Orbital Shift Research Articles

P-type doped ambipolar polymer transistors by direct charge transfer from a cationic organic dye Pyronin B ferric chloride

We report a facile way to improve organic field effect transistor (OFET) performance based on low concentration doping of diketopyrrolopyrrole-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DPPT-TT) solution by an organic cationic dye, Pyronin B (PyB). DPPT-TT OFETs show significantly high field effect mobilities (up to 3.5 cm2 V−1 s−1) by optimizing the doping ratio and solvent selection. The devices also exhibit better on/off ratio by suppression of n-channel characteristics. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–vis absorption spectra revealed efficient p-type doping in PyB doped DPPT-TT films, which was confirmed by the Fermi level shifting toward the highest occupied molecular orbital and red shift of the absorption spectrum.

Tight-binding theory of NMR shifts in topological insulatorsBi2Se3andBi2Te3

Motivated by recent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, we present a microscopic sp3 tight-binding model calculation of the NMR shifts in bulk Bi2Se3, and Bi2Te3. We compute the contact, dipolar, orbital and core polarization contributions to the carrier-density-dependent part of the NMR shifts in Bi209, Te125 and Se77. The spin-orbit coupling and the layered crystal structure result in a contact Knight shift with strong uniaxial anisotropy. Likewise, because of spin-orbit coupling, dipolar interactions make a significant contribution to the isotropic part of the NMR shift. The contact interaction dominates the isotropic Knight shift in Bi209 NMR, even though the electronic states at the Fermi level have a rather weak s-orbital character. In contrast, the contribution from the contact hyperfine interaction to the NMR shift of Se77 and Te125 is weak compared to the dipolar and orbital shifts therein. In all cases, the orbital shift is at least comparable to the contact and dipolar shifts, while the shift due to core polarization is subdominant (except for Te nuclei located at the inversion centers). By artificially varying the strength of spin-orbit coupling, we evaluate the evolution of the NMR shift across a band inversion but find no clear signature of the topological transition.

Enhancement of the Oxygen Evolution and the Oxygen Reduction Reactions in Mn3+ based Electrocatalysts

