Linear expansions of correlated functions: Variational Monte Carlo case study

The relative performance of trial wave functions expressed as linear combination of correlated exponentials has been tested on a variety of systems. The results are compared against other correlated functions commonly used in the literature to assess the capabilities of the proposed ansatz. A possible departure from the simple exponential functional form used in previous works is discussed, along with its advantages and drawbacks. We also discuss how to implement an efficient optimization procedure for this correlated basis set. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 74: 23–33, 1999     

精确固定节面量子Monte：Carlo差值法

本文提出了精确固定节面量子Monte Carlo差值法，这个新算法能够在精确固定节面量子Monte Carlo方法的基础上直接计算两个体系之间的能量差，且使计算结果的统计误差达到10-2 kJ/mol 数量级，获得电子相关能90%以上。我们把这个新算法应用于分子势能面的研究中，使用一个“刚性移动”模型，利用Jacobi变换使分子两个几何构型的能量计算具有很好的正相关性，因而能得到准确的能量差值，于是精确的分子势能面就可以得到。这个新算法已经被使用到BH分子基态势能曲线和H₃分子势能面的研究。这个算法还可应用于分子光谱、化学反应能量变化值等领域的研究。     

A Novel Method for Fixed‐node Quantum Monte Carlo

In this paper, a novel method for fixed‐node quantum Monte Carlo is given. By comparing this method with the traditional fixed‐node one, this novel method can be applied to calculate molecular energy more exactly. An expansion of the eigenvalue of the energy for a system has been derived. It is proved that the value of the energy calculated using the traditional fixed‐node method is only the zeroth order approximation of the eigenvalue of the energy. But when using this novel method, in the case of only increasing less computing amounts ( < 1%), the first order approximation, the second order approximation, and so on can be obtained conveniently with the detailed equations and steps in the practical calculation to calculate the values of the zeroth, first and second approximation of the energies of 1 ¹A, state of CH₂, ¹A₂(C_4h, acet) state of C₈ and the ground‐states of H₂, LiH, Li₂, and H₂O The results indicate that for these states it needs only the second order approximation to obtain over 97% of electronic correlation energy, which demonstrates that this novel method is very excellent in both the computing accuracy and the amount of calculation required.     

Differential diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method: determination of potential energy surfaces of molecules

A differential approach for self-optimizing diffusion Monte Carlo calculation was proposed in this paper, which is a new algorithm combining three techniques such as optimizing, diffusion and correlation sampling. This method can be used to directly compute the energy differential between two systems in the diffusion process, making the statistical error of calculation be reduced to order of 10-5 hartree, and recover about more than 80% of the correlation energy. We employed this approach to set up a potential energy surface of a molecule, used a "rigid move" model, and utilized Jacobi transformation to make energy calculation for two configurations of a molecule having good positive correlation. So, an accurate energy differential could be obtained, and the potential energy surface with good quality can be depicted. In calculation, a technique called "post-equilibrium remaining sample was set up firstly, which can save about 50% of computation expense. This novel algorithm was used to study the potenti     

Combination of the Metropolis Monte Carlo and Lattice Statics method for geometry optimization of H‐(Al)‐ZSM‐5

In this article, the combination of the Metropolis Monte Carlo and Lattice Statics (MMC‐LS) method is applied to perform the geometry optimization of crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite system in the presence of cationic species (H⁺), i.e., H‐(Al)‐ZSM‐5. It has been proved that the MMC‐LS method is very useful to allow H⁺ ions in (Al)‐ZSM‐5 extra‐framework to approach the global minimum energy sites. The crucial advantage of the combination MMC‐LS method is that, in stead of simulating over thousands random configurations via the only LS method, the only one configuration is needed for the MMC‐LS simulation to achieve the lowest energy configuration. Therefore, the calculation time can be substantially reduced via the performance of the MMC‐LS method with respect to the only LS method. The calculated results obtained from the MMC‐LS and the only LS methods have been comparatively represented in terms of the thermodynamic and structural properties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010     

