Hindawi Publishing Co po a ion
Ad ances in Physical Chemis y
Volume 2012, A icle ID 679869, 4pages
doi:10.1155/2012/679869
Edi o ial
Accu a e Po en ial Ene gy Su aces and Beyond: Chemical
Reac i i y, Binding, Long-Range In e ac ions, and Spec oscopy
Laimu is By au as,1Joel M. Bowman,2Xinchuan Huang,3and An ´
onio J. C. Va andas4
1Depa men o Chemis y, Rice Uni e si y, Hous on, TX 77005, USA
2Che y L. Eme son Cen e o Scien i ic Compu a ion and Depa men o Chemis y, Emo y Uni e si y, A lan a, GA 30322, USA
3SETI Ins i u e and NASA Ames Resea ch Cen e , MS 245-6, Moffe Field, CA 94035, USA
4Depa amen o de Quimica, Uni e sidade de Coimb a, 3004535 Coimb a, Po ugal
Co espondence should be add essed o Laimu is By au as, laimu is.by au as@ ice.edu
Recei ed 13 Feb ua y 2012; Accep ed 13 Feb ua y 2012
Copy igh © 2012 Laimu is By au as e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
License, which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly
ci ed.
1. Backg ound
Beginning wi h he seminal pape o Bo n and Oppenheime
(BO) [1] in 1927, he concep o he po en ial ene gy su ace
(PES) plays a c i ical ole in he desc ip ion, simula ion,
and modeling o molecula sys ems. I p o ides he basis [2]
o unde s anding he p ocesses associa ed wi h he nuclea
mo ions in molecules. By going beyond he cha ac e is ic
s a iona y poin s and ba ie s, ull dimensional, accu a e
po en ial ene gy su aces ha e a e y b oad ange o applica-
ions in many a eas o physical chemis y; o example, hey
p o ide insigh in o s uc u e, eac i i y, and spec oscopy o
molecules. While he majo i y o s able s uc u es on PES a e
associa ed wi h he co alen o ionic bonding [3], he egions
o PES domina ed by an de Waals in e ac ions a e essen ial
o low- empe a u e phenomena and molecula s acking
which a e c i ical o unde s anding biomolecula s uc u es
in ol ing DNA and RNA molecules [4]. Fu he mo e, he
ad ances in “cold chemis y” [5] make i possible o es he
heo e ical p edic ions (see, e.g., [6]) in ol ing e y small
ba ie s o <15 K. A such low empe a u es he quan um
effec s, o example, unneling, play a signi ican ole in
chemical eac i i y. Fo ins ance, he la ge de B oglie wa e-
leng h o ul acold molecules en i ely changes he na u e o
eac ion dynamics [7], and ene gy ba ie s on he PES play
adiffe en ole because, in his egime, quan um unneling
becomes he dominan eac ion pa hway [8]. In addi ion,
ou unde s anding o po en ial ene gy su aces has bene i ed
g ea ly om he abili y o expe imen alis s o s udy chemical
eac ions and “obse e” ansi ion s a es in eal ime using
he ansi ion-s a e spec oscopy [9].
Due o he ecen ad ances in ab ini io me hod de el-
opmen [10] p ima ily ocusing on he solu ion o he
non ela i is ic Sch ¨
odinge equa ion, he heo e ical da a
ep esen ing PESs is o highe quali y and he cos and iming
o such calcula ions is conside ably imp o ed. Fu he mo e,
he ela i is ic co ec ions [11] can be signi ican and should
be included i high accu acy o PESs is needed. Fo ins ance,
he inclusion o he spin-o bi coupling effec ( ela i is ic
phenomenon) may u n a c ossing o wo po en ial ene gy
cu es in o an a oided c ossing [12]. Finally, gi en he aw
ab ini io da a, efficien i ing echniques [13]a ecapable
o gene a ing excellen analy ical ep esen a ions o po en ial
ene gy su aces. One example is he unc ional ep esen-
a ion o a PES using he double many-body expansion
me hod [14]. Ano he impo an class o PESs co esponds
o he ones ha a e cons uc ed o be explici ly in a ian
wi h espec o all pe mu a ions o equi alen a oms [15,
16]. I is well ecognized ha one o he mos s ingen
c i e ia o he quali y o he PES is i s abili y o ep oduce
he expe imen al o a ional- ib a ional spec um wi h he
“nea -spec oscopic” accu acy [12]o abou 10cm
−1o
be e [17]. Occasionally, he empi ical e inemen s o ab
ini io PESsa eusedino de oachie ea e ycloseag eemen
(<0.1 cm−1) wi h expe imen o o ib a ional ansi ions
[18].
In many cases he BO app oxima ion is alid o a high
deg ee, and a single PES is sufficien o desc ibe he mo ion
o nuclei. Howe e , when se e al elec onic s a es ge close
in ene gy, he coupling be ween diffe en po en ial ene gy
su aces becomes signi ican . The c ossings o se e al PESs
2Ad ances in Physical Chemis y
(e.g., conical in e sec ions) o a oided c ossings equi e a
mo e e ined ea men o nuclea dynamics which ex ends
nuclea mo ion o mo e han one BO su ace [19]. The
conical in e sec ions o “seams” [20,21] play an impo an
ole in pho ochemis y, o example, con ibu ing o he
pho os abili y o DNA and pa icipa ing in he isome iza ion
p ocess o co ac o e inal ha ini ia es isual ecep ion.
