Role of charge transfer interaction and conjugation length on electrical polarizability of doped trans-polyacetylene oligomers

The effects of charge transfer and molecular chain length on the electrical polarizability of doped trans-polyacetylene oligomers have been investigated using a series of quantum chemical methods ranging from Hartree-Fock to current density functional theory. Polarizability tensors of pristine and metal-doped trans-polyacetylene oligomers have been estimated. The nature of variations of polarizability tensor components are quite different for pristine and doped oligomers. For doped samples, distinct minima in the average static polarizabilities per acetylene unit have been observed. The results suggest that the competitive role of charge-transfer interaction and oligomer chain length are responsible for the observed minima. To simulate the ab initio results on polarizability variation, we propose a mathematical model that describes the minima quite satisfactorily.     

Ab initio dynamic polarizabilities of polymers. I. Hydrogen chain models

Ab initio dynamic polarizabilities per unit cell of infinite stereoregular molecular hydrogen chains are calculated at the coupled Hartree-Fock level of approximation by using the random-phase approximation and the STO -3G and double-zeta atomic basis sets. Comparison with molecular calculations on increasingly large oligomeric chains emphasizes the nice extrapolation property of the polymeric technique that provides asymptotic values very close to the largest oligomeric values. The poles of the polarization propagator associated with the electric dipole polarizability correspond to the singlet excitation energies. Comparisons are performed with other techniques that provide the band gap. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Calculation of longitudinal polarizability and second hyperpolarizability of polyacetylene with the coupled perturbed Hartree-Fock/Kohn-Sham scheme: where it is shown how finite oligomer chains tend to the infinite periodic polymer

The longitudinal polarizability, α(xx), and second hyperpolarizability, γ(xxxx), of polyacetylene are evaluated by using the coupled perturbed Hartree-Fock/Kohn-Sham (HF/KS) scheme as implemented in the periodic CRYSTAL code and a split valence type basis set. Four different density functionals, namely local density approximation (LDA) (pure local), Perdew-Becke-Ernzerhof (PBE) (gradient corrected), PBE0, and B3LYP (hybrid), and the Hartree-Fock Hamiltonian are compared. It is shown that very tight computational conditions must be used to obtain well converged results, especially for γ(xxxx), that is, very sensitive to the number of k(->) points in reciprocal space when the band gap is small (as for LDA and PBE), and to the extension of summations of the exact exchange series (HF and hybrids). The band gap in LDA is only 0.01 eV: at least 300 k(->) points are required to obtain well converged total energy and equilibrium geometry, and 1200 for well converged optical properties. Also, the exchange series convergence is related to the band gap. The PBE0 band gap is as small as 1.4 eV and the exchange summation must extend to about 130 A? from the origin cell. Total energy, band gap, equilibrium geometry, polarizability, and second hyperpolarizability of oligomers -(C(2)H(2))(m)-, with m up to 50 (202 atoms), and of the polymer have been compared. It turns out that oligomers of that length provide an extremely poor representation of the infinite chain polarizability and hyperpolarizability when the gap is smaller than 0.2 eV (that is, for LDA and PBE). Huge differences are observed on α(xx) and γ(xxxx) of the polymer when different functionals are used, that is in connection to the well-known density functional theory (DFT) overshoot, reported in the literature about short oligomers: for the infinite model the ratio between LDA (or PBE) and HF becomes even more dramatic (about 500 for α(xx) and 10(10) for γ(xxxx)). On the basis of previous systematic comparisons of results obtained with various approaches including DFT, HF, Moller-Plesset (MP2) and coupled cluster for finite chains, we can argue that, for the infinite chain, the present HF results are the most reliable.     

Dielectrophoretic assembly of metallodielectric Janus particles in AC electric fields

"Janus" particles with two hemispheres of different polarizability or charge demonstrate a multitude of interesting effects in external electric fields. We reported earlier how particles with one metallic hemisphere and one dielectric hemisphere self-propel in low-frequency alternating current (AC) electric fields. Here, we demonstrate the assembly of such Janus particles driven by AC electric fields at frequencies above 10 kHz. We investigated the relation between field-induced dielectrophoretic force, field distribution, and structure of the assemblies. The phase space for electric field intensity and frequency was explored for particle concentrations large enough to form a monolayer on a glass surface between two gold electrodes. A rich variety of metallodielectric particle structures and dynamics were uncovered, which are very different from those obtained from directed assembly of plain dielectric or plain conductive particles under the action of fields of similar frequency and intensity. The metallodielectric particles assemble into new types of chain structures, where the metallized halves of neighboring particles align into lanes along the direction of the electric field, while the dielectric halves face in alternating direction. The staggered chains may assemble in various orientations to form different types of two-dimensional metallodielectric crystals. The experimental results on the formation of staggered chains are interpreted by means of numerical simulations of the electric energy of the system. The assembly of Janus metallodielectric particles may find applications in liquid-borne microcircuits and materials with directional electric and heat transfer.     

