Search results for "Conical intersection"
showing 10 items of 44 documents
Molecular Basis of DNA Photodimerization: Intrinsic Production of Cyclobutane Cytosine Dimers
2008
Based on CASPT2 results, the present contribution establishes for the first time that cytosine photodimer formation (CC) is mediated along the triplet and singlet manifold by a singlet-triplet crossing, (T1/S0)X, and by a conical intersection, (S1/S0)CI, respectively. The former can be accessed in a barrierless way from a great variety of photochemical avenues and exhibits a covalent single bond between the ethene C6-C6' carbon atoms of each monomer. The efficiency of the stepwise triplet mechanism, however, would be modulated by the effectiveness of the intersystem crossing mechanism. The results provide the grounds for the understanding of the potential photogenotoxicity of endogenous and…
Unified model for the ultrafast decay of pyrimidine nucleobases.
2006
Ultrafast decay processes detected after absorption of UV radiation in gas-phase pyrimidine nucleobases uracil, thymine, and cytosine are ascribed to the barrierless character of the pathway along the low-lying 1(pipi*) hypersurface connecting the Franck-Condon region with an out-of-plane distorted ethene-like conical intersection with the ground state. Longer lifetime decays and low quantum yield emission are on the other hand related to the presence of a 1(pipi*) state planar minimum on the S1 surface and the barriers to access other conical intersections. A unified model for the three systems is established on the basis of accurate multiconfigurational CASPT2 calculations, whereas the ef…
Singlet-Triplet States Interaction Regions in DNA/RNA Nucleobase Hypersurfaces.
2010
The present study provides new insight into the intrinsic mechanisms for the population of the triplet manifold in DNA nucleobases by determining, at the multiconfigurational CASSCF/CASPT2 level, the singlet-triplet states crossing regions and the main decay paths for their lowest singlet and triplet states after near-UV irradiation. The studied singlet-triplet interacting regions are accessible along the minimum energy path of the initially populated singlet bright (1)ππ* state. In particular, all five natural DNA/RNA nucleobases have, at the end of the main minimum energy path and near a conical intersection of the ground and (1)ππ* states, a low-energy, easily accessible, singlet-triplet…
Computational determination of the dominant triplet population mechanism in photoexcited benzophenone
2014
In benzophenone, intersystem crossing occurs efficiently between the S-1(n pi(star)) state and the T-1 state of dominant n pi(star) character, leading to excited triplet states after photoexcitation. The transition mechanism between S-1(n pi(star)) and T-1 is still a matter of debate, despite several experimental studies. Quantum mechanical calculations have been performed in order to assess the relative efficiencies of previously proposed mechanisms, in particular, the direct S-1 -> T-1 and indirect S-1 -> T-2(pi pi(star)) -> T-1 ones. Multiconfigurational wave function based methods are used to discuss the nature of the relevant states and also to determine minimum energy paths a…
Ultrafast ring-opening/closing and deactivation channels for a model spiropyran-merocyanine system.
2011
The photochemistry of a model merocyanine-spiropyran system was analyzed theoretically at the MS-CASPT2//SA-CASSCF(14,12) level. Several excited singlet states were studied in both the closed spiropyran and open merocyanine forms, and the paths to the different S(1)/S(0) conical intersections found were analyzed. After absorption of UV light from the spiropyran form, there are two possible ultrafast routes to efficient conversion to the ground state; one involves the rupture of the C(spiro)-O bond leading to the open form and the other involves the lengthening of the C(spiro)-N bond with no photoreaction. From the merocyanine side the excited state can reach a very broad S(1)/S(0) conical i…
Weak intermolecular interactions promote blue luminescence of protonated 2,2′-dipyridylamine salts
2014
In this work we demonstrate that protonation and π-stacking can be exploited to convert non-luminescent 2,2′-dipyridylamine into blue-emitting derivatives. We have synthesized a series of luminescent 2,2′-dipyridylamine (dpa) salts, i.e., (dpaH)X·nSolv (dpa = 2,2′-dipyridylamine, X = HF2, n = 0.5, Solv = H2O 1; X = Cl, n = 2, Solv = H2O 2; X = Br, n = 2, Solv = H2O 3; X = I n = 1, Solv = H2O 4a; X = I n = 1, Solv = CHCl34b), (dpaH)2[SiF6]·H2O 5 and (dpaH)X (X = I36; SbF67; BF48) and characterized their emission properties, both in the solid-state and in solution. To rationalize our observations and relate the luminescence properties to the structure in the solid state and in solution, we ha…
2-Aminopurine non-radiative decay and emission in aqueous solution: A theoretical study
2008
Abstract The minimum energy path along the lowest-lying ππ ∗ excited state of 2-aminopurine was calculated to elucidate the mechanisms of radiationless decay and emission in water. The sequential Monte Carlo quantum mechanics approach with a multiconfigurational and perturbative description of the wave function was employed to compute the minimum, transition state, and conical intersection. It was found that the barrier in the potential energy surface to access the conical intersection funnel increases in aqueous environment, making the system prone to enlarge the emission yield. These results rationalize the observed enhancement of emission in 2-aminopurine upon increasing of the solvent p…
Mechanism of excited state deactivation of indan-1-ylidene and fluoren-9-ylidene malononitriles.
2016
Herein, we report complementary computational and experimental evidence supporting the existence, for indan-1-ylidene malononitrile and fluoren-9-ylidene malononitrile, of a non-radiative decay channel involving double bond isomerisation motion. The results of UV-Vis transient absorption spectroscopy highlight that the decay takes place within hundreds of picoseconds. In order to understand the related molecular mechanism, photochemical reaction paths were computed by employing multiconfigurational quantum chemistry. The results indicate that the excited state deactivation occurs via concerted double bond twisting of the dicyanovinyl (DCV) unit coupled with a pyramidalisation of its substit…
Quantum Chemistry of Excited States in Polyhedral Boranes
2015
In this Chapter we describe the electronic structure of ground states and excited states of the two isomers of octadecaborane (22), anti- and syn-B18H22, and the new derivative of anti-B18H22, the polyhedral substituted borane 4,4′-(HS)2-anti-B18H20. A theoretical interpretation is given on the fluorescence of the anti-B18H22 isomer, and the non-radiative decay of the syn-B18H22 isomer, an unsolved problem since 1962. For the new derivative of anti-B18H22, substitution of hydrogen atoms in positions 4 and 4′ by SH groups allows the tuning of the photophysical properties in 4,4′-(HS)2-anti-B18H20, facilitating intersystem crossing from the excited singlet state to the triplet state.
Theoretical CASPT2 study of the excited state double proton transfer reaction in the 7-azaindole dimer
2006
Accurate CASPT2 calculations on the excited state double proton transfer reaction in the 7-azaindole dimer have been performed on different symmetric and asymmetric pathways along the protons interchange. The presence of a conical intersection connecting the initially photoinduced singlet excited state with a charge transfer state leading both to asymmetric ionic and neutral structures promotes a step-wise mechanism, probably taking place through the ionic intermediate. The concerted path is computed slightly higher in energy in the gas phase.