Plasmon-induced excitation energy transfer in silver nanoparticle dimers: A real-time TDDFTB investigation.

Using real-time quantum dynamics calculations, we perform theoretical investigations of light-induced interactions and electronic excitation transfer in a silver nanoparticle dimer. Real-time time-dependent density functional tight-binding (RT-TDDFTB) calculations provide details of the quantum dynamical processes at an electronic/atomistic level with attosecond resolution. The computational efficiency of RT-TDDFTB allows us to examine electronic dynamics up to picosecond time scales. With time scales varying over six orders of magnitude, we provide insight into interactions between the nanoparticle and laser and between nanoparticles. Our results show that the coupling between nanoparticle monomers is dependent on the separation distance between the nanoparticles in the dimer. As the interparticle distance is varied, the dipole-dipole interactions and electronic excitation transfer mechanisms are markedly different. At large distances (from 50 to 20 Å), the energy transfer from NP1 to NP2 becomes more efficient as the interparticle distance decreases. The total dipole moment of the Ag14 nanoparticle dimer increases linearly at an interparticle distance of 20 Å and reaches its maximum after 1.2 ps. The electronic excitation transfer is also the most efficient at 20 Å. At short distances, back-transfer effects reduce the ability of the dimer and NP1 to accept energy from the incident electric field. We attribute the distance-dependent features of the nanoparticle dimer to the beating between the laser acting on NP1 and the back transfer from NP2 to NP1.

Giant Raman Response to the Encapsulation of Sulfur in Narrow Diameter Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

Encapsulation of sulfur in HiPCO-SWNTs leads to large changes in the Raman spectra with the appearance of new peaks at 319, 395, and 715 cm(-1) which originate from the sulfur species within the SWNTs, while the high frequency SWNT bands (ν > 1200 cm(-1)) are decreased in intensity. The encapsulated species also shifts the near-IR interband electronic transitions to lower energy by more than 10%. These effects seem to originate with the van der Waals interaction of the confined sulfur species with the walls of the SWNTs which are not expected to be significant in the case of the previously studied large diameter SWNTs. We suggest that sulfur in the small diameter SWNTs exists as a helical polymeric sulfur chain that enters the SWNT interior in the form of S2 ((3)Σ(g)(-)) molecules which undergo polymerization to linear diradicals.

Photoinduced charge-transfer dynamics simulations in noncovalently bonded molecular aggregates.

The rational design of new materials as prototype systems for organic solar cells remains challenging. Perylene diimide has emerged as a promising material to replace fullerene derivatives because of its synthetic flexibility, leading to the manipulation of their optical properties. As a result of their fused aromatic core that favors π-π stacking interactions, the aggregation of these molecules can reach highly ordered nanostructures as one-dimensional nanofibers, with a fast photoinduced charge transfer mechanism. In this article, we present an atomistic description of the photoexcited exciton dynamics in noncovalently bonded perylene diimides by time integration of the electron density in the presence of external time varying electric fields. We show that our approach is able to capture and explain the physics that underlies the charge transport mechanism through perylene diimide aggregates.

Optical properties of graphene nanoflakes: Shape matters.

In recent years there has been significant debate on whether the edge type of graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) or graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are relevant for their electronic structure, thermal stability, and optical properties. Using computer simulations, we have proven that there is a fundamental difference in the absorption spectra between samples of the same shape, similar size but different edge type, namely, armchair or zigzag edges. These can be explained by the presence of electronic structures near the Fermi level which are localized on the edges. These features are also evident from the dependence of band gap on the GNF size, which shows three very distinct trends for different shapes and edge geometries.

Electron dynamics in complex environments with real-time time dependent density functional theory in a QM-MM framework.

This article presents a time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) implementation to propagate the Kohn-Sham equations in real time, including the effects of a molecular environment through a Quantum-Mechanics Molecular-Mechanics (QM-MM) hamiltonian. The code delivers an all-electron description employing Gaussian basis functions, and incorporates the Amber force-field in the QM-MM treatment. The most expensive parts of the computation, comprising the commutators between the hamiltonian and the density matrix-required to propagate the electron dynamics-, and the evaluation of the exchange-correlation energy, were migrated to the CUDA platform to run on graphics processing units, which remarkably accelerates the performance of the code. The method was validated by reproducing linear-response TDDFT results for the absorption spectra of several molecular species. Two different schemes were tested to propagate the quantum dynamics: (i) a leap-frog Verlet algorithm, and (ii) the Magnus expansion to first-order. These two approaches were confronted, to find that the Magnus scheme is more efficient by a factor of six in small molecules. Interestingly, the presence of iron was found to seriously limitate the length of the integration time step, due to the high frequencies associated with the core-electrons. This highlights the importance of pseudopotentials to alleviate the cost of the propagation of the inner states when heavy nuclei are present. Finally, the methodology was applied to investigate the shifts induced by the chemical environment on the most intense UV absorption bands of two model systems of general relevance: the formamide molecule in water solution, and the carboxy-heme group in Flavohemoglobin. In both cases, shifts of several nanometers are observed, consistently with the available experimental data.

