Time-dependent density functional molecular orbital and excited state calculations on bis(porphyrinyl)butadiynes in the monocationic, neutral, monoanionic, and dianionic oxidation states

We report a theoretical study of the multiple oxidation states (1+, 0, 1-, and 2-) of a meso,meso-linked diporphyrin, namely bis[10,15,20-triphenylporphyrinatozinc(II)-5-yl]butadiyne (4), using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT). The origin of electronic transitions of singlet excited states is discussed in comparison to experimental spectra for the corresponding oxidation states of the close analogue bis[10,15,20-tris[3',5'-di-tert-butylphenyl]porphyrinatozinc(II)-5-yl]butadiyne (3). The latter were measured in previous work under in situ spectroelectrochemical conditions. Excitation energies and orbital compositions of the excited states were obtained for these large delocalized aromatic radicals, which are unique examples of organic mixed-valence systems. The radical cations and anions of butadiyne-bridged diporphyrins such as 3 display characteristic electronic absorption bands in the near-IR region, which have been successfully predicted with use of these computational methods. The radicals are clearly of the "fully delocalized" or Class III type. The key spectral features of the neutral and dianionic states were also reproduced, although due to the large size of these molecules, quantitative agreement of energies with observations is not as good in the blue end of the visible region. The TDDFT calculations are largely in accord with a previous empirical model for the spectra, which was based simplistically on one-electron transitions among the eight key frontier orbitals of the C4 (1,4-butadiyne) linked diporphyrins.     

Theoretical investigation of electronic structures and excitation energies of doubly N-confused porphyrin and its group 11 transition metal (III) complexes

Density functional theory is carried out to study cis-doubly N-confused porphyrin and its metal (Cu3+, Ag3+, and Au3+) complexes. The electronic structures and bonding situations of these molecules have been investigated by using the natural bond orbital analysis and the topological analysis of the electron localization function. We have studied the electronic spectra of cis-doubly N-confused porphyrin and its metal complexes with time-dependent density functional theory. The introduction of group 11 transition metals leads to blueshifts of their electronic spectra with respect to that of cis-doubly N-confused porphyrin. In particular, the absorption spectra of the copper complex show some weak Q bands that mainly arise from a combination of ligand-to-metal charge transfer and ligand-to-ligand charge transfer transitions. The relativistic time-dependent density functional theory with spin-orbit coupling calculations indicates that the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the excitation energies of the copper and silver complexes are so small that it is safe enough to neglect spin-orbit interactions for these two complexes. However, it has a significant effect on the absorption spectra of the gold complex.     

High-resolution electron spectroscopy, preferential metal-binding sites, and thermochemistry of lithium complexes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are model systems for studying the mechanisms of lithium storage in carbonaceous materials. In this work, Li complexes of naphthalene, pyrene, perylene, and coronene were synthesized in a supersonic metal-cluster beam source and studied by zero-electron-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) electron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The adiabatic ionization energies of the neutral complexes and frequencies of up to nine vibrational modes in the singly charged cations were determined from the ZEKE spectra. The metal-ligand bond energies of the neutral complexes were obtained from a thermodynamic cycle. Preferred Li∕Li(+) binding sites with the aromatic molecules were determined by comparing the measured spectra with theoretical calculations. Li and Li(+) prefer the ring-over binding to the benzene ring with a higher π-electron content and aromaticity. Although the ionization energies of the Li complexes show no clear correlation with the size of the aromatic molecules, the metal-ligand bond energies increase with the extension of the π-electron network up to perylene, then decrease from perylene to coronene. The trends in the ionization and metal-ligand bond dissociation energies of the complexes are discussed in terms of the orbital energies, local quadrupole moments, and polarizabilities of the free ligands and the charge transfer between the metal atom and aromatic molecules.     

