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Devising Reliable Electronic Structure Schemes through Eclectic Design

Project description

A new approach to modelling complex molecular systems

Quantum chemistry holds the key to a future where discovering new materials is faster, more intuitive and accessible to everyone, not just experts. It offers powerful tools to understand molecular behaviour when experiments fall short. Yet, traditional methods face challenges: wave function models are expensive, while density functional theory often falls short in accuracy. The ERC-funded DRESSED-pCCD project will focus on electron pair states to model many-electron systems. Researchers will refine how electron interactions are captured, ensuring accurate predictions of molecular properties for both ground and excited states. Furthermore, they will work to develop an automated, user-friendly platform to simplify quantum chemistry. The proposed research could simplify material discovery, particularly in organic electronics, where innovation depends on uncovering molecular interactions.

Objective

Modern quantum chemistry reached a remarkable level of description of atoms and molecules and their interactions. Theoretical approaches are particularly helpful when experimental studies are hampered or slowed down due to a trial-and-error approach. In such cases, computational chemistry can provide the much sought-after understanding of molecular properties and reactivity. Unfortunately, conventional wave function models are too expensive for large-scale modeling or require user control on an expert level, while density functional theory may predict unreliable properties. To break the current paradigm of computational chemistry, novel and neat approximations are desirable. One such innovative approach models many-electron systems using electron pair states. Current electron-pair methods are, however, insufficient to reach chemical or spectroscopic accuracy for large molecules of organic electronics and must be extended to (i) accurately describe electron correlations beyond the simple electron-pairing effects, especially in cases where conventional corrections break, (ii) reliably predict molecular properties of both ground and electronically excited states of closed- and open-shell compounds, and (iii) provide an intuitive and black-box platform for non-expert users. These goals will be achieved by (a) dressing electron-pair states with information extracted from multi-reference wave functions using a bottom-up approach, where each step systematically improves the accuracy of the previous model along the ladder of approximation, (b) designing a black-box interface to automatized quantum chemistry calculations using concepts of quantum information theory, and (c) elucidating the structure-properties relationship using the picture of interacting orbitals. The synergy between an inexpensive but reliable quantitative description and the qualitative interpretation of molecular interactions will accelerate the discovery of new materials in organic electronics.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG

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Host institution

UNIWERSYTET MIKOLAJA KOPERNIKA
Net EU contribution
€ 1 218 088,00
Address
UL. JURIJA GAGARINA 11
87-100 TORUN
Poland
Region
Makroregion północny Kujawsko-pomorskie Bydgosko-toruński
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
€ 1 218 088,00

Beneficiaries (1)