Mechanisms of photoexcitation and photoionization in small water clusters.

The mechanisms of photoexcitation and photoionization in small water clusters in gas phase, (HO) ; = 2-3, are studied using the complete active-space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) with the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The present study characterizes for the first time the structures and energetics of common transition and intermediate complexes in the photoexcitation and photoionization mechanisms in the lowest singlet-excited state. The results showed that the photoexcitation of the water monomer by a single photon can directly generate [OH]˙ and [H]˙ in their respective electronic-ground states, and a single photon with approximately the same energy can similarly lead to the photoexcitation and also to the photoionization in the water clusters.

Exploration of Excited State Deactivation Pathways of Adenine Monohydrates.

Binding of a single water molecule has a dramatic effect on the excited state lifetime of adenine. Here we report a joint nonadiabatic dynamics and reaction paths study aimed at understanding the sub-100 fs lifetime of adenine in the monohydrates. Our nonadiabatic dynamics simulations, performed using the ADC(2) electronic structure method, show a shortening of the excited state lifetime in the monohydrates with respect to bare adenine.

Timescales of N-H bond dissociation in pyrrole: a nonadiabatic dynamics study.

The excitation wavelength dependent photodynamics of pyrrole are investigated by nonadiabatic trajectory-surface-hopping dynamics simulations based on time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and the algebraic diagrammatic construction method to the second order (ADC(2)). The ADC(2) results confirm that the N-H bond dissociation occurring upon excitation at the origin of the first excited state, S1(πσ*), is driven by tunnelling [Roberts et al., Faraday Discuss.

Dynamics and mechanism of structural diffusion in linear hydrogen bond.

Dynamics and mechanism of proton transfer in a protonated hydrogen bond (H-bond) chain were studied, using the CH(3)OH(2)(+)(CH(3)OH)(n) complexes, n = 1-4, as model systems. The present investigations used B3LYP/TZVP calculations and Born-Oppenheimer MD (BOMD) simulations at 350 K to obtain characteristic H-bond structures, energetic and IR spectra of the transferring protons in the gas phase and continuum liquid. The static and dynamic results were compared with the H(3)O(+)(H(2)O)(n) and CH(3)OH(2)(+)(H(2)O)(n) complexes, n = 1-4.

Proton transfer reactions and dynamics of sulfonic acid group in Nafion®.

Proton transfer reactions and dynamics of the hydrophilic group (-SO(3)H) in Nafion® were studied at low hydration levels using the complexes formed from CF(3)SO(3)H, H(3)O(+) and nH(2)O, 1 ≤n≤ 3, as model systems. The equilibrium structures obtained from DFT calculations suggested at least two structural diffusion pathways at the -SO(3)H group namely, the "pass-through" and "pass-by" mechanisms. The former involves the protonation and deprotonation at the -SO(3)H group, whereas the latter the proton transfer in the adjacent Zundel complex.

Proton transfer reactions and dynamics in CH(3)OH-H(3)O(+)-H(2)O complexes.

Proton transfer reactions and dynamics in hydrated complexes formed from CH(3)OH, H(3)O(+) and H(2)O were studied using theoretical methods. The investigations began with searching for equilibrium structures at low hydration levels using the DFT method, from which active H-bonds in the gas phase and continuum aqueous solution were characterized and analyzed. Based on the asymmetric stretching coordinates (Deltad(DA)), four H-bond complexes were identified as potential transition states, in which the most active unit is represented by an excess proton nearly equally shared between CH(3)OH and H(2)O.

Mechanisms of proton transfer in Nafion: elementary reactions at the sulfonic acid groups.

Proton transfer reactions at the sulfonic acid groups in Nafion were theoretically studied, using complexes formed from triflic acid (CF3SO3H), H3O+ and H2O, as model systems. The investigations began with searching for potential precursors and transition states at low hydration levels, using the test-particle model (T-model), density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio calculations. They were employed as starting configurations in Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations at 298 K, from which elementary reactions were analyzed and categorized.