Influence of the d orbital occupation on the nature and strength of copper cation-pi interactions: threshold collision-induced dissociation and theoretical studies

Threshold collision-induced dissociation techniques are employed to determine the bond dissociation energies of a wide variety of copper cation-pi complexes, Cu(+)(pi-ligand), where pi-ligand = benzene, flurobenzene, chlorobenzene, bromobenzene, iodobenzene, phenol, toluene, anisole, pyrrole, N-methylpyrrole, indole, naphthalene, aniline, N-methylaniline, and N,N-dimethylaniline. The primary and lowest energy dissociation pathway corresponds to the endothermic loss of the intact neutral pi-ligand for all complexes except those to N-methylpyrrole, indole, aniline, N-methylaniline, and N,N-dimethylaniline. In the latter complexes, the primary dissociation pathway corresponds to loss of the intact ligand accompanied by charge transfer, thereby producing a neutral copper atom and ionized pi-ligand. Fragmentation of the pi-ligands is also observed at elevated energies in several cases. Theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory are used to determine the structures, vibrational frequencies, and rotational constants of these complexes. Multiple low-energy conformers are found for all of the copper cation-pi complexes. Theoretical bond dissociation energies are determined from single point energy calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) level of theory using the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) optimized geometries. The agreement between theory and experiment is very good for most complexes. The nature and strength of the binding in these copper cation-pi complexes are studied and compared with the corresponding cation-pi complexes to Na(+). Natural bond orbital analyses are carried out to examine the influence of the d orbital occupation on copper cation-pi interactions.     

含B-N相互作用偶氮苯强荧光材料光电性质的理论研究

本文基于增大光谱发光强度的结构修饰方法,采用理论计算方法研究了结构修饰后分子的电子性质、光谱性质以及电荷传输性质的变化.计算结果表明,-N(CH3)2取代、-N(CH3)2和-Br组合取代有助于吸收/发射光谱发光强度的提高.与母体分子相比,-N(CH3)2和-Br取代位置不同或取代数量不同可以引起最高占据分子轨道能量(EHOMO)、最低空分子轨道能量(ELUMO)和能隙(Eg=ELUMO-EHOMO)发生明显变化,从而有效调节了最大吸收波长(λabs)和最大发射波长(λem),从理论角度设计了一系列蓝光和绿光材料.重组能计算显示,除了GM-1和GM-6,其余分子可以作为有机电致发光材料(OLEDs)中的空穴传输材料,GM-1和GM-7可以作为双极性电荷传输材料.     

Comparative study of imidazole hydration: Ab initio and electrostatic calculations vs. Cambridge structural database analysis

We studied geometries and energies of complexes between water and neutral or protonated imidazole by ab initio molecular orbital calculations using the 4-31G basis set with and without the counterpoise correction. Positions of hydration sites and relative binding energies could be also estimated by using the electrostatic field map of imidazole as calculated by our bond increment method. The reliability of the calculations is confirmed by comparing the geometries of the imidazole-water complex to the experimental ones from the Cambridge Structural Database. These were obtained by X-ray diffraction studies on crystals with water bound to a molecule containing the imidazole fragment.     

Applications of molecular orbital theory to the interpretation of mass spectra. Prediction of primary fragmentation sites in organic molecules

Semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations have been carried out on the steroidal hormone estrone, both as a neutral molecule and the corresponding positively charge molecular ion. These calculations provide estimates of bond densities and net atomic charges, factors deemed important in past correlations of observed mass spectra with molecular structure. Calculated net charges appear to be unrelated to fragmentation processes. Calculated bond densities of the ground state molecular ion of estrone allow prediction of gross features of fragmentation. Bond densities of excited electronic states of the molecular ion may provide a basis for finer distinction among sites of initial bond cleavage, which is information crucial to rationalization of subsequent fragmentation of the molecular ion.     

Theoretical Studies on the Structure and Spectrum of Imidazole-Chloranil Charge Transfer Complex

UV-Vis absorption spectra of the molecular complex formed by imidazole (Im) and chloranil (CA) were measured in chloroform. The stoichiometry of the imidazole-chloranil (Im-CA) complex was determined as 1:1 by applying Benesi-Hildebrand's equation and Job's continuous variation method. Density function theory (DFT) and MP2 calculations were performed to study the structures and the binding energies of the Im-CA complex. The calculations located four conformations (denoted as S1-S4) for the Im-CA complex, two edge(Im)-to-face(CA) linked and two edge(Im)-to-edge(CA) linked. It was found that the edge-to-face conformers are more stable than the edge-to-edge ones. The bonding characteristics of these conformers were investigated with natural population analysis (NPA), topological analysis of electron density, and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. It was revealed that the edge-to-face conformers are charge-transfer (CT) complexes whereas the edge-to-edge conformers are the hydrogen bond complexes. For the most stable conformation of the Im-CA complex (S1), the charge transfer interaction of the imidazole n(N15) lone pair orbital with the chloranil ∏*(C1=O7) orbital plays a crucial role in the Im-CA binding, and the binding is further strengthened by the O7… H20 hydrogen bond. The electronic excitation energies of the complex (S1) were calculated with time-dependent DFT (TDDFT), and the observed UV-Visible spectrum of the complex was analyzed based on the computed results.     

