Chemical reactions self-consistent reaction field studies

Here we give an overview of the current status and perspectives of theoretical treatments of solvent effects based on continuum solvation models where the solute is treated quantum mechanically. It is worth noting that our aim is not to give a detailed description of the physical and mathematical formalisms that underlie the different quantum mechanical self-consistent reaction field (QM-SCRF) models, since these issues have been covered in other contributions to the book. Rather, our goal is to illustrate the features that have contributed to make QM-SCRF continuum methods successful and to discuss their reliability for the study of chemical reactivity in solution. 

Despite the demands presented by such a calculation, a number of researchers have used ab initio models to treat the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom for the quantum motif in molecular mechanics, energy minimization studies. Examples of this include the self-consistant reaction field methods developed by Tapia and coworkers [42-44], which represent only the quantum motif explicitly and use continuum models for the environmental effects (classical and boundary regions), and the methods implemented by Kollman and coworkers [45] in their studies of condensed phase (chemical and biochemical) reaction mechanisms. In both of these implementations the expectation value of the quantum motif Hamiltonian, defined in Eqs. (11) and (14) above, is treated at the Hartree Fock level with relatively small basis sets. 

The theory of solvent-effects and some of its applications have been overviewed. The generalized self-consistent reaction field theory has been used to give a unified approach to quantum chemical calculations of subsystems embedded in a given milieu. The statistical mechanical theory of projected equation of motion has been briefly described. This theory underlies applications of molecular dynamics simulations to the study of solvent and thermal bath effects on carefully defined subsystems of interest. The relationship between different approaches used so far to calculate solvent effects and the general approach advocated by this reviewer has been established. Applications to molecular properties in a time independent framework have been presented. 

Proper inclusion of the solvent into the calculations is unfortunately quite difficult [46]. One can use classical molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo simulations, classical continuum models based on the Poisson-Boltzman equation, and quantum-chemical studies using various variants of the Self Consistent Reaction Field (SCRF) approach at the semiempirical or ab initio level. There are serious approximations associated with these methods. Continuous models neglect the specific solute-solvent interactions which are very important for polar solvent. Classical methods neglect the changes in the electronic structure of the solute due to the solvent effects. These uncertainties can be illustrated using the predicted solvation energy of adenine treated by various modem approaches. The calculated values vary from -8 to -20 kcal/mol [68]. 

In this contribution, we describe and illustrate the latest generalizations and developments[1]-[3] of a theory of recent formulation[4]-[6] for the study of chemical reactions in solution. This theory combines the powerful interpretive framework of Valence Bond (VB) theory [7] — so well known to chemists — with a dielectric continuum description of the solvent. The latter includes the quantization of the solvent electronic polarization[5, 6] and also accounts for nonequilibrium solvation effects. Compared to earlier, related efforts[4]-[6], [8]-[10], the theory [l]-[3] includes the boundary conditions on the solute cavity in a fashion related to that of Tomasi[ll] for equilibrium problems, and can be applied to reaction systems which require more than two VB states for their description, namely bimolecular Sjy2 reactions ],[8](b),[12],[13] X + RY XR + Y, acid ionizations[8](a),[14] HA +B —> A + HB+, and Menschutkin reactions[7](b), among other reactions. Compared to the various reaction field theories in use[ll],[15]-[21] (some of which are discussed in the present volume), the theory is distinguished by its quantization of the solvent electronic polarization (which in general leads to deviations from a Self-consistent limiting behavior), the inclusion of nonequilibrium solvation — so important for chemical reactions, and the VB perspective. Further historical perspective and discussion of connections to other work may be found in Ref.[l],... 

The methodology that uses the dielectric model is instead the simpler and in principle the more suitable for the study of chemical reactions involving large molecular systems. In 1998, Amovilli et al [13] developed a computer code in which the solvent reaction field, including all the basic solute-solvent interactions, has been considered for Complete Active Space Self Consistent Field (CASSCF) calculations. 

The development of multireference methods represents important progress in electronic stmcture theory in the last decades. The multiconfiguration self-consistent field (MCSCF) method, and configuration interaction (Cl), coupled cluster (CC), and perturbation methods based on the MCSCF functions play a central role in the studies of electronic stmcture of molecules and chemical reaction mechanisms, especially in those concerned with electronic excited states. 

Properties of molecules differ considerably in the vacuum and in the presence of solution in the model during the simulation. The effect of solvent is included in the model by numerical representation of the solvent reaction field termed self-consistent reaction field [SCRF] methods [Foresman, 2004]. The polarized continuum model [PCM] is one of such numerical approximations developed by Tomasi [Tomasi and Persico, 1994] and is the most widely used SCRF model to study the effect of solvent in quantum chemical simulations. 

ACES II Anharmonic Molecular Force Fields Bench-mark Studies on Small Molecules Complete Active Space Self-consistent Field (CASSCF) Second-order Perturbation Theory (CASPT2) Configuration Interaction Core-Valence Correlation Effects Coupled-cluster Theory Density Functional Theory (DFT), Hartree-Fock (HF), and the Self-consistent Field G2 Theory Heats of Formation Hybrid Methods Hydrogen Bonding 1 M0ller-Plesset Perturbation Theory NMR Data Correlation with Chemical Structure Photochemistry Proton Affinities r 2 Dependent Wave-functions Rates of Chemical Reactions Reaction Path Following Reaction Path Hamiltonian and its Use for Investigating Reaction Mechanisms Spectroscopy Computational... 

In Chapter 12, we study the related multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) method, in which a simultaneous optimization of orbitals and Cl coefficients is attempted. Although the MCSCF method is incapable of providing accurate energies and wave functions, it is a flexible model, well suited to the study of chemical reactions and excited states. This chapter concentrates on techniques of optimization, a difficult problem in MCSCF theory because of the simultaneous optimization of orbitals and Cl coefficients. 

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