A self-consistent reaction field model of solvation using distributed multipoles. II: Second energy derivatives and application to vibrational spectra

The use of distributed multipoles in the formalism of the reaction field factors allowed us to develop a computational scheme adapted to quantum chemical computations on a molecule solvated by a dielectric continuum. The algorithm used to compute the second energy derivatives is developed and, after its implementation in a quantum chemical computational code, permits the computation of the vibrational frequencies of the solute. This approach has been tested successfully on two test molecules and applied to the study of the solvent effect on the structure and the vibrational spectrum of a series of parasubstituted benzonitriles.