Effective empirical corrections for basis set superposition error in the def2-SVPD basis: gCP and DFT-C

Abstract

With the aim of mitigating the basis set error in density functional theory (DFT) calculations employing local basis sets, we herein develop two empirical corrections for basis set superposition error (BSSE) in the def2-SVPD basis, a basis which—when stripped of BSSE—is capable of providing near-complete-basis DFT results for non-covalent interactions. Specifically, we adapt the existing pairwise geometrical counterpoise (gCP) approach to the def2-SVPD basis, and we develop a beyond-pairwise approach, DFT-C, which we parameterize across a small set of intermolecular interactions. Both gCP and DFT-C are evaluated against the traditional Boys-Bernardi counterpoise correction across a set of 3402 non-covalent binding energies and isomerization energies. We find that the DFT-C method represents a significant improvement over gCP, particularly for non-covalently-interacting molecular clusters. Moreover, DFT-C is transferable among density functionals and can be combined with existing functionals—such as B97M-V—to recover large-basis results at a fraction of the cost.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 20, 2017
Source ID
10.1063/1.4986962

Entities

People

  • Jeffrey B. Neaton
  • Jonathon Witte
  • Martin Head-Gordon

Organizations

  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • United States Department of Defense
  • United States Department of Energy
  • Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

Tags

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Computer Engineering
  • Quantum Chemistry