Throwing light on dark states of α-oligothiophenes of chain lengths 2 to 6: radical anion photoelectron spectroscopy and excited-state theory

In this work, we apply photodetachment photoelectron spectroscopy (PD-PES) on radical anions to access the lowest excited electronic states of neutral α-oligothiophenes nT (n = 2-6, where n denotes the number of thiophene rings) in the gas phase. Besides electron affinities, the spectra provide the energies of the T(1) and T(2) states which are otherwise difficult to investigate in neutral molecules due to spin selection rules. The assignment of the spectra is assisted by quantum chemical calculations using a combined density functional theory and multi-reference configuration interaction approach. For all α-oligothiophenes investigated in this work, the T(2) state is situated below S(1). In the gas phase, the S(1) state energies lie higher than in non-polar solution (0.2 to 0.4 eV). The geometry optimizations show that the S(0) state and especially the excited states gain planarity with increasing chain length. A non-planar structure or out-of-plane vibrational activity is needed to allow an efficient intersystem crossing (ISC) dynamics from S(1) to T(2), followed by internal conversion to T(1). Our theoretical calculations predict that in 6T a doubly excited state becomes nearly isoenergetic to S(1). This state is not observed by PD-PES, which is explained by the analysis of the calculated contributing electron configurations.     

Electronic structure and absorption spectra of yttrium quinaldinates with an island and polymer structure

The electronic absorption spectra and electronic structure of yttrium quinaldinates with an island and polymer structure were studied. A comparative analysis of the energies of the singlet and triplet excited states, the total energies of complex compounds in the ground state, and Mulliken’s bond overlap populations was performed by the TD-DFT method with the B3LYP density functional. For yttrium quinaldinate with a polymer structure, the distance between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied orbitals was found to be longer than for the compound with an island structure. The transition energies were shifted to the blue region, which accounts for the higher stability of the polymer compound.     

Through-bond interactions and the localization of excited-state dynamics

The influence of through-bond interactions on nonadiabatic excited-state dynamics is investigated by time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (TRPES) and ab initio computation. We compare the dynamics of cyclohexa-1,4-diene, which exhibits a through-bond interaction known as homoconjugation (the electronic correlation between nonconjugated double bonds), with the nonconjugated cyclohexene. Each molecule was initially excited to a 3s Rydberg state using a 200 nm femtosecond pump pulse. The TRPES spectra of these molecules display similar structure and time constants on a subpicosecond time scale. Our ab initio calculations show that similar sets of conical intersections (a [1,2]- and [1,3]-hydrogen shift, as well as carbon-carbon bond cleavage) are energetically accessible to both molecules and that the geometry and orbital composition at the minimum energy crossing points to the ground state are directly analogous. These experimental and computational results suggest that the excited-state dynamics of cyclohexa-1,4-diene become localized at a single double bond and that the effects of through-bond interaction, dominant in the absorption spectrum, are absent in the excited-state dynamics. The notion of excited-state dynamics being localized at specific sites within the nuclear framework is analogous to the localization of light absorption by a subsystem within the molecule, designated a chromophore. We propose the utility of the analogous concept, denoted here as a dynamophore.     

The electronic structure and spectra of Ru(II) and Ru(III) complexes with imidazole and its derivatives

The calculations of the electronic structure and spectra of [Ru(NH3)5L]2+ (L = imidazole, histidine) and [Ru(NH3)5L]3+ (L = imidazole, N-imidazolate anion, 4-methylimidazole, 4-methyl-1N-imidazolate anion and 1N-bound histidine) complexes are performed in the framework of the CI method in the INDO/CNDO approximation. The MO diagram is obtained. The assignment of all transitions with energies of 4-5 eV is made and the nature of corresponding excited states is discussed. For the Ru(II) complexes, the lower energy observable transition is assigned to d-->pi* type, whereas the higher energy one is assigned to pi-->pi* type. In the spectra of the Ru(III) complexes with charged ligands both transitions are of pi-->d character, while in the case of uncharged ligands, the higher energy transition mostly incorporates pi-->pi* excitations.     

