Conduction switching of photochromic molecules

We report a theoretical study of single molecule conduction switching of photochromic dithienylethene molecules. The light-induced intramolecular transformation drives a swapping of the highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital between two distinct conjugated paths. The shuffling of single and double bonds produces a significant conductance change when the molecule is sandwiched between metal electrodes. We model the switching event using quantum molecular dynamics and the conductance changes using Green's function electronic transport theory. We find large on-off conductance ratios (between 10 and over 100) depending on the side group outside the switching core.     

Effect of crystallographic orientations on transport properties of methylthiol-terminated permethyloligosilane molecular junction

The understanding of the influence of electrode characteristics on charge transport is essential in the field of molecular electronics. In this work, we investigate the electronic transport properties of molecular junctions comprising methylthiol-terminated permethyloligosilanes and face-centered crystal Au/Ag electrodes with crystallographic orientations of (111) and (100), based on the ab initio quantum transport simulations. The calculations reveal that the molecular junction conductance is dominated by the electronic coupling between two interfacial metal-S bonding states, which can be tuned by varying the molecular length, metal material of the electrodes, and crystallographic orientation. As the permethyloligosilane backbone elongates, although the σ conjugation increases, the decreasing of coupling induced by the increasing number of central Si atoms reduces the junction conductance. The molecular junction conductance of methylthiol-terminated permethyloligosilanes with Au electrodes is higher than that with Ag electrodes with a crystallographic orientation of (111). However, the conductance trend is reversed when the electrode crystallographic orientation varies from (111) to (100), which can be ascribed to the reversal of interfacial coupling between two metal-S interfacial states. These findings are conducive to elucidating the mechanism of molecular junctions and improving the transport properties of molecular devices by adjusting the electrode characteristics.     

Quantum tunneling through aromatic molecular junctions for molecular devices: A review

In this review article, we have outlined major factors which decide the electron transport properties through two probe aromatic molecular junctions using DFT + NEGF framework. We have discussed the nature of central molecule, doping of molecule, geometry of metal-molecule-metal junction, nature of electrode material and electrode orientations that can fluctuate the electrical conductance of aromatic molecular junctions. We investigate our study by considering various aromatic molecules from benzene, naphthalene, anthracene to fullerene and conclude our findings in this state of art review paper. All the concluded results are found to be closely analogous to previous findings.     

N-doped graphene as a nanostructure adsorbent for carbon monoxide: DFT calculations

ABSTRACT

This work reports the physisorption of carbon monoxide (CO) on the surface of N-doped graphene. To study the adsorption of CO on N-doped graphene, some quantum chemical calculations were used through density functional theory. Based on our results, it can be found that the CO molecule could be adsorbed on the surface of N-doped graphene physically with the adsorption energies (E_ads) of ?2.9 and ?0.8 kcal mol^?1 (depends on the kind of configuration) while positive adsorption energies were calculated upon adsorption of CO on pristine graphene. We used the charge analysis for calculation of the net transferred charge of adsorbed CO on pristine and N-doped graphene sheets to evaluate the sensing ability of surface. The global indices of reactivity were calculated from the differences of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and highest occupied molecular orbital energies. Graphs for density of states point to some orbital hybridisation between CO molecule and N-doped graphene. Consequently, the N-doped graphene transforms the existence of CO molecules into electrical signal, and it may be potentially used as a sensor for CO.     

First-principles study on current through a single π conjugate molecule for analysis of carrier injection through an organic/metal interface

We have studied current flow through a single π conjugate molecule weakly adsorbed to, and sandwiched between, two electrodes, focusing specifically on carrier injection through an organic/metal interface. This is the first calculation to investigate the effects of the orientation of the molecule and the electrode material on current using a first-principles method: in the past, most calculations of current were based on the assumption of covalent bonding of a molecule to electrodes. We modeled two systems in which a naphthalene molecule is sandwiched between gold (Au) or aluminum (Al) electrodes. First, in both systems, the current through the molecule depends on the orientation of the molecule. This indicates that electrons mainly transfer through the π channel, which is the overlap between the molecular π orbital and the electrode orbital. Next, the current in the Au-naphthalene-Au system is higher than that in the Al-naphthalene-Al system. This shows that Au is more suitable as an electrode material than Al. Therefore, the orientation of the molecule at an organic/metal interface and the materials comprising the electrodes play a key role in carrier injection through the interface.     

