Orbital Population Analysis Research Articles

Electronic and adsorption properties of halogen molecule X2 (X=F, Cl) adsorbed arsenene: First-principles study

The geometry, electronic structure, and adsorption properties of halogen molecule X2(X = F, Cl) on arsenene were investigated using first-principles calculations. The adsorption of molecules was considered at various sites and in various orientations on the pristine arsenene (p-As) surface. Both molecules show chemisorption and the crystal orbital Hamiltonian population (COHP) analysis reveals the formation of strong X-As bonds. In particular, the adsorbed molecules spontaneously dissociate into atomic halogen atoms, with a diffusion barrier of 1.91 (1.72) eV for F2(Cl2). The adsorbed X2 molecules induced distortions in the local geometry due to strong interaction with arsenene. Importantly, the formation of X-As bonding remarkably changed the electronic properties, evidenced by the decrease of the actual band gap due to the emergence of defect states within the band gap. For instance, the F2 adsorbed arsenene system (F2-As) exhibited an average band gap of 1.17 eV, and Cl2 adsorbed arsenene (Cl2-As) showed an average band gap of 0.83 eV. In particular, indirect to direct band gap transition was observed for some adsorption configurations. The reduction in band gap resulted in the enhancement of electrical conductivity. These findings suggest that the electronic properties of arsenene can be tuned by halogen decoration.

Fe Crystalline Phases in Fe/C Composites Modulated the Selective Adsorption of Pb(II) from Industrial Wastewater with Cd(II): An Electronic-Scale Perspective.

Fe oxide or Fe0-based materials display weak removal capacity for Pb(II), especially in the presence of Cd(II), and the electronic-scale mechanisms are not reported. In this study, Fe3C(220) modified black carbon (BC) [Fe3C(220)@BC] with high adsorption and selectivity for Pb(II) from industrial wastewater with Cd(II) was developed. The quantitative experiment suggested that Fe species accounted for 80.5-100 and 18.4-33.8% of Pb(II) and Cd(II) removal, respectively. Based on X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis, 57.3% of adsorbed Pb2+ was reduced to Pb0; however, 61.6% of Cd2+ existed on Fe3C@BC. Density functional theory simulation unraveled that Cd(II) adsorption was attributed to the cation-π interaction with BC, whereas that of Pb(II) was ascribed to the stronger interactions with different Fe phases following the order: Fe3C(220) > Fe0(110) > Fe3O4(311). Crystal orbital bond index and Hamilton population analyses were innovatively applied in the adsorption system and displayed a unique discovery: the stronger Pb(II) adsorption on Fe phases was mediated by a combination of covalent and ionic bonding, whereas ionic bonding was mainly accounted for Cd(II) adsorption. These findings open a new chapter in understanding the functions of different Fe phases in mediating the fate and transport of heavy metals in both natural and engineered systems.

Uncovering the Interfacial Strengthening Mechanisms of α-Mg/Mg2Sn/β-Li Interfaces Using First-Principle Calculations and HAADF-STEM.

Previously, we reported our new invention of an ultralight (ρ = 1.61 g/cm3) and super high modulus (E = 64.5 GPa) Mg-Li-Al-Zn-Mn-Gd-Y-Sn (LAZWMVT) alloy. Surprisingly, the minor additions of Sn contribute to significant strength and stiffness increases. In this study, we found that Mg2Sn was not only the simple precipitate but also acted as the glue to bind the α-Mg/β-Li interface in a rather complicated way. To explore its mechanism, we have performed first-principle calculations and HAADF-STEM experiments on the interfacial structures. It was found that the interfacial structural models of α-Mg/β-Li, α-Mg/Mg2Sn, and β-Li/Mg2Sn composite interfaces prefer to form α-Mg/Mg2Sn/β-Li ternary composite structures due to the stable formation enthalpy (ΔH: -1.95 eV/atom). Meanwhile, the interface cleavage energy and critical cleavage stress show that Mg2Sn contribute to the interfacial bond strength better than the β-Li/α-Mg phase bond strength (σb(β-Li/Mg2Sn): 0.82 GPa > σb(α-Mg/Mg2Sn): 0.78 GPa > σb(β-Li/α-Mg): 0.62 GPa). Based on the interfacial electronic structure analysis, α-Mg/Mg2Sn and β-Li/Mg2Sn were found to have a denser charge distribution and larger charge transfer at the interface, forming stronger chemical bonds. Additionally, according to the crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis, the bonding strength of the Mg-Sn atom pair was 2.61 eV, which was higher than the Mg-Li bond strength (0.39 eV). The effect of the Mg2Sn phase on the stability and interfacial bonding strength of the alloying system was dominated by the formation of stronger and more stable Mg-Sn metal covalent bonds, which mainly originated from the contribution of the Mg 3p-Sn 5p orbital bonding states.

