Electronic spectra of finite polyenes and polyacetylene obtained by electron and polarization propagator calculations

Summary Polyacetylene and the short polyenes are used as common test cases for demonstrating the capability of electron and polarization propagator theory to simulate various types of molecular electronic spectra.Dedicated to Jan Linderberg on his 60th birthday     

Electronic structure and excitations in oligoacenes from ab initio calculations

Oligoacenes C(4n+2)H(2n+4) (n=2,...,6) are studied using a variety of ab initio methods. Density functional theory (DFT) optimized geometries were in good agreement with experiment. Vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials and electron affinities were computed with DFT and it was found that standard exchange-correlation (xc) functionals underestimate ionization potentials in oligoacenes. Possible reasons for this underestimation are discussed. Low lying electronic excitations were computed using time-dependent density functional theory, configuration interaction singles, and configuration interaction singles with approximate treatment of doubles. In agreement with earlier work, time-dependent DFT in conjunction with standard xc-energy functionals substantially underestimates the lowest (p) singlet-singlet electronic transition.     

Electronic structure of polyenes and polyacetylene

The CNDO/S2 model is applied to evaluate the molecular orbitals and ultraviolet absorption spectra of the series of polyenes C_4nH_4n+2, n = 1, 2, 3, 4; extended to encompass the infinite polyene chain, i.e., polyacetylene; and utilized to interpret the photoemission and absorption spectra of polyacetylene.     

Extrapolation of the linear and nonlinear polarizabilities from ab initio finite oligomer calculations

Different definitions of property per unit cell and different fitting functions are employed to obtain the asymptotic limit values per unit cell of the polarizability (α), the first (β), and the second (γ) hyperpolarizabilities of an infinite oligomer. A 1/n power series function is found to be suitable for the average value and logarithmic average value per unit cell definition, and an exponentially decreasing function is found to be suitable for the difference value per unit cell definition. These conclusions are derived based on an equation expressing the total energy per unit cell of a finite linear oligomer as a power series of 1/n, presented from a perturbation treatment. Several calculations of long chain systems have been carried out to reach our conclusions. An equation of p(n)/n = a + b/n + c/n² is strongly recommended for a least‐squares fitting of the properties per unit cell to achieve a stabilization behavior when the chain length is increased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006     

Potential energy surface and second virial coefficient of methane-water from ab initio calculations

Six-dimensional intermolecular potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the interaction of CH4 with H2O are presented, obtained from ab initio calculations using symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) at two different levels of intramonomer correlation and the supermolecular approach at three different levels of electron correlation. Both CH4 and H2O are assumed to be rigid molecules with interatomic distances and angles fixed at the average values in the ground-state vibration. A physically motivated analytical expression for each PES has been developed as a sum of site-site functions. The PES of the CH4-H2O dimer has only two symmetry-distinct minima. From the SAPT calculations, the global minimum has an energy of -1.03 kcal/mol at a geometry where H2O is the proton donor, HO-H...CH4, with the O-H-C angle of 165 degrees, while the secondary minimum, with an energy of -0.72 kcal/mol, has CH4 in the role of the proton donor (H3C-H...OH2). We estimated the complete basis set limit of the SAPT interaction energy at the global minimum to be -1.06 kcal/mol. The classical cross second virial coefficient B12(T) has been calculated for the temperature range 298-653 K. Our best results agree well with some experiments, allowing an evaluation of the quality of experimental results.     

