Aaron M. Virshup

First Principles Dynamics and Minimum Energy Pathways for Mechanochemical Ring Opening of Cyclobutene

We use ab initio steered molecular dynamics to investigate the mechanically induced ring opening of cyclobutene. We show that the dynamical results can be considered in terms of a force-modified potential energy surface (FMPES). We show how the minimal energy paths for the two possible competing conrotatory and disrotatory ring-opening reactions are affected by external force. We also locate minimal energy pathways in the presence of applied external force and show that the reactant, product, and transition state geometries are altered by the application of external force. The largest effects are on the transition state geometries and barrier heights. Our results provide a framework for future investigations of the role of external force on chemical reactivity.

Nonlinear dimensionality reduction for nonadiabatic dynamics: The influence of conical intersection topography on population transfer rates

Conical intersections play a critical role in the nonadiabatic relaxation of excited electronic states. However, there are an infinite number of these intersections and it is difficult to predict which are actually relevant. Furthermore, traditional descriptors such as intrinsic reaction coordinates and steepest descent paths often fail to adequately characterize excited state reactions due to their highly nonequilibrium nature. To address these deficiencies in the characterization of excited state mechanisms, we apply a nonlinear dimensionality reduction scheme (diffusion mapping) to generate reaction coordinates directly from ab initio multiple spawning dynamics calculations. As illustrated with various examples of photoisomerization dynamics, excited state reaction pathways can be derived directly from simulation data without any a priori specification of relevant coordinates. Furthermore, diffusion maps also reveal the influence of intersection topography on the efficiency of electronic population transfer, providing further evidence that peaked intersections promote nonadiabatic transitions more effectively than sloped intersections. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of nonlinear dimensionality reduction techniques as powerful tools for elucidating reaction mechanisms beyond the statistical description of processes on ground state potential energy surfaces.

Strategy to discover diverse optimal molecules in the small molecule universe.

The small molecule universe (SMU) is defined as a set of over 1060 synthetically feasible organic molecules with molecular weight less than ∼500 Da. Exhaustive enumerations and evaluation of all SMU molecules for the purpose of discovering favorable structures is impossible. We take a stochastic approach and extend the ACSESS framework (Virshup et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2013, 135, 7296–730323548177) to develop diversity oriented molecular libraries that can generate a set of compounds that is representative of the small molecule universe and that also biases the library toward favorable physical property values. We show that the approach is efficient compared to exhaustive enumeration and to existing evolutionary algorithms for generating such libraries by testing in the NKp fitness landscape model and in the fully enumerated GDB-9 chemical universe containing 3 × 105 molecules.

Dexter energy transfer pathways

Significance Controlling the dynamics of excitons—including their transport, fission, fusion, and free carrier generation—presents a central challenge in energy science, optoelectronics, and photobiology. We develop a coupling-pathway theory for triplet energy transfer, a process controlled by the structure of the medium between donor and acceptor sites, and find two competing coupling pathway mechanisms. At shorter distances or high tunneling gaps, the electron and hole move sequentially from donor to acceptor, accessing donor–acceptor charge-transfer exciton virtual states; at longer distances or lower tunneling gaps, virtual exciton states of the bridge mediate the transport. Molecular design strategies can leverage these competing mechanisms and their distinctive dependences on molecular structure. Energy transfer with an associated spin change of the donor and acceptor, Dexter energy transfer, is critically important in solar energy harvesting assemblies, damage protection schemes of photobiology, and organometallic opto-electronic materials. Dexter transfer between chemically linked donors and acceptors is bridge mediated, presenting an enticing analogy with bridge-mediated electron and hole transfer. However, Dexter coupling pathways must convey both an electron and a hole from donor to acceptor, and this adds considerable richness to the mediation process. We dissect the bridge-mediated Dexter coupling mechanisms and formulate a theory for triplet energy transfer coupling pathways. Virtual donor–acceptor charge-transfer exciton intermediates dominate at shorter distances or higher tunneling energy gaps, whereas virtual intermediates with an electron and a hole both on the bridge (virtual bridge excitons) dominate for longer distances or lower energy gaps. The effects of virtual bridge excitons were neglected in earlier treatments. The two-particle pathway framework developed here shows how Dexter energy-transfer rates depend on donor, bridge, and acceptor energetics, as well as on orbital symmetry and quantum interference among pathways.

Diverse Optimal Molecular Libraries for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have wide-ranging applications, from lighting to device displays. However, the repertoire of organic molecules with efficient blue emission is limited. To address this limitation, we have developed a strategy to design property-optimized, diversity-oriented libraries of structures with favorable fluorescence properties. This approach identifies novel diverse candidate organic molecules for blue emission with strong oscillator strengths and low singlet-triplet energy gaps that favor thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emission.