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.

Early excited state dynamics in the photodissociation of transition metal carbonyls determines the chemical nature of short-lived catalytically active reaction intermediates. However, time-resolved experiments have not yet revealed mechanistic details in the sub-picosecond regime. Hence, in this study the photoexcitation of ironpentacarbonyl Fe(CO)5 is simulated with semi-classical excited state molecular dynamics. We find that the bright metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) transition induces synchronous Fe-C oscillations in the trigonal bipyramidal complex leading to periodically reoccurring release of predominantly axial CO. Metaphorically the photoactivated Fe(CO)5 acts as a CO geyser, as a result of dynamics in the potential energy landscape of the axial Fe-C distances and non-adiabatic transitions between manifolds of bound MLCT and dissociative metal-centered (MC) excited states. The predominant release of axial CO ligands and delayed release of equatorial CO ligands are explained in a unified mechanism based on the σ*(Fe-C) anti-bonding character of the receiving orbital in the dissociative MC states.

The chemistry of the brown-ring test has been investigated for nearly a century. Though recent studies have focused on solid state structure determination and measurement of spectra, mechanistic details and kinetics, the aspects of solution structure and dynamics remain unknown. We have studied structural fluctuations of the brown-ring complex in aqueous solution with ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations, from which we identified that the classically established pseudo-octahedral [Fe(H₂O)₅(NO)]²⁺ complex is present along with a square-pyramidal [Fe(H₂O)₄(NO)]²⁺ complex. Based on the inability in multi-reference calculations to reproduce the experimental UV-vis spectra in aqueous solution by inclusion of thermal fluctuations of the [Fe(H₂O)₅(NO)]²⁺ complex alone, we propose the existence of an equilibrium between pseudo-octahedral and square-pyramidal complexes. Despite challenges in constructing models reproducing the solid-state UV-vis spectrum, the advanced spectrum simulation tool motivates us to challenge the established picture of a sole pseudo-octahedral complex in solution. 

We report on a computational study of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS), at different fluorine K-edge resonances of the SF6 molecule, and corresponding nonresonant x-ray emission. Previously measured polarization dependence in RIXS is reproduced and traced back to the local sigma and pi symmetry of the molecular orbitals and corresponding states involved in the RIXS process. Also electron-hole coupling energies are calculated and related to experimentally observed spectator shifts. The role of dissociative S-F bond dynamics is explored to model detuning of RIXS spectra at the |F1s(-1) 6a(1g)(1)> resonance, which shows challenges to accurately reproduce the required steepness for core-excited potential energy surface. We show that the RIXS spectra can only be properly described by considering breaking of the global inversion symmetry of the electronic wave function and core-hole localization, induced by vibronic coupling. Due to the core-hole localization we have symmetry forbidden transitions, which lead to additional resonances and changing width of the RIXS profile.

Photochemically prepared transition-metal complexes are known to be effective at cleaving the strong C–H bonds of organic molecules in room temperature solutions. There is also ample theoretical evidence that the two-way, metal to ligand (MLCT) and ligand to metal (LMCT), charge-transfer between an incoming alkane C–H group and the transition metal is the decisive interaction in the C–H activation reaction. What is missing, however, are experimental methods to directly probe these interactions in order to reveal what determines reactivity of intermediates and the rate of the reaction. Here, using quantum chemical simulations we predict and propose future time-resolved valence-to-core resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (VtC-RIXS) experiments at the transition metal L-edge as a method to provide a full account of the evolution of metal–alkane interactions during transition-metal mediated C–H activation reactions. For the model system cyclopentadienyl rhodium dicarbonyl (CpRh(CO)₂), we demonstrate, by simulating the VtC-RIXS signatures of key intermediates in the C–H activation pathway, how the Rh-centered valence-excited states accessible through VtC-RIXS directly reflect changes in donation and back-donation between the alkane C–H group and the transition metal as the reaction proceeds via those intermediates. We benchmark and validate our quantum chemical simulations against experimental steady-state measurements of CpRh(CO)₂ and Rh(acac)(CO)₂ (where acac is acetylacetonate). Our study constitutes the first step towards establishing VtC-RIXS as a new experimental observable for probing reactivity of C–H activation reactions. More generally, the study further motivates the use of time-resolved VtC-RIXS to follow the valence electronic structure evolution along photochemical, photoinitiated and photocatalytic reactions with transition metal complexes.