The material design of highly active catalysts for energy storage applications (e.g., metal-air batteries and fuel cells) is crucial for solving global energy problems. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is used for charging and discharging rechargeable metal-air batteries, respectively. Although precious metal-based catalysts facilitate these reactions, the kinetics of the OER and ORR are rather sluggish due to their multistep electron transfer. It is therefore important to explore the mechanism of the OER and ORR to discover the key factors for highly active catalysts. As demonstrated by Suntivich et al. (2011)[1],[2], when the number of electrons in the eg orbital is close to unity for transition metals, perovskite oxides exhibit maximum OER and ORR activities. In other words, Mn3+ (t2g 3 eg 1 for both surface and bulk), Co3+ (t2g 5 eg 1 for surface), and Ni3+ (t2g 6 eg 1 for both surface and bulk) become OER and ORR active sites for Mn3+, Co3+ and Ni3+ based compounds . However, LaMnO3 exhibits a significantly lower specific OER activity[3] compared with LaCoO3 and LaNiO3 (~6% of LaNiO3 at 1.8 V vs. RHE). Also, Mn3O4 exhibits a low specific OER activity[4] (40% of Mn2O3 at 1.8 V vs. RHE) similar to LaMnO3. It is therefore important to explore what causes degradation of the OER activity of Mn3+-based (t2g 3 eg 1) compounds to improve their catalytic activity. We attempt to improve the performance of Mn3+-based oxides by controlling the degradation factors of their OER activities. To directly compare the OER activities of Mn3+-based oxides containing more than two cation sites, Mn3+ concentrations at the octahedral site and their initial crystal structures were maintained. Mn3-x Co x O4 (0 ≤ x < 1), a series of tetragonally distorted spinel compounds, satisfies this condition, as their octahedral sites remain occupied by only Mn3+ ions . For Mn3+-based oxides with a single cation site, Mn3+ was directly substituted by Co3+.We systematically studied the OER and ORR performances of Mn3+-based oxides by Co3+-substitution. Nanoparticles were prepared for the evaluation of catalytic activity to minimize the influence of geometric factors. Electrochemical measurements were conducted using a rotating ring disk electrode rotator (RRDE-3A, BAS Inc., Japan) at 1600 rpm, in combination with a bipotentiostat (ALS Co., Ltd, Japan). In addition, a Pt wire counter electrode, and an Hg/HgO reference electrode (International Chemistry Co., Ltd., Japan) filled with 0.10 M KOH (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., Japan) were used. Electrochemical measurements were conducted with O2 saturation (30 min bubbling O2 gas through the solution) at ~25 °C, where the equilibrium potential of the O2/H2O redox couple was fixed at 0.304 V vs. Hg/HgO (or 1.23 V vs. RHE). During OER current density measurements for each sample, the potential of the sample-modified GC was controlled from 0.3-0.9 V vs. Hg/HgO (1.226-1.826 V vs. RHE) at 10 mV/s. For all measurements, the OER current density was iR-corrected (R = ~43 Ω) using the measured solution resistance, and capacitance-corrected by averaging the anodic and cathodic scans to remove the influence of the current related to the formation of an electrical double layer. With an increase in Co content, signicant improvements in the OER and ORR activities were observed for Mn3+-based oxides. For example, Mn2.1Co0.9O4 exhibited a high specific OER activity (1700 % of Mn3O4 at 1.76 V vs. RHE) and a long-term stability over 100 cycles [5]. The OER activities of Mn3+-based oxides increased linearly with the suppression of the Jahn–Teller distortion. We examined whether the electronic state of Mn3+ changes in favor of enhancing the OER and ORR activities. When the Jahn-Teller distortion of Mn3+O6 octahedra is suppressed due to the increase in Co content, the splitting of the Mn3+ eg orbitals becomes smaller and the electron occupying the Mn3+ eg orbital shifts to a higher energy level. Thus, the overlap of the antibonding Mn3+ eg orbitals with the O 2p orbitals of the oxygen adsorbate becomes stronger. The OER and ORR activities of Mn3+-based oxides should therefore be enhanced due to the stronger binding of OER intermediates to the catalytic surface. We therefore conclude that the suppression of Jahn–Teller distortion enhances the OER and ORR activities of Mn3+-based oxides. Our result suggests a future application of Mn3+-based oxides as bifunctional catalysts for metal-air batteries. [1] J. Suntivich et al., Science, 2011, 334, 1383. [2] J. Suntivich et al., Nature Chemistry, 2011, 3, 546. [3] B. Han et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 22576. [4] A. Ramirez et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2014, 118, 14073. [5] S. Hirai et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 2019.

DFT/TDDFT investigation on the chemical reactivities, aromatic properties, and UV-Vis absorption spectra of 1-butoxy-4-methoxybenzenepillar[5]arene constitutional isomers.

We investigate the chemical reactivities, aromatic properties, and UV-Vis absorption spectra of four constitutional isomers of 1-butoxy-4-methoxybenzenepillar[5]arene with the DFT and TDDFT methods. These characteristics in the gas and solvent phases are discussed on the basis of electronic energy, the highest occupied molecular orbital energy, electrophilicity, global hardness, chemical potential, and nucleus-independent chemical shift. The out-of-plane component of the NICS values reveals that there is a great contrast between aromatic rings of the isomer and benzene. The most intense wavelengths of BMpillar[5]arenes are all made up of delocalized-delocalized π → π* transition.

Molecular structure, spectroscopic properties and quantum chemical calculations of 8-t-buthyl-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one

This study acquaints the 8-t-buthyl-4-methyl-2H-chromen 2-one (II) of by quantum chemical calculations and spectral ways. The molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies and gauge including atomic orbital (GIAO) 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift values of II in the ground state have been calculated utilizing the density functional method (B3LYP) with the 6-31G(d) basis set. The theoretical vibrational frequencies and chemical shift values display well agreement with experimental values. On the other hand, DFT calculations of molecular electrostatic potentials and frontier molecular orbitals of II were implemented at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory.

Spin resonance transport properties of a single Au atom in S–Au–S junction and Au–Au–Au junction**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grants No. 2011CB921602) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 20121318158).

The spin transport properties of S–Au–S junction and Au–Au–Au junction between Au nanowires are investigated with density functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function. We mainly focus on the spin resonance transport properties of the center Au atom. The breaking of chemical bonds between anchor atoms and center Au atom significantly influences their spin transmission characteristics. We find the 0.8 eV orbital energy shift between anchor S atoms and the center Au atom can well protect the spin state stored in the S–Au–S junction and efficiently extract its spin state to the current by spin resonance mechanism, while the spin interaction of itinerant electrons and the valence electron of the center Au atom in the Au–Au–Au junction can extract the current spin information into the center Au atom. Fermi energy drift and bias-dependent spin filtering properties of the Au–Au–Au junction may transform information between distance, bias, and electron spin. Those unique properties make them potential candidates for a logical nanocircuit.

