Ab initio calculations of free energy barriers for chemical reactions in solution: proton transfer in [FHF]-.

This paper describes a hybrid ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method for calculating activation free energies of chemical reactions in solution, using molecular mechanics force fields for the solvent and an ab initio technique that incorporates the potential from the solvent in its Hamiltonian for the solute. The empirical valence bond (EVB) method is used as a reference potential for the ab initio free energy calculation, and drives the reaction along the proper coordinate, thus overcoming problems encountered by direct attempts to use molecular orbital methods in calculations of activation free energies. The utility of our method is illustrated by calculating the activation free energy for proton transfer between fluoride ions in the [FHF]-system, in both polar and nonpolar solution.