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[en] An efficient split-operator technique for solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation in an angular coordinate system is presented, where a fast spherical harmonics transform accelerates the conversions between angle and angular momentum representations. Unlike previous techniques, this method features facile inclusion of azimuthal asymmetries (solving the ''m-mixing'' problem), adaptive time stepping, and favorable scaling, while simultaneously avoiding the need for both kinetic and potential energy matrix elements. Several examples are presented.

[en] We develop a numerical approach for simulating light-induced charge transport dynamics across a metal-molecule-metal conductance junction. The finite-difference time-domain method is used to simulate the plasmonic response of the metal structures. The Huygens subgridding technique, as adapted to Lorentz media, is used to bridge the vastly disparate length scales of the plasmonic metal electrodes and the molecular system, maintaining accuracy. The charge and current densities calculated with classical electrodynamics are transformed to an electronic wavefunction, which is then propagated through the molecular linker via the Heisenberg equations of motion. We focus mainly on development of the theory and exemplify our approach by a numerical illustration of a simple system consisting of two silver cylinders bridged by a three-site molecular linker. The electronic subsystem exhibits fascinating light driven dynamics, wherein the charge density oscillates at the driving optical frequency, exhibiting also the natural system timescales, and a resonance phenomenon leads to strong conductance enhancement

[en] Accurate and rapid quantum mechanical prediction of solvatochromic shifts, particularly in systems where charge transfer plays a significant role, is important for many aspects of molecular and material design. Although the semiempirical INDO/SCI approach is computationally efficient and performs well for charge-transfer states, the availability of implicit solvent approaches has been limited. As such, we implement the COSMO solvent model with a perturbative state-specific correction to the excited-state energies with the INDO/SCI method. We show that for a series of prototypical π-conjugated molecules, our newly implemented INDO/SCI/COSMO model yields more accurate absorption energies and comparably accurate solvatochromic shifts to those computed using TD-ωB97XD and CIS with COSMO solvation at a substantially lower computational cost.

[en] We use a one-electron, tight-binding model of a molecular adlayer sandwiched between two metal electrodes to explore how cooperative effects between molecular wires influence electron transport through the adlayer. When compared to an isolated molecular wire, an adlayer exhibits cooperative effects that generally enhance conduction away from an isolated wire s resonance and diminish conductance near such a resonance. We also find that the interwire distance (related to the adlayer density) is a key quantity. Substrate-mediated coupling induces most of the cooperative effects in dense adlayers, whereas direct, interwire coupling (if present) dominates in sparser adlayers. In this manner, cooperative effects through dense adlayers cannot be removed, suggesting an optimal adlayer density for maximizing conduction.

[en] We examine the ability of molecules to sense ions by measuring the change in molecular conductance in the presence of such charged species. The detection of protons (H⁺), alkali metal cations (M⁺), calcium ions (Ca²⁺), and hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) is considered. Density functional theory (DFT) is used within the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green's function framework (NEGF) to model electron transport properties of quinolinedithiol (QDT, C₉H₇NS₂), bridging Al electrodes. The geometry of the transport region is relaxed with DFT. The transport properties of the device are modeled with NEGF-DFT to determine if this device can distinguish among the M⁺ + QDT species containing monovalent cations, where M⁺ = H⁺, Li⁺, Na⁺, or K⁺. Because of the asymmetry of QDT in between the two electrodes, both positive and negative biases are considered. The electron transmission function and conductance properties are simulated for electrode biases in the range from −0.5 V to 0.5 V at increments of 0.1 V. Scattering state analysis is used to determine the molecular orbitals that are the main contributors to the peaks in the transmission function near the Fermi level of the electrodes, and current-voltage relationships are obtained. The results show that QDT can be used as a proton detector by measuring transport through it and can conceivably act as a pH sensor in solutions. In addition, QDT may be able to distinguish among different monovalent species. This work suggests an approach to design modern molecular electronic conductance sensors with high sensitivity and specificity using well-established quantum chemistry

[en] Theory and experiment examining electron transfer through molecules bound to electrodes are increasingly focused on quantities that are conceptually far removed from current chemical understanding. This presents challenges both for the design of interesting molecules for these devices and for the interpretation of experimental data by traditional chemical mechanisms. Here, the concept of electronic coupling from theories of intramolecular electron transfer is extended and applied in the scattering theory (Landauer) formalism. This yields a simple sum over independent channels, that is then used to interpret and explain the unusual features of junction transport through cross-conjugated molecules and the differences among benzene rings substituted at the ortho, meta, or para positions

[en] Plasmon–molecule interactions are widely believed to involve photo-induced interferences between the localized excitation of individual electrons in molecules and the large collective excitation of conduction electrons in metal particles. The intrinsic multi-scale characteristics of plasmon–molecule interactions not only offer great opportunities for realizing precise top-down control of the optical properties of individual molecules, but also allow for accurate bottom-up manipulation of light polarization and propagation as a result of molecular excitation. However, the temporal and spatial complexity of plasmon–molecule experiments severely limits our interpretation and understanding of interactions that have important applications in dye-sensitized solar cells, single-molecule detectors, photoconductive molecular electronics, all-optical switching and photo-catalytic water splitting. This review aims to outline recent progress in experimental practice and theory for probing and exploiting the subtle coupling between discrete molecular orbitals and continuous metallic bands. For each experimental technique or theoretical model, the fundamental mechanisms and relevant applications are discussed in detail with specific examples. In addition, the experimental validation of theoretical models and the computational design of functional devices are both highlighted. Finally, a brief summary is presented together with an outlook for potential future directions of this emerging interdisciplinary research field. (review article)

[en] A molecular system in contact with a bath undergoes strong decoherence processes. We examine a control scheme to minimize dissipation, while maximally retaining coherent evolution, by relating the evolution of the molecule to that of an identical freely propagating system. We seek a driving field that maximizes the projection of the open molecular system onto the freely propagated one. The evolution in time of a molecular system consisting of two nonadiabatically coupled electronic states interacting with a bath is followed. The driving control field that overcomes the decoherence is calculated. A proposition to implement the scheme in the laboratory using feedback control is suggested

[en] In a three-site representation, we study a spin polarization transfer from radical pair spins to a nearby electron or nuclear spin. The quantum dynamics of the radical pair spins is governed by a constant exchange interaction between the radical pair spins which have different Zeeman frequencies. Radical pair spins can recombine to the singlet ground state or to lower energy triplet states. It is then shown that the coherent dynamics of the radical pair induces spin polarization on the nearby third spin in the presence of a magnetic field. The spin polarization transfer depends on the difference between Zeeman frequencies, the singlet and triplet recombination rates, and on the exchange and dipole-dipole interactions between the different spins. In particular, the sign of the polarization depends on the exchange coupling between radical pair spins and also on the difference between singlet and triplet recombination rate constants