Energy/Hole Transfer Phenomena in Hybrid α‐Sexithiophene (α‐STH) Nanoparticle–CdTe Quantum‐Dot Nanocomposites

Considerable attention has been paid to hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites for designing new optical materials. Herein, we demonstrate the energy and hole transfer of hybrid hole‐transporting α‐sexithiophene (α‐STH) nanoparticle–CdTe quantum dot (QD) nanocomposites using steady‐state and time‐resolved spectroscopy. Absorption and photoluminescence studies confirm the loss of planarity of the α‐sexithiophene molecule due to the formation of polymer nanoparticles. Upon photoexcitation at 370 nm, a nonradiative energy transfer (73 %) occurs from the hole‐transporting α‐STH nanoparticles to the CdTe nanoparticles with a rate of energy transfer of 6.13×10⁹ s^?1. However, photoluminescence quenching of the CdTe QDs in the presence of the hole‐transporting α‐STH nanoparticles is observed at 490 nm excitation, which is due to both static‐quenching and hole‐transfer‐based dynamic‐quenching phenomena. The calculated hole‐transporting rate is 7.13×10⁷ s^?1 in the presence of 42×10^?8 M α‐STH nanoparticles. Our findings suggest that the interest in α‐sexithiophene (α‐STH) nanoparticle–CdTe QD hybrid nanocomposites might grow in the coming years because of various potential applications, such as solar cells, optoelectronic devices, and so on.     

Solubility of N2 in poly(α‐n‐hexyl‐β,L‐aspartate): Temperature and force‐field dependence

The solubility of N₂ in poly(α‐n‐hexyl‐β,L ‐aspartate), a stereoregular poly(β‐peptide), was investigated with atomistic Monte Carlo simulations. The structure of this material is intermediate between that of polymers able to form a three‐dimensional crystal lattice and that of liquid‐crystalline polymers with a biphasic distribution. The dependence of the calculated solubility coefficients on both the parameters of the force field and the temperature was examined. The results are compared with recently reported experimental data. Furthermore, the motion of the penetrant molecules within the polymer matrix was analyzed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2928–2936, 2003     

Photoinduced and thermal reactions of α‐cyano‐β‐bromomethylcinnamide with 1‐benzyl‐1,4‐dihydronicotinamide

The photoinduced reaction of a mixture of (Z)‐α‐cyano‐β‐bromomethylcinnamide (1) and (E)‐α‐cyano‐β‐bromomethylcinnamide (2) with 1‐benzyl‐1, 4‐dihydronicotinamide produces a mixture of the (E)‐ and (Z)‐ isomers of α‐cyano‐β‐methylcinnamide (3 and 4). Using spin‐trapping technique for monitoring reactive intermediate, it is shown that the reaction proceeds via electron transfer‐debromination‐H abstraction mechanism. The thermal reaction of the same substrate with BNAH at 60°C in the dark gives three products: the (E)‐ and (Z)‐isomers of α‐cyano‐β‐methylcinnamide and a dehydrodimeric product; 2, 7‐dicyano‐3, 6‐diphenylocta‐2, 4, 6‐trien‐1, 8‐dioic amide (7). Based on product analysis, scavenger experiment and cyclic voltammetry, an electron transfer‐debromination‐disproportionation mechanism is proposed.     

Variational Monte Carlo calculations for some cations and anions of the first‐row atoms using explicitly correlated wave functions

The variational Monte Carlo method is applied to calculate ground‐state energies of some cations and anions of the first‐row atoms. Accurate values providing between 80 and 90% of the correlation energy are obtained. Explicitly correlated wave functions including up to 42 variational parameters are used. The nondynamic correlation due to the 2s ? 2p near degeneracy effect is included by using a multideterminant wave function. The variational free parameters have been fixed by minimizing the energy that has shown to be a more convenient functional than the variance of the local energy, which is the most commonly employed method in variational Monte Carlo calculations. The energies obtained improve previous works using similar wave functions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.; DOI 10.1002/qua.10125     

