Emilie B. Guidez

Theoretical analysis of the optical excitation spectra of silver and gold nanowires

The excitation spectra of linear atomic chains of silver and gold with various sizes have been calculated using time-dependent density functional theory. Silver chains show longitudinal and transverse peaks as well as a low-intensity d-band. The longitudinal peak, corresponding to the HOMO-LUMO transition (along the main axis of the chain), shifts linearly to the red as the length of the system increases, consistent with the particle-in-a-box model. The transverse peak remains at approximately constant energy for all systems studied and corresponds to ∑(m)→Π(m) transitions in the xy plane perpendicular to the chain. As the chain grows, transitions arising from d orbitals contribute to the transverse peak, which affects its oscillator strength. Contrary to silver, gold chains display a strong d-band that converges to a distinct pattern at a chain length of about twelve atoms. The transitions involved in the d-band originate from localized d-orbitals with a d(z(2)) character since they have the right symmetry to give transitions into the LUMO, LUMO + 1, …, which have ∑ symmetry. Transitions arising from these localized d-orbitals also affect the position of the longitudinal peak and generate a wide transverse band. Although the majority of the transitions involved in the transverse band have a d∑→Π or dΠ→∑ character, they are hidden by much stronger excitations of dΠ→Π character in gold nanowires.

Quantum coherent plasmon in silver nanowires: A real-time TDDFT study

A plasmon-like phenomenon, arising from coinciding resonant excitations of different electronic characteristics in 1D silver nanowires, has been proposed based on theoretical linear absorption spectra. Such a molecular plasmon holds the potential for anisotropic nanoplasmonic applications. However, its dynamical nature remains unexplored. In this work, quantum dynamics of longitudinal and transverse excitations in 1D silver nanowires are carried out within the real-time time-dependent density functional theory framework. The anisotropic electron dynamics confirm that the transverse transitions of different electronic characteristics are collective in nature and oscillate in-phase with respect to each other. Analysis of the time evolutions of participating one-electron wave functions suggests that the transverse transitions form a coherent wave packet that gives rise to a strong plasmon resonance at the molecular level.

Derivation and Implementation of the Gradient of the R–7 Dispersion Interaction in the Effective Fragment Potential Method

The dispersion interaction energy may be expressed as a sum over R(-n) terms, with n ≥ 6. Most implementations of the dispersion interaction in model potentials are terminated at n = 6. Those implementations that do include higher order contributions commonly only include even power terms, despite the fact that odd power terms can be important. Because the effective fragment potential (EFP) method contains no empirically fitted parameters, the EFP method provides a useful vehicle for examining the importance of the leading R(-7) odd power term in the dispersion expansion. To fully evaluate the importance of the R(-7) contribution to the dispersion energy, it is important to have analytic energy first derivatives for all terms. In the present work, the gradients of the term E7 ∼ R(-7) are derived analytically, implemented in the GAMESS software package, and evaluated relative to other terms in the dispersion expansion and relative to the total EFP interaction energy. Periodic boundary conditions in the minimum image convention are also implemented. A more accurate dispersion energy contribution can now be obtained during molecular dynamics simulations.

Dispersion Correction Derived from First Principles for Density Functional Theory and Hartree–Fock Theory

The modeling of dispersion interactions in density functional theory (DFT) is commonly performed using an energy correction that involves empirically fitted parameters for all atom pairs of the system investigated. In this study, the first-principles-derived dispersion energy from the effective fragment potential (EFP) method is implemented for the density functional theory (DFT-D(EFP)) and Hartree-Fock (HF-D(EFP)) energies. Overall, DFT-D(EFP) performs similarly to the semiempirical DFT-D corrections for the test cases investigated in this work. HF-D(EFP) tends to underestimate binding energies and overestimate intermolecular equilibrium distances, relative to coupled cluster theory, most likely due to incomplete accounting for electron correlation. Overall, this first-principles dispersion correction yields results that are in good agreement with coupled-cluster calculations at a low computational cost.

Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Study of the Luminescence Properties of Gold Phosphine Thiolate Complexes

The origin of the emission of the gold phosphine thiolate complex (TPA)AuSCH(CH3)2 (TPA = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantanetriylphosphine) is investigated using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). This system absorbs light at 3.6 eV, which corresponds mostly to a ligand-to-metal transition with some interligand character. The P-Au-S angle decreases upon relaxation in the S1 and T1 states. Our calculations show that these two states are strongly spin-orbit coupled at the ground state geometry. Ligand effects on the optical properties of this complex are also discussed by looking at the simple AuP(CH3)3SCH3 complex. The excitation energies differ by several tenths of an electronvolt. Excited state optimizations show that the excited singlet and triplet of the (TPA)AuSCH(CH3)2 complex are bent. On the other hand, the Au-S bond breaks in the excited state for the simple complex, and TDDFT is no longer an adequate method. The excited state energy landscape of gold phosphine thiolate systems is very complex, with several state crossings. This study also shows that the formation of the [(TPA)AuSCH(CH3)2]2 dimer is favorable in the ground state. The inclusion of dispersion interactions in the calculations affects the optimized geometries of both ground and excited states. Upon excitation, the formation of a Au-Au bond occurs, which results in an increase in energy of the low energy excited states in comparison to the monomer. The experimentally observed emission of the (TPA)AuSCH(CH3)2 complex at 1.86 eV cannot be unambiguously assigned and may originate from several excited states.

Dispersion Interactions in Water Clusters

The importance of dispersion forces in water clusters is examined using the effective fragment potential (EFP) method. Since the original EFP1 water potential does not include dispersion, a dispersion correction to the EFP1 potential (EFP1-D) was derived and implemented. The addition of dispersion to the EFP1 potential yields improved geometries for water clusters that contain 2-6 molecules. The importance of the odd E7 contribution to the dispersion energy is investigated. The E7 dispersion term is repulsive for all of the water clusters studied here and can have a magnitude that is as large as half of the E6 value. The E7 term therefore contributes to larger intermolecular distances for the optimized geometries. Inclusion of many-body effects and/or higher order terms may be necessary to further improve dispersion energies and optimized geometries.