficients of (101¯0) surfaces for hexagonal wurtzite nanowires made of GaN, ZnO, and AlN. The effective piezoelectric coefficient along the axis of the nanowire is found to increase when the diameter decreases, for the three studied materials. Finally, the solution of the continuum model is compared with large-size first-principles calculations on piezoelectric nanowires.

Communication: A combined periodic density functional and incremental wave-function-based approach for the dispersion-accounting time-resolved dynamics of 4He nanodroplets on surfaces: 4He/graphene

In this work we propose a general strategy to calculate accurate He-surface interaction potentials. It extends the dispersionless density functional approach recently developed by Pernal et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 263201 (2009)] to adsorbate-surface interactions by including periodic boundary conditions. We also introduce a scheme to parametrize the dispersion interaction by calculating two- and three-body dispersion terms at coupled cluster singles and doubles and perturbative triples (CCSD(T)) level via the method of increments [H. Stoll, J. Chem. Phys. 97, 8449 (1992)]. The performance of the composite approach is tested on (4)He/graphene by determining the energies of the low-lying selective adsorption states, finding an excellent agreement with the best available theoretical data. Second, the capability of the approach to describe dispersionless correlation effects realistically is used to extract dispersion effects in time-dependent density functional simulations on the collision of (4)He droplets with a single graphene sheet. It is found that dispersion effects play a key role in the fast spreading of the (4)He nanodroplet, the evaporation-like process of helium atoms, and the formation of solid-like helium structures. These characteristics are expected to be quite general and highly relevant to explain experimental measurements with the newly developed helium droplet mediated deposition technique.

Communication: Unraveling the 4He droplet-mediated soft-landing from ab initio-assisted and time-resolved density functional simulations: Au@4He300/TiO2(110)

An ab-initio-based methodological scheme for He-surface interactions and zero-temperature time-dependent density functional theory for superfluid (4)He droplets motion are combined to follow the short-time collision dynamics of the Au@(4)He300 system with the TiO2(110) surface. This composite approach demonstrates the (4)He droplet-assisted sticking of the metal species to the surface at low landing energy (below 0.15 eV/atom), thus providing the first theoretical evidence of the experimentally observed (4)He droplet-mediated soft-landing deposition of metal nanoparticles on solid surfaces [Mozhayskiy et al., J. Chem. Phys. 127, 094701 (2007) and Loginov et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 115, 7199 (2011)].

Towards an elastic model of wurtzite AlN nanowires

Starting with ab initio calculations of AlN wurtzite [0001] nanowires with diameters up to 4 nm, a finite element method is developed to deal with larger nanostructures/nanoparticles. The ab initio calculations show that the structure of the nanowires can be well represented by an internal part with AlN bulk elastic properties, and one atomic surface layer with its own elastic behavior. The proposed finite element method includes surface elements with their own elastic properties using surface elastic coefficients deduced from the ab initio calculations. The elastic properties obtained with the finite element model compare very well with those obtained with the full ab initio calculations.

Combining density functional and incremental post-Hartree-Fock approaches for van der Waals dominated adsorbate-surface interactions: Ag2/graphene.

A combined density functional (DFT) and incremental post-Hartree-Fock (post-HF) approach, proven earlier to calculate He-surface potential energy surfaces [de Lara-Castells et al., J. Chem. Phys. 141, 151102 (2014)], is applied to describe the van der Waals dominated Ag2/graphene interaction. It extends the dispersionless density functional theory developed by Pernal et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 263201 (2009)] by including periodic boundary conditions while the dispersion is parametrized via the method of increments [H. Stoll, J. Chem. Phys. 97, 8449 (1992)]. Starting with the elementary cluster unit of the target surface (benzene), continuing through the realistic cluster model (coronene), and ending with the periodic model of the extended system, modern ab initio methodologies for intermolecular interactions as well as state-of-the-art van der Waals-corrected density functional-based approaches are put together both to assess the accuracy of the composite scheme and to better characterize the Ag2/graphene interaction. The present work illustrates how the combination of DFT and post-HF perspectives may be efficient to design simple and reliable ab initio-based schemes in extended systems for surface science applications.

Assessing the performance of dispersionless and dispersion-accounting methods: helium interaction with cluster models of the TiO2(110) surface.