Radical‐initiated polymerization of β‐methyl‐α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactone

β‐Methyl‐α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactone (MMBL) was synthesized and then was polymerized in an N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) solution with 2,2‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) initiation. The homopolymer of MMBL was soluble in DMF and acetonitrile. MMBL was homopolymerized without competing depolymerization from 50 to 70 °C. The rate of polymerization (R_p) for MMBL followed the kinetic expression R_p = [AIBN]^0.54[MMBL]^1.04. The overall activation energy was calculated to be 86.9 kJ/mol, k_p/k_t^1/2 was equal to 0.050 (where k_p is the rate constant for propagation and k_t is the rate constant for termination), and the rate of initiation was 2.17 × 10^?8 mol L^?1 s^?1. The free energy of activation, the activation enthalpy, and the activation entropy were 106.0, 84.1, and 0.0658 kJ mol^?1, respectively, for homopolymerization. The initiation efficiency was approximately 1. Styrene and MMBL were copolymerized in DMF solutions at 60 °C with AIBN as the initiator. The reactivity ratios (r₁ = 0.22 and r₂ = 0.73) for this copolymerization were calculated with the Kelen–Tudos method. The general reactivity parameter Q and the polarity parameter e for MMBL were calculated to be 1.54 and 0.55, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1759–1777, 2003     

Poly(α‐methyleneglutarimide)s from radical polymerization of α‐methyleneglutarimides

α‐Methyleneglutaric acid, a metabolite of niacin (nicotinic acid), can be easily converted to its cyclic anhydride. We report here the first conversion of α‐methyleneglutaric anhydride to (a series of) α‐methyleneglutarimides. These monomers can be radically polymerized to the title polymers. These have relatively high glass transition properties compared to the lower homologs derived from itaconimides (α‐methylenesuccinimides). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1020–1026     

The investigation of proton transfer and fluorescence‐sensing mechanisms of [2‐(2‐hydroxy‐phenyl)‐1H‐benzoimidazol‐5‐yl]‐phenyl‐methanone

Given the tremendous potential of fluorescence sensors in recent years, in this present work, we theoretically explore a novel fluorescence chemosensor [2‐(2‐Hydroxy‐phenyl)‐1H‐benzoimidazol‐5‐yl]‐phenyl‐methanone (HBPM) about its excited state behaviors and probe‐response mechanism. Using density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods, we explore the S₀‐state and S₁‐state hydrogen bond dynamical behaviors and confirm that the strengthening intramolecular hydrogen bond in the S₁ state may promote the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reaction. In view of the photoexcitation process, we find that the charge redistribution around the hydroxyl moiety plays important roles in providing driving force for ESIPT. And the constructed potential energy curves further verify that the ESIPT process of HBPM should be ultrafast. That is the reason why the normal HBPM fluorescence cannot be detected in previous experiment. Furthermore, with the addition of fluoride anions, the exothermal deprotonation process occurs spontaneously along with the intermolecular hydrogen bond O–H?F. It reveals the uniqueness of detecting fluoride anions using HBPM molecules. As a whole, the fluoride anions inhibit the initial ESIPT process of HBPM, which results in different fluorescence behaviors. This work presents the clear ESIPT process and fluoride anion‐sensing mechanism of a novel HBPM chemosensor.     

The Renaissance of α‐Methylene‐γ‐butyrolactones: New Synthetic Approaches

The amount of research activity concerning α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactones and α‐alkylidene‐γ‐butyrolactones has increased dramatically in recent years. This Review summarizes the structural types, biological activities, and biosynthesis of these compounds, concentrating on publications from the past 10 years. Traditional approaches to α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactones and α‐alkylidene‐γ‐butyrolactones are then reviewed together with novel approaches, including those from our own research group, reported more recently.     

