聚集诱导发光现象的理论研究

本文系统介绍了本课题组发展的分子辐射跃迁和无辐射跃迁速率常数的热振动关联函数理论方法的最新进展及其在聚集诱导发光领域的典型应用. 基于第一性原理计算, 定量考察了位阻、温度、聚集等因素对分子体系发光性质的影响. 从微观角度给出了分子聚集诱导发光机理： 分子激发态的无辐射能量衰减通道主要是对应于低频模式的芳香环扭转和高频模式的碳碳伸缩振动. 当位阻增加、温度降低或者分子聚集时, 芳香环的转动受限, 无辐射能量衰减通道被抑制, 导致无辐射跃迁速率常数降低, 而其对辐射跃迁速率常数影响不大, 从而提高分子的荧光量子产率, 荧光增强.     

Quantum chemical insights into the aggregation induced emission phenomena: A QM/MM study for pyrazine derivatives

There have been intensive studies on the newly discovered phenomena called aggregation induced emission (AIE), in contrast to the conventional aggregation quenching. Through combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics computations, we have investigated the aggregation effects on the excited state decays, both via radiative and nonradiative routes, for pyrazine derivatives 2,3‐dicyano‐5,6‐diphenylpyrazine ( DCDPP ) and 2,3‐dicyanopyrazino phenanthrene ( DCPP ) in condensed phase. We show that for DCDPP there appear AIE for all the temperature, because the phenyl ring torsional motions in gas phase can efficiently dissipate the electronic excited state energy, and get hindered in aggregate; while for its “locked”‐phenyl counterpart, DCPP , theoretical calculation can only give the normal aggregation quenching. These first‐principles based findings are consistent with recent experiment. The primary origin of the exotic AIE phenomena is due to the nonradiative decay effects. This is the first time that AIE is understood based on theoretical chemistry calculations for aggregates, which helps to resolve the present disputes over the mechanism. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dissipative dynamics of laser induced nonadiabatic molecular alignment

Nonadiabatic alignment induced by short, moderately intense laser pulses in molecules coupled to dissipative environments is studied within a nonperturbative density matrix theory. We focus primarily on exploring and extending a recently proposed approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 113001 (2005)], wherein nonadiabatic laser alignment is used as a coherence spectroscopy that probes the dissipative properties of the solvent. To that end we apply the method to several molecular collision systems that exhibit sufficiently varied behavior to represent a broad variety of chemical environments. These include molecules in low temperature gas jets, in room temperature gas cells, and in dense liquids. We examine also the possibility of prolonging the duration of the field free (post-pulse) alignment in dissipative media by a proper choice of the system parameters.     

Incorporation of nonadiabatic transition into wave-packet dynamics

Nonadiabatic wave-packet dynamics is factorized into purely adiabatic propagation and instantaneous localized nonadiabatic transition. A general formula is derived for the quantum-mechanical local nonadiabatic operator which is implemented within the framework of the R-matrix method. The operator can be used for incorporating the nonadiabatic transition in semiclassical wave-packet dynamics.     

Feature activated molecular dynamics: an efficient approach for atomistic simulation of solid-state aggregation phenomena

An efficient approach is presented for performing efficient molecular dynamics simulations of solute aggregation in crystalline solids. The method dynamically divides the total simulation space into "active" regions centered about each minority species, in which regular molecular dynamics is performed. The number, size, and shape of these regions is updated periodically based on the distribution of solute atoms within the overall simulation cell. The remainder of the system is essentially static except for periodic rescaling of the entire simulation cell in order to balance the pressure between the isolated molecular dynamics regions. The method is shown to be accurate and robust for the Environment-Dependant Interatomic Potential (EDIP) for silicon and an Embedded Atom Method potential (EAM) for copper. Several tests are performed beginning with the diffusion of a single vacancy all the way to large-scale simulations of vacancy clustering. In both material systems, the predicted evolutions agree closely with the results of standard molecular dynamics simulations. Computationally, the method is demonstrated to scale almost linearly with the concentration of solute atoms, but is essentially independent of the total system size. This scaling behavior allows for the full dynamical simulation of aggregation under conditions that are more experimentally realizable than would be possible with standard molecular dynamics.     

