Triplet state harvesting and search for forbidden transition intensity in the nitrogen molecule.

Triplet excited states of the N2 molecule play an important role in electric discharges through air or liquid nitrogen accompanied by various afterglows. In the rarefied upper atmosphere, they produce aurora borealis and participate in other energy-transfer processes connected with atmospheric photochemistry and nightglow. In this work, we present spin-orbit coupling calculations of the intensity of various forbidden transitions, including the prediction of the electric dipole transition moment of the new 1 3 Σ g - ← A 3 Σ u + band, which is strongly prohibited by the (+|-) selection rule, the new spin-induced magnetic B ' 3 Σ u - ←   A 3 Σ u + transition, magnetic and electric quadrupole transitions for the B3Πg ← X 1 Σ g + Wilkinson band, and the Lyman-Birge-Hopfield a1Πg ← X1Σg transition. Also, two other far-UV singlet-singlet quadrupole transitions are calculated for the first time, namely, the Dressler-Lutz a"1Σg +-X1Σg + and the less studied z1Δg-X1Σg + weak transitions.

New Aspects of the Airglow Problem and Reactivity of the Dioxygen Quintet O2(5Πg) State in the MLT Region as Predicted by DFT Calculations.

Dioxygen in the quintet O2(5Πg) state is a weakly bound species near the entrance of the O(3P) + O(3P) recombination channel. It was predicted by ab initio calculations in 1977 and detected experimentally in 1999. Meantime, the O2(5Πg) species was tentatively assumed as intermediate in transport properties calculations for the rarefied gases of the Earth's upper atmosphere, though its potential energy curve is still debated. Besides six other strongly bound low-lying states of dioxygen, the O2(5Πg) state is an important potential candidate for modeling energy transfer and airglow of the upper atmosphere. A number of photochemical kinetic schemes designed to simulate energy flow upon atomic and molecular oxygen collisions in the rarefied mesosphere take into account a participation of the O2(5Πg) state in energy relaxation processes responsible for terrestrial nightglow. All mechanisms of energy redistribution are based on the hard-sphere collision models. The possibility of chemical interactions between the quintet excited state of dioxygen and other atmospheric components has not been considered so far in photochemistry of the upper atmosphere. In the present paper, the chemical reactivity of the quintet O2(5Πg) species is calculated for the first time in the framework of the density functional theory. Definitely, O2(5Πg) is the most reactive species among all other metastable dioxygen states below 5.1 eV. Quintet products of the O2(5Πg) state association with heavy inert gases, H2O, N2, and CO2 are predicted to be chemically significant, while the complexes with abundant H2 and He species are rather weak and not important even in the mesopause low-temperature region. The complex with N2 molecule is unexpectedly stable with dissociation energy 4 kJ/mol, which can strongly influence the abundant termolecular association O + O + N2 → O2 + N2 process. Reaction with meteoritic ablated Mg atom produces metastable 5A1 excited state of MgO2 being more strongly bound than the ground 3A2 state of magnesium peroxide.

First-principles calculations of anharmonic and deuteration effects on the photophysical properties of polyacenes and porphyrinoids.

A new method for calculating internal conversion rate constants (k[combining low line]IC), including anharmonic effects and using the Lagrangian multiplier technique, is proposed. The deuteration effect on k[combining low line]IC is investigated for naphthalene, anthracene, free-base porphyrin (H2P) and tetraphenylporphyrin (H2TPP). The results show that anharmonic effects are important when calculating k[combining low line]IC for transitions between electronic states that are energetically separated (ΔE) by more than 20 000-25 000 cm-1. Anharmonic effects are also important when ΔE < 20 000-25 000 cm-1 and when the accepting modes are X-H stretching vibrations with a frequency larger than 2000 cm-1. The calculations show that there is mixing between the S1 and S2 states of naphthalene induced by non-adiabatic interactions. The non-adiabatic interaction matrix element between the S1 and S2 states is 250 cm-1 and 50 cm-1 for the normal and fully deuterated naphthalene structure and this difference significantly affects the estimated fluorescence quantum yield. Besides aromatic hydrocarbons H2P and H2TPP, the k[combining low line]IC rate constant is also calculated for pyrometene (PM567) and tetraoxa[8]circulene (4B) with a detailed analysis of the effect of the vibrational anharmonicity.

Aromaticity and photophysics of tetrasila- and tetragerma-annelated tetrathienylenes as new representatives of the hetero[8]circulene family.

