Photostability via sloped conical intersections: a computational study of the excited states of the naphthalene radical cation

On the basis of an extensive ab initio electronic structure study of the ground and excited-state potential energy surfaces of the naphthalene radical cation (N*+), we propose a mechanism for its ultrafast nonradiative relaxation from the second excited state (D2) down to the ground state (D0), which could explain the experimentally observed photostability [Zhao, L.; Lian, R.; Shkrob I. A.; Crowell, R. A.; Pommeret, S.; Chronister, E. L.; Liu, A. D.; Trifunac, A. D. J. Phys. Chem. A., 2004, 108, 25]. The proposed photophysical relaxation pathway involves internal conversion from the D2 state down to the D0 state via two consecutive, accessible, sloped conical intersections (CIs). The two crossings, D0/D1 and D1/D2, are characterized at the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) level. At this level of theory, the D0/D1 crossing is energetically readily accessible, while the D1/D2 CI appears too high in energy to be involved in internal conversion. However, the inclusion of dynamic correlation effects, via single point CASPT2 calculations including excitations out of the valence pi- and sigma-orbitals, lowers the D0 and D2 state energies with respect to D1. Extrapolations at the CASPT2 level predict that the D1/D2 crossing is then significantly lower in energy than with CASSCF indicating that with a higher-level treatment of dynamic correlation it may be energetically accessible following vertical excitation to D2. N*+ is proposed as one of the species contributing to a series of diffuse infrared absorption bands originating from interstellar clouds. Understanding the mechanism for photostability in the gas phase, therefore, has important consequences for astrophysics.     

Controlling product selection in the photodissociation of formaldehyde: direct quantum dynamics from the S1 barrier

Controlling the selectivity between H(2)+CO and H+HCO in the S(1)/S(0) nonadiabatic photodissociation of formaldehyde has been investigated using direct quantum dynamics. Simulations started from the S(1) transition state have suggested that a key feature for controlling the branching ratio of ground-state products is the size of the momentum given to the wavepacket along the transition vector. Our results show that letting the wavepacket fall down from the barrier to the conical intersection with no initial momentum leads to H(2)+CO, while extra momentum toward products favors the formation of H+HCO through the same conical intersection. Quantum dynamics results are interpreted in semiclassical terms with the aid of a Mulliken-like analysis of the final population distribution among both products and the reactant on each electronic state.     

Transition structure in a diabatic surface formalism

The theory of an implementation of the diabatic surface model within the Heitler–London valence bond approach is described. It is shown that the HL –VB wave function can be obtained from a Van-Vleck transformation of an MC –SCF wave function which has been built from atom-localized orbitals. This wave function is built from a superposition of two diabatic components, reactantlike and productlike. The transition structure is then obtained as the minimum of the seam of intersection of the diabatic surfaces and the algorithm for performing this constrained optimization is described. Several areas of application are also discussed.     

Formation and characterization of polymersomes made by a solvent injection method

In this article a solvent injection method is described for vesicle formation using poly(butadiene)‐ b‐poly(acrylic acid) diblock copolymers as the amphiphilic molecules. Vesicles composed of polymer bilayers are commonly referred to as polymersomes. Solvent injection is shown to be a rapid method for polymersome formation suitable to make large volumes of polymersome solution. The method can be manipulated to obtain a wide range of vesicle sizes depending on the polymer concentration and preparation conditions. Polymersome solutions in this study are characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), fluorescent microscopy, and electron microscopy. Polymersome sizes range from tens of nanometers to several microns. The membrane thickness of smaller polymersomes is found to lie between 14–20 nm. Larger polymersomes are found to have somewhat thicker membranes. The procedure involves the addition of polymers dissolved in an organic solvent to a stirred aqueous solution. The formation of polymersomes by this method is proposed to be governed by the limited mutual solubility of the two solvents and the simultaneous diffusion of solvent and water out of and in to initially formed organic solvent droplets. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship between photoisomerization path and intersection space in a retinal chromophore model

A low-lying segment of the intersection space (IS) between the excited-state and the ground-state energy surfaces of a retinal chromophore model has been mapped using ab initio CASSCF computations. Analysis of the structural relationship between the computed IS cross-section and the excited state Z --> E isomerization path shows that these are remarkably close both in energy and in structure. Indeed, the IS segment and the Z --> E path remain roughly parallel and merge only when the double bond reaches a 70 degree twisting. This finding supports the idea that, in certain chromophores, a more extended segment of IS, and not a single conical intersection, contributes to the decay to the ground state.     

