Destabilization of Ag nanoislands on Ag(100) by adsorbed sulfur

Sulfur accelerates coarsening of Ag nanoislands on Ag(100) at 300 K, and this effect is enhanced with increasing sulfur coverage over a range spanning a few hundredths of a monolayer, to nearly 0.25 monolayers. We propose that acceleration of coarsening in this system is tied to the formation of AgS(2) clusters primarily at step edges. These clusters can transport Ag more efficiently than can Ag adatoms (due to a lower diffusion barrier and comparable formation energy). The mobility of isolated sulfur on Ag(100) is very low so that formation of the complex is kinetically limited at low sulfur coverages, and thus enhancement is minimal. However, higher sulfur coverages force the population of sites adjacent to step edges, so that formation of the cluster is no longer limited by diffusion of sulfur across terraces. Sulfur exerts a much weaker effect on the rate of coarsening on Ag(100) than it does on Ag(111). This is consistent with theory, which shows that the difference between the total energy barrier for coarsening with and without sulfur is also much smaller on Ag(100) than on Ag(111).     

Cu-[M’]MOR和Ag-[M’]MOR (M’=B,Al, Ga,Fe)的酸性

采用Dmol3程序中基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的广义梯度方法(GGA)和BLYP方法以及DND基组, 研究了丝光沸石H-[M']MOR、Cu-[M']MOR和Ag-[M']MOR(M'=B, Al, Ga, Fe)结构及其对NH3分子的吸附, 获得了吸附平衡构型和吸附能. NH3分子在H-[M']MOR中的吸附主要是通过NH3分子中氮原子上的孤对电子与质子酸位作用, NH3分子在H-[Al]MOR、H-[Ga]MOR和H-[Fe]MOR上发生化学吸附, 而在H-[B]MOR上发生物理吸附, 这与文献结果相符. NH3分子与Cu-[M']MOR 和Ag-[M']MOR分子筛之间主要通过氮上的孤对电子和平衡离子(Cu+和Ag+)的s空轨道间配位作用而发生化学吸附. 吸附能数据表明, 在H-[M']MOR、Cu-[M']MOR 和Ag-[M']MOR中, A1原子进入骨架导致H-[A1]MOR、Cu-[A1]MOR和Ag-[A1]MOR的酸强度最强; 对于同一种原子取代的丝光沸石, 其酸强度次序为: Cu-[M']MOR > Ag-[M']MOR > H-[M']MOR. 此外, 还对吸附前后的沸石中平衡离子(H+、Cu+和Ag+)及NH3分子的Mulliken电荷集居数作了研究和分析.     

Diffusion Dynamics of Cux Cluster on Cu(111) Surface

The diffusion dynamics of small two-dimensional atomic clusters Cux (1·x·8) on Cu(111) surface were studied using the molecular dynamics simulations and a modified analytic embedded-atom method in the temperature range from 200 K to 800 K. The cluster size and temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients and migration energies are presented. Our simulations show that the diffusion migration energy of the Cu7 cluster is the highest and the prefactor for the Cu7 cluster is almost three orders of magnitude larger than that for single atom diffusion. This conclusion is consistent with the experimental results for similar metals. In addition, the dependence of cluster diffusion on film growth is also discussed.     

Creation,electronic properties,disorder, and melting of two-dimensional surface-state-mediated adatom superlattices

Surface-state-mediated interactions influence the spatial distribution of adatoms at surfaces. These indirect interactions are the driving force for the creation of superlattices of individual adsorbed atoms when the adatom concentration, the sample temperature, and the adatom diffusion barrier are in a subtle balance, as it has been first reported for Ce adatoms on Ag(1 1 1). The conditions for the formation of such superlattices are discussed. Specifically, the adatom concentration is shown to modify considerably the electronic structure of the Ag(1 1 1) surface. With increasing temperature the superlattice undergoes a direct transition from a two-dimensional solid to a two-dimensional liquid. Such superlattices, consisting of magnetic adatoms, may be interesting as model systems for the study of direct and indirect magnetic interactions in two dimensions.     

Ab initio determination of the ionization potentials of water clusters (H2O)n (n = 2-6)

High-level quantum-chemical ab initio coupled-cluster and multiconfigurational perturbation methods have been used to compute the vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials of several water clusters: dimer, trimer, tetramer, pentamer, hexamer book, hexamer ring, hexamer cage, and hexamer prism. The present results establish reference values at a level not reported before for these systems, calibrating different computational strategies and helping to discard less reliable theoretical and experimental data. The systematic study with the increasing size of the water cluster allows obtaining some clues on the structure and reductive properties of liquid water.     

