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Title: Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics: Charge migration and charge transfer initiated near a conical intersection

Abstract

Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics, implemented using the Ehrenfest method, has been used to study charge migration with fixed nuclei, together with charge transfer when nuclei are allowed to move. Simulations were initiated at reference geometries of neutral benzene and 2-phenylethylamine (PEA), and at geometries close to potential energy surface crossings in the cations. Cationic eigenstates, and the so-called sudden approximation, involving removal of an electron from a correlated ground-state wavefunction for the neutral species, were used as initial conditions. Charge migration without coupled nuclear motion could be observed if the Ehrenfest simulation, using the sudden approximation, was started near a conical intersection where the states were both strongly coupled and quasi-degenerate. Further, the main features associated with charge migration were still recognizable when the nuclear motion was allowed to couple. In the benzene radical cation, starting from the reference neutral geometry with the sudden approximation, one could observe sub-femtosecond charge migration with a small amplitude, which results from weak interaction with higher electronic states. However, we were able to engineer large amplitude charge migration, with a period between 10 and 100 fs, corresponding to oscillation of the electronic structure between the quinoid and anti-quinoid cationic electronic configurations, by distorting the geometrymore » along the derivative coupling vector from the D{sub 6h} Jahn-Teller crossing to lower symmetry where the states are not degenerate. When the nuclear motion becomes coupled, the period changes only slightly. In PEA, in an Ehrenfest trajectory starting from the D{sub 2} eigenstate and reference geometry, a partial charge transfer occurs after about 12 fs near the first crossing between D{sub 1}, D{sub 2} (N{sup +}-Phenyl, N-Phenyl{sup +}). If the Ehrenfest propagation is started near this point, using the sudden approximation without coupled nuclear motion, one observes an oscillation of the spin density – charge migration – between the N atom and the phenyl ring with a period of 4 fs. When the nuclear motion becomes coupled, this oscillation persists in a damped form, followed by an effective charge transfer after 30 fs.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22224178
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Chemical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 139; Journal Issue: 4; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS; BENZENE; CATIONS; CHARGE EXCHANGE; EIGENFUNCTIONS; EIGENSTATES; EIGENVALUES; ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE; GROUND STATES; JAHN-TELLER EFFECT; OSCILLATIONS; POTENTIAL ENERGY; REACTION KINETICS; SUDDEN APPROXIMATION; WAVE FUNCTIONS; WEAK INTERACTIONS

Citation Formats

Mendive-Tapia, David, Vacher, Morgane, Bearpark, Michael J., and Robb, Michael A. Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics: Charge migration and charge transfer initiated near a conical intersection. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4815914.
Mendive-Tapia, David, Vacher, Morgane, Bearpark, Michael J., & Robb, Michael A. Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics: Charge migration and charge transfer initiated near a conical intersection. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4815914
Mendive-Tapia, David, Vacher, Morgane, Bearpark, Michael J., and Robb, Michael A. 2013. "Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics: Charge migration and charge transfer initiated near a conical intersection". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4815914.
@article{osti_22224178,
title = {Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics: Charge migration and charge transfer initiated near a conical intersection},
author = {Mendive-Tapia, David and Vacher, Morgane and Bearpark, Michael J. and Robb, Michael A.},
abstractNote = {Coupled electron-nuclear dynamics, implemented using the Ehrenfest method, has been used to study charge migration with fixed nuclei, together with charge transfer when nuclei are allowed to move. Simulations were initiated at reference geometries of neutral benzene and 2-phenylethylamine (PEA), and at geometries close to potential energy surface crossings in the cations. Cationic eigenstates, and the so-called sudden approximation, involving removal of an electron from a correlated ground-state wavefunction for the neutral species, were used as initial conditions. Charge migration without coupled nuclear motion could be observed if the Ehrenfest simulation, using the sudden approximation, was started near a conical intersection where the states were both strongly coupled and quasi-degenerate. Further, the main features associated with charge migration were still recognizable when the nuclear motion was allowed to couple. In the benzene radical cation, starting from the reference neutral geometry with the sudden approximation, one could observe sub-femtosecond charge migration with a small amplitude, which results from weak interaction with higher electronic states. However, we were able to engineer large amplitude charge migration, with a period between 10 and 100 fs, corresponding to oscillation of the electronic structure between the quinoid and anti-quinoid cationic electronic configurations, by distorting the geometry along the derivative coupling vector from the D{sub 6h} Jahn-Teller crossing to lower symmetry where the states are not degenerate. When the nuclear motion becomes coupled, the period changes only slightly. In PEA, in an Ehrenfest trajectory starting from the D{sub 2} eigenstate and reference geometry, a partial charge transfer occurs after about 12 fs near the first crossing between D{sub 1}, D{sub 2} (N{sup +}-Phenyl, N-Phenyl{sup +}). If the Ehrenfest propagation is started near this point, using the sudden approximation without coupled nuclear motion, one observes an oscillation of the spin density – charge migration – between the N atom and the phenyl ring with a period of 4 fs. When the nuclear motion becomes coupled, this oscillation persists in a damped form, followed by an effective charge transfer after 30 fs.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4815914},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22224178}, journal = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
issn = {0021-9606},
number = 4,
volume = 139,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Sun Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}