Density functional study on electronic structures and reactivity in methyl‐substituted chelates used in organic light‐emitting diodes

The electronic structure and reactivity trends of a set of tris‐(n‐methyl‐8‐quinolinolato) metal (III) (n = 0, 3, 4, 5; metal = Al⁺³, Ga⁺³) used as electron‐transport layer in organic light‐emitting diodes were studied and compared. All geometries were optimized at B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) level of theory. The geometries of the ground state (S₀) of unsubstituted molecules AlQ3 and GaQ3 were found to be slightly affected by the methyl group, which is in agreement with previous works. Methyl‐derivatives conserve largely the electronic structures of AlQ3 and GaQ3. The energies of the frontier orbitals highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital are raised by the electron‐releasing effect of methyl group. Molecular orbital contribution analysis reveals that the orbital population is essentially the same for both MQ3 and their derivatives. Analyses of the ionization potential and electron affinity showed that MQ3 tend to be better hole‐blockers than methylated analogues and 5Me‐MQ3 have higher hole‐injection capability than the other methyl‐substituted derivatives. The global reactivity analysis showed that the electrophilicity index can be an indicator of electron‐injection capability in these complexes. Local reactivity analysis showed that atomic sites that are prone to nucleophilic/electrophilic attack are atoms C‐4 in L3/C‐5 in L1. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Density functional studies of LiN and LiN+ (N = 2–30) clusters: Structure,binding and charge distribution

Density functional calculations using B3LYP/6‐311G method have been carried out for small to medium‐sized lithium clusters (Li_N, N = 2–30). The optimized geometries of neutral and singly charged clusters, their binding energies, ionization potential, electron affinity, chemical potential, softness, hardness, highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gap, and static dipole polarizability have been investigated systematically. In addition, we study the distribution of partial charges in detail using natural population analysis (NPA) in small‐sized clusters (Li_N, N = 2–10), both neutral and cationic, and demonstrate the correlation between symmetry and charge. Uniform distribution of charges in cationic clusters confirms them to be energetically more favorable than the neutral counterparts. Whenever possible, results have been compared with available data. An excellent agreement in every case supports new results as reliable predictions. A careful study of optimized geometries shows that Li₉ is derivable from bulk Li structure, i.e., body centered cubic cell, and higher clusters have optimized shapes derived from this. Further, the turnover form two to three dimensional structure occurs at cluster size N = 6. The quantity α^1/3 (α = polarizability) per atom is found to be broadly proportional to softness (per atom) as well as inverse ionization potential (per atom). The present work forms a sound basis for further study of large‐sized clusters as well as other atomic clusters. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Ab initio investigation of 2,2′‐bis(4‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐5,5′‐bithiazole for the design of efficient organic field‐effect transistors

The initial molecular structure of 2,2′‐bis(4‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐ 5,5′‐bithiazole has been optimized in the ground state using density functional theory (DFT). The distribution patterns of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) have also been evaluated. To shed light on the charge transfer properties, we have calculated the reorganization energy of electron λ_e, the reorganization energy of hole λ_h, adiabatic electron affinity (EA_a), vertical electron affinity (EA_v), adiabatic ionization potential (IP_a), and vertical ionization potential (IP_v) using DFT. Based on the evaluation of hole reorganization energy, λ_h, and electron reorganization energy, λ_e, it has been predicted that 2,2′‐bis(4‐trifluoromethylphenyl)‐5,5′‐bithiazole would be a better electron transport material. Finally, the effect of electric field on the HOMO, LUMO, and HOMO–LUMO gap were observed to check its suitability for the use as a conducting channel in organic field‐effect transistors. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Density functional theory calculation of 2p spectra of SiH4, PH3, H2S,HCl, and Ar

