Adiabatic and self-consistent-field approximations for coupled vibrations: A simple two-mode comparison

A simple coupled harmonic oscillator model is used to test the SCF and adiabatic approximations for coupled-mode systems. Both approximations are quite good; both fail when the unperturbed frequencies of the two modes approach degeneracy. While for two-mode systems the approximations are roughly comparable, for real molecules, the more easily applied SCF is preferable. Semiclassical quantization may be used with both approximations.     

Energy band structure of the compounds AgGaS2, AgGaSe2, and AgGaTe2

Using the pseudopotential method the energy-band structure of the compounds AgGaS₂, AgGaSe₂, AgGaTe₂ is calculated. Calculations are performed with and without consideration of the displacement of anion atoms not changing the crystalline-lattice symmetry. It is established that anion displacement affects the conduction band only slightly and has a more significant effect on the valence band. Available experimental data are evaluated on the basis of the calculations performed.     

Valence band and Zn 3d energy levels in Me2Zn from photoelectron spectra and pseudopotential ab initio calculations: electric field gradients in gas phase Zn compounds

The He I and X-ray photoelectron spectra of the valence levels and Zn 3d levels in Me₂Zn have been recorded. The orbital ionization potentials are compared with those obtained from our ab initio pseudopotential calculation on Me₂Zn. There is excellent agreement between predicted and observed values for the outer valence orbitals. The Zn 3d level in Me₂Zn in split into five peaks due to the combined effect of spin-orbit splitting and crystal field splitting. The major part of the splitting is due to the asymmetric C⁰₂ crystal field term which transforms like the electric field gradient. The derived C⁰₂ terms for Me₂Zn and ZnCl₂ are ?0.0169 ± 0.0007 eV and ?0.011 eV respectively. The observed and calculated splitting confirms an electrostatic (rather than a bonding) origin. The C⁰₂ value for Me₂Zn is consistent with that observed recently for Me₂Cd.     

Dissipative dynamics of a system passing through a conical intersection: ultrafast pump-probe observables

The dynamics of a system incorporating a conical intersection, in the presence of a dissipative environment, is studied with the purpose of identifying observable ultrafast spectroscopic signatures. A model system consisting of two vibronically coupled electronic states with two nuclear degrees of freedom is constructed. Dissipation is treated by two different methods, Lindblad semigroup formalism and the surrogate Hamiltonian approach. Pump-probe experimental expectation values such as transient emission and transient absorption are calculated and compared to the adiabatic and diabatic population transfer. The ultrafast population transfer reflecting the conical intersection is not mirrored in transient absorption measurements such as the recovery of the bleach. Emission from the excited state can be suppressed on the ultrafast time scale, but the existence of a conical intersection is only one of the possible mechanisms that can provide ultrafast damping of emission.     

Conformationally gated switching between superexchange and hopping within oligo-p-phenylene-based molecular wires

We observe well-defined regions of superexchange and thermally activated hopping in the temperature dependence of charge recombination (CR) in a series of donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) systems, where D = phenothiazine (PTZ), B = p-phenylene (Ph(n)), n = 1-4, and A = perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PDI). A fit to the thermally activated CR rates of the n = 3 and n = 4 compounds yields activation barriers of 1290 and 2030 cm(-1), respectively, which match closely with theoretically predicted and experimentally observed barriers for the planarization of terphenyl and quaterphenyl. Negative activation of CR in the temperature regions dominated by superexchange charge transport is the result of a fast conformational equilibrium that increasingly depopulates the reactive state for CR as temperature is increased. The temperature dependence of the effective donor-acceptor superexchange coupling, V(DA), measured using magnetic field effects on the efficiency of the charge recombination process, shows that CR occurs out of the conformation with lower V(DA) via the energetically favored triplet pathway.     

Electronic structure and band gaps in cationic heterocyclic oligomers. Multidimensional analysis of the interplay of heteroatoms, substituents, molecular length, and charge on redox and transparency characteristics

Oxidative doping of extended pi-conjugated polymers and oligomers produces dramatic changes in optical and electrical properties, arising from polaron and soliton-derived midgap states. Despite the great importance of such changes for materials properties, far less is known about the cationic polaron states than about the neutral, semiconducting or insulating, undoped materials. The systematic, multifactor computational analysis of oligoheterocycles such as oligothiophenes, oligofurans, and oligopyrroles presented here affords qualitative and quantitative understanding of the interplay among skeletal substitution pattern, electronic structure, and the effective band gap reduction on p-doping. A simple linear relation is derived for predicting p-doped oligomer and polymer effective band gaps based on those of the neutral oligomers; this relationship confirms the effectiveness of a "fixed band" approximation and explains the counterintuitive increase of the effective band gap on p-doping of many small band gap oligomers. The present analysis also suggests new candidates for transparent conductive polymers and predicts limiting behavior of ionization potential, electron affinity, and other properties for various polyheterocyclic systems. The results yield insight into materials constraints in electrochromic polymers as well as on p- and n-type conductors and semiconductors.     

Synthesis,bulk characterization,and surface characterization of p-hydroxystyrene/styrene copolymers

Styrene/p-hydroxystyrene copolymers were prepared from copolymers of styrene and p-benzyloxystyrene by cleavage of the ether bond. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to characterize the polymers before and after the ether cleavage reaction. Reactivity ratios were calculated by applying the method of least squares to data generated from the Fineman–Ross equation (r₁ = 0.37, r₂ = 0.28). The surface chemistry of centrifugally cast films of the homopolymers and the copolymers was studied by using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The Zisman contact angle method was used to determine the critical surface tension in air for each polymeric surface. Water contents of hydrated films were determined gravimetrically. The polar character of the surface was shown to increase to a small degree with an increase in the p-hydroxystyrene component. Polymers with high p-hydroxystyrene contents did not exhibit pronounced hydrogel character.     

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy in molecular junctions: peaks and dips

We study inelastic electron tunneling through a molecular junction using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. The effect of the mutual influence between the phonon and the electron subsystems on the electron tunneling process is considered within a general self-consistent scheme. Results of this calculation are compared to those obtained from the simpler Born approximation and the simplest perturbation theory approaches, and some shortcomings of the latter are pointed out. The self-consistent calculation allows also for evaluating other related quantities such as the power loss during electron conduction. Regarding the inelastic spectrum, two types of inelastic contributions are discussed. Features associated with real and virtual energy transfer to phonons are usually observed in the second derivative of the current I with respect to the voltage Phi when plotted against Phi. Signatures of resonant tunneling driven by an intermediate molecular ion appear as peaks in the first derivative dI/dPhi and may show phonon sidebands. The dependence of the observed vibrationally induced lineshapes on the junction characteristics, and the linewidth associated with these features are also discussed.