Third-order nonlinear optical properties of open-shell supermolecular systems composed of acetylene linked phenalenyl radicals

The third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, at the molecular level, the static second hyperpolarizabilities, γ, of supermolecular systems composed of phenalenyl and pyrene rings linked by acetylene units are investigated by employing the long-range corrected spin-unrestricted density functional theory, LC-UBLYP, method. The phenalenyl based superethylene, superallyl, and superbutadiene in their lowest spin states have intermediate diradical characters and exhibit larger γ values than the closed-shell pyrene based superpolyene systems. The introduction of a positive charge into the phenalenyl based superallyl radical changes the sign of γ and enhances its amplitude by a factor of 35. Although such sign inversion is also observed in the allyl radical and cation systems in their ground state equilibrium geometries, the relative amplitude of γ is much different, that is, |γ(regular allyl cation)/γ(regular allyl radical)| = 0.61 versus |γ(phenalenyl based superallyl cation)/γ(phenalenyl based superallyl radical)| = 35. In contrast, the model ethylene, allyl radical/cation, and butadiene systems with stretched carbon-carbon bond lengths (2.0 ?), having intermediate diradical characters, exhibit similar γ features to those of the phenalenyl based superpolyene systems. This exemplifies that the size dependence of γ as well as its sign change by introducing a positive charge on the phenalenyl based superpolyene systems originate from their intermediate diradical characters. In addition, the change from the lowest to the highest π-electron spin states significantly reduces the γ amplitudes of the neutral phenalenyl based superpolyene systems. For phenalenyl based superallyl cation, the sign inversion of γ (from negative to positive) is observed upon switching between the singlet and triplet states, which is predicted to be associated with a modification of the balance between the positive and negative contributions to γ. The present study paves the way toward designing a variety of open-shell NLO supermolecular systems composed of phenalenyl radical building blocks.     

Strong Pancake 2e/12c Bond in π-Stacking Phenalenyl Derivatives Avoiding Bond Conversion

The nature of the 2e/12c bond and its conversion to a carbon-carbon single bond in phenalenyl dimers have prompted a great deal of interests recently. In this work, we theoretically investigated a series of π-stacking phenalenyl derivatives with 2e/12c bonding character by density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate origin of this unusual bond conversion. Results show that bond-conversion of the phenalenyl dimer easily occurs at room-temperature both dynamically and thermodynamically. However, bond-conversion of hetero π-stacking adducts, in which the two center carbon atoms were substituted by boron and nitrogen atoms, respectively, is much more difficult, because the 2e/12c bond is stabilized by its charge transfer character. Consequently, the bond-conversion is an endothermic process, albeit with a low conversion barrier. Interestingly, Lewis acid-base interactions would be induced by substitution of the center nitrogen atom to phosphorus atom. The 2e/12c bond is further stabilized by 5.9 kcal mol⁻¹ and its conversion is also thermodynamically unfavorable.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Acetylene‐Linked Bisphenalenyl and Metallic‐Like Behavior in Its Charge‐Transfer Complex

We prepared and isolated a phenalenyl‐based neutral hydrocarbon ( 1 b ) with a biradical index of 14 %, as well as its charge‐transfer (CT) complex 1 b –F₄‐TCNQ. The crystal structure and the small HOMO–LUMO gap assessed by electrochemical and optical methods support the singlet‐biradical contribution to the ground state of the neutral 1 b . This biradical character suggests that 1 b has the electronic structure of phenalenyl radicals coupled weakly through an acetylene linker, that is, some independence of the two phenalenyl moieties. The monocationic species 1 b^{. +} was obtained by reaction with the organic electron acceptor F₄‐TCNQ. The cationic species has a small disproportionation energy ΔE for the reaction 2× 1 b^{. +}? 1 b + 1 b ²⁺, which presumably originates from the independence of the phenalenyl moieties. The small ΔE led to a small on‐site Coulombic repulsion U_eff=0.61 eV in the CT complex. Moreover, a very effective orbital overlap of the phenalenyl rings between molecules afforded a relatively large transfer integral t=0.09 eV. The small U_eff/4t ratio (=1.7) resulted in a metallic‐like conductive behavior at around room temperature. Below 280 K, the CT complex showed a transition into a semiconductive state as a result of bond formation between phenalenyl and F₄‐TCNQ carbon atoms.     