Molecular structure of ethynylbenzene from electron diffraction and ab initio molecular orbital calculations

The molecular structure and benzene ring distortions of ethynylbenzene have been investigated by gas-phase electron diffraction and ab initio MO calculations at the HF/6-31G^* and 6-3G^** levels. Least-squares refinement of a model withC _2v, symmetry, with constraints from the MO calculations, yielded the following important bond distances and angles:r _g(C _i -C _o )=1.407±0.003 Å,r _g(C _o -C _m )=1.397±0.003 Å,r _g(C _m -C _p )=1.400±0.003 Å,r _g(Cr _i -CCH)=1.436 ±0.004 Å,r _g(C=C)=1.205±0.005 Å, C _o -C _i -C _o =119.8±0.4°. The deformation of the benzene ring of ethynylbenzene given by the MO calculations, including o-C_i-C_o=119.4°, is insensitive to the basis set used and agrees with that obtained by low-temperature X-ray crystallography for the phenylethynyl fragment, C₆H₅-CC-, in two different crystal environments. The partial substitution structure of ethynylbenzene from microwave spectroscopy is shown to be inaccurate in the ipso region of the benzene ring.     

High-dimensional ab initio potential energy surfaces for reaction dynamics calculations

There has been great progress in the development of potential energy surfaces (PESs) for reaction dynamics that are fits to ab initio energies. The fitting techniques described here explicitly represent the invariance of the PES with respect to all permutations of like atoms. A review of a subset of dynamics calculations using such PESs (currently 16 such PESs exist) is then given. Bimolecular reactions of current interest to the community, namely, H + CH(4) and F + CH(4), are focused on. Unimolecular reactions are then reviewed, with a focus on the photodissociation dynamics of H(2)CO and CH(3)CHO, where so-called "roaming" pathways have been discovered. The challenges for electronically non-adiabatic reactions, and associated PESs, are presented with a focus on the OH* + H(2) reaction. Finally, some thoughts on future directions and challenges are given.     

Study on the behavior of energy convergence in ab initio crystal orbital calculations

Summary This article studies the dependence on the cutoff scheme of ab initio crystal orbital calculations with no long-range correction. We have thoroughly studied the Namur cutoff and cell-wise cutoff schemes through calculations of polyethylene and LiH chains. The Namur cutoff gives the fastest energy convergence with respect to the number of neighbors (N ₀). The energy convergence behavior with respect to N ₀ depends on the basis set. The Namur cutoff shows the fastest convergence with the STO-3G basis set, intermediate convergence with the MINI basis set, and the slowest convergence with the (7s4p/3s) basis set. The cell-wise cutoff shows exactly the reverse order of the Namur cutoff. The Namur cutoff destroys the translational symmetry. Both the Namur cutoff and cell-wise cutoff schemes introduce slight asymmetry on the two equivalent C-C bonds of polyethylene when calculating with a C₂H₄ unit cell. The asymmetry with the Namur cutoff can be made to disappear by increasing N ₀ a little. The calculations on two different unit-cell structures of trans-polyacetylene show the effect of the cutoff scheme on the total energy. Only the symmetric cutoff energies are the same. Disagreement related to the Namur cutoff disappears at N ₀ = 20, however, that related to the cell-wise and modified symmetric cutoff schemes remains at N ₀ 20. The optimized geometry and vibrational frequency are not as sensitive to the cutoff method except with the symmetric cutoff. A compilation of all results shows that the Namur cutoff is the superior cutoff scheme when calculating the insulator using the minimal basis set, especially the STO-3G basis set.     

Stereoelectronic structure of methoxyphenyltrichlorostannanes by the results of ab initio calculations

The RHF/3-21G* and MP2/3-21G* levels were implemented for the study of the stereoelectronic structure of 2- and 4-methoxyphenyl- and 2,6-dimethoxyphenyltrichlorostannanes. In the 4-methoxyphenyltrichlorostannane the Sn atom is tetracoordinated, while in 2-methoxy- and 2,6-dimethoxyphenyltrichlorostannanes it is pentacoordinated due to the intramolecular interaction of the O atom with it. In this case a closure occurs of a 4-membered ring. In the last molecule, the Sn atom interacts almost exclusively with only one of the O atoms. The intramolecular interaction between the Sn and O atoms leads to the electron density transfer from C and H atoms of the methoxy groups as well as from the Sn atom to the atoms of its coordination polyhedron. As a result the electron density increases also on the O atom involved in this interaction.     

