Guochun Yang

Organic Polymorphs: One‐Compound‐Based Crystals with Molecular‐Conformation‐ and Packing‐Dependent Luminescent Properties

The present study of structure-property relationships and disclosure of fascinating amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) behavior of an organic molecule not only exhibits the individual effect of molecular conformation and arrangement on the emission properties of the crystal separately, but also indicates that some concealed elegant properties of organic solids can be achieved through manipulating the polymorphic form.

Theoretical discussions on electron transport properties of perylene bisimide derivatives with different molecular packings and intermolecular interactions

Seven perylene bisimide derivatives with different molecular packings and intermolecular interactions were investigated in detail within Marcus-Levich-Jortner formalism at the level of density functional theory (DFT). In theory, we further proved the report that different halogen substitutions in the core position of perylene bisimide lead to different molecular packings in their single crystals and thus obviously different electron transport properties. Here, insight into the geometries, the character of the frontier molecular orbitals, the decompositions of reorganization energies and transfer integrals in different directions was provided to shed light on the relationship between structures and properties. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and band structures calculations were also employed to give a multiscale understanding of their transport properties. The results show that there are small discrepancies of the intramolecular electron reorganization energies among these compounds and the transfer integrals determine their electron transport properties. Compounds 1a, 3a and 3b, with typical “brick” packing, π-stacked face-to-face packing and “herringbone” packing, respectively, have larger electron mobilities among these systems and possess different transport dimensionalities. Moreover, we also find there is close relationship between the intermolecular interaction energy and the transfer integral.

Vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy of chiral molecules.

In this chapter, new developments and main applications of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy reported in the last 5 years are described. This includes the determinations of absolute configurations of chiral molecules, understanding solvent effects and modeling solvent-solute explicit hydrogen bonding networks using induced solvent chirality, studies of transition metal complexes and their peculiar and enormous intensity enhancements in VCD spectra, investigations of conformational preference of chiral ligands bound to gold nano particles, and two new advances in applying matrix isolation VCD spectroscopy to flexible, multi-conformational chiral molecules and complexes, and in development of femtosecond laser based VCD instruments for transient VCD monitoring. A brief review of the experimental techniques and theoretical methods is also given. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an up-to-date perspective on the capability of VCD to solve significant problems about chiral molecules in solution, in thin film states, or on surfaces.

Reversible redox-switchable second-order optical nonlinearity in polyoxometalate: a quantum chemical study of [PW11O39(ReN)]n- (n = 3-7).

In this paper, the relationship between the reversible redox properties and the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) responses for the title series of complexes has been systematically investigated by using the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method combined with the sum-over-states (SOS) formalism. The results reveal that the successive reduction processes of five PW11ReN redox states should be PW11ReVII (1) --> PW11ReVI (2) --> PW11ReV (3) --> PW11ReV1e ( 4) --> PW 11ReV2e (5). Furthermore, their electrochemical properties have been reproduced successfully. It is noteworthy that the second-order NLO behaviors can be switched by reversible redox for the present studied complexes. Full oxidation constitutes a convenient way to switch off the second-order polarizability (system 1). The incorporation of extra electrons causes significant enhancement in the second-order NLO activity, especially for the third reduced state (system 4), whose static second-order polarizability (betavec) is about 144 times larger than that of fully oxidized 1. The characteristic of the charge-transfer transition corresponding to the dominant contributions to the betavec values indicates that metal-centered redox processes influence the intramolecular donor or acceptor character. Therefore, these kinds of complexes with the facile and reversible redox states could become excellent switchable NLO materials.

Probing chiral solute-water hydrogen bonding networks by chirality transfer effects: A vibrational circular dichroism study of glycidol in water

Vibrational absorption (VA) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of (S)-(-)-glycidol were measured in water with a concentration of 6.0M in the 1000-1750 cm(-1) region. Prominent and complex VCD spectral features were detected at the water bending vibrational region. Our experimental results show that water molecules can become optically active through hydrogen bonding interactions with glycidol molecules. To model the glycidol-water hydrogen bonding network in the solution, molecular dynamics simulations using the AMBER9 suite of programs were carried out. Altogether, 34 conformers of the small glycidol-(water)(N) clusters with N=1, 2, 3, and 4 were considered. Geometry optimizations, harmonic frequency calculations, and the VA and VCD intensity predictions of these small glycidol-water clusters were performed at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory using the GAUSSIAN 03 program package. Strong cooperative hydrogen bonding effects were detected in the larger glycidol-(water)(N) clusters. The population weighted VA and VCD spectra of each N group of glycidol (water)(N=1,2,3,4) were used to produce the simulated VA and VCD spectra, which are in good agreement with the experimental VA and VCD spectra. The study shows that all these clusters make important contributions to the observed spectra and are the most important species in the aqueous solution with complicated equilibriums among them.