The instability of the planar structure of carbanion ⊖:CH2-CN

Ab initio SCF calculations using uniform quality extended basis set supplemented with polarization functions predict a slightly pyramidal carbanion centre in :CH₂-CN. This finding is in contrast to the usual finding of planar geometry of carbanion centres generated next to other conjugative groups. Although the predicted barrier to pyramidal inversion is very small (0.1 kcal/mole) it is estimated that correlation energy contributions, neglected in any SCF calculations, may be too small to remove the barrier. The present results confirm earlier experimental findings that counter-ion and solvent effects can have a dominant role in determining the geometry of this unusual ion in actual chemical systems.     

Magnetic and spectroscopic investigation of partially reduced vanadium pentoxides. I. α-CuxV2O5

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and magnetic susceptibility of both powdered and crystalline α-Cu_xV₂O₅ near the compositional limit have been studied as a function of temperature. The EPR data indicate that the paramagnetic species are isolated V⁴⁺ centers in a nearly axially symmetric ligand field. It is demonstrated that reasonably precise EPR parameters can be derived from powdered spectra. The narrowness of the EPR line suggests that the spectra are motionally narrowed via thermally activated hopping of the paramagnetic electron of V⁴⁺. Expressions are derived for the temperature-dependent magnetic moments of the octahedral ²T_2g term under the combined perturbation of spin-orbit coupling and an axially symmetric ligand field, and the susceptibility data are interpreted in terms of this model. It is found that the sixfold degenerate ²T_2g level is split into three levels with the lowest and highest levels possessing a magnetic moment and the intermediate level having no moment. This model is also consistent with the g-tensor and can account for the temperature dependence of the EPR linewidth.     

Theory of lone pairs. IV. Molecular ion hole states of ten-electron hydrides. Molecular ionization potentials and proton affinities by direct SCF calculations

Closed-shell SCF calculations on the ground states and direct SCF calculations on the ionized doublet states were carried out for a series of ten-electron hydrides. The correlation of ionization potentials with the degree of protonation and the nuclear charge has been studied for hole states derived from excitation out of both the core and valence molecular orbitals. Calculated proton affinities of the ground states and hole states derived from a given symmetry orbital show a similar trend to that of the ionization potentials.     

Singlet excited-state dynamics of 5-fluorocytosine and Cytosine: an experimental and computational study

The photophysics of singlet excited 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) was studied in steady-state and time-resolved experiments and theoretically by quantum chemical calculations. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements show that replacement of the C5 hydrogen of cytosine by fluorine increases the excited-state lifetime by 2 orders of magnitude from 720 fs to 73 +/- 4 ps. Experimental evidence indicates that emission in both compounds originates from a single tautomeric form. The lifetime of 5FC is the same within experimental uncertainty in the solvents ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide. The insensitivity of the S(1) lifetime to the protic nature of the solvent suggests that proton transfer is not the principal quenching mechanism for the excited state. Excited-state calculations were carried out for the amino-keto tautomer of 5FC, the dominant species in polar environments, in order to understand its longer excited-state lifetime. CASSCF and CAS-PT2 calculations of the excited states show that the minimum energy path connecting the minimum of the (1)pi,pi state with the conical intersection responsible for internal conversion has essentially the same energetics for cytosine and 5FC, suggesting that both bases decay nonradiatively by the same mechanism. The dramatic difference in lifetimes may be due to subtle changes along the decay coordinate. A possible reason may be differences in the intramolecular vibrational redistribution rate from the Franck-Condon active, in-plane modes to the out-of-plane modes that must be activated to reach the conical intersection region.