Importance of Electron Correlation on the Geometry and Electronic Structure of [2Fe–2S] Systems: A Benchmark Study of the [Fe₂S₂(SCH₃)₄]^{2–,3–,4–}, [Fe₂S₂(SCys)₄]<s

Iron-sulfur clusters are crucial for biological electron transport and catalysis. Obtaining accurate geometries, energetics, manifolds of their excited electronic states, and reduction energies is important to understand their role in these processes. Using a [2Fe-2S] model complex with Fe^II and Fe^III oxidation states, which leads to different charges, i.e., [Fe₂S₂(SMe)₄]^2-,3-,4-, we benchmarked a variety of computational methodologies ranging from density functional theory (DFT) to post-Hartree-Fock methods, including complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF), multireference configuration interaction, the second-order N-electron valence state perturbation theory (NEVPT2), and the linearized integrand approximation of adiabatic connection (AC0) approaches. Additionally, we studied three experimentally well-characterized complexes, [Fe₂S₂(SCys)₄]^2-, [Fe₂S₂(S-<i>o</i>-tol)₄]^2-, and [Fe₂S₂(S-<i>o</i>-xyl)₄]^2-, via DFT methods. We conclude that the dynamic electron correlation is important for accurately predicting the geometry of these complexes. Broken symmetry (BS) DFT correctly predicts experimental geometries of low-spin multiplicity, while CASSCF does not. However, BS-DFT significantly overestimates the difference between the low- and high-spin electronic states for a given oxidation state. At the same time, CASSCF underestimates it but provides relative energies closer to the reference NEVPT2 results. Finally, AC0 provides energetics of NEVPT2 quality with the additional advantage of being able to use large CASSCF sizes. NEVPT2 gives the best estimates of the Fe^III/Fe^III → Fe^II/Fe^III (4.27 eV) and Fe^II/F^III → Fe^II/F^II (7.72 eV) reduction energies. The results provide insight into the electronic structure of these complexes and assist in the understanding of their physical properties.