Enhanced molecular first hyperpolarizabilities with Reichardt's type of zwitterions: a computational study on roles of various monocyclic aromatic bridges

CONTEXT

This work reports structure-property correlations of 27 zwitterions Reichardt's types of zwitterions. Focuses are twofold, to see the (1) impacts of metamerism with Reichardt's vs Brooker's types of zwitterions and (2) impacts of monocyclic aromatic rings as bridges. All the molecules considered here have pyridinium (common acceptor: A) and p-phenylene-dicyanomethanide (common donor: D). Fundamental molecular properties like dipole moments (μ), polarizabilities (α), hyperpolarizabilities (β), and adiabatic absorptions were computed only for the Reichardt types and compared with the literature reported respective Brooker's types of zwitterions. As an impact of metamerism, in general 2-3 times enhanced hyperpolarizabilities (β) were observed for Reichardt's compared to Brooker's types. Exceptions were observed with some triazine bridges and furan bridge, where Brooker's types were found to be more efficient. As impacts of aromatic bridges, in general, 6-sevenfold enhanced β compared to well-known traditional bridges and enhanced β were observed compared to D-A directly connected zwitterion (benzene bridge: sixfold enhanced β). Current findings show that the aromatic bridge control with Reichardt's types of zwitterions is more efficient and thus may be employed as an effective strategy for the designing of functional molecular chromophores for various other fundamental areas.

METHODS

All computations were performed with Gaussian 09. Geometry optimizations and computations of fundamental properties were carried out with HF, B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, and ωB97xD methodologies, with 6-31G(d,p) and aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets. For adiabatic excitations, computations were carried out using TDDFT and TDHF approaches. For the computations of the response properties (like the nonlinear optical responses), CPHF approach was used.

Heterocyclic Donor Moiety Effect on Optical Nonlinearity Behavior of Chrysene-Based Chromophores with Push-Pull Configuration via the Quantum Chemical Approach

Organic-based nonlinear optical (NLO) materials may be used in many optical-electronic systems and other next-generation defense technologies. With the importance of NLO materials, a series of push-pull architecture (D-π-A) derivatives (DTMD2-DTMD6) were devised from DTMR1 through structural alteration of different efficient donor heterocyclic groups. Density functional theory-based computations were executed at the MPW1PW91/6-31G(d,p) level to explore the NLO behavior of the derivatives. To investigate the optoelectronic behavior of the said compounds, various analyses like the frontier molecular orbital (FMO), global reactivity parameters, density of state (DOS), absorption spectra (UV-vis), natural bond orbital, and transition density matrix (TDM) were performed. The derivatives have a smaller band gap (2.156-1.492 eV) and a larger bathochromic shift (λmax = 692.838-969.605 nm) as compared to the reference chromophore (ΔE = 2.306 eV and λmax = 677.949 nm). FMO analysis revealed substantial charge conduction out of the donor toward the acceptor via a spacer that was also shown by TDM and DOS analyses. All derivatives showed promising NLO results, with the maximum amplitude of linear polarizability ⟨α⟩ and first (βtotal) and second (γtotal) hyperpolarizabilities over their reference chromophore. DTMD2 contained the highest βtotal (7.220 × 10-27 esu) and γtotal (1.720 × 10-31 esu) values corresponding with the reduced band gap (1.492 eV), representing potential futures for a large NLO amplitude. This structural modification through the use of various donors has played a significant part in achieving promising NLO behavior in the modified compounds.

The effect of the CPP size on the nonlinear optical properties of the new necklace-type molecules formed by carborane and [n]Cycloparaphenylenes(n = 8-11)

The new necklace-type molecules were formed by [8-13]CPP and carborane, which further manipulated the size of the macroring, revealing the effect of size on its luminescence behavior. In this work, the effects of ring size on the absorption spectrum, electron excitation and nonlinear optical properties of the compounds were investigated in detail, aiming to reveal an effective way to improve the optical properties of these necklace-type compounds. The absorption spectra of the compounds showed that the size of the CPP ring had little effect on the spectral shape and position, but the electron transition information showed that there were the significant charge transfer within the CPP ring and a gradual enhancement of interfragment charge transfer from the CPP ring to carborane. The increasing order of polarizability, first and second hyperpolarizability values of these compounds with the increase of CPP size indicated that increasing the size of the CPP ring was an effective way to increase the nonlinear optical properties of necklace-type molecules. Among the frequency dependent hyperpolarizability values, the γ(-ω;ω,0,0) value increased by a factor of 4 from complex 1 to 6 with the increase of CPP ring size, which indicated that increasing the size of the CPP ring was an effective way to increase the optical Kerr effect of necklace-type molecules. Therefore, these the new necklace-type nolecules formed by carborane and [n]Cycloparaphenylenes would be excellent nonlinear optical materials in the field of the all-optical switch.