Optical, dynamic, and electro-optical properties of poly(N-acryloyl-11-aminoundecanoic acid) in solutions

The optical, electro-optical, and dynamic characteristics of poly(N-acryloyl-11-aminoundecanoic acid) in organic solvents and of the sodium salt of its monomer in water were studied via the methods of flow birefringence, equilibrium and nonequilibrium electric birefringence, and dynamic light scattering. It is shown that, in aqueous solutions, the monomer forms coarse particles of both symmetric and asymmetric shapes. The linear dimensions of these particles are estimated from the data of translational and rotational diffusion. Polymer macromolecules in organic solvents feature negative anisotropy of optical polarizability. Contributions of optical microform and macroform effects to the observed flow birefringence are analyzed in detail. The intrinsic optical anisotropy of the monomer unit of the polymer, which correlates well with the corresponding values for comb-shaped polymers of a similar structure, is estimated. It is shown that polymer molecules lack marked intrinsic permanent macromolecular dipoles and that electric birefringence in their solutions is associated with macroscopic induced dipole moments that appear during orientation of the dipole moments of polar groups in side chains of the polymer under application of an electric field.     

Polarizable model of water with field-dependent polarization

The polarizable charge-on-spring model of water with three Gaussian charges developed by the present authors [A. Baranyai and P. T. Kiss, J. Chem. Phys. 133, 144109 (2010)] was studied. We introduced an analytic function for the polarizability in terms of the local electric field. Following theoretical suggestions, the polarizability decreases from its experimental gas-phase value, in our approach, toward a high-field threshold. Using this modified polarizability, we reparameterized the model by calculating its dielectric constant and obtained good estimates of density and internal energy for ambient water, hexagonal ice, and water cluster properties. Mimicked by the new model, we studied liquid water under the impact of homogeneous static electric field in the rage of 0-2.5 V/?. Both the density and the average dipole moment increase with the strength of the electric field. However, the internal energy shows a minimum at ~0.35 V/?. At this field strength, the model starts ordering into a crystal structure. At higher fields the liquid forms a crystalline structure which is a special version of cubic ice.     

Extrapolation of the linear and nonlinear polarizabilities from ab initio finite oligomer calculations

Different definitions of property per unit cell and different fitting functions are employed to obtain the asymptotic limit values per unit cell of the polarizability (α), the first (β), and the second (γ) hyperpolarizabilities of an infinite oligomer. A 1/n power series function is found to be suitable for the average value and logarithmic average value per unit cell definition, and an exponentially decreasing function is found to be suitable for the difference value per unit cell definition. These conclusions are derived based on an equation expressing the total energy per unit cell of a finite linear oligomer as a power series of 1/n, presented from a perturbation treatment. Several calculations of long chain systems have been carried out to reach our conclusions. An equation of p(n)/n = a + b/n + c/n² is strongly recommended for a least‐squares fitting of the properties per unit cell to achieve a stabilization behavior when the chain length is increased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006     

Brownian dynamics simulations of needle chain and nugget chain polymer models--rigid constraint conditions versus infinitely stiff springs

It is well known that orientational correlations appear in polymer chain models when the subunits are linked by ball-socket joints implemented as rigid constraint conditions. These correlations do not appear when the subunits are connected by springlike potential forces, even in the limit of infinitely stiff springs. In a widely used class of algorithms for Brownian dynamics simulations, inertia effects are ignored. However, in the recently introduced needle chain and nugget chain algorithms, the rigid constraint correlations depend on the mass and moment of inertia. This inconsistency does not appear in the bead-rod (Kramers) polymer chain model, which also has orientational correlations introduced by rigid constraint conditions. Explicit expressions for the correlation functions are given for thermodynamic equilibrium states. Analytical expressions for the associated forces ("metric forces") and simulation results showing how the rigid constraint correlations influence dynamical properties, are also presented. Further we discuss the physical relevance of these correlations and show via simulations that their influence on stationary and dynamical properties depend significantly on chain length. We further show that if the metric forces are removed, algorithms designed with rigid constraint conditions describe a chain of segments connected by infinitely stiff springs. Finally we show that the results presented here for needle chains are relevant also for the bead-rod (Kramers) chain model, making it possible to simulate a bead-spring chain with infinitely stiff springs.     

