We use ab initio steered molecular dynamics to investigate the mechanically induced ring opening of cyclobutene. We show that the dynamical results can be considered in terms of a force-modified potential energy surface (FMPES). We show how the minimal energy paths for the two possible competing conrotatory and disrotatory ring-opening reactions are affected by external force. We also locate minimal energy pathways in the presence of applied external force and show that the reactant, product, and transition state geometries are altered by the application of external force. The largest effects are on the transition state geometries and barrier heights. Our results provide a framework for future investigations of the role of external force on chemical reactivity.
Eosin Y, a well-known economical alternative to metal catalysts in visible-light-driven single-electron transfer-based organic transformations, can behave as an effective direct hydrogen-atom transfer catalyst for C-H activation. Using the alkylation of C-H bonds with electron-deficient alkenes as a model study revealed an extremely broad substrate scope, enabling easy access to a variety of important synthons. This eosin Y-based photocatalytic hydrogen-atom transfer strategy is promising for diverse functionalization of a wide range of native C-H bonds in a green and sustainable manner.
We have implemented multi-state second-order perturbation theory (MS-CASPT2) in the ab initio multiple spawning (AIMS) method for first-principles molecular dynamics including nonadiabatic effects. The nonadiabatic couplings between states are calculated numerically using an efficient method which requires only two extra energy calculations per time step. As a representative example, we carry out AIMS-MSPT2 calculations of the excited state dynamics of ethylene. Two distinct types of conical intersections, previously denoted as the twisted-pyramidalized and ethylidene intersections, are responsible for ultrafast population transfer from the excited state to the ground state. Although these two pathways have been observed in prior dynamics simulations, we show here that the branching ratio is affected by dynamic correlation with the twisted-pyramidalized intersection overweighting the ethylidene-like intersection during the decay process at the AIMS-MSPT2 level of description.
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