Electrifying HCOOH synthesis from CO2 building blocks over Cu–Bi nanorod arrays

Precise electrochemical synthesis of commodity chemicals and fuels from CO2 building blocks provides a promising route to close the anthropogenic carbon cycle, in which renewable but intermittent electricity could be stored within the greenhouse gas molecules. Here, we report state-of-the-art CO2-to-HCOOH valorization performance over a multiscale optimized Cu-Bi cathodic architecture, delivering a formate Faradaic efficiency exceeding 95% within an aqueous electrolyzer, a C-basis HCOOH purity above 99.8% within a solid-state electrolyzer operated at 100 mA cm-2 for 200 h and an energy efficiency of 39.2%, as well as a tunable aqueous HCOOH concentration ranging from 2.7 to 92.1 wt%. Via a combined two-dimensional reaction phase diagram and finite element analysis, we highlight the role of local geometries of Cu and Bi in branching the adsorption strength for key intermediates like *COOH and *OCHO for CO2 reduction, while the crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis rationalizes the vital contribution from moderate binding strength of η2(O,O)-OCHO on Cu-doped Bi surface in promoting HCOOH electrosynthesis. The findings of this study not only shed light on the tuning knobs for precise CO2 valorization, but also provide a different research paradigm for advancing the activity and selectivity optimization in a broad range of electrosynthetic systems.

Surface Electronic Properties-Driven Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction on Metal-Conjugated Porphyrin 2D-MOFs.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal organic framework (MOF) or metalloporphyrin nanosheets with a stable metal-N4 complex unit present the metal as a single-atom catalyst dispersed in the 2D porphyrin framework. First-principles calculations on the 3d-transition metals in M-TCPP are investigated in this study for their surface-dependent electronic properties including work function and d-band center. Crystal orbital Hamiltonian population (-pCOHP) analysis highlights a higher contribution of the bonding state in the M-N bond and antibonding state in the N-N bond to be essential for N-N bond activation. A linear relationship between ΔGmax and surface electronic properties, N-N bond strength, and Bader charge has been found to influence the rate-determining potential for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) in M-TCPP MOFs. 2D Ti-TCPP MOF, with a kinetic energy barrier of 1.43 eV in the final protonation step of enzymatic NRR, shows exclusive NRR selectivity over competing hydrogen reduction (HER) and nitrogenous compounds (NO and NO2). Thus, Ti-TCPP MOF with an NRR limiting potential of -0.35 V in water solvent is proposed as an attractive candidate for electrocatalytic NRR.

A computational study of H-bonded networks in cyclic water clusters, (H2O)n (n = 3-12).

We have performed a detailed MM and DFT investigation of neutral water clusters (H2O)n (n = 3-12). Our results show the trend of interaction energies in these clusters as a function of the size of the cluster. They show that the H-bond strength increases with cluster size and that the model of water is better described if two different partial charges are used on the hydrogen, depending on whether hydrogen is H-bonded or not. The average binding enthalpy change due to the formation of H-bonds between water molecules is found to be - 25.9kJmol-1 at B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory. We observe the formation of cyclic H-bonded networks through the analysis of frontier orbitals and IR vibrational frequencies spectra. For the water cluster with n = 11, we observe an unusual reduction of the bandgap indicative of a cyclic H-bonded network. Calculations were performed with the MMFF94 force field and the B3LYP method using various large basis sets. Molecular orbital diagrams and population analysis were done using standard tools in Gaussian.

