Optical and Magnetic Properties of Copper(II) Compounds

Abstract: This thesis encloses quantum chemical calculations and applications of a response function formalism recently implemented within the framework of density functional theory. The optical and magnetic properties of copper(II) molecular systems are the main goal of this work. In this work, the visible and near-infrared electronic transitions, which have shown a key role in studies on electronic structure and structure-function relationships of copper compounds, were investigated in order to explore the correlation of the positions and intensities of these transitions with the geometrical structures and their molecular distortions. The evaluation of solvent effects on the absorption spectra were successfully achieved, providing accurate and inedit computational insight of these effects for copper(II) complexes. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) parameters, that is, the electronic g tensor and the hyperfine coupling constants, are powerful spectroscopic properties for investigating paramagnetic systems and were thoroughly analysed in this work in different molecular systems. Relativistic corrections generated by spin-orbit interactions or by scalar relativistic effects were taken into account in all calculations. In addition, we have designed a methodology for accurate evaluation of the electronic g tensors and hyperfine coupling tensors as well as for evaluation of solvent effects on these properties. It is found that this methodology is able to provide reliable and accurate results for EPR parameters of copper(II) molecular systems. The spin polarization effects on EPR parameters of square planar copper(II) complexes were also considered, showing that these effects give rise to significant contributions to the hyperfine coupling tensor, whereas the electronic g tensor of these complexes are only marginally affected by these effects. The evaluation of the leading-order relativistic corrections to the electronic g tensors of molecules with a doublet ground state has been also taken into account in this work. As a first application of the theory, the electronic g tensors of dihalogen anion radicals X$_2^-$ (X=F,~Cl,~Br,~I) have been investigated and the obtained results indicate that the spin--orbit interaction is responsible for the parallel component of the g tensor shift, while both the leading-order scalar relativistic and spin--orbit corrections are of minor importance for the perpendicular component of the g tensor in these molecules since they effectively cancel each other. Overall, both optical and magnetic results show quantitative agreements with experiments, indicating that the methodologies employed form a practical way in study of copper(II) molecular systems including those of biological importance.