Competition between intramolecular hydrogen and pnictogen bonds in protonated systems

A theoretical study of the competition between hydrogen (HB) and pnictogen bonds (ZB) in three different families of compounds, (Z)-1,2-disubstituted ethenes (Eth), 1,2-disubstituted benzenes (Phe) and 1,8-disubstituted naphthalenes (Naph), with a charged group, ZH3 + and a neutral one, Z′H2 (Z, Z′ = N, P, As) as interacting moieties, has been carried out. In those structures with a NH3 + motif, intramolecular hydrogen bond structures are minima while pnictogen interactions are transition states. The opposite is true for PH3 + and AsH3 + moieties. An analysis of isodesmic energies (E iso), interaction energies (E b) and deformation energies (E def) shows that in Eth derivatives, the most stable compound corresponds to P+–N ZB while in the Phe and Naph ones, the N+–N HB interaction presents the largest negative isodesmic energy. Also, Eth and Phe derivatives show negative E iso values for all the compounds under study; however, in some cases of Naph derivatives positive isodesmic energies have been found. The Atoms in Molecules (AIM) analysis of the electron density, natural bond orbital (NBO) second-order orbital energies and electron density shift maps (EDS) have been used to better understand these intramolecular interactions.

Experimental (XRD, IR and NMR) and theoretical investigations on 1-(2-nitrobenzoyl)3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole

The pyrazole compound 1-(2-nitrobenzoyl)3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole (I) has been synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR and X-ray diffraction methods. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 36.126(5) Ǻ, b = 8.1963(7) Ǻ, c = 14.3983(18) Ǻ, β = 100.825(10)° and Z = 8. The molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies and Gauge-Independent Atomic Orbital (GIAO) 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift values of 1-(2-nitrobenzoyl)3,5-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole in the ground state have been calculated using the density functional method (B3LYP) with the 6–311++G(d,p) basis set. The optimized parameters are in agreement with X-ray data. The calculated vibrational frequencies and chemical shift values were compared with experimental IR and NMR values. In addition, frontier molecular orbitals, molecular electrostatic potential and NBO analysis of (I) were investigated by DFT calculations.

Crystal structure, spectroscopic investigations, and density functional studies of (Z)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-(3-methyl-3-mesitylcyclobutyl)ethanone oxime

ABSTRACTThe title molecule, (Z)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-(3-methyl-3-mesitylcyclo-butyl)ethanone oxime (C19 H25 N3 O), was prepared and characterized by1H-Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C-NMR, infrared spectroscopic methods, and X-ray single-crystal determination. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P c c n with a = 31.4660(17) Å, b = 11.2140(7) Å, and c = 10.0710(8) Å. In addition to molecular geometry from X-ray determination, vibrational frequencies and gauge, including atomic orbital, 1H- and 13C-NMR chemical shift values of the title compound in the ground state, were calculated using the density functional method with the 6-31G(d) basis set. The calculated results show that the optimized geometries can well reproduce the crystal structure. Besides, the theoretical vibrational frequencies and chemical shift values show good agreement with experimental values. The predicted nonlinear optical properties of the title compound are greater than those of urea. Density functional theory calculations of molecular electrostatic potentials, frontier molecular orbitals, and thermodynamic properties of the title compound were carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory.

Paleohydraulic reconstruction of a 40 ka‐old terrace sequence implies that water discharge was larger than today

