Theoretical studies on the photochemical reaction mechanisms of o-xylylene. Effects of phenyl group for electrocyclic reaction mechanism

The potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the electrocyclic reactions of o-xylylene at the ground and the lowest excited states are calculated by CASSCF molecular orbital and MRMP2 methods. The lowest excited state geometry of o-xylylene has C(2v) symmetry and is about 65 kcal mol(-1) in energy above the ground state. The PESs in the vicinity of the conical intersection are different from those of the electrocyclic reaction of cis-butadiene. In the vicinity of the conical intersection, the transition state at the ground state relating to methylene-cycloheptadienyl carbene is located. The transition state is only 4.3 kcal mol(-1) lower in energy than the conical intersection at the CASSCF(10,10)/6-31G(d) level and 0.5 kcal mol(-1) lower at the MRMP2/6-311+G(d,p) level. The transition state corresponding to benzocyclobutene does not locate in the vicinity of the conical intersection because of the resonance energy between benzene ring and methylene group.     

Photodissociation of methane: exploring potential energy surfaces

The potential energy surface for the first excited singlet state (S(1)) of methane is explored using multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction calculations, employing a valence triple zeta basis set. A larger valence quadruple zeta basis is used to calculate the vertical excitation energy and dissociation energies. All stationary points found on the S(1) surface are saddle points and have imaginary frequencies for symmetry-breaking vibrations. By studying several two-dimensional cuts through the potential energy surfaces, it is argued that CH(4) in the S(1) state will distort to planar structures. Several conical intersection seams between the ground state surface S(0) and the S(1) surface have been identified at planar geometries. The conical intersections provide electronically nonadiabatic pathways towards products CH(3)((approximately)X (2)A"(2))+H, CH(2)((approximately)a (1)A(1))+H(2), or CH(2)((approximately)X (3)B(1))+H+H. The present results thereby make it plausible that the CH(3)((approximately)X (2)A"(2))+H and CH(2)((approximately)a (1)A(1))+H(2) channels are major dissociation channels, as has been observed experimentally.     

Computational study of carbon atom (3P and 1D) reaction with CH2O. Theoretical evaluation of 1B1 methylene production by C (1D)

Singlet and triplet free energy surfaces for the reactions of C atom ((3)P and (1)D) with CH(2)O are studied computationally to evaluate the excited singlet ((1)B(1)) methylene formation from deoxygenation of CH(2)O by C ((1)D) atom as suggested by Shevlin et al. Carbon atoms can react by addition to the oxygen lone pair or to the C=O double bond on both the triplet and singlet surfaces. Triplet C ((3)P) atoms will deoxygenate to give CO plus CH(2) ((3)B(1)) as the major products, while singlet C ((1)D) reactions will form ketene and CO plus CH(2) ((1)A(1)). No definitive evidence of the formation of excited singlet ((1)B(1)) methylene was found on the singlet free energy surface. A conical intersection between the (1)A' and (1)A' ' surfaces located near an exit channel may play a role in product formation. The suggested (1)B(1) state of methylene may form via the (1)A' ' surface only if dynamic effects are important. In an effort to interpret experimental observation of products trapped by (Z)-2-butene, formation of cis- and trans-1,2-dimethylcyclopropane is studied computationally. The results suggests that "hot" ketene may react with (Z)-2-butene nonstereospecifically.     

A CASSCF and CASPT2 study on the excited states of s-trans-formaldazine

The low-lying excited states of s-trans-formaldazine (H2CN-NCH2) have been investigated using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation (CASPT2) methods. The vertical excitation energies have been calculated at the state-average CASSCF and multistate CASPT2 levels employing the cc-pVTZ basis set. The photodissociation mechanisms starting from the S1 state have been determined. The lowest energy points along the seams of surface intersections have been located in both the Franck-Condon region and the N-N dissociation pathway in the S1 state. Once the system populates the S1 state, in the viewpoint of energy, the radiationless decay via S1/S0(3) conical intersection followed by the N-N bond fission in the ground-state is more favorable in comparison with the N-N dissociation process in the S1 state. A three-surface crossing region (S1/T1/T2), where the S1, T1, and T2 states intersect, was also found. However, the intersystem crossing process via S1/T1/T2 is not energetically competitive with the internal conversion via S1/S0(3).     

