1
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Cerezo J, Gierschner J, Santoro F, Prampolini G. Explicit Modelling of Spectral Bandshapes by a Mixed Quantum-Classical Approach: Solvent Order and Temperature Effects in the Optical Spectra of Distyrylbenzene. Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202400307. [PMID: 38728539 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202400307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The absorption and emission spectral shapes of a flexible organic probe, the distyrylbenzene (DSB) dye, are simulated accounting for the effect of different environments of increasing complexity, ranging from a homogeneous, low-molecular- weight solvent, to a long-chain alkane, and, eventually, a channel-forming organic matrix. Each embedding is treated explicitly, adopting a mixed quantum-classical approach, the Adiabatic Molecular Dynamics - generalized vertical Hessian (Ad-MD|gVH) model, which allows a direct simulation of the environment-induced constraining effects on the vibronic spectral shapes. In such a theoretical framework, the stiff modes of the dye are described at a quantum level within the harmonic approximation, including Duschinsky mixing effects, while flexible degrees of freedom of the solute (e. g. torsions) and those of the solvent are treated classically by means of molecular dynamics sampling. Such a setup is shown to reproduce the distinct effects exerted by the different environments in varied thermodynamic conditions. Besides allowing for a first-principles rationale on the supramolecular mechanism leading to the experimental spectral features, this result represents the first successful application of the Ad-MD|gVH method to complex embeddings and supports its potential application to other heterogeneous environments, such as for instance, pigment-protein complexes or organic dyes adsorbed into metal-organic frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Cerezo
- Departamento de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti OrganoMetallici (ICCOM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italien
| | - Johannes Gierschner
- Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies, IMDEA Nanoscience, C/Faraday 9, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti OrganoMetallici (ICCOM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italien
| | - Giacomo Prampolini
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti OrganoMetallici (ICCOM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italien
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2
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Oldani N, Freixas VM, Ondarse-Alvarez D, Sharifzadeh S, Gibson T, Tretiak S, Fernandez-Alberti S. Electronic Couplings versus Thermal Fluctuations in the Internal Conversion of Perylene Diimides: The Battle to Localize the Exciton. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:5820-5828. [PMID: 38984946 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Energy transfer processes among units of light-harvesting homo-oligomers impact the efficiency of these materials as components in organic optoelectronic devices such as solar cells. Perylene diimide (PDI), a prototypical dye, features exceptional light absorption and highly tunable optical and electronic properties. These properties can be modulated by varying the number of PDI units and linkers between them. Herein, atomistic nonadiabatic excited state molecular dynamics is used to explore the energy transfer during the internal conversion of acetylene and diacetylene bridged dimeric and trimeric PDIs. Our simulations reveal a significant impact of the bridge type on the transient exciton localization/delocalization between units of PDI dimers. After electronic relaxation, larger exciton delocalization occurs in the PDI dimer connected by the diacetylene bridge with respect to the one connected by the shorter acetylene bridge. These changes can be rationalized by the Frenkel exciton model. We outline a technique for deriving parameters for this model using inputs provided by nonadiabatic dynamics simulations. Frenkel exciton description reveals an interplay between the relative strengths of the diagonal and off-diagonal disorders. Moreover, atomistic simulations and the Frenkel exciton model of the PDI trimer systems corroborate in detail the localization properties of the exciton on the molecular units during the internal conversion to the lowest-energy excited state when the units become effectively decoupled. Overall, atomistic nonadiabatic simulations in combination with the Frenkel exciton model can serve as a predictive framework for analyzing and predicting desired exciton traps in PDI-based oligomers designed for organic electronics and photonic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Oldani
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes/CONICET, B1876BXD Bernal, Argentina
| | - Victor M Freixas
- Department of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2025, United States
| | - Dianelys Ondarse-Alvarez
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes/CONICET, B1876BXD Bernal, Argentina
| | - Sahar Sharifzadeh
- Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Tammie Gibson
- Theoretical Division, Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS), and Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Sergei Tretiak
- Theoretical Division, Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS), and Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
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3
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Martínez-Fernández L, Green JA, Esposito L, Jouybari MY, Zhang Y, Santoro F, Kohler B, Improta R. The photoactivated dynamics of dGpdC and dCpdG sequences in DNA: a comprehensive quantum mechanical study. Chem Sci 2024; 15:9676-9693. [PMID: 38939156 PMCID: PMC11206432 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc00910j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Study of alternating DNA GC sequences by different time-resolved spectroscopies has provided fundamental information on the interaction between UV light and DNA, a process of great biological importance. Multiple decay paths have been identified, but their interplay is still poorly understood. Here, we characterize the photophysics of GC-DNA by integrating different computational approaches, to study molecular models including up to 6 bases described at a full quantum mechanical level. Quantum dynamical simulations, exploiting a nonadiabatic linear vibronic coupling (LVC) model, coupled with molecular dynamics sampling of the initial structures of a (GC)5 DNA duplex, provide new insights into the photophysics in the sub-picosecond time-regime. They indicate a substantial population transfer, within 50 fs, from the spectroscopic states towards G → C charge transfer states involving