Ab initio calculations of triplet excited states and potential-energy surfaces of vinyl chloride: insights into spectroscopy and photodissociation dynamics

The equilibrium geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of three low-lying triplet excited states of vinyl chloride have been calculated using the state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set and an active space of four electrons distributed in 13 orbitals. Both adiabatic and vertical excitation energies have been obtained using the state-averaged CASSCF and the multireference configuration-interaction methods. The potential-energy surfaces of six low-lying singlet states have also been calculated. While the 3(pi, pi*) state has a nonplanar equilibrium structure, the 3(pi, 3s) and 3(pi, sigma*) states are planar. The calculated vertical excitation energy of the 3(pi, pi*) state is in agreement with the experiment. The singlet excited states are found to be multiconfigurational, in particular, the first excited state is of (pi, 3s) character at the planar equilibrium structure, of (pi, sigma*) as the C-Cl bond elongates, and of (pi, pi*) for highly twisted geometries. Avoided crossings are observed between the potential-energy surfaces of the first three singlet excited states. The absorption spectra of vinyl chloride at 5.5-6.5 eV can be unambiguously assigned to the transitions from the ground state to the first singlet excited state. The dissociation of Cl atoms following 193-nm excitation is concluded to take place via two pathways: one is through (pi, sigma*) at planar or nearly planar structures leading to fast Cl atoms and the other through (pi, pi*) at twisted geometries from which internal conversion to the ground state and subsequent dissociation produces slow Cl atoms.     

Low-lying excited states of C120 and C151: a multireference perturbation theory study

Excited states of two 7-aminocoumarin derivatives, coumarin 120 (7-amino-4-methylcoumarin) and coumarin 151 (7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin), were investigated using generalized multiconfigurational quasidegenerate perturbation theory (GMC-QDPT), multiconfigurational quasidegenerate perturbation theory (MC-QDPT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with the B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP functionals. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of C120 and C151 were calculated. We elucidated the characters of the low-lying states of C120 and C151. The absorption spectra calculated with GMC-QDPT and TDDFT B3LYP agreed well with the experimental data, while for the fluorescence spectra, the TDDFT calculations overestimated the fluorescence spectra compared to GMC-QDPT calculations. Utilizing active spaces with large numbers of electrons and orbitals for reference functions, GMC-QDPT showed a better performance than MC-QDPT with a complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) reference of active space with smaller number of electrons and orbitals. In our gas phase calculation, we found that the optimized structures for the first excited states have a planar amino group with a CN single bond, while the amino group is pyramidal in the ground state.     

Spectroscopic properties and potential energy curves of low-lying electronic states of RuC

The RuC molecule has been a challenging species due to the open-shell nature of Ru resulting in a large number of low-lying electronic states. We have carried out state-of-the-art calculations using the complete active space multiconfiguration self-consistent field followed by multireference configuration interaction methods that included up to 18 million configurations, in conjunction with relativistic effects. We have computed 29 low-lying electronic states of RuC with different spin multiplicities and spatial symmetries with energy separations less than 38,000 cm(-1). We find two very closely low-lying electronic states for RuC, viz., 1Sigma+ and 3Delta with the 1Sigma+ being stabilized at higher levels of theory. Our computed spectroscopic constants and dipole moments are in good agreement with experiment although we have reported more electronic states than those that have been observed experimentally. Our computations reveal a strongly bound 1Sigma+ state with a large dipole moment which is most likely the experimentally observed ground state and an energetically close 3Delta state with a smaller dipole moment. Overall our computed spectroscopic constants of the excited states with energy separations less than 18,000 cm(-1) agree quite well with those of the corresponding observed states.     

