Norbornane: an investigation into its valence electronic structure using electron momentum spectroscopy, and density functional and Green's function theories

We report on the results of an exhaustive study of the valence electronic structure of norbornane (C(7)H(12)), up to binding energies of 29 eV. Experimental electron momentum spectroscopy and theoretical Green's function and density functional theory approaches were all utilized in this investigation. A stringent comparison between the electron momentum spectroscopy and theoretical orbital momentum distributions found that, among all the tested models, the combination of the Becke-Perdew functional and a polarized valence basis set of triple-zeta quality provides the best representation of the electron momentum distributions for all of the 20 valence orbitals of norbornane. This experimentally validated quantum chemistry model was then used to extract some chemically important properties of norbornane. When these calculated properties are compared to corresponding results from other independent measurements, generally good agreement is found. Green's function calculations with the aid of the third-order algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme indicate that the orbital picture of ionization breaks down at binding energies larger than 22.5 eV. Despite this complication, they enable insights within 0.2 eV accuracy into the available ultraviolet photoemission and newly presented (e,2e) ionization spectra, except for the band associated with the 1a(2) (-1) one-hole state, which is probably subject to rather significant vibronic coupling effects, and a band at approximately 25 eV characterized by a momentum distribution of "s-type" symmetry, which Green's function calculations fail to reproduce. We note the vicinity of the vertical double ionization threshold at approximately 26 eV.     

Solving the Schrodinger equation of an electron in a periodic crystal potential through elliptic functions

In this study, the Schrodinger equation of a valence electron in a periodic crystal potential is formulated and solved using the elliptic function formalism. The method allows double-periodic lattice planes to be represented in the Gauss plane. The reality of the obtained eigenfunctions and the structure of the valence and conduction bands are also investigated.

     

通过价层电子密度分析展现分子电子结构

迄今已有众多实空间函数被提出用来揭示化学上感兴趣的分子电子结构特征,例如化学键、孤对电子和多中心电子共轭。在这些分析方法中,电子定域化函数(ELF)、电子密度的拉普拉斯(∇²ρ)和变形密度(ρ_def)被广泛用于实际研究。众所周知,分析分子的总电子密度无法像以上提及的方法那样展现出与分子电子结构有关的丰富的信息。但是,在本文中,通过数个实例以及通过与ELF、∇²ρ和ρ_def的对比,我们指出若只关注价层电子密度分布,分子电子结构特征也是可能被探究的。我们发现对大多数情况,对非常简单的价层电子密度的分析也可以给出与ELF、∇²ρ和ρ_def分析类似的信息,并且这种分析具有计算复杂度更低的额外优点。我们希望本文的工作可以使得化学家们关注长期被忽视的价层电子密度所具有的重要价值。也值得注意的是,价层电子密度分析并非完全没有缺点,当这种方法无法提供丰富信息的时候,研究者仍需借助于其它类型的分析手段。     

An ab initio method for performing valence-electron-only calculations

We present a new method for performing valence-electron-only calculations on systems containing heavy atoms. The method contains no adjustable parameters and when used with a large orbital basis set yields exactly the same valence electron energy as an all-electron ab initio calculation. Good results are also obtained with truncated orbital basis sets.     

直链烷烃体系电子转移的价键方法研究

应用价键理论研究直链烷烃体系的电子转移过程, 直接计算得到的耦合能与实验值以及其它的理论计算结果一致. 对于阳离子系列, BOVB方法和VBCIS方法都给出了与实验相符的计算结果, 但对于阴离子系列, VBCIS方法的β值基本一致, 而BOVB方法的β值较大. 计算结果表明, 价键理论可以应用于电子转移的理论研究, 而VBCIS方法是研究电子转移问题的一种合适的价键计算方法.     

An ab initio effective potential for two particles in the field of the core: a reduction of (N + 2)-electron problem to two-electron problem

We have used many-body Green function theory and the two-electron Bethe—Salpeter equation to derive an approximate two-electron position space hamiltonian eigenvalue equation for two electrons in the presence of a closed shell core. The resulting effective hamiltonian is nonlocal, energy independent, hermitian and nonadiabatic. It includes all the core—valence, valence—valence exchange effects, core screening effects and electron—electron correlation effects. If a closed form solution of the equation is difficult because of the need to construct the hamiltonian, a semi-empirical approach can be taken which expresses much of the hamiltonian in terms of known properties of the core. A semi-empirical analysis of this effective hamiltonian is shown to give well-known phenomenological effective hamiltonians and the connections to them. Thus this work can also be viewed as a theoretical justification and extension of the two-electron model potential or pseudopotential theories.     

