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Two series of dyes have been designed and theoretically characterized through density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory to systematically explore the structure-property relationship of dyes with D-A-π-A architecture and the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells, particularly the influence of the π-bridge, including its alkyl side chain, adding additional conjugate spacer, displacement, and separation of π-bridge. Key parameters associated with the short-circuit current density Jsc and open-circuit photovoltage Voc were characterized and analyzed in detail. All of the analysis results manifest that dye H1 should be the best candidate to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells owing to the best optical absorption property (a broad absorption band from 300 to 900 nm for adsorbed dye) and other outstanding parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations have been carried out to explore the underlying origin of merits for rigid π-spacer based on reference dyes C255 and C254 . The results demonstrate that higher short-circuit current density ( J SC ) of C255 is primarily ascribed to the lower EBE , while the biggish short-circuit current density ( V OC ) mainly originates from the larger μ normal compared to C254 . Besides, a novel index integral of overlap between hole and electron ( S ) is firstly introduced to quantitatively estimate the facility of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and preliminarily confirmed to be effective for the research target of this work. Furthermore, three series of dyes (C-series, A-series, AC-series) have been designed and characterized to screen promising sensitizer candidates and design strategies, while delightful results have been achieved including 6 promising candidates, design stratagem on efficiently reducing the charge recombination and combinational tactics on screening new dyes with excellent spectral properties or outstanding DSSC performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of C-H bond activation of ethane was catalyzed by palladium halide cations (PdX+ (X = F, Cl, Br, H, and CH3)), which was investigated using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP level. The reaction mechanism was taken into account in triplet and singlet spin state potential energy surfaces. For PdF+, PdCl+, and PdBr+, the high spin states were the ground states, whereas the ground states were the low spin states in PdH+ and PdCH3+. The reaction of PdF+, PdCl+, and PdBr+ with ethane occurred via a typical "two-state reactivity" mechanism. In contrast, for PdH+ and PdCH3+, the overall reaction performed on the ground state PESs in a spin-conserving manner. The crossing points between two potential energy surfaces were observed and effectively decreased the activation barrier in PdX+/C2H6 (X = F, Cl, and Br). The minimum energy crossing points (MECP) were obtained used the algorithm in Harvey method. The natural valence electron configuration calculations were analyzed by natural bond orbital. The distribution and contribution of the front molecular orbital of the initial complexes could be further understand by the density of states. The feature of the bonding evolution in the main pathways was studied using topological analysis including localized orbital locator and atoms in molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dehydrogenation reaction mechanism of cyclohexane catalyzed by dimer transition metal cluster V2+ has been investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of density functional theory. Density of states (DOS) graph is used to understand more deeply the roles of the front molecular orbital of the initial complexes. After the first molecular dehydrogenation, the reaction mainly consists of two competition mechanisms. First, the C-H bonds of cyclohexane can be effectively activated by the V2+ cation, yielding the same-face dehydrogenation products. Second, the C-C bonds are activated, forming the different-face dehydrogenation products. Our calculations indicate that the reaction takes place more easily along the low-spin potential energy surface on the same-face and is a low-barrier or even barrier-free transformation. Carbon-carbon single bonds are nonpolar and generally far less reactive. A comparison of the reaction mechanism of V2+ and congener Ti2+ with cyclohexane has been presented. The bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of V2+ are greater than that of Ti2+, leading to difficulties in forming sandwich complexes in the different-face dehydrogenation of cyclohexane, and the same-face dehydrogenation is an important reaction channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the mechanisms of H 2 evolution on Pt 6 , Pt 5 Sn 5 , and Pt 3 Sn 6 clusters were respectively investigated by the B3LYP method of density functional theory (DFT). The B3LYP functional with non-local dispersion corrections (B3LYP-D3) method were performed to investigate the adsorption of H and H + on clusters. The calculation results indicated that the adsorption energy of H on Pt reduced due to the interaction of Sn and Pt, which promoted H desorption from Pt to form H 2 . Meanwhile, Sn atom of Pt 5 Sn 5 and Pt 3 Sn 6 clusters had strong interaction with H + due to the existence of Pt, which was benefit for the reduction of H + on Sn atom. As a consequence, Pt 5 Sn 5 and Pt 3 Sn 6 showed lower potential barrier and higher activities than Pt for H 2 evolution. The potential barriers of H 2 formation over Pt 3 Sn 6 clusters was only 11.1% of that over Pt cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel organic dye with 2D-A structure has been designed and calculated whereby density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) for dye-sensitized solar cells. The double-donor branched dye which was consisted of two separated light-harvesting moieties was beneficial to photocurrent generation. First, we discussed the effects of different donor chains on photoelectric performance in the dye molecule, using the DTP-B8 which was a previously reported structure as the reference. Only to conclude that the suitable length can achieve the satisfactory efficiency. Secondly, to modify and sift potential sensitizers further, three series of dyes (BC-series, CB-series and CC-series) were designed and characterized. The increased molar extinction coefficient and the red-shifted λ max was attributed to an increasing in electron conjunction. This work presented a new route to design sensitizers that provide two channels for donating more electrons and improve the final efficiency. It is expected to provide some theoretical guidance on designing and synthetizing high efficiency photosensitive dye in the future experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]