Theoretical characterization of the low-lying electronic states of NbC

We have studied the potential-energy curves and the spectroscopic constants of the ground and low-lying excited states of NbC by employing the complete active space self-consistent field method with relativistic effective core potentials followed by multireference configuration-interaction calculations. We have identified 23 low-lying electronic states of NbC with different spin multiplicities and spatial symmetries within 40,000 cm(-1). At the multireference single and double configuration interaction level of theory the 2sigma+ and 2delta states are nearly degenerated, with the 2delta state located 187 cm(-1) lower than the 2sigma+ state. The estimated spin-orbit splitting for the 2delta state results in a 2delta(3/2) ground state and A 2sigma+ which is placed 650 cm(-1) above the ground state, in reasonable agreement with the experimental result, 831 cm(-1). Our computed spectroscopic constants are in good agreement with experimental values although our results differ from those of a previous density-functional investigation of the excited states of NbC, mainly due to the strong multiconfigurational character of NbC. In the present work we have not only suggested assignments for the observed states but also computed more electronic states that are yet to be observed experimentally.     

Orbital optimization in the density matrix renormalization group, with applications to polyenes and beta-carotene

In previous work we have shown that the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) enables near-exact calculations in active spaces much larger than are possible with traditional complete active space algorithms. Here, we implement orbital optimization with the DMRG to further allow the self-consistent improvement of the active orbitals, as is done in the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method. We use our resulting DMRG-CASSCF method to study the low-lying excited states of the all-trans polyenes up to C24H26 as well as beta-carotene, correlating with near-exact accuracy the optimized complete pi-valence space with up to 24 active electrons and orbitals, and analyze our results in the light of the recent discovery from resonance Raman experiments of new optically dark states in the spectrum.     

Theoretical calculation about the valence and Rydberg excited states of hydrogen cyanide

The singlet and triplet excited states of hydrogen cyanide have been computed by using the complete active space self-consistent field and completed active space second order perturbation methods with the atomic natural orbital (ANO-L) basis set. Through calculations of vertical excitation energies, we have probed the transitions from ground state to valence excited states, and further extensions to the Rydberg states are achieved by adding 1s1p1d Rydberg orbitals into the ANO-L basis set. Four singlet and nine triplet excited states have been optimized. The computed adiabatic energies and the vertical transition energies agree well with the available experimental data and the inconsistencies with the available theoretical reports are discussed in detail.     

反式和顺式HOOOH的电子光谱的理论研究

用密度泛函方法(DFT)和全活化空间自洽场方法(CASSCF)以及耦合簇理论(CCSD)优化了反式和顺式HOOOH的平衡几何构型, 用DFT计算了HOOOH顺反异构化反应的势能曲线和谐振动频率. 用含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)和二阶全活化空间微扰理论(CASPT2)计算了反式和顺式HOOOH垂直激发能. 计算结果表明: (1)反式异构体比顺式异构体稳定; (2)两种稳定构型的异构化反应有两种路径; (3)对于垂直跃迁能最低的单态和叁态, 反式的垂直跃迁能比顺式的低; (4)在单激发态中, CASPT2方法预测的顺式HOOOH寿命最长的激发态为21A′′, 其跃迁能是167.43 nm, 寿命为 1.44×10−5 s; 反式HOOOH寿命最长的激发态为21A, 其跃迁能是165.52 nm, 寿命为 2.07×10−5 s.     

Theoretical study of low-lying electronic states of Mn2 using a newly developed relativistic model core potential

We investigated the electronic structure of low-lying electronic states of Mn₂ using a newly developed relativistic model core potential (spdsMCP). Calculations were performed at complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and second-order multiconfiguration quasidegenerate perturbation theory (MCQDPT2) levels. The MCQDPT2 calculations reveal that the 1Σg⁺ state is the ground state. Calculated spectroscopic constants are very similar to the results of recent all-electron calculations and experimental values, indicating that the spdsMCP works well for Mn₂, which requires a highly correlated calculation. The wave functions of low-lying states are also analyzed at the CASSCF level.     

