Search

Adiabatic electron affinity (aEA) of SF6 was calculated on the SCF level using large basis sets on both sulfur and fluorine. The calculated value of aEA was 0.3 eV. d-type polarization function on fluorine was shown to affect the value of aEA more than the 3d orbital on sulfur. Inclusion of f-type function on sulfur was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron transfer processes between lanthanide activators are crucial for the functional behavior and performance of luminescent materials. Here, a multiconfigurational ab initio study reveals how direct metal-to-metal charge transfer (MMCT) between the Eu 2+ luminescence activator and a Ln 3+ co-dopant (Ln 3+ = Ce 3+ , Pr 3+ , Nd 3+ , Pm 3+ , Sm 3+ , Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ , Ho 3+ , Er 3+ , Tm 3+ , and Yb 3+ ) systematically dictates the luminescence and optical properties of CaF 2 . The combination of the structures and energies of the electronic manifolds, the vibrational force constants, and the structural properties of the donor and acceptor in the host determines the predictions of five different behaviors of CaF 2 :Eu 2+ , Ln 3+ co-doped materials after MMCT absorption: formation of stable traps, MMCT emission, emission quenching, Ln 3+ emission, and Eu 2+ emission.

MOLCAS/OpenMolcas is an ab initio electronic structure program providing a large set of computational methods from Hartree-Fock and density functional theory to various implementations of multiconfigurational theory. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the main features of the code, specifically reviewing the use of the code in previously reported chemical applications as well as more recent applications including the calculation of magnetic properties from optimized density matrix renormalization group wave functions.

Dopant-to-host electron transfer is calculated using ab initio wavefunction-based embedded cluster methods for Yb/Ca pairs in CaF2 and Yb/Sr pairs in SrF2 crystals to investigate the mechanism of photoconductivity. The results show that, in these crystals, dopant-to-host electron transfer is a two-photon process mediated by the 4f(N-1)5d excited states of Y b(2+): these are reached by the first photon excitation; then, they absorb the second photon, which provokes the Y b(2+) + Ca(2+) (Sr(2+)) → Y b(3+) + Ca(+) (Sr(+)) electron phototransfer. This mechanism applies to all the observed Y b(2+) 4f-5d absorption bands with the exception of the first one: Electron transfer cannot occur at the first band wavelengths in CaF2:Y b(2+) because the Y b(3+)-Ca(+) states are not reached by the two-photon absorption. In contrast, Yb-to-host electron transfer is possible in SrF2:Y b(2+) at the wavelengths of the first 4f-5d absorption band, but the mechanism is different from that described above: first, the two-photon excitation process occurs within the Y b(2+) active center, then, non-radiative Yb-to-Sr electron transfer can occur. All of these features allow to interpret consistently available photoconductivity experiments in these materials, including the modulation of the photoconductivity by the absorption spectrum, the differences in photoconductivity thresholds observed in both hosts, and the peculiar photosensitivity observed in the SrF2 host, associated with the lowest 4f-5d band.

