Environment, density functional theory

J Li, MR Nelson, CY Peng, D Bashford, L Noodleman. Incorporating protein environments in density functional theory A self-consistent reaction field calculation of redox potentials of [2Ee2S] clusters in feiTedoxm and phthalate dioxygenase reductase. J Phys Chem A 102 6311-6324, 1998. 

A new transition-state-searching algorithm was used to determine the mechanism for methanol condensation to form dimethyl ether within the microporous environment of the zeolite, chabazite, using periodic boundary conditions and density functional theory. An acid site in the zeolite produces MeOH2+ for nucleophilic attack by a second adsorbed MeOH molecule. 

Our present focus is on density functional theory and coupled cluster methods for describing molecular systems interacting with a structured environment, and we focus on the derivation of linear response properties and compare the expressions that we obtain for the two different electronic structure methods. Based on linear response... 

First principles approaches are important as they avoid many of the pitfalls associated with using parameterized descriptions of the interatomic interactions. Additionally, simulation of chemical reactivity, reactions and reaction kinetics really requires electronic structure calculations [108]. However, such calculations were traditionally limited in applicability to rather simplistic models. Developments in density functional theory are now broadening the scope of what is viable. Car-Parrinello first principles molecular dynamics are now being applied to real zeolite models [109,110], and the combined use of classical and quantum mechanical methods allows quantum chemical methods to be applied to cluster models embedded in a simpler description of the zeoUte cluster environment [105,111]. 

Finally, can we dare to ask what is the future of first-principle MD It would be hard to be highly predictive. However we would like to quote the following directions of research QM/MM methods to treat quantum systems in an environment [92-94,225,226,269-272], Gaussian basis sets [23,30,38, 63,110,172] or Gaussian augmented plane waves methods [168] in search for order N methods [273,274] etc. Also, in order to go beyond Density Functional Theory, Quantum-Monte Carlo techniques are very attractive [119]. Some of these topics are already well-advanced and are discussed here in this book. 

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