Ab-initio and density functional theory (DFT) computational study of the effect of fluorine on the electronic, optical, thermodynamic, hole and electron transport properties of the circumanthracene molecule

In this paper, a systematic study of the electronic, optical, thermodynamic, optoelectronic, and nonlinear optical properties with RHF, B3LYP, wB97XD and BPBE methods using the cc-pVDZ basis set have been described to investigate the influence of fluorine (F) atom, which is an electron donor, on the circumanthracene (C40H16). Global reactivity descriptors, hole and electron transport properties were also calculated and compared with other studies on the same molecule. DFT/B3LYP results show that the undoped C40H16 molecule (Egap = 2.135 eV) and its fluorine-doped derivatives (C40F16 and C40H10F6) are semiconducting materials. However, doping the C40H16 molecule with the fluorine atom, partially or totally, favors the creation of a strong donor-acceptor system by considerably reducing its energy gap (Egap). The energy gap values of molecules doped using DFT/B3LYP method are 2.020 eV and 2.081 eV for the C40F16 and C40H10F6 molecules, respectively. These gap energies are below 3 eV, which favours the electronic properties of these molecules. They can be used to design organic solar cells. The nonlinear optical parameters were calculated and compared with those of urea. The values of βmol and μ calculated for C40F16 and C40H10F6 are higher than those of urea; this shows that these two materials have good nonlinear optical properties and therefore, are very good candidates for the design of optoelectronics and photonics devices. Futhermore, our results show that the perfluorination effect on the circumanthracene molecule increases the hole and electron reorganization energies, the vertical and adiabatic electron affinities and ionization energies, the optoelectronic and nonlinear optical properties, the transition excitation energy and the reactivity indices. The reorganization energies values suggest that these materials have promising transport properties. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis was also performed to determine the stability energy and charge delocalization in molecules. The theoretical results of the compounds studied in our work are in agreement with the experimental results. This confirms their molecular structures.

Synthesis of novel 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic hydrazones as selective chemosensors for cyanide ions

The development of an effective and selective chemosensor for CN^- ions has become the need of the hour due to their hazardous impact on the environment and humans. Herein, we report the synthesis of two novel chemosensors, IF-1 and IF-2 based on 3-hydroxy-2-naphthohydrazide and aldehyde derivatives that have shown selective sensing of CN^- ions. IF-2 exhibited exclusive binding with CN^- ions that is further confirmed by the binding constant value of 4.77 × 10⁴ M^-1 with a low detection limit (8.2 μM). The chemosensory potential is attributed to deprotonation of the labile Schiff base center by CN^- ions that results in a color change from colorless to yellow as visible by the naked eye. Accompanying this, a DFT study was also performed in order to find the interaction between the sensor (IF-1) and its ions (F^-). A notable charge transfer from 3-hydroxy-2-naphthamide to 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-methylphenol, was indicated by the FMO analysis. The QTAIM analysis revealed that in the complex compound, the strongest pure hydrogen-hydrogen bonding was observed between H53 and H58, indicated by a ρ value of +0.017807. Due to its selective response, IF-2 can be successfully used for making test strips for the detection of CN^- ions.