2. The P esen Issue
The cu en special issue ( en pape s: six e iews and ou
esea ch a icles) ep esen s an excellen collec ion o pape s
ocusing on he a ious aspec s o po en ial ene gy su aces.
The pape “Cons uc ing po en ial ene gy su aces o
polya omic sys ems: ecen p og ess and new p oblems” by
J. Espinosa-Ga cia, M. Monge-Palacios, and J. C. Co chado
p o ides a comp ehensi e desc ip ion o diffe en me hods
o cons uc ing PESs based on elec onic s uc u e calcu-
la ions, and hei pe o mance is e alua ed by calcula ing
p ope ies associa ed wi h chemical eac ion dynamics. The
au ho s conclude ha a he p esen s age he ield o small
sys ems has become ma u e; howe e he ealm o la ge
polya omic sys ems equi es conside able imp o emen ,
especially when dealing wi h ela i is ic (e.g., spin-o bi )
effec s.
M. Ayouz and D. Babiko in hei esea ch pape “Im-
p o ed po en ial ene gy su ace o ozone cons uc ed using
he i ing by pe mu a ionally in a ian polynomial unc-
ion” illus a e he ad an ages o hei me hod by s udy-
ing he o ma ion o ozone a he mal ene gies and
i s spec oscopy nea he dissocia ion limi . The au ho s
demons a e ha he app oach o i ing he ab ini io da a
by pe mu a ionally in a ian polynomial unc ions allows
he cons uc ion o accu a e global PESs o symme ic
molecules using only ela i ely small numbe o poin s.
The esea ch pape “Ab ini io po en ial ene gy su aces
o bo h he g ound (
X1A)andexci ed(
A1A ) elec onic
s a es o HSiB and he abso p ion and emission spec a
o HSiB /DSiB ” by A. Li, S. Lin, and D. Xie illus a e he
high quali y o he PESs by calcula ing he ib a ional ene gy
le els o he g ound and exci ed s a es o hese challenging
sys ems. The la e we e ound o be in good ag eemen wi h
he a ailable expe imen al band o igins.
The su ace diffusion o adso bed a oms and molecules
plays a signi ican ole in a ious su ace dynamical p o-
cesses, e.g., in he e ogeneous chemical eac ions and o -
ma ion o sel -assembled s uc u es. N. Tsukaha a and J.
Yoshinobu in he pape “Po en ial ene gy su ace o NO
on P (997): adso bed s a es and su ace diffusion” elucida e
he PES by in es iga ing he adso p ion s a es and diffusion
p ocesses o NO on P (997) using in a ed abso p ion
spec oscopy (IRAS) and scanning unneling mic oscopy
(STM).
The classical ansi ion s a e heo y (TST) has been e y
popula o e he yea s o calcula ing he eac ion a e con-
s an s, and i has been qui e success ul in he high- em-
pe a u e egime. Howe e , a low empe a u es, especially
in ol ing ligh nuclei, he quan um effec s become signi -
ican . Quan um ins an on (QI) app oxima ion has been
in oduced as one way o quan ize he TST by na u ally
inco po a ing he quan um effec s, like, o example, unnel-
ing. Fo his eason, he quan um ins an on app oxima ion
has ecei ed much a en ion o es ima ing he chemical eac-
ion a e cons an s using ull-dimensional po en ial ene gy
su aces. The QI can be applied o qui e complex molecula
sys ems ia well-es ablished imagina y ime pa h in eg al
echniques as desc ibed by Y. Zhao and W. Wang in hei
pape “Quan um ins an on e alua ions o he he mal a e
cons an s o complex sys ems.” The au ho s demons a e
he u ili y o he QI me hod by applying i o such complex
p ocesseslikeHdiffusion on Ni(100) su ace, and su ace-
subsu ace anspo and in e io mig a ion o H/Ni.
The hyd ogen bonding plays a signi ican ole in li ing
o ganisms, o example, be ween DNA o RNA bases. The
coope a i i y o hyd ogen bonding and he subs i uen
effec s a e e y impo an in s abilizing biomolecules. In his
issue, A. Eb ahimi, S. M. Habibi-Kho assani, F. B. Akhe , and
A. Fa okhzadeh in he esea ch a icle “The N···HF in e -
ac ions in he X-py idazine···(HF)2complexes: subs i uen
effec s and ene gy componen s” in es iga e he s eng h o
he hyd ogen bonding be ween X-py idazine (N-si es) and
HF molecules depending on he subs i uen . The au ho s
ind ha in all complexes he binding ene gies (N···HF)
inc ease o elec on-dona ing subs i uen s and dec ease o
elec on-wi hd awing subs i uen s. Also a nega i e coope a-
i i y is obse ed o wo hyd ogen bond in e ac ions.
In o de o unde s and he en i e pho ochemical eac ion
p ocess o a gi en sys em, i is necessa y o explo e se e al
PESs ha ep esen g ound and exci ed s a es. Wi hin he
F anck-Condon (FC) app oxima ion, a eac ion s a s om
he FC poin on an exci ed-s a e su ace. Then, depending on
he opog aphy and he a ailable excess ene gy, he sys em
may selec ei he adiaba ic o nonadiaba ic pa hway. In he
adiaba ic case, he eac ing sys em mo es on he exci ed
PES su passing ansi ion s a e o yield p oduc s. In he
nonadiaba ic case, he sys em unde goes a nonadiaba ic an-
si ion (o se e al ansi ions cascading h ough a numbe o
PESs) and hen mo es on he PES o he lowe s a e. In he
la e case, he seams o in e sec ion be ween wo PESs play
an impo an ole. S. Maeda, K. Ohno, and K. Mo okuma
in he e iew pape “Explo ing mul iple po en ial ene gy
su aces: pho ochemis y o small ca bonyl compounds”
desc ibe he global eac ion ou e mapping (GRRM) me hod
o explo e he c i ical egions such as ansi ion s a es, conical
in e sec ions, in e sec ion seams, and minima associa ed
wi h mul iple PESs. The au ho s illus a e he efficiency o
he me hod by documen ing new nonadiaba ic pa hways in
he pho ochemis y o o maldehyde and ace one.
Enzyma ic eac ions explo ing ca aly ic p ope ies o
enzymes ep esen a e y in ense a ea o chemical esea ch.
Many species encoun e ed in enzyma ic eac ions, especially
me alloenzymes, may ha e mo e han one elec onic s a e
lying close in ene gy. I is possible ha as eac ion p og esses,
he ela i e ene gy sepa a ion be ween s a es may a y, and
in pa icula he ene ge ic o de ing o hese s a es may
change du ing he eac ion. Such mechanisms may include
Ad ances in Physical Chemis y 3
cases whe e he “swi ching” in ol es PESs o diffe en spin
mul iplici ies. The likelihood o such mul is a e eac i i y
may ha e impo an consequences in enzyma ic eac ions. E.
A. C. Bushnell, W. Huang, and J. Gauld in he pape “Ap-
plica ions o po en ial ene gy su aces in he s udy o enzy-
ma ic eac ions” explo e se e al s a es o diffe en spin mul-
iplici ies in he ca aly ic ac i a ion o O2by alpha-ke oglu-
a a e-dependen dioxygenase (AlkB).
The pho ochemical s udies whe e he me al a om is
pho oexci ed in o an uppe s a e and hen eac s wi h a
gi en molecule (e.g., me hane) a e qui e in o ma i e since
he eac ion pa hway and p obabili y s ongly depend on
he ini ial elec onic s a e o an a om. Fu he mo e, he
eac ion pa hway equen ly encoun e s se e al po en ial
ene gy su aces (wi h a ious mul iplici ies) be o e he inal
p oduc s a e o med. In his issue, O. No a o, M. del
Alba Pacheco-Blas, and J. H. Pacheco-S´
anchez in he pape
“Po en ial ene gy su aces o eac ions o X me al a oms
(X =Cu, Zn, Cd, Ga, Al, Au, o Hg) wi h YH4molecules
(Y =C, Si, o Ge) and ansi ion p obabili ies a a oided
c ossings in some cases” discuss he possible mechanisms
o he eac ion o he me al a om wi h he gas molecules.
In he cases abo e, he au ho s show ha eac ion pa hways
encoun e many su aces, and he ansi ion p obabili ies o
going om one su ace o ano he a e calcula ed using ime-
dependen Landau-Zene heo y. The esul s indica e a good
ag eemen wi h he expe imen al da a whene e hey a e
a ailable.
An example o he BO app oxima ion b eakdown is
he Renne -Telle effec which is due o he ac ha a
linea geome ies many o he elec onic s a es in molecules
a e wo old degene a e. This esul s in he coupling o he
elec onic mo ion wi h he nuclea mo ion gi ing ise o
he so-called o ib onic coupling. H. Ma, C. Zhang, Z.
Zhang, X. Liu, and W. Bian in hei esea ch a icle “New
ab ini io po en ial ene gy su aces o he Renne -Telle
coupled 11Aand 11A s a es o CH2” gene a e he analy ical
ep esen a ions o he PESs using a dual-le el ( he lowe le el
and he highe le el which also include co e and co e- alence
co ela ion effec s) s a egy wi h he inclusion o he Renne -
Telle e ms. The au ho s use hese PESs o he quan um
dynamical calcula ions and demons a e ha he calcula ed
ib onic ene gy le els o he wo single elec onic s a es a e
in excellen ag eemen wi h expe imen .
Finally, we would like o hank all he au ho s o p o-
iding he high-quali y pape s and also all he e iewe s who
dona ed hei aluable ime o his special issue.
Laimu is By au as
Joel M. Bowman
Xinchuan Huang
An ´
onio J. C. Va andas
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