As a prototypical dispersion-dominated physisorption problem, we analyze here the performance of dispersionless and dispersion-accounting methodologies on the helium interaction with cluster models of the TiO2(110) surface. A special focus has been given to the dispersionless density functional dlDF and the dlDF+Das construction for the total interaction energy (K. Pernal, R. Podeswa, K. Patkowski, and K. Szalewicz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2009, 109, 263201), where Das is an effective interatomic pairwise functional form for the dispersion. Likewise, the performance of symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) method is evaluated, where the interacting monomers are described by density functional theory (DFT) with the dlDF, PBE, and PBE0 functionals. Our benchmarks include CCSD(T)-F12b calculations and comparative analysis on the nuclear bound states supported by the He-cluster potentials. Moreover, intra- and intermonomer correlation contributions to the physisorption interaction are analyzed through the method of increments (H. Stoll, J. Chem. Phys. 1992, 97, 8449) at the CCSD(T) level of theory. This method is further applied in conjunction with a partitioning of the Hartree-Fock interaction energy to estimate individual interaction energy components, comparing them with those obtained using the different SAPT(DFT) approaches. The cluster size evolution of dispersionless and dispersion-accounting energy components is then discussed, revealing the reduced role of the dispersionless interaction and intramonomer correlation when the extended nature of the surface is better accounted for. On the contrary, both post-Hartree-Fock and SAPT(DFT) results clearly demonstrate the high-transferability character of the effective pairwise dispersion interaction whatever the cluster model is. Our contribution also illustrates how the method of increments can be used as a valuable tool not only to achieve the accuracy of CCSD(T) calculations using large cluster models but also to evaluate the performance of SAPT(DFT) methods for the physically well-defined contributions to the total interaction energy. Overall, our work indicates the excellent performance of a dlDF+Das approach in which the parameters are optimized using the smallest cluster model of the target surface to treat van der Waals adsorbate-surface interactions.

Helium mediated deposition: Modeling the He−TiO2(110)-(1×1) interaction potential and application to the collision of a helium droplet from density functional calculations

This paper is the first of a two-part series dealing with quantum-mechanical (density-functional-based) studies of helium-mediated deposition of catalytic species on the rutile TiO(2)(110)-(1×1) surface. The interaction of helium with the TiO(2)(110)-(1×1) surface is first evaluated using the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof functional at a numerical grid dense enough to build an analytical three-dimensional potential energy surface. Three (two prototype) potential models for the He-surface interaction in helium scattering calculations are analyzed to build the analytical potential energy surface: (1) the hard-corrugated-wall potential model; (2) the corrugated-Morse potential model; and (3) the three-dimensional Morse potential model. Different model potentials are then used to study the dynamics upon collision of a (4)He(300) cluster with the TiO(2)(110) surface at zero temperature within the framework of a time-dependent density-functional approach for the quantum fluid [D. Mateo, D. Jin, M. Barranco, and M. Pi, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 044507 (2011)] and classical dynamics calculations. The laterally averaged density functional theory-based potential with an added long-range dispersion interaction term is further applied. At variance with classical dynamics calculations, showing helium droplet splashing out of the surface at impact, the time evolution of the macroscopic helium wave-function predicts that the helium droplet spreads on the rutile surface and leads to the formation of a thin film above the substrate. This work thus provides a basis for simulating helium mediated deposition of metallic clusters embedded within helium nanodroplets.

Accurate ab initio ro-vibronic spectroscopy of the X̃2Π CCN radical using explicitly correlated methods.

Explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12b calculations have been carried out with systematic sequences of correlation consistent basis sets to determine accurate near-equilibrium potential energy surfaces for the X(2)Π and a(4)Σ(-) electronic states of the CCN radical. After including contributions due to core correlation, scalar relativity, and higher order electron correlation effects, the latter utilizing large-scale multireference configuration interaction calculations, the resulting surfaces were employed in variational calculations of the ro-vibronic spectra. These calculations also included the use of accurate spin-orbit and dipole moment matrix elements. The resulting ro-vibronic transition energies, including the Renner-Teller sub-bands involving the bending mode, agree with the available experimental data to within 3 cm(-1) in all cases. Full sets of spectroscopic constants are reported using the usual second-order perturbation theory expressions. Integrated absorption intensities are given for a number of selected vibronic band origins. A computational procedure similar to that used in the determination of the potential energy functions was also utilized to predict the formation enthalpy of CCN, ΔH(f)(0K) = 161.7 ± 0.5 kcal/mol.

Ab initio ro-vibrational spectroscopy of the group 11 cyanides: CuCN, AgCN, and AuCN

Accurate near-equilibrium potential energy and dipole moment functions have been calculated for the linear coinage-metal cyanides CuCN, AgCN, and AuCN using coupled cluster methods and sequences of correlation consistent basis sets. The explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12b method is used for the potential energy surfaces (PESs) with inclusion of core correlation, and is combined with contributions from molecular spin-orbit coupling, scalar relativity, and effects due to higher order electron correlation. The resulting composite PESs are used in both perturbative and variational calculations of the ro-vibrational spectra. In addition to accurate equilibrium geometries, the ro-vibrational spectra are predicted, which are found to be relatively intense in the 200-600 cm(-1) range due to the bending and metal-carbon stretching modes. The CN stretch near 2165 cm(-1) is also predicted to carry enough intensity to allow its observation by experiment. A strong Fermi-resonance is predicted between the first overtone of the bend and the fundamental of the metal-carbon stretch for both CuCN and AgCN. The heats of formation at 0 K are predicted from their calculated atomization energies to be 89.8, 88.6, and 104.5 kcal  mol(-1) for CuCN, AgCN, and AuCN, respectively.