The Density Functional Theory Account of Interplaying Long-Range Exchange and Dispersion Effects in Supramolecular Assemblies of Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Spin

Aromatic hydrocarbons with fused benzene rings and regular triangular shapes, called n-triangulenes according to the number of rings on one edge, form groundstates with n-1 unpaired spins because of topological reasons. Here, we focus on methodological aspects emerging from the density functional theory (DFT) treatments of dimer models of the n = 2 triangulene (called also phenalenyl), observing that it poses interesting new problems to the issue of long-range corrections. Namely, the interaction comprises simultaneous spincoupling and van der Waals effects, i.e., a technical conjuncture not considered explicitly in the benchmarks calibrating long-range corrections for the DFT account of supramolecular systems. The academic side of considering dimer models for calculations and related analysis is well mirrored in experimental aspects, and synthetic literature revealed many compounds consisting of stacked phenalenyl cores, with intriguing properties, assignable to their long-range spin coupling. Thus, one may speculate that a thorough study assessing the performance of state-of-the-art DFT procedures has relevance for potential applications in spintronics based on organic compounds.     

Imaging study of vibrational predissociation of the HCl-acetylene dimer: pair-correlated distributions

The state-to-state predissociation dynamics of the HCl-acetylene dimer were studied following excitation in the asymmetric C-H (asym-CH) stretch and the HCl stretch. Velocity map imaging (VMI) and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) were used to determine pair-correlated product energy distributions. Different vibrational predissociation mechanisms were observed for the two excited vibrational levels. Following excitation in the of the asym-CH stretch fundamental, HCl fragments in upsilon = 0 and j = 4-7 were observed and no HCl in upsilon = 1 was detected. The fragments' center-of-mass (c.m.) translational energy distributions were derived from images of HCl (j = 4-7), and were converted to rotational state distributions of the acetylene co-fragment by assuming that acetylene is generated with one quantum of C-C stretch (nu(2)) excitation. The acetylene pair-correlated rotational state distributions agree with the predictions of the statistical phase space theory, restricted to acetylene fragments in 1nu(2). It is concluded that the predissociation mechanism is dominated by the initial coupling of the asym-CH vibration to a combination of C-C stretch and bending modes in the acetylene moiety. Vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) between acetylene bending and the intermolecular dimer modes leads to predissociation that preserves the C-C stretch excitation in the acetylene product while distributing the rest of the available energy statistically. The predissociation mechanism following excitation in the Q band of the dimer's HCl stretch fundamental was quite different. HCl (upsilon = 0) rotational states up to j = 8 were observed. The rovibrational state distributions in the acetylene co-fragment derived from HCl (j = 6-8) images were non-statistical with one or two quanta in acetylene bending vibrational excitation. From the observation that all the HCl(j) translational energy distributions were similar, it is proposed that there exists a constraint on conversion of linear to angular momentum during predissociation. A dimer dissociation energy of D(0) = 700 +/- 10 cm(-1) was derived.     

Spectroscopic observation of conformation-dependent charge distribution in a molecular cation

A prototypical case of a molecular radical cation is reported whose electrostatic charge distribution is determined entirely and uniquely by its conformational structures. Experimental observation of charge distribution in a molecular ion was for the first time demonstrated to be feasible by optical spectroscopy in the case of L-phenylalanine cation by utilizing the fact that its photodissociation propensity is entirely determined by the electronic character of its charge distribution. The cationic charge was explicitly shown to be localized in a single site or two different sites depending on the molecular conformation.     

Transannular distance dependence of stabilization energy of the intramolecular dimer radical cation of cyclophanes

The intramolecular dimer radical cation and charge-transfer complex of various cyclophanes were investigated by using pulse radiolysis measurements. The charge resonance band due to the dimer radical cation of cyclophanes appeared in the near-IR region, which showed a blue-shift as the distance between the two benzene rings of cyclophane decreased. The stabilization energy of the dimer radical cation, which was estimated from the peak position of the charge resonance band, was explained by the exchange interaction, while the substituent effect was small. The absorption peak of the charge-transfer complex with chlorine atom also showed the shift in accordance with the oxidation potential of cyclophanes.     

