Ab Initio Self-consistent Field Research Articles

Laser cooling and electronic structure studies of BaI molecule

Literature shows a lack of laser cooling studies of Barium Monohalide (BaI) diatomic molecules. In this work, we present a series of calculations using the ab initio complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF)/MRCI approach with Davidson correction to fill out this gap. The adiabatic potential energy curves, the static dipole moment curves, and the spectroscopic parameters have been investigated for the bound low-lying electronic states. The ro-vibrational constants Ev, Bv, Dv, and the turning points Rmin and Rmax were also examined for the surveyed electronic states. The calculation of the transition dipole moment curves for the X2Σ+- (1)2Π transition, the Franck-Condon factor, the radiative lifetime, the branching ratio, the laser cooling scheme, and the buffer gas study prove that the molecule BaI is a good candidate for a Doppler laser cooling experiment.

Environmental modifications of atomic properties: The ground and 1s2p excited states of compressed helium.

Atoms remaining as recognizably distinct constituents of bulk condensed phases can have properties modified from those of the isolated species. Dense helium bubbles at high pressures are a common form of radiation damage degrading the mechanical and electrical properties of host materials. Detailed knowledge is critical for predicting their long term performance. Modifications of the ground and first singlet excited states of confined compressed helium are investigated using an entirely non-empirical theory based on the results of ab initio self-consistent field calculations with corrections for the effects of electron correlation. For finite sized portions representing bulk condensed fcc and bcc phases of helium atoms, Hartree-Fock wavefunctions, energies, and charge distributions were computed as a function of different atomic densities using two models. The first model for the first excited state localizes the excitation on the central atom; in the second model, this is partially delocalized over the closest atomic neighbors. Total energies for the finite size portions are derived by adding the inter-atomic dispersive attractions and a density functional description of the short-range inter-atomic correlation energy. The experimental energy of the first allowed electronic transition increases with density being larger than in an isolated atom. The intra-atomic correlation energy does not contribute to this energy shift. The calculated energy shifts agree well with experiment for both bulk solid and liquid helium. The 2p orbital is increasingly compressed by density enhancement, thus generating the energy shifts. Consequently, calculations of the inelastic electron scattering cross sections are substantially incorrect if the compression of the final 1s2p state is not included. The character of the excitations is examined, and it is argued that these are of Frenkel rather than the Wannier type.

Time-Resolved EPR and Theoretical Investigations of Naphthalene Diimide Spin Dynamics in the Excited State

Abstract Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are a promising material for n-type polymer acceptors in thin-film devices such as organic light-emitting diodes. The intersystem crossing (ISC) pathway of NDIs has been extensively studied, relying heavily on the accuracy of quantum chemical calculations. However, the theoretical results are inconsistent with the experimental findings. In this work, time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (tr-EPR) was applied to NDIs for the first time in order to elucidate the ISC pathway and assign their electronic structures. With the help of quantum chemical calculations, tr-EPR clearly demonstrated that ISC occurs via an upper excited triplet state (T4) after photoexcitation. The zero-field splitting (ZFS) constants of the NDIs, which strongly correlate with their spin density distributions, were experimentally determined by tr-EPR. We demonstrate that an ab initio complete active space self-consistent field is required to interpret the ZFS constants of the NDIs. From the theoretical analyses of the constants and phosphorescence measurements, the spin state observed in the tr-EPR spectra was identified as the lowest excited triplet state, illustrating that quick internal conversion occurs after the ISC process.

Multi-configurational short-range density functional theory can describe spin-spin coupling constants of transition metal complexes.

The multi-configurational short-range (sr) density functional theory has been extended to the calculation of indirect spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The performance of the new method is compared to Kohn-Sham density functional theory and the ab initio complete active space self-consistent field for a selected set of molecules with good reference values. Two density functionals have been considered, the local density approximation srLDA and srPBE from the GGA class of functionals. All srDFT calculations are of Hartree-Fock-type HF-srDFT or complete active space-type CAS-srDFT. In all cases, the calculated SSCC values are of the same quality for srLDA and srPBE functionals, suggesting that one should use the computationally cost-effective srLDA functionals in applications. For all the calculated SSCCs in organic compounds, the best choice is HF-srDFT; the more expensive CAS-srDFT does not provide better values for these single-reference molecules. Fluorine is a challenge; in particular, the FF, FC, and FO couplings have much higher statistical errors than the rest. For SSCCs involving fluorine and a metal atom CAS-srDFT with singlet, generalized Tamm-Dancoff approximation is needed to get good SSCC values although the reference ground state is not a multi-reference case. For VF6 -1, all other considered models fail blatantly.