Transition dipole moments of the Qy band in photosynthetic pigments.

From studying the time evolution of the single electron density matrix within a density functional tight-binding formalism we calculate the Q(y) transition dipole moments vector direction and strength for a series of important photosynthetic pigments. We obtain good agreement with first-principles and experimental results and provide insights into the detailed nature of these excitations from the time evolving populations of molecular orbitals involved as well as correlations between pigment chemistry and dipole strength.

Dynamical simulation of the optical response of photosynthetic pigments.

From time integration of the electron dynamics under a density functional tight binding Hamiltonian in the presence of external time varying electric fields, we obtain the absorption spectra of a series of chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls. We obtain good agreement with the observed experimental energies as well as with fully ab initio results in the literature for the main absorption bands. As a first step towards an atomistic description of energy transfer between chromophores in photosynthetic antenna systems we calculate the coupling energy between the excitations of two chlorophyll a molecules as a function of the distance as well as the transfer of energy between these when one of them is subjected to laser illumination.

Field Programmable Gate Arrays for Enhancing the Speed and Energy Efficiency of Quantum Dynamics Simulations.

We present the first application of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) as new, customizable hardware architectures for carrying out fast and energy-efficient quantum dynamics simulations of large chemical/material systems. Instead of tailoring the software to fixed hardware, which is the typical case for writing quantum chemistry code for central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), FPGAs allow us to directly customize the underlying hardware (even at the level of specific electrical signals in the circuit) to give a truly optimized computational performance for quantum dynamics calculations. By offloading the most intensive and repetitive calculations onto an FPGA, we show that the computational performance of our real-time electron dynamics calculations can even exceed that of optimized commercial mathematical libraries running on high-performance GPUs. In addition to this impressive computational speedup, we show that FPGAs are immensely energy-efficient and consume 4 times less energy than modern GPU or CPU architectures. These energy savings are a practical and important metric for supercomputing centers (many of which exceed over $1 million in power costs alone), as exascale computing capabilities become more widespread and commonplace. Taken together, the implementation techniques and performance metrics of our study demonstrate that FPGAs could play a promising role in upcoming quantum chemistry and materials science applications, particularly for the acceleration and energy-efficient execution of quantum dynamics calculations.

Confined Lithium-Sulfur Reactions in Narrow-Diameter Carbon Nanotubes Reveal Enhanced Electrochemical Reactivity.

We demonstrate an unusual electrochemical reaction of sulfur with lithium upon encapsulation in narrow-diameter (subnanometer) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Our study provides mechanistic insight on the synergistic effects of sulfur confinement and Li+ ion solvation properties that culminate in a new mechanism of these sub-nanoscale-enabled reactions (which cannot be solely attributed to the lithiation-delithiation of conventional sulfur). Two types of SWNTs with distinct diameters, produced by electric arc (EA-SWNTs, average diameter 1.55 nm) or high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco-SWNTs, average diameter 1.0 nm), are investigated with two comparable electrolyte systems based on tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) and 1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxacyclopentadecane (15-crown-5). Electrochemical analyses indicate that a conventional solution-phase Li-S reaction occurs in EA-SWNTs, which can be attributed to the smaller solvated [Li(TEGDME)]+ and [Li(15-crown-5)]+ ions within the EA-SWNT diameter. In stark contrast, the Li-S confined in narrower diameter HiPco-SWNTs exhibits unusual electrochemical behavior that can be attributed to a solid-state reaction enabled by the smaller HiPco-SWNT diameter compared to the size of solvated Li+ ions. Our results of the electrochemical analyses are corroborated and supported with various spectroscopic analyses including operando Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations from density functional theory. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the controlled solid-state lithiation-delithiation of sulfur and an enhanced electrochemical reactivity can be achieved by sub-nanoscale encapsulation and one-dimensional confinement in narrow-diameter SWNTs.

Real-Time Quantum Dynamics of Long-Range Electronic Excitation Transfer in Plasmonic Nanoantennas.