Low-bias negative differential conductance controlled by electrode separation

The electronic transport properties of a single thiolated arylethynylene molecule with 9,10-dihydroanthracene core,denoted as TADHA, is studied by using non-equilibrium Green's function formalism combined with ab initio calculations.The numerical results show that the TADHA molecule exhibits excellent negative differential conductance(NDC) behavior at lower bias regime as probed experimentally. The NDC behavior of TADHA molecule originates from the Stark effect of the applied bias voltage, by which the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) and the HOMO-1 are pulled apart and become localized. The NDC behavior of TADHA molecular system is tunable by changing the electrode distance.Shortening the electrode separation can enhance the NDC effect which is attributed to the possible increase of coupling between the two branches of TADHA molecule.     

Study on the electronic transport properties of the C14 monocyclic ring: The first-principles calculations

The transport properties of C₁₄ monocyclic ring sandwiched between two Al(1 0 0) electrodes are investigated by first-principle calculations. The variation of the equilibrium conductance as the function of the separation distance between the molecule and the electrodes is studied. C₁₄ monocyclic ring shows metallic behavior according to the calculated equilibrium conductance. Electron transmission occurs through the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). With gate-voltage applied, it is found that the positive and negative gate-voltages can bring very different effect on the variation of equilibrium conductance. We also calculate the effects of adsorbing other atoms on the carbon ring such as oxygen and sulfur atoms. The results indicate that adsorption of this kind of electron-accepting impurity will decrease the conductance of the system.     

Influence of the internuclear vector on ionization of molecules in intense laser field

We theoretically study the influence of the internuclear vector on molecular ionization in linear polarization laser fields through taking O₂, CO₂ as model molecules. We find that the ionization rates of O₂ and CO₂ depend on the molecular orientations. For O₂, the molecular orientation corresponding to the maximum ionization rate is about φ_m = 45^°, which is independent of the laser intensity; while for CO₂, this kind of molecular orientation varies with laser intensity. We also find the ionization suppression of molecule depends on the molecular orientations and the internuclear distance. The ionization suppression easily disappears for molecules with larger internuclear distance.     

Valence orbital method of calculating harmonic emission from diatomic molecule

We present a valence orbital method of calculating high-order harmonic generation from a diatomic molecule with arbitrary orientation by using a space rotation operator. We evaluate the effects of each valence orbital on harmonic emissions from N₂ and O₂ molecules in detail separately. The calculation results confirm the different properties of harmonic yields from N₂ and O₂ molecules which are well consistent with available experimental data. We observe that due to the orientation dependence of \sigma and \pi orbitals, the bonding orbital (\sigma _{2pz} )^2 of N₂ determines the maximum of harmonic emission when the molecular axis of N₂ is aligned parallel to the laser vector, and the magnitude of the high harmonic signal gradually weakens with the orientation angle of molecular axis increasing. But for O₂ molecule the antibonding orbitals (\pi _{2py}^\ast )^1 and (\pi _{2pz}^\ast )^1 contribute to the maximum of harmonic yield when O₂ is aligned at 45^{\circ} and bonding orbitals (\pi _{2py} )^2 and (\pi _{2pz} )^2 slightly influence the orientation angle of maximum of harmonic radiation not exactly at 45^{\circ}.     

Transport in fullerene device coupled to Cu,Ag and Au electrodes

We present an ab initio approach of the electronic transport through a single molecular junction based on C₂₀ fullerene. The electronic properties of a single molecular junction constrained within two semi-infinite metallic electrodes are largely affected by the choice of electrode material. The two-probe device formed by the mechanically control break technique has been modelled with three distinct electrode materials from group IB of the periodic table, namely copper, silver and gold. The quantum characteristics of these mechanically stable devices are obtained by utilising first-principle density functional theory together with non-equilibrium green function method. We evaluate the quantum characteristics, namely density of states, transmission spectrum, energy levels, current and conductance, which essentially determine the behaviour of a molecule linked to different electrodes. Our investigation concludes that copper, silver and gold electrode configuration in conjunction with C₂₀ fullerene behaves as metallic, non-metallic and semi-metallic in nature, respectively.     

