Ab initio calculation of the electronic and vibrational properties of metal‐organic molecules based on cyclic C6 intercalated with some group VIII transition metals

The vibrational and electronic properties of a new class of organometallic sandwich molecules, (C₆)_nMe_n‐1, based on stacks of cyclic C₆ intercalated with Fe and Ru have been studied using first principles density functional techniques (DFT). Spectral properties as well as the HOMO‐LUMO gap energy in molecules containing up to eight C₆ layers have been calculated. The HOMO‐LUMO energy gap in these molecules is < 1 eV and decreases significantly in longer molecules. It is shown that infinite chains should have excellent metallic properties. These molecules are promising for nanoelectronic applications, due to their predicted high stability, conductivity, and magnetic properties.     

Density functional investigation on the structures and properties of Li atom doped Au20 cluster

Structures and properties of an Au₂₀ cluster doped with two Li atoms, Au₁₈Li₂, have been investigated using relativistic density functional theory within the framework of the zeroth-order regular approximation. Various initial structures have been generated and employed for geometry optimization followed by vibration analysis to check the stability of the final optimized structures. We have calculated various properties like binding energy, ionization potential, electron affinity and the HOMO–LUMO gap of these structures. It has been found that two dopant Li atoms favour occupying two different surface positions of the pyramidal Au₂₀ cluster. The binding energy of the surface-doped Au₁₈Li₂ cluster is 1.017?eV higher than that of the pure Au₂₀ cluster and the HOMO–LUMO gap (1.742?eV) is as high as a pure Au₂₀ cluster (1.786?eV). Interestingly, we observe that the HOMO–LUMO gap as well as the binding energy can be increased beyond those of the Au₁₈Li₂ cluster with the help of further Li atom doping. In fact, a doped tetrahedral Au₁₆Li₄ cluster, where all the dopants are at the surface sites, possesses a very high HOMO–LUMO gap of 2.117?eV. Geometric and energetic parameters indicate that the Au₁₆Li₄ cluster might be considered as a possible ‘superatom’ in the design of novel cluster-assembled materials.     

BOND STRUCTURE AND ELECTRON STATES OF CHARGED C60

In the alkali-metal doped C₆₀, the charge transfer induces the distortion of the bond structure and forms the self-trapping electronic bound states. Our theory manifests: 1, the charge transfer reduces the symmetry of C₆₀ from I_h to D_5d. 2, Both the bond distortion and the self-trapping states possess layer structures and are localized in the equatorial area. 3, The carbon atoms in charged C₆₀ are divided into eight layers with an inversion center, then there exist four nonequivalent groups of carbon atoms. It makes the NMR line split into a fine structure with strength ratio 1:1:2:2. 4, The charged C₆₀ has two self-trapping bound states, one is 0.06eV above HOMO with odd parity and the other is 0.05 eV below LUMO with even parity.     

Theoretical study on the sequential hydroxylation of C82 fullerene based on Fukui function

In the present work semi-empirical PM3 method and ab initio density-functional theory calculations were performed in carbon systems. The condensed Fukui function was calculated and HOMO–LUMO were visualised in order to study the sequence of hydroxylation of two isomers of C₈₂ fullerene for the low coverage regime, with the formula C₈₂(OH) _x where x?=?0???12. It was found that there was a formation of dangling bonds on structures with an odd number of hydroxyl groups on the fullerene surface, which suggests an enhanced reactivity of these molecules. Nevertheless, the coverings with an even number of groups tend to the reconstruction of π bonds, obtaining less reactive molecular structures. With the adsorption of the first group, a narrow HOMO–LUMO gap (1.28?eV) is observed in comparison with the C₈₂(OH)₂ system (1.70?eV), as is found in similar systems, such as C₆₀ fullerenol [E.E. Fileti et al., Nanotechnology 19, 365703 (2008); J.G. Rodríguez-Zavala and R.A. Guirado-López, Phys. Rev. B 69, 075411 (2004)]. Through an analysis of the electronic structure to these coverings, a splitting of electronic energy levels in the structure with one hydroxyl group is observed, which could be one of the factors that causes the narrowing of the energy gap in this structure. On the other hand, with a coverage of 12 hydroxyl groups, the formation of an amphiphilic molecule, where the location of groups in one side of the C₈₂ surface provides an hydrophilic character, is observed, while the uncovered part has an hydrophobic character. This could be important in the formation of Langmuir monolayers. Finally, it is shown that the precise distribution of the OH groups on the fullerene surface plays a crucial role in the electronic structure of the polyhydroxylated fullerenes.     

碳掺杂硼氮纳米管电子场发射的第一性原理研究

对闭口硼氮纳米管（BNNT）顶层掺碳体系,运用第一性原理研究了电子场发射性能.结果表明,掺碳的BNNT体系电子结构变化显著;外电场愈强,体系态密度向低能端移动幅度愈大,且最高占据分子轨道（HOMO）/最低未占据分子轨道（LUMO）能隙愈小.体系态密度和局域态密度,HOMO和LUMO及其能隙分析一致表明,各种碳掺杂体系中C_eqBNNT的场发射性能最佳. 关键词： 硼氮纳米管 碳掺杂 第一性原理     

Geometric and electronic structures of B12C6N6 fullerene

An electron deficient fullerene B₁₂C₆N₆ is studied by using ab initio calculations. The structure is generated by replacing N with C in the B₁₂N₁₂ cage to ensure only B–C and B–N bonds are formed. All the possible isomers are optimized and the low energy structures are determined. C and N atoms in the low energy isomers are inclined to segregate and form B₂C₂ and B₂N₂ squares. Natural bond analysis shows that the atomic orbitals of B, C and N in this cage hybrid approximately in sp^2.3 and then form B–C and B–N bonds. The 2p orbitals perpendicular to the cage surface are partially occupied and the molecular orbitals formed by these orbitals are highly delocalized. The natural charge on N is about −1.17 in both B₁₂N₁₂ and B₁₂C₆N₆, and the charge on C is −0.72 to −0.60. The molecular orbital compositions show that the B–N bonds are the same in B₁₂N₁₂ and B₁₂C₆N₆, and the B–C bonds possess stronger covalent character. The HOMO of B₁₂C₆N₆ is formed by 2p of B and C, and the LUMO is formed by 2p of C. The energy gap of C₂₄, B₁₂N₁₂ and B₁₂C₆N₆ is 2.52, 6.84 and 3.22 eV, respectively.     

Self-consistent theory for the built-in voltage in metal–organic semiconductor–metal structures

A self-consistent theory for calculation of built-in voltage (U_bi) of metal–organic semiconductor–metal (MOSM) structures is developed based on Gaussian energy distribution of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). It is shown that the built-in voltage depends not only on the work function difference of the two electrodes, but also on the mean energy level of HOMO and LUMO, as well as the Gaussian width of the energy distribution. The theory predicts that the spreading of HOMO and LUMO levels will results in an increase of U_bi, and that U_bi decreases with increasing temperature.     

Structural and electronic properties of endohedral doped SWCNTs: A DFT study

The structural and electronic properties of semiconductors (Si and Ge) and metal (Au and Tl) atoms doped armchair (n, n) and zigzag (n, 0); n=4–6, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been studied using an ab-initio method. We have considered a linear chain of dopant atoms inside CNTs of different diameters but of same length. We have studied variation of B.E./atom, ionization potential, electron affinity and HOMO–LUMO gap of doped armchair and zigzag CNTs with diameter and dopant type. For armchair undoped CNTs, the B.E./atom increases with the increase in diameter of the tubes. For Si, Ge and Tl doped CNTs, B.E./atom is maximum for (6, 6) CNT whereas for Au doped CNTs, it is maximum for (5, 5) CNTs. For pure CNTs, IP decreases slightly with increasing diameter whereas EA increases with diameter. The study of HOMO–LUMO gap shows that on doping metallic character of the armchair CNTs increases whereas for zigzag CNTs semiconducting character increases. In case of zigzag tubes only Si doped (5, 0), (6, 0) and Ge doped (6, 0) CNTs are stable. The IP and EA for doped zigzag CNTs remain almost independent of tube diameter and dopant type whereas for doped armchair CNTs, maximum IP and EA are observed for (5, 5) tube for all dopants.     

