Transfer of mobile electrons in organic molecules

Theory of Triplet Excitation Transfer in the Donor-Oxygen-Acceptor System: Application to Cytochrome b6f

Theoretical consideration is presented of the triplet excitation dynamics in donor-acceptor systems in conditions where the transfer is mediated by an oxygen molecule. It is demonstrated that oxygen may be involved in both real and virtual intramolecular triplet-singlet conversions in the course of the process under consideration. Expressions describing a superexchange donor-acceptor coupling owing to a participation of the bridging twofold degenerate oxygen's virtual singlet state are derived and the transfer kinetics including the sequential (hopping) and coherent (distant) routes are analyzed. Applicability of this theoretical description to the pigment-protein complex cytochrome b6f, by considering the triplet excitation transfer from the chlorophyll a molecule to distant β-carotene, is discussed.

Quasi-classical modeling of molecular quantum-dot cellular automata multidriver gates

Molecular quantum-dot cellular automata (mQCA) has received considerable attention in nanoscience. Unlike the current-based molecular switches, where the digital data is represented by the on/off states of the switches, in mQCA devices, binary information is encoded in charge configuration within molecular redox centers. The mQCA paradigm allows high device density and ultra-low power consumption. Digital mQCA gates are the building blocks of circuits in this paradigm. Design and analysis of these gates require quantum chemical calculations, which are demanding in computer time and memory. Therefore, developing simple models to probe mQCA gates is of paramount importance. We derive a semi-classical model to study the steady-state output polarization of mQCA multidriver gates, directly from the two-state approximation in electron transfer theory. The accuracy and validity of this model are analyzed using full quantum chemistry calculations. A complete set of logic gates, including inverters and minority voters, are implemented to provide an appropriate test bench in the two-dot mQCA regime. We also briefly discuss how the QCADesigner tool could find its application in simulation of mQCA devices.

Charge transport properties of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum(III): why it is an electron transporter

The charge transport properties of mer-tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum(III) (mer-Alq), which is the most widely used electron transport material in OLED, were investigated by quantum chemistry calculations within the framework of the charge hopping model and Marcus electron transfer theory. Internal reorganization energies of 0.276 and 0.242 eV were calculated by the DFT-B3LYP method employing a 6-31 G* basis set for the electrons lambdai(e) and holes lambdai(h), respectively. The relative distances and orientations of Alq molecules in amorphous film were simulated by those in the beta-phase. The intermolecular charge-transfer integrals, Hda(h) and Hda(e), along all 14 hopping pathways were then calculated by the Koopmans Theorem in conjunction with the Hartree-Fock method employing a 6-31 G* basis set as well as by the direct coupling method. The results showed that there were some Hda(e) that were 1 order of magnitude larger than any Hda(h), because hopping pathways with effective overlaps of LUMOs can occur and, thus, large Hda(e). On the other hand, effective overlap of HOMO was absent in all pathways, resulting in a relatively small Hda(h). This difference in the magnitudes of Hda(e) and Hda(h) would predict a 2 orders of magnitude difference in the electron-transfer rate constants and account for the observed 2 orders of magnitude difference in the mobilities of electrons and holes.

Intramolecular electron transfer in heterosubstituted benzene derivatives as probed by dissociative electron attachment

The electron transmission and dissociative electron attachment spectra of the 1-chloroalkyl benzene derivatives, C(6)H(5)(CH(2))(3)Cl and C(6)H(5)(CH(2))(4)Cl, and of the sulfur and silicon derivatives, C(6)H(5)SCH(2)Cl, C(6)H(5)Si(CH(3))(2)CH(2)Cl and C(6)H(5)CH(2)Si(CH(3))(2)CH(2)Cl, are presented for the first time. The relative Cl(-) fragment anion currents generated by electron attachment to the benzene pi* LUMO are measured in the series C(6)H(5)(CH(2))(n)Cl, with n = 1-4, and in the heteroatomic compounds. The Cl(-) yield reflects the rate of intramolecular electron transfer between the pi-system and the remote chlorine atom, which in turn depends on the extent of through-bond coupling between the localized pi* and sigma*(Cl-C) orbitals. In compounds C(6)H(5)(CH(2))(n)Cl the Cl(-) current rapidly decreases with increasing length of the saturated chain. This decrease is significantly attenuated when a carbon atom of the alkyl skeleton is replaced with a third-row heteroatom. This greater ability to promote through-bond coupling between the pi* and sigma*(Cl-C) orbitals is attributed to the sizably lower energy of the empty sigma*(S-C) and sigma*(Si-C) orbitals with respect to the sigma*(C-C) orbitals. In the sulfur derivative the increase of the Cl(-) current is larger than in the silicon analogue. In this case, however, other negative fragments are observed, due to dissociation of the S-C bonds.