Classical trajectory calculations for state-resolved Penning ionisation reactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon C10H8 in collision with He*(23S)

ABSTRACT

The reaction dynamics of Penning ionisation of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), naphthalene C₁₀H₈, in collision with the metastable He*(2³S) atom is studied by classical trajectory calculations using an approximate interaction potential energy surface between He* and the molecule, which is constructed based on ab initio calculations for the isovalent Li?+?C₁₀H₈ system. The ionisation width (rate) around the molecular surface are obtained from overlap integrals of the He 1s orbital and the molecular orbital. The calculated collision energy dependences of partial Penning ionisation cross sections (CEDPICS) in the range 50–500?meV at 300?K have reproduced the experimental results semi-quantitatively. The opacity functions, which represent the reaction probability with respect to the impact parameter b, are discussed in connection with collision energy, interaction with He* and the exterior electron density of molecular orbitals. They indicate that the collisional ionisations of C₁₀H₈ can be classified into three types: π electron ionisations with negative collision energy dependences which are predominantly determined by attractive interaction with He*; σ orbitals ionisations of the hardcore type; σ orbital ionisations which reflect interaction potentials around CH bonds. The critical impact parameters b_c become larger with increasing collision energy due to the centrifugal barrier.     

富勒烯C20分子器件的电子结构和传导特性

运用基于密度泛函理论和基于非平衡格林函数的第一性原理方法研究了富勒烯C₂₀分子及连接电极构成的C₂₀分子器件的电子结构及电子输运性质.构建了三个基于C₂₀分子的嵌入K和Si原子的电子输运系统,并得到了电子透射谱和分子轨道分布.分析了三种器件的电子结构和输运性质的产生原因,说明C₂₀分子器件的电子传导主要集中在外壳.在C₂₀分子空笼中嵌入K和Si原子后,其电子输运仍然主要集中于富勒烯C₂₀的外壳. 关键词： 20分子')" href="#">富勒烯C₂₀分子 电子结构 电子传导     

Ab initio study of transport properties of an all-carbon molecular switch based on C20 molecule

Choosing closed-ended armchair (5, 5) single-wall carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) as electrodes, we have investigated the electron transport properties across a carbon molecular junction consisting of a C₂₀ molecule sandwiched between two semi-infinite carbon nanotubes. It is shown that the Landauer conductance of this carbon hybrid system can be tuned within several orders of magnitude not only by varying the tube-C₂₀ distance, but more importantly by changing the orientation of the C₂₀ molecule and rotating the C₂₀ molecule or one of the tubes around the symmetry axis of the system at fixed distances. This fact could make this all-carbon molecular system a possible candidate for a nano-electronic switching device. Moreover, our study also reveals that molecular configuration selection and structural relaxation would play an important role in the design of such devices.      

Orientation effect on the electronic transport properties of C24 fullerene molecule

The transport properties of the cage-like molecule depend on its orientation between the electrodes, but the investigation on the mechanism has not been found. Using first-principle density-functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism for quantum transport calculation, we study the electronic transport properties of C₂₄ fullerene molecule with different orientations in Au–C₂₄–Au two-probe system. The effects of k-point sampling on the Brillouin zone are explored. Our results show that the negative differential resistance of C₂₄ molecule is found in such a system and can be tuned by the molecule's orientation in the two-probe system. We also proposed a mechanism for it. The I–V characteristic under bias voltage is determined. The present findings could be helpful for the application of the C₂₄ molecule in the field of single molecular devices or nanometer electronics.     

Ab initio investigation of the I-V characteristics of the butadiene nano-molecular wires: A light-driven molecular switch

We apply a first-principles computational approach to study a light-sensitive molecular switch. The molecule that comprises the switch can convert between a trans and a cis configuration upon photoexcitation. We find that the conductance of the two isomers varies dramatically, which suggests that this system has potential application as a molecular device. A detailed analysis of the projection of the density of states (PDOS) and the transmission coefficients T(E) of the system reveals the mechanism of the switch.     

Quantum chemical studies on a series of transition metal carbon dioxide complexes: Metal–carbon bonding and electronic structures

The bonding features and electronic structures of a series of transition metal carbon dioxide complexes have been studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and energy-decomposition analysis (EDA). NBO analysis shows that the interaction between the metal center and the carbon atom of the carbon dioxide ligand (M–C) is stronger than the other interaction between the metal center and the carbon dioxide ligand. Natural hybrid orbital (NHO) analysis gives the detailed bonding features of the M–C bond for each complex. The NBO charge distribution on the carbon dioxide unit in all studied complexes is negative, which indicates charge transfer from the metal center to the carbon dioxide ligand for all studied complexes. The hyperconjugation effect of the metal center and the two C–O bonds of the carbon dioxide ligand has been estimated using the NBO second-order perturbation stabilization energy. It was found that the NBO second-order stabilization energy of C–O?→?nM* is sensitive to the coordinated sphere and the metal center. Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis shows that complexes 1 and 4 may be good nucleophilic reagents for activation of the carbon dioxide molecule. However, the EDAs show that the M–CO₂ bond interaction energy of complex 4 is about two times as large as that of complex 1. The high M–CO₂ bond interaction energy of complex 4 may limit its practical application.     