Thermal and photochemical characteristics of silver 4-(4-nitrophenyl)butyrate revealed by infrared and Raman spectroscopy

We have investigated the thermal and photochemical characteristics of silver 4-nitrophenylbutyrate (Ag-4NPB) by means of infrared and Raman spectroscopy, coupled with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry. XRD analysis indicated that Ag-4NPB consisted of a layered structure. Upon heating the sample, structural changes took place, particularly at two specific temperatures. The binding state of the carboxylate group changed from bridging to unidentate at 363 K. A second dramatic change occurred at 536 K, producing 4NPB-capped Ag nanoparticles. The latter transition temperature for Ag-4NPB is about 18 K higher than that for silver stearate (Ag-STA), but nearly 57 K lower than that for silver 4-nitrobenzoate (Ag-4NBA). The thermal stability of aromatic silver carboxylate is thus lowered by the incorporation of a short alkane chain between the benzene ring and the carboxylate group. On the other hand, Ag-4NPB was readily subjected to photolysis even by the 632.8-nm radiation. Initially, silver nanoparticles appeared to be generated, followed by the nitro-to-amine group conversion. Although silver particles could also be generated from Ag-4NBA, the nitro-to-amine group conversion did not take place by the 632.8-nm light. The photochemical stability thus seemed to be lowered, parallel to the thermal stability, by the incorporation of a short alkane chain between the benzene ring and the carboxylate group.     

An ab initio study of water clusters in gas phase and bulk aqueous media: (H2O)n,n=1–12

Geometries of several clusters of water molecules including single minimum energy structures of n‐mers (n=1–5), several hexamers and two structures of each of heptamer to decamer derived from hexamer cage and hexamer prism were optimized. One structural form of each of 11‐mer and 12‐mer were also studied. The geometry optimization calculations were performed at the RHF/6‐311G* level for all the cases and at the MP2/6‐311++G** level for some selected cases. The optimized cluster geometries were used to calculate total energies of the clusters in gas phase employing the B3LYP density functional method and the 6‐311G* basis set. Frequency analysis was carried out in all the cases to ensure that the optimized geometries corresponded to total energy minima. Zero‐point and thermal free energy corrections were applied for comparison of energies of certain hexamers. The optimized cluster geometries were used to solvate the clusters in bulk water using the polarized continuum model (PCM) of the self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory, the 6‐311G* basis set, and the B3LYP density functional method. For the cases for which MP2/6‐311++G** geometry optimization was performed, solvation calculations in water were also carried out using the B3LYP density functional method, the 6‐311++G** basis set, and the PCM model of SCRF theory, besides the corresponding gas‐phase calculations. It is found that the cage form of water hexamer cluster is most stable in gas phase among the different hexamers, which is in agreement with the earlier theoretical and experimental results. Further, use of a newly defined relative population index (RPI) in terms of successive total energy differences per water molecule for different cluster sizes suggests that stabilities of trimers, hexamers, and nonamers in gas phase and those of hexamers and nonamers in bulk water would be favored while those of pentamer and decamer in both the phases would be relatively disfavored. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 90–104, 2001     

银金硫三元团簇的形成与光过程的硫金敏化

采用激光烧蚀银金硫混合物样品产生团簇离子,用飞行时间质谱仪检测的方法研究了银金硫三元团簇离子的形成。研究表明,银硫二元团簇、金硫二元团簇和银金硫三元团簇同时生成,主要系列有(Ag~2~n~+~1S~n~-~1)^+、(Ag~2~n~-~1S~n)^-、(Ag~2~nAuS~n)^+和(Ag~2~nAuS~n~+~1)^-。将其与感光乳剂中的金硫敏化中心相关联,指出正离子团簇和负离子团簇分别在曝光过程中起着光电子陷阱和正空穴陷阱的作用。     

Methodological approach to study energetic and structural properties of nanostructured cadmium sulfide by using ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations

A single wurtzite phase of cadmium sulfide cluster is investigated by ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures, ranging from 100 K to 600 K. In this study we propose a possible procedure to characterize the CdS quantum dots system by means of molecular dynamics calculations using a standard Car-Parrinello scheme. In order to ensure the accuracy of the numerical approach, preliminary calculations to test pseudopotentials, cutoff and box size on both single atoms systems and Cd–Cd, S–S, Cd–S dimers have been performed. Calculated binding energies and bond lengths are obtained in good agreement with experimental data. Subsequently, an uncapped CdS cluster with size below 2 nm, 48 atoms of cadmium and 48 atoms of sulfur, in a wurtzite geometry was structurally optimized to minimize internal stresses. The CdS cluster has been carefully characterized structurally at several temperatures up to T = 600 K. At the temperature of 340 K atomic diffusion on the surface allows the onset of a new stable atomic configuration.     