In this paper, we report the existence of intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) luminescence in Yb-doped fluorite-type crystals associated with Yb(2+)-Yb(3+) mixed valence pairs. By means of embedded cluster, wave function theory ab initio calculations, we show that the widely studied, very broad band, anomalous emission of Yb(2+)-doped CaF2 and SrF2, usually associated with impurity-trapped excitons, is, rather, an IVCT luminescence associated with Yb(2+)-Yb(3+) mixed valence pairs. The IVCT luminescence is very efficiently excited by a two-photon upconversion mechanism where each photon provokes the same strong 4f(14)-1A1g→ 4f(13)((2)F7/2)5deg-1T1u absorption in the Yb(2+) part of the pair: the first one, from the pair ground state; the second one, from an excited state of the pair whose Yb(3+) moiety is in the higher 4f(13)((2)F5/2) multiplet. The Yb(2+)-Yb(3+) → Yb(3+)-Yb(2+) IVCT emission consists of an Yb(2+) 5deg → Yb(3+) 4f7/2 charge transfer accompanied by a 4f7/2 → 4f5/2 deexcitation within the Yb(2+) 4f(13) subshell: [(2)F5/25deg,(2)F7/2] → [(2)F7/2,4f(14)]. The IVCT vertical transition leaves the oxidized and reduced moieties of the pair after electron transfer very far from their equilibrium structures; this explains the unexpectedly large band width of the emission band and its low peak energy, because the large reorganization energies are subtracted from the normal emission. The IVCT energy diagrams resulting from the quantum mechanical calculations explain the different luminescent properties of Yb-doped CaF2, SrF2, BaF2, and SrCl2: the presence of IVCT luminescence in Yb-doped CaF2 and SrF2; its coexistence with regular 5d-4f emission in SrF2; its absence in BaF2 and SrCl2; the quenching of all emissions in BaF2; and the presence of additional 5d-4f emissions in SrCl2 which are absent in SrF2. They also allow to interpret and reproduce recent experiments on transient photoluminescence enhancement in Yb(2+)-doped CaF2 and SrF2, the appearance of Yb(2+) 4f-5d absorption bands in the excitation spectra of the IR Yb(3+) emission in partly reduced CaF2:Yb(3+) samples, and to identify the broadband observed in the excitation spectrum of the so far called anomalous emission of SrF2:Yb(2+) as an IVCT absorption, which corresponds to an Yb(2+) 4f5/2 → Yb(3+) 4f7/2 electron transfer.

The existence of intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) luminescence is reported. It is shown that the so called anomalous luminescence of Ce-doped elpasolite Cs2LiLuCl6, which is characterized mainly by a very large Stokes shift and a very large band width, corresponds to an IVCT emission that takes place in Ce(3+)-Ce(4+) pairs, from the 5de(g) orbital of Ce(3+) to 4f orbitals of Ce(4+). Its Stokes shift is the sum of the large reorganization energies of the Ce(4+) and Ce(3+) centers formed after the fixed-nuclei electron transfer and it is equal to the energy of the IVCT absorption commonly found in mixed-valence compounds, which is predicted to exist in this material and to be slightly larger than 10,000 cm(-1). The large band width is the consequence of the large offset between the minima of the Ce(3+)-Ce(4+) and Ce(4+)-Ce(3+) pairs along the electron transfer reaction coordinate. This offset is approximately 2√3 times the difference of Ce-Cl equilibrium distances in the Ce(3+) and Ce(4+) centers. It is shown that the energies of the peaks and the widths of IVCT absorption and emission bands can be calculated ab initio with reasonable accuracy from diabatic energy surfaces of the ground and excited states and that these can be obtained, in turn, from independent calculations on the donor and acceptor active centers. We obtained the energies of the Ce(3+) and Ce(4+) active centers of Ce-doped Cs2LiLuCl6 by means of state-of-the-art wave-function-theory spin-orbit coupling relativistic calculations on the donor cluster (CeCl6Li6Cs8)(11+) and the acceptor cluster (CeCl6Li6Cs8)(12+) embedded in a quantum mechanical embedding potential of the host. The calculations provide interpretations of unexplained experimental observations as due to higher energy IVCT absorptions, and allow to reinterpret others. The existence of another IVCT emission of lower energy, at around 14,000-16,000 cm(-1) less than the 5dt(2g) emission, is also predicted.