AbstractThe evolution of landscapes crucially depends on the climate history. This is particularly evident in South America where landscape responses to orbital climate shifts have been well documented. However, while most studies have focused on inferring temperature variations from paleoclimate proxy data, estimates of water budget changes have been complicated because of a lack of adequate physical information. Here, we present a methodology and related results, which allowed us to extract water discharge values from the sedimentary record of the 40 Ka‐old fluvial terrace deposits in the Pisco valley, western Peru. In particular, this valley hosts a Quaternary cut‐and‐fill succession that we used, in combination with beryllium‐10 (10Be)‐based sediment flux, gauging records, channel geometries and grain size measurements, to quantitatively assess sediment and water discharge values c. 40 Ka ago in relation to present‐day conditions. We compare these discharge estimates to the discharge regime of the modern Pisco River and find that the water discharge of the paleo‐Pisco River, during the Minchin pluvial period c. 40 Ka ago, was c. 7–8 times greater than the modern Pisco River if considering the mean and the maximum water discharge. In addition, the calculations show that inferred water discharge estimates are mainly dependent on channel gradients and grain size values, and to a lesser extent on channel width measures. Finally, we found that the c. 40 Ka‐old Minchin terrace material was poorer sorted than the modern deposits, which might reflect that sediment transport during the past period was characterized by a larger divergence from equal mobility compared to the modern situation. In summary, the differences in grain size distribution and inferred water discharge estimates between the modern and the paleo‐Pisco River suggests that the 40 Ka‐old Minchin period was characterized by a wetter climate and more powerful flood events. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Physico-Chemical Characterization, Opto Electronic Investigation and Vibrational Analysis on Coordinate Covalent Complex; Bis (Thiourea) Nickel Bromide (BTNB) Using Experimental and Computational Tools

In this work, a thorough spectroscopic investigation is made on the molecule; Bis (thiourea) Nickel Bromide (BTNB) by recording FT-IR, FT-Raman and UV Visible spectra. The computational calculations were carried out by HF and DFT methods with 6-31++G(d, p) and 6-311++G(d, p) basis sets and the optimized geometrical parameters, vibrational fundamentals, natural bond orbitals, Frontier molecular orbital energies and NMR chemical shift have been calculated and presented in the table. The cause of change of physical and chemical properties by coordination covalent bond between metal and organic atoms has been discussed in detail. Hence, the Non Linear Optical properties of the present molecule have been studied by calculating average Polarizability and diagonal hyperpolarizability. The enhancements of physical and chemical properties of the coordination complex due to the Vander Waals bond have been interpreted. The thermodynamical parameters were calculated and these values are obtained from NIST thermodynamical program. The variation of specific heat capacity, entropy and enthalpy with respect to different temperature are displayed in the graph and are discussed. A new semiorganic nonlinear optical crystal of Bis (thiourea) Nickel Bromide (BTNB) was grown successfully by slow evaporation technique using water as solvent. The lattice parameters of the grown crystal have been determined by X-ray diffraction studies. Vibrational spectrum is recorded to determine symmetries of molecular vibrations. The recording of Optical absorbance spectrum revealed that this crystal has good transparency in the visible region. The nonlinear nature of the present crystal has been confirmed by the SHG test. The BTNB crystal was analyzed by a differential thermal analysis and thermo gravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA) to obtain its thermal stability. Vickers micro-hardness test has done on the crystal and this shows that the crystal has greater physical strength.

5-Methyl-2-hydroxy-acetophenone-thiosemicarbazone and its nickel(II) complex: Crystallographic, spectroscopic (IR, NMR and UV) and DFT studies

A new 5-methyl-2-hydroxy-acetophenone-thiosemicarbazone ligand (L) and its nickel(II) complex [Ni(L)(PPh3)] were synthesized. The crystal structure of free ligand and its complex has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. In the complex, thiosemicarbazone ligand is coordinated to nickel through ONS mode. The structures were also characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR and UV–Vis. spectroscopies. In addition, the molecular geometries, vibrational frequencies and gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) 1H NMR chemical shift values of the compounds in the ground state have been calculated using the density functional theory (B3LYP) method with 6-311G(d,p) basis set for C, H, N, O, P, S atoms and LANL2DZ basis set for Ni atom. Electronic transitions were calculated using the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) formalism and the experimental spectra of the compounds have been discussed.

Spectroscopic characterization, X-ray structure and DFT studies on 4-[3-(2,5-dimethylphenyl)-3-methylcyclobutyl]-N-methylthiazol-2-amine

The titled molecule 4-[3-(2,5-dimethylphenyl)-3-methylcyclobutyl]-N-methylthiazol-2-amine (C17H22N2S) is synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR, and X-ray single crystal determination. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with a = 6.3972(4) A, b = 9.4988(6) A, c = 26.016(2) A and β = 93.496(7)°. In addition to the molecular geometry from the X-ray determination, vibrational frequencies and gauge, including the atomic orbital (GIAO), 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift values of the titled compound in the ground state are calculated using the density functional (B3LYP) method with 6-31G(d), 6-31++G(d,p) and 6-311+G(2d,p) basis sets. The calculated results show that the optimized geometries can well reproduce the crystal structure. Moreover, the theoretical vibrational frequencies and chemical shift values show good agreement with the experimental values. The predicted nonlinear optical properties of the titled compound are greater than those of urea. DFT calculations of the molecular electrostatic potentials and frontier molecular orbitals of the titled compound are carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory.

