Theoretical study of the relations between structure and photophysical properties of model oligofluorenes with central keto defect.

A systematic study of fluorenone and model oligofluorenes (trimer, pentamer, and heptamer) with a central keto defect was performed at ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF), density functional theory (DFT), configuration interaction singles (CIS), and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) levels. The main aim of this work was the investigation of the direct influence of the central keto defect on the optimal geometry, torsional potentials, and photophysical properties. From the structural point of view, the optimal all-trans electronic ground state geometries of studied oligomers exhibit a uniform torsion of ca. 44-45 degrees (HF) or 37-38 degrees (DFT). The optical excitation leads to the planarization of the fluorenone and fluorene fragments in the central part of the molecule (approximately 34 degrees for CIS and approximately 29 degrees for TD-DFT). The computed excitation and fluorescence energies show a good agreement with the experiment. These presented theoretical results can be useful in designing novel fluorene-fluorenone optical materials as well as understanding of excitation-relaxation phenomena which may occur in various time-dependent optical experiments.

Structural changes in 2-diarylthiophene-substituted starburst compounds upon charging: a theoretical and spectroelectrochemical study.

The role of charging in structural changes of 2-diarylaminothiophene-substituted starburst compounds is clarified by combining theoretical and spectroelectrochemical studies. A systematic and comparative theoretical calculation based on density functional theory and semiempirical Austin Model 1 (AM1) calculations is performed on the neutral and charged states of four model tris(5-diarylamino-5-thienyl)-terminated starburst compounds with a central triphenylamine and 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene moiety. Our results indicate that the charging of molecules leads to structural changes by quinoid-type components mostly on the dendrimers terminated by phenothiazinyl fragments. Based on the optimal geometries, the spectroscopic properties were calculated using the semiempirical Zerner's intermediate neglect overlap method. The presented theoretical results and the spin electron distributions of charged states and their spectra are supported by the spectroelectrochemical observations caused by the different electron localization within the studied molecules after charging. The satisfactory agreement between theoretical electronic transitions and experimental values indicates that a rational design of tunable molecular layers in organic devices based on the starburst compounds described is possible.

Theoretical study of structure, electronic properties, and photophysics of cyano-substituted thiophenes and terthiophenes.

In this paper, quantum chemical calculations for various cyano derivatives of thiophene and terthiophenes at the density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio Møller-Plesset (MP2) levels of theory are presented. In the case of the studied terthiophenes, CN groups located in the central part of the molecule lead to a preference of cis-cis geometry over trans-trans conformation. For alpha-substituted dicyano terthiophene, the investigation of torsional dependences shows that the highest energy barrier occurs at the perpendicular orientation of the aromatic rings. On the other hand, the dicyano substitution in the central part of terthiophene molecule exhibits the lowest energy barrier. Excitation energies were calculated using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). The obtained theoretical results show that the CN groups in alpha and beta positions have a distinct effect on the excitation energies and corresponding oscillator strengths. A CN group located in the alpha position causes a larger bathochromic shift than a CN group in the beta position. Besides, a CN group in the beta position has negligible influence on the position of the first absorption maximum.

Torsional potentials and full-dimensional simulation of electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra of para-phenylene oligomers using the semiempirical self-consistent charge density-functional tight binding approach.

A systematic study on the structural properties of para-phenylene oligomers based on the self-consistent charge density-functional tight binding approach (SCC-DFTB) and its time-dependent (TD) version is presented. Our goal is to investigate the applicability of DFTB for the present class of compounds and to use its computational efficiency for on-the-fly dynamics calculations and to perform in this way simulations of absorption and fluorescence spectra. For this purpose geometry optimizations have been performed for the ground state and for the electronically lowest excited state of oligomers containing two to seven aromatic rings. The torsional potential curves have been computed for para-biphenyl and para-terphenyl in the ground and lowest excited state. Agreement with previously computed DFT results is quite encouraging and DFTB seems to be well suited for the treatment of the class of conjugated pi systems investigated in this work. The intrachain vibrational broadening of absorption and emission spectra computed from dynamics simulations are presented and compared with experimental spectra.

Vienna Soil-Organic-Matter Modeler--Generating condensed-phase models of humic substances.

Humic substances are ubiquitous in the environment and have manifold functions. While their composition is well known, information on the chemical structure and three-dimensional conformation is scarce. Here we describe the Vienna Soil-Organic-Matter Modeler, which is an online tool to generate condensed phase computer models of humic substances (http://somm.boku.ac.at). Many different models can be created that reflect the diversity in composition and conformations of the constituting molecules. To exemplify the modeler, 18 different models are generated based on two experimentally determined compositions, to explicitly study the effect of varying e.g. the amount of water molecules in the models or the pH. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on the models, which were subsequently analyzed in terms of structure, interactions and dynamics, linking macroscopic observables to the microscopic composition of the systems. We are convinced that this new tool opens the way for a wide range of in silico studies on soil organic matter.