two stacked bases (CTintra), thus explaining the ultrafast disappearance of fluorescence. This picture is consistent with that provided by quantum mechanical geometry optimizations, using time dependent-density functional theory and a polarizable continuum model, which we use to parametrize the LVC model and to map the main excited state deactivation pathways. For the first time, the infrared and excited state absorption signatures of the various states along these pathways are comprehensively mapped. The computational models suggest that the main deactivation pathways, which, according to experiment, lead to ground state recovery on the 10-50 ps time scale, involve CTintra followed by interstrand proton transfer from the neutral G to C-. Our calculations indicate that CTintra is populated to a larger extent and more rapidly in GC than in CG steps and suggest the likely involvement of monomer-like and interstrand charge transfer decay routes for isolated and less stacked CG steps. These findings underscore the importance of the DNA sequence and thermal fluctuations for the dynamics. They will also aid the interpretation of experimental results on other sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Martínez-Fernández
- Departamento de Química Física de Materiales, Instituto de Química Física Blas Cabrera, CSIC 28006 Madrid Spain
| | - James Alexander Green
- Institut für Physikalische Theoretische Chemie, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Luciana Esposito
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR (IBB-CNR) Via De Amicis 95 I-80145 Napoli Italy
| | - Martha Yaghoubi Jouybari
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa 10 Marie Curie Ottawa Ontario K1N 6N5 Canada
- National Research Council of Canada 100 Sussex Drive Ottawa Ontario K1A 0R6 Canada
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR) Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1 I-56124 Pisa Italy
| | - Yuyuan Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University 100 West 18th Avenue Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR) Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1 I-56124 Pisa Italy
| | - Bern Kohler
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University 100 West 18th Avenue Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
| | - Roberto Improta
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR (IBB-CNR) Via De Amicis 95 I-80145 Napoli Italy
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4
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Berardi S, Benazzi E, Marchini E, Cristino V, Argazzi R, Boaretto R, Gobbato T, Rigodanza F, Cerullo G, Bozzini B, Bonchio M, Prato M, Berger T, Caramori S. Role of Intragap States in Sensitized Sb-Doped Tin Oxide Photoanodes for Solar Fuels Production. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:27209-27223. [PMID: 38747220 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c18020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
In view of developing photoelectrosynthetic cells which are able to store solar energy in chemical bonds, water splitting is usually the reaction of choice when targeting hydrogen production. However, alternative approaches can be considered, aimed at substituting the anodic reaction of water oxidation with more commercially capitalizable oxidations. Among them, the production of bromine from bromide ions was investigated long back in the 1980s by Texas Instruments. Herein we present optimized perylene-diimide (PDI)-sensitized antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) photoanodes enabling the photoinduced HBr splitting with >4 mA/cm2 photocurrent densities under 0.1 W/cm2 AM1.5G illumination and 91 ± 3% faradaic efficiencies for bromine production. These remarkable results, among the best currently reported for the photoelectrochemical Br- oxidation by dye sensitized photoanodes, are strongly related to the occupancy extent of ATO's intragap (IG) states, generated upon Sb-doping, as demonstrated by comparing their performances with PDI-sensitized analogues on both undoped SnO2- and TiO2-passivated ATO scaffolds by means of (spectro)electrochemistry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The architecture of the ATO-PDI photoanodic assembly was further modified via the introduction of a molecular iridium-based water oxidation catalyst, thus proving the versatility of the proposed hybrid interfaces as photoanodic platforms for photoinduced oxidations in PEC devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Berardi
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Benazzi
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Edoardo Marchini
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Vito Cristino
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Roberto Argazzi
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
- ISOF-CNR, c/o Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Rita Boaretto
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Thomas Gobbato
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | | | - Giulio Cerullo
- Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | | | - Marcella Bonchio
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Maurizio Prato
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center of Excellence for Nanostructured Materials, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Thomas Berger
- Department of Chemistry and Physics of Materials, University of Salzburg, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Stefano Caramori
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
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5
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Hunter KE, Mao Y, Chin AW, Zuehlsdorff TJ. Environmentally Driven Symmetry Breaking Quenches Dual Fluorescence in Proflavine. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:4623-4632. [PMID: 38647005 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Nonadiabatic couplings between several electronic excited states are ubiquitous in many organic chromophores and can significantly influence optical properties. A recent experimental study demonstrated that the proflavine molecule exhibits surprising dual fluorescence in the gas phase, which is suppressed in polar solvent environments. Here, we uncover the origin of this phenomenon by parametrizing a linear-vibronic coupling Hamiltonian from spectral densities of system-bath coupling constructed along molecular dynamics trajectories, fully accounting for interactions with the condensed-phase environment. The finite-temperature absorption, steady-state emission, and time-resolved emission spectra are then computed using powerful, numerically exact tensor network approaches. We find that the dual fluorescence in vacuum is driven by a single well-defined coupling mode but is quenched in solution due to dynamic solvent-driven symmetry breaking that mixes the two low-lying electronic states. We expect the computational framework developed here to be widely applicable to the study of non-Condon effects in complex condensed-phase environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kye E Hunter