The electronic structure, absorption and emission spectra, aromaticity and photophysical behavior of the recently synthesized tetrasilatetrathia[8]circulene and tetragermatetrathia[8]circulene compounds have been studied computationally. Both compounds demonstrate a specific bifacial aromaticity, which is unusual for hetero[8]circulenes; the inner eight-membered core sustains an expected strong paratropic magnetically-induced ring current, while the outer perimeter contains saturated Si(Et)2 and Ge(Et)2 moieties which break the conjugation between the thiophene rings. The overall magnetically-induced ring current for both studied circulenes is close to zero because of the strong local diatropic currents in each thiophene ring that compensate the paratropic counterpart. The electronic absorption and emission spectra of tetrasilatetrathia[8]circulene and tetragermatetrathia[8]circulene demonstrate a clear visible vibronic progression. The 0-0 band is the most active one in the absorption spectra, while in the fluorescence spectra the 0-1 band composed of several normal vibrations is more intense compared with the 0-0 band in excellent agreement with experiment. Accounting for spin-orbit coupling effects, an analysis of the photophysical constants for the two compounds demonstrates: (1) a clear manifestation of the internal heavy atom effect on the inter-system crossing efficiency; (2) one to two order domination of non-radiative rates over the fluorescence rate; and (3) that the S1-S0 internal conversion is extremely slow and can not compete with the fluorescence, while the S1-Tn inter-system crossing is a main deactivation channel of the S1 excited state. These results provide new insight into the electronic structure and photophysics of tetrasilatetrathia[8]circulene and tetragermatetrathia[8]circulene as novel standalone representatives of hetero[8]circulenes - tetraannelated derivatives of tetrathienylene.

Identification of tautomeric intermediates of a novel thiazolylazonaphthol dye - A density functional theory study.

The recently synthesized thiazolylazo dye, 1-[5-benzyl-1,3-thiazol-2-yl)diazenyl]naphthalene-2-ol called shortly BnTAN, is studied by density functional theory (DFT) in three tautomeric forms in order to explain the available 1H NMR, UV-Vis and FTIR spectra. An experimentally observed IR band at 1678 cm-1, assigned to the CO bond stretching vibration, supports the notion that BnTAN retains in the less stable keto-form even in the solid state due to an ultrafast single-coordinate intramolecular proton transfer. This finding is also in a good agreement with an X-ray crystallography analysis which indicates an intermediate position of the proton between the -OH and -N=N- groups. Calculations also show that some experimentally observed 1H NMR signals could be considered as being averaged values between theoretically calculated chemical shifts for the corresponding protons in the keto- and enol-tautomers. At the same time the UV-Vis spectra are almost insensitive to the tautomerization processes as the main single band absorption at 500 nm is present in all tautomers according to our TD DFT simulations. The minor differences in spectral features of the long-wavelength visible region are also noted and discussed with respect to the manifestation of the less stable tautomer form.

Ab initio investigation of electric and magnetic dipole electronic transitions in the complex of oxygen with benzene.

The electric dipole transitions between pure spin and mixed spin electronic states are calculated at the XMC-QDPT2 and MCSCF levels of theory, respectively, for different intermolecular distances of the C6H6 and O2 collisional complex. The magnetic dipole transition moment between the mixed-spin ground ("triplet") and the first excited ("singlet") states is calculated by quadratic response at MCSCF level of theory. The obtained results confirm the theory of intensity borrowing and increasing the intensity of electronic transitions in the C6H6 + O2 collision. The calculation of magnetically induced current density is performed for benzene molecule being in contact with O2 at the distances from 3.5 to 4.5 Å. The calculation shows that the aromaticity of benzene is rising due to the conjugation of π-MOs of both molecules. The C6H6 + O2 complex becomes nonaromatic at the short distances (r < 3.5 Å). The computation of static polarizability in the excited electronic states of the C6H6 + O2 collisional complex at various distances supports the theory of red solvatochromic shift of the a → X band. Graphical abstract The C6H6+ O2 collisional complex.

Aromaticity of the planar hetero[8]circulenes and their doubly charged ions: NICS and GIMIC characterization.

A series of planar hetero[8]circulenes and their doubly charged ions are studied by the NICS and GIMIC methods to interpret the aromatic properties of these high symmetry species. In accordance with the performed calculations all studied hetero[8]circulenes are found to be nonaromatic compounds because paratropic and diatropic ring-currents are completely canceled yielding almost zero net current. In great contrast, the dicationic and dianionic hetero[8]circulenes demonstrate the predominant contribution of diatropic ring currents resulting in the total aromatic character of the studied doubly charged ions. This fact allows us to predict the high stability of dianionic hetero[8]circulenes and explains the extremely high stability of dicationic species observed in the mass-spectra.

Fragmentation of the adenine and guanine molecules induced by electron collisions.