The method developed recently for prediction of 1s electron spectra is now extended to the 2p spectra of SiH₄, PH₃, H₂S, HCl, and Ar. The method for X‐ray absorption spectra involves the use of ΔE for the excitation and ionization energies, and application of time‐dependent density functional theory using the exchange‐correlation potential known as statistical average of orbital potentials for the intensities. Additional assumptions and approximations are also made. The best exchange‐correlation functional E_xc for the earlier calculation of ΔE in 1s spectra of C to Ne (namely Perdew–Wang 1986 exchange, combined with Perdew–Wang 1991 correlation) is no longer used in this work on 2p spectra of Si to Ar. Instead, recently tested E_xc good for 2p core‐electron binding energies (known as OPTX) for exchange and LYP for correlation, plus scalar zeroth‐order regular approximation is adopted here for the ΔE calculations. Our calculated X‐ray absorption spectra are generally in good agreement with experiment. Although the predictions for the higher excitations suffer from basis set difficulties, our procedure should be helpful in the interpretation of absorption spectra of 2p electrons of Si to Ar. In addition, we report calculated results for other kinds of electron spectra for SiH₄, PH₃, H₂S, HCl, and Ar, including valence electron ionizations and excitations as well as X‐ray emission. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Density functional study of the structural,electronic, and magnetic properties of neutral and charged rhodium clusters up to tetramer

Model core potential computations were performed for Rh₂, Rh₃, and Rh₄ clusters and their respective cations and anions using the linear combination of Gaussian‐type orbital, nonlocal spin density method. The optimized geometries, electronic and magnetic structures, binding and fragmentation energies, adiabatic ionization potentials, and electron affinities were determined. Results show that the ionization potentials, electron affinities, binding energies, and magnetic moments decrease with the cluster size. For Rh₂ and Rh₃ the most stable structures exhibit ferromagnetic properties, while Rh₄ in its ground state is found to be paramagnetic. The structures of minimum energy for the charged species often differs from the corresponding neutral one. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

The extended Koopmans' theorem Fock operator and the generalized overlap amplitude one-electron operator

The wave function of a system may be expanded in terms of eigenfunctions of the N −1 electron Hamiltonian times one-particle functions known as generalized overlap amplitudes (GOAS). The one-electron operator whose eigenfunctions are the GOAS is presented, without using an energy-dependent term as in the one-particle Green function or propagator approach. It is shown that this operator and the extended Koopmans' theorem (EKT) one-electron operator are of similar form, but perform complementary roles. The GOA operator begins with one-electron densities and total energies of N −1 electron states to generate the two-matrix and total energy of an N-electron state. The EKT operator begins with the two-matrix of an N-electron state to generate one-electron densities and ionization potentials (or approximations thereto) for N −1 electron states. However, whereas the EKT orbitals must be linearly independent, no such restriction applies to the GOAS. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quantum chemical studies on some thiadiazolines as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic medium

Density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set level was performed on three thiadiazolines, namely 4-chloro-N-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)aniline (TD01), 4-chloro-N-(5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)aniline (TD02), and 2-(5-(4-chlorophenylimino)-4,5-dihydro-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) phenol (TD03), and the inhibitive effect of these thiadiazolines against the corrosion of mild steel in acidic medium is elucidated. The calculated quantum chemical parameters correlated to the inhibition efficiency are E_HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital energy), E_LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy), the energy gap (ΔE) hardness (η), softness (S), dipole moment (μ), electron affinity (EA) ionization potential (IE), the absolute electro negativity (χ), and the fraction of electron transferred (ΔN). The decreasing order of %IE of the thiadiazolines studied was found to be in agreement with experimental corrosion inhibition efficiencies. The local reactivity has been analyzed through the condensed Fukui function and local softness indices using population analysis.     

Theoretical studies of some sulphonamides as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic medium

Density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6‐31G (d,p) and BP86/CEP‐31G* basis set levels and ab initio calculations using the RHF/6‐31G (d,p) methods were performed on four sulfonamides (namely sulfaacetamide (SAM), sulfapyridine (SPY), sulfamerazine (SMR), and sulfathiazole (STI)) used as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic medium to determine the relationship between molecular structure and their inhibition efficiencies (%IE). The order of inhibition efficiency obtained was SMR > SPY > STI > SAM which corresponded with the order of most of the calculated quantum chemical parameters namely E_HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital energy), E_LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy), the energy gap (ΔE), the Mulliken charges on the C, O, N, S atoms, hardness (η), softness (S), polarizability (α), dipole moment (μ), total energy change (ΔE_T), electrophilicity (ω), electron affinity (A), ionization potential (I), the absolute electronegativity (χ), and the fraction of electrons transferred (ΔN). Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) approach has been used and a correlation of the composite index of some of the quantum chemical parameters was performed to characterize the inhibition performance of the sulfonamides studied. The results showed that the %IE of the sulfonamides was closely related to some of the quantum chemical parameters but with varying degrees/order. The calculated %IE of the sulfonamides studied was found to be close to their experimental corrosion inhibition efficiencies. The experimental data obtained fits the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The negative sign of the E_HOMO values and other thermodynamic parameters obtained indicates that the data obtained supports physical adsorption mechanism. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Quantum chemical studies on molecular structural conformations and hydrated forms of salicylamide and O‐hydroxybenzoyl cyanide

Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) methods have been employed to study the molecular structural conformations and hydrated forms of both salicylamide (SAM) and O‐hydroxybenzoyl cyanide (OHBC). Molecular geometries and energetics have been obtained in the gaseous phase by employing the Møller–Plesset type 2 MP2/6‐311G(2d,2p) and B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) levels of theory. The presence of an electron‐releasing group (SAM) leads to an increase in the energy of the molecular system, while the presence of an electron‐withdrawing group (OHBC) drastically decreases the energy. Chemical reactivity parameters (η and μ) have been calculated using the energy values of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) obtained at the Hartree–Fock (HF)/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory for all the conformers and the principle of maximum hardness (MHP) has been tested. The condensed Fukui functions have been calculated using the atomic charges obtained through the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis scheme for all the optimized structures at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the most reactive sites of the molecules have been identified. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies have been carried out at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory for all the conformers in the gaseous phase on the basis of the method of Cheeseman and coworkers. The calculated chemical shift values have been used to discuss the delocalization activity of the electron clouds. The dimeric structures of the most stable conformers of both SAM and OHBC in the gaseous phase have been optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the interaction energies have been calculated. The most stable conformers of both compounds bear an intramolecular hydrogen bond, which gives rise to the formation of a pseudo‐aromatic ring. These conformers have been allowed to interact with the water molecule. Special emphasis has been given to analysis of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of the hydrated conformers. Self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory has been employed to optimize all the conformers in the aqueous phase (ε = 78.39) at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the solvent effect has been studied. Vibrational frequency analysis has been performed for all the optimized structures at MP2/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the stationary points corresponding to local minima without imaginary frequencies have been obtained for all the molecular structures. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Electronic structure and conformation of aniline and meta‐chloroaniline dimers

Poly(aniline) is a subject of considerable scientific and technological interest. Its homologs such as poly(m‐chloroaniline) potentially offer similar physical‐chemical properties. In this work we present a comparative theoretical study between aniline and the m‐chloroaniline species at several levels of theory. To envisage the possible mechanism of polymerization, we have obtained geometries and electronic structures for the monomers and dimers as well as the corresponding cations and dications. Based on the monomer‐optimized geometries, atomic charges, bond orders, and spin densities, a head‐to‐tail coupling in the electrochemical polymerization is suggested. We have also calculated band gaps and ionization potentials. For the cationic dimers of aniline and m‐chloroaniline, the highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) energy difference has a smaller value, and oxidation at specific sites may be observed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 78: 99–111, 2000     

Extended Koopmans' theorem at the second-order perturbation theory

The extended Koopmans' theorem (EKT), when combined with the second-order Møller−Plesset (MP2) perturbation theory through the relaxed density matrix approach [J. Cioslowski, P. Piskorz, and G. Liu, J. Chem. Phys. 1997, 107, 6,804], provides a straightforward way to calculate the ionization potentials (IPs) as an one electron quantity. However, such an EKT-MP2 method often suffers from the negative occupation problem, failing to provide the complete IP spectra for a system of interest. Here a small positive number scheme is proposed to cure this problem so as to remove the associated unphysical results. In order to obtain an in-depth physical interpretation of the EKT-MP2 method, we introduce a Koopmans-type quantity, named KT-MP2, based on which the respective contribution from the relaxation and the correlation parts in the EKT-MP2 results are recognized. Furthermore, the close relationship between the EKT-MP2 method and the derivative approach of the MP2 energy with respect to the orbital occupation numbers [N. Q. Su and X. Xu, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2015, 11, 4,677] is revealed. When these MP2-based methods are applied to a set of atoms and molecules, new insights are gained on the role played by the relaxation and the correlation effects in the electron ionization processes.     