Electronic Structure of Ytterbium(III) Solvates-a Combined Spectroscopic and Theoretical Study.

The wide range of optical and magnetic properties of lanthanide(III) ions is associated with their intricate electronic structures which, in contrast to lighter elements, is characterized by strong relativistic effects and spin-orbit coupling. Nevertheless, computational methods are now capable of describing the ladder of electronic energy levels of the simpler trivalent lanthanide ions, as well as the lowest energy term of most of the series. The electronic energy levels result from electron configurations that are first split by spin-orbit coupling into groups of energy levels denoted by the corresponding Russell-Saunders terms. Each of these groups are then split by the ligand field into the actual electronic energy levels known as microstates or sometimes mJ levels. The ligand-field splitting directly informs on the coordination geometry and is a valuable tool for determining the structure and thus correlating the structure and properties of metal complexes in solution. The issue with lanthanide complexes is that the determination of complex structures from ligand-field splitting remains a very challenging task. In this paper, the optical spectra-absorption, luminescence excitation, and luminescence emission-of ytterbium(III) solvates were recorded in water, methanol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The electronic energy levels, that is, the microstates, were resolved experimentally. Subsequently, density functional theory calculations were used to model the structures of the solvates, and ab initio relativistic complete active space self-consistent field calculations (CASSCF) were employed to obtain the microstates of the possible structures of each solvate. By comparing the experimental and theoretical data, it was possible to determine both the coordination number and solution structure of each solvate. In water, methanol, and N,N-dimethylformamide, the solvates were found to be eight-coordinated and have a square antiprismatic coordination geometry. In DMSO, the speciation was found to be more complicated. The robust methodology developed for comparing experimental spectra and computational results allows the solution structures of homoleptic lanthanide complexes to be determined.

Four-body Interaction and Equation of State for Solid Neon from Ab Initio Calculation

Using ab initio Hartree-Fock self-consistent field method combined with many-body expansion method, the investigation is based on the first-principles. We have considered two-, three- and four-body potential energies of face-centered cubic (fcc) solid neon of which the atomic distance ranges from 1.6 to 3.0 . By discussing the truncation and convergence of many-body potential of solid neon, we obtain the cohesive energy, the zero-point vibration energy and equation of state (EOS). The results show that, when the number of neighboring atoms increases, two-body, three-body, and four-body potential energy tend to a saturation value for a certain atomic distance ( ). The even many-body contributions to the cohesive energy, such as two-, four-body terms and so on, are positive, whereas the odd many-body contributions to the cohesive energy, such as three-, five-body terms and so on, are negative. The zero-point vibration energy of solid neon is only 6% of the total atomic interaction energy, but should not be neglected. Compared with the experimental data, the importance of the four-body interactions in compressed solid neon is emphasized. Only taking into account the two-body term, the pressure is overestimated, and our calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental values at the low-pressure regions (<15GPa). Adding three-body term up to 55GPa, considering the four-body term, it has a good consistency at the experimentally studied pressure range of 0~237GPa, and maybe helpful to accurately explain the phenomenon of the experiment above 237GPa when the higher many-body effects are considered.

X-ray molecular orbital analysis. I. Quantum mechanical and crystallographic framework.

Molecular orbitals were obtained by X-ray molecular orbital analysis (XMO). The initial molecular orbitals (MOs) of the refinement were calculated by the ab initio self-consistent field (SCF) MO method. Well tempered basis functions were selected since they do not produce cusps at the atomic positions on the residual density maps. X-ray structure factors calculated from the MOs were fitted to observed structure factors by the least-squares method, keeping the orthonormal relationship between MOs. However, the MO coefficients correlate severely with each other, since basis functions are composed of similar Gaussian-type orbitals. Therefore, a method of selecting variables which do not correlate severely with each other in the least-squares refinement was devised. MOs were refined together with the other crystallographic parameters, although the refinement with the atomic positional parameters requires a lot of calculation time. The XMO method was applied to diformohydrazide, (NHCHO)2, without using polarization functions, and the electron-density distributions, including the maxima on the covalent bonds, were represented well. Therefore, from the viewpoint of X-ray diffraction, it is concluded that the MOs averaged by thermal vibrations of the atoms were obtained successfully by XMO analysis. The method of XMO analysis, combined with X-ray atomic orbital (AO) analysis, in principle enables one to obtain MOs or AOs without phase factors from X-ray diffraction experiments on most compounds from organic to rare earth compounds.

