Ammonia Solvation of Alkaline Earth Dications: Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II), and Ba(II); Hybrid Density Functional Theory Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics Studies.

Structural and dynamical properties of Sr2+ and Ba2+ dications in ammonia microsolvation environments were studied through hybrid density functional theory Born-Oppenhemier molecular dynamics of [Sr(NH3)n]2+ and [Ba(NH3)n]2+ clusters with n = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 27. The largest cluster models were used to explore bulk phase solvation of Sr2+ and Ba2+ in liquid ammonia for which experimental data are available. Results are discussed in the light of previous results obtained for the [Mg(NH3)n]2+ and [Ca(NH3)n]2+ systems with the same methodology. Vibrational and EXAFS spectra are reported for the first time for [Sr(NH3)n]2+ and [Ba(NH3)n]2+ systems. It was found that alkaline earth dications have coordination numbers (CN) in ammonia as follows: Mg2+ (6) < Ca2+ (8) < Sr2+ (8.3) < Ba2+ (9.4). The coordination structures found turn out to be rather flexible with CN greater than six and these structures depart from the simple geometry of hexamine in the solid phase.

Mg(II) and Ca(II) Microsolvation by Ammonia: Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics Studies.

We report the structural and energetic features of the Mg2+ and Ca2+ cations in ammonia microsolvation environments. Born-Oppenhemier molecular dynamics studies are carried out for [Mg(NH3)n]2+ and [Ca(NH3)n]2+ clusters with n = 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 20, and 27 at 300 K based on hybrid density functional theory calculations. We determine binding energies per ammonia molecule and the metal cation solvation patterns as a function of the number of molecules. The general trend for Mg2+ is that the Mg-N distances increase as a function of n until the first solvation shell is populated by six ammonia molecules, and then the distances slightly decrease while CN = 6 does not change. For Ca2+, the first solvation shell at room temperature is populated by eight ammonia molecules for clusters with more than one solvation shell, leading to a different structure from that of [Ca(NH3)6]2+ hexamine. The evaporation of NH3 molecules was found at 300 K only for Mg2+ clusters with n ≥ 10; this was not the case for Ca2+ clusters. Vibrational spectra are obtained for all of the clusters, and the evolution of the main features is discussed. EXAFS spectra are also presented for the [Mg(NH3)27(NH3)27]2+ and [Ca(NH3)27]2+ clusters, which yield valuable data to be compared with experimental data in the liquid phase, as previously done for the aqueous solvation of these dications.

On the aqueous solvation of AsO(OH)3vs. As(OH)3. Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics density functional theory cluster studies.

While arsenous acid, As(OH)3, has been the subject of a plethora of studies due to its worldwide ubiquity and its toxicity, pentavalent As in the form of arsenic acid, AsO(OH)3, has recently been found in rivers in central Mexico as the most abundant naturally occurring arsenic species. To better understand the solvation patterns of both toxic acids at the molecular level, we report the results of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations on the aqueous solvation of the AsO(OH)3 and As(OH)3 molecules at room temperature using the cluster microsolvation approach including 30 water molecules at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of theory. We found that the average per-molecule water binding energy is ca. 1 kcal mol-1 larger for the As(v) species as compared to the As(iii) one. To account for the asymmetry of both molecules, the hydration patterns were studied separately for a "lower" hemisphere, defined by the initially protonated oxygens, and for the opposite "upper" hemisphere. Similar lower hydration patterns were found for both As(iii) and As(v), with the same coordination number CN = 7. The upper pattern for As(iii) was found to be of a hydrophobic type, whereas that for As(v) showed the fourth oxygen to be hydrogen-bonded to the water network, yielding CN = 3.7; moreover, a proton "hopped" from the lower to the upper side, through the Grotthuss mechanism. Theoretical EXAFS spectra were obtained that showed good agreement with experimental data for As(iii) and As(v) in liquid water, albeit with somewhat longer As-O distances due to the level of theory employed. Proton transfer processes were also addressed; we found that the singly deprotonated H2AsO3- species largely dominated (99% of the simulation) for the As(iii) case, and that the deprotonated H2AsO4- and HAsO42- species were almost equally present (45% and 55%, respectively) for the As(v) case, which is in line with the experimental data pKa1 = 2.24 and pKa2 = 6.96. Through vibrational analysis the features of the Eigen and Zundel ions were found in the spectra of the microsolvated As(iii) and As(v) species, in good agreement with experimental data in aqueous solutions.