Ab Initio calculation of 19F NMR chemical shielding for alkaline‐earth‐metal fluorides

Gauge‐independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method at Hartree‐Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) levels, respectively, was employed to calculate ¹⁹F NMR chemical shieldings of solid state alkaline‐earth‐metal fluorides MF₂ (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba). The results show that, although the calculated ¹⁹F chemical shieldings tend to be larger than the experimental values, they have a fairly good linear relationship with the observed ones. The calculated results based on different combinations of basis sets show that the B3LYP (a hybrid of DFT with HF) predictions are greatly superior to the HF predictions. When a basis set of metal atom with effective core potential (ECP) has well representation of valence wavefunction, especially wavefunction of d component, and proper definition of core electron number, it can be applied to obtain ¹⁹F chemical shielding which is close to that of all‐electron calculation. The variation of ¹⁹F chemical shielding of alkaline‐earth‐metal fluorides correlates well with the lattice factor A/R².     

Synthesis and Reactivity of Nickel‐Stabilised μ2:η2,η2‐P2, As2 and PAs Units

The reactivity of two paramagnetic nickel(I) compounds, CpNi(NHC) (where Cp=cyclopentadienyl; NHC=1,3‐bis(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)imidazol‐2‐ylidene (IMes) or 1,3‐bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)imidazol‐2‐ylidene (IPr)), towards [Na(dioxane)_x][PnCO] (Pn=P, As) is described. These reactions afford symmetric bimetallic compounds (μ²:η²,η²‐Pn₂){Ni(NHC)(CO)}₂. Several novel intermediates en route to such species are identified and characterised, including a compound containing the PCO^? anion in an unprecedented μ²:η²,η²‐binding mode. Ultimately, on treatment of the (μ²:η²,η²‐Pn₂){Ni(IMes)(CO)}₂ compounds with carbon monoxide, the Pn₂ units can be released, affording P₄ in the case of the phosphorus‐containing species, and elemental arsenic in the case of (μ²:η²,η²‐As₂){Ni(IMes)(CO)}₂.     

Influence of the Delocalization Error and Applicability of Optimal Functional Tuning in Density Functional Calculations of Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Donor–Acceptor Chromophores

Nonempirically tuned hybrid density functionals with range‐separated exchange are applied to calculations of the first hyperpolarizability (β_∥) and charge‐transfer (CT) excitations of linear “push–pull” donor–acceptor‐substituted organic molecules with extended π‐conjugated bridges. An unphysical delocalization with increasing chain length in density functional calculations can be reduced significantly by enforcing an asymptotically correct exchange‐correlation potential adjusted to give frontier orbital energies representing ionization potentials. The delocalization error for a number of donor–acceptor systems is quantified by calculations with fractional electron numbers and from orbital localizations. Optimally tuned hybrid variants of the PBE functional incorporating range‐separated exchange can produce similar magnitudes for β_∥ as Møller–Plesset second‐order perturbation (MP2) correlated calculations. Improvements are also found for CT excitation energies, with results similar to an approximate coupled‐cluster model (CC2).     

Design,Regiospecific Green Synthesis,Chemical Computational Analysis,and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Novel Phthalazine Heterocycles

Phthalazines have received considerable attention for their wide antimicrobial activity. Regiospecific nucleophilic attack of 4‐benzylphthalazin‐1‐ol by the 1‐oxo rather than the aza group on different alkyl halides gave novel phthalazine heterocyclic derivatives. Moreover, a variety of nucleosides bonded to electron‐withdrawing groups were synthesized using 4‐benzylphthalazine‐1‐ol. The density functional theory has been used to investigate the electronic structure of the synthesized compounds. All of the synthesized derivatives showed remarkable activity when tested against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, Aspergillus niger, and Candida albicans. The reactivity of these nucleosides was expected to arise from their bonding with the lone pair of N‐atom of the macromolecules of bacteria. These bonding were expected to inhibit the enzyme by forming highly stable complex with lower highest occupied molecular orbital energy. The structures of these synthesized derivatives were established by Fourier transform infrared, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopic evidence.