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Crystal Coulomb energies: I. Organic donor-acceptor complexes--a review. II. Classical Ewald calculations of the Coulomb binding energy of four donor-acceptor crystals and Wurster's blue perchlorate. III. A rapid-convergence quantum-mechanical formalism for crystal electronic energies

Citation

Metzger, Robert Melville (1969) Crystal Coulomb energies: I. Organic donor-acceptor complexes--a review. II. Classical Ewald calculations of the Coulomb binding energy of four donor-acceptor crystals and Wurster's blue perchlorate. III. A rapid-convergence quantum-mechanical formalism for crystal electronic energies. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/VD9B-K107. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03172014-093730629

Abstract

Chapter I

Theories for organic donor-acceptor (DA) complexes in solution and in the solid state are reviewed, and compared with the available experimental data. As shown by McConnell et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S., 53, 46-50 (1965)), the DA crystals fall into two classes, the holoionic class with a fully or almost fully ionic ground state, and the nonionic class with little or no ionic character. If the total lattice binding energy 2ε1 (per DA pair) gained in ionizing a DA lattice exceeds the cost 2εo of ionizing each DA pair, ε1 + εo less than 0, then the lattice is holoionic. The charge-transfer (CT) band in crystals and in solution can be explained, following Mulliken, by a second-order mixing of states, or by any theory that makes the CT transition strongly allowed, and yet due to a small change in the ground state of the non-interacting components D and A (or D+ and A-). The magnetic properties of the DA crystals are discussed.

Chapter II

A computer program, EWALD, was written to calculate by the Ewald fast-convergence method the crystal Coulomb binding energy EC due to classical monopole-monopole interactions for crystals of any symmetry. The precision of EC values obtained is high: the uncertainties, estimated by the effect on EC of changing the Ewald convergence parameter η, ranged from ± 0.00002 eV to ± 0.01 eV in the worst case. The charge distribution for organic ions was idealized as fractional point charges localized at the crystallographic atomic positions: these charges were chosen from available theoretical and experimental estimates. The uncertainty in EC due to different charge distribution models is typically ± 0.1 eV (± 3%): thus, even the simple Hückel model can give decent results.

EC for Wurster's Blue Perchl orate is -4.1 eV/molecule: the crystal is stable under the binding provided by direct Coulomb interactions. EC for N-Methylphenazinium Tetracyanoquino- dimethanide is 0.1 eV: exchange Coulomb interactions, which cannot be estimated classically, must provide the necessary binding.

EWALD was also used to test the McConnell classification of DA crystals. For the holoionic (1:1)-(N,N,N',N'-Tetramethyl-para- phenylenediamine: 7,7,8,8-Tetracyanoquinodimethan) EC = -4.0 eV while 2εo = 4.65 eV: clearly, exchange forces must provide the balance. For the holoionic (1:1)-(N,N,N',N'-Tetramethyl-para- phenylenediamine:para-Chloranil) EC = -4.4 eV, while 2εo = 5.0 eV: again EC falls short of 2ε1. As a Gedankenexperiment, two nonionic crystals were assumed to be ionized: for (1:1)-(Hexamethyl- benzene:para-Chloranil) EC = -4.5 eV, 2εo = 6.6 eV; for (1:1)- (Napthalene:Tetracyanoethylene) EC = -4.3 eV, 2εo = 6.5 eV. Thus, exchange energies in these nonionic crystals must not exceed 1 eV.

Chapter III

A rapid-convergence quantum-mechanical formalism is derived to calculate the electronic energy of an arbitrary molecular (or molecular-ion) crystal: this provides estimates of crystal binding energies which include the exchange Coulomb inter- actions. Previously obtained LCAO-MO wavefunctions for the isolated molecule(s) ("unit cell spin-orbitals") provide the starting-point. Bloch's theorem is used to construct "crystal spin-orbitals". Overlap between the unit cell orbitals localized in different unit cells is neglected, or is eliminated by Löwdin orthogonalization. Then simple formulas for the total kinetic energy Q^(XT)_λ, nuclear attraction [λ/λ]XT, direct Coulomb [λλ/λ'λ']XT and exchange Coulomb [λλ'/λ'λ]XT integrals are obtained, and direct-space brute-force expansions in atomic wavefunctions are given. Fourier series are obtained for [λ/λ]XT, [λλ/λ'λ']XT, and [λλ/λ'λ]XT with the help of the convolution theorem; the Fourier coefficients require the evaluation of Silverstone's two-center Fourier transform integrals. If the short-range interactions are calculated by brute-force integrations in direct space, and the long-range effects are summed in Fourier space, then rapid convergence is possible for [λ/λ]XT, [λλ/λ'λ']XT and [λλ'/λ'λ]XT. This is achieved, as in the Ewald method, by modifying each atomic wavefunction by a "Gaussian convergence acceleration factor", and evaluating separately in direct and in Fourier space appropriate portions of [λ/λ]XT, etc., where some of the portions contain the Gaussian factor.

Item Type:Thesis (Dissertation (Ph.D.))
Subject Keywords:Chemistry
Degree Grantor:California Institute of Technology
Division:Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Major Option:Chemistry
Thesis Availability:Public (worldwide access)
Research Advisor(s):
  • McConnell, Harden M.
Thesis Committee:
  • Unknown, Unknown
Defense Date:24 October 1968
Record Number:CaltechTHESIS:03172014-093730629
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03172014-093730629
DOI:10.7907/VD9B-K107
Default Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:8138
Collection:CaltechTHESIS
Deposited By: Benjamin Perez
Deposited On:17 Mar 2014 20:31
Last Modified:09 Nov 2022 19:20

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