Electron localization in water clusters. I. Electron–water pseudopotential

Hydrogen bonded electrolytes that exhibit accelerated proton transport via sequential reactive hops have drawn interest for their promise in clean energy applications. Molecular dynamics simulations of these electrolytes offer the opportunity to uncover microscopic mechanistic details that could be used to design and tune the properties of candidate electrolyte technologies. However, accurately modeling the proton transfer reactions and transport properties that give rise to high charge conductivites in these electrolytes proves computationally challenging because of the need to perform lengthy condensed phase simulations, treating both the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom quantum mechanically. In this paper, we demonstrate that such a modeling task can be efficiently achieved with the use of density functional theory (DFT)-trained machine learning potentials (MLP) to accelerate path integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) simulations. We highlight the practical utility of this approach by using it to benchmark how closely PIMD simulations employing different DFT exchange-correlation functionals reproduce the composition-dependent densities, diffusion coefficients, and electrical conductivities of mixtures consisting of imidazole and levulinic acid. Even with the speedup afforded by our MLPs, PIMD simulations remain quite expensive. In order to render PIMD more computationally tractable, we introduce and benchmark the accuracy of a ring polymer contraction approach that leverages a computationally efficient short-range MLP to accelerate our PIMD simulations by an additional factor of four.

The dynamics of the K atom attached to the 300-atom helium cluster upon photoexcitation has been studied theoretically based on the quantum molecular dynamics method. With the use of a hybrid method between time-dependent quantum dynamics and semiclassical path integral centroid molecular dynamics, the calculation includes the electronic state mixing for the K(2P) states as well as the quantum motions of helium atoms. It was found from the calculated trajectories that the K atom mostly desorbs by itself from the surface of the helium cluster without depending on the types of initial electronic excited states. It was also found that the K*He exciplex can be formed only as a minor product, following the initial excitation to the Π-type electronic state alone. Helium solvation structures of the K*Hen exciplexes were also investigated by path integral molecular dynamics simulations. The result implies that stable exciplexes can be formed up to n = 6 on the lowest excited state until the first solvation shell around the 4p orbital of K* is completed. Meanwhile, it was found that only two helium atoms can be bound to the K(2P) atom on the second lowest excited state.

We consider the formation of cold diatomic molecules in the electronic ground state by photoassociation of atoms of dissimilar species. A combination of two transition pathways from the free colliding pair of atoms to a bound vibrational level of the electronic molecular ground state is envisioned. The first pathway consists of a pump-dump scheme with two time-delayed laser pulses in the near-infrared frequency domain. The pump pulse drives the transition to a bound vibrational level of an excited electronic state, while the dump pulse transfers the population to a bound vibrational level of the electronic ground state. The second pathway takes advantage of the existing permanent dipole moment and employs a single pulse in the far-infrared domain to drive the transition from the unbound atoms directly to a bound vibrational level in the electronic ground state. We show that this scheme offers the possibility to coherently control the photoassociation yield by manipulating the relative phase and timing of the pulses. The photoassociation mechanism is illustrated for the formation of cold LiCs molecules.

Isolated hydrogen, deuterium, and muonium in diamond have been studied by path-integral molecular dynamics simulations in the canonical ensemble. Finite-temperature properties of these point defects were analyzed in the range from 100 to $800\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Interatomic interactions were modeled by a tight-binding potential fitted to density-functional calculations. The most stable position for these hydrogenic impurities is found at the $\mathrm{C}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{C}$ bond center. Vibrational frequencies have been obtained from a linear-response approach, based on correlations of atom displacements at finite temperatures. The results show a large anharmonic effect in impurity vibrations at the bond center site, which hardens the vibrational modes with respect to a harmonic approximation. Zero-point motion causes an appreciable shift of the defect level in the electronic gap, as a consequence of electron-phonon interaction. This defect level goes down by $70\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{meV}$ when replacing hydrogen by muonium.

Close encounters: The geometric isotope effect (GIE) for the hydrogen bonds in positively and negatively charged ammonia dimers is studied by ab initio path integral MD simulation. The hydrogen-bonded H atom in the N2H7+ cation is located around the center of two N atoms, while the hydrogen-bonded D atom in the N2D7+ cation is closer to one of the N atoms (see figure).

In this paper we explore the mechanisms of cluster isomerization induced by electron attachment to small, neutral Na4Cl4 clusters, with the localization of an excess electron inducing structural configurational changes within the cluster. The constant temperature quantum path integral molecular dynamics method was applied to obtain information of the structure and energetics of the cluster as well as the binding energy and the charge distribution of the excess electron for Na4Cl−4 clusters, over the temperature range of 50–1200 K. The attachment of an excess electron to the ionic cluster induced two types of configurational modifications, which can be traced to the role of the excess electron as a pseudonegative ion and to the partial neutralization of a single cation by the excess electron. Consequently, the induction of isomerization at moderately low temperatures, in conjunction with the appearance of new nuclear configurations of the negative cluster, which have no counterpart in the neutral parent cluster, are exhibited.