Overall Spontaneous Water Splitting for Calcium Bismuthate Ca(BiO2)2: Flexible-Electronic-Controlled Band Edge Position and Adsorption-Site-Modulated Bond Strength.

Eco-friendly photocatalysts for water splitting, highly efficient in oxygen/hydrogen evolution reactions, hold great promise for the storage of inexhaustible solar energy and address environmental challenges. However, current common photocatalysts rarely exhibit both H2 and O2 production performances unless some regulatory measures, such as strain engineering, are implemented. Additionally, the extensive utilization of flexible electronics remains constrained by their high Young's modulus. Herein, on the basis of density functional theory calculations, we identify a novel spontaneous oxygen-producing two-dimensional Ca(BiO2)2 material, which can efficiently regulate the electronic structures of the surface active sites, optimize the reaction pathways, reduce the reaction energy barriers, and boost the overall water-splitting activity through biaxial strain modulation. In detail, an unstrained Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only possesses a suitable band gap value (2.02 eV) to fulfill the photocatalytic water-splitting band edge relationships but also holds favorable transport properties, excellent optical absorption across the visible light spectrum, and spontaneous oxygen production under neutral conditions. More excitingly, under application of a 7% biaxial tensile strain modulation with an ideal biaxial strength of 32.35 GPa nm, the Ca(BiO2)2 monolayer not only maintains its structural integrity but also exhibits a completely spontaneous reaction for photocatalytic hydrogen precipitation with superior optical absorption. This can primarily be attributed to the substantial reduction of the potential barrier through strain engineering as well as the weakening of bond energy resulting from changes of the adsorption site as calculated by crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis. This flexible stretchable electronic modulated the photocatalyst behavior and bond energy of O-Bi and O-Ca interactions, offering outstanding potential for photocatalytic water spontaneous oxygen and hydrogen evolution among all of the reported metal oxides, and is more likely to become a promising candidate for future flexible electronic devices.

Synthesis, crystal structure, exploration of the supramolecular assembly through Hirshfeld surface analysis of new 2,4-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-selones and 3,3′-di(4H-1,2,4-triazolyl)diselenides

The reaction of aromatic ring-substituted isoselenocyanates with 2-thiopheacetic and 4-pyridinecarboxylic acid hydrazides yielded selenosemicarbazides, which were further converted into previously unknown 1,2,4-triazole-3-selones and 3,3′-di(4H-1, 2,4-triazolyl)diselenides. The structure of the obtained compounds was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy. Theoretically, the reactivity and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were predicted by using the DFT-B3LYP method. Charge separation and orbital analysis were performed by using the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) and natural population analysis (NPA). 5aa, 5ca, and 5ab show significantly reduced HOMO-LUMO gaps and ionization potential (IP) among the other compounds. The density of states (DOS) spectra was plotted to get a pictorial representation of orbital and their energies. The highest βo value of 1754.31 au is obtained for 7fb which is indicating its excellent NLO properties. Nature and strength of Intermolecular interactions in crystal packing is considered through Hirshfeld surface (HS) analysis using the CrystalExplorer. Hence, the studied compounds have significant reactivity and NLO properties and may open a new door in searching for new NLO materials.