Characterizations of B and N heteroatoms as substitutional doping on structure,stability, and aromaticity of novel heterofullerenes evolved from the smallest fullerene cage C20: a density functional theory perspective

The structural stabilities and electronic properties of C₂₀ fullerene and some its incorporated boron and nitrogen derivatives are probed at B3LYP/AUG‐cc‐pVTZ level of theory. According to density functional theory results, the topology of inserted B or N heteroatoms in [20]‐fullerene perturbs strongly the stability, energy, geometry, charge, polarity, nucleus‐independent chemical shifts, aromaticity, and highest‐occupied molecular orbital and lowest‐unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gap of the resulting heterofullerenes. Vibrational frequency (υ_min) calculations show that except N₁₀C₁₀, all other B_bN_nC_{20‐(b + n)} heterofullerenes with b, and n = 0, 4, 5, 8, and 10 are true minima. The calculated band gaps (?E_HOMO–LUMO) of B₈C₁₂, and N₈C₁₂ (2.86 eV), show them the most stable heterofullerenes against electronic excitations. While 10 B substituting in equatorial position increase the conductivity of B₁₀C₁₀ through decreasing its band gaps, 10 N doping in equatorial position enhance stability of N₁₀C₁₀ against electronic excitations via increasing its band gaps. High natural bond orbital and Mulliken charge transfer on the surfaces of B atoms, especially B₅N₅C₁₀with five B–N bonds in the equatorial position, provokes further investigation on its possible application for hydrogen storage. Nucleus‐independent chemical shift values show that B₅N₅C₁₀ is the most aromatic species. The calculated heat of atomization per carbon (ΔH_at/C) of B₈C₁₂ shows it the most thermodynamic stable heterofullerenes of each. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical Conductivity in Polyazomethines: A Novel Mechanism Derived from All Valence MO Calculation and IR Study of Polymer–Dopant Interaction

A simple mechanism is proposed to explain the variation of electrical conductivity in polyazomethines. The results of semiempirical, all valence, molecular orbital calculations obtained from the PM3 method have been employed to arrive at the mechanism. The difference of energy (ΔE) between highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) alone could not explain the variation in electrical conductivity; however, ΔE together with the LUMO electron density at the atoms that lie on the continuous chain could account for the electrical conductivity in these polymers. The LUMO electron density on these centers may be visualized as the carrier movement. In certain polymers there are intrinsic holes in HOMO. The movement of these intrinsic holes also adds to the electrical conduction. The polyazomethines are prepared by the condensation of diamines with azo bis-aldehydes. A few of these polymers were doped with silver nanoparticles. Many of the doped polymers showed substantial enhancement in conductivity. Strong polymer–dopant interaction, identified by IR spectroscopy, is proposed to be responsible for the increase in conductivity.     

密度泛函理论计算内掺氢分子富勒烯H2＠C60及其二聚体的几何结构和电子结构

采用密度泛函理论中的广义梯度近似(generalized gradient approximation,简称GGA),对内掺氢分子富勒烯H₂＠C₆₀及其二聚体的几何结构和电子结构进行了计算研究.发现无论是在H₂＠C₆₀单体,还是在其二聚体中,氢倾向以分子形式存在于碳笼中心处,且在室温下氢分子可以做自由旋转.电子结构分析表明,氢分子掺入到C₆₀和C₁₂₀中,仅对距离费米能级以下-8eV至-5eV能级处有一定的贡献,其他能级的分布和能隙几乎没有变化. 关键词： 几何结构 电子结构 密度泛函     

Charge-transfer at silver/phthalocyanines interfaces

Valence band photoemission spectroscopy (VB-PES) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES) were employed to determine the occupied and unoccupied density of states upon silver deposition onto layers of two phthalocyanines (H₂Pc and CuPc). The two different Pc molecules give rise to very distinct behaviour already during the initial stage of silver deposition. While in the CuPc case no shift occurs in the energy levels, the H₂Pc highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) are shifting simultaneously by 0.3 eV, i.e., the HOMO shifts away from the Fermi level while LUMO shifts towards the Fermi level. As the silver quantity increases the HOMO levels of both Pcs are shifting towards the Fermi level. When the Fermi level is resolved in the VB spectra, the characteristic features of H₂Pc and CuPc are smeared out to some extent. Shifts in HOMO and LUMO energy positions as well as changes in line shapes are discussed in terms of charge-transfer and chemical reactions at the interfaces.     

