Molecules population analysis

A much less basis set dependent method is to analyze the total electron density. This is called the atoms in molecules (AIM) method. It is designed to examine the small effects due to bonding in the primarily featureless electron density. This is done by examining the gradient and Laplacian of electron density. AIM analysis incorporates a number of graphic analysis techniques as well as population analysis. The population analysis will be discussed here and the graphic techniques in the next chapter. 

Vector quantities, such as a magnetic field or the gradient of electron density, can be plotted as a series of arrows. Another technique is to create an animation showing how the path is followed by a hypothetical test particle. A third technique is to show flow lines, which are the path of steepest descent starting from one point. The flow lines from the bond critical points are used to partition regions of the molecule in the AIM population analysis scheme. 

Molecular descriptors must then be computed. Any numerical value that describes the molecule could be used. Many descriptors are obtained from molecular mechanics or semiempirical calculations. Energies, population analysis, and vibrational frequency analysis with its associated thermodynamic quantities are often obtained this way. Ah initio results can be used reliably, but are often avoided due to the large amount of computation necessary. The largest percentage of descriptors are easily determined values, such as molecular weights, topological indexes, moments of inertia, and so on. Table 30.1 lists some of the descriptors that have been found to be useful in previous studies. These are discussed in more detail in the review articles listed in the bibliography. 

AIM (atoms in molecules) a population analysis technique AMI (Austin model 1) a semiempirical method... 

By default, Gaussian jobs perform a Mulliken population analysis, which partitions the total charge among the atoms in the molecule. Here is the key part of output for formaldehyde ... 

A iMuiliken population analysis foibw > ifre SCF energy results. This analysis partitions the charge on the molecule by atom. 

In Chapter 3, we studied the topic of population analysis. In population analysis, we attempt a rough-and-ready numerical division of the electron density into atom and bond regions. In Mulliken theory, the bond contributions are divided up equally between the contributing atoms, giving the net charges. The aim of the present section is to answer the questions Are there atoms in Molecules , and if so, How can they be defined . According to Bader and coworkers (Bader, 1990) the answers to both questions are affirmative, and the boundaries of these atoms are determined by a particular property of the electron density. 

Table 8 gives the complete population analysis for these molecules. Propane has been added for the same reason for which methane was considered above. Figure 14 gives the MOs of dimethyl sulphoxide, and Figure 15 the topmost ones of dimethyl sulphone. 

Table 9 shows the PP MO results for this interesting series of highly strained three-membered cyclic molecules. Here a detailed comparison is possible with the best results of an all-electron study, including d functions10 (also reported in Table 9). An analysis of this table reveals how all trends in population analysis, both in charges and overlap populations, are the same in the AE + d and in the simple PP calculations, with very few and very minor exceptions. PP predicts a charge donation to the aliphatic groups, while AE predicts a withdrawal, mainly due to the availability of d orbitals on sulphur, which can allocate extra electronic charge. As outlined in the general notes on population analysis (Section III.D) comparisons should be carried out on a relative basis and,...

The quality of the ) states has been tested through their energy and also their transition moment. Moreover from the natural orbitals and Mulliken populations analysis, we have determined the predominant electronic configuration of each ) state and its Rydberg character. Such an analysis is particularly interesting since it explains the contribution of each ) to the calculation of the static or dynamic polarizability it allows a better understanding in the case of the CO molecule the difficulty of the calculation and the wide range of published values for the parallel component while the computation of the perpendicular component is easier. In effect in the case of CO ... 

A significant development in the FRET imaging field has been the systematic implementation of spectral resolution [15-20], including D-A population analysis [8, 19] (see also Chapter 8), often in the context of single-molecule determinations [21-26] see focus issue on this subject, Nature Methods, June 2008. Invariably, photobleaching phenomena [21, 27, 28] intervene either as a hindrance (that can be minimized, CLEM [29]) or a facilitation of the FRET determination [1, 30], The equally important issue of background suppression or compensation can be achieved by novel means photon-free (bio)chemical instead of photonic excitation... 

A common simplification of the Fukui function is to condense its values to individual atoms in the molecule [33]. That is, through the use of a particular population analysis, one can determine the number of electrons associated with every atom in the molecule. The condensed Fukui functions is then determined... 

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