Aromatic gold and silver "rings": hydrosilver(I) and hydrogold(I) analogues of aromatic hydrocarbons

Quantum chemical calculations suggest that a series of molecules with the general formula cyclo-Mn(mu-H)n (M = Ag, Au; n = 3-6) are stable. All cyclo-MnHn species, except cyclo-Au(3)H(3), have the same symmetry with the respective aromatic hydrocarbons but differ in that the hydrogen atoms are in bridging positions between the metal atoms and not in terminal positions. The aromaticity of the hydrosilver(I) and hydrogold(I) analogues of aromatic hydrocarbons was verified by a number of established criteria of aromaticity, such as structural, energetic, magnetic, and chemical criteria. In particular, the nucleus-independent chemical shift, the relative hardness, Deltaeta, the electrophilicity index, omega, and the chemical reactivity toward electrophiles are indicative for the aromaticity of the hydrosilvers(I) and hydrogolds(I). A comprehensive study of the structural, energetic, spectroscopic (IR, NMR, electronic, and photoelectron spectra), and bonding properties of the novel classes of inorganic compounds containing bonds that are characterized by a common ring-shaped electron density, more commonly seen in organic molecules, is presented.     

Arylthio-substituted coronenes as tailored building blocks for molecular electronics

The electron transport through molecules in molecular devices is typically influenced by the nature of the interfaces with the contacting electrodes and by the interactions between neighbouring molecules. It is a major goal of molecular electronics to adjust the electronic function of a molecular device by tailoring the intrinsic molecular properties and the interfacial and intermolecular interactions. Here, we report on the tunability of the electronic properties of coronene derivatives, namely dodecakis(arylthio)coronenes (DATCs), which are found to exhibit a three-dimensional aromatic system. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), spectroscopy (STS) and simulations based on the density functional theory (DFT) are employed to characterize the structural and electronic properties of these molecules deposited on Au(111) surfaces. It is shown that modifications of the peripheral aryl-groups allow us to specifically affect the self-assembly and the charge transport characteristics of the molecules. Molecular assemblies like supramolecular wires with highly delocalized orbitals and single molecules with molecular "quantum dot" characteristics are obtained in this way.     

Triisopropylsilylethynyl‐Functionalized Graphene‐Like Fragment Semiconductors: Synthesis,Crystal Packing,and Density Functional Theory Calculations

Tri‐isopropylsilylethynyl (TIPS)‐functionalized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules incorporate structural components of graphene nanoribbons and represent a family of model molecules that form organic crystal semiconductors for electronic devices. Here, we report a series of TIPS‐functionalized PAHs and discuss their electronic properties and crystal packing features. We observe that these soluble compounds easily form one‐dimensional (1 D) packing arrangements and allow a direct evolution of the π stacking by varying the geometric shape. We find that the aspect ratio between length and width plays an important role on crystal packing. Our result indicates that when the PAH molecules have zigzag edges, these can provide enough volume for the molecules to rotate and reorient, alleviating the unfavorable electrostatic interactions found in perfectly cofacial π–π stacking. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to provide insights into how the molecular geometric shape influences the electronic structure and transport properties. The calculations indicate that, among the compounds studied here, “brick‐layer” stacks provide the highest hole mobility.     

Quinonoid oligothiophenes as electron-donor and electron-acceptor materials. A spectroelectrochemical and theoretical study

Two quinonoid bis(dicyanomethylene) oligothiophenes, terthiophene and quaterthiophene analogues of TCNQ, have been investigated by spectroelectrochemical experiments and density functional theory calculations. Electrochemical data show that the molecules can be both reduced and oxidized at relatively low potentials, and that the quaterthiophene derivative forms four stable redox species, the dianion, neutral, cation radical, and dication. The neutral oligomers are characterized by a strong electronic absorption in the red or near-infrared region and can be viewed as structural and electronic analogues of aromatic oligothiophenes in the dication or bipolaron state. Upon reduction, dianions, not anion radicals, are formed which absorb in the visible region. The theoretical calculations show that the dianions have aromatic oligothiophene moieties with two anionic dicyanomethylene groups. The transition from a quinonoid to an aromatic structure is fully supported by UV-vis-near-IR and vibrational spectroscopic data. Oxidation, generating cation radicals and dications, occurs at rather low potentials similar to those reported for oligothiophenes. The electronic spectra of these cations are understood from the calculations, which suggest that the oxidized species are stabilized by the partial aromatization of the oligothiophene backbone. IR spectra of the species, especially the CN stretching frequencies, confirm the structural conclusions and allow comparison with TCNQ and the TCNQ dianion.     

