Quantum chemical studies of the formation and growth of atmospheric molecular clusters are important for understanding aerosol particle formation. However, the search for the lowest free-energy cluster configuration is extremely time consuming. This makes high-level benchmark data sets extremely valuable in the quest for the global minimum as it allows the identification of costefficient computational methodologies, as well as the development of high-level machine learning (ML) models. Herein, we present a highly versatile quantum chemical data set comprising a total of 11 749 (acid) 1−2 (base) 1−2 cluster configurations, containing up to 44 atoms. Utilizing the LUMI supercomputer, we calculated highly accurate PNO-CCSD(F12*)(T)/cc-pVDZ-F12 binding energies of the full set of cluster configurations leading to an unprecedented data set both in regard to sheer size and with respect to the level of theory. We employ the constructed benchmark set to assess the performance of various semiempirical and density functional theory methods. In particular, we find that the r 2 -SCAN-3c method shows excellent performance across the data set related to both accuracy and CPU time, making it a promising method to employ during cluster configurational sampling. Furthermore, applying the data sets, we construct ML models based on Δ-learning and provide recommendations for future application of ML in cluster configurational sampling.

Two new protocols for the efficient synthesis of 2,2,2-trichloromethylcarbinols, starting from aromatic aldehydes, have been developed. A combination of sodium trichloroacetate in the presence of malonic acid proved efficient for the transformation of electron deficient aldehydes using DMSO as solvent. Electron-rich aldehydes did, however, not require the addition of malonic acid, affording the desired 2,2,2-trichloromethylcarbinols without a trace of the competing Cannizzaro reaction. Finally, the reaction of sodium trichloroacetate in THF with a mixture of aldehyde and malonic acid dissolved in DMSO allowed the protocol to be performed in continuous flow. By performing this decarboxylative reaction in continuous flow, scale-up of the reaction could be achieved with a simple and safe setup. In this flow setup, four electron-deficent aldehydes were successfully transformed into their 2,2,2-trichloromethylcarbinol derivatives on a 100 mmol scale.

A general implementation of timedependent vibrational coupled-cluster theory

No abstract

We derive general bivariational equations of motion (EOMs) for time-dependent wave functions with biorthogonal time-dependent basis sets. The time-dependent basis functions are linearly parametrized and their fully variational time evolution is ensured by solving a set of so-called constraint equations, which we derive for arbitrary wave function expansions. The formalism allows the division of the basis set into an active basis and a secondary basis, ensuring a flexible and compact wave function. We show how the EOMs specialize to a few common wave function forms, including coupled cluster (CC) and linearly expanded wave functions. It is demonstrated, for the first time, that the propagation of such wave functions is not unconditionally stable when a secondary basis is employed. The main signature of the instability is a strong increase in non-orthogonality that eventually causes the calculation to fail; specifically, the biorthogonal active bra and ket bases tend towards spanning different spaces. Although formally allowed, this causes severe numerical issues. We identify the source of the problem by reparametrizing the time-dependent basis set through polar decomposition. The subsequent analysis allows us to remove the instability by setting appropriate matrix elements to zero. Although this solution is not fully variational, we find essentially no deviation in terms of autocorrelation functions relative to the variational formulation. We expect that the results presented here will be useful for the formal analysis of bivariational time-dependent wave functions for electronic and nuclear dynamics in general and for the practical implementation of time-dependent CC wave functions in particular.