On the Origins of Large Interaction-Induced First Hyperpolarizabilities in Hydrogen-Bonded π‑Electronic Complexes

In this article we elucidate the origins of interaction-induced linear and nonlinear electro-optic properties of model hydrogen-bonded π-electronic complexes. In particular we report on contributions due to various interaction energy terms to excess dipole moments (Δμ), electric dipole polarizabilities (Δα), and first hyperpolarizabilities (Δβ), focusing on the latter. The analysis of intermolecular interaction-induced electric properties is performed for selected model systems including quasi-linear dimers of urea, diformamide, 4-pyridone, 4-nitroaniline, and the complex of hydrogen fluoride with nitroacetylene. The nature of intermolecular interactions as well as of the Δμ and Δα is very similar in all studied complexes. However, partitioning of Δβ into physically well-defined components reveals that the origins of this term, the magnitude of which is often comparable to the hyperpolarizabilities of isolated monomers, are different in each case. Our results indicate that, even though hydrogen bonding usually diminishes the nonlinear response of interacting species, the first hyperpolarizability of complexes with the nitro group acting as a proton acceptor is substantially increased, essentially due to field-induced changes of electrostatic interactions between subsystems. However, in the remaining complexes the origins of Δβ are much more involved. Even though at large intermolecular separations the origins of interaction-induced electric properties are essentially due to the field-induced electrostatic and induction interactions, in the vicinity of van der Waals minimum the overlap effects cannot be neglected since they may substantially alter the predicted excess properties or even determine their magnitude and sign. On the other hand the Δβ contribution due to dispersion interactions is usually negligible. Interestingly, the values of interaction-induced first hyperpolarizability in some cases depend strongly on the intermolecular separation in the vicinity of equilibrium geometry

Electron-Driven Proton Transfer Along H₂O Wires Enables Photorelaxation of πσ* States in Chromophore–Water Clusters

The fates of photochemically formed πσ* states are one of the central issues in photobiology due to their significant contribution to the photostability of biological matter, formation of hydrated electrons, and the phenomenon of photoacidity. Nevertheless, our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms in aqueous solution is still incomplete. In this paper, we report on the results of nonadiabatic photodynamics simulations of microhydrated 2-aminooxazole molecule employing algebraic diagrammatic construction to the second order. Our results indicate that electron-driven proton transfer along H₂O wires induces the formation of πσ*/S₀ state crossing and provides an effective deactivation channel. Because we recently have identified a similar channel for 4-aminoimidazole-5-carbonitrile [Szabla, R.; Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16, 17617−17626], we conclude this mechanism may be quite common to all heterocyclic compounds with low-lying πσ* states

Distributed Multipolar Expansion Approach to Calculation of Excitation Energy Transfer Couplings

We propose a new approach for estimating the electrostatic part of the excitation energy transfer (EET) coupling between electronically excited chromophores based on the transition density-derived cumulative atomic multipole moments (TrCAMM). In this approach, the transition potential of a chromophore is expressed in terms of truncated distributed multipolar expansion and analytical formulas for the TrCAMMs are derived. The accuracy and computational feasibility of the proposed approach is tested against the exact Coulombic couplings, and various multipole expansion truncation schemes are analyzed. The results of preliminary calculations show that the TrCAMM approach is capable of reproducing the exact Coulombic EET couplings accurately and efficiently and is superior to other widely used schemes: the transition charges from electrostatic potential (TrESP) and the transition density cube (TDC) method

On the Calculations of Interaction Energies and Induced Electric Properties within the Polarizable Continuum Model

In this work we investigate the influence of a polarizable environment on the interaction energies and the interaction-induced (excess) static electric dipole properties for the selected model hydrogen-bonded complexes. The excess properties were estimated for water and hydrogen fluoride dimers using the supermolecular approach and assuming the polarizable continuum model (PCM) as a representation of the polarizable environment. We analyze in this context the performance of the counterpoise correction and the consequences of various possible monomer cavity choices. The polarizable environment reduces the absolute magnitudes of interaction energies and interaction-induced dipole moments, whereas an increase is observed for the absolute magnitudes of induced polarizabilities and first hyperpolarizabilities. Our results indicate that the use of either monomeric (MC) or dimeric (DC) cavities in calculations of monomer properties does not change qualitatively the resultant excess properties. We conclude that the DC scheme is more consistent with the definition of the interaction energy and consequently also the interaction-induced property, whereas the MC scheme corresponds to the definition of stabilization energy. Our results indicate also a good performance of the counterpoise correction scheme for the self-consistent methods in the case of all studied properties

Resonant and Nonresonant Hyperpolarizabilities of Spatially Confined Molecules: A Case Study of Cyanoacetylene

In this theoretical study we report on resonant and nonresonant electric-dipole (hyper)­polarizabilities of cyanoacetylene molecule confined by repulsive potentials of cylindrical symmetry mimicking a topology of nanotubelike carbon cages. The set of investigated electronic properties encompasses dipole moment, polarizability, first and second hyperpolarizability as well as the two-photon transition matrix elements. The effect of external potential on vibrational contributions to electric-dipole properties is also included in our treatment. The computations are performed at several levels of theoretical approximation including state-of-the-art coupled-cluster (CCSD­(T)) and multireference configuration interaction methods (MRCISD­(Q)). The results of calculations presented herein indicate that the decrease in dipole moment observed experimentally for the HCCCN molecule solvated in helium nanodroplets may be partially attributed to the confinement effects. The external confining potential causes a substantial drop of the isotropic average electronic polarizability and second hyperpolarizability. In contrast, the vector component of the electronic first hyperpolarizability substantially increases. Nuclear relaxation contributions to all studied electric-dipole properties are found to diminish upon confinement. Our calculations also indicate that the most intense ¹Σ⁺ ← <i>X̃</i> one-photon transition is slightly blue-shifted whereas the corresponding oscillator strength is virtually unaffected upon confinement. Interestingly, the absolute magnitude of the diagonal component of the second-order transition moment for the bright state (<i>S</i>_<i>zz</i>^0→¹∑⁺) increases with the strength of external potential. The effect of structural relaxation on the electric-dipole properties, arising from the presence of the external potential, is also investigated in the present work

Photochemistry of 2‑Aminooxazole, a Hypothetical Prebiotic Precursor of RNA Nucleotides

2-Aminooxazole has recently been proposed as a hypothetical precursor of RNA nucleotides on early earth. UV irradiation was considered as a crucial environmental factor in the proposed reaction sequence. We report on state-of-the-art multireference quantum-chemical calculations elucidating the possible nonradiative deactivation channels of this compound. According to our findings, the gas-phase photochemistry of 2-aminooxazole should be dominated by the photodetachment of the hydrogen atom of the NH₂ group via a ¹πσ_NH^* state leading either to ultrafast nonradiative deactivation, phototautomerization, or photodissociation of a hydrogen atom. We also identified a possible ring-opening reaction and a ring-puckering process that could occur after electronic excitation. These reactions seem to be less probable because they are driven by a higher-lying excited singlet state and are inherently slower than the hydrogen-atom dynamics