叠氮化氰的光解离机理

采用多参考态方法,在MRCI+Q//CAS(10,9)/6-311+G(2df)水平上对叠氮化氰(N3CN)的光解离机理进行理论研究.优化得到基态(S0)和低激发态(S1、S2、T1)势能面上的极小点、过渡态、内转换交叉点(IC-S1/S0)和隙间窜跃交叉点(ISC-S1/T1)的结构和能量,构建反应势能面.在MRCI+Q//CAS(10,9)水平上计算N3CN的垂直激发能,并和实验值进行对比.结果表明,在S0、S1、S2和T1态势能面上,N—N键断裂生成N2+NCN是主要解离途径,而C—N键断裂通道是次要通道.实验观测到220 nm处的吸收峰对应分子由S0态到S1态的激发,对应主要光解离产物为NCN[a1△g];而在275 nm处的吸收峰则对应分子被激发到T1态,然后直接生成基态产物NCN[X3Σg-].我们的理论结果与实验测量符合得很好.     

Ultrafast nonradiative decay of electronically excited States of malachite green: ab initio calculations

We have investigated the nonradiative deactivation process of malachite green in the singlet excited states, S(1) and S(2), by high-level ab initio quantum chemical calculations using the CASPT2//CASCF approach. The deactivation pathways connecting the Franck-Condon region and conical intersection regions are identified. The initial population in the S(1) state is on a flat surface and the relaxation involves a rotation of phenyl rings, which leads the molecule to reach the conical intersection between the S(1) and S(0) states, where it efficiently decays back to the ground state. There exists a small barrier connecting the Franck-Condon and conical intersection regions on the S(1) potential energy surface. The decay mechanism from the S(2) state also involves the twisting motion of phenyl rings. In contrast to the excitation to the S(1) state, the initial population is on a downhill ramp potential and the barrierless relaxation through the rotation of substituted phenyl rings is expected. During the course of relaxation, the molecule switches to the S(1) state at the conical intersection between S(2) and S(1), and then it decays back to the ground state through the intersection between S(1) and S(0). In relaxation from both S(1) and S(2), large distortion of phenyl rings is required for the ultrafast nonradiative decay to the ground state.     

An ab initio study of the photochemical decomposition of 3, 3-dimethyldiazirine

Photochemical decomposition of 3,3-dimethyldiazirine (DMD) has been computationally investigated by using high-level ab initio calculations in conjunction with the 6-31G and cc-pvdz basis sets. The geometries of minima and transition states, as well as conical intersection points in the seam of crossing of two surfaces, have been optimized with the complete active space self-consistent field (CAS-SCF) method, and their energies, recalculated with second-order multireference perturbation (CAS/MP2) theory. The reaction path starting at the excited n-pi state of DMD is predicted to occur via a nonadiabatic mechanism, giving carbene and molecular dinitrogen (both in their singlet ground states) as the main products; the computed barrier height (1.0 kcal mol(-)(1)) agrees well with the experimental estimate of the activation energy in the singlet excited state (0.0-1.5 kcal mol(-)(1)). Ground state of dimethylcarbene is the only species where a 1,2-hydrogen shift takes place, being the only source of propene. The calculated potential energy barrier height for dimethylcarbene to propene isomerization (2.6 kcal mol(-)(1)) agrees well with the observed activation energy (2.56 kcal mol(-)(1)). No evidence for rearrangement in the first singlet excited state of DMD has been found; such a process would lead to a higher activation energy than the observed one. Consequently, 1,2-hydrogen migration concurrent with N(2) extrusion in the excited state has been ruled out.     

Mechanism of the N-cyclopropylimine-1-pyrroline photorearrangement

We present here a combined experimental and computational investigation into the photorearrangement of N-cyclopropylimines to yield pyrrolines. We show that the photochemistry, regiochemistry, and stereochemistry of the reaction can be understood in terms of a mechanism involving barrierless evolution in three different (S(2), S(1), S(0)) singlet states and sequential decay through two different (S(2)/S(1), and S(1)/S(0)) conical intersection funnels. We provide evidence that the reaction mechanism involves the generation of a nonequilibrated (i.e., transient) excited state diradical, whose decay can lead not only to pyrrolines but also to cyclopropylimine isomers. It is concluded that the reaction outcome depends on the details of the structure of such transient diradical and on the nature of the dynamics of its decay through the S(1)/S(0) conical intersection.     

"H/Vinyl" and "Alkyl/Vinyl" conical intersections leading to carbene formation from the excited states of cyclohexene and norbornene

The photochemical [1,2]-shifts leading to carbene intermediates from cyclohexene and norbornene have been studied using CASSCF calculations and a 6-31G* basis set. In each case, a S(1)/S(0) conical intersection hyperline was identified that extends from the region of the reactant excited state to the carbene product. It is traditionally thought that the Rydberg R(pi,3s) state is responsible for carbene formation on photolysis of cyclic alkenes, but these new results indicate an efficient mechanism for carbene formation following excitation to the (1)(pipi*) state. This pathway is essentially barrierless and involves internal conversion to the ground-state surface via conical intersections between the excited zwitterionic valence state and the ground-state surface, similar to those responsible for cis-trans isomerization in ethene and other acyclic alkenes. These results are in excellent agreement with recent experimental data obtained using femtosecond spectroscopy.     