At the end of the lanthanide series, 4f → 5d and other interconfigurational transitions, in which one electron is excited from a tight 4f orbital to a much more diffuse one, occur with a break of many f-f pairs, which make the electron correlation effects dominant. For instance, the large energy gap of 25 000 cm(-1) (∼29 500 cm(-1) without spin-orbit coupling) above the 4f(14) ground state of the SrCl2:Yb(2+) material is mostly due to electron correlation. In effect, a minimal multiconfigurational restricted active space (RASSCF) calculation that includes only the 4f(14) ground and 4f(13)5d and 4f(13)6s open-shell excited configurations gives a very small gap (5400 cm(-1)), whereas the correlation corrections to the 4f(14) → 4f(13)5d(eg) transition energies at the second order perturbation theory (RASPT2) level are very large: 35 599 ± 439 cm(-1), in average, for all excited states. These corrections are too large to be accurate at second order perturbation level. When a second f-shell is also included in the active space and single and double excitations to the 5d, 6s, and 5f shells are treated variationally, the (extended) RASSCF energy gap above the ground state and the electronic transitions increase by 22 038 ± 120 cm(-1) and the RASPT2 correlation energy corrections become small (-721 ± 571 cm(-1)), as it is desirable for a second order perturbation. A comparative analysis of both RASPT2 results reveals that the lack of the second f-shell accounts for 12 700 cm(-1) of the 14 223 ± 80 cm(-1) overestimation of interconfigurational transitions energies by the minimal RASPT2 calculation, which indicates an inaccurate calculation of the differential radial correlation between the 4f(14) and 4f(13)5d configurations by second order perturbation theory. In order to establish practical and accurate procedures for the calculation of 4f → 5d and other interconfigurational transitions at the end of the lanthanide series, the above and other RASSCF/RASPT2 calculations on the ionization potential of Yb(2+) in gas phase and in SrCl2 have been benchmarked in this paper against coupled cluster (coupled cluster singles and doubles and triples ) calculations, and RASSCF/RASPT2 calculations on the absorption spectrum of SrCl2:Yb(2+) have been compared with experiment. The results support that variational calculation of SD 4f → 5f excitations prior to RASPT2 calculations can be a realistic, accurate, and feasible choice to model radial correlation effects at the end of the lanthanide series.

The absorption and emission spectra of Yb(2+)-doped SrCl(2) have been calculated on the basis of ab initio quantum chemical calculations which consider recently found, unexpected excited states with double-well energy curves and complex electronic structure, resulting from avoided crossings between Yb-trapped excitons and Yb impurity states, which influence prominent spectral features. The root mean square deviation and largest absolute error of the calculated energy levels are 394 and -826 cm(-1), respectively. The YbCl(8) moiety breathing mode vibrational frequencies and bond lengths of the lowest states are consistent with observed vibrational progressions and energy shifts induced by uniaxial compression. Photoionization is predicted above 49,000 cm(-1) as a consequence of the spin-orbit induced spreading of the Yb-trapped exciton character in the upper part of the spectrum and three new emission bands are predicted with origins at about 33,800, 36,400, and 43,600 cm(-1). The electron correlation methods used overestimate the relative stabilization of the 4f(14) ground state and this leads to a constant error of the whole absorption spectrum of about 3500 cm(-1) (23%-7%). Although this energy shift is customarily considered an adjustable parameter, it is a nonparametric, direct product in an ab initio route which shows the limitations on the proper representation of differential correlation between the 4f(N) and 4f(N-1)5d (or similar) configurations and the need for theoretical improvement.

First-principles electronic structure calculations of the excited states of Yb(2+)-doped SrCl(2) crystals up to 65,000 cm(-1) reveal the existence of unexpected excited states with double-well potential energy surfaces and dual electronic structure lying above and very close in energy to the 4f(13)5d manifold, with which they interact strongly through spin-orbit coupling. The double-well energy curves result from avoided crossings between Yb-trapped exciton states (more stable at short Yb-Cl distances) and 4f(13)6s impurity states (more stable at long Yb-Cl distances); the former are found to be preionization states in which the impurity holds the excited electron in close lying empty interstitials located outside the YbCl(8) moiety. Spin-orbit coupling between the double-well states and the lower lying 4f(13)5d impurity states spreads the dual electronic structure character to lower energies and, hence, the instability of the divalent oxidation state is also spread. To some extent, the dual electronic structure (impurity-trapped exciton-impurity state) of some excited states expresses and gives support to hypotheses of interaction between Yb(2+) and Yb(3+) pairs proposed to understand the complex spectroscopy of the material and conciliates these hypotheses with interpretations in terms of the existence of only one type of Yb(2+) defect. The results presented confirm the presence of impurity states of the 4f(13)6s configuration among the 4f(13)5d manifolds, as proposed in literature, but their energies are very different from those assumed. The Yb-trapped excitons found in this chloride host can be seen as precursors of the luminescent Yb-trapped excitons characterized experimentally in the isomorphous SrF(2) crystals.