Peridinin Torsional Distortion and Bond-Length Alternation Introduce Intramolecular Charge-Transfer and Correlated Triplet Pair Intermediate Excited States.

The nature of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and the mechanism of intramolecular singlet fission (SF) in peridinin remain open research questions. Obtaining an understanding of the population evolution from the bright state to dark state following a photoinduced electronic transition is critical. Unambiguously describing this evolution in peridinin, and light-harvesting carotenoids in general, has proven elusive experimentally and computationally. To offer a balanced description of the bright- and dark-state electronic structures, we here apply ab initio multireference perturbation theory quantum chemistry-the density matrix renormalization group self-consistent field and complete-active-space self-consistent field with second-order N-electron valence perturbation theory. At traditional bright- (S2) and dark-state (S1) optimized geometries, we find that an additional correlated triplet pair state and ICT state are derived from the canonical polyene Bu (S3) and 3Ag (S4) dark singlet excited states, respectively. Whereas the S3 state's physical properties are insensitive to peridinin's allene-tail donor and lactone ring acceptor functionalization, the S4 state exhibits a markedly enhanced oscillator strength and highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital transition density. These changes suggest that the ICT character stems from mixing between the bright S2 and putatively dark S4.

CS2 capture in the ionic liquid 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate: reaction mechanism and free energetics.

Reaction pathways for CS2 and COS in the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI+) acetate (OAc-), are studied using the ab initio self-consistent reaction field theory (SCRF) and molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations. It is found that while CS2 converts to COS nearly at the 100% level through S/O exchange with acetate, both conversion and capture processes are kinetically possible for COS, yielding CO2/thioacetate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazole-2-thiocarboxylate (EMI-COS)/acetic acid as reaction products, respectively. These findings are in excellent agreement with recent experimental observations in the closely related 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (BMI+OAc-) ionic liquid system. Constrained ab initio MD indicates that the capture reaction of COS (and CS2 if allowed) proceeds in a concerted fashion; viz., proton transfer from EMI+ to OAc- and carboxylation of EMI+ by COS (and CS2) occur concurrently, analogous to the concerted pathway proposed recently for CO2 capture in the imidazolium acetate ionic liquid family. As N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) is not required, the concerted mechanism is fully consistent with the experimental fact that NHC has not been detected directly in this ionic liquid family. Computational analysis further predicts that if NHC would be present in the ionic liquid, it would react with CS2 and produce 1-ethyl-3-imidazole-2-dithiocarboxylate, prior to the conversion of CS2 to COS. Since such a dithiocarboxylate compound was not detected experimentally, the present analysis lends support to the view that NHC is not formed in the pure imidazolium acetate ionic liquid family.

Relay-Like Exchange Mechanism through a Spin Radical between TbPc2 Molecules and Graphene/Ni(111) Substrates.

We investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of TbPc2 single ion magnets adsorbed on a graphene/Ni(111) substrate, by density functional theory (DFT), ab initio complete active space self-consistent field calculations, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) experiments. Despite the presence of the graphene decoupling layer, a sizable antiferromagnetic coupling between Tb and Ni is observed in the XMCD experiments. The molecule-surface interaction is rationalized by the DFT analysis and is found to follow a relay-like communication pathway, where the radical spin on the organic Pc ligands mediates the interaction between Tb ion and Ni substrate spins. A model Hamiltonian which explicitly takes into account the presence of the spin radical is then developed, and the different magnetic interactions at play are assessed by first-principle calculations and by comparing the calculated magnetization curves with XMCD data. The relay-like mechanism is at the heart of the process through which the spin information contained in the Tb ion is sensed and exploited in carbon-based molecular spintronics devices.

Acceleration of High Angular Momentum Electron Repulsion Integrals and Integral Derivatives on Graphics Processing Units.

We present an efficient implementation of ab initio self-consistent field (SCF) energy and gradient calculations that run on Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) enabled graphical processing units (GPUs) using recurrence relations. We first discuss the machine-generated code that calculates the electron-repulsion integrals (ERIs) for different ERI types. Next we describe the porting of the SCF gradient calculation to GPUs, which results in an acceleration of the computation of the first-order derivative of the ERIs. However, only s, p, and d ERIs and s and p derivatives could be executed simultaneously on GPUs using the current version of CUDA and generation of NVidia GPUs using a previously described algorithm [Miao and Merz J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2013, 9, 965-976.]. Hence, we developed an algorithm to compute f type ERIs and d type ERI derivatives on GPUs. Our benchmarks shows the performance GPU enable ERI and ERI derivative computation yielded speedups of 10-18 times relative to traditional CPU execution. An accuracy analysis using double-precision calculations demonstrates that the overall accuracy is satisfactory for most applications.