Classical chemical concepts from ab initio SCF calculations

Alternative definitions of bond order, valency, gross orbital populations and total atomic charge for SCF wavefunctions are compared. It is found that there are sound theoretical and numerical reasons for preferring definitions based on the Löwdin density matrix.     

Molecular structure and rotational isomerism in glyoxylicacid from microwave spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

An improved substitution structure for glyoxylic acid in the hydrogen bonded trans-1 form is presented. By means of microwave double resonance spectroscopy, the trans-2 form, with a zig-zag chain of atoms HOCCH, was identified. Using trans-2 dipole moment components calculated by ab initio SCF theory, the energy of the trans-2 form is found to be 1.2 ± 0.5 kcal mole^?1 higher than that of the trans-1 form. The ab initio energy difference (?1.0 kcal mole^?1) has the wrong sign.     

Excited-state structure and vibrations of p-diaminobenzene studied by ab initio calculations

The structures and vibrations of p-diaminobenzene (PDAB) in the S₀ and S₁ states have been studied by ab initio quantum-chemical calculations. Results from geometry optimization show that the two stable cis and trans conformers of PDAB are non-planar in the S₀ state. Upon electronic excitation to the S₁ state, enhanced interaction between the ring and the amino substituent causes the molecule to become planar and contract along the long in-plane axis. A detailed analysis of the normal vibrations of PDAB in both states has been done on the basis of the motions of individual atoms as well as reduced masses, force constants and frequencies. The computed frequencies are in reasonably good agreement with the available experimental data.     

Matrix-isolation study and ab initio calculations of the structure and spectra of hydroxyacetone

The structure of hydroxyacetone (HA) isolated in an argon matrix (at 12 K) and in a neat solid phase (at 12-175 K) was characterized by using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The interpretation of the experimental results was supported by high-level quantum chemical calculations, undertaken by using both ab initio (MP2) and density functional theory methods. A potential-energy surface scan, carried out at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, predicted four nonequivalent minima, Cc, Tt, Tg, and Ct, all of them doubly degenerate by symmetry. The energy barriers for conversion between most of the symmetrically related structures and also between some of the nonequivalent minima (e.g., Tg --> Tt and Ct --> Tt) are very small and stay below the zero-point vibrational level associated with the isomerization coordinate in the higher-energy form in each pair. Therefore, only Cc and Tt conformers have physical significance, with populations of 99 and 1%, respectively, in gas phase at room temperature. For the matrix-isolated compound, only the most stable Cc conformer was observed. On the other hand, the polarizable continuum model calculations indicated that in water solution, the population of Tt and Ct conformers might be high enough (ca. 6 and 11%, respectively) to enable their experimental detection, thus supporting the conclusions of a previous IR spectroscopy study [ Spectrochim. Acta A 2005, 61, 477] in which the presence of more than one HA conformer in aqueous solution was postulated. The signatures of these minor conformers, however, do not appear in the spectra of the neat HA crystal, and the crystal structure was rationalized in terms of centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded dimers consisting of two Cc-like units. Finally, we calculated (1)H, (13)C, and (17)O NMR chemical shifts at different levels of theory and found them to agree with available experimental data.     

Molecular dynamic structure and dimerization of polyacetylene

The vibrational self-consistent-field approximation is used to calculate excited vibrational energy levels of the water molecule in hyperspherical coordinates. The calculations are made for a global realistic Sorbie–Murrell-type potential surface for which exactum quantum variational results are known for comparison. The coupled SCF equations are solved using the discrete variable representation (DVR ) method, which allows computation of the coupled multidimensional integrals in a very simple and efficient way. The results are in good agreement with exactum quantum calculations and are more accurate than SCF energy eigenvalues obtained using normal mode coordinates.     

