Assessment of DLPNO-CCSD(T)-F12 and its use for the formulation of the low-cost and reliable L-W1X composite method.

In the present study, we have investigated the performance of RIJCOSX DLPNO-CCSD(T)-F12 methods for a wide range of systems. Calculations with a high-accuracy option ["DefGrid3 RIJCOSX DLPNO-CCSD(T )-F12"] extrapolated to the complete-basis-set limit using the maug-cc-pV[D+d,T+d]Z basis sets provides fairly good agreements with the canonical CCSD(T)/CBS reference for a diverse set of thermochemical and kinetic properties [with mean absolute deviations (MADs) of ~1-2 kJ mol except for atomization energies]. On the other hand, the low-cost "RIJCOSX DLPNO-CCSD(T)-F12D" option leads to substantial deviations for certain properties, notably atomization energies (MADs of up to tens of kJ mol ). With the high-accuracy CBS approach, we have formulated the L-W1X method, which further includes a low-cost core-valence plus scalar-relativistic term. It shows generally good accuracy. For improved accuracies in specific cases, we advise replacing maug-cc-pV(n+d)Z with jun-cc-pV(n+d)Z for the calculation of electron affinities, and using well-constructed isodesmic-type reactions to obtain atomization energies. For medium-sized systems, DefGrid3 RIJCOSX DLPNO-CCSD(T )-F12 calculations are several times faster than the corresponding canonical computation; the use of the local approximations (RIJCOSX and DLPNO) leads to a better scaling than that for the canonical calculation (from ~6-7 down to ~2-4 for our test systems). Thus, the DefGrid3 RIJCOSX DLPNO-CCSD(T )-F12 method, and the L-W1X protocol that based on it, represent a useful means for obtaining accurate thermochemical quantities for larger systems.