Spectroscopic determination of vibrational potential energy surfaces in ground and excited electronic states

The photochemistry of mass selected CO(2) (-)(H2O)(m), m=2-40 cluster anions is investigated using 266 nm photofragment spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Similar to the previous 355 nm experiment [Habteyes et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 424, 268 (2006)], the fragmentation at 266 nm yields two types of anionic products: O(-)(H2O)(m-k) (core-dissociation products) and CO(2) (-)(H2O)(m-k) (solvent-evaporation products). Despite the same product types, different electronic transitions and dissociation mechanisms are implicated at 355 and 266 nm. The 355 nm dissociation is initiated by excitation to the first excited electronic state of the CO(2) (-) cluster core, the 1 (2)B(1)(2A") state, and proceeds via a glancing Renner-Teller intersection with the ground electronic state at a linear geometry. The 266 nm dissociation involves the second excited electronic state of CO(2) (-), the 2 (2)A(1)(2A') state, which exhibits a conical intersection with the 3 (2)B(2)(A') state at a bent geometry. The asymptotic O(-) based products are believed to be formed via this 3 (2)B(2)(A') state. By analyzing the fragmentation results, the bond dissociation energy of CO(2) (-) to O(-)+CO in hydrated clusters (m> or =20) is estimated as 2.49 eV, compared to 3.46 eV for bare CO(2) (-). The enthalpy of evaporation of one water molecule from asymptotically large CO(2) (-)(H(2)O)(m) clusters is determined to be 0.466+/-0.001 eV (45.0+/-0.1 kJ/mol). This result compares very favorably with the heat of evaporation of bulk water, 0.456 eV (43.98 kJ/mol).

Ab initio path integral simulation study on 16O/ 18O isotope effect in water and hydronium ion

The effects of hydration on the structure and vibrational force field of the peptide group were examined by performing ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculations on N-methylacetamide (NMA) and its clusters with up to three water molecules. The dielectric solvent effect was taken into account by the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) method. It is shown that the wavenumbers of NMA are strongly affected by both the dielectric effect and formation of hydrogen bonds. The vibrational force field of NMA in aqueous solution is well described by taking into account the hydrogen bonding of three water molecules and the dielectric effect of the surrounding water solvent. The wavenumber shifts of the amide I, II and III bands induced by formation of hydrogen bonds are approximately additive. There is a strong correlation among the C=O stretching force constant, the C=O bond length and the amide I wavenumber. Calculated changes in the structural parameters induced by hydrogen-bond formation are consistent with changes in the resonance Raman intensities of the amide I, II and III bands. The changes in the C—N and C=O bond lengths induced by hydrogen-bond formation in the excited electronic (21A′) state are opposite from those in the ground electronic (11A′) state. These opposite structural changes between the two electronic states are rationalized by using a simple Hamiltonian based on a two-state model, which describes the vibronic interaction between the two states involving a mode consisting of a linear combination of the C=O stretching and the C—N contraction. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The QM/MM BEST method presented in the first article of this series [M. Shiga and M. Masia, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 044120 (2013)] has been applied herein to simulate the whole series of hydrated alkali ions. In this article we show how to overcome the sampling bottleneck for QM/MM simulations by using our method with multiple time scale algorithm (MTS-BEST). We extend the use of MTS-BEST to ab initio QM/MM path integral molecular dynamics simulations, thus demonstrating that one could obtain a complete quantum description of the primary subsystem based on first principles. We highlight that the MTS-BEST approach could be generally applied to hybrid multiscale simulation of diffusive systems, thus extending its relevance to a broad class of simulation techniques beyond QM/MM. We show that it is important to account for electron correlation to better reproduce the hydration structural properties such as the ion-water radial distribution functions, and the anisotropic angular distributions around the ion.

Starting with separated atoms on the surface of helium clusters 4HeN, and as a first step to assess the formation of rubidium dimers Rb2 in the triplet state, we perform Path Integral Molecular Dynamics simulations in the NVT canonical ensemble. Based on an accurate potential energy surface (PES) for the He–Rb2(3Σ u +) interaction [Guillon et al., J. Chem. Phys. 136, 174307 (2012)], the total PES is analytically described as the addition of pair interactions. The i-PI code [Ceriotti et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 185, 1019 (2014)] was used to perform the simulations. At a temperature of 2 K, clusters containing up to N = 70 helium atoms, with a number up to 200 beads per particle to describe quantum effects, were considered.

The monoprotonated compound N,N',N''-tris(p-tolyl)azacalix[3](2,6)pyridine (TAPH) contains an intramolecular hydrogen bond that is formed from three N atoms in its cavity. Constrained by the macrocyclic molecular structure, the separations between the N atoms in this bifurcated hydrogen bond are about 2.6 Å, considerably shorter than those typically observed for hydrogen bonded systems in the condensed phases. As such, TAPH exhibits significantly elongated N-H lengths in its hydrogen bond and a downfield 1H NMR chemical shift of 22.1 ppm. In this work, we carry out ab initio molecular dynamics and ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulations of TAPH in the acetonitrile solution to reveal the geometry and proton sharing conditions of the bifurcated short hydrogen bond and uncover how the interplay of electronic and nuclear quantum effects gives rise to its far downfield 1H chemical shift. Taking a linear short hydrogen bond as a reference, we demonstrate the distinct features of competing quantum effects and electronic shielding effects in the bifurcated hydrogen bond of TAPH. We further use the degree of deshielding on the proton as a measure of the hydrogen bonding interactions and evaluate the strength of the bifurcated short hydrogen bond as compared to its linear counterpart.

We describe how the fast quasi-centroid molecular dynamics (f-QCMD) method can be applied to condensed-phase systems by approximating the quasi-centroid potential of mean force as a sum of inter- and intramolecular corrections to the classical interaction potential. The corrections are found by using a regularized iterative Boltzmann inversion procedure to recover the inter- and intramolecular quasi-centroid distribution functions obtained from a path integral molecular dynamics simulation. The resulting methodology is found to give good agreement with a previously published QCMD dipole absorption spectrum for liquid water and satisfactory agreement for ice. It also gives good agreement with spectra from a recent implementation of CMD that uses a precomputed elevated temperature potential of mean force. Modern centroid molecular dynamics methods, therefore, appear to be reaching a consensus regarding the impact of nuclear quantum effects on the vibrational spectra of water and ice.

Nuclear quantum effect on intramolecular hydrogen bond of hydrogen maleate anion: An ab initio path integral molecular dynamics study