Manuel Fernández-Gómez

Measurement and ab initio modeling of the inelastic neutron scattering of solid melamine: Evidence of the anisotropy in the external modes spectrum

Abstract The inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of melamine has been measured and a normal coordinates analysis has been performed in order to interpret the vibrational dynamics. This study reveals the anisotropy in the external mode spectrum and its important role in the internal modes region. Thus, the Debye–Waller factor has taken a value for the out-of-plane vibrations four times greater than that for the in-plane vibrations. A molecular force field refinement has been carried out in independent symmetry coordinates (D 3h ) in order to confirm the vibrational assignments. The final force field is free of redundancies and therefore the corresponding force constants are unambiguous.

Density functional theory study of the optical and electronic properties of oligomers based on phenyl-ethynyl units linked to triazole, thiadiazole, and oxadiazole rings to be used in molecular electronics

In the present work, we have studied from a theoretical perspective the geometry and electronic properties of the series of related compounds 2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole, 2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole, and 2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)-1,2,4-triazole as candidates for electron-conducting polymers and compounds with desirable (opto)electronic properties. The effect of the ethynyl group (-C[Triple Bond]C-) on the structure and electronic properties was also studied. The influence of planarity on electrical conductivity has been studied by a natural-bond-orbital analysis. The (opto)electronic properties and conducting capability were investigated through the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap, excitation energy, bond length alternation, LUMO energy, electron affinities, and intramolecular reorganization energy. Finally, the evolution of some properties such as optical bandgap and electron affinity with the increase of the number of repeat units in the oligomer chain has been checked.

Theoretical study of the effect of ethynyl group on the structure and electrical properties of phenyl-thiadiazole systems as precursors of electron-conducting materials

2,5-Bis(phenylethynyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole (PhEtTh) and 2,5-diphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole (PhTh) are expected to be building blocks for polymer materials that could be employed to conduct electricity due to their narrow highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energy gaps. In this work, a theoretical, comparative study about the effect of the ethynyl group on the planarity and electrical conductivity of this kind of systems has been carried out. Thus, several ab initio (Hartree-Fock, Moller-Plesset) and DFT (B3LYP, B3PW91, M05, M05-2X) methods and basis sets (6-31G(*), 6-31G+G(**), 6-311G(**), cc-pVDZ, cc-pVTZ) have been tested. As a result, PhEtTh showed better properties for its use as electric conducting material relative to PhTh due to its smaller HOMO-LUMO gap, as well as its enhanced trend to retain the planarity provided the reduction in steric hindrances that the ethynyl group (-C[triple bond]C-) permits. Solvent effects were also modeled for ethanol and chloroform under the conductor-like polarizable continuum model approximation. Finally, electronic transitions in gas and solution phases were predicted by using TDDFT approximation in order to compare the theoretical lambda(max) with the experimental values reported in literature for both compounds.

Atmospheric reactions Cl+CH3–(CH2)n–OH (n=0–4): A kinetic and theoretical study

The reactions of Cl with a series of linear alcohols: methanol (k1), ethanol (k2), 1-propanol (k3), 1-butanol (k4), and 1-pentanol (k5) were investigated as a function of temperature in the range of 264-382 K by laser photolysis-resonance fluorescence. The obtained kinetic data were used to derive the following Arrhenius expressions: k1=(3.55+/-0.22)x10(-10) exp[-(559+/-40)T], k2=(5.25+/-0.52)x10(-11) exp[(190+/-68)T], k3=(2.63+/-0.21)x10(-11) exp[(525+/-51)T], k4=(3.12+/-0.31)x10(-11) exp[(548+/-65)T], and k5=(3.97+/-0.48)x10(-11) exp[(533+/-77)T] (in units of cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)). To our knowledge, these are the first absolute kinetic data reported for 1-butanol and 1-pentanol and also the first kinetic study as a function of temperature for these two compounds. Results, mechanism, and tropospheric implications are discussed and compared with the reported reactivity with OH radicals. Moreover, a theoretical insight into the mechanisms of these reactions has also been pursued through ab initio Möller-Plesset second-order perturbation treatment calculations with 6-311G** basis sets. Optimized geometries and vibrational frequencies have been obtained for transition states and molecular complexes appearing along the different reaction pathways. Furthermore, molecular energies have been calculated at quadratic configuration interaction with single, double, and triple excitations level in order to get an estimation of the activation energies.

Confinement Effects on UV-Visible Absorption Spectra: β-Carotene Inside Carbon Nanotube as a Test Case.

