Communication: Real time observation of unimolecular decay of Criegee intermediates to OH radical products

The simple and efficient CCSD(T)-F12x approximations (x = a,b) we proposed in a recent communication [T. B. Adler, G. Knizia, and H.-J. Werner, J. Chem. Phys. 127, 221106 (2007)] are explained in more detail and extended to open-shell systems. Extensive benchmark calculations are presented, which demonstrate great improvements in basis set convergence for a wide variety of applications. These include reaction energies of both open- and closed-shell reactions, atomization energies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, equilibrium geometries, and harmonic vibrational frequencies. For all these quantities, results better than the AV5Z quality are obtained already with AVTZ basis sets, and usually AVDZ treatments reach at least the conventional AVQZ quality. For larger molecules, the additional cost for these improvements is only a few percent of the time for a standard CCSD(T) calculation. For the first time ever, total reaction energies with chemical accuracy are obtained using valence-double-zeta basis sets.

Correlation consistent basis sets have been optimized for use with explicitly correlated F12 methods. The new sets, denoted cc-pVnZ-F12 (n=D,T,Q), are similar in size and construction to the standard aug-cc-pVnZ and aug-cc-pV(n+d)Z basis sets, but the new sets are shown in the present work to yield much improved convergence toward the complete basis set limit in MP2-F12/3C calculations on several small molecules involving elements of both the first and second row. For molecules containing only first row atoms, the smallest cc-pVDZ-F12 basis set consistently recovers nearly 99% of the MP2 valence correlation energy when combined with the MP2-F12/3C method. The convergence with basis set for molecules containing second row atoms is slower, but the new DZ basis set still recovers 97%-99% of the frozen core MP2 correlation energy. The accuracy of the new basis sets for relative energetics is demonstrated in benchmark calculations on a set of 15 chemical reactions.