Calculations of the third-order nonlinear optical responses in push–pull chromophores with a time-dependent density functional theory

Quantum Chemical Study of CH3 + O2 Combustion Reaction System: Catalytic Effects of Additional CO2 Molecule

The supercritical carbon dioxide diluent is used to control the temperature and to increase the efficiency in oxycombustion fossil fuel energy technology. It may affect the rates of combustion by altering mechanisms of chemical reactions, compared to the ones at low CO₂ concentrations. Here, we investigate potential energy surfaces of the four elementary reactions in the CH₃ + O₂ reactive system in the presence of one CO₂ molecule. In the case of reaction CH₃ + O₂ → CH₂O + OH (R1 channel), van der Waals (vdW) complex formation stabilizes the transition state and reduces the activation barrier by ∼2.2 kcal/mol. Alternatively, covalently bonded CO₂ may form a six-membered ring transition state and reduce the activation barrier by ∼0.6 kcal/mol. In case of reaction CH₃ + O₂ → CH₃O + O (R2 channel), covalent participation of CO₂ lowers the barrier for the rate limiting step by 3.9 kcal/mol. This is expected to accelerate the R2 process, important for the branching step of the radical chain reaction mechanism. For the reaction CH₃ + O₂ → CHO + H₂O (R3 channel) with covalent participation of CO₂, the activation barrier is lowered by 0.5 kcal/mol. The reaction CH₂O + OH → CHO + H₂O (R4 channel) involves hydrogen abstraction from formaldehyde by OH radical. Its barrier is reduced from 7.1 to 0.8 kcal/mol by formation of vdW complex with spectator CO₂. These new findings are expected to improve the kinetic reaction mechanism describing combustion processes in supercritical CO₂ medium.

Quantum Chemical Study of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Effects on Combustion Kinetics

In oxy-fuel combustion, the pure oxygen (O₂), diluted with CO₂ is used as oxidant instead air. Hence, the combustion products (CO₂ and H₂O) are free from pollution by nitrogen oxides. Moreover, high pressures result in the near-liquid density of CO₂ at supercritical state (sCO₂). Unfortunately, the effects of sCO₂ on the combustion kinetics are far from being understood. To assist in this understanding, in this work we are using quantum chemistry methods. Here we investigate potential energy surfaces of important combustion reactions in the presence of the carbon dioxide molecule. All transition states and reactant and product complexes are reported for three reactions: H₂CO + HO₂ → HCO + H₂O₂ (R1), 2HO₂ → H₂O₂ + O₂ (R2), and CO + OH → CO₂ + H (R3). In reaction R3, covalent binding of CO₂ to the OH radical and then the CO molecule opens a new pathway, including hydrogen transfer from oxygen to carbon atoms followed by CH bond dissociation. Compared to the bimolecular OH + CO mechanism, this pathway reduces the activation barrier by 5 kcal/mol and is expected to accelerate the reaction. In the case of hydroperoxyl self-reaction 2HO₂ → H₂O₂ + O₂ the intermediates, containing covalent bonds to CO₂ are found not to be competitive. However, the spectator CO₂ molecule can stabilize the cyclic transition state and lower the barrier by 3 kcal/mol. Formation of covalent intermediates is also discovered in the H₂CO + HO₂ → HCO + H₂O₂ reaction, but these species lead to substantially higher activation barriers, which makes them unlikely to play a role in hydrogen transfer kinetics. The van der Waals complexation with carbon dioxide also stabilizes the transition state and reduces the reaction barrier. These results indicate that the CO₂ environment is likely to have a catalytic effect on combustion reactions, which needs to be included in kinetic combustion mechanisms in supercritical CO₂.

Potential Energy Surfaces for the Reactions of HO2 Radical with CH2O and HO2 in CO2 Environment

We report on potential energies for the transition state, reactant, and product complexes along the reaction pathways for hydrogen transfer reactions to hydroperoxyl radical from formaldehyde H₂CO + HO₂ → HCO + H₂O₂ and another hydroperoxyl radical 2HO₂ → H₂O₂ + O₂ in the presence of one carbon dioxide molecule. Both covalently bonded intermediates and weak intermolecular complexes are identified and characterized. We found that reactions that involve covalent intermediates have substantially higher activation barriers and are not likely to play a role in hydrogen transfer kinetics. The van der Waals complexation with carbon dioxide does not affect hydrogen transfer from formaldehyde, but it lowers the barrier for hydroperoxyl self-reaction by nearly 3 kcal/mol. This indicates that CO₂ environment is likely to have catalytic effect on HO₂ self-reaction, which needs to be included in kinetic combustion mechanisms in supercritical CO₂.

