Computational spectroscopy, dynamics, and photochemistry of photosensory flavoproteins.

Extensive interest in photosensory proteins stimulated computational studies of flavins and flavoproteins in the past decade. This review is dedicated to the three central topics of these studies: calculations of flavin UV-visible and IR spectra, simulated dynamics of photoreceptor proteins, and flavin photochemistry. Accordingly, this chapter is divided into three parts; each part describes corresponding computational protocols, summarizes computational results, and discusses the emerging mechanistic picture.

Multiconfigurational Second-Order Perturbation Theory Restricted Active Space (RASPT2) Method for Electronic Excited States: A Benchmark Study.

The recently developed second-order perturbation theory restricted active space (RASPT2) method has been benchmarked versus the well-established complete active space (CASPT2) approach. Vertical excitation energies for valence and Rydberg excited states of different groups of organic (polyenes, acenes, heterocycles, azabenzenes, nucleobases, and free base porphin) and inorganic (nickel atom and copper tetrachloride dianion) molecules have been computed at the RASPT2 and multistate (MS) RASPT2 levels using different reference spaces and compared with CASPT2, CCSD, and experimental data in order to set the accuracy of the approach, which extends the applicability of multiconfigurational perturbation theory to much larger and complex systems than previously. Relevant aspects in multiconfigurational excited state quantum chemistry such as the valence-Rydberg mixing problem in organic molecules or the double d-shell effect for first-row transition metals have also been addressed.

Ionization energies for the actinide mono- and dioxides series, from Th to Cm: theory versus experiment.

The results of a computational study with multiconfigurational quantum chemical methods on actinide monoxides (AnO) and dioxides (AnO(2)) for An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, and Cm, are presented. First and second ionization energies were determined and compared with experimental values, when available. The trend along the series is analyzed in terms of the electronic configurations of the various species. The agreement with experiment is excellent in most cases. Of particular interest is the first ionization of PuO(2). We applied cutting-edge theoretical methods to refine the ionization energy, but our computed data fall in the range of approximately 6 eV and not in the approximately 7 eV region as the experiment dictates. Such a system requires further computational and experimental attention.

Helicate extension as a route to molecular wires.

We describe the preparation of a helicate containing four closely spaced, linearly arrayed copper(I) ions. This product may be prepared either directly by mixing copper(I) with a set of precursor amine and aldehyde subcomponents, or indirectly through the dimerization of a dicopper(I) helicate upon addition of 1,2-phenylenediamine. A notable feature of this helicate is that its length is not limited by the lengths of its precursor subcomponents: each of the two ligands wrapped around the four copper(I) centers contains one diamine, two dialdehyde, and two monoamine residues. This work thus paves the way for the preparation of longer oligo- and polymeric structures. DFT calculations and electrochemical measurements indicate a high degree of electronic delocalization among the metal ions forming the cores of the structures described herein, which may therefore be described as "molecular wires".

The restricted active space followed by second-order perturbation theory method: theory and application to the study of CuO2 and Cu2O2 systems.

A multireference second-order perturbation theory using a restricted active space self-consistent field wave function as reference (RASPT2/RASSCF) is described. This model is particularly effective for cases where a chemical system requires a balanced orbital active space that is too large to be addressed by the complete active space self-consistent field model with or without second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2 or CASSCF, respectively). Rather than permitting all possible electronic configurations of the electrons in the active space to appear in the reference wave function, certain orbitals are sequestered into two subspaces that permit a maximum number of occupations or holes, respectively, in any given configuration, thereby reducing the total number of possible configurations. Subsequent second-order perturbation theory captures additional dynamical correlation effects. Applications of the theory to the electronic structure of complexes involved in the activation of molecular oxygen by mono- and binuclear copper complexes are presented. In the mononuclear case, RASPT2 and CASPT2 provide very similar results. In the binuclear cases, however, only RASPT2 proves quantitatively useful, owing to the very large size of the necessary active space.

Stereoelectronic effects on molecular geometries and state-energy splittings of ligated monocopper dioxygen complexes.

The relative energies of side-on versus end-on binding of molecular oxygen to a supported Cu(I) species, and the singlet versus triplet nature of the ground electronic state, are sensitive to the nature of the supporting ligands and, in particular, depend upon their geometric arrangement relative to the O2 binding site. Highly correlated ab initio and density functional theory electronic structure calculations demonstrate that optimal overlap (and oxidative charge transfer) occurs for the side-on geometry, and this is promoted by ligands that raise the energy, thereby enhancing resonance, of the filled Cu dxz orbital that hybridizes with the in-plane pi* orbital of O2. Conversely, ligands that raise the energy of the filled Cu dz2 orbital foster a preference for end-on binding as this is the only mode that permits good overlap with the in-plane O2 pi*. Because the overlap of Cu dz2 with O2 pi* is reduced as compared to the overlap of Cu dxz with the same O2 orbital, the resonance is also reduced, leading to generally more stable triplet states relative to singlets in the end-on geometry as compared to the side-on geometry, where singlet ground states become more easily accessible once ligands are stronger donors. Biradical Cu(II)-O2 superoxide character in the electronic structure of the supported complexes leads to significant challenges for accurate quantum chemical calculations that are best addressed by exploiting the spin-purified M06L local density functional, single-reference completely renormalized coupled-cluster theory, or multireference second-order perturbation theory, all of which provide predictions that are qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with one another.

Self-sorting chiral subcomponent rearrangement during crystallization.

The incorporation of enantiopure 1-amino-2,3-propanediol as a subcomponent into a dicopper double helicate resulted in perfect chiral induction of the helicate's twist. DFT calculations allowed the determination of the helicity of the complex in solution. The same helical induction, in which S amines induced a Lambda helical twist, was observed in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. Electronic structure calculations also revealed that the unusual deep green color of this class of complexes was due to a metal-to-ligand charge transfer excitation, in which the excited state possesses a valence delocalized Cu2(3+) core. The use of a racemic amine subcomponent resulted in the formation of a dynamic library of six diastereomeric pairs of enantiomers. Surprisingly, this library converted into a single pair of enantiomers during crystallization. We were able to observe this process reverse upon redissolution, as initial ligand exchange was followed by covalent imine metathesis.

Quantum chemical characterization of low-energy states of calicene in the gas phase and in solution.

The ground and excited electronic state properties of calicene (triapentafulvalene or 5-(cycloprop-2-en-1-ylidene)cyclopenta-1,3-diene) have been studied with a variety of density functional models (mPWPW91, PBE, TPSS, TPSh, B3LYP) and post-Hartree-Fock models based on single (MP2 and CCSD(T)) and multideterminantal (CASPT2) reference wave functions. All methods agree well on the properties of ground-state calicene, which is described as a conjugated double bond system with substantial zwitterionic character deriving from a charge-separated mesomer in which the three- and five-membered rings are both aromatic. Although the two rings are joined by a formal double bond, contributions from the aromatic mesomer reduce its bond order substantially. A rotational barrier of 40-41 kcal mol-1 is predicted in the gas phase and solvation effects reduce the barrier to 37 and 33 kcal mol-1 in benzene and water, respectively, because of increased zwitterionic character in the twisted transition-state structure. Multi-state CASPT2 (MS-CASPT2) is used to characterize the first few excited singlet and triplet states and indicates that the most important transition occurs at 4.93 eV (251 nm). A cis-trans photoisomerization about the inter-ring double bond is found to be inefficient.