Quantum Chemical Approach of Hexaammine (NH3)6 complexant with alkali and alkaline earth metals for their potential use as NLO materials

In this study, nine new electron rich compounds are presented, and their electronic, geometrical, and nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics have been investigated by using the Density functional theory. The basic design principle of these compounds is placing alkaline earth metal (AEM) inside and alkali metal (AM) outside the hexaammine complexant. The properties of nine newly designed compounds are contrasted with the reference molecule (Hexaammine). The effect of this doping on Hexaamine complexant is explored by different analyses such as electron density distribution map (EDDM), frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), density of states (DOS) absorption maximum (λ_max), hyperpolarizabilities, dipole moment, transition density matrix (TDM). Non-covalent interaction (NCI) study assisted with isosurfaces has been accomplished to explore the vibrational frequencies and types of synergy. The doping of hexaammine complexant with AM and AEM significantly improved its characteristics by reducing values of HOMO-LUMO energy gaps from 10.7eV to 3.15eV compared to 10.7 eV of hexaammine. The polarizability and hyperpolarizability (α_o and β_o) values inquisitively increase from 72 to 919 au and 4.31 × 10^-31 to 2.00 × 10^-27esu respectively. The higher values of hyperpolarizability in comparison to hexaammine (taken as a reference molecule) are credited to the presence of additional electrons. The absorption profile of the newly designed molecules clearly illustrates that they are highly accompanied by higher λ_max showing maximum absorbance in red and far-red regions ranging from 654.07 nm to 783.94 nm. These newly designed compounds have superior outcomes having effectiveness for using them as proficient NLO materials and have a gateway for advanced investigation of more stable and highly progressive NLO materials.

Study of the Crystal Architecture, Optoelectronic Characteristics, and Nonlinear Optical Properties of 4-Amino Antipyrine Schiff Bases

Two Schiff bases, (E)-4-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (4AAPOCB) and (E)-4-((4-chlorobenzylidene)amino)-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (4AAPPCB), have been synthesized and grown as single crystals. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis was employed to determine the crystal structure of the compounds, and the results suggest that the compounds crystallized into an orthorhombic crystal system having P2₁2₁2₁ and Pbca space groups, respectively. Further, the crystallinity of the compounds was analyzed by the PXRD technique. The UV-vis-NIR spectra of the compounds demonstrate excellent transmittance in the entire visible region. The lower cutoff wavelengths of the compounds were determined to be 338 and 333 nm, respectively; additionally, optical band gaps of the compounds found were 4.60 and 4.35 eV. FTIR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectral techniques were utilized to analyze the molecular structure of the compounds. The compounds emit photoluminescence with broad emission bands with centers at 401 and 418 nm. The thermal stability and phase transitions were assessed through thermogravimetric methods. The phase transition prior to melting was indicated by the endothermic event at around 190 °C in the DTA curves of both crystals, and the same was observed in the DSC curves. The second harmonic efficiencies of the powdered compounds I and II were found to be 3.52 and 1.13 times better than that of the standard reference KDP. The 4AAPOCB and 4AAPPCB compounds showed isotropic polarizability amplitudes of 46.02 × 10^-24 and 46.52 × 10^-24 esu, respectively. The calculation of linear polarizability and NLO second-order polarizability (β) along with other optical parameters was performed for optimized geometries. The nonzero amplitudes of the average β values for compounds 4AAPOCB and 4AAPPCB were found to be 14.74 × 10^-30 and 8.10 × 10^-30 esu, respectively, which show a decent potential of the synthesized molecules for NLO applications. The calculated β amplitudes were further explained based on calculated electronic parameters like molecular electrostatic potentials, frontier molecular orbitals, molecular orbital energies, transition energies, oscillator strengths, and unit spherical representation of NLO polarizability. The current analysis emphasizes the significance of synthesized compounds as prospective candidates for optical and NLO applications through the use of experiments and quantum computations.

Efficient Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Novel Salicylaldehyde-Based Thiosemicarbazones: Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Currently, we reported the synthesis of six novel salicylaldehyde-based thiosemicarbazones (BHCT1-HBCT6) via condensation of salicylaldehyde with respective thiosemicarbazide. Through various spectroscopic methods, UV-visible and NMR, the chemical structures of BHCT1-HBCT6 compounds were determined. Along with synthesis, a computational study was also performed at the M06/6-31G(d,p) functional. Various analyses such as natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, natural population analysis, frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, and molecular electrostatic potential surfaces were carried out to understand the nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics of the synthesized compounds. Additionally, a comparative study was carried out between DFT and experimental results (UV-vis study), and a good agreement was observed in the results. The energy gap calculated through FMOs was found to be in decreasing order as 4.505 (FHCT2) > 4.499 (HBCT6) > 4.497 (BHCT1) = 4.497(HMCT5) > 4.386 (CHCT3) > 4.241(AHCT4) in eV. The global reactivity parameters (GRPs) were attained through E _HOMO and E _LUMO, which described the stability and hardness of novel compounds. The NBO approach confirmed the charge delocalization and stability of the molecules. Among all the investigated compounds, a larger value (557.085 a.u.) of first hyperpolarizability (β_tot) was possessed by CHCT3. The NLO response (β_tot) of BHCT1-HBCT6 was found to be 9.145, 9.33, 13.33, 5.43, 5.68, and 10.13 a.u. times larger than that of the standard para-nitroaniline molecule. These findings ascertained the potential of entitled ligands as best NLO materials for a variety of applications in modern technology.

