Vibrational mode frequency correction of liquid water in density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations with van der Waals correction

Abstract

The frequencies and spectral lineshapes of the stretch and bending modes of water provide invaluable information on the microscopic structures of water in aqueous solutions and at the water/solid interfaces. Density functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) simulation has been used not only for predicting the properties of water but also for interpreting the vibrational spectra of water. Since the accuracy of the DFT-MD simulations relies on the choice of the exchange–correlation functionals and dispersion correction schemes employed, the predicted vibrational spectra at different levels of DFT theory differ significantly, prohibiting precise comparison of simulated spectra with experimental data. Here, we simulate the vibrational density of states for liquid heavy water based on various DFT-MD trajectories. We find that DFT-MD simulations tend to predict excessive inhomogeneous broadening for the stretch mode of water. Furthermore, we develop a frequency correction scheme for the stretch and bending modes of liquid water, which substantially improves the prediction of the vibrational spectra.