Theoretical study on the second hyperpolarizabilities of phenalenyl radical systems involving acetylene and vinylene linkers: diradical character and spin multiplicity dependences

We have investigated the static second hyperpolarizabilities (gamma) of the singlet diradical systems with intermediate diradical character involving phenalenyl radicals connected by acetylene and vinylene pi-conjugated linkers, 1 and 2, using the hybrid density functional theory. For comparison, we have also examined the gamma values of the closed-shell and pure diradical systems with almost the same molecular size as 1 and 2. In agreement with our previous prediction of the diradical character dependence of gamma, it turns out that the gamma values of 1 and 2 are significantly enhanced compared to those of the closed-shell and pure diradical systems. In the present case, distinct differences in gamma values are not observed between the two pi-conjugated linkers, though the diradical character is found to depend on the kind of linker. Furthermore, we have investigated the spin multiplicity effect on gamma. Changing from the singlet to the triplet state, the gamma values of the systems with intermediate diradical character in the singlet state are quite reduced, though those of the pure diradical systems are hardly changed. Such spin multiplicity dependence of gamma is understood by considering the difference of diradical character between their singlet states together with the Pauli principle. The present results provide a possibility of a novel control scheme of gamma for phenalenyl radical systems involving pi-conjugated linkers by adjusting the diradical character through the change of the linked position of pi-conjugated linkers and the spin multiplicity.     

CASCI-DFT study of the phenalenyl radical system

We present ab initio complete-active-space configuration interaction (CASCI) density functional theory (DFT) study of the phenalenyl radical systems. Our approach employed in this study is based on the assumption that one-electron per one phenalenyl unit is responsible for magnetic properties of the phenalenyl radical dimeric compounds and that the residual correlation effects can be covered by DFT correlation potential for CASCI[2,2] wavefunction. The effective exchange integrals and lowest-lying excited energies of several phenalenyl dimeric compounds are calculated by CASCI[2,2]-DFT method. The implication of the computational results are discussed in relation with those of spin unrestricted Hartree–Fock (UHF), hybrid DFT, and pure DFT, and the experimental ones.     

Interaction of guanine, its anions, and radicals with lysine in different charge states

Modification in DNA or protein structure can severely affect DNA-protein interactions and the functioning of biological systems. Some new insights into radiation-induced effects of guanine-lysine interactions have been obtained here by theoretical investigations. Geometries of zwitterionic and non-zwitterionic lysine in different charge states (neutral, radical cation, and protonated cation) were optimized employing the B3LYP/6-31G** and B3LYP/AUG-cc-pVDZ levels of hybrid density functional theory (DFT) and using the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory along with the 6-31G** basis set. In the case of neutral lysine in the gas phase, no zwitterionic structure was obtained. The non-zwitterionic structures of lysine in radical and protonated cationic forms are appreciably more stable than the corresponding zwitterionic structures in the gas phase as obtained at all levels of theory employed here. Binding of guanine and different dehydrogenated guanine radicals with lysine in different charge states was studied at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of DFT. When guanine makes a complex with the lysine radical cation, large amounts of spin and positive charge densities are transferred from the lysine radical cation to guanine and the guanine is thus converted from its normal form to the radical cationic form. Complexation of the lysine radical cation with the H1-hydrogen-abstracted guanine radical leads to CO2 liberation and proton transfer from lysine. These results are compared with the available experimental ones.     

Formation of complex organics from acetylene catalyzed by ionized benzene

We present direct evidence for low temperature associative charge transfer (ACT) reactions of acetylene onto the benzene cation that catalyze the conversion of acetylene molecules into polymerized cations and for high temperature addition/elimination reactions that lead to the generation of naphthalene-type ions. At low temperatures acetylene molecules bind noncovalently to the benzene cation, where partial charge transfer from the ion activates an acetylene molecule for addition polymerization with other associated acetylene molecules, thus amounting to catalytic cyclization/polymerization of the acetylene molecules. At high temperatures the barrier of the covalent addition of acetylene to the benzene cation to form a styrene-type ion is measured as 3.5 kcal/mol. The second acetylene addition followed by H elimination to form a naphthalene-type ion is calculated to be highly exothermic and without a barrier. These reactions can explain the formation of complex organics by gas phase ion-molecule reactions under a wide range of temperatures and pressures in astrochemical environments.     