Orientational information by linear dichroism in micellar systems

Summary Orientational effects can exert profound influences over processes carried out inmicelles. A new approach for determining solute orientation within micelles is possible. Lyotropic nematic micelles are anisometrically shaped and therefore can be oriented. Orientational information about guest molecules can thus be obtained by linear dichroism or other techniques based on physical processes of rank two (e.g. DNMR, EPR). This information can be transferred to classical spherical micelles to drive reactions by tailoring the reactant orientations. One more step is recommended for future investigations of micellar catalysis: Why not reactions in nonspherical micelles instead of the ?classical? spherical micelles? Work presented at the First USSR-Italy Bilateral Meeting on Liquid Crystals held in Portonovo, Ancona (Italy), September 30–October 2, 1987.     

Gold–sulfur bond breaking in Zn(II) tetraphenylporphyrin molecular junctions

Quantized conductance measured from single tetraphenylporphyrin molecules with and without a central zinc(II) [Zn(II)] atom was measured using a molecular break junction (MBJ) method. From the conductance histograms we observed an additional 1.7 Å stretch for two-state conductance in a single Zn(II) tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) molecule as compared to single state conductance in a free tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) molecule, i.e., no central Zn(II) atom. First-principles density functional calculations, using an electrode–molecule–electrode model, are completed to provide insight into the mechanisms attributed to bond stretching, and eventual bond breaking, to better understand the additional 1.7 Å of stretching observed with ZnTPP.     

Molecular conductance spectroscopy of conjugated,phenyl-based molecules on Au(111): the effect of end groups on molecular conduction

Four families of conjugated molecules, containing between one and three phenyl rings and having both thiol (–SH) and isocyanide (–NC) end groups, have been synthesized and assembled as monolayers on flat Au(111) substrates. The conductance spectra G(V) for these molecular wires were systematically measured in UHV conditions using scanning tunneling microscope techniques. The measured conductance spectra for the molecules having thiol end groups are compared to a recent theory for molecular conduction. The favorable comparison indicates that the important properties influencing the conductance of short, conjugated molecular wires having thiol end groups and forming self-assembled monolayers on a Au(111) surface have been successfully identified. The isocyanide molecules reveal a shift in Fermi level of the molecule as a function of phenyl ring number that is opposite to that observed for the thiol-terminated molecules. The trends in molecular conductance determined from this systematic study are summarized and discussed and provide insight into the role played by bonding end groups in electronic conduction.     

A combined experimental and computational studies of 3,3,6,6-Tetramethyl-9-(4-Methoxyphenyl)3,4,6,7,9,10 hexahydroacridine-1,8-dione

ABSTRACT

In this work, we have recorded the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Ultra-Violet Visible (UV–Vis) spectra of 3,3,6,6-Tetramethyl-9-(4-Methoxyphenyl)3,4,6,7,9,10 hexahydroacridine-1,8-dione (C₂₄H₂₉NO₃) in the spectral range 4000–400?cm^?1 and 190–1400?nm, respectively. The thermo gravimetric (TG) analysis of the compound has been performed to check the thermal stability of the compound. The molecular geometry and complete vibrational spectra in the ground state are calculated by Hartree Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) using6-311G(d,p) basis set. The calculated vibrational harmonic frequencies are scaled using a proper scale factor, yielding a good agreement with the experimental data. Stability of the molecule arising from hyperconjugative interactions, charge delocalisation has been studied using natural bond orbital analysis (NBO). Mulliken charges, MEP mapping and temperature dependence on the thermodynamic properties in the optimised ground state have been calculated. UV–Visible spectrum of the molecule was calculated by using TD-DFT approach and the results were compared with the experimental one. We have calculated the several molecular parameters like ionisation potential, electron affinity, global hardness, electron chemical potential, electronegativity and global electrophilicity based on HOMO and LUMO energy values calculated at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The calculated optimised structural parameters and vibrational wavenumbers are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.