The role of excited Rydberg States in electron transfer dissociation

Ab initio electronic structure methods are used to estimate the cross sections for electron transfer from donor anions having electron binding energies ranging from 0.001 to 0.6 eV to each of three sites in a model disulfide-linked molecular cation. The three sites are (1) the S-S sigma(*) orbital to which electron attachment is rendered exothermic by Coulomb stabilization from the nearby positive site, (2) the ground Rydberg orbital of the -NH(3)(+) site, and (3) excited Rydberg orbitals of the same -NH(3)(+) site. It is found that attachment to the ground Rydberg orbital has a somewhat higher cross section than attachment to either the sigma orbital or the excited Rydberg orbital. However, it is through attachment either to the sigma(*) orbital or to certain excited Rydberg orbitals that cleavage of the S-S bond is most likely to occur. Attachment to the sigma(*) orbital causes prompt cleavage because the sigma energy surface is repulsive (except at very long range). Attachment to the ground or excited Rydberg state causes the S-S bond to rupture only once a through-bond electron transfer from the Rydberg orbital to the S-S sigma(*) orbital takes place. For the ground Rydberg state, this transfer requires surmounting an approximately 0.4 eV barrier that renders the S-S bond cleavage rate slow. However, for the excited Rydberg state, the intramolecular electron transfer has a much smaller barrier and is prompt.     

Density functional calculation of the structure and electronic properties of Cu(n)O(n) (n = 1-8) clusters

Ab initio simulations and calculations were used to study the structures and stabilities of copper oxide clusters, Cu(n)O(n) (n = 1-8). The lowest energy structures of neutral and charged copper oxide clusters were determined using primarily the B3LYP/LANL2DZ model chemistry. For n ≥ 4, the clusters are nonplanar. Selected electronic properties including atomization energies, ionization energies, electron affinities, and Bader charges were calculated and examined as a function of n.     

Electronic spectroscopy of an isolated halocarbocation: the iodomethyl cation CH2I+ and its deuterated isotopomers

Building upon our recent observation of the gas-phase electronic spectrum of the iodomethyl cation (CH2I+), we report an extensive study of the electronic spectroscopy of CH2I+ and its deuterated isotopomers CHDI+ and CD2I+ using a combination of fluorescence excitation and single vibronic level (SVL) emission spectroscopies. The spectra were measured in the gas phase under jet-cooled conditions using a pulsed discharge source. Fluorescence excitation spectra reveal a dominant progression in nu3 (C-I stretch), the frequency of which is markedly smaller in the upper state. Rotational analysis shows that, while the A constant is similar in the two states, the excited state has significantly smaller B and C constants. These results indicate a lengthening of the C-I bond upon electronic excitation, consistent with calculations which show that this transition is analogous to the well-known pi-pi* transition in the isoelectronic substituted formaldehydes. SVL emission spectra show progressions involving four of the six vibrational modes; only the C-H(D) stretching modes remain unobserved. The vibrational parameters determined from a Dunham expansion fit of the ground state vibrational term energies are in excellent agreement with the predictions of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A normal-mode analysis was completed to derive a harmonic force field for the ground state, where resonance delocalization of the positive charge leads to partial double bond character, H2C+-I <--> H2C=I+, giving rise to a C-I stretching frequency significantly larger than that of the iodomethyl radical.     

Spectroscopic and density functional studies of the red copper site in nitrosocyanin: role of the protein in determining active site geometric and electronic structure

The electronic structure of the red copper site in nitrosocyanin is defined relative to that of the well understood blue copper site of plastocyanin by using low-temperature absorption, circular dichroism, magnetic circular dichroism, resonance Raman, EPR and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, combined with DFT calculations. These studies indicate that the principal electronic structure change in the red copper site is the sigma rather than the pi donor interaction of the cysteine sulfur with the Cu 3d(x2-y2) redox active molecular orbital (RAMO). Further, MCD data show that there is an increase in ligand field strength due to an increase in coordination number, whereas resonance Raman spectra indicate a weaker Cu-S bond. The latter is supported by the S K-edge data, which demonstrate a less covalent thiolate interaction with the RAMO of nitrosocyanin at 20% relative to plastocyanin at 38%. EXAFS results give a longer Cu-S(Cys) bond distance in nitrosocyanin (2.28 A) compared to plastocyanin (2.08 A) and also show a large change in structure with reduction of the red copper site. The red copper site is the only presently known blue copper-related site with an exogenous water coordinated to the copper. Density functional calculations reproduce the experimental properties and are used to determine the specific protein structure contributions to exogenous ligand binding in red copper. The relative orientation of the CuNNS and the CuSC(beta) planes (determined by the protein sequence) is found to be key in generating an exchangeable coordination position at the red copper active site. The exogenous water ligation at the red copper active site greatly increases the reorganization energy (by approximately 1.0 eV) relative to that of the blue copper protein site, making the red site unfavorable for fast outer-sphere electron transfer, while providing an exchangeable coordination position for inner-sphere electron transfer.     