Singlet exciton fission for solar cell applications: energy aspects of interchromophore coupling

Singlet exciton fission, a process that converts one singlet exciton to a pair of triplet excitons, has the potential to enhance the efficiency of both bulk heterojunction and dye-sensitized solar cells and is understood in crystals but not well understood in molecules. Previous studies have identified promising building blocks for singlet fission in molecular systems, but little work has investigated how these individual chromophores should be combined to maximize triplet yield. We consider the effects of chemically connecting two chromophores to create a coupled chromophore pair and compute how various structural choices alter the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters likely to control singlet fission yield. We use density functional theory to compute the electron transfer matrix element and the thermodynamics of fission for several promising chromophore pairs and find a trade-off between the desire to maximize this element and the desire to keep the singlet fission process exoergic. We identify promising molecular systems for singlet fission and suggest future experiments.

Two-photon transitions in quadrupolar and branched chromophores: experiment and theory

A combined experimental and theoretical study is conducted on a series of model compounds in order to assess the combined role of branching and charge symmetry on absorption, photoluminescence, and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties. The main issue of this study is to examine how branching of quadrupolar chomophores can lead to different consequences as compared to branching of dipolar chromophores. Hence, three structurally related pi-conjugated quadrupolar chromophores symmetrically substituted with donor end groups and one branched structure built from the assembly of three quadrupolar branches via a common donor moiety are used as model compounds. Their photophysical properties are studied using UV-vis spectroscopy, and the TPA spectra are determined through two-photon excited fluorescence experiments using femtosecond pulses in the 500-1000 nm range. Experimental studies are complemented by theoretical calculations. The applied theoretical methodology is based on time-dependent density functional theory, the Frenkel exciton model, and analysis in terms of the natural transition orbitals of relevant electronic states. Theory reveals that a symmetrical intramolecular charge transfer from the terminal donating groups to the middle of the molecule takes place in all quadrupolar chromophores upon photoexcitation. In contrast, branching via a central electron-donating triphenylamine moiety breaks the quadrupolar symmetry of the branches. Consequently, all Frank-Condon excited states have significant asymmetric multidimensional charge-transfer character upon excitation. Subsequent vibrational relaxation of the branched chromophore in the excited state leads to a localization of the excitation and fluorescence stemming from a single branch. As opposed to what was earlier observed when dipolar chromophores are branched via the same common electron-donating moiety, we find only a slight enhancement of the maximum TPA response of the branched compound with respect to an additive contribution of its quadrupolar branches. In contrast, substantial modifications of the spectral shape are observed. This is attributed to the subtle interplay of interbranch electronic coupling and asymmetry caused by branching.

Role of donor-acceptor strengths and separation on the two-photon absorption response of cytotoxic dyes: a TD-DFT study

Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) is applied to model one-photon (OPA) and two-photon (TPA) absorption spectra in a series of conjugated cytotoxic dyes. Good agreement with available experimental data is found for calculated excitation energies and cross sections. Calculations show that both OPA and TPA spectra in the molecules studied are typically dominated by two strong peaks corresponding to different electronic states. We find that donor-acceptor strengths and conjugated bridge length have a strong impact on the cross-section magnitudes of low- and high-frequency TPA maxima, respectively. These trends are analyzed in terms of the natural transition orbitals of the corresponding electronic states. Observed structure-property relationships may have useful implications on design of organic conjugated chromophores with tunable two-photon absorption properties for photodynamic therapy applications.

Time-dependent density functional theory: past, present, and future

Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is presently enjoying enormous popularity in quantum chemistry, as a useful tool for extracting electronic excited state energies. This article discusses how TDDFT is much broader in scope, and yields predictions for many more properties. We discuss some of the challenges involved in making accurate predictions for these properties.

