DFTB+ is a versatile community developed open source software package offering fast and efficient methods for carrying out atomistic quantum mechanical simulations. By implementing various methods approximating density functional theory (DFT), such as the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) and the extended tight binding method, it enables simulations of large systems and long timescales with reasonable accuracy while being considerably faster for typical simulations than the respective ab initio methods. Based on the DFTB framework, it additionally offers approximated versions of various DFT extensions including hybrid functionals, time dependent formalism for treating excited systems, electron transport using non-equilibrium Green’s functions, and many more. DFTB+ can be used as a user-friendly standalone application in addition to being embedded into other software packages as a library or acting as a calculation-server accessed by socket communication. We give an overview of the recently developed capabilities of the DFTB+ code, demonstrating with a few use case examples, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the various features, and also discuss on-going developments and possible future perspectives.

The fields of theoretical and computational chemistry have come a long way since their inception in the mid-20th century. Fifty years ago, only rudimentary approximations for very simple molecules could be performed. Thanks in part to the ongoing development of very fast computers, and the efforts of theoretical chemists in developing fast and accurate quantum mechanical (QM) methods for calculating electronic energies of atoms and molecules, theoretical and computational chemistry can now give reliable geometries, energies, reactivities, and electronic properties for molecules. Such information has become indispensable in understanding and explaining experimental results that would be otherwise difficult to interpret

This perspective reviews the historical explanations for specific ion effects, and explores the frontiers of the field before summarising its challenges and opportunities.

Ab initio MD and experiments are combined to reveal how the nanostructures in choline chloride deep eutectic solvents, and hence their properties, are modulated by the hydrogen bond donor structure.

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene over the last two decades has heralded a new era in physics, chemistry and nanotechnology. During this time, intense efforts have been made towards understanding the atomic-scale mechanisms by which these remarkable nanostructures grow. Molecular simulations have made significant contributions in this regard; indeed, they are responsible for many of the key discoveries and advancements towards this goal. Here we review molecular simulations of CNT and graphene growth, and in doing so we highlight the many invaluable insights gained from molecular simulations into these complex nanoscale self-assembly processes. This review highlights an often-overlooked aspect of CNT and graphene formation—that the two processes, although seldom discussed in the same terms, are in fact remarkably similar. Both can be viewed as a 0D → 1D → 2D transformation, which converts carbon atoms (0D) to polyyne chains (1D) to a complete sp ² -carbon network (2D). The difference in the final structure (CNT or graphene) is determined only by the curvature of the catalyst and the strength of the carbon–metal interaction. We conclude our review by summarizing the present shortcomings of CNT/graphene growth simulations, and future challenges to this important area.