New ionization potentials from charge-transfer spectra

New ionization potential values are reported for sixteen aromatic molecules. They are obtained from CT spectra of a new electron acceptor, 3,5-dinitro-phthalic anhydride with the aromatic electron donors in 1,2-dichloroethane. The results are correlated with molecular electronic structure using perturbation theory.     

The aromatic fluctuation index (FLU): a new aromaticity index based on electron delocalization

In this work, the aromatic fluctuation index (FLU) that describes the fluctuation of electronic charge between adjacent atoms in a given ring is introduced as a new aromaticity measure. This new electronic criterion of aromaticity is based on the fact that aromaticity is related to the cyclic delocalized circulation of pi electrons. It is defined not only considering the amount of electron sharing between contiguous atoms, which should be substantial in aromatic molecules, but also taking into account the similarity of electron sharing between adjacent atoms. For a series of rings in 15 planar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, we have found that, in general, FLU is strongly correlated with other widely used indicators of local aromaticity, such as the harmonic-oscillator model of aromaticity, the nucleus independent chemical shift, and the para-delocalization index (PDI). In contrast to PDI, the FLU index can be applied to study the aromaticity of rings with any number of members and it can be used to analyze both the local and global aromatic character of rings and molecules.     

Establishment of correlations between the structure and reactivity of molecules in the gas phase based on information theory

A general approach to revealing correlations between the structure of molecules and their reactivity in fragmentation processes under electron impact conditions based on the use of generalized structural and mass spectral characteristics is suggested. The characteristics were obtained using information theory, molecular graphs, and absolute reaction rates. Information topological indices of molecular graphs were used as generalized structural characteristics of molecules. They are a quantitative measure of the structural complexity of molecules and are expressed in information units. The gas-phase process of fragmentation of molecules under electron impact was used as a general reaction series for all volatiles. In terms of information theory, the mass spectrum represents the distribution of probabilities of the formation of ions of each type, and the information entropy of this distribution appears to be an integral characteristic of the reactivity of a molecule during fragmentation under electron impact in the gas phase. Using organic and organometallic compounds of several classes (ferrocene derivatives, arylsilanes, aromatic azo compounds,etc.) as examples, linear correlations between the information indices of the mass spectra and the information topological indices of the appropriate molecular graphs or electronic parameters of molecules have been found, which testifies that the approach suggested is adequate.Translated fromIzvestiya Akodemii Nouk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2683–2688, November, 1996.     

Auger spectrum of a water molecule after single and double core ionization

The high intensity of free electron lasers opens up the possibility to perform single-shot molecule scattering experiments. However, even for small molecules, radiation damage induced by absorption of high intense x-ray radiation is not yet fully understood. One of the striking effects which occurs under intense x-ray illumination is the creation of double core ionized molecules in considerable quantity. To provide insight into this process, we have studied the dynamics of water molecules in single and double core ionized states by means of electronic transition rate calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. From the MD trajectories, photoionization and Auger transition rates were computed based on electronic continuum wavefunctions obtained by explicit integration of the coupled radial Schro?dinger equations. These rates served to solve the master equations for the populations of the relevant electronic states. To account for the nuclear dynamics during the core hole lifetime, the calculated electron emission spectra for different molecular geometries were incoherently accumulated according to the obtained time-dependent populations, thus neglecting possible interference effects between different decay pathways. We find that, in contrast to the single core ionized water molecule, the nuclear dynamics for the double core ionized water molecule during the core hole lifetime leaves a clear fingerprint in the resulting electron emission spectra. The lifetime of the double core ionized water was found to be significantly shorter than half of the single core hole lifetime.     