Synthesis, spectral (FT-IR, UV-visible, NMR) features, biological activity prediction and theoretical studies of 4-Amino-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione and its tautomer

Triazole compounds constitute an important class of organic chemistry due to their various biological and corrosion inhibition activities. The synthesis scheme of a new triazole compound namely, 4-Amino-3-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione (4AHT) has been theoretically analyzed. Our density functional theory (DFT) based calculations show that the synthesis of 4AHT is energetically feasible at the room temperature as the reaction is exothermic, spontaneous as well as favored in forward direction. The calculated bond-lengths are found to be in good agreement with corresponding crystallographic values. We have considered two possible tautomers of 4AHT viz. thione and thiol forms. The FT-IR (KBr disc), UV-visible (ethanol) and 1H-NMR (DMSO) spectra of 4AHT have been recorded. The vibrational modes have been assigned on the basis of their potential energy distributions and scaled wavenumbers agree well with the FT-IR wavenumbers. Time dependent DFT calculations are performed to analyze the electronic transitions for various excited states which reproduce the experimental peak observed in UV-visible spectrum. Using gauge independent atomic orbital method 1H-NMR chemical shifts have been calculated and correlated with the experimental chemical shifts with the linear correlation coefficient of 0.9453. Our spectral analyses reveal the dominance of thione over thiol form of 4AHT. The chemical reactivity of 4AHT has been discussed by molecular electrostatic potential surface as well as various electronic parameters. The biological activities of 4AHT have also been explored theoretically and it has been found that the title molecule can act as a potential inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 enzyme. These findings may guide the synthesis and design of new triazole compounds with interesting biological activity.

Theoretical investigations of 63Cu2+ orbital Knight shifts for YBa2Cu4O8

The temperature-independent orbital Knight shifts for the orthorhombic [Formula: see text] site in [Formula: see text] (Y124) are investigated by utilizing the high order perturbation formulae of these parameters for a [Formula: see text] ion situated into orthorhombically elongated octahedra. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The moderate quasi-axial anisotropies of the Knight shifts are ascribed to the elongation distortion of the four-fold coordinated Cu[Formula: see text] site. The [Formula: see text] factors are also theoretically calculated in a uniform way for further experimental verification.

ON THE COMPLEX VARIABILITY OF THE SUPERORBITAL MODULATION PERIOD OF LMC X-4

LMC X-4 is an eclipsing high-mass X-ray binary exhibiting a superorbital modulation with a period of ~ 30:5 days. We present a detailed study of the variations of the superorbital modulation period with a time baseline of ~ 18 years. The period determined in the light curve collected by the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) significantly deviates from that observed by the All Sky Monitor (ASM) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). Using the data collected by RXTE/ASM, MAXI, and the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) onboard Swift, we found a significant period derivative, <TEX>$\dot{P}=(2.08{\pm}0.12){\times}10^{-5}$</TEX>. Furthermore, the O{C residual shows complex short-term variations indicating that the superorbital modulation of LMC X-4 exhibits complicated unstable behaviors. In addition, we used archive data collected by the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) on RXTE to estimate the orbital and spin parameters. The detected pulse frequencies obtained in small time segments were fitted with a circular orbital Doppler shift model. In addition to orbital parameters and spin frequency for each observation, we found a spin frequency derivative of <TEX>$\dot{v}=(6.482{\pm}0.011){\times}10^{-13}Hz{\cdot}s^{-1}$</TEX>. More precise orbital and spin parameters will be evaluated by the pulse arrival time delay technique in the future.

