We present the first chemical application of the recent, general theory of the nuclear magnetic resonance shielding and chemical shift in paramagnetic compounds, to a set of nonaxial high-spin metallo-organic complexes. The theory is for the first time rigorous for systems of arbitrary spatial and spin symmetry, and introduces new structure to the isotropic, anisotropic but symmetric, and anisotropic and antisymmetric parts of the shielding tensor. We apply the theory using density functional calculations of the proton chemical shift in a family of nonaxial chromium(III) complexes possessing a quartet ground electronic spin state. We discuss the various contributions to the isotropic chemical shift, and compare the full theory to approximate forms appropriate to the doublet case on the one hand, and to the doublet case at the nonrelativistic limit, on the other hand. The performance of various exchange-correlation functionals in reproducing the recently measured experimental chemical shifts is evaluated.

The aqueous solution of the Ni(2+) ion was investigated using a first principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulation based on periodic density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. Statistical averages of the magnetic properties corresponding to the triplet spin state of the ion, the hyperfine coupling, g and zero-field splitting tensors, as well as the resulting paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (pNMR) shielding terms were calculated using DFT from instantaneous simulation snapshots extracted from the FPMD trajectory. We report comprehensive tests of the reliability of systematically selected DFT functionals for the properties. The isotropic nuclear shielding of the (17)O nuclei can be obtained with good predictive power. The accuracy of the calculated (1)H shieldings is limited by the fact that the spin-density on the proton sites is not reproduced reliably with the tested functionals, rendering the dominant Fermi contact isotropic shielding term less well-defined. On the other hand, the dominant spin-dipole term of the shielding anisotropy, which gives a practically vanishing isotropic contribution, can be obtained with good reliability for both the (1)H and (17)O nuclei. The anisotropic shielding tensor can be thus utilized reliably in the calculation of Curie-type paramagnetic relaxation. We discuss the evolution of the pNMR properties through the first and second solvation shells of the ion, toward the bulk solvent. The magnetic properties of the dominant, six-coordinated solution are compared to those of the metastable, 5-fold coordinated intermediate occurring in the dissociative exchange process.

The aqueous solution of Ni(2+) was investigated using first principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulation based on periodic density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. The experimental structural parameters of the Ni(aq) complex are reproduced well by the simulation. An exchange event of the water molecule in the first solvation shell is observed, supporting the proposed dissociative mechanism of exchange. The calculated dynamic characteristics of the surrounding water molecules indicate too slow translational diffusion in comparison to experimental results, in agreement with other FPMD studies employing a similar level of theory. We also find that the reorientational dynamics of water are an order of magnitude slower as compared to experimental data. On the other hand, the angular momentum dynamics are in better agreement with the experimental data than the previously reported results from MD simulations employing empirical force fields. The obtained MD trajectory can supply accurate structures for the calculation of magnetic properties.