Star-shaped Organic Molecules That Comprise a 1,3,5-Trisubs-tituted Benzene Core and Three Oligoaryleneethynylene Arms as Light-emitting Materials

Star‐shaped rigid molecules that comprise a 1,3,5‐trisubstitued benzene core and three oligoaryleneethynylene arms have great potential application in organic light‐emitting devices (OLEDs). Their optical and electronic properties are tuned by the star‐shaped molecular size. To reveal the relationship between the properties and structures, we perform a systemic investigation for these organic molecules. The ground and excited state molecules are studied using density functional theory (DFT), the ab initio HF, and the single excitation configuration interaction (CIS), respectively. And the electronic absorption and emission spectra are investigated with time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and Zerner's intermediate neglect of differential overlap (ZINDO) methods. The results show that the HOMOs, LUMOs, energy gaps, ionization potentials (IP), electron affinities (EA), absorption and emission spectra are controlled by the star‐shaped molecular size, which favor the hole and electron injection into OLEDs. With increasing the molecular conjugated length, the absorption and emission spectra exhibit red shifts to some extent and are in good agreement with the experimental ones. Also, the calculated emission spectra range from 330 to 440 nm. All the calculated show that the star‐shaped molecules are promising as blue light emitting materials     

Conduction modulation of π-stacked ethylbenzene wires on Si(100) with substituent groups

For the realization of molecular electronics, one essential goal is the ability to systematically fabricate molecular functional components in a well-controlled manner. Experimental techniques have been developed such that π-stacked ethylbenzene molecules can now be routinely induced to self-assemble on an H-terminated Si(100) surface at precise locations and along precise directions. Electron transport calculations predict that such molecular wires could indeed carry an electrical current, but the Si substrate may play a considerable role as a competing pathway for conducting electrons. In this work, we investigate the effect of placing substituent groups of varying electron donating or withdrawing strengths on the ethylbenzene molecules to determine how they would affect the transport properties of such molecular wires. The systems consist of a line of π-stacked ethylbenzene molecules covalently bonded to a Si substrate. The ethylbenzene line is bridging two Al electrodes to model current through the molecular stack. For our transport calculations, we employ a first-principles technique where density functional theory (DFT) is used within the non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism (NEGF). The calculated density of states suggest that substituent groups are an effective way to shift molecular states relative to the electronic states associated with the Si substrate. The electron transmission spectra obtained from the NEGF–DFT calculations reveal that the transport properties could also be extensively modulated by changing substituent groups. For certain molecules, it is possible to have a transmission peak at the Fermi level of the electrodes, corresponding to high conduction through the molecular wire with essentially no leakage into the Si substrate.     

From aromaticity to self-organized criticality in graphene

The unique properties of graphene are rooted in its peculiar electronic structure where effects of electron delocalization are pivotal. We show that the traditional view of delocalization as formation of a local or global aromatic bonding framework has to be expanded in this case. A modification of the π-electron system of a finite-size graphene substrate results in a scale-invariant response in the relaxation of interatomic distances and reveals self-organized criticality as a mode of delocalized bonding. Graphene is shown to belong to a diverse class of finite-size extended systems with simple local interactions where complexity emerges spontaneously under very general conditions that can be a critical factor controlling observable properties such as chemical activity, electron transport, and spin-polarization.     

The structure of cinnamic acid and cinnamoyl azides,a unique localized π system: The electronic spectra and DFT‐treatment

The electronic absorption spectra of cinnamic acid and some cinnamoyl azides have been recorded in absolute methanol and investigated to explore the structure of the titled compounds. Cinnamic acid and its derivatives have a double bond, ? C?C? , between the aromatic ring and the carboxyl group which disturbs the π electron system of the molecule and inhibits electron delocalization as compared with styrene or benzoic acid. The azide group is neither a strong electron donor nor a strong electron acceptor but it increases conjugation in the molecule. The observed spectra confirm that each of the cinnamic acid and cinnamoyl azide molecules is one of a kind of unique disturbed π‐system and not of different independent π systems, each on a fragment of the molecule as predicted by the quantum theory of atom in molecule calculations. The spectra of cinnamic acid and its derivatives are not the additive spectra of the different fragments of the molecule. The spectra are characterized by few number, low intensity, and high‐energy electronic transitions (absorption bands) in the UV‐vis region. Molecular orbital calculations confirmed the spectral observations. The optimized geometry of the ground state of the studied compounds is calculated using the DFT/B3LYP/6‐31G** level of theory and an explicit molecular orbital analysis is carried out. Excited states are calculated using the TD/DFT procedure as implemented by the Gamess 2009 package of programs. The correspondence between calculated and the observed transition energies is adequate. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Electronic effects of peripheral substituents at porphyrin meso positions

