Ground-state Density Functional Theory Research Articles

Theoretical Investigation of the Electronic Properties of Three Vanadium Phthalocyaninato (Pc) Based Complexes: PcV, PcVO, and PcVI.

The electronic properties of three vanadium phthalocyaninato (Pc) based complexes (PcV, PcVO, and PcVI; I-III, respectively) were theoretically investigated and corresponding VL2,3-edge XAS spectra modeled. Ground state (GS) DFT outcomes indicated that II is more stable than III by 141 kcal/mol; moreover, the Ziegler transition state method allowed us to estimate the PcV-X bond dissociation energy and to quantify σ/π contributions to the V-X interaction. As such, the Nalewajski-Mrozek V-X and V-N bond multiplicity indexes (V-O/V-I = 2.48/1.22; V-N = 0.64, 0.51, and 0.58 in I-III, respectively) state that the V-X bond strength and nature affect the V-N interaction. The coordination of X to V in the I → II/I → III reactions implies the transfer of two/one electrons from I to X. In both cases, the oxidation involves only the V ion; moreover, V 3d based orbitals from which electrons are transferred were identified. Literature I/IIL2,3-edge XAS data were modeled by exploiting the DFT/ROCIS method. The same protocol was adopted to predict IIIL2,3-edge XAS spectra. Theoretical results indicated that, along the whole series, spectral features lying at the lowest excitation energies (EEs) are mostly generated by states having the same GS spin multiplicity and involve 2pV → SOMO (single occupied molecular orbital) single electronic excitations. XAS features at higher EEs include only states with the same GS spin multiplicity in I, while states with both ΔS = 0 and ΔS = +1 (S = total spin quantum number) are present in II and III with significant, in some cases prevailing, contributions from metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excitations. Beyond the role played by MLCT transitions in determining XAS patterns, it is noteworthy that they involve only Pc-based empty orbitals with no participation of the X-based virtual levels.

Charge transport behavior of 1D gold chiral nanojunctions

Understanding the process of electron tunneling in chirality-induced single-molecule junctions is imperative for the development of nanoscale switching and artificial nanomotors. Based on the combined non-equilibrium Green's functions formalism and the ground-state density functional theory, we present here the charge transport behavior of chiral gold (7,3) nanowires (NWs) in comparison with various other chiral and achiral 1D gold nanostructures as the principal leads to form stable single-molecule junctions. For σ-saturated alkane chains, we find that the contact potential barriers vary widely with the achiral leads but not with the chiral ones, although a close resemblance exists in the tunneling constants. Lower energy gaps for single-molecule junctions with Au(7,3)NWs ensure better electronic conductance even after allowing for the low thermal loss, due mainly to the close-packed arrangements of atoms with minimum wire tension. Our first-principles quantum transport analysis further suggests that chiral Au(7,3)NWs render higher electronic conductance than chiral gold (5,3) nanotubes (NTs), once bridged by either σ-saturated or π-conjugated molecular moieties. It, however, turns out that asymmetricity in the characteristics of channel formation at the lead-molecule contact remains often associated with chiral Au(7,3)NWs only.

Detection and Characterization of Hydride Ligands in Iron Complexes by High-Resolution Hard X-ray Spectroscopy and Implications for Catalytic Processes

Two hydride catalysts [Fe(CO)(dppp)H(NO)] (dppp = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane) and [Fe(CO)H(NO)(PPh3)2] in comparison with nonhydride analogues [Fe(dppe)(NO)2] (dppe = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) and [Fe(NO)2(PPh3)2] are investigated with a combination of valence-to-core X-ray emission spectroscopy (VtC-XES) and high-energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption near-edge structure (HERFD-XANES). To fully understand the experiments and to obtain precise information about molecular levels being involved in the spectral signals, time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations and ground state density functional theory (DFT) calculations are necessary. An excellent agreement between experiment and theory allows the identification of particular spectral signals of the Fe-H group. Antibonding Fe-H interactions clearly contribute to pre-edge signals in HERFD-XANES spectra, while bonding Fe-H interactions cause characteristic signatures in the VtC-XES spectra. The sensitivity of both methods with respect to the Fe-H distance is demonstrated by a scanning simulation approach. The results open the way to study metal hydride complexes in situ, their formation, and their fate during catalytic reactions, using high-resolution XANES and valence-to-core X-ray emission spectroscopy.