Synthesis, Characterization, Crystal Structures, and Supramolecular Assembly of Copper Complexes Derived from Nitroterephthalic Acid along with Hirshfeld Surface Analysis and Quantum Chemical Studies

Two new Cu(II) carboxylate complexes, Cu-NTA and Cu-DNTA, were prepared by treating 2-nitroterephthalic acid with CuSO4·5H2O at room temperature. The synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental (CHN), FT-IR, and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystal structures of both complexes were explored by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, which inferred that the coordination geometry is slightly distorted octahedral and square pyramidal in Cu-NTA and Cu-DNTA, respectively. The non-covalent interactions that are the main feature of the supramolecular assembly were investigated by Hirshfeld surface analysis for both complexes. The propensity of each pair of chemical moieties involved in crystal-packing interactions was determined by the enrichment ratio. Quantum chemical computations were performed to optimize the molecular geometry of complex Cu-NTA and compared it with the experimental single crystal structure, which was found to be in sensible agreement with the experimental structure of the complex. The DFT method was used to see the potential of the selected Cu-NTA complex for linear and nonlinear optical properties. The static NLO polarizability <γ> of complex Cu-NTA was calculated to be 86.28 × 10-36 esu at M06 functional and 6-31G*/LANL2DZ basis set, which was rationally large to look for NLO applications of complex Cu-NTA. Additionally, the molecular electrostatic potential and frontier molecular orbitals were also computed with the same methodology to see electronic characteristics and ground-state electronic charge distributions.

Synthesis, spectral characterization, crystal structure and computational investigation of 2-formyl-6-methoxy-3-carbethoxy quinoline as potential SARS-CoV inhibitor

The recent COVID-19 outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has an immense impact on global health and economy. Although vaccines are being used, urgent need of drugs based on natural products with high efficacy and safety is a pressing priority. Quinoline alkaloids are well known for their therapeutic action against malaria; initially, it was tried against Coronaviruses. It is a basic vital scaffold to design drugs with required biological and pharmacological activities. In this present study, a new quinoline compound was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopy techniques. Crystal structure was established by SCXRD analysis and data is used as an input to perform various computations. Additionally, using state-of-the-art quantum computational techniques, the geometry optimization and calculation of UV-Vis spectrum of 2F6M3CQ were performed at B3LYP/6-311G* level of theory. The optimized molecular geometric parameters as well as UV-Vis spectrum values are found to be in good agreement with their respective experimental results. The visualization of 3-D plots of FMO and MEP indicated the structure and reactivity trends of 2F6M3CQ molecule. Molecular docking methods were utilized to find the drug ability of 2F6M3CQ with M^proprotein of SARS-CoV-2. There were many intermolecular interactions between M^pro protein and 2F6M3CQ molecule which lead to good binding energy (-5.5 kcal/mol) between them which was found to be better than the binding energy of chloroquinine molecule (-4.5 kcal/mol) as studied under same docking protocols. Finally, drug likeness and ADME properties of 2F6M3CQ were also analyzed. There is no violation found for RO5 in our 2F6M3CQ compound. ADME analysis shows drug like properties of compound 2F6M3CQ which predicts that it might be a potential candidate for inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.