Chemistry of styrene (water)n clusters, n = 1-5: spectroscopy and structure of the neutral clusters, deprotonation of styrene dimer cation, and implication to the inhibition of cationic polymerization

The styrene-water binary clusters SW(n), with n = 1-5 have been studied by the (one-color) resonant two-photon ionization technique using the resonance of styrene. The structures and energetics of the neutral clusters are investigated using a search technique that employs Monte Carlo procedure. The strong tendency for water molecules to form cyclic hydrogen-bonded structures is clearly observed in the SW(n) structures starting from n =3. The results indicate that the spectral shifts correlate with the interaction energies between styrene and the water subcluster (W(n)) within the SW(n) clusters. Evidence is presented that points to (1) the formation of a covalent bonded styrene radical cation dimer following the 193 nm MPI of styrene neutral clusters, (2) proton transfer from the styrene dimer cation to the water or methanol subcluster, resulting in the formation of protonated water or methanol clusters and a styrene dimer radical, and (3) extensive solvation of the styrene dimer radical within the protonated solvent molecules. The proton-transfer reactions may explain the strong inhibition effects exerted by small concentrations of water or methanol on the cationic polymerization of styrene. These results provide a molecular level view of the inhibition mechanism exerted by protic solvents on the cationic polymerization of styrene.     

Theoretical study of a conjugated reaction-center model of anionic acetylene polymerization

The energy of the ground state, charge distribution, and bond orders were calculated by a MO method in the SCF-CNDO/2 approximation for various configurations of the monomer, dimer, and trimer model of both the associated and dissociated reaction center of an anionic acetylene polymerization. According to the results of these calculations, cooperation of π and σ bonds leads to a charge delocalization which increases with growing chain length and is the reason for kinetic deactivation of the center. Propagation is stopped, probably by a cooperative effect of the kinetic and thermodynamic factors.     

Design and studies on supramolecular ferrocene-porphyrin-fullerene constructs for generating long-lived charge separated states

Supramolecular ferrocene-porphyrin-fullerene constructs, in which covalently linked ferrocene-porphyrin-crown ether compounds were self-assembled with alkylammonium cation functionalized fullerenes, have been designed to achieve stepwise electron transfer and hole shift to generate long-lived charge separated states. The adopted crown ether-alkylammonium cation binding strategy resulted in stable conjugates as revealed by computational studies performed by the DFT B3LYP/3-21G(*) method in addition to the binding constants obtained from fluorescence quenching studies. The free-energy changes for charge-separation and charge-recombination were varied by the choice of different metal ions in the porphyrin cavity. Free-energy calculations suggested that the light-induced electron-transfer processes from the singlet excited state of porphyrins to be exothermic in all of the investigated supramolecular dyads and triads. Photoinduced charge-separation and charge-recombination processes have been confirmed by the combination of the time-resolved fluorescence and nanosecond transient absorption spectral measurements. In case of the triads, the charge-recombination processes of the radical anion of the fullerene moiety take place in two steps, viz., a direct charge recombination from the porphyrin cation radical and a slower step involving distant charge recombination from the ferrocene cation moiety. The rates of charge recombination for the second route were found to be an order of magnitude slower than the former route, thus fulfilling the condition for charge migration to generate long-lived charge-separated states in supramolecular systems.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of isomerization reactions of ionized acetone and its dimer

Ionization dynamics of acetone and its dimer in supersonic jets is investigated by a combination of experimental and theoretical techniques, both of which have recently been developed. In experiments, the neutral and the cationic structures are explored by infrared predissociation spectroscopy with the vacuum-ultraviolet photoionization detection schemes. Reaction paths following the one-photon ionization of the acetone monomer and its dimer have been studied by the joint use of several theoretical methods including the ab initio molecular dynamics, the global reaction route mapping, the intrinsic reaction coordinate, and the artificial force induced reaction calculations. Upon one-photon ionization, the dimer isomerizes to the H-bonded form, in which the enol cation of acetone is bound to the neutral molecule, while this enolization is energetically forbidden in the acetone monomer. The enolization of the dimer cation occurs through a two-step proton-transfer from the methyl group of the ionized moiety, and is catalyzed by the neutral moiety within the dimer cation.     

Charge delocalization in self-assembled mixed-valence aromatic cation radicals

The spontaneous assembly of aromatic cation radicals (D(+?)) with their neutral counterpart (D) affords dimer cation radicals (D(2)(+?)). The intermolecular dimeric cation radicals are readily characterized by the appearance of an intervalence charge-resonance transition in the NIR region of their electronic spectra and by ESR spectroscopy. The X-ray crystal structure analysis and DFT calculations of a representative dimer cation radical (i.e., the octamethylbiphenylene dimer cation radical) have established that a hole (or single positive charge) is completely delocalized over both aromatic moieties. The energetics and the geometrical considerations for the formation of dimer cation radicals is deliberated with the aid of a series of cyclophane-like bichromophoric donors with drastically varied interplanar angles between the cofacially arranged aryl moieties. X-ray crystallography of a number of mixed-valence cation radicals derived from monochromophoric benzenoid donors established that they generally assemble in 1D stacks in the solid state. However, the use of polychromophoric intervalence cation radicals, where a single charge is effectively delocalized among all of the chromophores, can lead to higher-order assemblies with potential applications in long-range charge transport. As a proof of concept, we show that a single charge in the cation radical of a triptycene derivative is evenly distributed on all three benzenoid rings and this triptycene cation radical forms a 2D electronically coupled assembly, as established by X-ray crystallography.     

