Avoiding self-repulsion in density functional description of biased molecular junctions

Charge transfer in time-dependent density functional theory

Charge transfer plays a crucial role in many processes of interest in physics, chemistry, and bio-chemistry. In many applications the size of the systems involved calls for time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) to be used in their computational modeling, due to its unprecedented balance between accuracy and efficiency. However, although exact in principle, in practise approximations must be made for the exchange-correlation functional in this theory, and the standard functional approximations perform poorly for excitations which have a long-range charge-transfer component. Intense progress has been made in developing more sophisticated functionals for this problem, which we review. We point out an essential difference between the properties of the exchange-correlation kernel needed for an accurate description of charge-transfer between open-shell fragments and between closed-shell fragments. We then turn to charge-transfer dynamics, which, in contrast to the excitation problem, is a highly non-equilibrium, non-perturbative, process involving a transfer of one full electron in space. This turns out to be a much more challenging problem for TDDFT functionals. We describe dynamical step and peak features in the exact functional evolving over time, that are missing in the functionals currently used. The latter underestimate the amount of charge transferred and manifest a spurious shift in the charge transfer resonance position. We discuss some explicit examples.

The ionic versus metallic nature of 2D electrides: a density-functional description

The two-dimensional (2D) electrides are a highly unusual class of materials, possessing interstitial electron layers sandwiched between cationic atomic layers of the solid.

Deleterious Effects of Exact Exchange Functionals on Predictions of Molecular Conductance

Kohn-Sham (KS) density functional theory (DFT) describes well the atomistic structure of molecular junctions and their coupling to the semi-infinite metallic electrodes but severely overestimates conductance due to the spuriously large density of charge-carrier states of the KS system. Previous works show that inclusion of appropriate amounts of nonlocal exchange in the functional can fix the problem and provide realistic conductance estimates. Here however we discover that nonlocal exchange can also lead to deleterious effects which artificially overestimate transmittance even beyond the KS-DFT prediction. The effect is a result of exchange coupling between nonoverlapping states of diradical character. We prescribe a practical recipe for eliminating such artifacts.

Charge Transfer or J-Coupling? Assignment of an Unexpected Red-Shifted Absorption Band in a Naphthalenediimide-Based Metal-Organic Framework

We investigate and assign a previously reported unexpected transition in the metal-organic framework Zn2(NDC)2(DPNI) (1; NDC = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, DPNI = dipyridyl-naphthalenediimide) that displays linear arrangements of naphthalenediimide ligands. Given the longitudinal transition dipole moment of the DPNI ligands, J-coupling seemed possible. Photophysical measurements revealed a broad, new transition in 1 between 400 and 500 nm. Comparison of the MOF absorption spectra with that of a charge transfer (CT) complex formed by manual grinding of DPNI and H2NDC led to the assignment of the new band in 1 as arising from an interligand CT. Constrained density functional theory utilizing a custom long-range-corrected hybrid functional was employed to determine which ligands were involved in the CT transition. On the basis of relative oscillator strengths, the interligand CT was assigned as principally arising from π-stacked DPNI/NDC dimers rather than the alternative orthogonal pairs within the MOF.

Absorption and fluorescence spectra of heterocyclic isomers from long-range-corrected density functional theory in polarizable continuum approach

Long-range-corrected (LC) DFT/TDDFT methods may provide adequate description of ground and excited state properties; however, accuracy of such an approach depends much on a range separation (exchange screening) representing adjustable model parameter. Its relation to a size or specific of molecular systems has been explored in numerous studies, whereas the effect of solvent environment is usually ignored during the evaluation of state properties. To benchmark and assess the quality of the LC-DFT/TDDFT formalism, we report the optical absorption and fluorescence emission energies of organic heterocyclic isomers, DPIPQ and PTNA, calculated by LC-BLYP DFT/TDDFT method in the polarizable continuum (PCM) approach. The calculations are compared with the optical absorption and fluorescence spectra measured in organic solvents of different polarity. Despite a considerable structural difference, both dyes exhibit quite similar range separations being somewhat different for the optical absorption and fluorescence emission processes. Properly parametrized LC-BLYP xc-potential well reproduces basic features of the optical absorption spectra including the electronic transitions to higher excited states. The DFT/TDDFT/PCM analysis correctly predicts the solvation trends although solvatochromic shifts of the electronic transition energies appear to be evidently underestimated in most cases, especially for the fluorescence emission. Considering the discrepancy between the experiment and theory, evaluated state dipole moments and solvation corrections to the exchange screening are analyzed. The results of the present study emphasize the importance of a solvent-dependent range separation in DFT/TDDFT/PCM calculations for investigating excited state properties.

Fundamental gaps in finite systems from eigenvalues of a generalized Kohn-Sham method

We present a broadly applicable, physically motivated, first-principles approach to determining the fundamental gap of finite systems from single-electron orbital energies. The approach is based on using a range-separated hybrid functional within the generalized Kohn-Sham approach to density functional theory. Its key element is the choice of a range-separation parameter such that Koopmans' theorem for both neutral and anion is obeyed as closely as possible. We demonstrate the validity, accuracy, and advantages of this approach on first, second and third row atoms, the oligoacene family of molecules, and a set of hydrogen-passivated silicon nanocrystals. This extends the quantitative usage of density functional theory to an area long believed to be outside its reach.

Exchange and correlation in molecular wire conductance: nonlocality is the key

We study real-time electron dynamics in a molecular junction with a variety of approximations to the electronic structure, toward the ultimate aim of determining what ingredients are crucial for the accurate prediction of charge transport. We begin with real-time, all electron simulations using some common density functionals that differ in how they treat long-range Hartree-Fock exchange. We find that the inclusion or exclusion of nonlocal exchange is the dominant factor determining the transport behavior, with all semilocal contributions having a smaller effect. In order to study nonlocal correlation, we first map our junction onto a simple Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model Hamiltonian. The PPP dynamics are shown to faithfully reproduce the all electron results, and we demonstrate that nonlocal correlation can be readily included in the model space using the generator coordinate method (GCM). Our PPP-GCM simulations suggest that nonlocal correlation has a significant impact on the I-V character that is not captured even qualitatively by any of the common semilocal approximations to exchange and correlation. The implications of our results for transport calculations are discussed.

A well-tempered density functional theory of electrons in molecules

This Invited Article reports extensions of a recently developed approach to density functional theory with correct long-range behavior (R. Baer and D. Neuhauser, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2005, 94, 043002). The central quantities are a splitting functional gamma[n] and a complementary exchange-correlation functional E[n]. We give a practical method for determining the value of gamma in molecules, assuming an approximation for E is given. The resulting theory shows good ability to reproduce the ionization potentials for various molecules. However it is not of sufficient accuracy for forming a satisfactory framework for studying molecular properties. A somewhat different approach is then adopted, which depends on a density-independent gamma and an additional parameter w eliminating part of the local exchange functional. The values of these two parameters are obtained by best-fitting to experimental atomization energies and bond lengths of the molecules in the G2(1) database. The optimized values are gamma = 0.5 a and w = 0.1. We then examine the performance of this slightly semi-empirical functional for a variety of molecular properties, comparing to related works and experiment. We show that this approach can be used for describing in a satisfactory manner a broad range of molecular properties, be they static or dynamic. Most satisfactory is the ability to describe valence, Rydberg and inter-molecular charge-transfer excitations.