Complex formation of Sn(II) with l-cysteine: An IR, DTA/TGA and DFT Investigation

The novel complex of Sn(II) with l-cysteine (L-H2Cys) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, TGA and IR spectroscopy. Vibrational assignment and DFT/PBE0/def2-TZVP ab initio simulation give evidence of cysteine molecule being coordinated to Sn(II) as three-dentate chelating N,O,S-donor ligand. The four Perdew density functionals TPSS, PBE0, PBE, TPSSh have been tested to provide consistency of simulated and experimental IR spectra, the best result is provided by unweighted Hartree-Fock density functionals (PBE, TPSS). On the contrary, the Hartree-Fock weighted functionals (PBE0, TPPSh) provide the most accurate geometry optimization. Unharmonic frequencies are obtained via ab initio vibrational self-consistent field (PT2-VSCF) calculations at DFT/TPSS/Def2-TZVP level, the vibrational assignment of IR spectra has been carried out.

Excitonic states in a (Ti6O12)3 nanotube

The low-lying excited electronic states of a (Ti(6)O(12))(3) nanotube are investigated using ab initio self-consistent field configuration interaction theory. The transition energies and moments are calculated and the nature of the orbitals involved is discussed. Transitions correspond to an excitation from an O(2p) to a nearby Ti(3d) orbital and singlet-singlet transitions vary in excitation energy from 2.1 eV to 4.3 eV, depending on the oxygen site and environment of the titanium site. Two different structures for the three stacked Ti(6)O(12) rings are found. The occluded Ti structure is lower in energy than a staggered structure by 1.25 eV, only 0.02 eV/bond. Excited electronic states are found to correspond to highly localized holes on oxygen and a highly localized electron in a d orbital on a nearest neighbor titanium. The staggered structure has four absorptions that lie within the intense portion of the solar spectrum, at 585 nm, 472 nm, 471 nm, 423 nm; the occluded structure has one strong absorption, at 532 nm.

Ab initio MCSCF study on several azide molecules: energy component analysis of the pseudo-Jahn–Teller effect

An exploration of the most stable geometrical structures for the azide molecules R–N3 (R = H, BeH, BH2, CH3, C6H5) has been carried out by using the ab initio multi-configuration self-consistent field (MCSCF) method together with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets. The unknown hydridoberyllium azide (R = BeH) is predicted to suffer no pseudo-Jahn–Teller (JT) distortion and, hence, to assume a linear structure of C∞v symmetry. In contrast, each of the others is found to adopt a trans bent Cs structure with regard to an interior NN bond. To elucidate the nature of the pseudo-JT distortions, energy component analyses have been carried out at all of the stationary points for the relevant molecules. The results show that pseudo-JT stabilizations are classified into two groups, one in which the stability of the bent structure about the azido group arises from lowering of the interelectronic and internuclear repulsion energies and the other in which the stability results from lowering of the electron-nuclear attraction energy. These energy behaviors are accounted for in terms of an elongation or a contraction of the heavy-atom skeleton and a charge migration from some part of the molecule to the other ones. Moreover, it is shown that the theoretical structural characteristics for the known molecules are in good agreement with available experimental facts.

Colour centres and nanostructures on the surface of laser crystals

This paper presents a study of structural and radiationinduced colour centres in the bulk and ordered nanostructures on the surface of doped laser crystals: sapphire, yttrium aluminium garnet and strontium titanate. The influence of thermal annealing, ionising radiation and plasma exposure on the spectroscopic properties of high-purity materials and crystals containing Ti, V and Cr impurities is examined. Colour centres resulting from changes in the electronic state of impurities and plasma-induced surface modification of the crystals are studied by optical, EPR and X-ray spectroscopies,scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. X-ray line valence shift measurements are used to assess changes in the electronic state of some impurity and host ions in the bulk and on the surface of oxide crystals. Conditions are examined for the formation of one- and two-level arrays of ordered crystallites 10-10 to 10-7 m in size on the surface of crystals doped with irongroup and lanthanoid ions. The spectroscopic properties of the crystals are analysed using ab initio self-consistent field calculations for Men+ : [O2-]k clusters.

