Re: CCL:Charges/bond-breaking



Dear Simon,
 If you are using HF(Hartree-Fock) or DFT methodology, I will recommend UHF
 calculations, since like H2 (see A. Szabo et N. S. Ostlund, Modern Quantum
 Chemistry, Introduction to Advanced Electronic Structure Theory, Mc
 Graw-Hill, New-York, 1989), one single electron is localized on each atom.
 A RHF calculation will produce an overestimated energy (beginning a given
 interatomic distance, not at the stable structure) since it will force the
 two electrons (for H2) to be in the same molecular orbital.
 I will recommend too to take into account the effect of the correlation:
 MP2 (or n) or CI (if you can) for Hartree-Fock; for DFT techniques,
 correlations are taken into account (even at VWN level of calculations),
 the best will be (I think) Becke+Lee-Yang-Parr (gradient correction
 methods). The aim is to take into account different possible states (the
 fact that one electron could be on one level of energy or one other, with
 the HF point of view) in the global wave function.
 Take the same procedure to calculate all your potential energy surfaces, so
 that all energies can be comparable, for calculating energy reactions, or
 energy barriers for the dissociations.
 That is all I can say, at the moment, roughly speaking. Tell me if I am
 wrong. I am very interested in sharing with you, if it is possible, all the
 replies you could receive.
 Thank you in advance.
 Regards,
 Frederic Bouyer
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