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States
| | - Yuezhi Mao
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, United States
| | - Alex W Chin
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, Paris 75005, France
| | - Tim J Zuehlsdorff
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States
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6
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Losantos R, Prampolini G, Monari A. A Portrait of the Chromophore as a Young System-Quantum-Derived Force Field Unraveling Solvent Reorganization upon Optical Excitation of Cyclocurcumin Derivatives. Molecules 2024; 29:1752. [PMID: 38675572 PMCID: PMC11052401 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29081752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of fast non-equilibrium solvent relaxation in organic chromophores is still challenging for molecular modeling and simulation approaches, and is often overlooked, even in the case of non-adiabatic dynamics simulations. Yet, especially in the case of photoswitches, the interaction with the environment can strongly modulate the photophysical outcomes. To unravel such a delicate interplay, in the present contribution we resorted to a mixed quantum-classical approach, based on quantum mechanically derived force fields. The main task is to rationalize the solvent reorganization pathways in chromophores derived from cyclocurcumin, which are suitable for light-activated chemotherapy to destabilize cellular lipid membranes. The accurate and reliable decryption delivered by the quantum-derived force fields points to important differences in the solvent's reorganization, in terms of both structure and time scale evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Losantos
- Departamento de Química, Instituto de Investigación en Química (IQUR), Universidad de La Rioja, Madre de Dios 53, 26006 Logroño, Spain
- ITODYS, Université Paris Cité and CNRS, F-75006 Paris, France
| | - Giacomo Prampolini
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Antonio Monari
- ITODYS, Université Paris Cité and CNRS, F-75006 Paris, France
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7
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Allan L, Zuehlsdorff TJ. Taming the third order cumulant approximation to linear optical spectroscopy. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:074108. [PMID: 38380749 DOI: 10.1063/5.0182745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The second order cumulant method offers a promising pathway to predicting optical properties in condensed phase systems. It allows for the computation of linear absorption spectra from excitation energy fluctuations sampled along molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories, fully accounting for vibronic effects, direct solute-solvent interactions, and environmental polarization effects. However, the second order cumulant approximation only guarantees accurate line shapes for energy gap fluctuations obeying Gaussian statistics. A third order correction has recently been derived but often yields unphysical spectra or divergent line shapes for moderately non-Gaussian fluctuations due to the neglect of higher order terms in the cumulant expansion. In this work, we develop a corrected cumulant approach, where the collective effect of neglected higher order contributions is approximately accounted for through a dampening factor applied to the third order cumulant term. We show that this dampening factor can be expressed as a function of the skewness and kurtosis of energy gap fluctuations and can be parameterized from a large set of randomly sampled model Hamiltonians for which exact spectral line shapes are known. This approach is shown to systematically remove unphysical contributions in the form of negative absorbances from cumulant spectra in both model Hamiltonians and condensed phase systems sampled from MD and dramatically improves over the second order cumulant method in describing systems exhibiting Duschinsky mode mixing effects. We successfully apply the approach to the coumarin-153 dye in toluene, obtaining excellent agreement with experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Allan
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
| | - Tim J Zuehlsdorff
- Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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8
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Aarabi M, Aranda D, Gholami S, Meena SK, Lerouge F, Bretonniere Y, Gürol I, Baldeck P, Parola S, Dumoulin F, Cerezo J, Garavelli M, Santoro F, Rivalta I. Quantum-Classical Protocol for Efficient Characterization of Absorption Lineshape and Fluorescence Quenching upon Aggregation: The Case of Zinc Phthalocyanine Dyes. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:5938-5957. [PMID: 37641958 PMCID: PMC10500990 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
A quantum-classical protocol that incorporates Jahn-Teller vibronic coupling effects and cluster analysis of molecular dynamics simulations is reported, providing a tool for simulations of absorption spectra and ultrafast nonadiabatic dynamics in large molecular photosystems undergoing aggregation in solution. Employing zinc phthalocyanine dyes as target systems, we demonstrated that the proposed protocol provided fundamental information on vibronic, electronic couplings and thermal dynamical effects that mostly contribute to the absorption spectra lineshape and the fluorescence quenching processes upon dye aggregation. Decomposing the various effects arising upon dimer formation, the structure-property relations associated with their optical responses have been deciphered at atomistic resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Aarabi
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniel Aranda
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, Italy
- Instituto
de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol), Universidad
de Valencia, Catedrático
J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
| | - Samira Gholami
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Santosh Kumar Meena
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, 140001 Punjab, India
| | - Frederic Lerouge
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Yann Bretonniere
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Ilke Gürol
- TÜBITAK
Marmara Research Center, Materials Technologies, Gebze, 41470 Kocaeli, Türkiye
| | - Patrice Baldeck
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Stephane Parola
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