Insights into the nonlinear optical (NLO) response of pure Aum (2 ≥ m ≤ 7) and copper-doped Au m -xCu x clusters

A series of small pure Au m (2 ≥ m ≤ 7) and copper-doped Au m-x Cu x clusters was evaluated by density functional theory (DFT) at the CAM-B3LYP/LANL2DZ level for their geometric, electronic, and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The charge transfer for the Au cluster significantly improved by reducing the HOMO-LUMO energy gap from 3.67 eV to 0.91 eV after doping with Cu atoms. The doping of Cu also showed noteworthy impacts on other optical and NLO properties, including a decrease in the excitation energy and increase in the dipole moment and oscillator strength. Furthermore, changes in the linear isotropic and anisotropic polarizabilities (α iso and α aniso) and first and second NLO hyperpolarizabilities (β static, γ static) were also observed in the pure and Cu-doped clusters, which enhanced the NLO response. The nonlinear optical properties of the clusters were evaluated by calculating the static and frequency dependent second- and third-order NLO polarizabilities at 1064 nm wavelength. Among all the doped structures, the Au3Cu1 cluster showed the largest static first hyperpolarizability of β (total) = 4.73 × 103 au, while the Au1Cu6 cluster showed frequency dependent first hyperpolarizability of β (-2w;w,w) = 1.26 × 106 au. Besides this, large static and frequency-dependent second hyperpolarizability values of 6.30 × 105 au and 1.05 × 10 au were exhibited by Cu7 and Au1Cu6, respectively. This study offers an effective approach to design high-performance NLO materials utilizing mixed metal clusters which might have broad applications in the fields of optoelectronics and electronics.

Spin engineering of triangulenes and application for nano nonlinear optical materials design

The recently synthesized triangulenes with non-bonding edge states could have broad potential applications in magnetics, spintronics and electro-optics if they have appropriate electronic structure modulation. In the present work, strategies based on molecular orbital theory through heteroatom doping are proposed to redistribute, reduce or eliminate the spin of triangulenes for novel functional materials design, and the role of B, N, NBN, and BNB in such intended electronic structure manipulation is scrutinized. π-Extended triangulenes with tunable electronic properties could be potential nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with appropriate inhibition of their polyradical nature. The elimination of spin is achieved by B, N, NBN, and BNB doping with the intended geometric arrangement for enhanced polarity. Intended doping of BNB results in an optimal structure with large static first hyperpolarizability (〈β₀〉) as well as strong Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) β_HRS(-2ω; ω, ω) (ω = 1064.0 nm), TG7-BNB-ba with a large 〈β₀〉 (18.85 × 10^-30 esu per heavy atom) and β_HRS (1.15 × 10^-28 esu per heavy atom) much larger than that of a synthesized triangular molecule (1.12 × 10^-30 esu of 〈β₀〉 per heavy atom and 5.04 × 10^-30 esu of β_HRS per heavy atom). The strong second order NLO responses in the near-infrared and visible regions, particularly the strong sum frequency generation, make these B or (and) N doped triangulenes promising candidates for the fabrication of novel carbon-based optoelectronic devices and micro-NLO devices.

Enhancement of NLO properties of supersalt (Al(BH4)3)-doped graphene: a DFT study

In this work, pure and supersalt-doped graphene is evaluated by the density functional theory (DFT) to explore its optical and electronic properties. The doping of supersalt Al(BH₄)₃ on graphene reduces the highest occupied molecular orbital and lower unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) bandgap of graphene@Al(BH₄)₃ and graphene@2Al(BH₄)₃ to 3.57 and 3.55 eV from 3.61 eV. The improvement in the optoelectronic properties of the supersalt Al(BH₄)₃-doped graphene is determined by the upshift of UV absorption peak and dipole moment. Polarizability (α) values of graphene@Al(BH₄)₃, and graphene@2Al(BH₄)₃ increase to 14% and 26% in the comparison of pure graphene. The first hyperpolarizability (β_o) is increased from 0.44 (graphene) to 1295.4 au in graphene@2Al(BH₄)₃. Our findings suggest that Al(BH₄)₃-doped graphene could be an effective method for making graphene an efficient nonlinear optical material.

Assembling of Perylene, Naphthalene, and Pyromellitic Diimide-Based Materials and Their Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties

π-conjugated aromatic diimides with chemical stability, heat resistance, and redox activity have attracted more attention due to their excellent fluorescence quantum yield in solution. The planar perylene diimide (PDI) derivatives generally have aggregation-induced emission quenching in the solid state, while the cyclic trimers based on pyromellitic diimides (PMDIs), naphthalene diimides (NDIs), and PDIs can increase the fluorescence quantum yield in the solid state and have large two-photon absorption cross section, which can be used as excellent nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Therefore, this paper will study the effects of multiple assembly modes of the three monomers on the NLO responses of materials. It was found that the assembly modes of 2PMDI-1NDI and 2NDI-1PDI exhibit larger third-order NLO response (γ) values, which was due to the larger conjugate surface of PDI effectively reducing the energy gap between the HOMO and LUMO. Compared with other assembly methods, 2PMDI-1NDI and 2NDI-1PDI were conducive to causing redshifts (150 nm) in the absorption spectrum. Therefore, the larger conjugate surface of PDI and the assembly mode of the isosceles triangle were more favorable for intramolecular charge transfer, thus improving its NLO properties.