In this work, we examine, by means of computational methods, the mechanism of Zn2+ sensing by a bipyridine-centered, D-pi-A-pi-D-type-ratiometric molecular probe. According to recently published experimental data [Divya, K. P.; Sreejith, S.; Ashokkumar, P.; Yuzhan, K.; Peng, Q; Maji, S. K.; Tong, Y.; Yu, H.; Zhao, Y.; Ramamurthy, P.; Ajayaghosh, A. A ratiometric fluorescent molecular -probe with enhanced two-photon response upon Zn2+ binding for in vitro and in vivo: bioimaging.= Chem. Sci. 2014, S, 3469-3474], after coordination to zinc ions the -probe exhibits a large enhancement of the two -photon absorption cross section. The goal of our investigation was to elucidate the mechanism behind this phenomenon. For this purpose, linear and nonlinear optical properties of -the unbound (cation-free) and bound probe were calculated, including the influence of solute Solvent interactions, implicitly using a polarizable continuum model and exp-licitely employing the QM/MM approach. Because the results of the calculations indicate that many conformers of the probe are energetically accessible at room temperature in solution and hence contribute to the Signal, structurepteperty relationships were also taken into account. Results of our simulations-demonstrate that the one-photon absorption bands for both the unbound -and bound forms correspond to the bright pi -> pi* transition to the first excited state; which, on the other hand,. exhibits negligible two-photon activity. On the basis of the results of the quadratic respOnse calculations, we put forward-notion that it is the second excited state that gives the strong signal in the experimental nonlinear spectrum. To explain the differenCes in the two-photon absorption activity for the two lowest-lying excited states and nonlinear response enhancement upon binding, we employed the generalized few -state model including the ground, first, and- second excited states. The analysis of the optical channel suggests that the large two-photon response is due to the coordination -induced increase of the, transition- moment from the first to the second excited state.

Resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS) has been used to study the electronic structure of glycine and lysine in aqueous solution. Upon variation of the pH value of the solution from acidic to basic, major changes of the nitrogen K edge RIXS data are observed for both amino acids, which are associated with the protonation and deprotonation of the amino groups. The experimental results are compared with simulations based on density functional theory, yielding a detailed understanding of the spectral changes, as well as insights into the ultrafast proton dynamics in the intermediate core-excited/ionized state of the RIXS process.

We analyze the performance of two different core-hole potentials in the theoretical modeling of XAS of ice, liquid and gas phase water; the use of a full core-hole (FCH) in the calculations, as suggested by Hetenyi et al. [B. Hetenyi, F. De Angelis, P. Giamozzi and R. Car, J. Chem. Phys., 2004, 120(18), 8632], gives poor agreement with experiment in terms of intensity distribution as well as transition energies, while the half core hole (HCH) potential, in the case of water, provides a better compromise between initial and final state effects, leading to good agreement with the experimental data.

The local structure of the Au(111)(√3x√3)R30 degrees-methylthiolate surface phase has been investigated by S K-edge near-edge s-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) both experimentally and theoretically and by experimental normal-incidence x-ray standing waves (NIXSW) at both the C and S atomic sites. NEXAFS shows not only excitation into the intramolecular σ*S-C resonance but also into a σ* S-Au orbital perpendicular to the surface, clearly identifying the local S headgroup site as atop a Au atom. Simulations show that it is not possible, however, to distinguish between the two possible adatom reconstruction models; a single thiolate species atop a hollow-site Au adatom or a dithiolate moiety comprising two thiolate species bonded to a bridge-bonded Au adatom. Within this dithiolate moiety a second σ* S-Au orbital that lies near parallel to the surface has a higher energy that overlaps that of the σ* S-C resonance. The new NIXSW data show the S-C bond to be tilted by 61 degrees relative to the surface normal, with a preferred azimuthal orientation in <211>, corresponding to the intermolecular nearest-neighbor directions. This azimuthal orientation is consistent with the thiolate being atop a hollow-site Au adatom, but not consistent with the originally proposed Au-adatom-dithiolate moiety. However, internal conformational changes within this species could, perhaps, render this model also consistent with the experimental data.

Photodissociation of ironpentacarbonyl [Fe-1(CO)(5)] in solution generates transient species in different electronic states, which we studied theoretically. From ab initio molecular dynamics simulations in ethanol solution, the closed-shell parent compound Fe-1(CO)(5) is found to interact weakly with the solvent, whereas the irontetracarbonyl [Fe(CO)(4)] species, formed after photodissociation, has a strongly spin-dependent behavior. It coordinates a solvent molecule tightly in the singlet state [Fe-1(CO)(4)] and weakly in the triplet state [Fe-3(CO)(4)]. From the simulations, we have gained insights into intersystem crossing in solvated irontetracarbonyl based on the distinct structural differences induced by the change in multiplicity. Alternative forms of coordination between Fe-1(CO)(4) and functional groups of the ethanol molecule are simulated, and a quantum chemical investigation of the energy landscape for the coordinated irontetracarbonyl gives information about the interconversion of different transient species in solution. Furthermore, insights from the simulations, in which we find evidence of a solvent exchange mechanism, challenge the previously proposed mechanism of chain walking for under-coordinated metal carbonyls in solution.