Theoretical studies on vibrational spectra of some halides of group IVB elements

The vibrational spectra of group IVB elements halides MX4 (M=Ti(IV), Zr(IV), Hf(II); X=F, Cl, Br and I), have been investigated by ab initio RHF, MP2 and density functional theory B3LYP method with LanL2DZ basis sets. The optimized geometries, calculated vibrational frequencies and Far-IR intensities of MX4 are evaluated via comparison with experimental data. The vibrational frequencies, calculated by these methods, are compared to each other. The results indicate that B3LYP method is more reliable than RHF and MP2 methods for the frequencies calculations for these compounds. With this method, some vibrational frequencies of M2X6(2+)(M=Ti(IV), Zr(IV) and Hf(II); X=F, Cl, Br and I) are also predicted.

Two-Photon Excitation of Substituted Enediynes

Electronic spectroscopy of nine benzannelated enediynes and a related fulvene was studied under one-photon and two-photon excitation conditions. We utilize measured absorbance and emission spectra and time-resolved fluorescence decays of these molecules to calculate their radiative lifetimes and fluorescence quantum yields. The fluorescence quantum yields for the other compounds were referenced to the fluorescence quantum yield of compound 3 and used to determine relative two-photon absorption cross-sections. Further insight into experimental studies has been achieved using time-dependent density functional (TD-DFT) computations. The probability of two-photon absorption (TPA) increases noticeably for excitation to the higher excited states. The photophysical properties of benzannelated enediynes are sensitive to substitutions at both the core and the periphery of the enediyne chromophore. Considerably enhanced two-photon absorption is observed in an enediyne with donor substitution in the middle and acceptor substitution at the termini. Excited states with B symmetry are not active in TPA spectra. From a practical point of view, this study extends the range of wavelengths applicable for activation of the enediyne moiety from 350 to 600 nm and provides a rational basis for future studies in this field. Our theoretical computations confirmed that lowest energy TPA in benzannelated enediynes involves different orbitals than lowest energy one-photon absorbance and provided further support to the notion that introduction of donor and acceptor substituents at different ends of a molecule increases TPA.

Theoretical study of the effects of solvent environment on photophysical properties and electronic structure of paracyclophane chromophores

We use first-principles quantum-chemical approaches to study absorption and emission properties of recently synthesized distyrylbenzene (DSB) derivative chromophores and their dimers (two DSB molecules linked through a [2.2]paracyclophane moiety). Several solvent models are applied to model experimentally observed shifts and radiative lifetimes in Stokes nonpolar organic solvents (toluene) and water. The molecular environment is simulated using the implicit solvation models, as well as explicit water molecules and counterions. Calculations show that neither implicit nor explicit solvent models are sufficient to reproduce experimental observations. The contact pair between the chromophore and counterion, on the other hand, is able to reproduce the experimental data when a partial screening effect of the solvent is taken into account. Based on our simulations we suggest two mechanisms for the excited-state lifetime increase in aqueous solutions. These findings may have a number of implications for organic light-emitting devices, electronic functionalities of soluble polymers and molecular fluorescent labels, and their possible applications as biosensors and charge/energy conduits in nanoassemblies.

Effects of (Multi)branching of Dipolar Chromophores on Photophysical Properties and Two-Photon Absorption

To investigate the effect of branching on linear and nonlinear optical properties, a specific series of chromophores, epitome of (multi)branched dipoles, has been thoroughly explored by a combined theoretical and experimental approach. Excited-state structure calculations based on quantum-chemical techniques (time-dependent density functional theory) as well as a Frenkel exciton model nicely complement experimental photoluminescence and one- and two-photon absorption findings and contribute to their interpretation. This allowed us to get a deep insight into the nature of fundamental excited-state dynamics and the nonlinear optical (NLO) response involved. Both experiment and theory reveal that a multidimensional intramolecular charge transfer takes place from the donating moiety to the periphery of the branched molecules upon excitation, while fluorescence stems from an excited state localized on one of the dipolar branches. Branching is also observed to lead to cooperative enhancement of two-photon absorption (TPA) while maintaining high fluorescence quantum yield, thanks to localization of the emitting state. The comparison between results obtained in the Frenkel exciton scheme and ab initio results suggests the coherent coupling between branches as one of the possible mechanisms for the observed enhancement. New strategies for the rational design of NLO molecular assemblies are thus inferred on the basis of the acquired insights.