Porphyrins are stable molecules with a macrocyclic conjugated system and often peripheral substituents. This unique structure makes the electronic properties of the four meso-carbons (the methine bridges) nearly identical. Replacement of the weakly electron-polarizing 2,4-vinyl groups of protoporphyrin IX with strongly electron-polarizing acetyl groups not only leads to much lower meso-carbon reactivities toward electrophilic aromatic substitution but also results in a significant meso-selectivity (the beta- and gamma-meso-positions become much more nucleophilic (basic) than the alpha- and delta-meso-positions). To further investigate the relationship between the porphyrin meso-carbon reactivities and the peripheral substituents, two monoacetylporphyrin analogues also were synthesized. This investigation not only leads to empirical rules for predicting porphyrin meso-carbon selectivities but also provides important models for theoretical calculations of porphyrin aromaticity.     

Ab initio and experimental studies on structure and vibrational spectra of some partially reduced benzo[c]phenanthrenes

A systematic study has been conducted on the conformation, electronic structure and vibrational spectra of benzo[c]phenanthrene and some of its partially reduced derivatives by experimental infrared spectroscopic and quantum chemical techniques. Electrostatic potential surfaces have been mapped over the electron density isosurfaces to obtain information about the size, shape, charge density distribution and chemical reactivity of the molecules. Possibility of hydrogen-hydrogen bonding has been explored in all the molecules. Partial reduction of the aromatic rings in benzo[c]phenanthrene leads to considerable molecular distortion with the approximate mean angle between the terminal rings increasing from 27.3 degrees to 46.0 degrees . The distortion is unequally distributed near the aromatic and saturated rings; the latter absorbs most of strain due to flexibility of the rings. A complete vibrational analysis of the experimental infrared spectra has been reported on the basis of frequency and intensity of the vibrational bands and potential energy distribution over the internal coordinates and characteristic bands have been identified.     

Electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated columnar liquid crystals

A series of propeller-shaped π-conjugated molecules based on 2,4,6-tris(thiophene-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazines has been designed and synthesized to obtain ambipolar charge-transporting liquid-crystalline materials. The 3-fold electron-donating aromatic units are attached to the electron-accepting triazine core, which forms electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated structures. These octupolar molecules self-organize into one-dimensional columnar nanostructures and exhibit ambipolar carrier transport behavior, which has been revealed by time-of-flight measurements. In this approach, electron-donor and acceptor electro-active segments are assembled individually in each column to give one-dimensional nanostructured materials with precisely tuned electronic properties. Their desirable electronic structures responsible for both hole and electron conductions have also been examined by cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations. The present results provide a new guideline and versatile approach to the design of ambipolar conductive nanostructured liquid-crystalline materials.     

Visible and ultraviolet spectroscopy of gas phase protein ions

Optical spectroscopy has contributed enormously to our knowledge of the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules and is now emerging as a cornerstone of the gas phase methods available for investigating biomolecular ions. This article focuses on the UV and visible spectroscopy of peptide and protein ions stored in ion traps, with emphasis placed on recent results obtained on protein polyanions, by electron photodetachment experiments. We show that among a large number of possible de-excitation pathways, the relaxation of biomolecular polyanions is mainly achieved by electron emission following photo-excitation in electronically excited states. Electron photodetachment is a fast process that occurs prior to relaxation on vibrational degrees of freedom. Electron photodetachment yield can then be used to record gas phase action spectra for systems as large as entire proteins, without the limitation of system size that would arise from energy redistribution on numerous modes and prevent fragmentation after the absorption of a photon. The optical activity of proteins in the near UV is directly related to the electronic structure and optical absorption of aromatic amino acids (Trp, Phe and Tyr). UV spectra for peptides and proteins containing neutral, deprotonated and radical aromatic amino acids were recorded. They displayed strong bathochromic shifts. In particular, the results outline the privileged role played by open shell ions in molecular spectroscopy which, in the case of biomolecules, is directly related to their reactivity and biological functions. The optical shifts observed are sufficient to provide unambiguous fingerprints of the electronic structure of chromophores without the requirement of theoretical calculations. They constitute benchmarks for calculating the absorption spectra of chromophores embedded in entire proteins and could be used in the future to study biochemical processes in the gas phase involving charge transfer in aromatic amino acids, such as in the mediation of electron transfer or redox reactions. We then addressed the important question of the sensitivity of protein optical spectra to the intrinsic properties of protein ions, including conformation, charge state, etc., and to environmental factors. We report optical spectra for different charge states of insulin, for ubiquitin starting from native and denaturated solutions, and for apo-myoglobin protein. All these spectra are compared critically to spectra recorded in solution, in order to assess solvent effects. We also report the spectra of peptides complexed with metal cations and show that complexation gives rise to new optical transitions related to charge transfer types of excitation. The perspectives of this work include integrative approaches where UV-Vis spectroscopy could, for example, be combined with ion mobility spectrometry and high level calculations for protein structural characterization. It could also be used in spectroscopy to probe biological processes in the gas phase, with different light sources including VUV radiation (to probe different types of excitations) and ultra short pulses with time and phase modulation (to probe and control the dynamics of de-excitation or charge transfer events), and with the derivatization of proteins with chromophores to modulate their optical properties. We also envision that photo-excitation will play an important role in the future to produce intermediates with new chemical and reactive properties. Another promising route is to conduct activated electron photodetachment dissociation experiments.     