GW approximation study of the Compton profile of ZnSe

ABSTRACTWe have obtained the Compton profile of ZnSe from the first principles GW approximation (GWA) method and ground-state density functional theory (DFT) method. We observe that between 0 and 1.5 a.u., there is better agreement to previous studies via the GWA difference profile compared to the ground-state difference profile. Above 1.5 a.u., both cases do not agree with the trend of the previous study; however, the application of the GWA is seen to improve the agreement compared to localized density approximation. Previous studies have reported that discrepancies from experiment are related to pseudopotential calculations which have been observed to overestimate momentum density between 0 and 1.5 a.u., while the reverse trend is seen above 1.5 a.u. We thus conclude that improvement to the pseudopotential technique to obtain the Compton profile is possible if the sharp Fermi break of the momentum distribution between high and low momenta becomes more smeared. Using the broadened spectral functions via the contour deformation method to obtain the momentum distributions, the GWA is a natural tool to achieve this via the contribution from the dielectric screening to the quasiparticle energies.

Prediction of the lowest charge-transfer excited-state energy at the donor-acceptor interface in a condensed phase using ground-state DFT calculations with generalized Kohn-Sham functionals.

Knowledge of the charge (electron) transfer process at the donor-acceptor interface is required to understand the working mechanisms of different organic photovoltaic materials. Investigating the lowest charge-transfer state in organic donor-acceptor solar cells is important as it allows the destruction/formation of excitons and polarons to be studied, and is directly related to the open circuit voltage. By performing low-cost and feasible calculations of ground-state electronic structures using the Mulliken rule as well as the optimally tuned range-separated hybrid (OTRSH) density functional and a regular long-range corrected functional, the lowest charge-transfer (CT) state energies of a series of dimers containing functionalized anthracene (the donor) and tetracyanoethylene (the acceptor) were obtained. The jumping distances of excited electrons during CT were calculated. The polarizable continuum model was applied to account for the effects of the solvent methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) on the lowest CT state energies obtained from gas-phase calculations. The calculated lowest CT state energies of the dimers were close to the corresponding experimental results, with a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.22eV.

Origin of OER catalytic activity difference of oxygen-deficient perovskites A2Mn2O5 (A = Ca, Sr): A theoretical study.

Mn-based oxygen-deficient perovskite catalysts A2Mn2O5 (A = Ca, Sr) have been experimentally proved high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities for replacing Pt in oxygen electrocatalysis. Nevertheless, the correlation between the fundamental electronic structure at room temperature and the corresponding electrocatalysis is not fully accessible. In this paper, we combine the ground state density functional theory (DFT) method and dynamic mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) at room temperature to investigate the origin of the OER difference for electrocatalysts A2Mn2O5 (A = Ca, Sr). We find that at room temperature the highest occupied Mn dz2 orbital in the square pyramidal crystal field of oxygen-deficient perovskites A2Mn2O5 with insulating properties can provide a moderate bonding strength with intermediate hydroxyl OH*, leading to a high OER catalytic activity. According to the electronic structure analysis, we observe that replacing the A-site element Ca by Sr with the larger ionic radii would result in a higher OER activity due to the weakened hybridization between the Mn dz2 orbital and the O pσ orbital of OH*. This insight could provide hints for the screening metal oxide electrocatalysts in the applications of the energy storage and conversion.