Conformational Distributions of N‐Acetyl‐L‐cysteine in Aqueous Solutions: A Combined Implicit and Explicit Solvation Treatment of VA and VCD Spectra

The conformational distributions of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC) in aqueous solutions at several representative pH values are investigated using vibrational absorption (VA), UV/Vis, and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy, together with DFT and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The experimental VA and UV/Vis spectra of NALC in water are obtained under strongly acid, neutral, and strongly basic conditions, as well as the VCD spectrum at pH 7 in D(2)O. Extensive searches are carried out to locate the most stable conformers of the protonated, neutral, deprotonated, and doubly deprotonated NALC species at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. The inclusion of the polarizable continuum model (PCM) modifies the geometries and the relative stabilities of the conformers noticeably. The simulated PCM VA spectra show significantly better agreement with the experimental data than the gas-phase ones, thus allowing assignment of the conformational distributions and dominant species under each experimental condition. To further properly account for the discrepancies noted between the experimental and simulated VCD spectra, PCM and the explicit solvent model are utilized. MD simulations are used to aid the modelling of the NALC-(water)(N) clusters. The geometry optimization, harmonic frequency calculations, and VA and VCD intensities are computed for the NALC-(water)(3,4) clusters at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level without and with the PCM. The inclusion of both explicit and implicit solvation models at the same time provides a decisively better agreement between theory and experiment and therefore conclusive information about the conformational distributions of NALC in water and hydrogen-bonding interactions between NALC and water molecules.

The influence of the diphenylphosphoryl moiety on the phosphorescent properties of heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes and the OLED performance: a theoretical study

A series of heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes were investigated by using the density functional theory/time-dependent density functional theory (DFT/TD-DFT) approach to determine the influence of the diphenylphosphoryl (Ph2PO) moiety on the electronic structures, phosphorescent properties and the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) performance. The results reveal that the introduction of the Ph2PO group could not only dramatically change the electron density distributions of the LUMO and cause red shifts of the emission wavelengths, but also increase the oscillator strengths and the metal character, thus leading to larger radiative decay rates. Additionally, compared with FIrpic (a widely used kind of blue guest material in OLED devices), those complexes with Ph2PO substituents could improve the electron injection/balance ability, increase the Forster energy transfer rate and confine the triplet excitons to the guest phosphors, hence resulting in better OLED performance. Interestingly, further analysis indicates that, compared to IrpicPO with the Ph2PO group sited at the phenyl ring of the phenylpyridine (ppy) ligands, IrpicPOpy with the Ph2PO group sited at the pyridine ring of the ppy ligands performs better in the hole-trapping and hole-injection ability. Finally, we hope our investigations will facilitate the future design of high efficient phosphorescent materials.

A Stable, Magnetic, and Metallic Li3O4 Compound as a Discharge Product in a Li–Air Battery

The Li-air battery with the specific energy exceeding that of a Li ion battery has been aimed as the next-generation battery. The improvement of the performance of the Li-air battery needs a full resolution of the actual discharge products. Li2O2 has been long recognized as the main discharge product, with which, however, there are obvious failures on the understanding of various experimental observations (e.g., magnetism, oxygen K-edge spectrum, etc.) on discharge products. There is a possibility of the existence of other Li-O compounds unknown thus far. Here, a hitherto unknown Li3O4 compound as a discharge product of the Li-air battery was predicted through first-principles swarm structure searching calculations. The new compound has a unique structure featuring the mixture of superoxide O2(-) and peroxide O2(2-), the first such example in the Li-O system. The existence of superoxide O2(-) creates magnetism and hole-doped metallicity. Findings of Li3O4 gave rise to direct explanations of the unresolved experimental magnetism, triple peaks of oxygen K-edge spectra, and the Raman peak at 1125 cm(-1) of the discharge products. Our work enables an opportunity for the performance of capacity, charge overpotential, and round-trip efficiency of the Li-air battery.

Phase Diagram and High-Temperature Superconductivity of Compressed Selenium Hydrides

Recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity (Tc = 190 K) in sulfur hydrides at megabar pressures breaks the traditional belief on the Tc limit of 40 K for conventional superconductors, and opens up the doors in searching new high-temperature superconductors in compounds made up of light elements. Selenium is a sister and isoelectronic element of sulfur, with a larger atomic core and a weaker electronegativity. Whether selenium hydrides share similar high-temperature superconductivity remains elusive, but it is a subject of considerable interest. First-principles swarm structure predictions are performed in an effort to seek for energetically stable and metallic selenium hydrides at high pressures. We find the phase diagram of selenium hydrides is rather different from its sulfur analogy, which is indicated by the emergence of new phases and the change of relative stabilities. Three stable and metallic species with stoichiometries of HSe2, HSe and H3Se are identified above ~120 GPa and they all exhibit superconductive behaviors, of which the hydrogen-rich HSe and H3Se phases show high Tc in the range of 40–110 K. Our simulations established the high-temperature superconductive nature of selenium hydrides and provided useful route for experimental verification.

The effects of self-aggregation on the vibrational circular dichroism and optical rotation measurements of glycidol

The noncovalent interactions between glycidol molecules in the CDCl3 solvent have been studied by means of vibrational absorption (VA), vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), optical rotation (OR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The concentration dependence of the VA and VCD spectra and OR measurements at five excitation wavelengths, i.e. 589, 578, 546, 436 and 365 nm, has been reported. To model the effects of self-aggregation of glycidol on the measurements, the energetic and conformational properties of the glycidol monomer, dimer and trimer were evaluated and the corresponding VA, VCD and OR spectra were simulated. The results show that at 0.2 M or lower concentrations the self-aggregation of glycidol is negligible since the simulated VA and VCD spectra, with the contribution from only the monomeric glycidol conformers, reproduce well the features in the experimental spectra. At 3.5 M, the binary conformers dominate, while at the intermediate concentration of 1.1 M, both the monomeric and binary conformers are important. The comparison of the experimental and theoretical OR values supports the above conclusions. This work shows the potential of using multiple chiroptical spectroscopic methods in combination with theoretical calculations to probe the self-aggregation process of chiral molecules in solution. Such studies can in turn help to achieve reliably absolute configuration determinations in the cases when chiral molecules self-aggregate profusely.