New insight into solid-state molecular dynamics: mechanochemical synthesis of azobenzene/triphenylphosphine palladacycles

Solid-state reactions of dicyclopalladated azobenzenes and triphenylphosphine lead to the thermodynamically favorable bridged complexes. It was demonstrated for the first time that very complex molecular dynamics involving a series of structural transformations is also feasible in the solid state.     

Trajectory-based solution of the nonadiabatic quantum dynamics equations: an on-the-fly approach for molecular dynamics simulations

The non-relativistic quantum dynamics of nuclei and electrons is solved within the framework of quantum hydrodynamics using the adiabatic representation of the electronic states. An on-the-fly trajectory-based nonadiabatic molecular dynamics algorithm is derived, which is also able to capture nuclear quantum effects that are missing in the traditional trajectory surface hopping approach based on the independent trajectory approximation. The use of correlated trajectories produces quantum dynamics, which is in principle exact and computationally very efficient. The method is first tested on a series of model potentials and then applied to study the molecular collision of H with H(2) using on-the-fly TDDFT potential energy surfaces and nonadiabatic coupling vectors.     

Interdiffusion of solvent into glassy polymer films: a molecular dynamics study

Large scale molecular dynamics and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation techniques are used to study the behavior of the interdiffusion of a solvent into an entangled polymer matrix as the state of the polymer changes from a melt to a glass. The weight gain by the polymer increases with time t as t(1/2) in agreement with Fickian diffusion for all cases studied, although the diffusivity is found to be strongly concentration dependent especially as one approaches the glass transition temperature of the polymer. The diffusivity as a function of solvent concentration determined using the one-dimensional Fick's model of the diffusion equation is compared to the diffusivity calculated using the Darken equation from simulations of equilibrated solvent-polymer solutions. The diffusivity calculated using these two different approaches are in good agreement. The behavior of the diffusivity strongly depends on the state of the polymer and is related to the shape of the solvent concentration profile.     

Theoretical study of excitations in furan: spectra and molecular dynamics

The excitation spectra and molecular dynamics of furan associated with its low-lying excited singlet states 1A2(3s), 1B2(V), 1A1(V'), and 1B1(3p) are investigated using an ab initio quantum-dynamical approach. The ab initio results of our previous work [J. Chem. Phys. 119, 737 (2003)] on the potential energy surfaces (PES) of these states indicate that they are vibronically coupled with each other and subject to conical intersections. This should give rise to complex nonadiabatic nuclear dynamics. In the present work the dynamical problem is treated using adequate vibronic coupling models accounting for up to four coupled PES and thirteen vibrational degrees of freedom. The calculations were performed using the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method for wave-packet propagation. It is found that in the low-energy region the nuclear dynamics of furan is governed mainly by vibronic coupling of the 1A2(3s) and 1B2(V) states, involving also the 1A1(V') state. These interactions are responsible for the ultrafast internal conversion from the 1B2(V) state, characterized by a transfer of the electronic population to the 1A2(3s) state on a time scale of approximately 25 fs. The calculated photoabsorption spectrum of furan is in good qualitative agreement with experimental data. Some assignments of the measured spectrum are proposed.     

Theoretical insights into the aggregation-induced emission by hydrogen bonding: a QM/MM study

We investigate the excited-state decay processes for the 3-(2-cyano-2- phenylethenyl-Z)-NH-indole (CPEI) in the solid phase through combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) and vibration correlation formalisms for radiative and nonradiative decay rates, coupled with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). By comparing the isolated CPEI molecule and the molecule-in-cluster, we show that the molecular packing through intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions can hinder the excited-state nonradiative decay and thus enhance the fluorescence efficiency in the solid phase. Aggregation effect is shown to block the nonradiative decay process through hindering the low-frequency vibration motions. The fluorescence quantum yields for both isolated molecule and aggregation are predicted to be insensitive to temperature due to the hydrogen-bonding nature, and their values at room temperature are consistent with the experiment.     

The decay mechanism of photoexcited guanine - a nonadiabatic dynamics study

Ab initio surface hopping dynamics calculations were performed for the biologically relevant tautomer of guanine in gas phase excited into the first ππ? state. The results show that the complete population of UV-excited molecules returns to the ground state following an exponential decay within ～220 fs. This value is in good agreement with the experimentally obtained decay times of 148 and 360 fs. No fraction of the population remains trapped in the excited states. The internal conversion occurs in the ππ? state at two related types of conical intersections strongly puckered at the C2 atom. Only a small population of about 5% following an alternative pathway via a nπ? state was found in the dynamics.     

