Development of new auxiliary basis functions of the Karlsruhe segmented contracted basis sets including diffuse basis functions (def2-SVPD, def2-TZVPPD, and def2-QVPPD) for RI-MP2 and RI-CC calculations.

We report optimized auxiliary basis sets for use with the Karlsruhe segmented contracted basis sets including moderately diffuse basis functions (Rappoport and Furche, J. Chem. Phys., 2010, 133, 134105) in resolution-of-the-identity (RI) post-self-consistent field (post-SCF) computations for the elements H-Rn (except lanthanides). The errors of the RI approximation using optimized auxiliary basis sets are analyzed on a comprehensive test set of molecules containing the most common oxidation states of each element and do not exceed those of the corresponding unaugmented basis sets. During these studies an unsatisfying performance of the def2-SVP and def2-QZVPP auxiliary basis sets for Barium was found and improved sets are provided. We establish the versatility of the def2-SVPD, def2-TZVPPD, and def2-QZVPPD basis sets for RI-MP2 and RI-CC (coupled-cluster) energy and property calculations. The influence of diffuse basis functions on correlation energy, basis set superposition error, atomic electron affinity, dipole moments, and computational timings is evaluated at different levels of theory using benchmark sets and showcase examples.