Wenkel Liang

Energy-Specific Linear Response TDHF/TDDFT for Calculating High-Energy Excited States.

An energy-specific TDHF/TDDFT method is introduced in this article for excited state calculations. This approach extends the conventional TDHF/TDDFT implementation to obtain excited states above a predefined energy threshold. The method introduced and developed in this work enables computationally efficient yet rigorous calculations of energy-specific spectra, e.g., X-ray absorption involving extremely high-energy transitions. All transitions are solved in the full molecular orbital space, and orthogonality to the ground state and lower-lying excited states is preserved for each high-energy excited state. Encouraging computational savings are observed in calculating the targeted energy spectrum, while the transition energies, as well as oscillator strengths, remain identical to the results from the standard implementation.

Ultrafast Coherent Electron–Hole Separation Dynamics in a Fullerene Derivative

The use of fullerene derivatives as electron donors in bulk heterojunctions is a promising development in the search for efficient energy conversion in hybrid solar cells. A long-lived photoexcited electron-hole pair will give rise to increased efficiency in photoenergy conversion. One way to prevent fast electron-hole recombination is to engineer fullerene derivatives that exhibit intrinsic electron-hole separation through accessible charge-transfer excited states. In this letter, the dynamics of photoexcited electron-hole pairs in a C60 derivative is studied using the real-time time-dependent density functional theory. Although the charge-transfer excited state is not directly accessible from the ground state, intrinsic coherent electron-hole separation is observed following photoexcition as a result of direct coupling between excited states. Ultrafast charge-transfer dynamics is the dominant phenomenon in <60 fs after visible photoexcitation. This work provides insights into the characteristics of ultrafast dynamics in photoexcited fullerene derivatives, and aids in the rational design of efficient solar cells.

Efficient first-principles electronic dynamics.

An efficient first-principles electronic dynamics method is introduced in this article. The approach we put forth relies on incrementally constructing a time-dependent Fock∕Kohn-Sham matrix using active space density screening method that reduces the cost of computing two-electron repulsion integrals. An adaptive stepsize control algorithm is developed to optimize the efficiency of the electronic dynamics while maintaining good energy conservation. A selected set of model dipolar push-pull chromophore molecules are tested and compared with the conventional method of direct formation of the Fock∕Kohn-Sham matrix. While both methods considered herein take on identical dynamical simulation pathways for the molecules tested, the active space density screening algorithm becomes much more computationally efficient. The adaptive stepsize control algorithm, when used in conjunction with the dynamically active space method, yields a factor of ∼3 speed-up in computational cost as observed in electronic dynamics using the time dependent density functional theory. The total computational cost scales nearly linear with increasing size of the molecular system.

The Early Life of a Peptide Cation-Radical. Ground and Excited-State Trajectories of Electron-Based Peptide Dissociations During the First 330 Femtoseconds

We report a new approach to investigating the mechanisms of fast peptide cation-radical dissociations based on an analysis of time-resolved reaction progress by Ehrenfest dynamics, as applied to an Ala-Arg cation-radical model system. Calculations of stationary points on the ground electronic state that were carried out with effective CCSD(T)/6-311++G(3df,2p) could not explain the experimental branching ratios for loss of a hydrogen atom, ammonia, and N–Cα bond dissociation in (AR + 2H)+●. The Ehrenfest dynamics results indicate that the ground and low-lying excited electronic states of (AR + 2H)+● follow different reaction courses in the first 330 femtoseconds after electron attachment. The ground (X) state undergoes competing loss of N-terminal ammonia and isomerization to an aminoketyl radical intermediate that depend on the vibrational energy of the charge-reduced ion. The A and B excited states involve electron capture in the Arg guanidine and carboxyl groups and are non-reactive on the short time scale. The C state is dissociative and progresses to a fast loss of an H atom from the Arg guanidine group. Analogous results were obtained by using the B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP density functionals for the excited state dynamics and including the universal M06-2X functional for ground electronic state calculations. The results of this Ehrenfest dynamics study indicate that reaction pathway branching into the various dissociation channels occurs in the early stages of electron attachment and is primarily determined by the electronic states being accessed. This represents a new paradigm for the discussion of peptide dissociations in electron based methods of mass spectrometry.

