The performance of six frequently
used density functional theory
(DFT) methods (RPBE, OLYP, TPSS, B3LYP, B3LYP*, and TPSSh) in the
prediction of Mössbauer isomer shifts(δ) and quadrupole splittings (ΔEQ) is studied for an extended and diverse set of Fe complexes. In
addition to the influence of the applied density functional and the
type of the basis set, the effect of the environment of the molecule,
approximated with the conducting-like screening solvation model (COSMO)
on the computed Mössbauer parameters, is also investigated.
For the isomer shifts the COSMO-B3LYP method is found to provide accurate δ values for all 66 investigated complexes, with a
mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.05 mm s–1 and a maximum
deviation of 0.12 mm s–1. Obtaining accurate ΔEQ values presents a bigger challenge; however,
with the selection of an appropriate DFT method, a reasonable agreement
can be achieved between experiment and theory. Identifying the various
chemical classes of compounds that need different treatment allowed
us to construct a recipe for ΔEQ calculations; the application of this approach yields a MAE of 0.12
mm s–1 (7% error) and a maximum deviation of 0.55
mm s–1 (17% error). This accuracy should be sufficient
for most chemical problems that concern Fe complexes. Furthermore,
the reliability of the DFT approach is verified by extending the investigation
to chemically relevant case studies which include geometric isomerism,
phase transitions induced by variations of the electronic structure
(e.g., spin crossover and inversion of the orbital ground state),
and the description of electronically degenerate triplet and quintet
states. Finally, the immense and often unexploited potential of utilizing
the sign of the ΔEQ in characterizing
distortions or in identifying the appropriate electronic state at
the assignment of the spectral lines is also shown.