Role of the special pair in the charge-separating event in photosynthesis

We synthesized special-pair/electron-acceptor systems consisting of a complementary slipped cofacial dimer of imidazolyl-substituted zinc porphyrin, bearing pyromellitdiimide as the electron acceptor. In the case of the dimer, the first and second oxidation potentials were split into a total of four peaks in the differential pulse voltammetry measurement. Furthermore, the shift values of the first oxidation potentials obtained by changing the solvent polarity for the dimer were almost half of those observed for the monomer. These results indicate that the radical cation is delocalized over the whole pi system of the dimer. Time-resolved transient absorption measurements revealed that, relative to the corresponding monomer, the dimer accelerated the charge separation rate, but decelerated the charge recombination rate. The smaller reorganization energy of the slipped cofacial dimer relative to that of the monomeric system demonstrates the significance of the special-pair arrangement for efficient charge separation in photosynthesis.     

On the performance of molecular polarization methods. II. Water and carbon tetrachloride close to a cation

Our initial study on the performance of molecular polarization methods close to a positive point charge [M. Masia, M. Probst, and R. Rey, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 7362 (2004)] is extended to the case in which a molecule interacts with a real cation. Two different methods (point dipoles and shell model) are applied to both the ion and the molecule. The results are tested against high-level ab initio calculations for a molecule (water or carbon tetrachloride) close to Li+, Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. The monitored observable is in all cases the dimer electric dipole as a function of the ion-molecule distance for selected molecular orientations. The moderate disagreement previously obtained for point charges at intermediate distances, and attributed to the linearity of current polarization methods (as opposed to the nonlinear effects evident in ab initio calculations), is confirmed for real cations as well. More importantly, it is found that at short separations the phenomenological polarization methods studied here substantially overestimate the dipole moment induced if the ion is described quantum chemically as well, in contrast to the dipole moment induced by a point-charge ion, for which they show a better degree of accord with ab initio results. Such behavior can be understood in terms of a decrease of atomic polarizabilities due to the repulsion between electronic charge distributions at contact separations. It is shown that a reparametrization of the Thole method for damping of the electric field, used in conjunction with any polarization scheme, allows to satisfactorily reproduce the dimer dipole at short distances. In contrast with the original approach (developed for intramolecular interactions), the present reparametrization is ion and method dependent, and corresponding parameters are given for each case.     

Interaction between uracil nucleobase and phenylalanine amino acid: the role of sodium cation in stacking

The stacking interactions in the uracil:phenylalanine (U:PHE) and (U:PHE)···Na⁺ complexes have been studied at different levels of theory, in which the structures were optimized by both standard and gradient counterpoise corrected methods. The Na⁺ cation can interact with different sites of stacked U:PHE unit. The geometrical parameters of the optimized structures and the calculated binding energies reveal the influence of cation interaction on π–π stacking and vice versa. The interplay between π–π stacking and cation interaction has also been investigated by topological analysis of electron charge density using atoms in molecules (AIM) method. A good agreement between the results of AIM analysis and calculated binding energies has been observed in dimer and complexes.     

Computer simulation studies of surfactant monolayer mixtures at the water/oil interface: charge distribution effects

Charge distribution effects on polar head groups for a mixture of amphiphilic molecules at the water/oil interface were studied. For this purpose a model which allowed us to investigate the charge effects exclusively was created. As a molecular model we used the structure of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Then we prepared molecules with the same molecular structure but with different charge distributions in order to have one cationic and one nonionic molecule. So, in this way, we were able to focus only in the charge effects. The monolayer mixtures were composed of anionic/nonionic and cationic/nonionic surfactants. Simulations of these systems show that the location of the different surfactants at the interface is determined by the interaction and the charge distribution of the molecules. Due to the difference in the charge distribution of the surfactant monolayers, the water molecules present distinct orientations in the mixture. Finally, it was found that the electrostatic potential difference across the interface depended on the interactions (charge distribution) of the anionic, cationic, and nonionic molecules in the mixture.