| | - Fabienne Dumoulin
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, 34752 Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Javier Cerezo
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, Italy
- Departamento
de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical
Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma
de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marco Garavelli
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Ivan Rivalta
- Dipartimento
di Chimica Industriale “Toso Montanari”, Universitá degli Studi di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
- ENSL,
CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie UMR 5182, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon, France
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9
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Cerezo J, Gao S, Armaroli N, Ingrosso F, Prampolini G, Santoro F, Ventura B, Pastore M. Non-Phenomenological Description of the Time-Resolved Emission in Solution with Quantum-Classical Vibronic Approaches-Application to Coumarin C153 in Methanol. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28093910. [PMID: 37175320 PMCID: PMC10180259 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28093910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
We report a joint experimental and theoretical work on the steady-state spectroscopy and time-resolved emission of the coumarin C153 dye in methanol. The lowest energy excited state of this molecule is characterized by an intramolecular charge transfer thus leading to remarkable shifts of the time-resolved emission spectra, dictated by the methanol reorganization dynamics. We selected this system as a prototypical test case for the first application of a novel computational protocol aimed at the prediction of transient emission spectral shapes, including both vibronic and solvent effects, without applying any phenomenological broadening. It combines a recently developed quantum-classical approach, the adiabatic molecular dynamics generalized vertical Hessian method (Ad-MD|gVH), with nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. For the steady-state spectra we show that the Ad-MD|gVH approach is able to reproduce quite accurately the spectral shapes and the Stokes shift, while a ∼0.15 eV error is found on the prediction of the solvent shift going from gas phase to methanol. The spectral shape of the time-resolved emission signals is, overall, well reproduced, although the simulated spectra are slightly too broad and asymmetric at low energies with respect to experiments. As far as the spectral shift is concerned, the calculated spectra from 4 ps to 100 ps are in excellent agreement with experiments, correctly predicting the end of the solvent reorganization after about 20 ps. On the other hand, before 4 ps solvent dynamics is predicted to be too fast in the simulations and, in the sub-ps timescale, the uncertainty due to the experimental time resolution (300 fs) makes the comparison less straightforward. Finally, analysis of the reorganization of the first solvation shell surrounding the excited solute, based on atomic radial distribution functions and orientational correlations, indicates a fast solvent response (≈100 fs) characterized by the strengthening of the carbonyl-methanol hydrogen bond interactions, followed by the solvent reorientation, occurring on the ps timescale, to maximize local dipolar interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Cerezo
- Departamento de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Institute of Chemistry of OrganoMetallic Compounds (ICCOM), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Area di Ricerca di Pisa, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Sheng Gao
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Nicola Armaroli
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesca Ingrosso
- Université de Lorraine & CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), F-54000 Nancy, France
| | - Giacomo Prampolini
- Institute of Chemistry of OrganoMetallic Compounds (ICCOM), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Area di Ricerca di Pisa, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Institute of Chemistry of OrganoMetallic Compounds (ICCOM), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Area di Ricerca di Pisa, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Barbara Ventura
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Mariachiara Pastore
- Université de Lorraine & CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), F-54000 Nancy, France
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10
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Segatta F, Ruiz DA, Aleotti F, Yaghoubi M, Mukamel S, Garavelli M, Santoro F, Nenov A. Nonlinear Molecular Electronic Spectroscopy via MCTDH Quantum Dynamics: From Exact to Approximate Expressions. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:2075-2091. [PMID: 36961952 PMCID: PMC10100531 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c01059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
We present an accurate and efficient approach to computing the linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy of a closed quantum system subject to impulsive interactions with an incident electromagnetic field. It incorporates the effect of ultrafast nonadiabatic dynamics by means of explicit numerical propagation of the nuclear wave packet. The fundamental expressions for the evaluation of first- and higher-order response functions are recast in a general form that can be used with any quantum dynamics code capable of computing the overlap of nuclear wave packets evolving in different states. Here we present the evaluation of these expressions with the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method. Application is made to pyrene, excited to its lowest bright excited state S2 which exhibits a sub-100-fs nonadiabatic decay to a dark state S1. The system is described by a linear vibronic coupling Hamiltonian, parametrized with multiconfiguration electronic structure methods. We show that the ultrafast nonadiabatic dynamics can have a remarkable effect on the spectral line shapes that goes beyond simple lifetime broadening. Furthermore, a widely employed approximate expression based on the time scale separation of dephasing and population relaxation is recast in the same theoretical framework. Application to pyrene shows the range of validity of such approximations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Segatta
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniel Aranda Ruiz
- ICMol, Universidad de Valencia, Catedrático José Beltrán Martínez, 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Flavia Aleotti
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Martha Yaghoubi
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Shaul Mukamel
