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Title: Development of a TDDFT-Based Protocol with Local Hybrid Functionals for the Screening of Potential Singlet Fission Chromophores

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
 [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. Berlin, Berlin (Germany). Inst. für Chemie, Theoretische Chemie/Quantenchemie
  2. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague (Czech Republic). Inst. of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Chromophores suitable for singlet fission need to meet specific requirements regarding the relative energies of their S0, S1, and T1 (and T2) electronic states. Accurate quantum-chemical computations of the corresponding energy differences are thus highly desirable for materials design. Methods based on density functional theory (DFT) have the advantage of being applicable to larger, often more relevant systems compared to more sophisticated post-Hartree–Fock methods. However, most exchange–correlation functionals do not provide the needed accuracy, in particular, due to an insufficient description of the T1 state. Here we use a recent singlet fission chromophore test set (Wen, J.; Havlas, Z.; Michl, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 165-172) to evaluate a wide range of DFT-based methods, with an emphasis on local hybrid functionals with a position-dependent exact-exchange admixture. New reference vertical CC2/CBS benchmark excitation energies for the test set have been generated, which exhibit somewhat more uniform accuracy than the previous CASPT2-based data. These CC2 reference data have been used to evaluate a wide range of functionals, comparing full linear-response TDDFT, the Tamm–Dancoff approximation (TDA), and ΔSCF calculations. Two simple two-parameter local hybrid functionals and the more empirical M06-2X global meta-GGA hybrid provide the overall best accuracy. Due to its lower empiricism and wide applicability, the Lh12ct-SsifPW92 local hybrid is suggested as the main ingredient of an efficient computational protocol for prediction of the relevant excitation energies in singlet fission chromophores. Full TDDFT for the S1, S2, and T2 excitations is combined with ΔSCF for the T1 excitations. Making use also of some error compensation with suitable DFT-optimized structures, even the most critical T1 excitations can be brought close to the target accuracy of 0.20 eV, while the other excitation energies are obtained even more accurately. This fully DFT-based protocol should become a useful tool in the field of singlet fission.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); German Research Foundation (DFG); Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and Fonds der chemischen Industrie
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0007004
OSTI ID:
1688388
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, Vol. 13, Issue 10; ISSN 1549-9618
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 53 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (8)

Local hybrid functionals: Theory, implementation, and performance of an emerging new tool in quantum chemistry and beyond
  • Maier, Toni M.; Arbuznikov, Alexei V.; Kaupp, Martin
  • Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Molecular Science, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/wcms.1378
journal July 2018
Theoretical Studies of Singlet Fission: Searching for Materials and Exploring Mechanisms journal February 2018
Picosecond timescale tracking of pentacene triplet excitons with chemical sensitivity journal June 2019
A Marcus-Hush perspective on adiabatic singlet fission journal August 2019
Density functionals for nondynamical correlation constructed from an upper bound to the exact exchange energy density journal June 2018
Spin density encodes intramolecular singlet exciton fission in pentacene dimers journal January 2019
Density functionals for nondynamical correlation constructed from an upper bound to the exact exchange energy density text January 2018
Synthesis of Bis-β-Diketonate Lanthanide Complexes with an Azobenzene Bridge and Studies of Their Reversible Photo/Thermal Isomerization Properties journal September 2019

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