A density functional study on dielectric properties of acrylic acid grafted polypropylene

Influence of acrylic acid grafting of isotactic polypropylene on the dielectric properties of the polymer is investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, both in the molecular modeling and three-dimensional (3D) bulk periodic system frameworks. In our molecular modeling calculations, polarizability volume, and polarizability volume per mass which reflects the permittivity of the polymer, as well as the HOMO-LUMO gap, one of the important measures indicating the electrical breakdown voltage strength, were examined for oligomers with various chain lengths and carboxyl mixture ratios. When a polypropylene oligomer is grafted with carboxyl groups (cf. acrylic acid), our calculations show that the increase of the polarizability volume α' of the oligomer is proportional to the increase of its mass m, while the ratio α'/m decreases from the value of a pure polymer when increasing the mixture ratio. The decreasing ratio of α'/m under carboxyl grafting indicates that the material permittivity might also decrease if the mass density of the material remains constant. Furthermore, our calculations show that the HOMO-LUMO gap energy decreases by only about 15% in grafting, but this decrease seems to be independent on the mixture ratio of carboxyl. This indicates that by doping polymers with additives better dielectric properties can be tailored. Finally, using the first-principles molecular DFT results for polarizability volume per mass in connection with the classical Clausius-Mossotti relation, we have estimated static permittivity for acrylic acid grafted polypropylene, assuming the structural density keeping constant under grafting. The computed permittivity values are in a qualitative agreement with the recent experiments, showing increasing tendency of the permittivity as a function of the grafting composition. In order to validate our molecular DFT based approach, we have also carried out extensive three-dimensional bulk periodic first-principles total-energy calculations in the frameworks of the density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) for crystalline acrylic acid grafted polypropylene. Interestingly, the computed electronic and dielectric properties behave very similarly between the simplified molecular DFT modeling and the more realistic 3D bulk periodic DFPT method. In particular, the static permittivity values [ε(r)(0)] from the molecular DFT-Clausius-Mossotti modeling are in excellent agreement with the high-frequency dielectric constant values (ε(∞)) from the DFPT method. This obviously implies that the chain-to-chain interaction to dielectric and electronic properties of acrylic acid polypropylene, to a first approximation, can be neglected, therefore justifying the usage of molecular DFT modeling in our calculations.     

Influence of hydrodynamic coupling on the electric linear dichroism of DNA fragments

In the present work, we study the effect of translational-rotational hydrodynamic coupling on the stationary electric linear dichroism of DNA fragments. The theoretical resolution of the problem has, so far, been dealt with analytic methods valid only in the limit of low electric fields. In this work, we apply numerical methods that allow us to study the problem and also consider electric fields of arbitrary strength. We use the bent rod molecules model to describe DNA fragments with physical properties characterized by their electric charge, electric polarizability tensor, rotational diffusion tensor, and translation-rotation coupling diffusion tensor. The necessary orientational distribution function to calculate electric dichroism is obtained by solving the Fokker-Planck equation through the finite difference method. We analyze the different contributions due to electric polarizability and translational-rotational coupling to the electric dichroism.     

Electro-optical studies on synthetic polyelectrolytes—II: Electric birefringence of poly-N-butyl-4-vinylpyridinium salts in aqueous solution

The field strength dependence of the electric birefringence of poly- N-butyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide in aqueous solution changes markedly with polymer concentration. Analysis of the orientation curves reveals that the mean electric polarizability ?Δα sharply increases when the concentration decreases, as a result of the extension of the chain, while the negative optical anisotropy factor remains unchanged. An empirical relationship, similar to that found for the reduced viscosity, is derived for the variation of electric polarizability with concentration.Increasing the ionic strength produces a coiling of the polyelectrolytic chain and a decrease of ?Δx. The replacement of the bromide ions by sulphate ions causes a conformational change evidenced by a decrease of ?Δα and of the relaxation time. This effect is interpreted by the formation of electrostatic bonding between the pyridinium rings on non-adjacent segments of the chain, and to a limited extend, by intermolecular bonding.The dependence of the relaxation time, extrapolated to infinite dilution, on the molecular weight of the samples is analysed on the basis of a worm-like chain model. The persistent length obtained is found of the same order of magnitude as in the case of other semi-rigid polymers. The predominant influence of the segmental orientation on the optical, electric or conformational parameters is discussed in detail.     