DFT study, and natural bond orbital (NBO) population analysis of 2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-azaazulene tautomers and their mercapto analouges

Theoretical research on the keto-enol tautomerization of 2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-aza azulene (2HPhAZ) and its thiol-thione (2MPhAZ) analouge has been performed using the density functional B3LYP method with the 6–311 + + G(2d,2p) basis set in gas and ethanol phases. The findings of the MO computation on the energy scale and the prediction of the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energies demonstrate that the tautomeric structures exist in a static mixture in the ground state, with the enol and thiol structure being more stable than the keto and thione structures in gas phase. The ethanol solvent causes some reordering of the relative stability of 2HPhAZ and 2MPhAZ conformers. The geometries created at the B3LYP/6–311 + + G(2d,2p) level of theory were used for NBO analysis. In the tautomerization of 2HPhAZ and its mercapto analogue 2-(2-Mercaptophenyl)-1-azaazulene (2MPhAZ), it has been found that the O(S)-C sigma bond is weak due to nO(S)—> σ*C25-O26(S26) and nO(S)—> σ*C15-N16 delocalization. It is also noted that the resulting p character of the corresponding oxygen (sulfur) natural hybrid orbital (NHO) of σO(S)-C bond orbital is related to the decreased occupancy of the localized σO(S)-C orbital in the idealized Lewis structure or the increased occupancy of σ*O(S)-C of the non-Lewis orbital and their subsequent impact on molecular stability and geometry (bond lengths) in gas phase and ethanol. Additionally, the energy of charge transfer decreases as the potential rotamers' Hammett constants (R1–R3 for O(S) atoms) increase. The partial charge distribution on the skeleton atoms demonstrates that the intra- and intermolecular interactions can be significantly influenced by the electrostatic attraction or repulsion between atoms. Lastly, the currently applied NBO-based HB strength indicator enables a fair prediction of the frequency of the proton donor NH stretching mode, but this simple picture is hidden by abundant hype conjugative effects.

What governs magnetic exchange couplings in radical-bridged dinuclear complexes?

Coupling transition metal or lanthanide ions through a radical bridging ligand is a promising route to increase performances in the area of single molecular magnets. A better understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms governing the magnetic exchange couplings is thus of valuable importance to design future compounds. Here, couplings in three series of metal-radical-metal compounds based on transition metal ions are investigated by means of the decomposition/recomposition methods. This work presents the generalisation and first application of the method to systems with an arbitrary number of magnetic centres featuring several unpaired electrons. Thanks to the decomposition into the three main contributions (direct exchange, kinetic exchange, and spin polarisation) as well as a description in terms of electron-electron interactions, we study the influence of the nature of the metal centre and the radical ligand on the couplings. We combine the energetic contributions extracted with orbital and charge population analysis to rationalise the results.

Revealing the nature of covalently tethered distonic radical anions in the generation of heteroatom-centered radicals: evidence for the polarity-matching PCET pathway.

Recognition of the intermediacy and regulation of reactivity patterns of radical intermediates in radical chemistry have profound impacts on harnessing and developing the full potential of open-shell species in synthetic settings. In this work, the possibility of in situ formation of O/N-X intermediates from Brønsted base covalently tethered carbonyl hypohalites (BCTCs) for the generation of heteroatom-centered radicals has certainly been excluded by NMR experiments and density functional theory calculations. Instead, the spectroscopic analyses reveal that the BCTCs serve as precursors of tether-tunable distonic radical anions (TDRAs) which have been unequivocally substantiated to be involved in the direct cleavage of O/N-H bonds to generate the corresponding heteroatom-centered radicals. Meanwhile, a deep insight into the properties and reactivities of the resulting TDRAs indicates that the introduction of a tethered Brønsted base on the parent open-shell species reinforces their stabilities and leads to a reversal of electrophilicity. Moreover, the dual descriptor values and electrophilicity indices are calculated based on eleven reported radical reactions involving various electrophilic/nucleophilic radical species, further confirming their validity in the prediction of the polar effect and the polarity-matching consistency between nucleophilic TDRAs and protic O/N-H bonds. The additional halogen-free experiments mediated by the combination of phthaloyl peroxide and TEMPO also prove the feasibility of the TDRA-assisted philicity-regulation approach. Lastly, detailed intrinsic bond orbital (IBO) and Hirschfeld spin population analyses are employed to elucidate that the H-atom abstraction processes are the polarity-matching proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathways, with a degree of oxidative asynchronicity.

First-principles study of a SiC nanosheet as an effective material for nitrosourea and carmustine anti-cancer drug delivery.

