Projects per year
Abstract
The performance of the self-consistent charge density functional tight binding (SCC-DFTB) method for calculating the first hyperpolarizability of π-conjugated compounds has been assessed with respect to results obtained with high-level ab initio methods and density functional theory (DFT). The SCC-DFTB method performs similarly or better than DFT with the PBE XC functional. Thus, if for small π-conjugated linkers SCC-DFTB can reproduce trends, for longer chains the first hyperpolarizabilities are overestimated. In the case of push-pull thiophenes, the β values are strongly overestimated, as it is also the case with the B3LYP and PBE XC functionals. On the other hand, the SCC-DFTB method closely reproduces the evolution of β in p-disubstituted benzenes as a function of the donor and acceptor groups, as estimated at the MP2 level. The reliability of SCC-DFTB to determine the bond length alternation and the dihedral angles between the aromatic rings has also been tackled, demonstrating that both are underestimated. Overall, the SCC-DFTB calculations are of the same quality as those performed with the conventional PBE XC functional on which the method was parameterized but the SCC-DFTB calculations are computationally very little demanding, and it can therefore be adopted for very large systems for screening nonlinear optical materials as well as for assessing structure-property relationships. This is illustrated with an application on the first hyperpolarizability of an indolino-oxazolidine molecular switch grafted on a SiO2 surface. This has enabled to pinpoint (i) the effect of the surface on the donor/acceptor character of the linking substituent, (ii) the impact of molecular orientation, (iii) the role of a spacer between the π-conjugated switch and the surface, (iv) the global effect of the surface on the β contrast, and also (v) the fact that the molecular switches can maintain this contrast when adsorbed. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 204107 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Journal | The journal of chemical physics |
Volume | 138 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Projects
- 2 Finished
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PAI n°P7/05 - FS2: Functional Supramolecular Systems (FS2)
CHAMPAGNE, B., De Vos, D., Van der Auweraer, M., Jérôme, C., Lazzaroni, R., Marin, G., Jonas, A., Du Prez, F., Vanderzande, D., Van Tendeloo, G., Van Speybroeck, V., NENON, S. & STAELENS, N.
1/04/12 → 30/09/17
Project: Research
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TINTIN - ARC 09/14-23: Molecular TINkertoys for OpToelectronics and SpINtronics - TINTIN
BONIFAZI, D., CHAMPAGNE, B., FORENSI, S., SEGERIE, A. & Melinte, S.
1/09/09 → 31/08/14
Project: Research
Equipment
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High Performance Computing Technology Platform
Benoît Champagne (Manager)
Technological Platform High Performance ComputingFacility/equipment: Technological Platform