Using large-scale, real-time, quantum dynamics calculations, we present a detailed analysis of electronic excitation transfer (EET) mechanisms in a multiparticle plasmonic nanoantenna system. Specifically, we utilize real-time, time-dependent, density functional tight binding (RT-TDDFTB) to provide a quantum-mechanical description (at an electronic/atomistic level of detail) for characterizing and analyzing these systems, without recourse to classical approximations. We also demonstrate highly long-range electronic couplings in these complex systems and find that the range of these couplings is more than twice the conventional cutoff limit considered by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based approaches. Furthermore, we attribute these unusually long-ranged electronic couplings to the coherent oscillations of conduction electrons in plasmonic nanoparticles. This long-range nature of plasmonic interactions has important ramifications for EET; in particular, we show that the commonly used "nearest-neighbor" FRET model is inadequate for accurately characterizing EET even in simple plasmonic antenna systems. These findings provide a real-time, quantum-mechanical perspective for understanding EET mechanisms and provide guidance in enhancing plasmonic properties in artificial light-harvesting systems.

Accurate Electron Affinities and Orbital Energies of Anions from a Nonempirically Tuned Range-Separated Density Functional Theory Approach.

The treatment of atomic anions with Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) has long been controversial because the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy, EHOMO, is often calculated to be positive with most approximate density functionals. We assess the accuracy of orbital energies and electron affinities for all three rows of elements in the periodic table (H-Ar) using a variety of theoretical approaches and customized basis sets. Among all of the theoretical methods studied here, we find that a nonempirically tuned range-separated approach (constructed to satisfy DFT-Koopmans' theorem for the anionic electron system) provides the best accuracy for a variety of basis sets, even for small basis sets where most functionals typically fail. Previous approaches to solve this conundrum of positive EHOMO values have utilized non-self-consistent methods; however, electronic properties, such as electronic couplings/gradients (which require a self-consistent potential and energy), become ill-defined with these approaches. In contrast, the nonempirically tuned range-separated procedure used here yields well-defined electronic couplings/gradients and correct EHOMO values because both the potential and resulting electronic energy are computed self-consistently. Orbital energies and electron affinities are further analyzed in the context of the electronic energy as a function of electronic number (including fractional numbers of electrons) to provide a stringent assessment of self-interaction errors for these complex anion systems.

Real-Time Quantum Dynamics Reveals Complex, Many-Body Interactions in Solvated Nanodroplets.

Electronic excitations in the liquid phase are surprisingly rich and considerably more complex than either gas-phase or solid-state systems. While the majority of physical and biological processes take place in solvent, our understanding of nonequilibrium excited-state processes in these condensed phase environments remains far from complete. A central and long-standing issue in these solvated environments is the assessment of many-body interactions, particularly when the entire system is out of equilibrium and many quantum states participate in the overall process. Here we present a microscopic picture of solute-solvent electron dynamics and solvatochromic effects, which we uncover using a new real-time quantum dynamics approach for extremely large solvated nanodroplets. In particular, we find that a complex interplay of quantum interactions underlies our observations of solute-solvent effects, and simple macroscopic solvatochromic shifts can even be qualitatively different at the microscopic molecular level in these systems. By treating both the solvent and the solute on the same footing at a quantum-mechanical level, we demonstrate that the electron dynamics in these systems are surprisingly complex, and the emergence of many-body interactions underlies the dynamics in these solvated systems.

Polarizabilities of π-Conjugated Chains Revisited: Improved Results from Broken-Symmetry Range-Separated DFT and New CCSD(T) Benchmarks.

We present a detailed analysis of nonempirically tuned range-separated functionals, with both short- and long-range exchange, for calculating the static linear polarizability and second hyperpolarizabilities of various polydiacetylene (PDA) and polybutatriene (PBT) oligomers. Contrary to previous work on these systems, we find that the inclusion of some amount of short-range exchange does improve the accuracy of the computed polarizabilities and second hyperpolarizabilities. Most importantly, in contrast to prior studies on these oligomers, we find that the lowest-energy electronic states for PBT are not closed-shell singlets, and enhanced accuracy with range-separated DFT can be obtained by allowing the system to relax to a lower-energy broken-symmetry solution. Both the computed polarizabilities and second hyperpolarizabilities for PBT are significantly improved with these broken-symmetry solutions when compared to previously published and current benchmarks. In addition to these new analyses, we provide new large-scale CCSD(T) and explicitly correlated CCSD(T)-F12 benchmarks for the PDA and PBT systems, which comprise the most complete and accurate calculations of linear polarizabilities and second hyperpolarizabilities on these systems to date. These new CCSD(T) and CCSD(T)-F12 benchmarks confirm our DFT results and emphasize the importance of broken-symmetry effects when calculating polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilties of π-conjugated chains.

Isolation of Pristine Electronics Grade Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes by Switching the Rigidity of the Wrapping Polymer Backbone on Demand.

