TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of solution-phase vibrational frequencies in continuum models for the free energy of solvation
AU - Ribeiro, Raphael F.
AU - Marenich, Aleksandr V.
AU - Cramer, Christopher J.
AU - Truhlar, Donald G.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/12/15
Y1 - 2011/12/15
N2 - We find that vibrational contributions to a solute's free energy are in general insensitive to whether the solute vibrational frequencies are computed in the gas phase or in solution. In most cases, the difference is smaller than the intrinsic error in solvation free energies associated with the continuum approximation to solvation modeling, although care must be taken to avoid spurious results associated with limitations in the quantum-mechanical harmonic-oscillator approximation for very low-frequency molecular vibrations. We compute solute vibrational partition functions in aqueous and carbon tetrachloride solution and compare them to gas-phase molecular partition functions computed with the same level of theory and the same quasiharmonic approximation for the diverse and extensive set of molecules and ions included in the training set of the SMD continuum solvation model, and we find mean unsigned differences in vibrational contributions to the solute free energy of only about 0.2 kcal/mol. On the basis of these results and a review of the theory, we conclude, in contrast to previous work (Ho, J.; Klamt, H.; Coote, M. L.J. Phys. Chem. A 2010, 114, 13442), that using partition functions computed for molecules optimized in solution is a correct and useful approach for averaging over solute degrees of freedom when computing free energies of solutes in solution, and it is moreover recommended for cases where liquid and gas-phase solute structures differ appreciably or when stationary points present in liquid solution do not exist in the gas phase, for which we provide some examples. When gas-phase and solution-phase geometries and frequencies are similar, the use of gas-phase geometries and frequencies is a useful approximation.
AB - We find that vibrational contributions to a solute's free energy are in general insensitive to whether the solute vibrational frequencies are computed in the gas phase or in solution. In most cases, the difference is smaller than the intrinsic error in solvation free energies associated with the continuum approximation to solvation modeling, although care must be taken to avoid spurious results associated with limitations in the quantum-mechanical harmonic-oscillator approximation for very low-frequency molecular vibrations. We compute solute vibrational partition functions in aqueous and carbon tetrachloride solution and compare them to gas-phase molecular partition functions computed with the same level of theory and the same quasiharmonic approximation for the diverse and extensive set of molecules and ions included in the training set of the SMD continuum solvation model, and we find mean unsigned differences in vibrational contributions to the solute free energy of only about 0.2 kcal/mol. On the basis of these results and a review of the theory, we conclude, in contrast to previous work (Ho, J.; Klamt, H.; Coote, M. L.J. Phys. Chem. A 2010, 114, 13442), that using partition functions computed for molecules optimized in solution is a correct and useful approach for averaging over solute degrees of freedom when computing free energies of solutes in solution, and it is moreover recommended for cases where liquid and gas-phase solute structures differ appreciably or when stationary points present in liquid solution do not exist in the gas phase, for which we provide some examples. When gas-phase and solution-phase geometries and frequencies are similar, the use of gas-phase geometries and frequencies is a useful approximation.
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U2 - 10.1021/jp205508z
DO - 10.1021/jp205508z
M3 - Article
C2 - 21875126
AN - SCOPUS:83455219492
SN - 1520-6106
VL - 115
SP - 14556
EP - 14562
JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry B
JF - Journal of Physical Chemistry B
IS - 49
ER -