Monosaccharide-Water Complexes: Vibrational Spectroscopy and Anharmonic Potentials

Ab initio vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) calculations are used to predict the vibrational spectra of an extended series of monosaccharide·D(2)O complexes, including glucose, galactose, mannose, xylose, and fucose in their α and β anomeric forms, and compared with recently published experimental data for their (phenyl-tagged) complexes. Anharmonic VSCF-PT2 frequencies are calculated directly, using ab initio hybrid HF/MP2 potentials, to assess their accuracy in reproducing the vibrational anharmonicities and provide a more rigorous basis for vibrational and structural assignments. The average discrepancies between the calculated and experimental frequencies are ~1.0-1.5%, and the first-principles spectroscopic calculations, free of any empirical scaling, yield results of high accuracy. They encourage confidence in their future application to the assignment of other carbohydrate systems, both free and complexed, and an improved understanding of their intra- and intermolecular carbohydrate interactions.

Resonance and Aromaticity: An Ab Initio Valence Bond Approach

Resonance energy is one of the criteria to measure aromaticity. The effect of the use of different orbital models is investigated in the calculated resonance energies of cyclic conjugated hydrocarbons within the framework of the ab initio Valence Bond Self-Consistent Field (VBSCF) method. The VB wave function for each system was constructed using a linear combination of the VB structures (spin functions), which closely resemble the Kekulé valence structures, and two types of orbitals, that is, strictly atomic (local) and delocalized atomic (delocal) p-orbitals, were used to describe the π-system. It is found that the Pauling-Wheland's resonance energy with nonorthogonal structures decreases, while the same with orthogonalized structures and the total mean resonance energy (the sum of the weighted off-diagonal contributions in the Hamiltonian matrix of orthogonalized structures) increase when delocal orbitals are used as compared to local p-orbitals. Analysis of the interactions between the different structures of a system shows that the resonance in the 6π electrons conjugated circuits have the largest contributions to the resonance energy. The VBSCF calculations also show that the extra stability of phenanthrene, a kinked benzenoid, as compared to its linear counterpart, anthracene, is a consequence of the resonance in the π-system rather than the H-H interaction in the bay region as suggested previously. Finally, the empirical parameters for the resonance interactions between different 4n+2 or 4n π electrons conjugated circuits, used in Randić's conjugated circuits theory or Herdon's semi-emprical VB approach, are quantified. These parameters have to be scaled by the structure coefficients (weights) of the contributing structures.

Structure and electronic properties of the double-wall nanotubes constructed from SiO2 nanotubes encapsulated inside zigzag carbon nanotubes

This paper presents ab initio self-consistent field crystal orbital calculations on the structures, stabilities, elastic and electronic properties of the double-wall nanotubes made of SiO2 nanotubes encapsulated inside zigzag carbon nanotubes based on density functional theory. It is found that formation of the combined systems is energetically favorable when the nearest distance between the two constituents is in the area of the van der Waals effect. The obtained band structures show that all the combined systems are semiconductors with nonzero energy gaps. Based on the deformation potential theory and effective mass approximation, the mobilities of charge carriers are calculated to be in the range of 102–104 cm 2 V −1 s −1, the same order of magnitude as those of the corresponding zigzag carbon nanotubes. The Young’s moduli are also calculated for the combined systems.

Structures and electronic properties of the one-dimensional C60O polymers

The stabilities and electronic properties of one dimensional C60O polymers are studied using ab initio self-consistent field crystal orbital methods based on the density-functional theory. It is found that the stabilities of these polymers have something to do with the positions of intercage bonds on the C60 cages. The model structures studied are all semiconductors with finite energy gaps. These C60O polymers have smaller Young’s moduli than the carbon nanotubes. In addition, we also calculate the mobility of charge carriers and the conductivity for the most stable C60O polymer studied.

Theoretical Study on the Peanut-Shaped Dimers and Nanotubes Consisted of C50 Cages

The structures and electronic properties of the peanut-shaped dimers and nanotubes consisted of C50 cages are investigated based on the ab initio self-consistent field molecular and crystal orbital calculations. It is found that the formation of peanut-shaped dimers is energeticlly favorable. The corresponding peanut-shaped nanotubes are semiconductors due to existence of the energy gaps. These peanut-shaped nanotubes are predicted to have smaller Young moduli than the single-walled carbon nanotube. The anionic peanut-shaped nanotubes are also calculated in this paper, as well as the infrared spectra of the peanut-shaped dimers.