Ionic aggregate structure in ionomer melts: effect of molecular architecture on aggregates and the ionomer peak

We perform a comprehensive set of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of ionomer melts with varying polymer architectures and compare the results to experiments in order to understand ionic aggregation on a molecular level. The model ionomers contain periodically or randomly spaced charged beads, placed either within or pendant to the polymer backbone, with the counterions treated explicitly. The ionic aggregate structure was determined as a function of the spacing of charged beads and also depends on whether the charged beads are in the polymer backbone or pendant to the backbone. The low wavevector ionomer peak in the counterion scattering is observed for all systems, and it is sharpest for ionomers with periodically spaced pendant charged beads with a large spacing between charged beads. Changing to a random or a shorter spacing moves the peak to lower wavevector. We present new experimental X-ray scattering data on Na(+)-neutralized poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) ionomers that show the same two trends in the ionomer peak, for similarly structured ionomers. The order within and between aggregates, and how this relates to various models used to fit the ionomer peak, is quantified and discussed.     

Dynamic Determination of Some Optical and Electrical Properties of Galena Natural Mineral: Potassium Ethyl Xanthate Solution Interface

This paper presents results concerning optical and electrical properties of galena natural mineral and of the interface layer formed between it and the potassium ethyl xanthate solution. The applied experimental method was differential optical reflectance spectroscopy over the UV–Vis/NIR spectral domain. Computations were made using the Kramers–Kronig formalism. Spectral dependencies of the electron loss functions, determined from the reflectance data obtained from the polished mineral surface, display van Hove singularities, leading to the determination of its valence band gap and electron plasma energy. Time dependent measurement of the spectral dispersion of the relative reflectance of the film formed at the interface, using the same computational formalism, leads to the dynamical determination of the spectral variation of its optical and electrical properties. We computed behaviors of the dielectric constant (dielectric permittivity), the dielectric loss function, refractive index and extinction coefficient, effective valence number and of the electron loss functions. The measurements tend to stabilize when the dynamic adsorption-desorption equilibrium is reached at the interface level.     

Chemical bonding in hypervalent molecules: is the octet rule relevant?

The bonding in a large number of hypervalent molecules of P, As, S, Se, Te, Cl, and Br with the ligands F, Cl, O, CH(3), and CH(2) has been studied using the topological analysis of the electron localization function ELF. This function partitions the electron density of a molecule into core and valence basins and further classifies valence basins according to the number of core basins with which they have a contact. The number and geometry of these basins is generally in accord with the VSEPR model. The population of each basin can be obtained by integration, and so, the total population of the valence shell of an atom can be obtained as the sum of the populations of all the valence basins which share a boundary with its core basin. It was found that the population of the V(A, X) disynaptic basin corresponding to the bond, where A is the central atom and X the ligand, varies with the electronegativity of the ligand from approximately 2.0 for a weakly electronegative ligand such as CH(3) to less than 1.0 for a ligand such as F. We find that the total population of the valence shell of a hypervalent atom may vary from close to 10 for a period 15 element and close to 12 for a group 16 element to considerably less than 8 for an electronegative ligand such as F. For example, the phosphorus atom in PF(5) has a population of 5.37 electrons in its valence shell, whereas the arsenic atom in AsMe5 has a population of 9.68 electrons in its valence shell. By definition, hypervalent atoms do not obey the Lewis octet rule. They may or may not obey a modified octet rule that has taken the place of the Lewis octet rule in many recent discussions and according to which an atom in a molecule always has fewer than 8 electrons in its valence shell. We show that the bonds in hypervalent molecules are very similar to those in corresponding nonhypervalent (Lewis octet) molecules. They are all polar bonds ranging from weakly to strongly polar depending on the electronegativity of the ligands. The term hypervalent therefore has little significance except to indicate that an atom in a molecule is forming more than four electron pair bonds.     

