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The performance of five different density functionals (LDA, PBE, PBESOL, B3LYP and PBE0) in describing the infrared spectrum of a crystalline periodic system with a large unit cell (spessartine, 80 atoms in the primitive cell) is studied by using the periodic ab initio C rystal 09 code and an all electron basis set. The transverse (TO) and longitudinal (LO) optical branches of the 17 IR active modes are evaluated together with the oscillator strengths and the high frequency dielectric tensor ϵ ∞ . These ingredients permit to compute the dielectric function ϵ ( ν ) , and then the reflectance spectrum R ( ν ) , which is compared with experiment.

The ground state electronic structure in various magnetic phases of two Ge garnets (80 atoms in the primitive cell; cubic symmetry), Ca3Fe2Ge3O12 and Ca3Cr2Ge3O12, has been investigated with the periodic ab initio CRYSTAL code by adopting an all-electron Gaussian-type basis set and two hybrid functionals, namely B3LYP and PBE0, which contain a fraction of exact Hartree–Fock exchange. The evaluation of the exchange coupling constants among first (J1a, and J1b: there are two different kinds of neighbors at the same distance), second (J2), and third (J3) neighbors, separated by about 5.3, 6.1, and 8.7 A, respectively, requires calculations involving the 160 atoms conventional cell. The Ji values turn out to be in qualitative agreement with experimental data. As a consequence of the different J1a to J1b ratios, and of the opposite sign of J2, two different magnetic ground states are found for the Cr and Fe compounds, in agreement with experimental observations. The mechanism for the stabilization of the magnetic states is discussed in the context of the Anderson theory of superexchange by evaluating the kinetic energy gain in the magnetic states and examining spin density maps and profiles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010

The ground-state electronic structure of a number of magnetic phases of the garnets andradite (Ca3Fe2Si3O12) and uvarovite (Ca3Cr2Si3O12) has been investigated at the density functional theory level of approximation using the periodic ab initio code CRYSTAL. An all-electron Gaussian-type basis has been used in conjunction with the B3LYP hybrid functional. The exchange coupling constants between the first (J1a and J1b differentiating the two nonidentical sites), second (J2), and third (J3) nearest neighbors have been evaluated and are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data that is available for andradite. As a consequence of both the different J1a to J1b ratio and the opposite sign of J2 in the two minerals, different antiferromagnetic (AF) ground states are found for uvarovite and andradite, which is in agreement with experimental observation. Strong support for the additivity and transferability of the J constants is provided by calculations in which Cr and Fe ions are embedded in the related grossular structure. The mechanism for the stabilization of the AF states is discussed within the Anderson theory of superexchange; the kinetic energy gain in the AF states is calculated, and the spin density maps and profiles are examined. Density of states, charge density maps, and Mulliken population data complete the analysis of the electronic structure. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010

Andradite−uvarovite (Ca3Fe2Si3O12−Ca3Cr2Si3O12) solid solutions have been investigated at an ab initio quantum-mechanical level by using an all-electron Gaussian-type basis set and the hybrid B3LYP functional in its unrestricted formulation. Only ferromagnetic phases have been considered. All possible nonequivalent geometrical configurations resulting from the substitution of Cr atoms for x = 1−8 Fe atoms in the 16a site in the garnet primitive cell have been fully optimized (cell parameters and fractional coordinates of 80 atoms). As the lattice parameters of the two end-members are very similar (11.99 and 12.05 A for uvarovite and andradite, respectively), geometry rearrangements at the various x are extremely small, the largest excess volume being 0.15 A3 and the largest excess energy 3.68 kJ/mol. Thermodynamic functions are calculated from the configurational contribution to entropy and disregarding the vibrational contribution, which is expected to be negligible. Almost ideal miscibility is predicted.

The outstanding catalytic properties of cerium oxides rely on the easy Ce(3+) ↔ Ce(4+) redox conversion, which however constitutes a challenge in density functional based theoretical chemistry due to the strongly correlated nature of the 4f electrons present in the reduced materials. In this work, we report an analysis of the performance of five exchange-correlation functionals (HH, HHLYP, PBE0, B3LYP, and B1-WC) implemented in the CRYSTAL06 code to describe three properties of ceria: crystal structure, band gaps, and reaction energies of the CeO2 → Ce2O3 process. All five functionals give values for cell parameters that are in fairly good agreement with experiment, although the PBE0 hybrid functional is found to be the most accurate. Band gaps, 2p-4f-5d in the case of CeO2 and 4f-5d in the case of Ce2O3, are found to be, in general, overestimated and drop off when the amount of Hartree-Fock exchange in the exchange-correlation functional decreases. In contrast, the reaction energies are found to be underestimated, and increase when the amount of HF exchange lowers. Overall, at its standard formulation, the B1-WC functional seems to be the best choice as it provides good band gaps and reaction energies, and very reasonable crystal parameters.