- Department of Chemistry and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Marco Garavelli
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Artur Nenov
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
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11
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Xu Q, Liu Y, Wang M, Cerezo J, Improta R, Santoro F. The Resonance Raman Spectrum of Cytosine in Water: Analysis of the Effect of Specific Solute-Solvent Interactions and Non-Adiabatic Couplings. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28052286. [PMID: 36903532 PMCID: PMC10005559 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28052286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In this contribution, we report a computational study of the vibrational Resonance Raman (vRR) spectra of cytosine in water, on the grounds of potential energy surfaces (PES) computed by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and CAM-B3LYP and PBE0 functionals. Cytosine is interesting because it is characterized by several close-lying and coupled electronic states, challenging the approach commonly used to compute the vRR for systems where the excitation frequency is in quasi-resonance with a single state. We adopt two recently developed time-dependent approaches, based either on quantum dynamical numerical propagations of vibronic wavepackets on coupled PES or on analytical correlation functions for cases in which inter-state couplings were neglected. In this way, we compute the vRR spectra, considering the quasi-resonance with the eight lowest-energy excited states, disentangling the role of their inter-state couplings from the mere interference of their different contributions to the transition polarizability. We show that these effects are only moderate in the excitation energy range explored by experiments, where the spectral patterns can be rationalized from the simple analysis of displacements of the equilibrium positions along the different states. Conversely, at higher energies, interference and inter-state couplings play a major role, and the adoption of a fully non-adiabatic approach is strongly recommended. We also investigate the effect of specific solute-solvent interactions on the vRR spectra, by considering a cluster of cytosine, hydrogen-bonded by six water molecules, and embedded in a polarizable continuum. We show that their inclusion remarkably improves the agreement with the experiments, mainly altering the composition of the normal modes, in terms of internal valence coordinates. We also document cases, mostly for low-frequency modes, in which a cluster model is not sufficient, and more elaborate mixed quantum classical approaches, in explicit solvent models, need to be applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiushuang Xu
- School of Physics Engineering, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
- School of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Yanli Liu
- School of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
| | - Meishan Wang
- School of Physics Engineering, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
- School of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
| | - Javier Cerezo
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
- Departamento de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Improta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95, I-80145 Napoli, Italy
- Correspondence: (R.I.); (F.S.)
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, Via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence: (R.I.); (F.S.)
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12
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Cerezo J, García-Iriepa C, Santoro F, Navizet I, Prampolini G. Unraveling the contributions to the spectral shape of flexible dyes in solution: insights on the absorption spectrum of an oxyluciferin analogue. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:5007-5020. [PMID: 36722876 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp05701h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
We present a computational investigation of the absorption spectrum in water of 5,5-spirocyclopropyl-oxyluciferin (5,5-CprOxyLH), an analogue of the emitter compound responsible for the bioluminescence in fireflies. Several factors participate in determining the 5,5-CprOxyLH's spectral shape: (i) the contribution of the four close-energy excited states, which show significant non-adiabatic couplings, (ii) the flexible molecular structure and (iii) the specific interactions established with the surrounding environment, which strongly couple the protic solvent dynamics with the dye's spectral response. To tackle the challenge to capture and dissect the role of all these effects we preliminarily investigate the role of non-adiabatic couplings with quantum dynamics simulations and a linear vibronic coupling model in the gas phase. Then, we account for both the molecular flexibility and solvent interactions by resorting to a mixed quantum classical protocol, named Adiabatic Molecular Dynamics generalized Vertical Gradient (Ad-MD|gVG), which is built on a method recently proposed by some of us. It is rooted in the partition between stiff degrees of freedom of the dye, accounted for at the vibronic level within the harmonic approximation, and flexible degrees of freedom of the solute (and of the solvent), described classically through a sampling based on Molecular Dynamics (MD). Ad-MD|gVG avoids spurious effects arising in the excited state Hessians due to non-adiabatic couplings, and can therefore be applied to account for the contributions of the first four excited states to the 5,5-CprOxyLH absorption spectrum. The final simulated spectrum is in very good agreement with the experiment, especially when the MD is driven by a refined quantum-mechanically derived force-field. More importantly, the origin of each separate contribution to the spectral shape is appropriately accounted for, paving the way to future applications of the method to more complex systems or alternative spectroscopies, as emission or circular dichroism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Cerezo
- Departamento de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain. .,CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy.
| | - Cristina García-Iriepa
- Universidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Grupo de Reactividad y Estructura Molecular (RESMOL), 28806 Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain. .,Universidad de Alcalá, Instituto de Investigación Química "Andrés M. del Río" (IQAR), 28806 Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy.
| | - Isabelle Navizet
- Univ Gustave Eiffel, Univ Paris Est Creteil, CNRS, UMR 8208, MSME, F-77454 Marne-la-Vallée, France
| | - Giacomo Prampolini
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy.