Static polarizability of small simple metal clusters in dielectric media

Using the local-density-functional method and spherical jellium model, the electronic structure and static polarizability α(0) of small simple metal clusters (Al, Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs) surrounding by media with dielectric constants ε = 1 ÷ 25 have been calculated. It has been obtained that α(0) of the smallest clusters with a low mean valence electron density is a decreasing function of ε, whereas for the clusters with a high valence electron density it rises with ε.     

Assessment of transition operator reference states in electron propagator calculations

The transition operator method combined with second-order, self-energy corrections to the electron propagator (TOEP2) may be used to calculate valence and core-electron binding energies. This method is tested on a set of molecules to assess its predictive quality. For valence ionization energies, well known methods that include third-order terms achieve somewhat higher accuracy, but only with much higher demands for memory and arithmetic operations. Therefore, we propose the use of the TOEP2 method for the calculation of valence electron binding energies in large molecules where third-order methods are infeasible. For core-electron binding energies, TOEP2 results exhibit superior accuracy and efficiency and are relatively insensitive to the fractional occupation numbers that are assigned to the transition orbital.     

On the Quantum Chemical Nature of Lead(II) “Lone Pair”

We study the quantum chemical nature of the Lead(II) valence basins, sometimes called the lead “lone pair”. Using various chemical interpretation tools, such as molecular orbital analysis, natural bond orbitals (NBO), natural population analysis (NPA) and electron localization function (ELF) topological analysis, we study a variety of Lead(II) complexes. A careful analysis of the results shows that the optimal structures of the lead complexes are only governed by the 6s and 6p subshells, whereas no involvement of the 5d orbitals is found. Similarly, we do not find any significant contribution of the 6d. Therefore, the Pb(II) complexation with its ligand can be explained through the interaction of the 6s² electrons and the accepting 6p orbitals. We detail the potential structural and dynamical consequences of such electronic structure organization of the Pb (II) valence domain.     

Probing molecular conformations in momentum space: the case of n-pentane

A comprehensive study, throughout the valence region, of the electronic structure and electron momentum density distributions of the four conformational isomers of n-pentane is presented. Theoretical (e,2e) valence ionization spectra at high electron impact energies (1200 eV+electron binding energy) and at azimuthal angles ranging from 0 degrees to 10 degrees in a noncoplanar symmetric kinematical setup are generated according to the results of large scale one-particle Green's function calculations of Dyson orbitals and related electron binding energies, using the third-order algebraic-diagrammatic construction [ADC(3)] scheme. The results of a focal point analysis (FPA) of relative conformer energies [A. Salam and M. S. Deleuze, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 1296 (2002)] and improved thermodynamical calculations accounting for hindered rotations are also employed in order to quantitatively evaluate the abundance of each conformer in the gas phase at room temperature and reliably predict the outcome of experiments on n-pentane employing high resolution electron momentum spectroscopy. Comparison with available photoelectron measurements confirms the suggestion that, due to entropy effects, the trans-gauche (tg) conformer strongly dominates the conformational mixture characterizing n-pentane at room temperature. Our simulations demonstrate therefore that experimental measurements of (e,2e) valence ionization spectra and electron momentum distributions would very consistently and straightforwardly image the topological changes and energy variations that molecular orbitals undergo due to torsion of the carbon backbone. The strongest fingerprints for the most stable conformer (tt) are found for the electron momentum distributions associated with ionization channels at the top of the inner-valence region, which sensitively image the development of methylenic hyperconjugation in all-staggered n-alkane chains.     

Selected valence electron split-shell molecular orbital calculations on the diatomic interhalogen molecules

Selected valence electron split-shell molecular orbital calculations have been performed on the diatomic interhalogen molecules in order to obtain their binding energies, equilibrium internuclear distances, vibrational force constants, dipole moments and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants. The results are compared with the corresponding closedshell values and with those of some previous semiempirical and nonempirical all valence electron calculations. It is observed that the selected valence electron split-shell molecular orbital method which involves the least amount of computations yields results in better agreement with experiment than other methods.     