On the gauge invariance of nonperturbative electronic dynamics using the time-dependent Hartree-Fock and time-dependent Kohn-Sham

Nonperturbative electronic dynamics using the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) and time-dependent Kohn-Sham (TDKS) theories with the adiabatic approximation is a powerful tool in obtaining insights into the interaction between a many-electron system and an external electromagnetic field. In practical applications of TDHF/TDKS using a truncated basis set, the electronic dynamics and molecular properties become gauge-dependent. Numerical simulations are carried out in the length gauge and velocity gauge to verify the extent of gauge-dependence using incomplete basis sets. Electronic dynamics of two many-electron systems, a helium atom and a carbon monoxide molecule in high-intensity linearly polarized radiation fields are performed using the TDHF and TDKS with two selected adiabatic exchange-correlation (xc) functionals. The time evolution of the expectation values of the dipole moment and harmonic spectra are calculated in the two gauges, and the basis set dependence on the gauge-invariance of these properties is investigated.

Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Calculations of Ehrenfest Dynamics of Laser Controlled Dissociation of NO + : Pulse Length and Sequential Multiple Single-Photon Processes

Intense laser field controlled dissociation reactions of the nitric oxide cation (NO(+)) are studied by ab initio Ehrenfest dynamics with time-dependent density functional theory. Intense electric fields with five different pulse lengths are compared, combined with potential energy surface and density of state analysis, to reveal the effect of pulse length on the control mechanism. Controllable dissociative charge states are observed, and the correlation between the laser pulse length and the probability of sequential multiple single-photon processes is presented. This work introduces a concept of using laser pulse length to control the sequential multiple single-photon process.

Dielectric dependence of the first molecular hyperpolarizability for electro-optic chromophores.

Experimental and computational studies of the solvent dependence of the first molecular hyperpolarizability (β) for two donor-bridge-acceptor chromophores (CLD-1 and YLD156) are presented. Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) measurements are performed with 1907 nm excitation in a series of solvents with dielectric constants ranging from ~2 (toluene) to ~36 (acetonitrile). For both chromophores an approximately 2-fold increase in β is observed by HRS over this range of dielectric constants. Computational studies employing a polarized continuum model to represent the solvent are capable of reproducing this experimental result. The experimental and computational results are compared to the predictions of the widely employed two-state model (TSM) for β. Surprisingly, for the chromophores studied here the TSM predicts that β should decrease with increasing dielectric constant over the range investigated. The results presented here demonstrate that the TSM provides neither a quantitative nor qualitative description of the solvent dependence of β for CLD-1 and YLD156. The enhancement of β with increased dielectric constant suggests that modification of the dielectric surrounding the chromophore is one path by which the performance of nonlinear optical devices employing these chromophores may be significantly enhanced.

Modeling ultrafast solvated electronic dynamics using time-dependent density functional theory and polarizable continuum model.

A first-principles solvated electronic dynamics method is introduced. Solvent electronic degrees of freedom are coupled to the time-dependent electronic density of a solute molecule by means of the implicit reaction field method, and the entire electronic system is propagated in time. This real-time time-dependent approach, incorporating the polarizable continuum solvation model, is shown to be very effective in describing the dynamical solvation effect in the charge transfer process and yields a consistent absorption spectrum in comparison to the conventional linear response results in solution.

Solvent Effects on Intramolecular Charge Transfer Dynamics in a Fullerene Derivative

We present a real-time time-dependent density functional theory (RT-TDDFT) investigation of exciton dynamics in a C60 derivative, including solvent effects in the real-time time-dependent polarizable continuum model (RT-TDPCM). Dynamical simulations are carried out to gauge the ability of solvents to enhance ligand-to-fullerene charge transfer following photoexcitation. Solvent stabilization of charge transfer states and solute-solvent interactions lead to nonintuitive changes in electron-hole dynamics. An amplification factor of 1.5 in the molecular dipole oscillation, a measure of charge transfer, is achieved by inclusion of a time-dependent solvent environment.

Laser-Controlled Dissociation of C2H22+: Ehrenfest Dynamics Using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

Intense laser field dissociations of the acetylene dication C(2)H(2)(2+) are studied by an ab initio Ehrenfest dynamics method with time-dependent density functional theory. Various field frequencies (9.5 to approximately 13.6 eV) and field directions are applied to a Boltzmann ensemble of C(2)H(2)(2+) molecules. With the laser field perpendicular to the molecular axis, four fragmentation channels are observed at high frequency with no dominant pathway. With the field parallel to the molecular axis, fragmentations occur at all frequencies and the amount of C-H bond breakage increases with laser frequency. Selective dissociation patterns are observed with low-frequency fields parallel to the molecular axis. A systematic analysis of excited-state potential energy surfaces is used to rationalize the simulation results.