Multiconfiguration Pair-Density Functional Theory for Transition Metal Silicide Bond Dissociation Energies,Bond Lengths,and State Orderings

Transition metal silicides are promising materials for improved electronic devices, and this motivates achieving a better understanding of transition metal bonds to silicon. Here we model the ground and excited state bond dissociations of VSi, NbSi, and TaSi using a complete active space (CAS) wave function and a separated-pair (SP) wave function combined with two post-self-consistent field techniques: complete active space with perturbation theory at second order and multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory. The SP approximation is a multiconfiguration self-consistent field method with a selection of configurations based on generalized valence bond theory without the perfect pairing approximation. For both CAS and SP, the active-space composition corresponds to the nominal correlated-participating-orbital scheme. The ground state and low-lying excited states are explored to predict the state ordering for each molecule, and potential energy curves are calculated for the ground state to compare to experiment. The experimental bond dissociation energies of the three diatomic molecules are predicted with eight on-top pair-density functionals with a typical error of 0.2 eV for a CAS wave function and a typical error of 0.3 eV for the SP approximation. We also provide a survey of the accuracy achieved by the SP and extended separated-pair approximations for a broader set of 25 transition metal–ligand bond dissociation energies.     

Application of an efficient multireference approach to free-base porphin and metalloporphyrins: ground, excited, and positive ion states

The improved virtual orbital-complete active space configuration interaction (IVO-CASCI) method is applied to determine the geometries of the ground state of free-base porphin and its metal derivatives, magnesium and zinc porphyrins. The vertical excitation energies and ionization potentials are computed at these optimized geometries using an IVO-based version of multireference Mo?ller-Plesset (IVO-MRMP) perturbation theory. The geometries and excitation energies obtained from the IVO-CASCI and IVO-MRMP methods agree well with experiment and with other correlated many-body methods. We also provide the ground state vibrational frequencies for free-base porphin and Mg-porphyrin. All frequencies are real in contrast to self-consistent field treatments which yield an imaginary frequency. Ground state normal mode frequencies (scaled) of free-base porphin and magnesium porphyrin from IVO-CASCI and complete active space self-consistent field methods are quite similar and are consistent with Becke-Slater-Hartree-Fock exchange and Lee-Yang-Parr correlation density functional theory calculations and with experiment. In addition, geometries are determined for low-lying excited state triplets and for positive ion states of the molecules. To our knowledge, no prior experimental and theoretical data are available for these excited state geometries of magnesium and zinc porphyrins. Given that the IVO-CASCI and IVO-MRMP computed geometries and excitation energies agree favorably with experiment and with available theoretical data, our predicted excited state geometries should be equally accurate.     

Does chlorine peroxide absorb below 250 nm?

Low-lying singlet and triplet electronic excited states of ClOOCl are presented. Calculations of the excitation energies and oscillator strengths are reported using excited state coupled cluster response methods, as well as the complete active space self-consistent field method with the full Breit-Pauli spin-orbit operator. These calculations predict that for ClOOCl there should be a weakly absorbing triplet state lying below the lowest absorbing singlet excited state. This state is predicted to have an absorption maximum at about 385 +/- 25 nm. This lowest triplet state is calculated to be dissociative and leads to ClOO+Cl.     

A CASSCF/CASPT2 study on the low-lying excited states of HSiCN, HSiNC and their ions

Equilibrium geometries of low-lying electronic states of cyanosilylene (HSiCN), isocyanosilylene (HSiNC), and their ions have been investigated using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) approach. The harmonic vibrational frequencies on the optimized geometries were calculated using the multiconfiguration linear response (MCLR) method. Taking the further correlation effects into account, the complete active space perturbation theory of second-order (CASPT2) was carried out for the energetic correction. The CASPT2 calculations have been performed to obtain the vertical excitation energies of selected low-lying excited states of HSiCN and HSiNC. Computed results show that the singlet-triplet splittings are calculated to be 0.99 and 1.30 eV for HSiCN and HSiNC, respectively. The vertical excitation energies of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states in HSiCN are lower than those in HSiNC. The first vertical ionization energy of HSiCN (10.04 eV) is higher than that of HSiNC (9.97 eV). The ground-state adiabatic electron affinities are found to be rather high, and the value of HSiCN (1.85 eV) higher than that of HSiNC (1.52 eV). The existences of dipole-bound excited negative ion states have been discovered within HSiCN and HSiNC.     

