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Anna Painelli

Publications and source records attributed to Anna Painelli.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2024

Luminescent Trityl-based Diradicaloids: A Theoretical and Experimental Assessment of Charge-Resonance in Low-Lying Excited States

The tris(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl radical (TTM) has inspired the synthesis of several luminescent diradicals and diradicaloids, providing an extraordinary opportunity to control the nature of the low-lying excited states by fine-tuning the diradical character. However, the photophysical properties of TTM-derived diradicals remain not fully understood yet. Here we present a combined theoretical and experimental investigation on TTM-derived diradicals to elucidate the origin of their luminescence. The theoretical analysis focuses on a series of symmetric TTM-derived diradicals with singlet ground state, featuring radical moieties linked by pi-conjugated spacers of different length. The nature of the lowest excited electronic states that control their photophysical behaviour is discussed in detail. The study is complemented by a complete spectroscopic characterization of the TTM-TTM diradical, synthesized using a novel, simpler and more efficient procedure exploiting the unique reactivity of TTM. The lowest excited states of the diradicals differ qualitatively from those of TTM: two novel low-lying states emerge in the diradical, due to charge resonance (CR) between the two radical units. The lowest CR state is a dark state for symmetric diradicals. The CR nature explains the blue-shifted emission observed by increasing the distance between the radical centres as seen in TTM-ph-TTM. This insight suggests different design strategies to improve the luminescence properties of TTM-derived diradicals

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2020

Optical spectra in condensed phases: how the medium polarizability affects charge-transfer dyes

When designing molecular functional materials, the properties of the active specie, the dye, must be optimized fully accounting for environmental effects. Here we present an effective model to account for the spectroscopic effects of the medium electronic polarizability on the properties of charge-transfer dyes. Different classes of molecules are considered and the proposed antiadiabatic approach to solvation is contrasted with the adiabatic approach, currently adopted in all quantum chemical approaches to solvation. Transition frequencies and band-shapes are addressed, and the role of the medium polarizability on symmetry-breaking phenomena is also discussed.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2020

Antiadiabatic View of Fast Environmental Effects on Optical Spectra

An antiadiabatic approach is proposed to model how the refractive index of the surrounding medium affects optical spectra of molecular systems in condensed phases. The approach solves some of the issues affecting current implementations of continuum solvation models and more generally of effective models where a classical description is adopted for the molecular environment.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2012

Negative Differential Conductance in Nano-junctions: A Current Constrained Approach

A current constrained approach is proposed to calculate negative differential conductance in molecular nano-junctions. A four-site junction is considered where a steady-state current is forced by inserting only the two central sites within the circuit. The two lateral sites (representing e.g. dangling molecular groups) do not actively participate in transport, but exchange electrons with the two main sites. These auxiliary sites allow for a variable number of electrons within the junction, while, as required by the current constrained approach, the total number of electrons in the system is kept constant. We discuss the conditions for negative differential conductance in terms of cooperativity, variability of the number of electrons in the junction, and electron correlations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2007

Anomalous dispersion of optical phonons at the neutral-ionic transition: Evidence from diffuse X-ray scattering

Diffuse X-ray data for mixed stack organic charge-transfer crystals approaching the neutral-ionic phase transition can be quantitatively explained as due to the softening of the optical phonon branch. The interpretation is fully consistent with vibrational spectra, and underlines the importance of electron-phonon coupling in low-dimensional systems with delocalized electrons.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2005

Current-carrying molecules: a real space picture

An approach is presented to calculate characteristic current vs voltage curves for isolated molecules without explicit description of leads. The Hamiltonian for current-carrying molecules is defined by making resort to Lagrange multipliers, while the potential drop needed to sustain the current is calculated from the dissipated electrical work. Continuity constraints for steady-state DC current result in non-linear potential profiles across the molecule leading, in the adopted real-space picture, to a suggestive analogy between the molecule and an electrical circuit.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2004

Dielectric response of modified Hubbard models with neutral-ionic and Peierls transitions

The dipole P(F) of systems with periodic boundary conditions (PBC) in a static electric field F is applied to one-dimensional Peierls-Hubbard models for organic charge-transfer (CT) salts. Exact results for P(F) are obtained for finite systems of N = 14 and 16 sites that are almost converged to infinite chains in deformable lattices subject to a Peierls transition. The electronic polarizability per site, α_{el} = (\partial P/\partial F)_0, of rigid stacks with alternating transfer integrals t(1 +/- δ) diverges at the neutral-ionic transition for δ= 0 but remains finite for δ> 0 in dimerized chains. The Peierls or dimerization mode couples to charge fluctuations along the stack and results in large vibrational contributions, α_{vib}, that are related to \partial P/\partial δand that peak sharply at the Peierls transition. The extension of P(F) to correlated electronic states yields the dielectric response κof models with neutral-ionic or Peierls transitions, where κpeaks >100 are found with parameters used previously for variable ionicity ρand vibrational spectra of CT salts. The calculated κaccounts for the dielectric response of CT salts based on substituted TTFs (tetrathiafulvalene) and substituted CAs (chloranil). The role of lattice stiffness appears clearly in models: soft systems have a Peierls instability at small ρand continuous crossover to large ρ, while stiff stacks such as TTF-CA have a first-order transition with discontinuous ρthat is both a neutral-ionic and Peierls transition. The transitions are associated with tuning the electronic ground state of insulators via temperature or pressure in experiments, or via model parameters in calculations.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2003