Theoretical investigation of electronic structures, second-order NLO responses of cyclometalated Ir(iii) and Rh(iii) counterpart complexes: effect of metal centers

Tuning center metal is an effective manner to modulate second-order NLO responses. When the big size Ir is introduced in complexes, the superior NLO responses can be found over its Rh counterparts.

Synthesis, characterization, and computational study of copper bipyridine complex [Cu (C18H24N2) (NO3)2] to explore its functional properties

In the present study, copper (II) complex of 4, 4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine [Cu (C₁₈H₂₄N₂) (NO₃)₂], 1 is investigated through its synthesis and characterization using elemental analysis technique, infra-red spectroscopy, and single-crystal analysis. The compound 1 crystallizes in orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁. The copper atom in the mononuclear complex is hexa coordinated through two nitrogen and four oxygen atoms from bipyridine ligand and nitrate ligands. The thermal analysis depicts the stability of the entitled compound up to 170 °C, and the decomposition takes place in different steps between 170 and 1000 °C. Furthermore, quantum chemical techniques are used to study optoelectronic, nonlinear optical, and therapeutic bioactivity. The values of isotropic and anisotropic linear polarizabilities of compound 1 are calculated as 41.65 × 10^-24 and 23.02 × 10^-24 esu, respectively. Likewise, the static hyperpolarizability is calculated as 47.92 × 10^-36 esu using M06 functional compared with para-nitroaniline (p-NA) and found several times larger than p-NA. Furthermore, the antiviral potential of compound 1 is studied using molecular docking technique where intermolecular interactions are checked between the entitled compound and two crucial proteins of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Our investigation indicated that compound 1 interacts more vigorously to spike protein than main protease (M^Pro) due to its better binding energy of -9.60 kcal/mol compared with -9.10 kcal/mol of M^Pro. Our current study anticipated that the above-entitled coordination complexes could be potential candidates for optoelectronic properties and their biological activity.

Experimental and computational study of naphthalimide derivatives: Synthesis, optical, nonlinear optical and antiviral properties

The nonlinear optical (NLO) and antiviral properties of naphthalimide Schiff base compounds (5a-c) were experimentally and computationally investigated. The synthesized compounds (5a-c) were successfully characterized via UV-Vis, FTIR, ¹H NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The calculated average third-order NLO polarizabilities (˂γ˃) of 5a, 5b, and 5c were found to be 5, 9, and 21 times greater than the ˂γ˃ amplitude of p-NA, respectively. The computed results revealed the potential of the synthesized compounds for NLO applications. Additionally, molecular docking studies of the synthesized compounds with two crucial SARS-CoV-2 proteins were performed to examine their biochemical properties. Compound 5c exhibited a higher binding affinity with the spike protein compared to that with Mᴾᴿᴼ. The results obtained herein indicate the potential of the synthesized naphthalimide derivatives for optoelectronic and drug design applications.