Functionalization of pentagon–pentagon edges of fullerenes by cyclic polysulfides: A DFT study

We have performed a computational study to investigate the cyclosulfurization of the pentagon–pentagon (p–p) junctions in the non-IPR fullerenes C₆₀(D₃) and C₇₀(C_2v), and also Stone-Wales defective C₆₀ fullerene. Our results indicate the exothermic character of cyclosulfurization processes which can be related to the increase of pyramidalization angle (spherical excesses) and p characters of natural hybrid orbitals of C atoms at the p–p junctions. In fact these lead to the structural strain relief and stability of the cyclosulfurization derivatives of the non-IPR fullerenes. Moreover, the cyclosulfurization reaction of p–p bonds on the C₇₀(C_2v) is more energetically favorable than that of C₆₀(D₃), due to the higher curvature of carbon sites and the larger values of the p characters of natural hybrid orbitals in the C₇₀(C_2v). On the other hand, localization of the excess electrons on the C atoms at the p–p junctions leads to the low tendency of the charged non-IPR fullerenes to cyclosulfurization process. The desulfurization pathway of the exohedral derivatives of C₇₀(C_2v) indicates that it is energetically unfavorable for the functionalized fullerenes to break into individual fullerene and sulfur molecules. HOMO–LUMO gaps almost are independent of the number of pentathiepin rings while sensitive to the type of parent fullerene.     

Structural and optical properties of the M@C59X cages (X=N,B and M=Li,Na)

Using B3LYP/6-31G* density functional level of theory, the structural and optical properties of the C₆₀ and M@C₅₉X cages have been investigated. Results indicate that the charge on C atoms and band gap of C₆₀ cage are changed dramatically with the substitution of one B or N atom at one of the C sites and the Li and Na atom encapsulations in the C₆₀ cage. The Mulliken analyses show that the charge is transferred completely between the alkali atoms and the C₅₉X cage. The substitutional and encapsulation doping (SED) reduce the optical gaps of the C₆₀ cage. Also, the oscillator strengths of the absorption peaks are dependent on dopant types.     

Generalization of Einstein relation for doped organic semiconductors

Under the assumption of Gaussian energy distributions of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), analytical expressions of generalized Einstein relation for electron and hole transport in doped organic semiconductor thin films are developed. Numerical calculations show that, although traditional Einstein relation still holds for low carrier concentrations, that is, the diffusion-coefficient-to-mobility ratio in units of k_BT/q, with k_B the Boltzmann’s constant, T the temperature and q the elementary charge, equals 1. But when the electron (hole) concentration is high, the diffusion-coefficient-to-mobility ratio for electrons (holes) changes strongly with the electron (hole) concentration, the doping level, the mean energy of LUMOs (HOMOs) of the dopant E_Ld (E_Hd) and the host E_L (E_H), as well as their variances. Dopants with E_Ld<E_L (E_Hd>E_H) affect the diffusion-coefficient-to-mobility ratio mainly in the range of low and middle carrier concentrations, while those with E_Ld>E_L (E_Hd<E_H) have significant effect only in the range of high carrier concentrations. It was found that there can be a maximum in the dependence of the diffusion-coefficient-to-mobility ratio on the quasi-Fermi energy or carrier concentration exist, for appropriate values of the doping level, the mean energy and variance of LUMO or HOMO states of the dopant. PACS 71.20.Rv; 72.90.+y; 73.50.-h     