Secondary electron emission is the most important stage in the mechanism of radiation damage to DNA biopolymers induced by primary ionizing radiation. These secondary electrons ejected by the primary electron impacts can produce further ionizations, initiating an avalanche effect, leading to genome damage through the energy transfer from the primary objects to sensitive biomolecular targets, such as nitrogenous bases, saccharides, and other DNA and peptide components. In this work, the formation of positive and negative ions of purine bases of nucleic acids (adenine and guanine molecules) under the impact of slow electrons (from 0.1 till 200 eV) is studied by the crossed electron and molecular beams technique. The method used makes it possible to measure the molecular beam intensity and determine the total cross-sections for the formation of positive and negative ions of the studied molecules, their energy dependences, and absolute values. It is found that the maximum cross section for formation of the adenine and guanine positive ions is reached at about 90 eV energy of the electron beam and their absolute values are equal to 2.8 × 10(-15) and 3.2 × 10(-15) cm(2), respectively. The total cross section for formation of the negative ions is 6.1 × 10(-18) and 7.6 × 10(-18) cm(2) at the energy of 1.1 eV for adenine and guanine, respectively. The absolute cross-section values for the molecular ions are measured and the cross-sections of dissociative ionization are determined. Quantum chemical calculations are performed for the studied molecules, ions and fragments for interpretation of the crossed beams experiments.

[Spin-catalysis in the processes of photo- and bioactivation of molecular oxygen].

Rational explanation of the mechanisms of bioactivation of molecular oxygen by enzymes is impossible without understanding more simple mechanisms of the O2 photoactivation in collision complexes of gases and solvents. Production of peroxides in oxidases and more complicated oxidation processes by molecular oxygen are spin forbidden reactions and bioactivation of dioxygen is connected with enzymatic spin-catalysis by acceleration of the triplet-singlet (T-S) quantum transitions. Internal magnetic perturbations in the free oxygen molecule and in O2 complexes with solvents or with coenzyme in biopolymers bear characteristic entirely similar features and removal of spin prohibition on T-S transitions is quantified by some common physical mechanisms. An account of specific spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the open pi(g)-shell of dioxygen permits to explain the T-S transitions intensity of the red atmospheric band in the O2, molecule and the selective enhancement of the radiative alpha1delta(g)-->X3Sigma(g)- transition intensity in various solvents (P). Charge transfer contribution P+ O2- leads to increase of SOC between the T-S oxygen states that enhances the O2 (alpha1delta(g)) quenching. Similar T-S transitions mechanisms and SOC enhancement is realized upon dioxygen activation by enzymes of the glucoseoxidase type. Three electronic mechanisms of reductive bioactivation of O2 by oxidases coenzymes are considered on the basis of physical mechanisms of the O2 photoactivation. They include intermediate stages of the superoxide and peroxide ion formation. Study of the O2 activation mechanisms by T-S transitions in enzymatic complexes of dioxygen binding open new potentialities in biotechnology and medicine.

Vibrational spectra of the steroid hormones, estradiol and estriol, calculated by density functional theory. The role of low-frequency vibrations.

The structure of estrogen receptors and their interaction with 17beta-estradiol and estriol are of particular interest today because the treatment of breast cancer and the cause of the disease are intricately linked to the activity of the estrogen receptor and the normal blood serum level of these hormones. Molecular geometry and vibration frequencies of these steroid hormones are calculated by density functional theory with the B3LYP/ 6-31G** approximation. Intensities of infrared absorption and Raman spectra for estradiol are in an agreement with the experiment data. The assignments of all vibrational bands in the spectra of these hormones are presented on the basis of quantum chemical calculations of frequencies and normal modes. For the large number of bands such an assignment is made for the first time. The analysis of infrared spectra of both hormones indicates some nontrivial structure-spectra correlations. A series of specific vibrations is predicted in the low-frequency region of the IR spectra; their role in hormone-receptor interaction and in energy transfer processes are discussed. The search of the optimized geometrical structure by minimization of the total energy gradient is accompanied by the second derivatives calculation; diagonalization of the Hessian matrix leads finally to solution of vibration problem. The 17beta-estradiol molecule consists of 44 atoms and has 126 normal modes of internal vibrations. All these normal modes are presented together with their analysis and comparison with experimental data. From this comparison we have obtained an assignment of all absorption IR bands of 17beta-estradiol recorded earlier in KBr. For all stretching vibrations our assignment is in agreement with the previous one, obtained on the basis of the empirical rules. Direct DFT calculation of vibrational frequencies cannot provide a 100% agreement with the experimental IR spectra and scaling factors in the range of 0.95-0.97 are used in order to fit theoretical and experimental data.

[Electronic mechanisms of molecular oxygen bioactivation]. / Ob élektronnykh mekhanizmakh bioaktivatsii molekuliarnogo kisloroda.

Electronic mechanisms of reductive activation of O2 by oxidases coenzymes (K) are considered. Activation is induced by triplet-singlet (T-S)-transitions at the charge-transfer stage and K+...O2- radical pair (RP) formation. For flavoproteins the spin reversion is induced by spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in superoxide ion, for metal-oxidases--by exchange interaction with paramagnetic metal ion. Another type of spin activation is connected with the singlet peroxide ion O(2)2- formation in cytochromes (structures of the type Fe(3+)-O- -O-Cu2+).