Structure and aggregation number of a lyotropic liquid crystal: a fluorescence quenching and molecular dynamics study

The structure and aggregation number of a discotic lyotropic liquid crystal, prepared from tetradecyltrimethylammonium chloride (TDTMACl)/decanol (DeOH)/NaCl/H2O, have been examined using fluorescence quenching of pyrene by hexadecylpyridinium chloride and molecular dynamics (MD). The fluorescence method gives an aggregation number of 258 +/- 25 units (DeOH + TDTMACl). From the MD simulation, a lower limit for the aggregate dimension of 130 units of DeOH + TDTMACl is predicted. A stable oblate aggregate of 240 units was studied in detail. A strong polarization between the ammonium headgroups and chloride ions is observed from the calculated trajectory. DeOH headgroups are located, on average, 0.3 nm more to the interior of the aggregate than the TDTMACl headgroup and contribute to widening the interface by forming H-bonds with water. The radial distribution function of the ammonium headgroup shows that there are 16 water molecules in the first solvation sphere. The diagonal elements of the order parameter tensor of the tail atoms of both surfactants indicate that the interior of the micelle preserves about the same degree of order as at the interface, up to the last three atoms of the aliphatic chain, where the order starts to decrease.     

Photodissociation of 1,2-dioxetane: An excited state nonadiabatic dynamics study

Dioxetanes are a class of high energy molecules that show unique ability to dissociate thermally onto excited state products. Quite recently, it attracts much attention due to their role in what is known as “dark secondary metabolite”. The present work, presents a comprehensive investigation of the photochemical and photophysical properties of 1,2-dioxetane. Several post HF-methods were utilized. The behavior of the excited states of 1,2-dioxetane, was explored by simulating the ultra-violet photoabsorption spectrum and nonadiabatic dynamics of 1,2-dioxetane. Simulation of the photoabsorption spectrum was performed within the nuclear ensemble approximation, sampling a Wigner distribution with 500 points; whereas, the surface hopping approach was utilized to simulate the dynamics. Dynamic simulations have been started in two different spectral windows centered at 7.5 and 9.0 eV, corresponding to populations of states S₆ and S₇, respectively. The time domain for such simulations is 100 fs. The dynamics in the spectral window centered about 7.5 eV show 24% probability to originate from excited state 6 (n_O-σ*_CO) suggesting the dissociation of the C–O bonds. Whereas, dynamics in the spectral windows centered about 9.0 eV, show 67% probability to originate from state 7 (n_O-σ*_OO) predicting an O–O dissociation.     

A molecular dynamics study of large-scale reversible aggregation of anisotropic particles

We report findings of 1000 ps molecular dynamics simulations of a bidimensional system of 4050 Lennard–Jones particles with electric dipoles, undergoing spinodal separation. This simple system is used to model the reversible aggregation of building blocks bearing specific and fixed adhesion sites at their surface. Aggregation regions so obtained resemble images of self-assembled biological structures. Statistical analyses of these regions evidence the interplay of thermodynamic instability and of interaction range between the attachment sites. They also illustrate some basic aspects of the morphogenesis of extended biomolecular/cellular structures, self-organized from initially homogeneous solutions.     

Detailed insight into the hydrogen bonding interactions in acetone-methanol mixtures. A molecular dynamics simulation and Voronoi polyhedra analysis study

Voronoi polyhedra (VP) analysis of mixtures of acetone and methanol is reported on the basis of molecular dynamics computer simulations, performed at 300 K and 1 bar. The composition of the systems investigated covers the entire range from neat acetone to neat methanol. Distribution of the volume, reciprocal volume and asphericity parameter of the VP as well as that of the area of the individual VP faces and of the radius of the empty voids located between the molecules are calculated. To investigate the tendency of the like molecules to self-associate the analyses are repeated by disregarding one of the two components. The self-aggregates of the disregarded component thus turn into large empty voids, which are easily detectable in VP analysis. The obtained results reveal that both molecules show self-association, but this behavior is considerably stronger among the acetone than among the methanol molecules. The strongest self-association of the acetone and methanol molecules is found in their mole fraction ranges of 02-0.5 and 0.5-0.6, respectively. The caging effect around the methanol molecules is found to be stronger than around acetones. Finally, the local environment of the acetone molecules turns out to be more spherical than that of the methanols, not only in the respective neat liquids, but also in their mixtures.     