Insights into the structure of cyclohexane from femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

In this paper, we report the use of femtosecond time-resolved degenerate four-wave mixing rotationally resolved spectroscopy to obtain very accurate structural information on the symmetric top cyclohexane. Apart from highlighting the versatility of this method in determining accurate structures of large and complex molecules without dipole moment, the present study also details the comparison of the experimentally determined rotational constant B(0) with that obtained from high-level ab initio calculations. The theoretical calculations, which were carried out at both the second-order M?ller-Plesset (MP2) and coupled-cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple substitutions [CCSD(T)] levels of theory, also take into account vibrational averaging effects. A detailed investigation of the vibrational averaging effects reveals that the corrections emerge from only the six highly symmetric A(1g) modes, a justification of which is provided by an analysis of these modes.     

Intermolecular potential energy surface and rovibrational spectra of the He-N2O complex from ab initio calculations

We report an ab initio intermolecular potential energy surface calculation on the He-N(2)O complex with N(2)O at its ground state using a supermolecular approach. The calculation was performed at the coupled-cluster [CCSD(T)] level, with the full counterpoise correction for the basis set superposition error and a large basis set including midpoint bond functions. The CCSD(T) potential is found to have two minima corresponding to the T-shaped and linear He-ONN structures. The T-shaped minimum is the global minimum. The two-dimensional discrete variable representation method was employed to calculate the rovibrational energy levels for (4)He-N(2)O and (3)He-N(2)O with N(2)O at its ground and nu(3) excited states. The results indicate that the CCSD(T) potential supports five and four vibrational bound states for the (4)He-N(2)O and (3)He-N(2)O, respectively. Moreover, the calculations on the line intensities of the rotational transitions in the nu(3) region of N(2)O for the ground vibrational state shows that the (3)He-N(2)O spectrum is dominated by a-type transitions (DeltaK(a)=0), while the (4)He-N(2)O spectrum is contributed by both the a-type and b-type (DeltaK(a)=+/-1) transitions. The calculated transition frequencies and the intensities are in good agreement with the observed results.     

Propionaldehyde: ab initio and semi-empirical calculations

The internal rotation of propionaldehyde about the 1–2 bond has been studied by means of ab initio calculations. The most stable conformer has methyl and carbonyl eclipsed. Increasing the 1–2 dihedral angle to 60°, 120°, and 180° gives energies of 1.7, 0.4, and 0.7 Kcal/mol, respectively. The agreement with force field calculations and with experiment is reasonable.     

New insights into oxidation properties and band structure of fluorescein dyes from ab initio calculations

During recent years, several publications have investigated the electrical bistability of spin cast films of halogenated fluorescein dyes. In the present contribution, we simulate the excited states of single fluorescein dyes with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and we analyzed the band structure of the corresponding molecular crystals with DFT. More precisely, the molecules examined are fluorescein, erythrosine B, and rose bengal. We consider the molecular crystals of fluorescein in salt and lactone forms as well as erythrosine B. Rose bengal showed high quantum yield of the triplet state and high electronic affinity. Therefore, the rose bengal has very strong oxidation properties and it is able to form electrically bistable thin oxide layer. The poor crystal order and small bandwidths of fluorescein in salt form and erythrosine B indicated high resistivity for both crystals.     

Interpreting ultrafast molecular fragmentation dynamics with ab initio electronic structure calculations

High-level ab initio electronic structure calculations are used to interpret the fragmentation dynamics of CHBr(2)COCF(3), following excitation with an intense ultrafast laser pulse. The potential energy surfaces of the ground and excited cationic states along the dissociative C-CF(3) bond have been calculated using multireference second order perturbation theory methods. The calculations confirm the existence of a charge transfer resonance during the evolution of a dissociative wave packet on the ground state potential energy surface of the molecular cation and yield a detailed picture of the dissociation dynamics observed in earlier work. Comparisons of the ionic spectrum for two similar molecules support a general picture in which molecules are influenced by dynamic resonances in the cation during dissociation.