Conjugated polymers are among the most selective carbon nanotube sorting agents discovered and enable the isolation of ultrahigh purity semiconducting singled-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) from heterogeneous mixtures that contain problematic metallic nanotubes. The strong selectivity though highly desirable for sorting, also leads to irreversible adsorption of the polymer on the s-SWCNTs, limiting their electronic and optoelectronic properties. We demonstrate how changes in polymer backbone rigidity can trigger its release from the nanotube surface. To do so, we choose a model polymer, namely poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(6,60-(2,20-bipyridine))] (PFO-BPy), which provides ultrahigh selectivity for s-SWCNTs, which are useful specifically for FETs, and has the chemical functionality (BPy) to alter the rigidity using mild chemistry. Upon addition of Re(CO)5Cl to the solution of PFO-BPy wrapped s-SWCNTs, selective chelation with the BPy unit in the copolymer leads to the unwrapping of PFO-BPy. UV-vis, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy studies show that binding of the metal ligand complex to BPy triggers up to 85% removal of the PFO-BPy from arc-discharge s-SWCNTs (diameter = 1.3-1.7 nm) and up to 72% from CoMoCAT s-SWCNTs (diameter = 0.7-0.8 nm). Importantly, Raman studies show that the electronic structure of the s-SWCNTs is preserved through this process. The generalizability of this method is demonstrated with two other transition metal salts. Molecular dynamics simulations support our experimental findings that the complexation of BPy with Re(CO)5Cl in the PFO-BPy backbone induces a dramatic conformational change that leads to a dynamic unwrapping of the polymer off the nanotube yielding pristine s-SWCNTs.

Bioelectrochemical sensing of promethazine with bamboo-type multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersed in calf-thymus double stranded DNA.

We report the quantification of promethazine (PMZ) using glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) modified with bamboo-like multi-walled carbon nanotubes (bCNT) dispersed in double stranded calf-thymus DNA (dsDNA) (GCE/bCNT-dsDNA). Cyclic voltammetry measurements demonstrated that PMZ presents a thin film-confined redox behavior at GCE/bCNT-dsDNA, opposite to the irreversibly-adsorbed behavior obtained at GCE modified with bCNT dispersed in ethanol (GCE/bCNT). Differential pulse voltammetry-adsorptive stripping with medium exchange experiments performed with GCE/bCNT-dsDNA and GCE modified with bCNTs dispersed in single-stranded calf-thymus DNA (ssDNA) confirmed that the interaction between PMZ and bCNT-dsDNA is mainly hydrophobic. These differences are due to the intercalation of PMZ within the dsDNA that supports the bCNTs, as evidenced from the bathochromic displacement of UV-Vis absorption spectra of PMZ and quantum dynamics calculations at DFTB level. The efficient accumulation of PMZ at GCE/bCNT-dsDNA made possible its sensitive quantification at nanomolar levels (sensitivity: (3.50±0.05)×10(8) µA·cm(-2)·M(-1) and detection limit: 23 nM). The biosensor was successfully used for the determination of PMZ in a pharmaceutical product with excellent correlation.

A theoretical study of the optical properties of nanostructured TiO2.

Optical properties of TiO(2) nanoclusters (with more than 30 TiO(2) units) were calculated within a fully atomistic quantum dynamic framework. We use a time dependent tight-binding model to describe the electronic structure of TiO(2) nanoclusters in order to compute their optical properties. We present calculated absorption spectra for a series of nanospheres of different radii and crystal structures. Our results show that bare TiO(2) nanoclusters have the same adsorption edge for direct electronic transition independently of the crystal structure and the nanocluster size. We report values of the adsorption edge of around 3.0 eV for all structures analyzed. In the present work we demonstrate that, for small clusters, both the direct transition absorption edge and the blue shifting phenomena are masked by thermal disorder.

Quantum Dynamical Simulations as a Tool for Predicting Photoinjection Mechanisms in Dye-Sensitized TiO2 Solar Cells.

On the basis of a time-dependent self-consistent density functional tight-binding (TD-DFTB) approach, we present a novel method able to capture the differences between direct and indirect photoinjection mechanisms in a fully atomistic picture. A model anatase TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) functionalized with different dyes has been chosen as the object of study. We show that a linear dependence of the rate of electron injection with respect to the square of the applied field intensity can be viewed as a signature of a direct electron injection mechanism. In addition, we show that the nature of the photoabsorption process can be understood in terms of orbital population dynamics occurring during photoabsorption. Dyes involved in both direct (type-I) and indirect (type-II) mechanisms were studied to test the predictive power of this method.