FePc与TiO2(110)及C60界面电子结构研究

基于C₆₀受体和有机分子给体的太阳能电池是目前非常重要的一个研究热点, 利用同步辐射真空紫外光电子能谱(SRUPS) 技术研究了酞菁铁(FePc)与TiO₂(110)及C₆₀的界面电子结构, 以及FePc与C₆₀分子混合薄膜的电子结构. SRUPS价带谱显示, FePc沉积在化学计量比与还原态两种不同的TiO₂(110)表面时, FePc分子的HOMO能级均随FePc厚度的变化发生了移动, 而在化学计量比的TiO₂(110)表面位移较大, 同时发生界面能带弯曲, 说明存在从有机层向衬底的电子转移. 在FePc/C₆₀和C₆₀/FePc界面形成过程中, FePc与C₆₀分子的最高占据分子轨道(HOMO)位移大小基本相同. 由界面能级排列发现, 在FePc与C₆₀的混合薄膜中, FePc分子的HOMO与C₆₀分子的最高占据分子轨道能级差较大, 这有利于提高器件开路电压, 改善器件性能.     

A density functional theory investigation of the stability,aromaticity, and photophysical behavior for the highly conjugated macrocycles containing 4 pyrroles

Porphyrin ( Pr ), porphycene ( Pc ), and [22]porphyrin(2.2.2.2) ( P[22] ) have been theoretically investigated. We design 2 highly conjugated macrocycles containing 4 pyrroles with different linkage bridges, which are named for 4 pyrrole ( Pf ) and methylene‐dipyrrolidine ( Pm ), as the theoretical model so as to investigate the stability, aromaticity, and photophysical behavior of these porphyrin derivatives, and the influence of getting or losing electron to the neutral molecule. The geometric structures of the molecules are optimized by density functional theory method. The absorptions are calculated by the time‐dependent density functional theory method. Based on the optimized structures, the nucleus‐independent chemical shifts (NICS) are calculated. The molecule with negative NICS value possesses larger highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)‐lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap than that with positive NICS value, the molecule with bigger positive NICS value possesses smaller HOMO‐LUMO gap, and the molecule with bigger negative NICS value (in absolute value) possesses bigger HOMO‐LUMO gap. The current density indicates that the π‐electron delocalization is more effective in Pr and Pc than in Pf , Pm , and P[22] and corresponds to the stability of molecules. The absorptions of the molecules are all in the UV‐visible and infrared regions. The major transitions for most of the molecules are all from HOMO to LUMO. Compared with Pf ^2? , Pr ^2? , Pc ^2? , and P[22] ^2? , Pm ^2? shows distinctive photophysical properties, which is due to the reduced HOMO‐LUMO gap, structural distortion, and strong antiaromaticity.     

Effects of buried high-Z layers on fast electron propagation

Density functional study is performed on the stabilities, aromaticity, infrared spectra, and optical properties of exohedral fullerene derivatives C₇₆X₁₈(X = H, F, Cl, and Br). The bond dissociation energy and energy gap between HOMO and LUMO of C₇₆H₁₈ are larger than those of the isolated C₇₆F₁₈ and C₇₆Cl₁₈, indicating the possibility for synthesising C₇₆H₁₈ from the viewpoint of thermodynamics and kinetics. C₇₆X₁₈(X = H, F, Cl, and Br) show strong aromaticity, suggesting their stabilities are correlative with the conjugation. The tensors of static linear polarisabilities, mean static linear polarisabilities, polarisability anisotropy, and first-order hyperpolarisabilities of C₇₆X₁₈(X = F, Cl, and Br) increase as X goes from F to Br. We rationalise the nonlinear properties by studying the low-energy optical absorption band obtained by employing time-dependent density functional theory.     

Transport properties and mechanism of C60 coupled to carbon nanotube electrode

By applying non-equilibrium Green's functions in combination with density-functional theory, we investigate electronic transport properties of C₆₀ coupled to carbon nanotubes and Li electrodes. The results show that electronic transport properties of CNT-C₆₀-CNT and Li-C₆₀-Li systems are completely different. Nonlinear I-V characteristic, varistor-type behavior and negative differential resistance (NDR) phenomenon are observed when electrodes are carbon nanotubes. We discuss the mechanism of I-V characteristics of CNT-C₆₀-CNT systems in details. Our results suggest conductance, energy level of Frontier molecular orbitals, energy gap between HOMO and LUMO, the coupling between molecular orbitals and electrodes are all playing critical roles in electronic transport properties.