Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics Study of the Relaxation Pathways of Photoexcited Cyclooctatetraene

Coherent control from quantum commitment probabilities

We introduce a general definition of a quantum committor in order to clarify reaction mechanisms and facilitate control in processes where coherent effects are important. With a quantum committor, we generalize the notion of a transition state to quantum superpositions and quantify the effect of interference on the progress of the reaction. The formalism is applicable to any linear quantum master equation supporting metastability for which absorbing boundary conditions designating the reactant and product states can be applied. We use this formalism to determine the dependence of the quantum transition state on coherences in a polaritonic system and optimize the initialization state of a conical intersection model to control reactive outcomes, achieving yields of the desired state approaching 100%. In addition to providing a practical tool, the quantum committor provides a conceptual framework for understanding reactions in cases when classical intuitions fail.

Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics with subsystem density functional theory: application to crystalline pentacene

In this work, we report the development and assessment of the nonadiabatic molecular dynamics approach with the electronic structure calculations based on the linearly scaling subsystem density functional method. The approach is implemented in an open-source embedded Quantum Espresso/Libra software specially designed for nonadiabatic dynamics simulations in extended systems. As proof of the applicability of this method to large condensed-matter systems, we examine the dynamics of nonradiative relaxation of excess excitation energy in pentacene crystals with the simulation supercells containing more than 600 atoms. We find that increased structural disorder observed in larger supercell models induces larger nonadiabatic couplings of electronic states and accelerates the relaxation dynamics of excited states. We conduct a comparative analysis of several quantum-classical trajectory surface hopping schemes, including two new methods proposed in this work (revised decoherence-induced surface hopping and instantaneous decoherence at frustrated hops). Most of the tested schemes suggest fast energy relaxation occurring with the timescales in the 0.7-2.0 ps range, but they significantly overestimate the ground state recovery rates. Only the modified simplified decay of mixing approach yields a notably slower relaxation timescales of 8-14 ps, with a significantly inhibited ground state recovery.

Monitoring vibronic coherences and molecular aromaticity in photoexcited cyclooctatetraene with an X-ray probe: a simulation study

Understanding conical intersection (CI) dynamics and subsequent conformational changes is key for exploring and controlling photo-reactions in aromatic molecules. Monitoring of their time-resolved dynamics remains a formidable experimental challenge. In this study, we simulate the photoinduced S₃ to S₁ non-adiabatic dynamics of cyclooctatetraene (COT), involving multiple CIs with relaxation times in good agreement with experiment. We further investigate the possibility to directly probe the CI passages in COT by off-resonant X-ray Raman spectroscopy (TRUECARS) and time-resolved X-ray diffraction (TRXD). We find that these signals sensitively monitor key chemical features during the ultrafast dynamics. First, we distinguish two CIs by using TRUECARS signals with their appearances at different Raman shifts. Second, we demonstrate that TRXD, where X-ray photons scatter off electron densities, can resolve ultrafast changes in the aromaticity of COT. It can further distinguish between planar and non-planar geometries explored during the dynamics, as e.g. two different tetraradical-type CIs. The knowledge gained from these measurements can give unique insight into fundamental chemical properties that dynamically change during non-adiabatic passages.

Exciton-vibrational dynamics induces efficient self-trapping in a substituted nanoring

Cycloparaphenylenes, being the smallest segments of carbon nanotubes, have emerged as prototypes of the simplest carbon nanohoops. Their unique structure-dynamics-optical properties relationships have motivated a wide variety of synthesis of new related nanohoop species. Studies of how chemical changes, introduced in these new materials, lead to systems with new structural, dynamics and optical properties, expand their functionalities for optoelectronics applications. Herein, we study the effect that conjugation extension of a cycloparaphenylene through the introduction of a satellite tetraphenyl substitution has on its structural and dynamical properties. Our non-adiabatic excited state molecular dynamics simulations suggest that this substitution accelerates the electronic relaxation from the high-energy band to the lowest excited state. This is partially due to efficient conjugation achieved between specific phenyl units as introduced by the tetraphenyl substitution. We observe a particular exciton redistribution during relaxation, in which the tetraphenyl substitution plays a significant role. As a result, an efficient inter-band energy transfer takes place. Besides, the observed phonon-exciton interplay induces a significant exciton self-trapping. Our results encourage and guide the future studies of new phenyl substitutions in carbon nanorings with desired optoelectronic properties.

Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics with Extended Density Functional Tight-Binding: Application to Nanocrystals and Periodic Solids

In this work, we report a new methodology for nonadiabatic molecular dynamics calculations within the extended tight-binding (xTB) framework. We demonstrate the applicability of the developed approach to finite and periodic systems with thousands of atoms by modeling "hot" electron relaxation dynamics in silicon nanocrystals and electron-hole recombination in both a graphitic carbon nitride monolayer and a titanium-based metal-organic framework (MOF). This work reports the nonadiabatic dynamic simulations in the largest Si nanocrystals studied so far by the xTB framework, with diameters up to 3.5 nm. For silicon nanocrystals, we find a non-monotonic dependence of "hot" electron relaxation rates on the nanocrystal size, in agreement with available experimental reports. We rationalize this relationship by a combination of decreasing nonadiabatic couplings related to system size and the increase of available coherent transfer pathways in systems with higher densities of states. We emphasize the importance of proper treatment of coherences for obtaining such non-monotonic dependences. We characterize the electron-hole recombination dynamics in the graphitic carbon nitride monolayer and the Ti-containing MOF. We demonstrate the importance of spin-adaptation and proper sampling of surface hopping trajectories in modeling such processes. We also assess several trajectory surface hopping schemes and highlight their distinct qualitative behavior in modeling the excited-state dynamics in superexchange-like models depending on how they handle coherences between nearly parallel states.