Application of a Drude model to the binding of excess electrons to water clusters

Abstract

A one-electron model potential approach for calculating the binding energies of an excess electron interacting with water clusters is presented. Drude oscillators are employed on the water monomers to describe electron–water polarization and dispersion interactions. It is demonstrated that the resulting model gives electron binding energies very close to the predictions of ab initio CCSD(T) calculations. Dispersion interactions and high-order renormalization effects are found to make large contributions to the electron binding energies.