Geometric Derivation of the Stress Tensor of the Homogeneous Electron Gas

The foundation of many approximations in time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) lies in the theory of the homogeneous electron gas. However, unlike the ground-state DFT, in which the exchange-correlation potential of the homogeneous electron gas is known exactly via the quantum Monte Carlo calculation, the time-dependent or frequency-dependent dynamical potential of the homogeneous electron gas has not been known exactly, due to the absence of a similar variational principle for excited states. In this work, we present a simple geometric derivation of the time-dependent dynamical exchange-correlation potential for the homogeneous system. With this derivation, the dynamical potential can be expressed in terms of the stress tensor, offering an alternative to calculate the bulk and shear moduli, two key input quantities in TDDFT.

Investigation of the Optical and Excitonic Properties of the Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic BiVO4 Material

An investigation of the optical and excitonic properties of photocatalytic compounds based on both experimental and theoretical approaches is proposed. More specifically, this paper reports, for the first time, the local-field, optical anisotropy, and excitonic effects in BiVO4, an active photocatalytic material in the visible range. The analyses are based on electron energy-loss spectroscopy measurements, ground-state density functional theory calculations, including crystal local-field effects, and many-body corrections using the Bethe-Salpeter equation. These results are supported by a comparison with two materials, namely, TiO2 anatase and rutile, which are well-known to differ in their photocatalytic properties, those being important and negligible, respectively. The analogies found for these two categories of compounds allow the proposal of criteria that appear to be essential for producing an optimal photocatalytic material.

Single versus Double Cu(I) Catalyzed [3 + 2] Azide/Platinum Diacetylide Cycloaddition Reactions

This report focuses on Cu(I) catalyzed cycloaddition reactions between organic azides and the platinum diacetylide complexes trans-(PR3)2Pt(C≡CR′)2 (where PR3 = P(OEt)3, PEt3, PnBu3, PPhMe2, PPh3, and PBn3; and R′ = H, Ph, and p-PhNO2). Pt(II)-Diacetylides supported by P(OEt)3, PEt3, PnBu3, and PPhMe2 react with benzyl azide to provide syn/anti isomers of double cycloaddition products. In contrast, Pt(II)-diacetylide complexes supported by PPh3 and PBn3 afford single cycloaddition products, exclusively. Steric congestion enforced by the larger phosphines PPh3 and PBn3 prevent the second cycloaddition. Ground state DFT computations provide some insight into the divergent reactivity and indicate that the π-acidity of the phosphine ligands is a variable in the single vs double cycloaddition outcome.

Spin-Polarization-Induced Preedge Transitions in the Sulfur K-Edge XAS Spectra of Open-Shell Transition-Metal Sulfates: Spectroscopic Validation of σ-Bond Electron Transfer.

Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra of the monodentate sulfate complexes [MII(itao)(SO4)(H2O)0,1] (M = Co, Ni, Cu) and [Cu(Me6tren)(SO4)] exhibit well-defined preedge transitions at 2479.4, 2479.9, 2478.4, and 2477.7 eV, respectively, despite having no direct metal-sulfur bond, while the XAS preedge of [Zn(itao)(SO4)] is featureless. The sulfur K-edge XAS of [Cu(itao)(SO4)] but not of [Cu(Me6tren)(SO4)] uniquely exhibits a weak transition at 2472.1 eV, an extraordinary 8.7 eV below the first inflection of the rising K-edge. Preedge transitions also appear in the sulfur K-edge XAS of crystalline [MII(SO4)(H2O)] (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, but not Zn) and in sulfates of higher-valent early transition metals. Ground-state density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations show that charge transfer from coordinated sulfate to paramagnetic late transition metals produces spin polarization that differentially mixes the spin-up (α) and spin-down (β) spin orbitals of the sulfate ligand, inducing negative spin density at the sulfate sulfur. Ground-state DFT calculations show that sulfur 3p character then mixes into metal 4s and 4p valence orbitals and various combinations of ligand antibonding orbitals, producing measurable sulfur XAS transitions. TDDFT calculations confirm the presence of XAS preedge features 0.5-2 eV below the rising sulfur K-edge energy. The 2472.1 eV feature arises when orbitals at lower energy than the frontier occupied orbitals with S 3p character mix with the copper(II) electron hole. Transmission of spin polarization and thus of radical character through several bonds between the sulfur and electron hole provides a new mechanism for the counterintuitive appearance of preedge transitions in the XAS spectra of transition-metal oxoanion ligands in the absence of any direct metal-absorber bond. The 2472.1 eV transition is evidence for further radicalization from copper(II), which extends across a hydrogen-bond bridge between sulfate and the itao ligand and involves orbitals at energies below the frontier set. This electronic structure feature provides a direct spectroscopic confirmation of the through-bond electron-transfer mechanism of redox-active metalloproteins.