Electronic structures of low-lying Bu excited states in trans-oligoenes: Pariser-Parr-Pople and ab initio calculations

Two lowest-lying excited singlets with B(u) symmetry of all-trans-oligoenes, the well-known ionic 1(1)B(u)(+) state as well as the "hidden" ionic-covalent-mixed 1(1)B(u)(-) state, are calculated within both the Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model at full configuration interaction (FCI) level and ab initio methods. The vertical excitation energies as well as wavefunctions from PPP-FCI calculations are found to be in good agreement with those from high-level multi-reference methods, such as multi-reference complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) with second order perturbative corrections (CASPT2), multi-reference M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MRMP), and complete active space valence bond theory (CASVB). The oscillator strengths from PPP calculation are in good agreement with spectroscopy experiments. The relatively small oscillator strength of 1(1)B(u)(-) is due to the approximate electron-hole symmetry of this state. In addition, the bond lengths in both states are found to show remarkable relativity with the bond orders calculated with ground state geometries, which suggests a possible strategy for initial guess in geometry optimization of excited states.     

An ab initio study on the ground and low-lying doublet electronic states of SbO2

Geometry optimization and harmonic vibrational frequency calculations have been carried out on the low-lying doublet electronic states of antimony dioxide (SbO(2)) employing a variety of ab initio methods, including the complete active space self-consistent field/multireference configuration interaction and the RCCSD(T) methods. Both large and small core relativistic effective core potentials were used for Sb in these calculations, together with valence basis sets of up to aug-cc-pV5Z quality. Contributions from outer core correlation and off-diagonal spin-orbit interaction to relative electronic energies have been calculated. The ground electronic state of SbO(2) is determined to be the X (2)A(1) state, as is the case for dioxides of other lighter group 15 p-block (or group VA) elements. However, the A (2)B(2) and B (2)A(2) states are estimated to be only 4.1 and 10.7 kcalmole above the X (2)A(1) state, respectively, at the complete basis set limit. Reliable vertical excitation energies from the X (2)A(1) state to low-lying excited states of SbO(2) have been computed with a view to assist future spectral assignments of the absorption and/or laser-induced fluorescence spectra of SbO(2), when they become available.     

Molecular mechanics-valence bond method for planar conjugated hydrocarbon cations

We present an extension of the molecular mechanics-valence bond (MMVB) hybrid method to study ground and excited states of planar conjugated hydrocarbon cations. Currently, accurate excited state calculations on these systems are limited to expensive ab initio studies of smaller systems: up to 15 active electrons in 16 pi orbitals with complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) theory using high symmetry. The new MMVB extension provides a faster, cheaper treatment to investigate larger cation systems with more than 24 active orbitals. Extension requires both new matrix elements and new parameters: In this paper we present both, for the limited planar case. The scheme is tested for the planar radical cations of benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene. Calculated MMVB relative energies are in good agreement with CASSCF results for equilibrium geometries on the ground and first excited states, and conical intersections.     

The electronic states of 1,2,3-triazole studied by vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and a comparison with ab initio configuration interaction methods

The Rydberg states in the vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectrum of 1,2,3-triazole have been measured and analyzed with the aid of comparison to the UV valence photoelectron ionizations and the results of ab initio configuration interaction (CI) calculations. Calculated electronic ionization and excitation energies for singlet, triplet valence, and Rydberg states were obtained using multireference multiroot CI procedures with an aug-cc-pVTZ [5s3p3d1f] basis set and a set of Rydberg [4s3p3d3f] functions. Adiabatic excitation energies obtained for several electronic states using coupled-cluster (singles, doubles, and triples) and complete active space self-consistent field procedures agree well with experimental values. Variations in bond lengths with the electronic state are discussed. The lowest energy UV band (～5.5-6.5 eV) is assigned to three electronically excited states and demonstrates the occurrence of a nonplanar upper state on the low energy side. A UV photoelectron spectrum with an improved resolution yielded adiabatic and vertical ionization energies and reorganization energies for several of the lowest cationic states. As well as excitations to the s, p, d-Rydberg states are the excitations consistent with an f-series.     