Aqueous solvation of Mg(ii) and Ca(ii): A Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics study of microhydrated gas phase clusters.

The hydration features of [Mg(H2O)n]2+ and [Ca(H2O)n]2+ clusters with n = 3-6, 8, 18, and 27 were studied by means of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level of theory. For both ions, it is energetically more favorable to have all water molecules in the first hydration shell when n ≤ 6, but stable lower coordination average structures with one water molecule not directly interacting with the ion were found for Mg2+ at room temperature, showing signatures of proton transfer events for the smaller cation but not for the larger one. A more rigid octahedral-type structure for Mg2+ than for Ca2+ was observed in all simulations, with no exchange of water molecules to the second hydration shell. Significant thermal effects on the average structure of clusters were found: while static optimizations lead to compact, spherically symmetric hydration geometries, the effects introduced by finite-temperature dynamics yield more prolate configurations. The calculated vibrational spectra are in agreement with infrared spectroscopy results. Previous studies proposed an increase in the coordination number (CN) from six to eight water molecules for [Ca(H2O)n]2+ clusters when n ≥ 12; however, in agreement with recent measurements of binding energies, no transition to a larger CN was found when n > 8. Moreover, the excellent agreement found between the calculated extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy spectra for the larger cluster and the experimental data of the aqueous solution supports a CN of six for Ca2+.

Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics studies of Pb(ii) micro hydrated gas phase clusters.

In this work, a theoretical investigation was made to assess the coordination properties of Pb(ii) in [Pb(H2O)n]2+ clusters, with n = 4, 6, 8, 12, and 29, as well as to study proton transfer events, by means of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ-pp/6-311G level of theory, that were calibrated in comparison with B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ-PP/aug-cc-pVDZ calculations. Hemidirected configurations were found in all cases; the radial distribution functions (RDFs) produced well defined first hydration shells (FHSs) for n = 4,6,8, and 12, that resulted in a coordination number CN = 4, whereas a clear-cut FHS was not found for n = 29 because the RDF did not have a vacant region after the first maximum; however, three water molecules remained directly interacting with the Pb ion for the whole simulation, while six others stayed at average distances shorter than 4 Å but dynamically getting closer and farther, thus producing a CN ranging from 6 to 9, depending on the criterion used to define the first hydration shell. In agreement with experimental data and previous calculations, proton transfer events were observed for n≤8 but not for n≥12. For an event to occur, a water molecule in the second hydration shell had to make a single hydrogen bond with a water molecule in the first hydration shell.

Antiferromagnetic vs. non-magnetic ε phase of solid oxygen. Periodic density functional theory studies using a localized atomic basis set and the role of exact exchange.

The question of the non-magnetic (NM) vs. antiferromagnetic (AF) nature of the ε phase of solid oxygen is a matter of great interest and continuing debate. In particular, it has been proposed that the ε phase is actually composed of two phases, a low-pressure AF ε1 phase and a higher pressure NM ε0 phase [Crespo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2014, 111, 10427]. We address this problem through periodic spin-restricted and spin-polarized Kohn-Sham density functional theory calculations at pressures from 10 to 50 GPa using calibrated GGA and hybrid exchange-correlation functionals with Gaussian atomic basis sets. The two possible configurations for the antiferromagnetic (AF1 and AF2) coupling of the 0 ≤ S ≤ 1 O2 molecules in the (O2)4 unit cell were studied. Full enthalpy-driven geometry optimizations of the (O2)4 unit cells were done to study the pressure evolution of the enthalpy difference between the non-magnetic and both antiferromagnetic structures. We also address the evolution of structural parameters and the spin-per-molecule vs. pressure. We find that the spin-less solution becomes more stable than both AF structures above 50 GPa and, crucially, the spin-less solution yields lattice parameters in much better agreement with experimental data at all pressures than the AF structures. The optimized AF2 broken-symmetry structures lead to large errors of the a and b lattice parameters when compared with experiments. The results for the NM model are in much better agreement with the experimental data than those found for both AF models and are consistent with a completely non-magnetic (O2)4 unit cell for the low-pressure regime of the ε phase.

