How Do Methyl Groups Enhance the Triplet Chemiexcitation Yield of Dioxetane?

Chemiluminescence is the emission of light as a result of a nonadiabatic chemical reaction. The present work is concerned with understanding the yield of chemiluminescence, in particular how it dramatically increases upon methylation of 1,2-dioxetane. Both ground-state and nonadiabatic dynamics (including singlet excited states) of the decomposition reaction of various methyl-substituted dioxetanes have been simulated. Methyl-substitution leads to a significant increase in the dissociation time scale. The rotation around the O-C-C-O dihedral angle is slowed; thus, the molecular system stays longer in the "entropic trap" region. A simple kinetic model is proposed to explain how this leads to a higher chemiluminescence yield. These results have important implications for the design of efficient chemiluminescent systems in medical, environmental, and industrial applications

The OpenMolcas Web: A Community-Driven Approach to Advancing Computational Chemistry

The developments of the open-source OpenMolcas chemistry software environment since spring 2020 are described, with a focus on novel functionalities accessible in the stable branch of the package or via interfaces with other packages. These developments span a wide range of topics in computational chemistry and are presented in thematic sections: electronic structure theory, electronic spectroscopy simulations, analytic gradients and molecular structure optimizations, ab initio molecular dynamics, and other new features. This report offers an overview of the chemical phenomena and processes OpenMolcas can address, while showing that OpenMolcas is an attractive platform for state-of-the-art atomistic computer simulations

Smooth Things Come in Threes: A Diabatic Surrogate Model for Conical Intersection Optimization

The optimization of conical intersection structures is complicated by the non-differentiability of the adiabatic potential energy surfaces. In this work, we build a pseudo-diabatic surrogate model, based on Gaussian process regression, formed by three smooth and differentiable surfaces that can adequately reproduce the adiabatic surfaces. Using this model with the restricted variance optimization method results in a notable decrease of the overall computational effort required to obtain minimum energy crossing points

Multiconfigurational quantum chemistry: The CASPT2 method

This chapter presents the theory behind the CASPT2 method and its adaptation to a multi-state formalism. The chapter starts with an introduction of the theory of the CASPT2 method - an application of Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory applied to multiconfigurational reference function - as it was originally presented. In particular, we discuss the nature of the reference Hamiltonian and the first-order interacting space. This is followed by some detailed discussion with respect to the intruder state problem and various shift techniques to address this problem. Afterwards a longer review on alternative reference Hamiltonians, which to some degree or completely remove the intruder state problem, is put forward. Subsequently the presently proposed multi-state versions of the CASPT2 method are discussed in some detail. The chapter is concluded with a review of different benchmark assessments of the accuracy of the method and a qualified suggestion on the future development potentials of the approach.Comment: This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of a chapter accepted and published in the book "Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry

Regularized CASPT2: an intruder-state-free approach

In this work we present a new approach to fix the intruder state problem (ISP) in CASPT2 based on σp regularization. The resulting $σ^p$-CASPT2 method is compared to previous techniques, namely the real and imaginary level shifts, on a theoretical basis and by performing a series of systematic calculations. The analysis is focused on two aspects, the effectiveness of $σ^p$-CASPT2 in removing the ISP and the sensitivity of the approach with respect to the input parameter. We found that σp-CASPT2 compares favorably with respect to previous approaches, and that different versions, $σ^1$-CASPT2 and $σ^2$-CASPT2, have different potential application domains. This analysis also reveals the unsuitability of the real level shift technique as a general way to avoid the intruder state problem

Uncontracted basis sets for ab initio calculations of muonic atoms and molecules

In this work, we investigated muonic atoms and molecules from a quantum chemist's viewpoint by incorporating muons in the CASSCF model. With the aim of predicting muonic X-ray energies, primitive muonic basis sets were developed for a selection of elements. The basis sets were then used in CASSCF calculations of various atoms and molecules to calculate muonic excited states. We described the influence of nuclear charge distribution in predicting muonic X-ray energies. Effects of the electronic wave function on the muonic X-ray energies were also examined. We have computationally demonstrated how the muon can act as a probe for the nuclear charge distribution or electronic wave function by considering lower or higher muonic excited states, respectively

The versatility of Cholesky decomposition in electronic structure theory

The resolution-of-the-identity (RI) or density fitting (DF) approximation for the electron repulsion integrals (ERIs) has become a standard component of accelerated and reduced-scaling implementations of first-principles Gaussian- type orbital electronic-structure methods. The Cholesky decomposition (CD) of the ERIs has also become increasingly deployed across quantum chemistry packages in the last decade, even though its early applications were mostly limited to high-accuracy methods such as coupled-cluster theory and multi-configurational approaches. Starting with a summary of the basic theory underpinning both the CD and RI/DF approximations, thus underlining the extremely close relation of the CD and RI/DF techniques, we provide a brief and largely chronological review of the evolution of the CD approach from its birth in 1977 to its current state. In addition to being a purely numerical procedure for handling ERIs, thus providing robust and computationally efficient approximations to the exact ERIs that have been found increasingly useful on modern computer platforms, CD also offers highly accurate approaches for generating auxiliary basis sets for the RI/DF approximation on the fly, as the two approaches have a deep mathematical connection. In this review, we aim to provide a concise reference of the main techniques employed in various CD approaches in electronic structure theory, to exemplify the connection between the CD and RI/DF approaches, and to clarify the state of the art to guide new implementations of CD approaches across electronic structure programs

Photophysical characterization and fluorescence cell imaging applications of 4-N-substituted benzothiadiazoles

In this work, a series of fluorescent 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole derivatives with various N-substituents in the 4- position was synthesized and photophysically characterized in various solvents. Three compounds emerged as excellent fluorescent probes for imaging lipid droplets in cancer cells. A correlation between their high lipophilicity and lipid droplet specificity could be found, with log P ≥ 4 being characteristic for lipid droplet accumulation