Critical analysis of spectral solvent shifts calculated by the contemporary PCM approaches of a representative series of charge-transfer complexes between tetracyanoethylene and methylated benzenes.

Applications of contemporary polarisable continuum model (PCM) quantum chemical approaches to account for the solvent shifts of UV-Vis absorption charge transfer (CT) transitions in electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes (as well as to account for their stability and other properties in solvents) have been rather rare until now. In this study, we systematically applied different - mainly state-specific - PCM approaches to examine excited state properties, namely, solvatochromic excitation energy shifts in a series of EDA complexes of a tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) acceptor with methyl substituted benzenes with different degrees of methylation N (NMB). For these complexes, representative and reliable experimental data exist both for the gas phase and in solution (dichloromethane). We have found that the linear response (LR) solvent shifts are too small compared to the experimental values, while self-consistent SS approaches give values that are too large. The best agreement with experimental values was obtained by corrected LR (cLR). The transition energies were calculated by means of TD-DFT methodology with PBE0, CAM-B3LYP and M06-2X functionals as well as the wave function CC2 method for the gas phase, and the PCM solvent shifts were added to account for the solvent effects. The best results for transition energies in solvents were obtained using the CC2 method complemented by CAM-B3LYP/cLR for the gas phase transition energy red solvent shift, while all three TD-DFT approaches used gave insufficient values (ca. 50%) of the slope of the dependence of the transition energies on N compared to experimental values.

Theoretical study (CC2, DFT and PCM) of charge transfer complexes between antithyroid thioamides and TCNE: electronic CT transitions.

A set of representative DFT and wavefunction based theoretical approaches have been used to study ionization potentials and, predominantly, electronic charge transfer transitions in the complexes formed between TCNE as an electron acceptor and both mono and bicyclic thioamides as donors. The mentioned thioamides are of pharmacological importance due to their efficient antithyroid activity. Within a few kcal mol(-1) we have found six stable conformers for complexes with each of benzothioamides and four conformers for each of monocyclic thioamides. Present theoretical study satisfactorily shows that there is a good correspondence between the CC2/Def2-TZVPP calculated excitation energies for complexes in vacuum supplemented by the DFT solvent shifts and experiment. Present theoretical study contributes to deeper understanding of the electronic nature of the ground and excited states of the complexes with antithyroid activity.

Theoretical study of electronic absorptions in aminopyridines - TCNE CT complexes by quantum chemical methods, including solvent.

The geometric and electronic structure of donor-acceptor complexes of TCNE with aniline, o-, m- and p- aminopyridines and pyridine has been studied in gas phase and in solution using CC2, TDDFT and CIS methods. Concerning interaction energy between particular donor and TCNE acceptor it is fairly described by both CC2 (MP2) and DFT-D approaches. Transition energies in gas phase calculated by CC2 approach are in good agreement with available experimental data for aniline. TDDFT calculations with LC-BLYP functional (with standard value of range separation factor µ = 0.47) gives transition energies too high although not as high as CIS. The red solvent shifts, calculated by PCM model with CIS method are qualitative correct, but error in the range of 0.1-0.2 eV should be expected.