Evaluating the electronic structure of formal LnII ions in LnII(C5H4SiMe3)31- using XANES spectroscopy and DFT calculations.

The isolation of [K(2.2.2-cryptand)][Ln(C5H4SiMe3)3], formally containing LnII, for all lanthanides (excluding Pm) was surprising given that +2 oxidation states are typically regarded as inaccessible for most 4f-elements. Herein, X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES), ground-state density functional theory (DFT), and transition dipole moment calculations are used to investigate the possibility that Ln(C5H4SiMe3)31- (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu) compounds represented molecular LnII complexes. Results from the ground-state DFT calculations were supported by additional calculations that utilized complete-active-space multi-configuration approach with second-order perturbation theoretical correction (CASPT2). Through comparisons with standards, Ln(C5H4SiMe3)31- (Ln = Sm, Tm, Yb, Lu, Y) are determined to contain 4f6 5d0 (SmII), 4f13 5d0 (TmII), 4f14 5d0 (YbII), 4f14 5d1 (LuII), and 4d1 (YII) electronic configurations. Additionally, our results suggest that Ln(C5H4SiMe3)31- (Ln = Pr, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er) also contain LnII ions, but with 4f n 5d1 configurations (not 4f n+1 5d0). In these 4f n 5d1 complexes, the C3h-symmetric ligand environment provides a highly shielded 5d-orbital of a' symmetry that made the 4f n 5d1 electronic configurations lower in energy than the more typical 4f n+1 5d0 configuration.

Generalization of the variational principle and the Hohenberg and Kohn theorems for excited states of Fermion systems

Through the entanglement of a collection of K non-interacting replicas of a system of N interacting Fermions, and making use of the properties of reduced density matrices the variational principle and the theorems of Hohenberg and Kohn are generalized to excited states. The generalization of the variational principle makes use of the natural orbitals of an N-particle density matrix describing the state of lowest energy of the entangled state. The extension of the theorems of Hohenberg and Kohn is based on the ground-state formulation of density functional theory but with a new interpretation of the concept of a ground state: It is the state of lowest energy of a system of KN Fermions that is described in terms of the excited states of the N-particle interacting system. This straightforward implementation of the line of reasoning of ground-state density functional theory to a new domain leads to a unique and logically valid extension of the theory to excited states that allows the systematic treatment of all states in the spectrum of the Hamiltonian of an interacting system.

Synthesis, structural characterization and DFT calculation on a square-planar Ni(II) complex of a compartmental Schiff base ligand

Reaction of a symmetric compartmental Schiff-base ligand, (H2L) with nickel(II) perchlorate hexahydrate in 1:1 M ratio in methanol gives rise to a mononuclear nickel(II) compound, NiL (1). The compound has been characterized by C, H, N microanalyses and UV–Vis spectra. The single crystal X-ray diffraction studies reveal a square planar geometry around the Ni(II) center. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic system with space group C2/c with a = 21.6425(6), b = 9.9481(3), c = 13.1958(4) Å, β = 107.728(2)°, V = 2706.16(14) Å3 and Z = 4. Ground state DFT optimization and TDDFT calculations on the ligand and complex were performed to get their UV–Vis spectral pattern.