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13
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Cerezo J, Santoro F. FCclasses3: Vibrationally-resolved spectra simulated at the edge of the harmonic approximation. J Comput Chem 2023; 44:626-643. [PMID: 36380723 PMCID: PMC10100349 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.27027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We introduce FCclasses3, a code to carry out vibronic simulations of electronic spectra and nonradiative rates, based on the harmonic approximation. Key new features are: implementation of the full family of vertical and adiabatic harmonic models, vibrational analysis in curvilinear coordinates, extension to several electronic spectroscopies and implementation of time-dependent approaches. The use of curvilinear valence internal coordinates allows the adoption of quadratic model potential energy surfaces (PES) of the initial and final states expanded at arbitrary configurations. Moreover, the implementation of suitable projectors provides a robust framework for defining reduced-dimensionality models by sorting flexible coordinates out of the harmonic subset, so that they can then be treated at anharmonic level, or with mixed quantum classical approaches. A set of tools to facilitate input preparation and output analysis is also provided. We show the program at work in the simulation of different spectra (one and two-photon absorption, emission and resonance Raman) and internal conversion rate of a typical rigid molecule, anthracene. Then, we focus on absorption and emission spectra of a series of flexible polyphenyl molecules, highlighting the relevance of some of the newly implemented features. The code is freely available at http://www.iccom.cnr.it/en/fcclasses/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Cerezo
- Departamento de Química and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem)Universidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
- Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheIstituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM‐CNR)PisaItaly
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheIstituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM‐CNR)PisaItaly
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14
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Asha H, Green JA, Esposito L, Martinez-Fernandez L, Santoro F, Improta R. Effect of the Thermal Fluctuations of the Photophysics of GC and CG DNA Steps: A Computational Dynamical Study. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:10608-10621. [PMID: 36508709 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Here we refine and assess two computational procedures aimed to include the effect of thermal fluctuations on the electronic spectra and the ultrafast excited state dynamics of multichromophore systems, focusing on DNA duplexes. Our approach is based on a fragment diabatization procedure that, from a given Quantum Mechanical (QM) reference method, can provide the parameters (energy and coupling) of the reference diabatic states on the basis of the isolated fragments, either for a purely electronic excitonic Hamiltonian (FrDEx) or a linear vibronic coupling Hamiltonian (FrD-LVC). After having defined the most cost-effective procedure for DNA duplexes on two smaller fragments, FrDEx is used to simulate the absorption and Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra of (GC)5 sequences, including the coupling with the Charge Transfer (CT) states, on a number of structures extracted from classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The computed spectra are close to the reference TD-DFT calculations and fully consistent with the experimental ones. We then couple MD simulations and FrD-LVC to simulate the interplay between local excitations and CT transitions, both intrastrand and interstrand, in GC and CG steps when included in a oligoGC or in oligoAT DNA sequence. We predict that for both sequences a substantial part of the photoexcited population on G and C decays, within 50-100 fs, to the corresponding intrastrand CT states. This transfer is more effective for GC steps that, on average, are more closely stacked than CG ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haritha Asha
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95,I-80145Napoli, Italy
| | - James A Green
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95,I-80145Napoli, Italy.,Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 7, 60438Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Luciana Esposito
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95,I-80145Napoli, Italy
| | - Lara Martinez-Fernandez
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemistry (IADCHEM), Universidad Autònoma de Madrid, Campus de Excelencia UAM-CSIC, 28049Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124Pisa, Italy
| | - Roberto Improta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95,I-80145Napoli, Italy.,DTU Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet Bldg 207, DK-2800Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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15
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Xu Q, Aranda D, Yaghoubi Jouybari M, Liu Y, Wang M, Cerezo J, Improta R, Santoro F. Nonadiabatic Vibrational Resonance Raman Spectra from Quantum Dynamics Propagations with LVC Models. Application to Thymine. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:7468-7479. [PMID: 36099554 PMCID: PMC9596142 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c05271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We present a viable protocol to compute vibrational resonance Raman (vRR) spectra for systems with several close-lying and potentially coupled electronic states. It is based on the parametrization of linear vibronic coupling (LVC) models from time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations and quantum dynamics propagations of vibronic wavepackets with the multilayer version of the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (ML-MCTDH) method. Our approach is applied to thymine considering seven coupled electronic states, comprising the three lowest bright states, and all vibrational coordinates. Computed vRR at different excitation wavelengths are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Up to 250 nm the signal is dominated by the lowest HOMO → LUMO transition, whereas at 233 nm, in the valley between the two lowest energy absorption bands, the contributions of all the three bright states, and their interferences and couplings, are important. Inclusion of solvent (water) effects improves the agreement with experiment, reproducing the coalescence of vibrational bands due to CC and C═O stretchings. With our approach we disentangle and assess the effect of interferences between the contribution of different quasi-resonant states to the transition polarizability and the effect of interstate couplings. Our findings strongly suggest that in cases of close-lying and potentially coupled states a simple inclusion of interference effects is not sufficient, and a fully nonadiabatic computation should instead be performed. We also document that for systems with strong couplings and quasi-degenerate states, the use of HT perturbative approach, not designed for these cases, may lead to large artifacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiushuang Xu
- School
of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, 264025 Yantai, Shandong, PR China
- School
of Physics Engineering, Qufu Normal University, 2673100 Qufu, Shandong, PR China
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Daniel Aranda
- Instituto
de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol)., Universidad de Valencia, c/Catedrático José
Beltrán, 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Martha Yaghoubi Jouybari
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Yanli Liu
- School
of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, 264025 Yantai, Shandong, PR China
| | - Meishan Wang
- School
of Physics and Optoelectronics Engineering, Ludong University, 264025 Yantai, Shandong, PR China
| | - Javier Cerezo
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
- Departamento
de Química, Universidad Autónoma
de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Improta
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture
e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95, I-80145 Napoli, Italy
- DTU Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet Bldg 207, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica
dei Composti Organo Metallici (ICCOM-CNR), SS di Pisa, Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
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16
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Greff da Silveira L, Livotto PR, Padula D, Vilhena JG, Prampolini G. Accurate Quantum-Mechanically Derived Force-Fields through a Fragment-Based Approach: Balancing Specificity and Transferability in the Prediction of Self-Assembly in Soft Matter. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:6905-6919. [PMID: 36260420 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The wide range of time/length scales covered by self-assembly in soft matter makes molecular dynamics (MD) the ideal candidate for simulating such a supramolecular phenomenon at an atomistic level. However, the reliability of MD outcomes heavily relies on the accuracy of the adopted force-field (FF). The spontaneous re-ordering in liquid crystalline materials stands as a clear example of such collective self-assembling processes, driven by a subtle and delicate balance between supramolecular interactions and single-molecule flexibility. General-purpose transferable FFs often dramatically fail to reproduce such complex phenomena, for example, the error on the transition temperatures being larger than 100 K. Conversely, quantum-mechanically derived force-fields (QMD-FFs), specifically tailored for the target system, were recently shown (J. Phys. Chem. Lett.2022,13, 243) to allow for the required accuracy as they not only well reproduced transition temperatures but also yielded a quantitative agreement with the experiment on a wealth of structural, dynamic, and thermodynamic properties. The main drawback of this strategy stands in the computational burden connected to the numerous quantum mechanical (QM) calculations usually required for a target-specific parameterization, which has undoubtedly hampered the routine application of QMD-FFs. In this work, we propose a fragment-based strategy to extend the applicability of QMD-FFs, in which the amount of QM calculations is significantly reduced, being a single-molecule-optimized geometry and its Hessian matrix the only QM information required. To validate this route, a new FF is assembled for a large mesogen, exploiting the parameters obtained for two smaller liquid crystalline molecules, in this and previous work. Lengthy MD simulations are carried out with the new transferred QMD-FF, observing again a spontaneous re-orientation in the correct range of temperatures, with good agreement with the available experimental measures. The present results strongly suggest that a partial transfer of QMD-FF parameters can be invoked without a significant loss of accuracy, thus paving the way to exploit the method's intrinsic predictive capabilities in the simulation of novel soft materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Greff da Silveira
- Instituto de Química (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Avenida Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Paolo Roberto Livotto
- Instituto de Química (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Avenida Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Daniele Padula
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia (Università di Siena), via Aldo Moro 2, 53100Siena, SI, Italy
| | - J G Vilhena
- Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), E-28049Madrid, Spain.,Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), E-28049Madrid, Spain
| | - Giacomo Prampolini
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti OrganoMetallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124Pisa, Italy
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17
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Green JA, Gómez S, Worth G, Santoro F, Improta R. Solvent Effects on Ultrafast Charge Transfer Population: Insights from the Quantum Dynamics of Guanine-Cytosine in Chloroform. Chemistry 2022; 28:e202201731. [PMID: 35950519 PMCID: PMC9828530 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202201731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