The fluorescence mechanism of 5-methyl-2-pyrimidinone: an ab initio study of a fluorescent pyrimidine analog

The photophysically important potential energy surfaces of the fluorescent pyrimidine analog 5-methyl-2-pyrimidinone have been explored using multireference configuration-interaction ab initio methods at three levels of dynamical correlation, all of which support a fluorescence mechanism. At vertical excitation S1 (dark, n(N)pi*) and S2 (bright, pipi*) are almost degenerate at 4.4 eV, with S3 (dark, n(O)pi*) at 5.1 eV. The excited system can follow the S1-S2 seam of conical intersections, accessible from the Franck-Condon region, to its minimum and then evolve from this conical intersection on the S1 (pipi*) surface to a global minimum. At lower levels of correlation, the S1 surface shows two minima separated by a barrier of up to 0.18 eV. The secondary minimum found at the lower levels of correlation becomes the global minimum with higher correlation. The S1 population at this minimum can be trapped from accessing the lowest energy S0-S1 (pipi*/gs) conical intersection by an energy gap at least 0.3-0.4 eV higher than the S1 minimum. The calculated emission energy from this minimum is 2.80 eV. Gradient pathways connecting important S1 geometries are presented, as well as other excited state conical intersections.     

A clue to the diffuse structure in ultraviolet spectra of the GeCl2 A-X transition

Geometries, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and relative electronic energies of the two low-lying electronic states of the GeCl(2) dimer have been calculated at the CIS(D) method with a cc-pVTZ basis set. Minima corresponding to three isomers on the ground-state potential energy surface have been characterized. The most stable dimer has a dissociation energy of 0.74 eV and has a trans-(GeCl(2))(2) structure. There is also a related, less stable, cis minimum. A third, C(i) symmetry, isomer has a binding energy of 0.31 eV. It is found that this C(i) isomer has substantial dipole transition strength to the first excited singlet state of the dimer with a vertical excitation energy of 3.33 eV. The transition energy (T(0)) between this C(i) isomer and the van der Waals complex on the singlet excited state is predicted to be 4.007 eV, or a 1104 cm(-1) blueshift with respect to that of the GeCl(2) A-X transition. This finding may explain the diffuse structure which has been observed in the ultraviolet laser-induced fluorescence spectra of GeCl(2).     

Vibrationally mediated photodissociation of ammonia: the influence of N-H stretching vibrations on passage through conical intersections

Velocity map ion imaging of the H atoms formed in the photodissociation of vibrationally excited ammonia molecules measures the extent of adiabatic and nonadiabatic dissociation for different vibrations in the electronically excited state. Decomposition of molecules with an excited symmetric N-H stretch produces primarily ground state NH(2) along with a H atom. The kinetic energy release distribution is qualitatively similar to the ones from dissociation of ammonia excited to the electronic origin or to several different levels of the bending vibration and umbrella vibration. The situation is very different for electronically excited molecules containing a quantum of antisymmetric N-H stretch. Decomposition from that state produces almost solely electronically excited NH(2)*, avoiding the conical intersection between the excited state and ground state surfaces. These rotationally resolved measurements agree with our previous inferences from lower resolution Doppler profile measurements. The production of NH(2)* suggests that the antisymmetric stretching excitation in the electronically excited molecule carries it away from the conical intersection that other vibrational states access.     

Conical intersections in thymine

The mechanisms which are responsible for the radiationless deactivation of the npi* and pipi* excited singlet states of thymine have been investigated with multireference ab initio methods (the complete-active-space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) method and second-order perturbation theory with respect to the CASSCF reference (CASPT2)) as well as with the CC2 (approximated singles and doubles coupled-cluster) method. The vertical excitation energies, the equilibrium geometries of the 1npi*and 1pipi* states, as well as their adiabatic excitation energies have been determined. Three conical intersections of the S1 and S0 energy surfaces have been located. The energy profiles of the excited states and the ground state have been calculated with the CASSCF method along straight-line reaction paths leading from the ground-state equilibrium geometry to the conical intersections. All three conical intersections are characterized by strongly out-of-plane distorted geometries. The lowest-energy conical intersection (CI1) arises from a crossing of the lowest 1pipi* state with the electronic ground state. It is found to be accessible in a barrierless manner from the minimum of the 1pipi* state, providing a direct and fast pathway for the quenching of the population of the lowest optically allowed excited states of thymine. This result explains the complete diffuseness of the absorption spectrum of thymine in supersonic jets. The lowest vibronic levels of the optically nearly dark 1npi* state are predicted to lie below CI1, explaining the experimental observation of a long-lived population of dark excited states in gas-phase thymine.     

