2 research outputs found
Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Compounds: Core-Valence Basis Sets and Importance of Subvalence Correlation
Core-valence basis sets for the alkali and alkaline earth metals Li, Be, Na,
Mg, K, and Ca are proposed. The basis sets are validated by calculating
spectroscopic constants of a variety of diatomic molecules involving these
elements. Neglect of correlation in K and Ca compounds will lead to
erratic results at best, and chemically nonsensical ones if chalcogens or
halogens are present. The addition of low-exponent functions to the K and
Ca basis sets is essential for smooth convergence of molecular properties.
Inclusion of inner-shell correlation is important for accurate spectroscopic
constants and binding energies of all the compounds. In basis set
extrapolation/convergence calculations, the explicit inclusion of alkali and
alkaline earth metal subvalence correlation at all steps is essential for K and
Ca, strongly recommended for Na, and optional for Li and Mg, while in Be
compounds, an additive treatment in a separate `core correlation' step is
probably sufficient. Consideration of inner-shell correlation energy in
first-row elements requires inclusion of `deep core' correlation
energy in K and Ca for consistency. The latter requires special CCVZ `deep
core correlation' basis sets. For compounds involving Ca bound to
electronegative elements, additional functions in the basis set are
strongly recommended. For optimal basis set convergence in such cases, we
suggest the sequence CV(D+3d)Z, CV(T+2d)Z, CV(Q+)Z, and CV5Z on calcium.Comment: Molecular Physics, in press (W. G. Richards issue); supplementary
material (basis sets in G98 and MOLPRO formats) available at
http://theochem.weizmann.ac.il/web/papers/group12.htm