The lowest part of the 4f-->5d absorption spectrum of Yb(2+)-doped CsCaBr(3) crystals has been calculated using methods of quantum chemistry and it is presented here. A first, low-intensity band is found on the low energy side of the spectrum, followed by several strong absorption bands, in agreement with experimental observations in trivalent and divalent lanthanide ions of the second half of the lanthanide series, doped in crystals. Based on Hund's rule, these transitions are usually interpreted as "spin-forbidden" and "spin-allowed" transitions, but this interpretation has been recently questioned in the literature. Here, a two-step relativistic method has been used which reveals the spin composition of the excited state wave functions. The forbidden band is found to be due to spin-forbidden transitions involving "high-spin" excited states because their 1 (3)T(1u) character is 90%. However, the allowed bands cannot be described as spin-allowed transitions involving "low-spin" excited states. Rather, they correspond to "spin-enabled" transitions because they get their intensity from limited (smaller than 45%) electric dipole enabling low-spin (1)T(1u) character. Calculations using a spin-free Hamiltonian revealed that the difference in their electronic structures is related to the fact that the 4f(13)5d(t(2g))(1) manifold is split by an energy gap which separates the lowest (high-spin) 1 (3)T(1u) from the rest of terms, which, in turn, lie very close in energy from each other. As a consequence, the lowest spin-orbit components of 1 (3)T(1u) are shown to remain 90% pure when spin-orbit coupling is considered, whereas a strong spin-orbit coupling exists between the remaining 4f(13)5d(t(2g))(1) terms, among which the 1-3 (1)T(1u) enabling ones lie. As a result, there is a widespread electric dipole enabling (1)T(1u) character, which, although never higher than 45%, leads to a number of spin-enabled absorption bands.

The 5f-->6d(t(2g)) absorption spectrum of U(3+)-doped Cs(2)NaYCl(6) is simulated with a quantum chemical ab initio embedded-cluster approach applied to U(3+) substitutional defects of O(h) local symmetry. The first-principles results help to provide a detailed interpretation of the very rich experimental absorption spectrum of this material between 14 000 and 25 000 cm(-1). Also, the effects of high pressures up to 26 kbars on the absorption spectrum are predicted, the most relevant feature being a redshift of around 21 cm(-1)/kbar, which is the fingerprint of a bond length shortening upon 5f-->6d(t(2g)) excitation.

Excitons trapped at impurity centers in highly ionic crystals were first described by McClure and Pedrini [Phys. Rev. B 32, 8465 (1985)] as excited states consisting of a bound electron-hole pair with the hole localized on the impurity and the electron on nearby lattice sites, and a very short impurity-ligand bond length. In this work the authors present a detailed microscopic characterization of impurity-trapped excitons in U(4+)-doped Cs(2)GeF(6). Their electronic structure has been studied by means of relativistic ab initio model potential embedded cluster calculations on (UF(6))(2-) and (UF(6)Cs(8))(6+) clusters embedded in Cs(2)GeF(6), in combination with correlation methods based on multireference wave functions. The local geometry of the impurity-trapped excitons, their potential energy curves, and their multielectronic wave functions have been obtained as direct, nonempirical results of the methods. The calculated excited states appear to be significantly delocalized outside the UF(6) volume and their U-F bond length turns out to be very short, closer to that of a pentavalent uranium defect than to that of a tetravalent uranium defect. The wave functions of these excited states show a dominant U 5f(1)7s(1) configuration character. This result has never been anticipated by simpler models and reveals the unprecedented ability of diffuse orbitals of f-element impurities to act as electron traps in ionic crystals.