Understanding the ε and ζ High-Pressure Solid Phases of Oxygen. Systematic Periodic Density Functional Theory Studies Using Localized Atomic Basis.

The experimentally characterized ε and ζ phases of solid oxygen are studied by periodic Hartree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory calculations at pressures from 10 to 160 GPa using different types of exchange-correlation functionals with Gaussian atomic basis sets. Full geometry optimizations of the monoclinic C2/m (O2)4 unit cell were done to study the evolution of the structural and electronic properties with pressure. Vibrational calculations were performed at each pressure. While periodic HF does not predict the ε-ζ phase transition in the considered range, Local Density approximation and Generalized Gradient approximation methods predict too low transition pressures. The performance of hybrid functional methods is dependent on the amount of non-local HF exchange. PBE0, M06, B3PW91, and B3LYP approaches correctly predict the structural and electronic changes associated with the phase transition. GGA and hybrid functionals predict a pressure range where both phases coexist, but only the latter type of methods yield results in agreement with experiment. Using the optimized (O2)4 unit cell at each pressure we show, through CASSCF(8,8) calculations, that the greater accuracy of the optimized geometrical parameters with increasing pressure is due to a decreasing multireference character of the unit cell wave function. The mechanism of the transition from the non-conducting to the conducting ζ phase is explained through the Electron Pair Localization Function, which clearly reveals chemical bonding between O2 molecules in the ab crystal planes belonging to different unit cells due to much shorter intercell O2-O2 distances.

Aqueous microsolvation of CdCl2: density functional theory and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics studies.

We report a systematic study of aqueous microsolvation of CdCl2. The optimized structures and binding energies of the CdCl2-(H2O)n clusters with n = 1-24 have been computed at the B3PW91/6-31G** level. The solvation patterns obtained at the DFT level are verified at the MP2/AVTZ level for n < 6. Unlike HgCl2-(H2O)n case, where there are at most three Hg-O(w) orbital interactions, Cd also establishes four equatorial orbital interactions with water for n > 6 leading to a planar square bipyramid hexacoordination around Cd. The first solvation shell is fully attained with 12 water molecules. At the same level of theory the water binding energies are much larger than those previously found for HgCl2 due to the stronger Cd-O(w) interactions arising from the smaller core of Cd. For the largest system studied, CdCl2-(H2O)24, both penta- and hexa-coordination stable patterns around Cd are found. However, Born-Opphenheimer molecular dynamics simulations starting from these optimized geometries at 700 K reveal the greater stability of the Cd-pentacoordinated species, where a CdCl2-(H2O)3 trigonal bipyramid effective solute appears. The Cd-O(water) radial distribution function shows a bimodal distribution with two maxima at 2.4 Å and 4.2 Å, revealing the different coordination spheres, even with such a small number of solvating water molecules.

Aqueous solvation of HgClOH. Stepwise DFT solvation and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics studies of the HgClOH-(H2O)24 complex.

We address the aqueous solvation of HgClOH through a systematic study of stepwise hydration considering the HgClOH-(H2O)n structures with n = 1-24. After calibration of the DFT method, the electronic calculations have been carried out using the B3PW91 exchange-correlation functional. For n < 5 the main geometrical parameters and incremental binding energies are in agreement with counterpoise-corrected MP2/AVTZ static values and BO-MP2 dynamic averages. For n > 15 three direct water-Hg interactions appear during the hydration process and a pentacoordinated trigonal bipyramid apical pattern around Hg is found. 22 water molecules are needed to build the first solvation shell. Unlike microsolvated HgCl2, no stable equatorial trigonal bipyramid was found. Optimizations with the Polarizable Continuum Model lead to structures with extremely large Hg-O(water) distances because of a dominant solvation effect on the explicit water molecules; however, this overestimation diminishes for large values of n. A DFT Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation at T = 700 K revealed the stability of the HgClOH-(H2O)24 complex with an average trigonal bipyramid Hg-coordination pattern, in accordance with the static cluster description. After thermalization is achieved, the exchange rate of the Hg-coordinated water molecules is estimated to be ca. 10(11) s(-1).

Aqueous solvation of Hg(OH)2: energetic and dynamical density functional theory studies of the Hg(OH)2-(H2O)n (n = 1-24) structures.