Quantum chemical investigation of the electronic spectra of the keto, enol, and keto-imine tautomers of cytosine

The low-lying excited singlet states of the keto, enol, and keto-imine tautomers of cytosine have been investigated employing a combined density functional/multireference configuration interaction (DFT/MRCI) method. Unconstrained geometry optimizations have yielded out-of-plain distorted structures of the pi --> pi and n --> pi excited states of all cytosine forms. For the keto tautomer, the DFT/MRCI adiabatic excitation energy of the pi --> pi state (4.06 eV including zero-point vibrational energy corrections) supports the resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) spectrum (Nir et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2002, 5, 4780). On its S1 potential energy surface, a conical intersection between the 1pipi state and the electronic ground state has been identified. The barrier height of the reaction along a constrained minimum energy path amounts to merely 0.2 eV above the origin and explains the break-off of the R2PI spectrum. The 1pipi minimum of the enol tautomer is found at considerably higher excitation energies (4.50 eV). Because of significant geometry shifts with respect to the ground state, long vibrational progressions are expected, in accord with experimental observations. For the keto-imine tautomer, a crossing of the 1pipi potential energy surface with the ground-state surface has been found, too. Its n --> pi minimum (3.27 eV) is located well below the conical intersection between the pi --> pi and S0 states, but it will be difficult to observe because of its small transition moment. The identified conical intersections of the pi --> pi excited states of the keto cytosine tautomers are made responsible for the ultrafast decay to the electronic ground states and thus may explain their subpicoseconds lifetimes.     

Ab initio studies on the photophysics of guanine tautomers: out-of-plane deformation and NH dissociation pathways to conical intersections

The radiationless decay mechanisms of the S1 excited states of the 7H-keto-amino, 7H-enol-amino, and 7H-keto-imino tautomers of guanine have been investigated with the CASPT2//CASSCF method. Out-of-plane deformation of the six-membered ring or the imino group as well as dissociation of NH bonds have been considered as photochemical pathways leading to conical intersections with the electronic ground state. It has been found that all three tautomers can reach S0-S1 conical intersections by out-of-plane deformation. However, only in the 7H-keto-amino tautomer the reaction path leading to the conical intersection is barrierless. This tautomer also has the lowest energy barrier for hydrogen detachment via the (1)pi sigma* state, whose potential energy surface intersects that of the (1)pi pi* state as well as that of the ground state. The other tautomers of guanine exhibit substantial energy barriers on their S1 potential energy surfaces with respect to both reaction mechanisms. These findings suggest that the 7H-keto-amino tautomer exhibits the shortest excited-state lifetime of the three tautomers due to particularly fast nonradiative deactivation processes through S0-S1 conical intersections. The computational results explain the remarkable observation that the energetically most stable 7H-keto-amino tautomer is missing in the resonant two-photon ionization spectrum of guanine in a supersonic jet. The results also explain that the energetically less stable 7H-enol-amino and 7H-keto-imino tautomers have longer excited-state lifetimes and are thus detectable by resonant two-photon ionization.     

A resonance Raman spectroscopic and CASSCF investigation of the Franck-Condon region structural dynamics and conical intersections of thiophene

Resonance Raman spectra were acquired for thiophene in cyclohexane solution with 239.5 and 266 nm excitation wavelengths that were in resonance with ～240?nm first intense absorption band. The spectra indicate that the Franck-Condon region photodissociation dynamics have multidimensional character with motion mostly along the reaction coordinates of six totally symmetry modes and three nontotally symmetry modes. The appearance of the nontotally symmetry modes, the C-S antisymmetry stretch +C-C=C bend mode ν(21)(B(2)) at 754?cm(-1) and the H(7)C(3)-C(4)H(8) twist ν(9)(A(2)) at 906?cm(-1), suggests the existence of two different types of vibronic-couplings or curve-crossings among the excited states in the Franck-Condon region. The electronic transition energies, the excited state structures, and the conical intersection points (1)B(1)/(1)A(1) and (1)B(2)/(1)A(1) between 2?(1)A(1) and 1?(1)B(2) or 1?(1)B(1) potential energy surfaces of thiophene were determined by using complete active space self-consistent field theory computations. These computational results were correlated with the Franck-Condon region structural dynamics of thiophene. The ring opening photodissociation reaction pathway through cleavage of one of the C-S bonds and via the conical intersection point (1)B(1)/(1)A(1) was revealed to be the predominant ultrafast reaction channel for thiophene in the lowest singlet excited state potential energy hypersurface, while the internal conversion pathway via the conical intersection point (1)B(2)/(1)A(1) was found to be the minor decay channel in the lowest singlet excited state potential energy hypersurface.     

