Equilibrium Geometries of Noncovalently Bound Intermolecular Complexes Derived from Subsystem Formulation of Density Functional Theory

The subsystem formulation of density functional theory is used to obtain equilibrium geometries and interaction energies for a representative set of noncovalently bound intermolecular complexes. The results are compared with literature benchmark data. The range of applicability of two considered approximations to the exchange-correlation- and nonadditive kinetic energy components of the total energy is determined. Local density approximation, which does not involve any empirical parameters, leads to excellent intermolecular equilibrium distances for hydrogen-bonded complexes (maximal error 0.13 Å for NH3-NH3). It is a method of choice for a wide class of weak intermolecular complexes including also dipole-bound and the ones formed by rare gas atoms or saturated hydrocarbons. The range of applicability of the chosen generalized gradient approximation, which was shown in our previous works to lead to good interaction energies in such complexes, where π-electrons are involved in the interaction, remains limited to this group because it improves neither binding energies nor equilibrium geometries in the wide class of complexes for which local density approximation is adequate. An efficient energy minimization procedure, in which optimization of the geometry and the electron density of each subsystem is made simultaneously, is proposed and tested.