The effect of the confinement in a single-wall carbon nanotube on the optical properties of β-carotene is studied at the time-dependent density functional theory level. A complex computational protocol has been developed, based on a multilayered ONIOM approach making use of a recent range-separated hybrid functional as well as dispersion corrections. The role of both mechanical and electronic embedding has been clearly pointed out, showing how the inclusion of the latter is mandatory for a correct description of the experimental data. The correct calculation of the bathochromic shift experimentally observed upon encapsulation (0.23 eV) shows the ability of this computational protocol to reproduce all the physics behind such a complex host-guest interaction. From a more chemical point of view, this study allows one to show how such a shift is related to both geometrical and polarization effects.

The vibrational analysis of styrene, revisited

Abstract In this report we present a new proposal of vibrational analysis for the styrene molecule on the basis of an a priori scaled force field and a comparison between calculated infrared intensities and experimental absorbances. This has been done in order to clarify some discrepancies appearing in previous assignments for ν27,ν31,ν32,ν34 and ν38 modes. As experimental data we have used new IR and Raman spectra recorded at room temperature. The force field has been built up using as scale factors the arithmetic mean of those obtained for 3-fluoro, 4-fluoro, 3-chloro and 4-chlorostyrene. The root-mean-square deviation (rms) between experimental and calculated wave numbers turns out to be 6.7 cm−1, which demonstrates the reliability of the methodology used.

Vibrational analysis of the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of pyridine

Abstract A vibrational analysis of the pyridine molecule has been performed by combining inelastic neutron scattering (INS) data and quantum mechanical calculations at the RHF, MP2 and B3LYP levels, with the 6-31G** and 6-311G** basis sets. Firstly, in order to test which level of theory is the best in reproducing the INS profile, this was calculated from the atomic displacement matrix of the pyridine molecule. DFT proved to be the most suitable option reproducing the above-mentioned spectrum, for both wave numbers and intensities. Secondly, in order to approximate the calculated spectrum to the observed one, the initial force constants matrix calculated at the B3LYP/6-311G** level was symmetrized using a set of independent symmetry coordinates (C2v). All the diagonal and some off-diagonal force constants were fitted until the difference between observed and calculated spectra was minimized. Good agreement between both calculated and experimental INS spectra supports the validity of our ‘empirical’ (or effective) force field.

A Tuned LRC-DFT Design of Ambipolar Diketopyrrolopyrrole- Containing Quinoidal Molecules Interesting for Molecular Electronics

This work presents a Density Functional Theory (DFT) study on the charge transport related properties of two quinoidal diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) based systems. System A, recently synthesized, shows high efficiency as n-type organic semiconductor material while system B, not synthesized yet, has a linking benzothiadiazole (BT) unit between DPP moieties and would display an ambipolar character. The use of tuned, long-range corrected (LRC) functionals allows one to predict HOMO, LUMO, and charge transport properties for compound A in concordance with those experimentally observed. The use of BT building blocks allows for a conclusion that compound B is expected to display balanced and efficient charge injection along with high mobilities both for holes and electrons, which points to its potential to obtain high performances as an ambipolar semiconductor.

Influence of the alkyl and alkoxy side chains on the electronic structure and charge-transport properties of polythiophene derivatives.

Density Functional Theory has been used to study the structural, electronic and charge-transport properties of two regio-regular head-to-tail polythiophene derivatives, i.e. poly(3-hexyl-thiophene), P3HT, and poly(3-oxyhexyl-thiophene), P3OHT. The effect of substituents on the electronic structure was analyzed by means of bandwidth, bandgap, effective mass, total and partial densities of states and crystal orbital overlap populations. Electronic couplings were estimated from band diagrams as the splitting of the valence band. The neutral and cationic states of isolated oligomers were optimized using the supercell approximation. The hole-transfer rates and mobilities were evaluated according to Marcuss theory. Results provide a compelling illustration of the effect of side chains on the crystal packing, electronic structure and charge-transport properties. Thus, the hole mobility calculated for the alkyl derivative was 0.15 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) (experimental mobility is 0.10 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)), while the alkoxy derivative has a theoretical mobility of 0.49 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). The obtained results hopefully could motivate experimentalists to try out P3OHT for an improved charge carrier mobility.

The role of disorder on the electronic structure of conjugated polymers. The case of poly-2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole

Insight into the electronic structure of disordered poly-2,5-bis(phenylethynyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole in an amorphous region, in comparison to an ideal two-planar cofacial oligomer system, is pursued. The atomic structure of the amorphous polymer was obtained from classical molecular dynamics. It was subsequently used to calculate the electronic states and inter- and intrachain electronic coupling integrals using the density functional theory based charge patching method. The interchain electronic coupling integrals in the amorphous system were found to be an order of magnitude smaller than in the ordered system with similar distances between the chains. The results also suggest that the electronic structure of the whole system cannot be understood as a collection of the electronic structures of individual chains. The band gap of the whole system is significantly smaller than the band gaps of individual chains. This decrease originates from the disordered long range electrostatic potential created by the dipole moments of polymer repeat units, which should be minimized if one seeks good transport properties.