Queen's University - Utility Bar

QSpace at Queen's University >
Theses, Dissertations & Graduate Projects >
Queen's Theses & Dissertations >

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/926

Title: A density-functional theory including dispersion interactions
Authors: Johnson, Erin R.

Files in This Item:

File Description SizeFormat
Johnson_Erin_R_200711_PhD.pdf12.87 MBAdobe PDFView/Open
Keywords: Density functional theory
Intermolecular interactions
Issue Date: 2007
Series/Report no.: Canadian theses
Abstract: The London dispersion interaction is responsible for attraction between non-polar molecules and is of great importance in describing structure and reactivity in many areas of chemistry. Dispersion is difficult to model accurately. Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods, widely used in computational chemistry today, do not include the necessary physics. This often leads to qualitatively incorrect predictions when DFT is applied to dispersion-bound systems. A novel DFT method has been developed which is capable of accurately modeling dispersion. Dispersion attraction between molecules arises when an instantaneous dipole moment in one molecule induces a dipole moment in a second molecule. Our approach proposes that the source of these instantaneous dipole moments is the position-dependent dipole moment of the exchange hole. The model is no more computationally expensive than existing DFTs and gives remarkably accurate dispersion coefficients, intermolecular separations, intermolecular binding energies, and intramolecular conformational energies. Our dispersion theory is also combined with previous post-exact-exchange models of dynamical and nondynamical correlation, yielding a unified exact-exchange-based energy functional called DF07. DF07 overcomes many of the outstanding problems in DFT arising from local exchange approximations. The DF07 model is shown to provide highly accurate results for thermochemistry, kinetics, and van der Waals interactions.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-29 21:57:09.045
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/926
Appears in Collections:Queen's Theses & Dissertations
Chemistry Graduate Theses

Items in QSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

 

  DSpace Software Copyright © 2002-2008  The DSpace Foundation - TOP