Spreading dynamics of chain-like monolayers: a molecular dynamics study

Using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we have shown previously that the spreading dynamics of sessile drops on solid surfaces can be described in detail using the molecular-kinetic theory of dynamic wetting. Here we present our first steps in extending this approach to investigate the spreading dynamics of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers. We make use of a monolayer model originally developed by Karaborni and Toxvaerd, but somewhat simplified to facilitate large-scale simulations. Our preliminary results are in good agreement with recent experimental observations and also support a molecular-kinetic interpretation in which the driving force for spreading is the lateral pressure in the monolayer. Away from equilibrium, initial spreading rates are constant and logarithmically dependent on pressure. However, near equilibrium, spreading is pseudo-diffusive and follows the square root of time. In both regimes the controlling factor is the equilibrium frequency of molecular displacements within the monolayer.     

Theoretical description of dihydrogen/hydride and trihydride molybdocene complexes: An insight from static and molecular dynamics simulations

In this study ab initio Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations, extended transition state (ETS)‐natural orbitals for chemical valence (NOCV) and QTAIM bonding analyses, were performed to characterize the ansa‐bridged molybdocene complexes [(C₅H₄)₂XMe₂MoH₃]⁺ for X = C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, and nonbridged Cp₂MoH system. The results have shown that the [(C₅H₄)₂CMe₂MoH(H₂)]⁺ complex exhibits nonclassical dihydrogen/hydride (H₂/H) conformation (97.6% of time of simulation), contrary to trihydride (H₃) structure noted for nonbridged Cp₂MoH (86.9%) and ansa‐bridged [(C₅H₄)₂SnMe₂MoH₃]⁺ (84.8%), [(C₅H₄)₂PbMe₂MoH₃]⁺ (84.9%) systems. Further, [(C₅H₄)₂SiMe₂MoH₃]⁺ and [(C₅H₄)₂GeMe₂MoH₃]⁺ complexes, appeared to exist in both conformations (H₂/H—55.4%, H₃—44.6% for Si‐based system and H₂/H—36.2%, H₃—63.8 % for germanium congener). It has been proven that the “steric availability” of the metal center, measured by the changes in the Cp? Mo? Cp angle (α), determines the existence of a given conformation—namely, the smaller value of the angle (molybdenum is sterically more accessible) the larger preference for the formation of dihydrogen/hydride structure. ETS‐NOCV method allowed to conclude that increase in the Cp? Mo? Cp angle (from α ca. 120° to α ca. 150°) leads to the enhancement of donation from H₂ and back‐donation from Mo to the σ*(H? H), what consequently leads to breaking of the H? H bond and formation of the trihydride structure. Systematical increase in the charge depletion from the σ‐bonding orbital of H₂ can be related to the reduction of the energy gap between the major orbitals involved in this contribution, namely highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of H₂ with lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of [MoHL]⁺; ΔE = 0.0868 a.u. [for L =(C₅H₄)₂C], ΔE = 0.0827a.u. [for L = (C₅H₄)₂Si] ΔE = 0.0638 a.u. [for L = Cp₂]. Further, the relatively low energetic barrier to hydrogen exchange (ΔE^# = 3.3 kcal/mol) for carbon‐bridged complex, [(C₅H₄)₂CMe₂MoH_c(H_aH_b)]⁺ → [(C₅H₄)₂ CMe₂MoH_a(H_bH_c)]⁺, is related to strengthening of the Mo–H bonds when going from the substrate to the transition state (TS). Notably higher barrier to hydrogen rotation (ΔE^# = 10.1 kcal/mol) in [(C₅H₄)₂CMe₂MoH(H₂)]⁺ is due to lowering in the electrostatic stabilization as well as weakening of the donation (H₂ → Mo charge transfer) and practically lack‐of back‐donation (Mo → H₂) in the rotated TS. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.