Connection formulas for thermal density functional theory

The adiabatic connection formula of ground-state density functional theory relates the correlation energy to a coupling-constant integral over a purely potential contribution, and is widely used to understand and improve approximations. The corresponding formula for thermal density functional theory is cast as an integral over temperatures instead, ranging upward from the system's physical temperature. We also show how to relate different correlation components to each other, either in terms of temperature or coupling-constant integrations. We illustrate our results on the uniform electron gas.

DFT computational investigation of tuning the electron donating ability in metal-free organic dyes featuring a thienylethynyl spacer for dye sensitized solar cells

The recent improvements in metal-free organic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been attributed to the ability to tune the optical and electronic properties through various structural modifications. Within the donor–π-conjugated spacer–acceptor (D–π–A) architecture, the electron-donating and accepting strengths have been proven to be major control variables for increasing the energy conversion efficiency. In the present study, a series of metal-free organic D–π–A dyes for DSSCs were designed and investigated. In particular, the electron donating strength was modulated by adding electron donating groups to the donor side. The HOMO energy increased with a gradual increase in donor strength which was verified by an investigation of the bond distances between the nitrogen and carbon atom of phenyl ring connected with π-conjugated spacer. The net electron transfer from the donor to acceptor, calculated from natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, also showed quantitative correlation with the bond distances. Finally, the absorption peak shifted to a longer wavelength with the increase of donor strength as well as π-conjugated spacer. Detailed analysis of the results supported that all properties investigated has a strong correlation with the bond distance between the nitrogen and the carbon atom in the phenyl ring attached to the π-conjugated spacer. Based on this apparent correlation, this bond distance from ground-state DFT calculations may be used as a descriptor for the high throughput screening of DSSC dyes instead of using computationally expensive TDDFT calculations.

X-ray Emission Spectroscopy of Mn Coordination Complexes Toward Interpreting the Electronic Structure of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II

X-ray emission (XES) spectroscopy is an attractive technique for analysis of the electronic structure of molecules, materials, and metalloproteins. However, a better understanding of XES results is required. Using a combination of experiment and ground-state density functional theory analysis, we rationalize differences in the X-ray emission spectra of multinuclear Mn complexes. Model compounds, including dinuclear [Mn2O2L′4](ClO4)3 (L′= 2,2′-bipyridyl, [1]) and two examples from the Mn4O4L6 “cubane” family of model compounds (L = (p-R-C6H4)PO2−, R = OCH3 [2], CH3 [3] ), were compared with the Oxygen Evolving Complex of Photosystem II. Our analysis shows that changes in the structure of the Mn complexes, resulting in changes to the spin polarization, can introduce significant spectral shifts in compounds of the same formal redox state. The implications of changes in spin polarization for understanding photosynthetic water-splitting catalysis is discussed.

Spin-dependent optimized effective potential formalism for open and closed systems

Orbital-based exchange $(x)$ correlation $(c)$ energy functionals, leading to the optimized effective potential (OEP) formalism of density-functional theory (DFT), are gaining increasing importance in ground-state DFT, as applied to the calculation of the electronic structure of closed systems with a fixed number of particles, such as atoms and molecules. These types of functionals prove also to be extremely valuable for dealing with solid-state systems with reduced dimensionality, such as is the case of electrons trapped at the interface between two different semiconductors, or narrow metallic slabs. In both cases, electrons build a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas, or Q2DEG. We provide here a general DFT-OEP formal scheme valid both for Q2DEGs either isolated (closed) or in contact with a particle bath (open), and show that both possible representations are equivalent, being the choice of one or the other essentially a question of convenience. Based on this equivalence, a calculation scheme is proposed which avoids the noninvertibility problem of the density response function for closed systems. We also consider the case of spontaneously spin-polarized Q2DEGs, and find that far from the region where the Q2DEG is localized, the exact $x\text{-only}$ exchange potential approaches two different, spin-dependent asymptotic limits. As an example, aside from these formal results, we also provide numerical results for a spin-polarized jellium slab, using the new OEP formalism for closed systems. The accuracy of the Krieger-Li-Iafrate approximation has been also tested for the same system, and found to be as good as it is for atoms and molecules.

