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ABSTRACT: Ultrafast time-resolved velocity map ion imaging (TR-VMI) and time-resolved ion-yield (TR-IY) methods are utilised to reveal a comprehensive picture of the electronic state relaxation dynamics in photoexcited catechol (1,2-dihydroxybenzene). After excitation to the S1 ((1)ππ*) state between 280.5 (the S1 origin band, S1(v = 0)) to 243 nm, the population in this state is observed to decay through coupling onto the S2 ((1)πσ*) state, which is dissociative with respect to the non-hydrogen bonded 'free' O-H bond (labelled O(1)-H). This process occurs via tunnelling under an S1/S2 conical intersection (CI) on a timeframe of 5-11 ps, resulting in O(1)-H bond fission along S2. Concomitant formation of ground state catechoxyl radicals (C6H5O2(X)), in coincidence with translationally excited H-atoms, occurs over the same timescale as the S1 state population decays. Between 254-237 nm, direct excitation to the S2 state is also observed, manifesting in the ultrafast (∼100 fs) formation of H-atoms with high kinetic energy release. From these measurements we determine that the S1/S2 CI lies ∼3700-5500 cm(-1) above the S1(v = 0) level, indicating that the barrier height to tunnelling from S1(v = 0) → S2 is comparable to that observed in the related 'benchmark' species phenol (hydroxybenzene). We discuss how a highly 'vibrationally-enhanced' tunnelling mechanism is responsible for the two orders of magnitude enhancement to the tunnelling rate in catechol, relative to that previously determined in phenol (>1.2 ns), despite similar barrier heights. This phenomenon is a direct consequence of the non-planar S1 excited state minimum structure (C1 symmetry) in catechol, which in turn yields relaxed symmetry constraints for vibronic coupling from S1(v = 0) → S2 - a scenario which does not exist for phenol. These findings offer an elegant example of how even simple chemical modifications (ortho-hydroxy substitution) to a fundamental, biologically relevant, UV chromophore, such as phenol, can have profound effects on the ensuing excited state dynamics.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 04/2013; · 3.57 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The method of Monte Carlo configuration interaction (MCCI) (Greer, J. Chem. Phys. 1995a, 103, 1821; Tong, Nolan, Cheng, and Greer, Comp. Phys. Comm. 2000, 142, 132) is applied to the calculation of multipole moments. We look at the ground and excited state dipole moments in carbon monoxide. We then consider the dipole of NO, the quadrupole of N(2) and of BH. An octupole of methane is also calculated. We consider experimental geometries and also stretched bonds. We show that these nonvariational quantities may be found to relatively good accuracy when compared with full configuration interaction results, yet using only a small fraction of the full configuration interaction space. MCCI results in the aug-cc-pVDZ basis are seen to generally have reasonably good agreement with experiment. We also investigate the performance of MCCI when applied to ionisation energies and electron affinities of atoms in an aug-cc-pVQZ basis. We compare the MCCI results with full configuration interaction quantum Monte Carlo (Booth and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2010, 132, 174104; Cleland, Booth, and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2011, 134, 024112) and "exact" nonrelativistic results (Booth and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2010, 132, 174104; Cleland, Booth, and Alavi, J. Chem. Phys. 2011, 134, 024112). We show that MCCI could be a useful alternative for the calculation of atomic ionisation energies however electron affinities appear much more challenging for MCCI. Due to the small magnitude of the electron affinities their percentage errors can be high, but with regards to absolute errors MCCI performs similarly for ionisation energies and electron affinities. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Journal of Computational Chemistry 01/2013; · 4.58 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We apply the method of Monte Carlo configuration interaction (MCCI) to calculate ground-state potential energy curves for a range of small molecules and compare the results with full configuration interaction. We show that the MCCI potential energy curve can be calculated to relatively good accuracy, as quantified using the non-parallelity error, using only a very small fraction of the full configuration interaction space. In most cases the potential curve is of better accuracy than its constituent single-point energies. We finally test the MCCI program on systems with basis sets beyond full configuration interaction: a lattice of 50 hydrogen atoms and ethylene. The results for ethylene agree fairly well with other computational work while for the lattice of 50 hydrogens we find that the fraction of the full configuration interaction space we were able to consider appears to be too small as, although some qualitative features are reproduced, the potential curve is less accurate.
