The effect of electronic excitation on London dispersion

Abstract

Atomic and molecular dispersion coefficients can now be calculated routinely using density-functional theory. In this work, we present the first determination of how electronic excitation affects molecular C6 London dispersion coefficients from the exchange-hole dipole moment (XDM) dispersion model. Excited states are typically found to have larger dispersion coefficients than the corresponding ground states, due to their more diffuse electron densities. A particular focus is both intramolecular and intermolecular charge-transfer excitations, which have high absorbance intensities and are important in organic dyes, light-emitting diodes, and photovoltaics. In these classes of molecules, the increase in C6 for the electron-accepting moiety is largely offset by a decrease in C6 for the electron-donating moiety. As a result, the change in dispersion energy for a chromophore interacting with neighbouring molecules in the condensed phase is minimal.