An ab initio multireference perturbation theory study on the manganese dimer

The potential energy curves of the ground state and of some excited states of the manganese dimer have been calculated over a wide range of internuclear distances using the second order n-electron valence state perturbation theory applied to a complete active space self-consistent field reference wave function. The ground state of Mn(2), for which also the third order NEVPT has been used, is calculated to be a singlet belonging to the Sigma(g) (+) symmetry, characterized by a large equilibrium internuclear distance R(e) of 3.7-3.8 A, by a low dissociation energy D(e) of 0.07-0.08 eV, and by a small harmonic frequency omega(e) of 43 cm(-1). The experimental evidence that Mn(2) is a van der Waals molecule is thus confirmed. Among the excited states, (11)Pi(u), which is usually indicated as the ground state by density functional theory studies, appears as a low-lying state with R(e)=2.50 A, D(e)=1.35 eV, and omega(e)=246 cm(-1).     

Theoretical study of the photoinduced transfer among the ground state and two metastable states in [Fe(CN)5NO]2-

Ab initio calculations were performed to investigate photoinduced transfers among the ground state (GS) and two metastable states (MS1 and MS2) of [Fe(CN)5NO]2-. We obtained the global potential energy surface of the electronic ground state by a scheme of multireference singly and doubly excited configuration interaction followed by a Davidson-type quadruple correction (MRSDCI+Q). The ground state surface has three local minima corresponding to GS, MS1, and MS2. The character of bond between Fe and the nitrosyl group are discussed. We carried out calculations of the lower five electronic excited states by MRSDCI+Q. The main configurations of these lower five excited states were represented by the dFe-->pi*NO transition accompanied by considerable back-donation. The potential energy surfaces of the six states, including the ground state, were obtained by state averaged complete active space self-consistent field calculations. The surfaces have several conical intersections and avoided crossings in the reaction pathway. The photoinduced transfers among GS, MS1, and MS2 are caused by the nonadiabatic effect near these crossings.     

Coupled-cluster with active space selected higher amplitudes: performance of seminatural orbitals for ground and excited state calculations

The active space approach for coupled-cluster models is generalized using the general active space concept and implemented in a string-based general coupled-cluster code. Particular attention is devoted to the choice of orbitals on which the subspace division is based. Seminatural orbitals are proposed for that purpose. These orbitals are obtained by diagonalizing only the hole-hole and particle-particle block of the one-electron density of a lower-order method. The seminatural orbitals are shown to be a good replacement for complete active space self-consistent field orbitals and avoid the ambiguities with respect to the reference determinant introduced by the latter orbitals. The seminatural orbitals also perform well in excited state calculations, including excited states with strong double excitation contributions, which usually are difficult to describe with standard coupled-cluster methods. A set of vertical excitation energies is obtained and benchmarked against full configuration interaction calculations, and alternative hierarchies of active space coupled-cluster models are proposed. As a simple application the spectroscopic constants of the C(2) B (1)Delta(g) and B(') (1)Sigma(g) (+) states are calculated using active space coupled-cluster methods and basis sets up to quadruple-zeta quality in connection with extrapolation and additivity schemes.     

Ethynyl Substitution Effect on the Electronic Excitation Spectra of Aniline

We made an extended study on the structure and properties of the low-lying electronic states of ethynyl substituted aniline and their cations. We performed these calculations using density functional theory method(B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP DFT) and the complete active space self-consistent field(CASSCF) approach in connection with the aug-cc-pVZ Dunning's basis sets and concerted ANO-L-VDZP basis sets. Our results included their equilibrium geometries, the vertical excitation spectra and the vertical and adiabatic ionization energies. The effect of ethynyl substitution on the electronic structure and the spectroscopy of aniline was probed.