The vibrational behavior of silica clusters at the glass transition: Ab initio calculations and thermodynamic implications

We present the results of a computational investigation with ab initio procedures of the structure-energy and vibrational properties of silica clusters in a dielectric continuum with dielectric constant ε=3.8, through density functional theory/B3LYP gas phase calculations coupled with a polarized continuum model approach [integral equation formalism applied to a polarized continuum (IEFPCM)] and those of the periodical structure D6h which leads to the α-cristobalite polymorph of silica when subjected to symmetry operations with the same functional within the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) approximation and in the framework of Bloch’s theorem. Based on the computed energies and vibrational features, an aggregate of the D6h network and the monomer locally ordered in the short-medium range and both present in the glass in a mutual arrangement lacking of spatial continuity reproduces satisfactorily the experimentally observed low T heat capacity and the deviation from the Debye T^3 law. Above Tg, the experimental heat capacity of the liquid is perfectly reproduced summing to the internal modes the translational and rotational contributions to the bulk heat capacity and subtracting the (acoustic) terms arising from coherent motion (no longer existent).