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Boron-Nitrogen (B-N) Lewis adducts form a versatile family of compounds with numerous applications in functional molecules. Despite the growing interest in this family of compounds for optoelectronic applications, little is currently known about their photophysics and photochemistry. Even the electronic absorption spectrum of ammonia borane, the textbook example of a B-N Lewis adduct, is unavailable. Given the versatility of the light-induced processes exhibited by these molecules, we propose in this work a detailed theoretical study of the photochemistry and photophysics of simple B-N Lewis adducts. We used advanced techniques in computational photochemistry to identify and characterize the possible photochemical pathways followed by ammonia borane, and extended this knowledge to the substituted B-N Lewis adducts pyridine-borane and pyridine-boric acid. The photochemistry observed for this series of molecules allows us to extract qualitative rules to rationalize the light-induced behavior of more complex B-N containing molecules.

Hydrogen has emerged as a promising energy source, holding the key to achieve low-carbon and sustainable mobility. However, its applications are still limited by modest conversion efficiency in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) within fuel cells. Consequently, the development of novel catalysts and a profound understanding of the underlying reactions have become of paramount importance. The complex nature of the ORR potential energy landscape and the presence of strong electronic correlations present challenges to atomistic modelling using classical computers. This scenario opens new avenues for the implementation of novel quantum computing workflows to address these molecular systems. Here, we present a pioneering study that combines classical and quantum computational approaches to investigate the ORR on pure platinum and platinum/cobalt surfaces. Our research demonstrates, for the first time, the feasibility of implementing this workflow on the H1-series trapped-ion quantum computer and identify the challenges of the quantum chemistry modelling of this reaction. The results highlight the involvement of strongly correlated species in the cobalt-containing catalyst, suggesting their potential as ideal candidates for showcasing quantum advantage in future applications., Comment: Main paper: 29 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary Material: 10 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables