Stefan Knippenberg

Study of the molecular structure, ionization spectrum, and electronic wave function of 1,3-butadiene using electron momentum spectroscopy and benchmark Dyson orbital theories

The scope of the present work is to reconcile electron momentum spectroscopy with elementary thermodynamics, and refute conclusions drawn by Saha et al. in J. Chem. Phys. 123, 124315 (2005) regarding fingerprints of the gauche conformational isomer of 1,3-butadiene in electron momentum distributions that were experimentally inferred from gas phase (e,2e) measurements on this compound [M. J. Brunger et al., J. Chem. Phys. 108, 1859 (1998)]. Our analysis is based on thorough calculations of one-electron and shake-up ionization spectra employing one-particle Greens function theory along with the benchmark third-order algebraic diagrammatic construction [ADC(3)] scheme. Accurate spherically averaged electron momentum distributions are correspondingly computed from the related Dyson orbitals. The ionization spectra and Dyson orbital momentum distributions that were computed for the trans-conformer of 1,3-butadiene alone are amply sufficient to quantitatively unravel the shape of all available experimental (e,2e) electron momentum distributions. A comparison of theoretical ADC(3) spectra for the s-trans and gauche energy minima with inner- and outer-valence high-resolution photoelectron measurements employing a synchrotron radiation beam [D. M. P. Holland et al., J. Phys. B 29, 3091 (1996)] demonstrates that the gauche structure is incompatible with ionization experiments in high-vacuum conditions and at standard temperatures. On the other hand, outer-valence Greens function calculations on the s-trans energy minimum form and approaching basis set completeness provide highly quantitative insights, within approximately 0.2 eV accuracy, into the available experimental one-electron ionization energies. At last, analysis of the angular dependence of relative (e,2e) ionization intensities nicely confirms the presence of one rather intense pi(-2) pi(*+1) satellite at approximately 13.1 eV in the ionization spectrum of the s-trans conformer.

The low-lying excited states of neutral polyacenes and their radical cations: a quantum chemical study employing the algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme of second order

The vertical excited electronic states of linearly fused neutral polyacenes (PACs) and their radical cations have been investigated using the algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme of second order (ADC(2)). While strict ADC(2) (ADC(2)-s) correctly reproduces trends for mainly singly excited states, in extended ADC(2) (ADC(2)-x) the description of doubly excited states is critically improved. It is shown that a combined application of strict and extended ADC(2) nicely reveals the importance of doubly excited configurations in the description of the excited state spectrum of the neutral PACs. In contrast to general expectation, our calculations of the lowest excited states of the radical cations of the PACs employing unrestricted ADC(2)-s and ADC(2)-x identified one B1 g electronic transition whose excitation energy increases with increasing molecular size. Thorough analysis of this electronic state and the involved molecular orbitals relates this unusual phenomenon to an increasing energy gap between the doubly occupied molecular orbital, out of which an electron is excited, and the singly occupied orbital, into which it is excited.

Calculations of nonlinear response properties using the intermediate state representation and the algebraic-diagrammatic construction polarization propagator approach: two-photon absorption spectra.

An earlier proposed approach to molecular response functions based on the intermediate state representation (ISR) of polarization propagator and algebraic-diagrammatic construction (ADC) approximations is for the first time employed for calculations of nonlinear response properties. The two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra are considered. The hierarchy of the first- and second-order ADC∕ISR computational schemes, ADC(1), ADC(2), ADC(2)-x, and ADC(3/2), is tested in applications to H(2)O, HF, and C(2)H(4) (ethylene). The calculated TPA spectra are compared with the results of coupled cluster (CC) models and time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) calculations, using the results of the CC3 model as benchmarks. As a more realistic example, the TPA spectrum of C(8)H(10) (octatetraene) is calculated using the ADC(2)-x and ADC(2) methods. The results are compared with the results of TDDFT method and earlier calculations, as well as to the available experimental data. A prominent feature of octatetraene and other polyene molecules is the existence of low-lying excited states with increased double excitation character. We demonstrate that the two-photon absorption involving such states can be adequately studied using the ADC(2)-x scheme, explicitly accounting for interaction of doubly excited configurations. Observed peaks in the experimental TPA spectrum of octatetraene are assigned based on our calculations.