The development of novel nanosheet-based drug delivery systems requires a systematic understanding of the interactions between the drug and the nanosheet carrier under various physiological environments. In this work, we investigated electronic and quantum molecular descriptors of a SiC monolayer adsorbed with the anticancer drugs nitrosourea (NU) and carmustine (BCNU) using density functional theory (DFT). Our calculations revealed negative adsorption energies for both drugs, indicating a spontaneous and energetically favorable adsorption process. Density of states and orbital population analysis studies revealed that both drugs are capable of significantly (>30%) narrowing the gap between HOMO and LUMO, depending on the configuration of the adsorption complex. Furthermore, the electronic and quantum molecular descriptors were investigated in gas and water mediums to explore the effect of the solvent on the adsorption process. Our calculations predict a higher narrowing of the HOMO-LUMO gap in the water phase compared to the gas phase. Besides, a modest reduction in global hardness and a marked increase in the global electrophilicity index were observed after the adsorption of the drug molecules by the SiC nanosheet, indicating its high reactivity towards both NU and BCNU. Changing the medium to water showed a maximum 2× increase in the global electrophilicity index of the nanosheet for NU and a maximum 7× increase for BCNU. Additionally, the thermodynamic study of the adsorption process indicates that the formation energies at high temperatures are smaller than those at low temperatures, unfolding the potential of SiC nanosheet for application in the phototherapy of these drugs.

Synthesis, solvent-solute interactions (polar and non-polar), spectroscopic insights, topological aspects, Fukui functions, molecular docking, ADME, and donor-acceptor investigations of 2-(trifluoromethyl)benzimidazole: A promising candidate for antitumor pharmacotherapy

The favorite heteroatom-containing compound, 2-(trifluoromethyl) benzimidazole (2TFMBI), was synthesized and experimentally characterized using spectroscopic techniques. Density Functional Theory (DFT) with B3LYP/6–311++G(d,p) basis set was employed to simulate geometrical parameters, vibrational spectra, electronic spectra, chemical shifts, and other properties of 2TFMBI. Solvent effects, including aprotic polar (aniline and DMSO), protic polar (methanol and water), and non-polar (carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, cyclohexane, and toluene), on electronic properties, frontier molecular orbitals (FMO), and Molecular Electrostatic Potential Surface (MESP) were analyzed. Additionally, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) and Mulliken population analysis were simulated to better understand the structural aspects of 2TFMBI. The energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) confirms the compound's high reactivity and charge transfer. In-silico Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) indices were determined to have potential pharmacokinetic attributes and biological properties. A set of topological analyses, including Electron Localization Function (ELF), Local Orbital Locator (LOL), Non-Covalent Interaction (NCI), Reduced Density Gradient (RDG), and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) was performed to reveal weak interactions within the compound, spanning both chemical functionalities and delocalized zones. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis was performed to examine the potential biological activity against tumor-inducing proteins H-RASGTP and H-RASGDP, endorsing the antitumor efficacy of 2TFMBI.

Effect of carbon content on electronic structure of uranium carbides

The electronic structure of UC_x (x = 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 2.0) was studied by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the C K edge and measurements in the high energy resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) mode at the U M_4 and L_3 edges. The full-relativistic density functional theory calculations taking into account the 5f-5f Coulomb interaction U and spin-orbit coupling (DFT+U+SOC) were also performed for UC and UC_2. While the U L_3 HERFD-XAS spectra of the studied samples reveal little difference, the U M_4 HERFD-XAS spectra show certain sensitivity to the varying carbon content in uranium carbides. The observed gradual changes in the U M_4 HERFD spectra suggest an increase in the C 2p-U 5f charge transfer, which is supported by the orbital population analysis in the DFT+U+SOC calculations, indicating an increase in the U 5f occupancy in UC_2 as compared to that in UC. On the other hand, the density of states at the Fermi level were found to be significantly lower in UC_2, thus affecting the thermodynamic properties. Both the x-ray spectroscopic data (in particular, the C K XAS measurements) and results of the DFT+U+SOC calculations indicate the importance of taking into account U and SOC for the description of the electronic structure of actinide carbides.

