A rational reduction of CI expansions: combining localized molecular orbitals and selected charge excitations.

Based on localized molecular orbitals, the proposed method reduces large configuration interaction (CI) spaces while maintaining agreement with reference values. Our strategy concentrates the numerical effort on physically pertinent CI-contributions and is to be considered as a tool to tackle large systems including numerous open-shells. To show the efficiency of our method we consider two 4-electron parent systems. First, we illustrate our approach by describing the van der Waals interactions in the (H2)2 system. By systematically including local correlation, dispersion and charge transfer mechanisms, we show that 90% of the reference full CI dissociation energy of the H2 dimer is reproduced using only 3% of the full CI space. Second, the conformational cis/trans rotation barrier of the butadiene molecule is remarkably reproduced (97% of the reference value) with less than 1% of the reference space. This work paves the way to numerical strategies which afford the electronic structure determination of large open-shell systems avoiding the exponential limitation. At the same time, a physical analysis of the contents of the wave function is offered.

Charge transfer processes: the role of optimized molecular orbitals.

The influence of the molecular orbitals on charge transfer (CT) reactions is analyzed through wave function-based calculations. Characteristic CT processes in the organic radical 2,5-di-tert-butyl-6-oxophenalenoxyl linked with tetrathiafulvalene and the inorganic crystalline material LaMnO3 show that changes in the inner shells must be explicitly taken into account. Such electronic reorganization can lead to a reduction of the CT vertical transition energy up to 66%. A state-specific approach accessible through an adapted CASSCF (complete active space self-consistent field) methodology is capable of reaching good agreement with the experimental spectroscopy of CT processes. A partitioning of the relaxation energy in terms of valence- and inner-shells is offered and sheds light on their relative importance. This work paves the way to the intimate description of redox reactions using quantum chemistry methods.

Switching magnetic interactions in the NiFe Prussian Blue Analogue: an ab initio inspection.

The magnetic interaction in the Ni(ii)-Fe(iii) Prussian Blue Analogue is investigated by means of Difference Dedicated Configuration Interaction (DDCI) calculations. Embedded cluster calculations are performed to extract the exchange coupling constant J with respect to an opening of the Ni-NC-Fe bridge while maintaining a rigid Fe(CN)6 unit. It is shown that such active distortion significantly modifies the magnetic interaction scheme in the material. Not only a ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition is observed, but the J value is varied from +11.4 cm(-1) to -12.5 cm(-1) when the Ni-Fe cyanide bridge is opened by 20°. The enhancement of the intersite hopping electron transfer integral by a factor of 1.5 can be correlated with the observed Na(+)-ion mobility in a unified "cation-coupled electron transfer" (CCET) process. These results stress the complexity and originality of this class of compounds evidenced by the versatility of their magnetic network.