The on-the-fly surface-hopping program system Newton-X: Application to ab initio simulation of the nonadiabatic photodynamics of benchmark systems

Semiempirical Hamiltonian for simulation of azobenzene photochemistry

We present a semiempirical Hamiltonian that provides an accurate description of the first singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces of azobenzene for use in direct simulations of the excited-state dynamics. The parameterization made use of spectroscopic and thermochemical data and the best ab initio results available to date. Two-dimensional potential energy surfaces based on constrained geometry optimizations are presented for the states that are most relevant for the photochemistry of azobenzene, namely, S(0), S(1), and S(2). In order to run simulations of the photodynamics of azobenzene in hydrocarbons or hydroxylic solvents, we determined the interactions of methane and methanol with the azo group by ab initio calculations and fitted the interactions with a QM/MM interaction Hamiltonian.

Mechanism of UV-induced formation of Dewar lesions in DNA

The importance of a backbone: The mechanism of formation of Dewar lesions has been investigated by using femtosecond IR spectroscopy and ab initio calculations of the exited state. The 4π electrocyclization is rather slow, occurs with an unusual high quantum yield, and--surprisingly--is controlled by the phosphate backbone.

Unravelling the details of vitamin D photosynthesis by non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations

We investigate the photodynamics of vitamin D derivatives by a fully analytical implementation of the linear response time-dependent density functional theory surface hopping method (LR-TDDFT-SH). Our study elucidates the dynamics of the processes involved in vitamin D formation at the molecular level and with femtosecond resolution. We explain the major experimental findings and provide new insights that cannot directly be obtained from experiments: firstly, we investigate the dynamics of the photoinduced ring-opening of provitamin D (Pro) and cyclohexadiene (CHD) and the subsequent rotational isomerization. In agreement with recent experiments and CC2 calculations, only the bright S(1) state is involved in the ring-opening reaction. Our calculations confirm the experimentally reported 5 : 1 ratio between the excited state lifetimes of Pro and CHD. The longer lifetimes of Pro are attributed to steric constraints of the steroid skeleton and to temperature effects, both emerging directly from our simulations. For CHD and Pro, we present an explanation of the biexponential decay recently reported by Sension and coworkers [Tang et al., J. Phys. Chem., 2011, 134, 104503]: our calculations suggest that the fast and slow components arise from a reactive and an unreactive reaction pathway, respectively. Secondly, we assess the wavelength dependent photochemistry of previtamin D (Pre). Using replica exchange molecular dynamics we sample the Pre conformers present at thermal equilibrium. Based on this ensemble we explain the conformation dependent absorption and the essential features of Pre photochemistry. Consistent with the experiments, we find ring-closure to occur mostly after excitation of the cZc conformers and at lower energies, whereas Z/E isomerization of the central double bond preferably occurs after excitation at higher energies. For the isomerization we provide the first theoretical evidence of the proposed hula-twist mechanism. Our results show that LR-TDDFT-SH is a highly valuable tool for studying the photochemistry of moderately large systems, even though challenges remain in the vicinity of conical intersections.

Absorption and fluorescence of PRODAN in phospholipid bilayers: a combined quantum mechanics and classical molecular dynamics study

Absorption and fluorescence spectra of PRODAN (6-propionyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene) were studied by means of the time-dependent density functional theory and the algebraic diagrammatic construction method. The influence of environment, a phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer and water, was taken into account employing a combination of quantum chemical calculations with empirical force-field molecular dynamics simulations. Additionally, experimental absorption and emission spectra of PRODAN were measured in cyclohexane, water, and lipid vesicles. Both planar and twisted configurations of the first excited state of PRODAN were taken into account. The twisted structure is stabilized in both water and a lipid bilayer, and should be considered as an emitting state in polar environments. Orientation of the excited dye in the lipid bilayer significantly depends on configuration. In the bilayer, the fluorescence spectrum can be regarded as a combination of emission from both planar and twisted structures.

Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics study of the cis-trans photoisomerization of azobenzene excited to the S1 state

Ab initio nonadiabatic dynamics simulations of cis-to-trans isomerization of azobenzene upon S(1) (n-π*) excitation are carried out employing the fewest-switches surface hopping method. Azobenzene photoisomerization occurs purely as a rotational motion of the central CNNC moiety. Two nonequivalent rotational pathways corresponding to clockwise or counterclockwise rotation are available. The course of the rotational motion is strongly dependent on the initial conditions. The internal conversion occurs via an S(0)/S(1) crossing seam located near the midpoint of both of these rotational pathways. Based on statistical analysis, it is shown that the occurrence of one or other pathway can be completely controlled by selecting adequate initial conditions.

