The frequency shift of the proton donor in hydrogen bonded complexes is an
important quantity which enables to discuss the nature of the hydrogen bond
. Calculations of frequency shifts by quantum chemical methods are usually
performed within the harmonic approximation and therefore the comparison wi
th experimental data is biased. We have investigated the importance of anha
rmonic corrections in the case of twelve complexes in which either FH or Cl
H is the proton donor. Hartree-Fock, Moller-Plesset second and third order
(MP2, MP3), density functional theory (DFT), and hybrid Hartree-Fock/DFT me
thods have been used for the calculations. It is shown that the anharmonic
contribution to the frequency shift is rather method dependent. Its magnitu
de is usually 10%-20% of the total shift though it can be as large of simil
ar to 50% for (ClH)(2). Once anharmonicity is taken into account, most meth
ods tend to noticeably overestimate the frequency shifts. In the case of DF
T related approaches this trend is interpreted in terms of a poor descripti
on of the exchange in the intermolecular region. (C) 1999 American Institut
e of Physics. [S0021-9606(99)31038-2].