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The accurate prediction of solvation free energy is of significant importance as it governs the behavior of solutes in solution. In this work, we apply a variety of machine learning techniques to predict and analyze the alchemical free energy of small molecules. Our methodology incorporates an ensemble of machine learning models with feature processing using the K-nearest neighbors algorithm. Two training strategies are explored: one based on experimental data, and the other based on the offset between molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental measurements. The latter approach yields a substantial improvement in predictive accuracy, achieving a mean unsigned error (MUE) of 0.64 kcal/mol. Feature analysis identifies molecular geometry and topology as the most critical factors in predicting alchemical free energy, supporting the established theory that surface tension is a key determinant. Furthermore, the feature analysis of offset results highlights the relevance of charge distribution within the system, which correlates with the inaccuracies in force fields employed in MD simulations and may provide guidance for improving force field designs. These results suggest that machine learning approaches can effectively capture the complex features governing solvation free energy, offering novel pathways for enhancing predictive accuracy.

Long-range interactions are crucial in determining the behavior of chemical systems in various environments. Accurate predictions of physical and chemical phenomena at the atomic level hinge on accurate modeling of these interactions. Here, we present a framework that substantially enhances the predictive power of machine learning interatomic potentials by incorporating explicit polarizable long-range interactions with an equivariant graph neural network short-range potential. The pretrained universal model, applicable across the entire periodic table, can achieve first-principles accuracy. This versatile model has been further applied to diverse areas of research, including the study of mechanical properties, ionic diffusivity in solid-state electrolytes, ferroelectricity, and interfacial reactions, demonstrating its broad applicability and robustness., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

Phosphorescent metal complexes have been under intense investigations as emissive dopants for energy efficient organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Among them, cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes are widespread triplet emitters with color-tunable emissions. To render their practical applications as OLED emitters, it is in great need to develop Pt(II) complexes with high radiative decay rate constant ($k_r$) and photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield. Thus, an efficient and accurate prediction tool is highly desirable. Here, we develop a general protocol for accurate predictions of emission wavelength, radiative decay rate constant, and PL quantum yield for phosphorescent Pt(II) emitters based on the combination of first-principles quantum mechanical method, machine learning (ML) and experimental calibration. A new dataset concerning phosphorescent Pt(II) emitters is constructed, with more than two hundred samples collected from the literature. Features containing pertinent electronic properties of the complexes are chosen. Our results demonstrate that ensemble learning models combined with stacking-based approaches exhibit the best performance, where the values of squared correlation coefficients ($R^2$), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) are 0.96, 7.21 nm and 13.00 nm for emission wavelength prediction, and 0.81, 0.11 and 0.15 for PL quantum yield prediction. For radiative decay rate constant ($k_r$), the obtained value of $R^2$ is 0.67 while MAE and RMSE are 0.21 and 0.25 (both in log scale), respectively. The accuracy of the protocol is further confirmed using 24 recently reported Pt(II) complexes, which demonstrates its reliability for a broad palette of Pt(II) emitters.We expect this protocol will become a valuable tool, accelerating the rational design of novel OLED materials with desired properties.

Heterogeneous catalysis of adsorbates on metallic surfaces mediated by plasmon has potential high photoelectric conversion efficiency and controllable reaction selectivity. Theoretical modeling of dynamical reaction processes provides in-depth analyses complementing experimental investigations. Especially for plasmon-mediated chemical transformations, light absorption, photoelectric conversion, electron-electron scattering, and electron-phonon coupling occur simultaneously at different timescales, rendering it very challenging to delineate the complex interplay of different factors. In this work, a trajectory surface hopping non-adiabatic molecular dynamics method is used to investigate the dynamics of plasmon excitation in an Au$_{20}$-CO system, including hot carrier generation, plasmon energy relaxation, and CO activation induced by electron-vibration coupling. The electronic properties indicate that when Au$_{20}$-CO is excited, a partial charge transfer takes place from Au$_{20}$ to CO. On the other hand, the dynamical simulations show that hot carriers generated after plasmon excitation transfer back and forth between Au$_{20}$ and CO. Meanwhile, the C-O stretching mode is activated due to the non-adiabatic couplings. The efficiency of plasmon-mediated transformation ($\sim$40\%) is obtained based on the ensemble average of these quantities. Our simulations provide important dynamical and atomistic insights into plasmon-mediated chemical transformation from the perspective of non-adiabatic simulations.

We reveal that phononic thermal transport in graphene is not immune to grain boundaries (GBs) aligned along the direction of the temperature gradient. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations uncover a large reduction in the phononic thermal conductivity ($\kappa_p$) along linear ultra-narrow GBs comprising periodically-repeating pentagon-heptagon dislocations. Green's function calculations and spectral energy density analysis indicate that $\kappa_p$ is the complex manifestation of the periodic strain field, which behaves as a reflective diffraction grating with both diffuse and specular phonon reflections, and represents a source of anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering. Our findings provide new insights into the integrity of the phononic thermal transport in GB graphene., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