A systematic study of the hydration of Hg(OH)2 by the stepwise solvation approach is reported. The optimized structures, solvation energies, and incremental free energies of 1-24 water molecules interacting with the solute have been computed at the B3PW91 level using 6-31G(d,p) basis sets for the O and H atoms. The mercury atom was treated with the Stuttgart-Köln relativistic core potential in combination with an extended optimized valence basis set. One to three direct Hg-water interactions appear along the solvation process. The first solvation shell is fully formed with 24 water molecules. A stable pentacoordinated Hg trigonal bipyramid structure appears for n > 15. Density functional theory (DFT) Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations showed the thermal stability of the Hg(OH)2-(H2O)24 structure at room temperature and the persistence of the trigonal bipyramid coordination around Hg. The Gibbs free energy for the first solvation shell is significantly larger for the fully solvated Hg(OH)2 than the one previously obtained for the HgCl2 case, due to σ-acceptor and π-donor properties involving the hydroxyl groups of the solute. This suggests that the transmembrane passage of Hg(OH)2 into the cell via simple diffusion is less favorable compared to the case when the metal is coordinated with two Cl groups.

On the stability of the cuboid singlet (S2)4 supermolecule: benchmark ab initio studies.

We report high level ab initio supermolecular calculations for the cuboid structure of the disulfur tetramer, (S2)4. Accurate geometries and interaction energies with respect to 4S2 ((3)Σg (-)) were obtained using four different methods, Möller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), complete-active-space SCF (CASSCF) + complete active space second-order perturbation (CASPT2), RCCSD(T), and a hybrid CASPT2(singlet-nonet)∕RCCSD(T)-nonet approach with systematic sequences of augmented correlation-consistent basis sets extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. Unlike the van der Waals-like (O2)4 cluster, (S2)4 is found to be much more chemically bound. Our best estimate of the dissociation energy to four S2 molecules is 65 kcal∕mol including the counterpoise correction and an intermolecular distance of 2.74 Å. The singlet ground state of (S2)4 is much less multiconfigurational than that of (O2)4 van der Waals complex, which allows a reliable CCSD(T) description of the singlet potential energy surface of the supermolecule around its equilibrium geometry. The electron pair localization function clearly reveals electron pairing between the S2 units in the complex at the ROHF and the CASSCF∕aug-cc-pVTZ levels. Vibrational analysis at the MP2∕cc-pV(D,T,Q)Z,aug-cc-pVTZ levels yield stable cuboid structures; however, at the CCSD∕aug-cc-pV(D,T)Z levels this analysis reveals a transition state with one imaginary frequency. Thus, further multireference-based studies with large basis sets are required to reliably settle the stability issue for this supermolecular sulfur species.

Theoretical study of the aqueous solvation of HgCl2: Monte Carlo simulations using second-order Moller-Plesset-derived flexible polarizable interaction potentials.

A study of the solvation of HgCl(2) including ab initio aggregates of up to 24 water molecules and the results of extensive Monte Carlo simulations for the liquid phase using MP2-derived interaction potentials is presented. The interaction potentials are flexible, polarizable, and include non-additive effects. We conclude that a cluster description of the solvation mechanism is limited when compared to the condensed phase. The molecular image derived from the MC simulations is peculiar. It resembles that of a hydrophobic solute, which explains the rather easy passage of this neutral molecule through the cell membrane; however, it also shows an intermittent binding of one, two, or three water molecules to HgCl(2) in the fashion of a hydrophilic solute.

On the stability of Be3: a benchmark complete active space self-consistent field + averaged quadratic coupled cluster study.

The optimized geometries and binding energies for the linear and triangular isomers of the beryllium trimer have been obtained through benchmark multireference averaged quadratic coupled cluster (AQCC) calculations using very large complete active space SCF (CASSCF) references (12 active electrons in 13 and 14 orbitals). Geometries were optimized with the cc-pV5Z basis, while the binding energies (including counterpoise correction) were obtained with the significantly larger aug-cc-pV5Z basis set. The binding energies (27.3 and 16.3 kcal/mol for the equilateral and linear isomers, respectively) are larger than the previous full CI benchmark values, while the corresponding Be-Be equilibrium distances of 4.101 and 4.088 a.u. are smaller. In view of the near-size consistency character of the CASSCF + AQCC method, the fact that all 12 electrons are fully correlated, the active reference space includes 14 orbitals, and the very large basis set used here, we propose to consider these results as reference data for Be(3). Using the electron pair localization function obtained at the CASSCF(12,15) level, it is clearly illustrated that the 2p orbitals lying in the molecular plane play a dominant role in the bonding pattern for the equilateral isomer.

Ab initio molecular dynamics studies of tetrasulfur. Dynamics coupling the C2v open and D2h closed forms of S4.

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations were performed on the closed D(2h) and open C(2v) isomers of tetrasulfur. After a careful calibration of the electronic structure method, the calculations were done using the BPW91/aug-cc-pVTZ method. This combination of method/basis set adequately reproduces the relative benchmark CCSD(T) energy difference [Matus, M.; Dixon, D.; Peterson, K. A.; Harkless, J. A. W.; Francisco, J. S. J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 127, 174305] between these two isomers and, crucially, the fact that the D(2h) structure is a transition state linking two equivalent (mirror images) C(2v) isomers. The trajectories show that the symmetric open C(2v) isomers interconvert when passing through the D(2h) closed transition state structure and that, unlike tetraoxygen, no three-dimensional structures arise. The dynamic vibrational analysis yields peaks in good agreement with the static CCSD(T) harmonic frequencies and explains higher peaks as overtones, thus showing that unlike previous AIMD DFT-based approaches, carefully calibrated exchange-correlation functionals can produce reliable molecular dynamics results for complex PESs as the one corresponding to the lowest singlet of S(4).

Aqueous solvation of As(OH)3: a Monte Carlo study with flexible polarizable classical interaction potentials.

A theoretical study of the hydration of arsenious acid is presented. This study included ab initio calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. The model potentials used for the simulations were ab initio derived and they include polarizability, nonadditivity, and molecular relaxation. It is shown that with these refined potentials it is possible to reproduce the available experimental evidence and therefore permit the study of clusters, as well as of the hydration process in solution. From the study of stepwise hydration and the Monte Carlo simulation of the condensed phase it is concluded that As(OH)(3) presents a hydration scheme similar to an amphipathic molecule. This phenomenon is explained as due to the existence of both a positive electrostatic potential and a localized lone pair in the vicinity of As. These results are used to rationalize the known passage of As(OH)(3) through aqua-glyceroporines.

Periodic density functional theory calculations for 3-dimensional polyacetylene with empirical dispersion terms.

We report periodic B3LYP density functional theory calculations for three-dimensional (3D) trans-polyacetylene (t-PA) fibers. Empirical dispersion terms, as proposed by Grimme, are included with an appropriate re-scaling to yield the B3LYP+D* method implemented in CRYSTAL06. The dispersion corrections are critical for obtaining correct unit cell parameters. In our calculations the out-of-phase P2(1)/n structure turns out to be a transition state for the interchain relative translational motion, which lies about 0.35 kcal mol(-1) above the two symmetrically located in-phase P2(1)/a minima. These results provide a possible new explanation for the observed XRD intensities. Our calculations should also be useful for comparison with more costly non-empirical treatments of 3D PA and other pi-conjugated polymers.

Ab initio study of the spectroscopy of AgBr: a CASSCF + Averaged Coupled Pair Functional approach to the lowest excited states including spin-orbit couplings.

The nine lowest-lying singlet and triplet (X (1)Sigma(+), 2 (1)Sigma(+), 3 (1)Sigma(+), (3)Sigma(+), 1 (3,1)Pi, 2 (3)Pi, and (3,1)Delta) electronic states of AgBr were studied through state-specific Complete Active Space Self-Consistent Field with 16 active electrons in 12 orbitals followed by extensive Averaged Coupled Pair Functional and CIPT2 calculations with large optimized valence basis sets. The spin-orbit effects were included to obtain the Omega fine-structure states arising from the |Lambda S Sigma> parents. Even before the inclusion of the spin-orbit effects, the 2 (1)Sigma(+) and 3 (1)Sigma(+) states present shallow minima near the equilibrium geometry of the ground state. The 2 (1)Sigma(+) state has another minimum around 8.0 a.u. and is attractive up to 20 a.u. The lowest (3,1)Pi states were found to be totally repulsive while the (3,1)Delta states present deep minima around 4.8 a.u. Most of the calculated spectroscopic constants for the ground and B states are slightly improved with respect to the previous theoretical study using the much smaller CASSCF(16,10) reference wave functions [M. Guichemerre et al., Chem. Phys. 280, 71 (2002)]. The observed B<--X transition is confirmed as arising from the singlet-to-singlet 0(+)(2 (1)Sigma(+))<--0(+)(X (1)Sigma(+)) excitation around 31 900 cm(-1). However, at variance with the previous theoretical prediction, the C(Omega=0(+)) state is dominated around the equilibrium geometry of the ground state by the third (1)Sigma(+) state with a small contribution from the 2 (3)Pi state around 43,500 cm(-1); thus the X-C excitation is now explained as arising also from a singlet-to-singlet spin-allowed transition.

Periodic density functional theory studies of Li-doped polythiophene: dependence of electronic and structural properties on dopant concentration.

We report periodic B3LYP6-31G(**) density functional theory calculations on Li-doped polythiophene at various dopant concentrations using (SC(4)H(2))(m)Li(2) unit cells for m=2, 6, and 10. Uniform doping by Li atoms and by pairs of Li atoms on adjacent thiophene rings are considered with the primary aim of comparing polaron versus bipolaron properties. Properties examined include geometries, charge distributions, polaron/bipolaron formation energies, dopant binding energies, band structures, and densities of states.

On the performance of local, semilocal, and nonlocal exchange-correlation functionals on transition metal molecules.

The lowest singlet-triplet transition (X (1)Sigma+-(3)Sigma+) of AgI has been used to study systematically the performance of local [local density approximation (LDA)], semilocal [generalized gradient approximation (GGA)], and nonlocal (semiempiric hybrid and meta)-type exchange-correlation functionals on a transition metal molecule where dynamic electronic correlation effects are essential. Previous benchmark ab initio calculations showed that the triplet ground state possesses a shallow well in the Franck-Condon region before becoming repulsive at longer internuclear distance [A. Ramirez-Solis, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 104 (2003)]. Several density functional theory (DFT) descriptions are compared with the benchmark complete active space self-consistent-field+averaged coupled pair functional results, using the same relativistic effective core potentials and optimized Gaussian basis sets. A rather unreliable performance of exchange-correlation functionals was found when ascending the various rungs in DFT Jacob's ladder for this complex molecule. While some of the simpler (LDA and GGA) functionals correctly predict the presence of a short-distance maximum for the (3)Sigma+ state, more sophisticated hybrid and meta-functionals lead to totally repulsive or oscillating curves for the ground triplet state. A thorough discussion addressing the local versus nonlocal character of the exchange and correlation effects on the triplet potential curve is presented. The author concludes that any new efforts directed at producing more accurate exchange-correlation functionals must take into account the more complex electronic structure arising in transition metal molecules, whether these efforts follow the dominant pragmatic semiempiric trend or the more philosophically correct nonempiric pathway to develop better exchange-correlation functionals; only then will the Kohn-Sham version of DFT make the necessary improvements to correctly describe the electronic structure of complex transition metal systems.

New nonsymmetric P(OH)3 species. Comparison with the C3 isomer and themochemistry at the DFT, MP2, and CCSD(T) levels of theory.

Two new less-symmetric P(OH)3 isomers that are more stable than the C3 structure are found at the density functional theory (B3PW91, B3LYP), MP2, and CCSD(T) levels with the large aug-cc-pvdz/pvtz basis sets. The C1 and C3 structures are qualitatively different from those found for the As(OH)3 molecule. An additional lower lying P(OH)3 structure with Cs symmetry has been obtained. With the largest basis set the Cs isomer is predicted to be the most stable. However, the inclusion of zero-point-energy corrections induces an inversion between the Cs and C1 isomers, with the latter becoming the lowest energy structure at the highest correlated level. Increasing inclusion of electronic correlation effects reduces the energy difference between the C1 and Cs structures while the C1-C3 energy difference and C1-Cs interconversion barrier become larger. In all cases, energy differences and barrier heights are around 1 kcal/mol.