Interplay between Hydrogen Bonding, Epitaxy, and Charge Transfer in the Self-Assembly of Croconic Acid on Au(111) and Ag(111)

The structure and ordering of two-dimensional sheets of croconic acid (CA) on Au(111) were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles calculations. Extended porous honeycomb networks are formed that differ from those that were recently reported to form on Ag(111) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to help rationalize how the two substrates, Au(111) and Ag(111), influence the CA networks. The CA network that is synthesized on Au(111) corresponds to the 2D structure that has the lowest ground-state DFT energy when modeled without the substrate and uses a different isomer of CA than the one that is found within the Ag(111) network and the bulk three-dimensional crystal; this is attributed to the weaker CA–CA and CA–substrate interactions on Au(111). The Au(111) network has no net dipole moment, but a hydrogen transfer mechanism which forms a metastable polar network seems plausible if the latter remains dynamically stable. The formation of the Ag(111) network is at...

Density Functional Theory for Steady-State Nonequilibrium Molecular Junctions.

We present a density functional theory (DFT) for steady-state nonequilibrium quantum systems such as molecular junctions under a finite bias. Based on the steady-state nonequilibrium statistics that maps nonequilibrium to an effective equilibrium, we show that ground-state DFT (GS-DFT) is not applicable in this case and two densities, the total electron density and the density of current-carrying electrons, are needed to uniquely determine the properties of the corresponding nonequilibrium system. A self-consistent mean-field approach based on two densities is then derived. The theory is implemented into SIESTA computational package and applied to study nonequilibrium electronic/transport properties of a realistic carbon-nanotube (CNT)/Benzene junction. Results obtained from our steady-state DFT (SS-DFT) are compared with those of conventional GS-DFT based transport calculations. We show that SS-DFT yields energetically more stable nonequilibrium steady state, predicts significantly lower electric current, and is able to produce correct electronic structures in local equilibrium under a limiting case.

Chromophore-protein coupling beyond nonpolarizable models: understanding absorption in green fluorescent protein.

The nature of the coupling of the photoexcited chromophore with the environment in a prototypical system like green fluorescent protein (GFP) is to date not understood, and its description still defies state-of-the-art multiscale approaches. To identify which theoretical framework of the chromophore-protein complex can realistically capture its essence, we employ here a variety of electronic-structure methods, namely, time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), multireference perturbation theory (NEVPT2 and CASPT2), and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) in combination with static point charges (QM/MM), DFT embedding (QM/DFT), and classical polarizable embedding through induced dipoles (QM/MMpol). Since structural modifications can significantly affect the photophysics of GFP, we also account for thermal fluctuations through extensive molecular dynamics simulations. We find that a treatment of the protein through static point charges leads to significantly blue-shifted excitation energies and that including thermal fluctuations does not cure the coarseness of the MM description. While TDDFT calculations on large cluster models indicate the need of a responsive protein, this response is not simply electrostatic: An improved description of the protein in the ground state or in response to the excitation of the chromophore via ground-state or state-specific DFT and MMpol embedding does not significantly modify the results obtained with static point charges. Through the use of QM/MMpol in a linear response formulation, a different picture in fact emerges in which the main environment response to the chromophore excitation is the one coupling the transition density and the corresponding induced dipoles. Such interaction leads to significant red-shifts and a satisfactory agreement with full QM cluster calculations at the same level of theory. Our findings demonstrate that, ultimately, faithfully capturing the effects of the environment in GFP requires a quantum treatment of large photoexcited regions but that a QM/classical model can be a useful approximation when extended beyond the electrostatic-only formulation.