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Dye‐sensitized photoelectrochemical cells are promising devices in solar energy conversion. However, several limitations still have to be addressed, such as the major loss pathway through charge recombination at the dye‐semiconductor interface. Charge separating dyes constructed as push‐pull systems can increase the spatial separation of electron and hole, decreasing the recombination rate. Here, a family of dyes, consisting of polyphenylamine donors, fluorene bridges, and perylene monoimide acceptors, was investigated in silico using a combination of semi‐empirical nuclear dynamics and a quantum propagation of photoexcited electron and hole. To optimize the charge separation, several molecular design strategies were investigated, including modifying the donor molecule, increasing the π‐bridge length, and decoupling the molecular components through steric effects. The combination of a triphenylamine donor, using an extended 2‐fluorene π‐bridge, and decoupling the different components by steric hindrance from side groups resulted in a dye with significantly improved charge separation properties in comparison to the original supramolecular complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum-mechanical methods that are both computationally fast and accurate are not yet available for electronic excitations having charge transfer character. In this work, we present a significant step forward towards this goal for those charge transfer excitations that take place between non-covalently bound molecules. In particular, we present a method that scales linearly with the number of non-covalently bound molecules in the system and is based on a two-pronged approach: The molecular electronic structure of broken-symmetry charge-localized states is obtained with the frozen density embedding formulation of subsystem density-functional theory; subsequently, in a post-SCF calculation, the full-electron Hamiltonian and overlap matrix elements among the charge-localized states are evaluated with an algorithm which takes full advantage of the subsystem DFT density partitioning technique. The method is benchmarked against coupled-cluster calculations and achieves chemical accuracy for the systems considered for intermolecular separations ranging from hydrogen-bond distances to tens of Ångstroms. Numerical examples are provided for molecular clusters comprised of up to 56 non-covalently bound molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frozen-density embedding (FDE) scheme [Wesolowski and Warshel, J. Phys. Chem. 97, 8050 (1993)] relies on the use of approximations for the kinetic-energy component vT[ρ1,ρ2] of the embedding potential. While with approximations derived from generalized-gradient approximation kinetic-energy density functional weak interactions between subsystems such as hydrogen bonds can be described rather accurately, these approximations break down for bonds with a covalent character. Thus, to be able to directly apply the FDE scheme to subsystems connected by covalent bonds, improved approximations to vT are needed. As a first step toward this goal, we have implemented a method for the numerical calculation of accurate references for vT. We present accurate embedding potentials for a selected set of model systems, in which the subsystems are connected by hydrogen bonds of various strength (water dimer and F–H–F-), a coordination bond (ammonia borane), and a prototypical covalent bond (ethane). These accurate potentials are analyzed and compared to those obtained from popular kinetic-energy density functionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extension of a relativistic double group configuration interaction (CI) formalism to the use of 2- and 4-spinors is presented. We first elucidate the theoretical aspects of the formalism that is needed to work with spinors that are optimized with a Hartree-Fock scheme that includes spin-orbit coupling. We then describe a new general implementation for the computation of sigma vectors and n-particle density matrices that occur in direct CI algorithms. Sample calculations of the spin-orbit splitting in atoms with one particle or hole in an otherwise closed shell configuration ℓ[SUP1] (ℓ = 1,2,3) and molecules containing such atoms illustrate the advantage of treating this effect in a basis of true spinors rather than in a basis of scalar relativistic orbitals as is conventionally done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applications of quantum chemistry have evolved from single or a few calculations to more complicated workflows, in which a series of interrelated computational tasks is performed. In particular multiscale simulations, which combine different levels of accuracy, typically require a large number of individual calculations that depend on each other. Consequently, there is a need to automate such workflows. For this purpose we have developed P YA DF, a scripting framework for quantum chemistry. P YA DF handles all steps necessary in a typical workflow in quantum chemistry and is easily extensible due to its object-oriented implementation in the Python programming language. We give an overview of the capabilities of P YA DF and illustrate its usefulness in quantum-chemical multiscale simulations with a number of examples taken from recent applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work a scheme for constructing systematic sequences of relativistic SCF basis sets at a reasonable computational cost is presented and applied to atoms of the s- and p-block up to Xe. This scheme, which couples simplex optimization and the use of geometric series given by four-term polynomial expressions for the logarithm of the exponents, allows for the construction of basis sets that exhibit very regular patterns of convergence to the numerical reference values of atomic total energies, spinor energies and radial expectation values. This regularity, together with the broad range of basis set sizes presented, enables these sets to be used as building blocks for basis sets applicable in both routine and benchmark relativistic calculations on atomic and molecular systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]