Supramolecular interactions in clusters of polar and polarizable molecules

We present a model for molecular materials made up of polar and polarizable molecular units. A simple two state model is adopted for each molecular site and only classical intermolecular interactions are accounted for, neglecting any intermolecular overlap. The complex and interesting physics driven by interactions among polar and polarizable molecules becomes fairly transparent in the adopted model. Collective effects are recognized in the large variation of the molecular polarity with supramolecular interactions, and cooperative behavior shows up with the appearance, in attractive lattices, of discontinuous charge crossovers. The mean-field approximation proves fairly accurate in the description of the gs properties of MM, including static linear and non-linear optical susceptibilities, apart from the region in the close proximity of the discontinuous charge crossover. Sizeable deviations from the excitonic description are recognized both in the excitation spectrum and in linear and non-linear optical responses. New and interesting phenomena are recognized near the discontinuous charge crossover for non-centrosymmetric clusters, where the primary photoexcitation event corresponds to a multielectron transfer.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2003

Static polarizability of molecular materials: environmental and vibrational contributions

Modeling the dielectric behavior of molecular materials made up of large pi-conjugated molecules is an interesting and complex task. Here we address linear polarizabilities, and the related dielectric constant, of molecular crystals and aggregates made up of closed-shell pi-conjugated molecules with either a non-polar or largely polar ground-state, and also examine the behavior of mixed-valence (or charge-transfer) organic salts. We recognize important collective phenomena due to supramolecular interactions in materials with large molecular polarizabilities, and underline large vibrational contributions to the polarizability in materials with largely delocalized electrons.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2003

Time-resolved spectra of polar-polarizable chromophores in solution

A recently proposed model for steady-state spectra of polar-polarizable chromophores is extended to describe time-resolved spectra. The model, based on a two-state picture for the solute and on a continuum overdamped description for the (polar) solvent, grasps the essential physics of solvation dynamics, as demonstrated by the comparison with experimental spectra. The solute (hyper)polarizability is responsible for spectroscopic features that cannot be rationalized within the standard picture based on a linear perturbative treatment of the solute-solvent interaction. In particular, the temporal evolution of band-shapes and the appearance of temporary isosbestic points, two common puzzling features of observed spectra, are natural consequences of the molecular hyperpolarizability and of the consequent coupling between solvation and vibrational degrees of freedom.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2002

Giant infrared intensity of the Peierls mode at the neutral-ionic phase transition

We present exact diagonalization results on a modified Peierls-Hubbard model for the neutral-ionic phase transition. The ground state potential energy surface and the infrared intensity of the Peierls mode point to a strong, non-linear electron-phonon coupling, with effects that are dominated by the proximity to the electronic instability rather than by electronic correlations. The huge infrared intensity of the Peierls mode at the ferroelectric transition is related to the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant of mixed-stack organic crystals.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2001

Cooperative and non-linear phenomena at the neutral-ionic phase transition

The complex interplay among on-site energy, Hubbard U, and coupling to Holstein and Peierls phonons at the neutral-ionic phase transition is discussed using diagrammatic valence bond calculations. The charge transfer and dimerization amplitudes and the infrared intensity of molecular vibrations are studied in the transition region.

cond-mat↗
arXiv2001

Vibronic contributions to resonant NLO responses: two-photon absorption in push-pull chromophores

Two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra of push-pull chromophores are described in terms of a two-state model accounting for electron-vibration coupling. Vibrations have two main effects in TPA spectra. The most obvious one is the appearance of a vibrational structure in the spectrum; in this respect we find large Herzberg-Teller contributions. The second effect was not recognized so far: vibrational states contribute a new channel to TPA process, that shows up with a blue-shift and a distortion of the spectrum. Vibrational-channel contributions to other NLO responses are shortly discussed.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2001

Static NLO susceptibilities: testing approximation schemes against exact results

The reliability of the approximations commonly adopted in the calculation of static optical (hyper)polarizabilities is tested against exact results obtained for an interesting toy-model. The model accounts for the principal features of typical nonlinear organic materials with mobile electrons strongly coupled to molecular vibrations. The approximations introduced in sum over states and finite field schemes are analyzed in detail. Both the Born-Oppenheimer and the clamped nucleus approximations turn out to be safe for molecules, whereas for donor-acceptor charge transfer complexes deviations from adiabaticity are expected. In the regime of low vibrational frequency, static susceptibilities are strongly dominated by the successive derivatives of the potential energy and large vibrational contributions to hyperpolarizabilities are found. In this regime anharmonic corrections to hyperpolarizabilities are very large, and the harmonic approximation, exact for the linear polarizability, turns out totally inadequate for nonlinear responses. With increasing phonon frequency the role of vibrations smoothly decreases, until, in the antiadiabatic (infinite vibrational frequency) regime, vibrations do not contribute anymore to static susceptibilities, and the purely electronic responses are regained.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv1993

The orbital relaxation: a possible origin of t-J model with large J

Whereas the t-J model has gained wide popularity among physicists as a model for high-T_C superconductivity, its physical origin is not at all clear. In this communication we show that the Hubbard model with occupation-dependent hopping (t_1-t_2-t_3-U model), recently proposed to account for the relaxation of doubly-occupied orbitals, reduces, in a physically relevant parameter region, to an effective t-J-t' model with no upper bound on the J/t ratio. Results of exact diagonalization studies on finite size systems demonstrate the equivalence between the t_1-t_2-t_3-U model with intermediate/large U and the t-J-t' model even for very large J/t ratio (up to 16). On the contrary, t-U and t-J models turn out to be equivalent to t-J-t' model only for very small J values (J much smaller than t). Implications of the results on high-T_C superconductivity are briefly discussed.

cond-mat↗