Nonempirical Range-Separated Hybrid Functional with Spatially Dependent Screened Exchange

Electronic structure calculations based on density functionaltheory(DFT) have successfully predicted numerous ground-state propertiesof a variety of molecules and materials. However, exchange and correlationfunctionals currently used in the literature, including semilocaland hybrid functionals, are often inaccurate to describe the electronicproperties of heterogeneous solids, especially systems composed ofbuilding blocks with large dielectric mismatch. Here, we present adielectric-dependent range-separated hybrid functional, screened-exchangerange-separated hybrid (SE-RSH), for the investigation of heterogeneousmaterials. We define a spatially dependent fraction of exact exchangeinspired by the static Coulomb-hole and screened-exchange (COHSEX)approximation used in many-body perturbation theory, and we show thatthe proposed functional accurately predicts the electronic structureof several nonmetallic interfaces, three- and two-dimensional, pristine,and defective solids and nanoparticles.

Automated summary

Electronic structure calculations based on DFT have successfully predicted ground-state properties of molecules and materials. However, the currently used exchange and correlation functionals are often inaccurate for describing the electronic properties of heterogeneous solids. Here, we present a dielectric-dependent range-separated hybrid functional, SE-RSH, which accurately predicts the electronic structure of various nonmetallic interfaces, solids, and nanoparticles.