Molecular structure and vibrational and chemical shift assignments of (4R)-5-eno-4,7-epidioxy-3,7-O-methyl-1,2-O-(S)-trichloroethylidene-5,6,8-trideoxy-α-D-threo-1,4-furano-4,7-diulo-octose by DFT and ab initio HF calculations

Elemental analyses, single crystal X-ray diffraction method, and 1H and 13C NMR spectral techniques are used to synthesize and characterize the crystal structure of 4-diethylamino-2-{[4-(3-methyl-3-phenylcyclobutyl)- thiazol-2-yl]-hydrazonomethyl}-phenol. In order to calculate the molecular geometry along with vibrational frequencies and the gauge including atomic orbital (GIAO) 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift values of the title crystal structure in the ground state, the Hartree–Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) methods with 6-311G(d,p) basis sets are utilized. The assignments of the vibrational frequencies are calculated with the help of the potential energy distribution (PED) analysis using the VEDA 4 software. Experimental data are used for comparison. The molecule contains C–H⋯O intra–inter–molecular interactions.

Effect of carboxyl anchoring groups in asymmetric zinc phthalocyanine with large steric hindrance on the dye-sensitized solar cell performance

Asymmetric zinc phthalocyanines containing tribenzonaphtho-condensed porphyrazine with six bulky diphenylphenoxy and one or two carboxyl groups are used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It is found that Zn-tri-PcNc-4 having two carboxyl groups shows a slight redshift in the Q-band absorption but a significantly decreased absorbance as compared with Zn-tri-PcNc-8 having one carboxyl group, and Zn-tri-PcNc-4 can be more stably and perpendicularly grafted onto the TiO2 surface than Zn-tri-PcNc-8, which further leads to the differences in the interfacial charge transfer dynamics and dye-loaded amount. Zn-tri-PcNc-4 with two carboxyl groups grafted onto the TiO2 electrode surface of DSSC results in a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 3.22%, higher than that (3.01%) of the analog with one carboxyl group (Zn-tri-PcNc-8), which exhibits a lower short-circuit current but much higher open-circuit voltage. The additional carboxyl group in Zn-tri-PcNc-4 leads to the enhanced dye-loaded amount and the molecular orbital energy level shift toward positive direction, causing more efficient electron injection and higher short-circuit current than Zn-tri-PcNc-8; while the two carboxyl groups of Zn-tri-PcNc-4 would cause more protonation of TiO2 surface, which possibly leads to the downward shift of TiO2 conduction band edge, and then to the decreased open-circuit voltage. The present results demonstrate the molecular engineering aspect of ZnPc dyes in which the fine tuning of the energy levels and molecular structures is crucial for high conversion efficiency of DSSCs.

Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization on 4-(2,5-di-2-thienyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl) benzoic acid: A DFT approach

A complete structural and vibrational analysis of the 4-(2,5-di-2-thienyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl) benzoic acid (TPBA), was carried out by ab initio calculations, at the density functional theory (DFT) method. Molecular geometry, vibrational wavenumbers and gauge including atomic orbital (GIAO) 13C NMR and 1H NMR chemical shift values of (TPBA), in the ground state have been calculated by using ab initio density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) method with 6-311G(d,p) as basis set for the first time. Comparison of the observed fundamental vibrational modes of (TPBA) and calculated results by DFT/B3LYP method indicates that B3LYP level of theory giving yield good results for quantum chemical studies. Vibrational wavenumbers obtained by the DFT/B3LYP method are in good agreement with the experimental data. The study was complemented with a natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, to evaluate the significance of hyperconjugative interactions and electrostatic effects on such molecular structure. By using TD-DFT method, electronic absorption spectra of the title compound have been predicted and a good agreement with the TD-DFT method and the experimental one is determined. In addition, the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), frontier molecular orbitals analysis and thermodynamic properties of TPBA were investigated using theoretical calculations.

Spectroscopic and theoretical characterization of 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole 3-oxide

The optimized molecular structure, vibrational frequencies, corresponding vibrational assignments of 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole 3-oxide have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Gauge-including atomic orbital 1H NMR chemical shifts calculations were carried out and compared with experimental data. The HOMO and LUMO analysis is used to determine the charge transfer within the molecule. The stability of the molecule arising from hyper-conjugative interaction and charge delocalization has been analyzed using NBO analysis. The calculated geometrical parameters are in agreement with that of similar derivatives. Molecular electrostatic potential was performed by the DFT method. Mulliken’s net charges have been calculated and compared with the atomic natural charges. First and second hyperpolarizability are calculated in order to find its role in non-linear optics. Molecular docking is also reported.