Computational photochemistry conical Intersections

Computational Photochemistry, Conical intersections, Radiationless decay, Ab initio... 

Conical intersections are important in molecular photochemistry, according to the current consensus, which is based on the combination of experimental and theoretical data. In this chapter, we tried to show that the location and approximate structure of conical intersections may be deduced by simple considerations of the changes in spin-pairing accompanying a reaction. We have also shown how these ideas may be put to practical computational application. 

We hope the reader has been convinced that it is technically feasible to describe a photochemical reaction coordinate, from energy absorption to photoproduct formation, by means of methods that are available in standard quantum chemistry packages such as Gaussian (e.g., OPT = Conical). The conceptual problems that need to be understood in order to apply quantum chemistry to photochemistry problems relate mainly to the characterization of the conical intersection funnel. We hope that the theoretical discussion of these problems and the examples given in the last section can provide the information necessary for the reader to attempt such computations. 

The importance of bioexcimers (bioexciplexes) in the photochemistry of biological compounds has been also emphasized. Computation of potential energy curves modeling the complex pheophytin-quinone shows the relevance that stabilization caused by the formation of rr-stacked excited dimers, that is, excimers (exciplexes) and the corresponding presence of conical intersections, have to provide... 

We hope that this review has shown that ever more elaborate experimental and computational techniques continue to be applied to elucidate the structure, assign spectra, and rationalize photochemical reaction mechanisms in transition metal carbonyl complexes. These systems provide a wealth of fascinating vibronically induced chemistry that we are only beginning to understand, and it is expected that as experimental and computational techniques further evolve many more studies of these systems will take place. Transition metal carbonyl systems are of primary importance in organometallic chemistry and unsaturated complexes are of key importance in industrial synthesis. Their photochemistry has many aspects that require a true multi-disciplinary approach, requiring knowledge and expertise in the fields of transition metal chemistry, ultrafast spectroscopy, computational spectroscopy, computational photochemistry and conical intersection theory, Jahn-Teller... 

Robb MA. Conical intersections in organic photochemistry. In Domcke W, Yarkony DR, Kopple H, eds. Conical Intersections, Theory, Computation and Experiment. Singapore World Scientific 2011 3—50. 

In this chapter we have reviewed the central features of the theoretical aspects of non-adiabatic processes in photochemistry that can be computed using standard electronic structure methods conical intersections and dynamics through an intersection using either trajectories with surface hoping or quantum dynamics. We have illustrated these ideas with some case studies. Of course these case studies are a small sample drawn from our own work. Thus to extend this we have prepared a non-exhaustive bibliography (Table 7.1) where the reader can find other interesting examples. 

This review summarises and discusses the advances of computational photochemistry in 2012 and 2013 in both methodology and applications fields. The methodological developments of models and tools used to study and simulate non-adiabatic processes are highlighted. These developments can be summarised as assessment studies, new methods to locate conical intersections, tools for representation, interpretation and visualisation, new computational approaches and studies introducing simpler models to rationalise the quantum dynamics near and in the conical intersection. The applied works on the topics of photodissociation, photostability, photoisomerisations, proton/charge transfer, chemiluminescence and bioluminescence are summarised, and some illustrative examples of studies are analysed in more detail, particularly with reference to photostability and chemi/ bioluminescence. In addition, theoretical studies analysing solvent effects are also considered. We finish this review with conclusions and an outlook on the future. 

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