Orientational ordering of a polymer chain in a strong dipole field. Tetrahedral lattice model

Orientational and conformational properties have been investigated of a rotational isomeric model of a polar polymer chain on a tetrahedral lattice in a strong electric or mechanical field of dipole symmetry. Two types of dipole moment distribution along the chain are discussed: (A) constant signs of longitudinal components of the dipole moments, and (B) alternating signs of the longitudinal components of the dipole moments. The second case represents polymer chains such as $ \rlap{--} ({\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \hbox{---} {\rm CR}_{\rm 2} {\rm \rlap{--} )}_n $>/UEQN> when the dipole moments are oriented along the bisector of the CR₂-angle, i.e., normal to the extended trans-chain conformation. It is shown that only a discrete most probable orientation of the lattice relative to the field should be considered, namely that coinciding with one of the symmetry axes of the lattices. The average dipole order parameter and dichroic functions (quadrupole order parameter) are calculated in a strong external dipole field for unit vectors with different orientation relative to the chain backbone. The quadrupole order parameter for different unit vectors is obtained also as a function of chain elongation. The polarizability induced by an additional weak dipole field is calculated as a function of the magnitude of the strong external dipole field. For the model considered here the order parameters are more strongly influenced by the external field than those for the freely jointed chain (FJC) model having the same distribution of dipole moments along the chain. The orientational ordering of the chain in a dipole field is higher than in a quadrupole field of the same magnitude.     

The Role of Computational Chemistry in the Experimental Determination of the Dipole Moment of Molecules in Solution

The methods for the experimental determination of electric dipole moment of molecules in solution from measurements of dielectric permittivity and refractive index are traditionally based on the classical Onsager model. In this model the molecular solute is approximated as a simple polarizable point dipole inside a spherical or ellipsoidal cavity of a dielectric medium representing the solvent. However, the inadequacies of the model resulting from the assumption of a simple shape of the cavity, for the evaluation of the cavity field effect, and from the uncertainty of the polarizability of the molecular solute influences the results and hampers the comparison with the electric dipole moments computed from quantum chemical solvation models. In this article we propose a new method for the experimental determination of the electric dipole moment in solution in which information from the Polarizable Continuum Model calculations are used in place of the Onsager model. The new method overcomes the limitations of this latter model regarding both the cavity field effect and the polarizability of the molecular solutes, and thus allows a coherent comparison between experimental and computed dipole moments of solvated molecules. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electrofluorescence of MEH-PPV and its oligomers: evidence for field-induced fluorescence quenching of single chains

Electrofluorescence (Stark) spectroscopy has been used to measure the trace of the change in polarizability (trDeltaalpha) and the absolute value of the change in dipole moment (|Deltamu|) of the electroluminescent polymer poly[2-methoxy,5-(2'-ethyl-hexoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) and several model oligomers in solvent glass matrixes. From electrofluorescence, the measured values of trDeltaalpha increase from 500 +/- 60 A(3) in OPPV-5 to 2000 +/- 200 A(3) in MEH-PPV. The good agreement found between these values and those measured by electroabsorption suggests the electronic properties do not differ strongly between absorption and emission, in contrast to earlier predictions. Evidence of electric-field-induced fluorescence quenching of MEH-PPV in dilute solvent glasses was found. When normalized to the square of the applied electric field, the magnitude of quench is comparable to that reported in the literature for thin films of MEH-PPV. In addition, fluorescence quenching was also observed in the oligomers with a magnitude that increases with increasing chain length. By using the values of trDeltaalpha measured by electrofluorescence, a model is developed to qualitatively explain the chain length dependence to the fluorescence quench observed in the oligomers as a function of exciton delocalization along the oligomer backbone. Various explanations for the origin of this quenching behavior and its chain length dependence are considered.     