Tuning the optoelectronic properties of superalkali doped phosphorene

In this study, the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of pristine phosphorene and superalkali (Li₃O) doped phosphorene are estimated through the density functional theory (DFT) method to investigate the optical properties. The geometries of complexes have been optimized using the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory. The effects of doping on phosphorene have been thoroughly explained by vertical ionization energy (VIE), interaction energies (E_int), and natural bond orbitals (NBO), Moreover, the density of states (DOS), electron density difference map (EDDM) analysis, the frontier molecular orbitals (FMO) plots are also given out to find more physical divination into the electronic communication and structure property relationship. The doping of superalkali conclusively has reduced the HOMO-LUMO energy gap of M1 3.28 eV-1.25 eV for M2 making it the n-type semiconductor. The higher values of E_int,E_fm and VIE obtained for M2 has indicated that this complex has higher stability and stronger interaction between superalkalis and phosphorene. More interestingly, there has been a gradual increase in the first static hyperpolarizability (β_static) values for M1, M2 and M3 are 115.75 au, 4118.6 au, and 659.30 au respectively. The Static second hyperpolarizability (γ_static) of the doped complexes has also been calculated from which the M2 has the highest value of 1382.5 ҳ 10³ au. The TD-DFT exploration has exhibited that the doped molecules are adequately transparent in the UV region. Some selected systems are also compared with the p-NA reference molecule which is a familiar external reference molecule for NLO applications. From UV absorption analysis, it can be found that these doped complexes of phosphorene may be contemplated as a new applicant for intense ultraviolet NLO materials. Computational studies have revealed the stability of M2 and M3 making them feasible as NLO materials in optoelectronic applications.

DFT study of superhalogen and superalkali doped graphitic carbon nitride and its non-linear optical properties

DFT calculations are carried out to investigate nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of superhalogen (BCl4) and superalkali (NLi4) doped graphitic carbon nitride (GCN). It is noted that the geometries of doped GCN are sufficiently stable. The energy gap for GCN is 3.89 and it reduces to 0.53 eV in our designed molecule G4. Change in the dipole and transition dipole moment is observed along with small transition energies which are responsible for higher hyperpolarizabilities. Doped GCN has larger first and second hyperpolarizabilities which are basic requirements for NLO response. The second hyperpolarizability of GCN enhances from 1.59 × 104 to 2.53 × 108 au when doping with BCl4 and NLi4. TD-DFT calculations show the absorption maxima of doped GCN range from 700 nm to 1350 nm. EDDM analysis provides information on electronic distribution from excited to ground state. All these consequences show doped GCN can be a promising NLO material.

A novel photochemical sensor based on quinoline-functionalized phenazine derivatives for multiple substrate detection

A novel photochemical sensor based on quinoline-functionalized phenazine derivatives for highly sensitive detection of multiple substrates (l-Arg, CO₂, and pH) was designed and synthesized.

Theoretical study of new push–pull molecules based on transition metals for NLO applications and determination of ICT mechanisms by DFT calculations

This study is based on the valuation of a few model molecules. The objective of this research is focussed on the nonlinear optical (NLO) improvement of four organometallic molecules and one organic molecule. These molecules have been subjected to several calculations by different functionals: CAM–B3LYP, LC–BLYP, LC–wPBE, wB97X, M11, M06–2X, M08–HX and M08–SO. These functionals gave three orders of classification of the [Formula: see text] parameters. The CAM–B3LYP functional recorded very good agreement between [Formula: see text] parameters and gaps ([Formula: see text]. Significant first hyperpolarizabilities ([Formula: see text] have been obtained around 880 * 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]esu. The mechanisms of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) have shown energetic passages from donor groups to acceptors and vice versa. The substitution of metals influences the location of [Formula: see text] electrons at the level of the chromophores. Finally, the lengthening of the aromatic chains between the acceptor and donor groups shows significant NLO improvements. The first and second hyperpolarizabilities ([Formula: see text] and ([Formula: see text] for a chain of several benzene rings are of the order of 21,663.16 * 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]esu and 16,464.65 * 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]esu, respectively.

Exploring the impact of central core modifications among several push-pull configurations to enhance nonlinear optical response

The present study explores a series of novel donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) molecules containing 4,4'-dimethyldiphenylamine moiety as donor, 4,4'-dinitrodiphenylborane as acceptor while different π-bridges as efficient linkers between them, which comprises of (-HCCH-)_n, (-Ph-)_n and (-Ph ̶ HCCH-)_n combinations for compounds in series 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Quantum chemical computations are applied to calculate the linear polarizability (α), first (β) and second (γ) hyperpolarizabilities. A comparative analysis is performed considering an increase of NLO polarizabilities as a function of different π-linkers. Among the investigated compounds, 3c shows the largest first and second hyperpolarizabilities of 1378 × 10^-30 and 34971 × 10^-36 esu, respectively. Interestingly, an increase in NLO polarizability is observed by modifying the π-conjugated bridges and the largest NLO polarizability is observed for series 3 possessing (Ph ̶ HCCH-)_n π-linker which is found due to its lower transition energy and higher oscillator strengths. Furthermore, TD-DFT investigations, frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) and electron density difference (EDD) maps analysis have shown a more efficient intramolecular charge transfer character from donor to acceptor moieties through (Ph ̶ HCCH-)_n π-linkers. The density of states (DOS) maps are showing explicit contributions of electronic states from different fragments of a molecular system where the partial contributions of (Ph ̶ HCCH-)_n π-linkers is seen significant in HOMO-LUMO orbitals of all the systems in series number 3. Thus, we believe that our study will highlight the importance of different D-π-A chromophores having variant types of π-conjugation cores as discussed in the present investigation.