One‐pot inimer promoted ROCP synthesis of branched copolyesters using α‐hydroxy‐γ‐butyrolactone as the branching reagent

An array of branched poly(?‐caprolactone)s was successfully synthesized using an one‐pot inimer promoted ring‐opening multibranching copolymerization (ROCP) reaction. The biorenewable, commercially available yet unexploited comonomer and initiator 2‐hydroxy‐γ‐butyrolactone was chosen as the inimer to extend the use of 5‐membered lactones to branched structures and simultaneously avoiding the typical tedious work involved in the inimer preparation. Reactions were carried out both in bulk and in solution using stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)₂) as the catalyst. Polymerizations with inimer equivalents varying from 0.01 to 0.2 were conducted which resulted in polymers with a degree of branching ranging from 0.049 to 0.124. Detailed ROCP kinetics of different inimer systems were compared to illustrate the branch formation mechanism. The resulting polymer structures were confirmed by ¹H, ¹³C, and ₁H‐₁₃C HSQC NMR and SEC (RI detector and triple detectors). The thermal properties of polymers with different degree of branching were investigated by DSC, confirming the branch formation. Through this work, we have extended the current use of the non‐homopolymerizable γ‐butyrolactone to the branched polymers and thoroughly examined its behaviors in ROCP. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1908–1918     

Electrophilic Alkylations of Vinylsilanes: A Comparison of α‐ and β‐Silyl Effects

Kinetics of the reactions of benzhydrylium ions (Aryl₂CH⁺) with the vinylsilanes H₂C?C(CH₃)(SiR₃), H₂C?C(Ph)(SiR₃), and (E)‐PhCH?CHSiMe₃ have been measured photometrically in dichloromethane solution at 20 °C. All reactions follow second‐order kinetics, and the second‐order rate constants correlate linearly with the electrophilicity parameters E of the benzhydrylium ions, thus allowing us to include vinylsilanes in the benzhydrylium‐based nucleophilicity scale. The vinylsilane H₂C?C(CH₃)(SiMe₃), which is attacked by electrophiles at the CH₂ group, reacts one order of magnitude faster than propene, indicating that α‐silyl‐stabilization of the intermediate carbenium ion is significantly weaker than α‐methyl stabilization because H₂C?C(CH₃)₂ is 10³ times more reactive than propene. trans‐β‐(Trimethylsilyl)styrene, which is attacked by electrophiles at the silylated position, is even somewhat less reactive than styrene, showing that the hyperconjugative stabilization of the developing carbocation by the β‐silyl effect is not yet effective in the transition state. As a result, replacement of vinylic hydrogen atoms by SiMe₃ groups affect the nucleophilic reactivities of the corresponding C?C bonds only slightly, and vinylsilanes are significantly less nucleophilic than structurally related allylsilanes.     

Parallel implementation of γ‐point pseudopotential plane‐wave DFT with exact exchange

Semi‐local functionals commonly used in density functional theory (DFT) studies of solids usually fail to reproduce localized states such as trapped holes, polarons, excitons, and solitons. This failure is ascribed to self‐interaction which creates a Coulomb barrier to localization. Pragmatic approaches in which the exchange correlation functionals are augmented with small amount of exact exchange (hybrid‐DFT, e.g., B3LYP and PBE0) have shown to promise in rectifying this type of failure, as well as producing more accurate band gaps and reaction barriers. The evaluation of exact exchange is challenging for large, solid state systems with periodic boundary conditions, especially when plane‐wave basis sets are used. We have developed parallel algorithms for implementing exact exchange into pseudopotential plane‐wave DFT program and we have implemented them in the NWChem program package. The technique developed can readily be employed in Γ‐point plane‐wave DFT programs. Furthermore, atomic forces and stresses are straightforward to implement, making it applicable to both confined and extended systems, as well as to Car‐Parrinello ab initio molecular dynamic simulations. This method has been applied to several systems for which conventional DFT methods do not work well, including calculations for band gaps in oxides and the electronic structure of a charge trapped state in the Fe(II) containing mica, annite. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010