Exploring the ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity of a two-dimensional compound Tl2Se3

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted extensive attention in the field of thermoelectric (TE) materials, where heat transport properties play an important role in determining the performance of TE devices. In this paper, we investigate the thermal transport properties of novel 2D Tl2Se3 by means of first-principles approach combined with the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE). The small phonon sound group speed and strong anharmonicity are responsible for an ultra-low kl of 0.28 W/mK of 2D Tl2Se3 at room temperature. Meanwhile, the lattice thermal conductivity gradually decreases with the increase of temperature, indicating its potential value at high-temperature. The anti-bonding orbital filling between the Se-4p and Tl-6p states leads to the weak chemical bonds using the crystal orbital Hamiltonian population (COHP) analysis, which results in low phonon group velocities. Also, due to the strong acoustic-optical coupling in 2D Tl2Se3, the scattering processes of different acoustic modes is further studied to analyze how kl is suppressed. These findings demonstrate that 2D Tl2Se3 has potential applications in TE devices, which will motivate Tl2Se3 based experimental investigations.

A methodical investigation on the growth and characterization of a third-order nonlinear optical novel co-crystal of 8-hydroxyquinolinium phthalate: X-ray, Hirshfeld surface, optical, mechanical, thermal and DFT analysis

A novel non-linear optical single crystal of 8-hydroxyquinolinium phthalate has been as-synthesised by a slow evaporation solution growth technique. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis affirms that it belongs to a monoclinic crystal system. While UV–visible spectroscopy shows its optical transparency with a direct band gap of 2.80 eV, a photoluminescence study confirms a principal yellow emission at 370 nm excitation. Furthermore, the mechanical and thermal properties along with the functional groups’ study have also been laid out in this paper. Intermolecular interactions present in the crystal are ascertained from Hirshfeld surface and fingerprint plot studies. The Z-scan technique has reportedly affirmed third harmonics generation in the same. Theoretical calculations using DFT modelling further testify to the experimental observations thereby laying out the framework of the mentioned crystal in terms of its optimized geometry, molecular electrostatic potential, frontier molecular orbital, natural bond orbital and natural population analysis along with vibrational assignments and UV absorption analysis.

Structural investigation, quantum chemical calculation, energy framework analysis and MIC studies of silver and cobalt complexes of 4-amino-N-(4, 6-dimethyl-2 pyrimidinyl) benzenesulfonamide in presence of secondary ligand

Silver and cobalt complexes of SMZ ligand (SMZ = 4-amino-N-(4, 6-dimethyl-2 pyrimidinyl) benzenesulfonamide) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental, FT-IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy analysis. Due to the magnetic behaviour of the cobalt complex, it was characterized by EPR and magnetic susceptibility analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) study reveals the [Ag2(C12H14N4O2S)2(C6H7N), complex-1 crystallizes in orthorhombic space group Pbca, while [{Co(C12H13N4O2S)2(C5H5N)2}.(C5H5N)], complex-2 crystallizes in monoclinic space group C2/c. The SC-XRD analysis shows that silver in complex-1 is four-coordinate exhibiting distorted tetrahedral geometry, while cobalt in complex-2 is coordinated to six nitrogen’s leading to distorted octahedral geometry. Additionally, Hirshfeld surfaces and 2D fingerprint plots analysis shows that the H…H intermolecular contacts are the main contribution to the Hirshfeld surface area displaying values for complex-1 and complex-2 are 59.1% and 50% respectively (%H-H; complex 1 > Complex 2). In 3D energy frameworks analysis, complex-1, has shown the highest dispersion interaction energies than that of complex 2 [dispersion energy; -74.5 kJ mol-1 (complex-1) > -63.4 kJ mol-1 (complex-2)], Moreover, computational studies such as frontier molecular orbital (FMO), natural bond orbital (NBO) and Mulliken population analysis (MPA) were calculated using B3LYP method. Besides, The MIC data against panel of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms confirm that both the metal complexes of SMZ ligand possesses better inhibitory activities than that of SMZ ligand. The MIC data shows the silver complex exhibits comparatively better response towards the panel of the gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Furthermore, the molecular docking study agrees that the binding affinity of the complexes with 1BNA is higher than that of free SMZ ligand.

