Benchmarking NMR indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants: SOPPA, SOPPA(CC2), and SOPPA(CCSD) versus CCSD

Accurate calculations of NMR indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants require especially optimized basis sets and correlated wave function methods such as CCSD or SOPPA(CCSD). Both methods scale as N6, where N is the number of orbitals, which prevents routine applications to molecules with more than 10–15 nonhydrogen atoms. We have therefore developed a modification of the SOPPA(CCSD) method in which the CCSD singles and doubles amplitudes are replaced by CC2 singles and doubles amplitudes. This new method, called SOPPA(CC2), scales only as N5, like the original SOPPA-method. The performance of the SOPPA(CC2) method for the calculation of indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants is compared to SOPPA and SOPPA(CCSD) employing a set of benchmark molecules. We also investigate the basis set dependence by employing three different basis sets optimized for spin-spin coupling constants, namely the HuzIV-su4, ccJ-pVTZ, and ccJ-pVQZ basis sets. The results of the corresponding CCSD calculations are used as a theoretical reference.