Orbital momentum distributions and binding energies for the complete valence shell of molecular chlorine by electron momentum spectroscopy

The complete valence shall binding energy spectrum (10–50 eV) of Cl₂ has been determined using electron momentum (binary (e,2e)) spectroscopy. The inner valence region, corresponding to 4σ_u and 4σ_g ionization, has been measured for the first time and shows extensive splitting of the ionization strength due to electron correlation effects. These measurements are compared with the results of many-body calculations using Green function and CI methods employing unpolarised as well as polarised wavefunctions. Momentum distributions, measured in both the outer and inner valence regions, are compared with calculations using a range of unpolarised and polarised wavefunctions. Computed orbital density maps in momentum and position space for oriented Cl₂ molecules are discussed in comparison with the measured and calculated spherically averaged momentum distributions.     

Ab initio electron propagator calculations on the ionization energies of free base porphine, magnesium porphyrin, and zinc porphyrin

Ab initio electron propagator methods are applied to the prediction, assignment, and interpretation of the valence photoelectron spectra of free base porphine and of magnesium and zinc porphyrins. Tests of various approximate self-energies, including the partial third (P3), the outer valence Green's function, and the nondiagonal, renormalized second-order (NR2) methods are performed. Basis set effects and reduced active orbital spaces are examined as well. The P3 method and the one-electron picture of ionization that accompanies it are validated for the first two cationic states and for states with sigma holes that are localized in nitrogen, lone pair regions. In the remaining pi-hole states, there is significant shake-up character and NR2 results provide useful diagnostics of correlation effects.     

Valence photoionization dynamics in circular dichroism of chiral free molecules: the methyl-oxirane

The dynamical behavior of circular dichroism for valence photoionization processes in pure enantiomers of randomly oriented methyl-oxirane molecules has been studied by circularly polarized synchrotron radiation. Experimental results of the dichroism coefficient obtained for valence photoionization processes as a function of photon energy have been compared with theoretical values predicted by state-of-the-art ab initio density-functional theory. The circular dichroism measured at low electron kinetic energies was as large as 11%. Trends in the experimental dynamical behavior of the dichroism coefficients D(i)(omega) have been observed. Agreement between experimental and theoretical results permits unambiguous identification of the enantiomer and of the individual orbitals.     

Shape and location of multiple charge carriers in linear π‐electron systems

We have performed a quantum‐mechanical study of a series of neutral polyenes, their multiply charged ions, and related ionic polymethines with a closed electron shell, using different methods/basis with/without electron correlations. The study shows that a multiple injection of charge carriers into a collective system of π‐electrons causes a formation of distinctive electron levels in the energy gap along with a simultaneous regular gap shift in accordance to the number of injected carriers. Each charge generates its own solitonic electron density alternation wave on adjacent carbon atoms, as well as similar bond length and valence angle alternation waves. Established regularities in charge distribution and variations of bond lengths and valence angles may be used in the molecular design of organic semiconducting materials. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A computationally efficient exact pseudopotential method. I. Analytic reformulation of the Phillips-Kleinman theory

Even with modern computers, it is still not possible to solve the Schrodinger equation exactly for systems with more than a handful of electrons. For many systems, the deeply bound core electrons serve merely as placeholders and only a few valence electrons participate in the chemical process of interest. Pseudopotential theory takes advantage of this fact to reduce the dimensionality of a multielectron chemical problem: the Schrodinger equation is solved only for the valence electrons, and the effects of the core electrons are included implicitly via an extra term in the Hamiltonian known as the pseudopotential. Phillips and Kleinman (PK) [Phys. Rev. 116, 287 (1959)]. demonstrated that it is possible to derive a pseudopotential that guarantees that the valence electron wave function is orthogonal to the (implicitly included) core electron wave functions. The PK theory, however, is expensive to implement since the pseudopotential is nonlocal and its computation involves iterative evaluation of the full Hamiltonian. In this paper, we present an analytically exact reformulation of the PK pseudopotential theory. Our reformulation has the advantage that it greatly simplifies the expressions that need to be evaluated during the iterative determination of the pseudopotential, greatly increasing the computational efficiency. We demonstrate our new formalism by calculating the pseudopotential for the 3s valence electron of the Na atom, and in the subsequent paper, we show that pseudopotentials for molecules as complex as tetrahydrofuran can be calculated with our formalism in only a few seconds. Our reformulation also provides a clear geometric interpretation of how the constraint equations in the PK theory, which are required to obtain a unique solution, are themselves sufficient to calculate the pseudopotential.