Quantum Chemical Study of Conformational Fingerprints in the Photoelectron Spectra and (e, 2e) Electron Momentum Distributions of n-Hexane

The main purpose of the present work is to simulate from many-body quantum mechanical calculations the results of experimental studies of the valence electronic structure of n-hexane employing photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS). This study is based on calculations of the valence ionization spectra and spherically averaged (e, 2e) electron momentum distributions for each known conformer by means of one-particle Greens function [1p-GF] theory along with the third-order algebraic diagrammatic construction [ADC(3)] scheme and using Kohn-Sham orbitals derived from DFT calculations employing the Becke 3-parameters Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) functional as approximations to Dyson orbitals. A first thermostatistical analysis of these spectra and momentum distributions employs recent estimations at the W1h level of conformational energy differences, by Gruzman et al. [J. Phys. Chem. A 2009, 113, 11974], and of correspondingly obtained conformer weights using MP2 geometrical, vibrational, and rotational data in thermostatistical calculations of partition functions beyond the level of the rigid rotor-harmonic oscillator approximation. Comparison is made with the results of a focal point analysis of these energy differences using this time B3LYP geometries and the corresponding vibrational and rotational partition functions in the thermostatistical analysis. Large differences are observed between these two thermochemical models, especially because of strong variations in the contributions of hindered rotations to relative entropies. In contrast, the individual ionization spectra or momentum profiles are almost insensitive to the employed geometry. This study confirms the great sensitivity of valence ionization bands and (e, 2e) momentum distributions on the molecular conformation and sheds further light on spectral fingerprints of through-space methylenic hyperconjugation, in both PES and EMS experiments.

Strong Electronic Coupling Dominates the Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra of Covalently Bound BisBODIPYs

The absorption spectrum of a representative BisBODIPY molecule is investigated using high-level quantum chemical methodology; the results are compared with experimental data. The S1 and S2 excited states are examined in detail to illuminate and to understand the electronic coupling between them. With the help of model systems in which the distance between the BODIPY monomers is increased or in which the dihedral angle between the subunits is changed, the electronic coupling is quantified, and its influence on energetics and oscillator strengths is highlighted. For the explanation of the experimental spectrum, orbital interaction effects are found to be important. Because of the large experimental Stokes shift of BisBODIPY, the nature of the emissive state is investigated and found to remain C2 symmetric as the ground state, and no localization of the excitation on one BODIPY subunit occurs. The excitonic coupling is in BisBODIPY still larger than the geometry relaxation energy, which explains the absence of a pseudo-Jahn-Teller effect.

Probing molecular conformations in momentum space: The case of n-pentane

A comprehensive study, throughout the valence region, of the electronic structure and electron momentum density distributions of the four conformational isomers of n-pentane is presented. Theoretical (e,2e) valence ionization spectra at high electron impact energies (1200 eV+electron binding energy) and at azimuthal angles ranging from 0 degrees to 10 degrees in a noncoplanar symmetric kinematical setup are generated according to the results of large scale one-particle Greens function calculations of Dyson orbitals and related electron binding energies, using the third-order algebraic-diagrammatic construction [ADC(3)] scheme. The results of a focal point analysis (FPA) of relative conformer energies [A. Salam and M. S. Deleuze, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 1296 (2002)] and improved thermodynamical calculations accounting for hindered rotations are also employed in order to quantitatively evaluate the abundance of each conformer in the gas phase at room temperature and reliably predict the outcome of experiments on n-pentane employing high resolution electron momentum spectroscopy. Comparison with available photoelectron measurements confirms the suggestion that, due to entropy effects, the trans-gauche (tg) conformer strongly dominates the conformational mixture characterizing n-pentane at room temperature. Our simulations demonstrate therefore that experimental measurements of (e,2e) valence ionization spectra and electron momentum distributions would very consistently and straightforwardly image the topological changes and energy variations that molecular orbitals undergo due to torsion of the carbon backbone. The strongest fingerprints for the most stable conformer (tt) are found for the electron momentum distributions associated with ionization channels at the top of the inner-valence region, which sensitively image the development of methylenic hyperconjugation in all-staggered n-alkane chains.

Synthesis and optical properties of Pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole-2,5(1H,4H)-dione (iDPP)-based molecules

We describe the synthesis and photophysical properties of a series of derivatives of pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole-2,5(1H,4H)-dione-3,6-diyl (iDPP) linked to two oligothiophenes of variable length (nT). The iso-DPP-oligothiophenes (iDPPnTs) differ from the common pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione-3,6-diyl-oligothiophene analogues (DPPnTs) by a different orientation of the two lactam rings in the bicyclic iDPP unit compared to DPP. In contrast to the highly fluorescent DPPnTs, the new isomeric iDPPnTs exhibit only very weak fluorescence. We demonstrate with the help of quantum-chemical calculations that this can be attributed to a different symmetry of the lowest excited state in iDPPnT (A in C2 symmetry) compared to DPPnTs (B) and the corresponding loss in oscillator strength of the lowest energy transition. Upon extending the oligothiophene moiety in the iDPPnTs molecules, the charge transfer character of the lowest A excited state becomes more pronounced. This tends to preclude high fluorescence quantum yields even in extended iDPPnTs systems.

Green's function study of the one-electron and shake-up ionization spectra of unsaturated hydrocarbon cage compounds

The valence one‐electron and shake‐up ionization spectra of stella‐2,6‐diene, stella‐2,6‐dione, bicyclo‐[2.2.2]‐octane‐2,5‐dione, and bicyclo‐[2.2.1]‐heptane‐2,5‐dione have been exhaustively studied, up to the double ionization threshold and beyond, by means of one‐particle Greens function theory. This study is based on calculations employing the outer‐valence Greens function and the third‐order algebraic diagrammatic construction schemes, along with a variety of basis sets. A comparison is made with available ultraviolet (He I) photoelectron and (e, 2e) electron‐impact ionization spectra, with main focus on the identification of spectral fingerprints for cyclic strains and through‐bond π‐conjugation. As a byproduct, our results demonstrate that it is impossible to reliably assign complex (e, 2e) ionization spectra by resorting only to Hartree–Fock or Kohn–Sham orbital energies and to the related electron momentum distributions.

A Blue-Light-Emitting BODIPY Probe for Lipid Membranes

Here we describe a new BODIPY-based membrane probe (1) that provides an alternative to dialkylcarbocyanine dyes, such as DiI-C18, that can be excited in the blue spectral region. Compound 1 has unbranched octadecyl chains at the 3,5-positions and a meso-amino function. In organic solvents, the absorption and emission maxima of 1 are determined mainly by solvent acidity and dipolarity. The fluorescence quantum yield is high and reaches 0.93 in 2-propanol. The fluorescence decays are well fitted with a single-exponential in pure solvents and in small and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV) with a lifetime of ca. 4 ns. Probe 1 partitions in the same lipid phase as DiI-C18(5) for lipid mixtures containing sphingomyelin and for binary mixtures of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC). The lipid phase has no effect on the fluorescence lifetime but influences the fluorescence anisotropy. The translational diffusion coefficients of 1 in GUVs and OLN-93 cells are of the same order as those reported for DiI-C18. The directions of the absorption and emission transition dipole moments of 1 are calculated to be parallel. This is reflected in the high steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of 1 in high ordered lipid phases. Molecular dynamic simulations of 1 in a model of the DOPC bilayer indicate that the average angle of the transition moments with respect to membrane normal is ca. 70°, which is comparable with the value reported for DiI-C18.

Computational design of improved two‐photon active caging compounds based on nitrodibenzofuran

Nitrodibenzofuran (NDBF) has recently been established as photolabile protecting group and efficiently used as two‐photon active cage. In this work, a computational approach is exploited to rationally design improved two‐photon active caging groups based on this NDBF chromophore. For this objective, first the two‐photon absorption (TPA) properties of NDBF are investigated in detail and a suitable theoretical approach for the reliable simulation of TPA spectra of this class of compounds is identified. Then, virtual chemical modifications are performed by introduction of substituents at the chromophore and replacement of the central furan ring by pyrolle, thiophene, and borrole heterocycles. Subsequently, the TPA properties of the resulting compounds are computed, and the influences of the chemical modifications on TPA properties investigated in detail. The most promising candidates with largely increased two‐photon uncaging efficiencies are dimethylamino‐substituted derivatives of NDBF, nitrodibenzopyrrol, and nitrodibenzothiophene.