Single crystals of U(4+)-doped Cs2GeF6 with 1% U4+ concentration have been obtained by the modified Bridgman-Stockbarger method in spite of the large difference in ionic radii between Ge4+ and U4+ in octahedral coordination. Their UV absorption spectrum has been recorded at 7 K, between 190 and 350 nm; it consists of a first broad and intense band peaking at about 38,000 cm(-1) followed by a number of broad bands of lower intensity from 39,000 to 45,000 cm(-1). None of the bands observed shows appreciable fine vibronic structure, so that the energies of experimental electronic origins cannot be deduced and the assignment of the experimental spectrum using empirical methods based on crystal field theory cannot be attempted. Alternatively, the profile of the absorption spectrum has been obtained theoretically using the U-F bond lengths and totally symmetric vibrational frequencies of the ground 5f2 - 1A(1g) and 5f16d(t(2g))1 - iT(1u) excited states, their energy differences, and their corresponding electric dipole transition moments calculated using the relativistic ab initio model potential embedded cluster method. The calculations suggest that the observed bands are associated with the lowest five 5f2 - 1A(1g)-->5f16d(t(2g))1 - iT(1u) (i = 1-5) dipole allowed electronic origins and their vibrational progressions. In particular, the first broad and intense band peaking at about 38,000 cm(-1) can be safely assigned to the 0-0 and 0-1 members of the a(1g) progression of the 5f2 - 1A(1g)-->5f16d(t(2g))1 - 1T(1u) electronic origin. The electronic structure of all the states with main configurational character 5f16d(t(2g))1 has been calculated as well. The results show that the lowest crystal level of this manifold is 5f16d(t(2g))1 - 1E(u) and lies about 6200 cm(-1) above the 5f2 level closest in energy, which amounts to some 11 vibrational quanta. This large energy gap could result in low nonradiative decay and efficient UV emission, which suggest the interest of investigating further this new material as a potential UV solid state laser.

It has been experimentally determined that Cs2ZrCl6:Os4+ shows luminescence and up-converted luminescence from the highest t(2g) (4) excited level 2 A1g(1A1g), whereas Cs2GeF6:Os4+ 2 A1g(1A1g) does not luminescence at all. Ab initio quantum chemical calculations on these materials are presented here and show that the variation of the energy gap between the t2g 4 and t2g 3 eg 1 manifolds with F to Cl chemical substitution is a key factor to interpret the experimental findings. This energy gap is calculated to be some 1500 cm(-1) (approximately 2nua1g) in the fluoride host, whereas it is about 3300 cm(-1) (approximately 9nua1g) in the chloride host. The calculated values for the ground state totally symmetric vibrational frequency nu(a1g) are 626 cm(-1) (Cs2GeF6:Os4+) and 355 cm(-1) (Cs2ZrCl6:Os4+), in good agreement with the available experimental data. Geometrical structure of (OsX6)2- clusters (X=F,Cl) embedded in Cs2GeF6 and Cs2ZrCl6 lattices is calculated as well. New assignments for some spectral features based in the results of our calculations are proposed.