Semiclassical dynamics simulations of charge transport in stacked π-systems

Charge transfer processes within stacked π-systems were examined for the stacked ethylene dimer radical cation with inclusion of a bridge containing up to three formaldehyde molecules. The electronic structure was treated at the complete active space self-consistent field and multireference configuration interaction levels. Nonadiabatic interactions between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom were included through semiclassical surface hopping dynamics. The processes were analyzed according to fragment charge differences. Static calculations explored the dependence of the electronic coupling and on-site energies on varying geometric parameters and on the inclusion of a bridge. The dynamics simulations gave the possibility for directly observing complex charge transfer and diabatic trapping events.

Photodynamics of the adenine model 4-aminopyrimidine embedded within double strand of DNA

On-the-fly surface hopping nonadiabatic photodynamical simulations using hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach of 4-aminopyrimidine were performed to model the relaxation mechanism of adenine within DNA double strand. The surrounding bases do not affect the overall ring-puckering relaxation mechanisms significantly, however, interesting hydrogen-bond dynamics is observed. First, formation of intra-strand hydrogen bonds is found. It is shown that this effect speeds up the decay process. In addition, the Watson–Crick structure is altered by breaking one of the inter-strand hydrogen bonds also leading to a decrease of the life time.

Field-induced surface hopping method for probing transition state nonadiabatic dynamics of Ag3

We present the simulation of time-resolved photoelectron spectra of Ag(3) involving excitation from the linear transition state, where nonadiabatic relaxation takes place in a complex manifold of electronic states. Thus, we address ultrafast processes reachable by negative ion-to neutral-to positive ion (NeNePo) spectroscopy starting from the linear Ag anionic species. For this purpose we use our newly developed field-induced surface hopping method (FISH) augmented for the description of photoionization processes. Furthermore we employ our method for nonadiabatic molecular dynamics "on the fly" in the framework of time-dependent density functional theory generalized for open shell systems. Our presented approach is generally applicable for the prediction of time-resolved photoelectron spectra and their analysis in systems with complex electronic structure as well as many nuclear degrees freedom. This theoretical development should serve to stimulate new ultrafast experiments.

Nonadiabatic reaction of energetic molecules

Energetic materials store a large amount of chemical energy that can be readily converted into mechanical energy via decomposition. A number of different ignition processes such as sparks, shocks, heat, or arcs can initiate the excited electronic state decomposition of energetic materials. Experiments have demonstrated the essential role of excited electronic state decomposition in the energy conversion process. A full understanding of the mechanisms for the decomposition of energetic materials from excited electronic states will require the investigation and analysis of the specific topography of the excited electronic potential energy surfaces (PESs) of these molecules. The crossing of multidimensional electronic PESs creates a funnel-like topography, known as conical intersections (CIs). CIs are well established as a controlling factor in the excited electronic state decomposition of polyatomic molecules. This Account summarizes our current understanding of the nonadiabatic unimolecular chemistry of energetic materials through CIs and presents the essential role of CIs in the determination of decomposition pathways of these energetic systems. Because of the involvement of more than one PES, a decomposition process involving CIs is an electronically nonadiabatic mechanism. Based on our experimental observations and theoretical calculations, we find that a nonadiabatic reaction through CIs dominates the initial decomposition process of energetic materials from excited electronic states. Although the nonadiabatic behavior of some polyatomic molecules has been well studied, the role of nonadiabatic reactions in the excited electronic state decomposition of energetic molecules has not been well investigated. We use both nanosecond energy-resolved and femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopic techniques to determine the decomposition mechanism and dynamics of energetic species experimentally. Subsequently, we employ multiconfigurational methodologies (such as, CASSCF, CASMP2) to model nonadiabatic molecular processes of energetic molecules computationally. Synergism between experiment and theory establishes a coherent description of the nonadiabatic reactivity of energetic materials at a molecular level. Energetic systems discussed in this Account are nitramine- and furazan-based species. Both energetic species and their respective model systems, which are not energetic, are studied and discussed in detail. The model systems have similar molecular structures to those of the energetic species and help significantly in understanding the decomposition behavior of the larger and more complex energetic molecules. Our results for the above systems of interest confirm the existence of CIs and energy barriers on the PESs of interest. The presence of the CIs and barriers along the various reaction coordinates control the nonadiabatic behavior of the decomposition process. The detailed nature of the PESs and their CIs consequently differentiate the energetic systems from model systems. Energy barriers to the chemically relevant low-lying CIs of a molecule determine whether that molecule is more or less "energetic".