Switching Quantum Interference in Single-Molecule Junctions by Mechanical Tuning

The charge transport through single-molecule electronic devices can be controlled mechanically by changing the molecular geometrical configuration in situ, but the tunable conductance range is typically less than two orders of magnitude. Herein, we proposed a new mechanical tuning strategy to control the charge transport through the single-molecule junctions via switching quantum interference patterns. By designing molecules with multiple anchoring groups, we switched the electron transport between the constructive quantum interference (CQI) pathway and the destructive quantum interference (DQI) pathway, and more than four orders of magnitude conductance variation can be achieved by shifting the electrodes in a range of about 0.6 nm, which is the highest conductance range ever achieved using mechanical tuning.     

Discotic liquid crystals: a new generation of organic semiconductors

Discotic (disc-like) molecules typically comprising a rigid aromatic core and flexible peripheral chains have been attracting growing interest because of their fundamental importance as model systems for the study of charge and energy transport and due to the possibilities of their application in organic electronic devices. This critical review covers various aspects of recent research on discotic liquid crystals, in particular, molecular design concepts, supramolecular structure, processing into ordered thin films and fabrication of electronic devices. The chemical structure of the conjugated core of discotic molecules governs, to a large extent, their intramolecular electronic properties. Variation of the peripheral flexible chains and of the aromatic core is decisive for the tuning of self-assembly in solution and in bulk. Supramolecular organization of discotic molecules can be effectively controlled by the choice of the processing methods. In particular, approaches to obtain suitable macroscopic orientations of columnar superstructures on surfaces, that is, planar uniaxial or homeotropic alignment, are discussed together with appropriate processing techniques. Finally, an overview of charge transport in discotic materials and their application in optoelectronic devices is given.     

Sterically encumbered diphosphaalkenes and a bis(diphosphene) as potential multiredox-active molecular switches: EPR and DFT investigations

The reduction products of two diphosphaalkenes (1 and 2) and a bis(diphosphene) (3) containing sterically encumbered ligands and corresponding to the general formulas Ar-X=Y-Ar'-Y=X-Ar, have been investigated by EPR spectroscopy. Due to steric constraints in these molecules, at least one of the dihedral angles between the CXYC plane and either the Ar plane or the Ar' plane is largely nonzero and, hence, discourages conformations that are optimal for maximal conjugation of P=X (or P=Y) and aromatic pi systems. Comparison of the experimental hyperfine couplings with those calculated by DFT on model systems containing no cumbersome substituents bound to the aromatic rings shows that addition of an electron to the nonplanar neutral systems causes the X=Y-Ar'-Y=X moiety to become planar. In contrast to 1 and 2, 3 can be reduced to relatively stable dianion. Surprisingly the two-electron reduction product of 3 is paramagnetic. Interpretation of its EPR spectra, in the light of DFT calculations on model dianions, shows that in [3](2)(-) the plane of the Ar' ring is perpendicular to the CXYC planes. Due to interplay between steric and electronic preferences, the Ar-X=Y-Ar'-Y=X-Ar array for 3 is therefore dependent upon its redox state and acts as a "molecular switch".