Strong resonance interaction in 4-{4-[2-(3-dicyanomethylene-5,5-dimethyl-cyclohex-1-enyl)-vinyl]-phenoxy}-butyric acid. Structural, electrochemistry and spectroscopic properties complemented by Natural Bond Orbital and Hirshfeld surface analysis

The present investigation deals with the synthesis and characterization of (E)-4-(4-(2-(3-(dicyanomethylene)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)vinyl)phenoxy)butanoic acid (SLN-01) and its electrochemical and structural study. The compound SLN-01, has been characterized by UV, FTIR, and multinuclear (1H and 13C) NMR spectroscopic studies. DFT calculations were used to estimate redox potential and band gap energies of SLN-01. It's molecular and crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The compound (E)-4-(4-(2-(3-(Dicyanomethylene)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)vinyl)phenoxy) butanoic acid (SLN-01) was crystallized in the triclinic geometry. The Hirshfeld surface analysis was conducted to confirm the supramolecular association formed by the individual conformers and overall packing in the crystal. Natural Bond Orbital population analysis was performed to understand the electronic interactions between the donor and acceptor moieties in the molecule. The targeted compound exhibited a strong absorption at 416 nm (ε= 67762 ± 4600 L mol−1 cm−1) with emission (λem) at 575 nm (at excitation wavelength λex= 430 nm).

Untangling the Fundamental Electronic Origins of Non‐Local Electron–Phonon Coupling in Organic Semiconductors

AbstractOrganic semiconductors with distinct molecular properties and large carrier mobilities are constantly developed in attempt to produce highly‐efficient electronic materials. Recently, designer molecules with unique structural modifications have been expressly developed to suppress molecular motions in the solid state that arise from low‐energy phonon modes, which uniquely limit carrier mobilities through electron–phonon coupling. However, such low‐frequency vibrational dynamics often involve complex molecular dynamics, making comprehension of the underlying electronic origins of electron–phonon coupling difficult. In this study, first a mode‐resolved picture of electron–phonon coupling in a series of materials that are specifically designed to suppress detrimental vibrational effects, is generated. From this foundation, a method is developed based on the crystalline orbital Hamiltonian population (COHP) analyses to resolve the origins—down to the single atomic‐orbital scale—of surprisingly large electron–phonon coupling constants of particular vibrations, explicitly detailing the manner in which the intermolecular wavefunction overlap is perturbed. Overall, this approach provides a comprehensive explanation into the unexpected effects of less‐commonly studied molecular vibrations, revealing new aspects of molecular design that should be considered for creating improved organic semiconducting materials.

Iridium/Zinc-Co-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Reactions of Oxabicyclic Alkenes with Indole Nucleophiles: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

An experimental and theoretical investigation on the iridium/zinc-co-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of oxabicyclic alkenes with indole nucleophiles is reported. The reaction affords trans-3-indolyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalen-1-ol products in good yield with no N-alkylated products observed. The C–C bond-forming reaction does not require prior functionalization and is entirely atom-economic. The mechanism and origins of selectivity in the iridium-catalyzed ring-opening reaction have been examined at the M06-D3/Def2TZVPP level of theory. Orbital analysis and natural population analysis charges demonstrate that the Cα site of the π-allyliridium intermediate is the most electrophilic site of attack. Distortion/interaction analysis reveals that the chemoselectivity likely originates from an earlier-stage transition state between Cα and C3, which requires less distortion energy compared to Cα–N1 during the rate-determining intermolecular nucleophilic attack. Moreover, conceptual density functional theory was used to conceptualize the preferential reactive sites of the nucleophiles probed. The C–C bond-forming step is speculated to proceed through a Friedel–Crafts-type reaction.