Photodissociation of ironpentacarbonyl in solution generates transient species indifferent electronic states, which we have studied theoretically. From ab initio moleculardynamics simulations in ethanol solutions, the close-shell parent compound ¹Fe(CO)₅ is found to interact weakly with the solvent, whereas the irontetracarbonyl species,formed after photodissociation, has a strongly spin-dependent behavior. It coordinatesa solvent molecule tightly in the singlet state (¹Fe(CO)₄) and weakly in the tripletstate (³Fe(CO)₄). Alternative forms of coordination between ¹Fe(CO)₄ and functionalgroups of the ethanol molecule are simulated, and quantum chemical calculations ofthe energy landscape for the coordinated irontetracarbonyl give information aboutthe inter-conversion of different transient species in solution. Furthermore, insights1from the simulations challenge the previously proposed mechanism of chain walkingfor undercoordinate metal carbonyls in solution. Thereby, we gain insight into bothintersystem crossing in solvated irontetracarbonyl and its exchange in coordinationbetween Fe−OH and Fe−HC.

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations of the aqueous [Fe(H2O)(5)(NO)](2+) brown-ring complex in different spin states, in combination with multiconfigurational quantum chemical calculations, show a structural dependence on the electronic character of the complex. Sampling in the quartet and sextet ground states show that the multiplicity is correlated with the Fe-N distance. This provides a motivation for a rigid Fe-N scan in the isolated brown-ring complex to investigate how the multiconfigurational wave function and the electron density change around the FeNO moiety. Our results show that subtle changes in the Fe-N distance produce a large response in the electronic configurations underlying the quartet wave function. However, while changes in spin density and potential energy are pronounced, variations in charge are negligible. These trends within the FeNO moiety are preserved in structural sampling of the AIMD simulations, despite distortions present in other degrees of freedom in the bulk solution.

The dynamics of fragmentation and vibration of molecular systems with a large number of coupled degrees of freedom are key aspects for understanding chemical reactivity and properties. Here we present a resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study to show how it is possible to break down such a complex multidimensional problem into elementary components. Local multimode nuclear wave packets created by X-ray excitation to different core-excited potential energy surfaces (PESs) will act as spatial gates to selectively probe the particular ground-state vibrational modes and, hence, the PES along these modes. We demonstrate this principle by combining ultra-high resolution RIXS measurements for gas-phase water with state-of-the-art simulations.

Local probes of the electronic ground state are essential for understanding hydrogen bonding in aqueous environments. When tuned to the dissociative core-excited state at the O1s pre-edge of water, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering back to the electronic ground state exhibits a long vibrational progression due to ultrafast nuclear dynamics. We show how the coherent evolution of the OH bonds around the core-excited oxygen provides access to high vibrational levels in liquid water. The OH bonds stretch into the long-range part of the potential energy curve, which makes the X-ray probe more sensitive than infra-red spectroscopy to the local environment. We exploit this property to effectively probe hydrogen bond strength via the distribution of intramolecular OH potentials derived from measurements. In contrast, the dynamical splitting in the spectral feature of the lowest valence-excited state arises from the short-range part of the OH potential curve and is rather insensitive to hydrogen bonding.

We report on a combined theoretical and experimental study of core-excitation spectra of gas and liquid phase methanol as obtained with the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). The electronic transitions are studied with computational methods that include strict and extended second-order algebraic diagrammatic construction [ADC(2) and ADC(2)-x], restricted active space second-order perturbation theory, and time-dependent density functional theory-providing a complete assignment of the near oxygen K-edge XAS. We show that multimode nuclear dynamics is of crucial importance for explaining the available experimental XAS and RIXS spectra. The multimode nuclear motion was considered in a recently developed mixed representation where dissociative states and highly excited vibrational modes are accurately treated with a time-dependent wave packet technique, while the remaining active vibrational modes are described using Franck-Condon amplitudes. Particular attention is paid to the polarization dependence of RIXS and the effects of the isotopic substitution on the RIXS profile in the case of dissociative core-excited states. Our approach predicts the splitting of the 2a RIXS peak to be due to an interplay between molecular and pseudo-atomic features arising in the course of transitions between dissociative core- and valence-excited states. The dynamical nature of the splitting of the 2a peak in RIXS of liquid methanol near pre-edge core excitation is shown. The theoretical results are in good agreement with our liquid phase measurements and gas phase experimental data available from the literature.

Excited state molecular dynamics simulations of the photoexcited phenyl azide have been performed. The semi-classical surface hopping approximation has enabled an unconstrained analysis of the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom which contribute to the molecular dissociation of phenyl azide into phenyl nitrene and molecular nitrogen. The significance of the second singlet excited state in leading the photodissociation has been established through electronic structure calculations, based on multi-configurational schemes, and state population dynamics. The investigations on the structural dynamics have revealed the N−N bond separation to be accompanied by synchronous changes in the azide N−N−N bond angle. The 100 fs simulation results in a nitrene fragment that is electronically excited in the singlet manifold.