Ab initio studies on the radiationless decay mechanisms of the lowest excited singlet states of 9H-adenine

The mechanisms that are responsible for the rapid deactivation of the (1)npi and( 1)pipi excited singlet states of the 9H isomer of adenine have been investigated with multireference ab initio methods (complete-active-space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) method and second-order perturbation theory based on the CASSCF reference (CASPT2)). Two novel photochemical pathways, which lead to conical intersections of the S(1) excited potential-energy surface with the electronic ground-state surface, have been identified. They involve out-of-plane deformations of the six-membered aromatic ring via the twisting of the N(3)C(2) and N(1)C(6) bonds. These low-lying conical intersections are separated from the minimum energy of the lowest ((1)npi) excited state in the Franck-Condon region by very low energy barriers (of the order of 0.1 eV). These properties of the S(1) and S(0) potential-energy surfaces explain the unusual laser-induced fluorescence spectrum of jet-cooled 9H-adenine, showing sharp structures only in a narrow energy interval near the origin, as well as the extreme excess-energy dependence of the lifetime of the singlet excited states. It is suggested that internal-conversion processes via conical intersections, which are accessed by out-of-plane deformation of the six-membered ring, dominate the photophysics of the lowest vibronic levels of adenine in the gas phase, while hydrogen-abstraction photochemistry driven by repulsive (1)pisigma states may become competitive at higher excitation energies. These ultrafast excited-state deactivation processes provide adenine with a high degree of intrinsic photostability.     

Intersystem crossing at singlet conical intersections

The energy of the lowest triplet state of organic molecules is intermediate between the ground state and the first excited singlet. At the S₁/S₀ conical intersection, the two singlet states are degenerate. It is shown that for some molecules (ethylene, benzene, toluene and pyrrole) the T₁ state is also degenerate with the two singlet states. Moreover, the spin orbit coupling matrix element at this structure is necessarily large, so that intersystem crossing can be quite efficient. If the lowest triplet state is repulsive (as in the studied molecules) it may significantly contribute to the dissociation yield under certain experimental conditions.     

A theoretical characterization of the photoisomerization channels of 1,2-cyclononadienes on both singlet and triplet potential-energy surfaces

The ground-, (1)(pipi*)-, and (3)(pipi*)-state potential-energy surfaces of 1,2-cyclononadiene and isomeric C(9)H(14) species, as well as 1-methyl-1,2-cyclononadiene and isomeric C(10)H(16) species were all mapped using CASSCF and the 6-31G(d) basis set. Theoretical results were found to be in good agreement with the available experimental observations for both 1,2-cyclononadiene and 1-methyl-1,2-cyclononadiene isomerization reactions under singlet and triplet direct or sensitized irradiation. Extremely efficient decay occurs from the first singlet excited state to the ground state through at least three different conical intersections (surface crossings). The first of these crossing points is accessed by a one-bond ring closure. From this conical intersection point (CI-A or CI-C), some possible subsequent ground-state reaction paths have been identified: 1) intramolecular C--H bond insertion to form the bicyclic photoproduct and 2) intramolecular C--H bond insertion to form tricyclic photoproducts. An excited state [1,3]-sigmatropic shift leads to the second conical intersection (CI-B or CI-E), which can give a three-bond cyclononyne species. Besides these, in the singlet photochemical reactions of 1-methyl-1,2-cyclononadiene, excited-state, one allenic C--H bond insertion leads to a third conical intersection (CI-D). Possible ground-state reaction pathways from this structure lead to the formation of a diene photoproduct or to transannular insertion photoproducts. Moreover, in the case of triplet 1,2-cyclononadiene and 1-methyl-1,2-cyclononadiene photoisomerization reactions, both chemical reactions will adopt a 1,3-biradical (T(1)/S(0)-1, T(1)/S(0)-2, and T(1)/S(0)-3), which may undergo intersystem crossings leading to the formation of tricyclic or bicyclic photoproducts. The results obtained allow a number of predictions to be made.