Writing 4 notes

#chromophores

Every note tagged #chromophores, newest first — or browse the full archive.

July 6, 2026 Physics

Molecules as circuits — a chromophore as an RLC resonator

An absorption energy gap is a resonant frequency, a transition dipole is charge sloshing across a capacitor, and a linewidth is a resistance — so a dye molecule is literally a driven RLC circuit. This post makes the analogy pay its way, pinning every circuit element to a number from a real chromophore I synthesized, then shows the three places the model quietly stops describing the physics: the hyperpolarizability, the quantum interference in the wiring, and the many-body order that actually sets device performance.

#nonlinear optics#electro-optics#chromophores#hyperpolarizability#quantum interference#circuit analogy
July 4, 2026 Chemistry

The colors on the palette are energy-level gaps: engineering pigments for permanence

A tube of paint is an electronic-structure problem plus a scattering problem, perceived by an eye. This post builds the mechanism-first taxonomy of color — conjugated π-systems, ligand-field d–d transitions, charge transfer, and semiconductor band gaps — leading with the modern synthetic pigments engineered to fix the lightfastness failures of their historic ancestors, then puts absorption and scattering back together with Kubelka–Munk.

#pigments#color#chromophores#lightfastness#charge transfer#ligand field#band gap#conjugation#Kubelka-Munk
March 25, 2025 Chemistry

AI Assisted Computational Tools for TDDFT Analysis of Chromophores Supplemental Information

A suite of Python-based computational tools for efficient geometry optimization, TD-DFT calculations, and spectral visualization of chromophores, providing a systematic approach to predicting electronic transitions and optical properties.

#computational chemistry#excited states#TD-DFT#chromophores#photochemistry
March 25, 2025 Chemistry

AI Assisted Computational Tools for Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Analysis of Chromophores

A suite of Python-based computational tools for efficient geometry optimization, TD-DFT calculations, and spectral visualization of chromophores, providing a systematic approach to predicting electronic transitions and optical properties.

#computational chemistry#excited states#TD-DFT#chromophores#photochemistry