The Journal of chemical physics 11/2012; 137(19):194111. · 3.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Two photons are better than one: A square-planar Pt(II) complex with derivatized pyridine ligands was synthesized, which undergoes two-photon-induced ligand substitution with 600-740 nm light. Linear and quadratic density functional response theory allowed identification of the electronic transitions involved.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 10/2012; · 13.45 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy was used to obtain new information about the dynamics of electronic relaxation in gas-phase indole and 5-hydroxyindole following UV excitation with femtosecond laser pulses centred at 249 nm and 273 nm. Our analysis of the data was supported by ab initio calculations at the coupled cluster and complete-active-space self-consistent-field levels. The optically bright (1)L(a) and (1)L(b) electronic states of (1)ππ∗ character and spectroscopically dark and dissociative (1)πσ∗ states were all found to play a role in the overall relaxation process. In both molecules we conclude that the initially excited (1)L(a) state decays non-adiabatically on a sub 100 fs timescale via two competing pathways, populating either the subsequently long-lived (1)L(b) state or the (1)πσ∗ state localised along the N-H coordinate, which exhibits a lifetime on the order of 1 ps. In the case of 5-hydroxyindole, we conclude that the (1)πσ∗ state localised along the O-H coordinate plays little or no role in the relaxation dynamics at the two excitation wavelengths studied.
The Journal of chemical physics 11/2011; 135(19):194307. · 3.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Changing the core heteroatoms in porphycenic macrocycles can have a dramatic effect on the two-photon absorption properties via tuning of resonance enhancement between Q-band and Soret-band states.
Chemical Communications 09/2011; 48(10):1544-6. · 6.17 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The photoresistive properties of DNA bases, amino acids and corresponding subunits have received considerable attention through spectroscopic studies in recent years. One photoresistive property implicates the participation of (1)πσ* states, allowing electronically excited states to evolve either back to the electronic ground state or undergo direct dissociation along a heteroatom-hydride (X-H) coordinate. To this effect, time-resolved velocity map imaging (TR-VMI) studies of imidazole (a subunit of both adenine and histidine) and methylated derivatives thereof have been undertaken, with the goal of understanding the effects of increasing molecular complexity, through methylation, on the dynamics following photoexcitation at 200 nm. The results of these measurements clearly show that H-atom elimination along the N-H coordinate results in a bimodal distribution in the total kinetic energy release (TKER) spectra in both imidazole and it's methylated derivatives: 2-methyl, 4-methyl and 2,4-dimethylimidazole. The associated time constants for H-atoms eliminated with both high and low kinetic energies are all less than 500 fs. A noticeable increase in the time constants for the methylated derivatives is also observed. This could be attributed to either: ring methylation hindering in-plane and out-of-plane ring distortions which have been implicated as mediating excited state dynamics of these molecules or; an increase in the density of vibrational states at 200 nm causing an increased sampling of orthogonal modes, as opposed to modes which drive any dynamics that cause subsequent H-atom elimination. The results of these findings once again serve to illustrate the seemingly ubiquitous nature of (1)πσ* states in the photoexcited state dynamics of biomolecules and their subunits.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 06/2011; 13(21):10342-9. · 3.57 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We present calculations of the lowest excited electronic states of the TiO(2) molecule. These are computed using several correlated wavefunction response based methods, as well as time-dependent density functional response theory using a range of functionals. Surprisingly lower cost wavefunction based methods, in particular the second-order CC2 and CIS(D) methods, completely fail to describe the lowest (1)B(2) and (1)A(2) states of the molecule. Density functional methods fare better but still show considerable variation amongst functionals. Thus TiO(2) provides a strenuous test for correlated excited state methods.
The Journal of chemical physics 11/2010; 133(20):204302. · 3.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A study of the D(2h) to C(2h) pseudo-Jahn-Teller distortion in the edge-sharing bioctahedral complex Mo(2)(DXylF)(2)(O(2)CCH(3))(2)(mu(2)-O)(2) is presented. We have performed extensive density functional theory (DFT) and complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations. For both the full target complex and a model derived by replacing xylyl and methyl groups with hydrogens we observe that the central Mo(2)(mu(2)-O)(2) motif displays C(2h) rather than D(2h) symmetry. Analytical CASSCF frequency calculations prove that the rhomboidal distortion of the complex from D(2h) to C(2h) is due to a vibronic mixing of the ground electronic state and a low-lying pidelta* excited state.
Inorganic Chemistry 11/2009; 48(22):10652-7. · 4.60 Impact Factor