Dielectric response of modified Hubbard models with neutral-ionic and Peierls transitions

The dipole P(F) of systems with periodic boundary conditions in a static electric field F is applied to one-dimensional Peierls-Hubbard models for organic charge-transfer (CT) salts. Exact results for P(F) are obtained for finite systems of N=14 and 16 sites that are almost converged to infinite chains in deformable lattices subject to a Peierls transition. The electronic polarizability per site, alpha(el)=(partial differential P/partial differential F)0, of rigid stacks with alternating transfer integrals t(1+/-delta) diverges at the neutral-ionic transition for delta=0 but remains finite for delta>0 in dimerized chains. The Peierls or dimerization mode couples to charge fluctuations along the stack and results in large vibrational contributions alpha(vib) that are related to partial differential P/ partial differential delta and that peak sharply at the Peierls transition. The extension of P(F) to correlated electronic states yields the dielectric response kappa of models with neutral-ionic or Peierls transitions, where kappa peaks >100 are found with parameters used previously for variable ionicity rho and vibrational spectra of CT salts. The calculated kappa accounts for the dielectric response of CT salts based on substituted TTF's (tetrathiafulvalene) and substituted CA's (chloranil). The role of lattice stiffness appears clearly in models: soft systems have a Peierls instability at small rho and continuous crossover to large rho, while stiff stacks such as TTF-CA have a first-order transition with discontinuous rho that is both a neutral-ionic and Peierls transition. The transitions are associated with tuning the electronic ground state of insulators via temperature or pressure in experiments, or via model parameters in calculations.     

International journal of quantum chemistry—a journal devoted to quantum theory and computations in chemistry,condensed matter physics,and biology. Editorial—program and policies

A procedure based on the polarization propagator technique is used to determine the longitudinal asymptotic electric polarizabilities per unit cell of infinite periodic systems. They are computed ab initio at the random-phase approximation level of accuracy for infinite model hydrogen chains using the STO -3G minimal basis set. This work also focuses on the effect of the number of interacting cells taken into account in the cell index summations as well as the number of k-points needed to perform the integration in the first Brillouin zone. Long-range effects are shown to influence the desired response properties more strongly than do short-range effects. Our direct method is presented as the only way to get the asymptotic longitudinal polarizabilities per unit cell of the systems presenting the largest polarizabilities, the most interesting polymers. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Theoretical aspects and computer simulations of flexible charged oligomers in salt-free solutions

The structural and thermodynamic properties of a model solution containing flexible charged oligomers and an equivalent number of counterions were studied by means of the canonical Monte Carlo simulation and integral equation theory. The oligomers were represented as freely jointed chains of charged hard spheres. In accordance with the primitive model of electrolyte solutions, the counterions were modeled as charged hard spheres and the solvent as a dielectric continuum. Simulations were performed for a set of model parameters, independently varying the chain length and concentration of the oligomers. Structural properties in the form of pair distribution functions were calculated as functions of model parameters. In addition, thermodynamic properties such as the excess energy of solution and the excess chemical potential of counterions were obtained. These properties were correlated with the conformational averages of oligomers as reflected in the end-to-end distances and radii of gyration obtained from the simulations. The relation with the experimental data for heats of dilution and for the activity coefficient is discussed. Finally, theories based on Wertheim's integral equation approach (product reactant Ornstein-Zernike approach) [J. Stat. Phys. 42, 477 (1986)] in the so-called polymer mean spherical and polymer hypernetted chain approximations were tested against the new and existing computer simulations. For the values of parameters examined in this study, the integral equation theory yields semiquantitative agreement with computer simulations.     

Charge transfer between DNA and proteins in the nucleosomes

Recently X-ray diffraction provided the structure of nucleosomes. External disturbances can unwrap DNA from the histone–protein and their genetic information becomes readable. This is strongly connected with cancer initiation. Therefore, first we performed charge transfer (CT) calculations between polythymidine and a periodic model-protein chain with a lysine or arginine and three glycines. The CT calculations were repeated between the infinite chains using combined solid state physical and quantum chemical methods. We found that the CT between the unit cells of an infinite polythymidine and poly(lysine-triglycine) is 0.04 e and 0.03 e for poly(arginine-triglycine). We investigated the influence of the basis set quality on the calculated CT values using a molecular model built of a thymidine and lysine or arginine. We have calculated also the bands of polythymidine and the two protein model chains. We have found that the differences between the highest level of the valence band of single polythymidine chain and the lowest level of the conduction bands of the model protein chains (6-11 eV depending on the basis set) are too large to assume a direct CT between these two bands.