Benchmark study of the linear and nonlinear optical polarizabilities in proto-type NLO molecule of para-nitroaniline

In the present investigation, for the first time, we have performed a thorough study about different functionals and basis sets for linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of para-nitroaniline ([Formula: see text]-NA), which is considered as proto-type NLO molecule, among organic NLO materials. There is a dire need of such data base for [Formula: see text]-NA because many investigators are using such values of [Formula: see text]-NA for comparative analysis. A range of different functionals including HF, BLYP, PW91, PBE, B3LYP, M06, M06-2X, PBE0, BHandHLYP, CAM-B3LYP, LC-BLYP, and B3LYP-D3 are applied in conjugation with several commonly basis sets such as 6-31G*, 6-311G*, 6-311G**, 6-311+G**, cc-pVDZ, and cc-pVTZ. A variety of functional and basis sets combinations are calculated and graphically compared with each other. The calculated total dipole moment for the [Formula: see text]-NA is found to be 6.79[Formula: see text]D which is quite closer to experimentally determined value. The lowest calculated value for linear isotropic polarizability at HF/6-31G* level of theory is [Formula: see text] esu while higher values observed with remaining all methods especially 14% polarizability increases in presence of basis set with diffuse functions and similar trend of variation is also observed in linear anisotropic polarizability. Similarly, the calculated value of frequency dependent second-order polarizability is found to be [Formula: see text] esu at PBE0/6-311+G** level of theory which is quite closer to experimental value of [Formula: see text] esu. A comparison between the calculated and experimental results shows good agreement among geometries, dipole moments and NLO polarizabilities for [Formula: see text]-NA. Moreover, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) and electron density difference map (EDDM) analysis along with density of state (DOS) plots are also presented to get more physical intuitions into the structure–property relationship and electronic communications between terminal accepter and donor groups through [Formula: see text]-conjugation. The present investigation provides benchmark data including various commonly used functionals and basis sets for the calculation of NLO properties of [Formula: see text]-NA. Thus, the present investigation will put straight several future studies when it comes to comparative NLO study of organic materials.

A systematic study of the effects of thionation in naphthalene dimide derivatives to tune their nonlinear optical properties

In the present study, the number and position of sulfur atoms on naphthalene diimide (NDI) is systematically investigated to tune its nonlinear optical (NLO) response properties. Our DFT calculations for third-order polarizability (γ) show that the thionation significantly influences the nonlinear optical property of NDI as it is seen among its several designed derivatives (NDI-1 to NDI-10). The smallest and the largest γ_zzzz amplitudes are 503.49 × 10^-36 and 1299.5 × 10^-36 esu for NDI-1 (having tetraone group) and NDI-10 (having tetrathione group), respectively. The increase in γ_zzzz amplitude for NDI-10 is 796 × 10^-36 esu, which is ∼150% from the γ_zzzz amplitude of NDI-1. A comparison of the γ_zzzz amplitudes of our designed derivatives are made with para-nitroaniline i.e. a prototype NLO molecule. The γ_zzzz amplitude of pNA is found to be 42.64 × 10^-36 esu at the same B3LYP/DZVP2 level of theory. Using two-level model, the origin of larger γ_zzzz amplitudes is traced in lower transition energy of NDI-10. Furthermore, the calculation of vertical ionization potentials (VIPs) shows that the thionation does not affect the stability of designed derivatives, where a slight difference of 0.06 eV is seen between the VIPs of NDI-1 (6.63 eV) and NDI-10 (6.57 eV). Thus, a systematic comparison of the third-order polarizability and other electro-optical properties of our designed derivatives shows that our derivative systems possess good potential for their practical realization in the field of optical and NLO materials.