Relaxation mechanisms of UV-photoexcited DNA and RNA nucleobases

A comprehensive effort in photodynamical ab initio simulations of the ultrafast deactivation pathways for all five nucleobases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil is reported. These simulations are based on a complete nonadiabatic surface-hopping approach using extended multiconfigurational wave functions. Even though all five nucleobases share the basic internal conversion mechanisms, the calculations show a distinct grouping into purine and pyrimidine bases as concerns the complexity of the photodynamics. The purine bases adenine and guanine represent the most simple photodeactivation mechanism with the dynamics leading along a diabatic ππ* path directly and without barrier to the conical intersection seam with the ground state. In the case of the pyrimidine bases, the dynamics starts off in much flatter regions of the ππ* energy surface due to coupling of several states. This fact prohibits a clear formation of a single reaction path. Thus, the photodynamics of the pyrimidine bases is much richer and includes also nπ* states with varying importance, depending on the actual nucleobase considered. Trapping in local minima may occur and, therefore, the deactivation time to the ground state is also much longer in these cases. Implications of these findings are discussed (i) for identifying structural possibilities where singlet/triplet transitions can occur because of sufficient retention time during the singlet dynamics and (ii) concerning the flexibility of finding other deactivation pathways in substituted pyrimidines serving as candidates for alternative nucleobases.

Effect of substituents on the excited-state dynamics of the modified DNA bases 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and 2,6-diaminopurine

To explore the excited state dynamics of pyrimidine derivatives, we performed a combined experimental and theoretical study. We present resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) and IR-UV double resonance spectra of 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and 2,6-diaminopurine seeded in a supersonic jet by laser desorption. For 2,4-diaminopyrimidine (S(0)-->S(1) 34,459 cm(-1)), we observed only the diamino tautomer with an excited state lifetime bracketed between experimental limits of 10 ps and 1 ns. For 2,6-diaminopurine, we observed two tautomers, the 9H- (S(0)-->S(1) 34,881 cm(-1)) and 7H- (S(0)-->S(1) 32,215 cm(-1)) diamino forms, with excited state lifetimes of 6.3±0.4 ns and 8.7±0.8 ns, respectively. We investigated the nature of the excited state of 2,4-diaminopyrimidine by means of multi-reference ab initio methods. The calculations of stationary points in the ground and excited states, minima on the S(0)/S(1) crossing seam and connecting reaction paths show that several paths with negligible barriers exist, allowing ultrafast radiationless deactivation if excited at energies slightly higher than the band origin. The sub-nanosecond lifetime found experimentally is in good agreement with this finding.

Excited-state diproton transfer in [2,2'-bipyridyl]-3,3'-diol: the mechanism is sequential, not concerted

The excited-state mono- and diproton transfer has been investigated in the S(1) state of [2,2'-bipyridyl]-3,3'-diol using the quantum mechanical resolution-of-identity second-order approximate coupled-cluster (RI-CC2) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods. Static investigation of stationary points and scans of the pi pi* and n pi* energy surfaces have been performed. These calculations show that the concerted diproton transfer in S(1) proceeds along a ridge thus making this process highly unlikely since it will stabilize toward the unsymmetrical monoproton transfer. A small energy barrier of about 0.11 eV (RI-CC2 result) between the mono- and diketo structures is obtained allowing rapid continuation of the proton transfer to the diketo form. On-the-fly dynamics simulations performed at the RI-CC2 level confirm this picture. The first proton transfer step is so fast (7 fs) that it probably cannot be resolved by experimental techniques. Important participation of the n pi* state is predicted. The present results shed a completely new light on the interpretation of the experimental results. The simulations clearly show that what has been experimentally determined as concerted transfer is in fact a combination of two sequential proton transfers separated by a small delay below the present experimental resolution. Concerning the second step of the sequential proton transfer the dynamics calculations indicate the existence of a highly dynamic system. Both the forward and reverse reactions of a monoketo/diketo equilibrium were found within the 300 fs period of the simulation. Environmental effects will certainly lead to a substantial cooling of the initially hot molecule and a concomitant decrease in the monoketo/diketo conversion rates, which will result in the experimentally observed overall time scale of 10 ps for the second proton transfer step.