n-Alkane Isodesmic Reaction Energy Errors in Density Functional Theory Are Due to Electron Correlation Effects

The isodesmic reaction energies of n-alkanes to ethane, which have so far been known to give systematic errors in standard DFT calculations, are successfully reproduced by SCS-MP2 and dispersion-corrected double-hybrid functionals. The failure of conventional DFT is not due to the lack of long-range exchange interactions but results from an inaccurate account of medium-range electron correlation that is attractive for 1,3-interactions (proto-branching). Highly accurate CCSD(T)/CBS data are provided that are recommended in thermochemical benchmarks.