Visualizing and controlling electron dynamics over femtosecond timescale play a key role in the design of next-generation electronic devices. Using simulations, we demonstrate the electronic oscillation inside the naphthalene molecule can be tracked by means of the tuning of delay time between two identical femtosecond laser pulses. Both the frequency and decay time of the oscillation are detected by the tunneling charge through the junction of scanning tunneling microscopy. And the tunneling charge is sensitive to the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) for few-cycle long optical pulses. While this sensitivity to CEP will disappear with the increase of time-length of pulses. Our simulation results show that it is possible to visualize and control the electron dynamics inside the molecule by one or two femtosecond laser pulses.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting multiferroics that can effectively couple magnetic and polarization (P) orders have great interest for both fundamental research and technological applications in nanoscale, which are, however, rare in nature. In this study, we propose a general mechanism to realize semiconducting 2D multiferroics via vdW heterojunction engineering, as demonstrated in a typical heterostructure consisting of magnetic bilayer CrI3 (bi-CrI3) and ferroelectric monolayer In2Se3. Interestingly, the novel indirect orbital coupling between Se 4p and Cr 3d orbitals, intermediated by the interfacial I 5p orbitals, are switchable in the opposite P configurations, resulting in an unexpected mechanism of strong asymmetrical magnetoelectric coupling. Therefore, along with the noticeable ferroelectric energy barrier induced by In2Se3, the realization of opposite magnetic orders in opposite P configurations can eventually result in the novel multiferroicity in bi-CrI3/In2Se3. Finally, we demonstrate that our mechanism can generally be applied to design other vdW multiferroics even with tunable layer thickness., Comment: 11pages, 4 figures

Understanding of the electroluminescence (EL) mechanism in optoelectronic devices is important for further optimization of their efficiency and effectiveness. Here, a quantum mechanical approach is formulated for modeling EL processes in nanoscale light emitting diodes (LED). Based on nonequilibrium Green's function quantum transport equations, interactions with electromagnetic vacuum environment is included to describe electrically driven light emission in the devices. Numerical studies of a silicon nanowire LED device are presented. EL spectra of the nanowire device under different bias voltages are simulated and, more importantly, propagation and polarization of emitted photon can be determined using the current approach., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Recent development of theoretical method for dissipative quantum transport have achieved notable progresses in the weak or strong electron-phonon coupling regime. However, a generalized theory for dissipative quantum transport at arbitrary parameter regime is not figured out until now. In this work, a variational method for dissipative quantum transport at arbitrary electron-phonon coupling regime is developed by employing variational polaron theory. The optimal polaron transformation is determined by the optimization of the Feynman-Bogoliubov upper bound of free energy. % which is variational in nature. The free energy minimization ends up with an optimal mean-field Hamiltonian and a minimal interaction Hamiltonian. Hence, second-order perturbation can be applied to the transformed system, resulting an accurate and efficient method for the treatment of dissipative quantum transport with arbitrary electron-phonon coupling strength. Numerical benchmark calculation on an single site model with coupling to one phonon mode is also presented.

A time-dependent inelastic electron transport theory for strong electron-phonon interaction is established via the equations of motion method combined with the small polaron transformation. In this work, the dissipation via electron-phonon coupling is taken into account in the strong coupling regime, which validates the small polaron transformation. The corresponding equations of motion are developed, which are used to study the quantum interference effect and phonon-induced decoherence dynamics in molecular junctions. Numerical studies show clearly quantum interference effect of the transport electrons through two quasi-degenerate states with different coupling to the leads. We also found that the quantum interference can be suppressed by the electron-phonon interaction where the phase coherence is destroyed by phonon scattering. This indicates the importance of electron-phonon interaction in systems with prominent quantum interference effect.

A new approximate computational framework is proposed for computing the non-equilibrium charge density in the context of the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method for quantum mechanical transport problems. The framework consists of a new formulation, called the X-formulation, for single-energy density calculation based on the solution of sparse linear systems, and a projection-based nonlinear model order reduction (MOR) approach to address the large number of energy points required for large applied biases. The advantages of the new methods are confirmed by numerical experiments.

There had been consensus on what the accurate ac quantum transport theory was until some recent works challenged the conventional wisdom. Basing on the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism for time-dependent quantum transport, we derive an expression for the dynamic admittance that satisfies gauge invariance and current continuity, and clarify the key concept in the field. The validity of our now formalism is verified by first-principles calculation of the transient current through a carbon-nanotube-based device under the time-dependent bias voltage. Moreover, the previously well-accepted expression for dynamic admittance is recovered only when the device is a perfect conductor at a specific potential.

To explore whether the density-functional theory non-equilibrium Green's function formalism (DFT-NEGF) provides a rigorous framework for quantum transport, we carried out time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of the transient current through two realistic molecular devices, a carbon chain and a benzenediol molecule inbetween two aluminum electrodes. The TDDFT simulations for the steady state current exactly reproduce the results of fully self-consistent DFT-NEGF calculations even beyond linear response. In contrast, sizable differences are found with respect to an equilibrium, non-self-consistent treatment which are related here to differences in the Kohn-Sham and fully interacting susceptibility of the device region. Moreover, earlier analytical conjectures on the equivalence of static and time-dependent approaches in the low bias regime are confirmed with high numerical precision., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Based on our earlier works [Phys. Rev. B 75, 195127 (2007) & J. Chem. Phys. 128, 234703 (2008)], we propose a formally exact and numerically convenient approach to simulate time-dependent quantum transport from first-principles. The proposed approach combines time-dependent density functional theory with quantum dissipation theory, and results in a useful tool for studying transient dynamics of electronic systems. Within the proposed exact theoretical framework, we construct a number of practical schemes for simulating realistic systems such as nanoscopic electronic devices. Computational cost of each scheme is analyzed, with the expected level of accuracy discussed. As a demonstration, a simulation based on the adiabatic wide-band limit approximation scheme is carried out to characterize the transient current response of a carbon nanotube based electronic device under time-dependent external voltages.

We apply our first-principles method to simulate the transient electrical response through carbon nanotube based conductors under time-dependent bias voltages, and report the dynamic conductance for a specific system. We find that the electrical response of the carbon nanotube device can be mapped onto an equivalent classical electric circuit. This is confirmed by studying the electric response of a simple model system and its equivalent circuit., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures