Structural, Electronic and NLO Properties of 6-aminoquinoline: A DFT/TD-DFT Study

A computational study based on the DFT/TD-DFT approach was performed to explore various properties of 6-aminoquinoline (6AQ). The geometrical parameters, molecular orbitals (MOs), electronic spectra, electrostatic potential, molecular surface, reactivity parameters and thermodynamic properties of 6AQ were explored. The absorption and emission spectra of 6AQ in solvents have been estimated by TD-DFT coupled with the PCM model and correlated with the available experimental results. Depending on the solvents, the computed absorption maxima of 6AQ were noticed between 327 nm - 340 nm and ascribed to [Formula: see text] transition. The simulated emission maxima were obtained between 389 to 407 nm and ascribed to [Formula: see text] transition. On increasing the solvent polarity, both the emission and absorption maxima showed a bathochromic shift. The LUMO and HOMO were localized on the entire molecule. It was observed that the lowest excited state is possibly the [Formula: see text] charge-transfer (CT) state. The natural bonding orbital (NBO) study points out that ICT plays a significant role in stabilizing the molecular system. Moreover, the NLO (nonlinear optical) properties (polarizability, first-order hyperpolarizability and dipole moment) were computed using different hybrid functionals. The estimated values indicate that 6AQ can be considered a desirable molecule for further studies of the NLO applications.