Electronic Structures of Copper(I) and Silver(I) beta-Diketonate Complexes

The valence electronic structures of [Cu(hfac)L] (hfac = CF(3)C(O)CHC(O)CF(3); L = PMe(3), CNMe), [Ag(hfac)(PMe(3))], and [Ag(fod)(PEt(3))] (fod = t-BuC(O)CHC(O)C(3)F(7)) have been studied by recording their photoelectron spectra and by performing Xalpha-SW calculations on the model compounds [M(dfm)(PH(3))] (dfm = HC(O)CHC(O)H; M = Cu, Ag) and [Cu(dfm)(CNH)]. For the copper complexes, the spectra were recorded between 21 and 160 eV using He I, He II and synchrotron radiation; while, for the silver complexes, He I and He II, spectra were recorded. Assignments were made by comparison of experimental and calculated values of band energies, and, for the copper complexes, by similar comparison of experimental and theoretical branching ratios as a function of photon energy. For the silver complexes, a more limited comparison of band intensities in the He I and He II spectra was made. In analogous compounds, it is shown that the binding energies follow the sequence Ag 4d > Cu 3d, with an energy difference of almost 2 eV.     

Quantum chemical modeling of photoadsorption properties of the nitrogen-vacancy point defect in diamond

Quantum chemical calculations of geometric and electronic structure and vertical transition energies for several low-lying excited states of the neutral and negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy point defect in diamond (NV(0) and NV(-)) have been performed employing various theoretical methods and basis sets and using finite model NC(n)H(m) clusters. Unpaired electrons in the ground doublet state of NV(0) and triplet state of NV(-) are found to be localized mainly on three carbon atoms around the vacancy and the electronic density on the nitrogen and rest of C atoms is only weakly disturbed. The lowest excited states involve different electronic distributions on molecular orbitals localized close to the vacancy and their wave functions exhibit a strong multireference character with significant contributions from diffuse functions. CASSCF calculations underestimate excitation energies for the anionic defect and overestimate those for the neutral system. The inclusion of dynamic electronic correlation at the CASPT2 level leads to a reasonable agreement (within 0.25 eV) of the calculated transition energy to the lowest excited state with experiment for both systems. Several excited states for NV(-) are found in the energy range of 2-3 eV, but only for the 1(3)E and 5(3)E states the excitation probabilities from the ground state are significant, with the first absorption band calculated at approximately 1.9 eV and the second lying 0.8-1 eV higher in energy than the first one. For NV(0), we predict the following order of electronic states: 1(2)E (0.0), 1(2)A(2) (approximately 2.4 eV), 2(2)E (2.7-2.8 eV), 1(2)A(1), 3(2)E (approximately 3.2 eV and higher).     

Electronic structures and chemical bonding in diatomic ScX to ZnX (X = S, Se, Te)

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, dissociation energies, and dipole moments of the title molecules in neutral, positively, and negatively charged ions were studied using density functional method. Ground electronic state was assigned for each molecule. The bonding patterns were analyzed and compared with both the available data and across the series. It was found that, besides ionic component, covalent bonds are formed between the metal s, d orbitals, and the p orbital of S, Se, and Te. For neutral and cationic molecules, the covalent character increases from ScX to CrX and from FeX to CuX with an exception of decrease at MnX and ZnX, while for anionic molecules, the trend is not obvious. For both neutral and charged molecules, the sulfides have the shortest bond distance and largest vibrational frequency, while tellurides have the largest bond distance and smallest vibrational frequency. For neutral and anionic molecules, the dissociation energy of sulfides is the largest, that of tellurides is the smallest, while this only remains true for cationic molecules from ScX(+) to FeX(+).