International audience; Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the characterization of minerals, permitting insights into their structural and thermodynamic properties. The intrinsic complexity of mineral solid solutions makes the interpretation of their spectroscopic data a challenging task.In this work, the IR vibrational spectra of andradite-grossular (Ca3Fe2Si3O12–Ca3Al2Si3O12) solid solutions were simulated at the ab initio level with the CRYSTAL09 code by using a large all-electron Gaussian-type basis set and the B3LYP hybrid functional. All the 23 symmetry-independent configurations resulting from the substitution of 1 to 8 Fe atoms with Al atoms in the 16a octahedral site of the andradite primitive cell were considered. The IR active transverse optical frequencies and their intensities were computed. Graphical representation of the spectra, animation of the modes and isotopic substitution of the cations were used as additional interpretation tools. The dominant high-frequency modes, corresponding to Si-O stretching motions, show a simple linear behavior of both frequencies and intensities with respect to the binary composition; this trend is related to the linear behavior of the mean lattice parameter. Also the frequencies of the low-energy bands show, roughly speaking, a linear dependence on composition; however, the behavior of the dominant intensities is more complicated and strongly connected to the Al and Fe atomic fraction. When considering different possible structures at fixed composition, some spectral features display a dependence upon short-range Y cation ordering. Overall, we show how ab initio calculations permit to analyze complex systems such as solid solutions, establishing relations among structure and properties and providing critical and robust interpretations to the experimental findings.

International audience; The static linear optical properties (refractive indices, birefringence and axial angle) of andradite-grossular (Ca₃Fe₂Si₃O₁₂-Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂) solid solutions have been computed at the ab initio quantum-mechanical level through the Coupled Perturbed Kohn-Sham scheme, using an all-electron Gaussian-type basis set. Geometry relaxation after substitution of 1-8 Al for Fe atoms in the primitive cell of andradite yields 23 non-equivalent configurations ranging from cubic to triclinic symmetry. Refractive indices vary quite regularly between the andradite (1.860) and grossular (1.671) end-members; the birefringence d and the axial angle 2V at intermediate compositions can be as large as 0.02° and 89°, respectively. Comparison with experiments suffers from inhomogeneities and impurities of natural samples; however, semi- quantitative agreement is observed.

International audience; The reflectance spectrum of one member of the garnet family, Mn3Al2Si3O12 spessartine, was computed at the ab initio level with an all electron Gaussian type basis set and the B3LYP Hamiltonian. The static high frequency dielectric constant was obtained by applying the Coupled Perturbed Kohn Sham scheme as implemented in the CRYSTAL code; the Hessian matrix was evaluated numerically starting from the analytical gradients of the total energy with respect to the Cartesian coordinates of the atoms; the oscillator strengths were computed from well localized Wannier functions. An excellent agreement was obtained with the corresponding experimental spectrum, the exception being the very low frequency region.

The full vibrational spectra of the gamma, delta, and epsilon crystalline phases of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS), i.e., phases presenting the s(2/1)2 helical conformation, have been experimentally determined and compared with that calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory for an infinite helix. The assignment of the different modes was highly facilitated and validated by the experimental evaluation of the direction of the transition moment vector of most IR peaks, which was made possible for the first time by measurements on sPS films with different uniplanar orientations of the crystalline phase. The normal vibration analysis of most representative modes of the periodic model allowed for a general description of each one to be obtained, which was further confirmed by the direct inspection of mode animations.

International audience; The structure and energetics of bayerite and gibbsite have been investigated at the periodic ab-initio quantum-mechanical level by using a Gaussian type basis set and the B3LYP Hamiltonian. Both systems have layered structure, with intra-layer and inter-layer hydrogen bonds (HBs). In gibbsite the latter are stronger than in bayerite: 23.15 and 17.59 kJ/mol, respectively. The formation Gibbs free energy has been calculated, including entropic and enthalpic contributions: at 298 K gibbsite is more sta- ble than bayerite by 7.74 kJ/mol.