Wave-function-based ab initio calculations on the lowest states of the 4f(n),4f(n-1)5d(t2g)1, and 4f(n-1)5d(e(g))1 configurations of (LnCl6)3- clusters (Ln=Ce to Tb) embedded in the cubic elpasolite Cs2NaYCl6 have been performed, in an attempt to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the 4f-->5d excitations of lanthanide ions in crystals. Reliable data are provided on the changes of bond lengths and breathing mode vibrational frequencies upon 4f-->5d(t2g) and 4f-->5d(e(g)) excitations, as well as on minimum-to-minimum and vertical absorption and emission transitions, and on the Stokes shifts. The available experimental data are discussed and predictions are made. The stabilization of the 4f-->5d(baricenter) excitation of the doped ions with respect to the 4f-->5d excitations of the free ions, which is a key variable for the understanding of these excitations in solid hosts, is analyzed and found to be due, in two-thirds, to dynamic ligand correlation effects and, in one-third, to orbital relaxation, charge transfer, and covalency effects present in a mean-field approximation.

The U-F bond length, totally symmetric vibrational frequency, and 5f(2) energy levels of the Cs(2)GeF(6):U(4+) crystal are predicted through quantum-chemical calculations on the embedded (UF(6))(2-) cluster. The U(4+) ions substitute for much smaller Ge(4+) retaining octahedral site symmetry, which is useful to interpret the electronic transitions. The structure of the 5f(2) manifold: its energy range, the crystal splitting of the 5f(2) levels, their parentage with free-ion levels, and the energy gaps appearing within the manifold, is presented and discussed, which allows to suggest which are the possible 5f(2) luminescent levels. The effects of Cl-to-F chemical substitution are discussed by comparison with isostructural Cs(2)ZrCl(6):U(4+). The energy range of the 5f(2) manifold increases by some 6000 cm(-1) and all levels shift to higher energies, but the shift is not uniform, so that noticeable changes of order are observed from Cs(2)ZrCl(6):U(4+) to Cs(2)GeF(6):U(4+). The comparison also reveals that the green-to-blue up-conversion luminescence, which has been experimentally detected and theoretically discussed on Cs(2)ZrCl(6):U(4+), is quenched in the fluoride host. The results of the Cs(2)GeF(6):U(4+) are used as a high-symmetry model to try to understand why efficient radiative cascade emissions in the visible do not occur for charged U(4+) defects in low-symmetry YF(3) crystals. The results presented here suggest that theoretical and experimental investigations of 4f5f ions doped in octahedral, high-symmetry fluoride crystals may be conducted even when the mismatch of ionic radii between the lanthanide/actinide ions and the substituted cations of the host is considerably large. Investigations of these new materials should reveal interesting spectroscopic features without the difficulties associated with more commonly used low-symmetry fluoride hosts.

Quantum chemical calculations including embedding, scalar relativistic, and dynamic electron correlation effects on Cs(2)NaYCl(6):(CeCl(6))(3-) embedded clusters predict (i) redshifts of the f(1)-->d(t(2g))(1) transition with pressure and (ii) bond-length shortening upon f-->d(t(2g)) excitation. Both effects are found to be connected which suggests that new high-pressure spectroscopic experiments could reveal the sign of the bond-length change.

We present a linear scaling method for the energy minimization step of semiempirical and first-principles Hartree-Fock and Kohn-Sham calculations. It is based on the self-consistent calculation of the optimum localized orbitals of any localization method of choice and on the use of orbital-specific basis sets. The full set of localized orbitals of a large molecule is seen as an orbital mosaic where each tessera is made of only a few of them. The orbital tesserae are computed out of a set of embedded cluster pseudoeigenvalue coupled equations which are solved in a building-block self-consistent fashion. In each iteration, the embedded cluster equations are solved independently of each other and, as a result, the method is parallel at a high level of the calculation. In addition to full system calculations, the method enables to perform simpler, much less demanding embedded cluster calculations, where only a fraction of the localized molecular orbitals are variational while the rest is frozen, taking advantage of the transferability of the localized orbitals of a given localization method between similar molecules. Monitoring single point energy calculations of large poly(ethylene oxide) molecules and three dimensional carbon monoxide clusters using an extended Huckel Hamiltonian are presented.