Van der Waals interactions in DFT made easy by Wannier functions

Abstract

Ubiquitous Van der Waals interactions between atoms and molecules are important for many molecular and solid structures. These systems are often studied from first principles using the Density Functional Theory (DFT). However, the commonly used DFT functionals fail to capture the essence of Van der Waals effects. Many attempts to correct for this problem have been proposed, which are not completely satisfactory because they are either very complex and computationally expensive or have a basic semiempirical character. We here describe a novel approach, based on the use of the Maximally-Localized Wannier functions, that appears to be promising, being simple, efficient, accurate, and transferable (charge polarization effects are naturally included). The results of test applications are presented.

submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (1)

• Exponential localization of Wannier functions in insulators

Cited by in corpus (2)

• On the accuracy of DFT exchange-correlation functionals for H bonds in small water clusters II: The water hexamer and van der Waals interactions
• Van der Waals interactions at surfaces by DFT using Wannier functions