We study the ultrafast photoactivated dynamics of the hydrogen bonded dimer Guanine-Cytosine in chloroform solution, focusing on the population of the Guanine→Cytosine charge transfer state (GC-CT), an important elementary process for the photophysics and photochemistry of nucleic acids. We integrate a quantum dynamics propagation scheme, based on a linear vibronic model parameterized through time dependent density functional theory calculations, with four different solvation models, either implicit or explicit. On average, after 50 fs, 30∼40 % of the bright excited state population has been transferred to GC-CT. This process is thus fast and effective, especially when transferring from the Guanine bright excited states, in line with the available experimental studies. Independent of the adopted solvation model, the population of GC-CT is however disfavoured in solution with respect to the gas phase. We show that dynamical solvation effects are responsible for this puzzling result and assess the different chemical-physical effects modulating the population of CT states on the ultrafast time-scale. We also propose some simple analyses to predict how solvent can affect the population transfer between bright and CT states, showing that the effect of the solute/solvent electrostatic interactions on the energy of the CT state can provide a rather reliable indication of its possible population.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A. Green
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNRVia De Amicis 95I-80145Napoli
| | - Sandra Gómez
- Department of ChemistryUniversity College London20 Gordon StreetLondonWC1H 0AJUnited Kingdom,Departamento de Química FísicaUniversity of SalamancaSalamanca37008Spain
| | - Graham Worth
- Department of ChemistryUniversity College London20 Gordon StreetLondonWC1H 0AJUnited Kingdom
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Istituto di Chimica die Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNRVia Moruzzi 1I-56124Pisa
| | - Roberto Improta
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNRVia De Amicis 95I-80145Napoli
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18
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Martínez Fernández L, Santoro F, Improta R. Nucleic Acids as a Playground for the Computational Study of the Photophysics and Photochemistry of Multichromophore Assemblies. Acc Chem Res 2022; 55:2077-2087. [PMID: 35833758 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
ConspectusThe interaction between light and multichromophoric assemblies (MCAs) is the primary event of many fundamental processes, from photosynthesis to organic photovoltaics, and it triggers dynamical processes that share remarkable similarities at the molecular scale: light absorption, energy and charge transfer, internal conversions, emission, and so on. Those events often involve many chromophores and different excited electronic states that are coupled on an ultrafast time scale. This Account aims to discuss some of the chemical physical effects ruling these processes, a fundamental step toward their control, based on our experience on nucleic acids.In the last 15 years, we have, indeed, studied the photophysics and photochemistry of DNA and its components. By combining different quantum mechanical methods, we investigated the molecular processes responsible for the damage of the genetic code or, on the contrary, those preventing it by dissipating the excess energy deposited in the system by UV absorption. Independently of its fundamental biological role, DNA, with its fluctuating closely stacked bases stabilized by weak nonbonding interactions, can be considered a prototypical MCA. Therefore, it allows one to tackle within a single system many of the conceptual and methodological challenges involved in the study of photoinduced processes in MCA.In this Account, by using the outcome of our studies on oligonucleotides as a guideline, we thus highlight the most critical modellistic issues to be faced when studying, either experimentally or computationally, the interaction between UV light and DNA and, at the same time, bring out their general relevance for the study of MCAs.We first discuss the rich photoactivated dynamics of nucleobases (the chromophores), highlighting the main effects modulating the interplay between their excited states and how the latter can affect the photoactivated dynamics of the polynucleotides, either providing effective monomer-like nonradiative decay routes or triggering reactive processes (e.g., triplet generation).We then tackle the reaction paths involving multiple bases, showing that in the DNA duplex the most important ones involve two stacked bases, forming a neutral excimer or a charge transfer (CT) state, which exhibit different spectral signatures and photochemical reactivity. In particular, we analyze the factors affecting the dynamic equilibrium between the excimer and CT, such as the fluctuations of the backbone or the rearrangement of the solvent.Next, we highlight the importance of the effects not directly connected to the chromophores, such as the flexibility of the backbone or the solvent effect. The former, affecting the stacking geometry of the bases, can determine the preference between different deactivation paths. The latter is particularly influential for CT states, making very important an accurate treatment of dynamical solvation effects, involving both the solvent bulk and specific solute-solvent interactions.In the last section, we describe the main methodological challenges related to the study of polynucleotide excited states and stress the benefits derived by the integration of complementary approaches, both computational and experimental. Only exploiting different point of views, in our opinion, it is possible to shed light on the complex phenomena triggered by light absorption in DNA, as in every MCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Martínez Fernández
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemistry (IADCHEM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Excelencia UAM-CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fabrizio Santoro
- Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici (ICCOM-CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Roberto Improta
- Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95, I-80145 Napoli, Italy
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