Minimum polarizability principle applied to lowest energy isomers of some gaseous all-metal clusters

In comparison with the minimum energy criterion as an indicator of the most stable state, the minimum polarizability and maximum hardness principles have been examined to describe the relative stability of various isomers of nine gaseous all-metal clusters M4X- (Cu4Na-, Cu4Li-, Al4Cu-, Ag4Li-, Au4Li-, Ag4Na-, Au4Na-, Al4Ag-, Al4Au-) on the basis of MP2 calculations. In these species, there are two lowest energy isomers with near isoenergy that sometimes make it very difficult to determine which of them is more stable when we depend only on the minimum energy criterion. According to the minimum polarizability principle, however, the square-pyramidal structure is always more stable than the planar isomer at various computational levels, which was also confirmed by the results from the minimum energy principle that sometimes requires higher computational precision. Thus, there is an indication that, at least for our present cluster system, the minimum polarizability principle is less dependent on the computational levels compared to the minimum energy principle.     

(α + γ<Subscript>1</Subscript>) Complex phase formation in the Cu-10 mass% Al-6mass% Ag alloy

In this work the (α + γ₁) complex phase formation reaction in the Cu-10mass% Al-6mass% Ag alloy was studied using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Differential Thermodilatometry (DTD), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Optical (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopies (SEM). The results indicated the presence of two different processes, related to a change in the Ag diffusion route from the α matrix to the (α + γ₁) complex phase.     

Formation of complexes between uracil and calcium ions: an ESI/MS/MS study in combination with theoretical calculations

Cationized uracil clusters around calcium metal ions were generated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization (ESI). A previous study showed that with particular experimental conditions, hexamer, octamer, decamer, dodecamer and tetradecamer uracil clusters are present in high quantities. New experiments were carried out to understand the reasons for the particular stability of these complexes. MS/MS experiments suggested that these uracil clusters belong to the same family. Based on ab initio and DFT quantum chemistry calculations, structures in agreement with experimental results are proposed for these clusters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The self‐diffusion of macromolecules in binary blends of poly(ethylene glycol)

The concentration and molecular mass dependencies of the self‐diffusion coefficients were obtained for higher molecular mass component in binary blends of the homopolymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by a nuclear magnetic resonance method with pulsed magnetic field gradient. The shape of the diffusion decay and its dependence on the diffusion observation time in binary PEG blends have been investigated. The experimental results were explained by hypothesizing the existence of cluster formation in polymer melts and polymer blends and the possibility of molecular exchange between clusters. The entanglement time in such systems was evaluated. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogen Bond Cooperativity and the Three‐Dimensional Structures of Water Nonamers and Decamers

Broadband rotational spectroscopy of water clusters produced in a pulsed molecular jet expansion has been used to determine the oxygen atom geometry in three isomers of the nonamer and two isomers of the decamer. The isomers for each cluster size have the same nominal geometry but differ in the arrangement of their hydrogen bond networks. The nearest neighbor O? O distances show a characteristic pattern for each hydrogen bond network isomer that is caused by three‐body effects that produce cooperative hydrogen bonding. The observed structures are the lowest energy cluster geometries identified by quantum chemistry and the experimental and theoretical O? O distances are in good agreement. The cooperativity effects revealed by the hydrogen bond O? O distance variations are shown to be consistent with a simple model for hydrogen bonding in water that takes into account the cooperative and anticooperative bonding effects of nearby water molecules.     

Density functional study of ethylene oxidation on an Ag(111) surface

The mechanism of ethylene epoxidation on Ag surfaces has been investigated using the density functional method and Ag _n clusters (n = 3 to 10) modeling the Ag(111) surface. The adsorption energy of O₂ to the Ag clusters was strongly dependent on the HOMO level of the cluster, and the clusters with higher HOMO levels afforded larger O₂ adsorption energies. The energetics was investigated for both the molecular and atomic oxygen epoxidation mechanisms. For the atomic oxygen mechanism, epoxidation was found to proceed without an activation energy, whereas a small amount of activation energy (about 5 kcal/mol) was calculated for the molecular oxygen mechanism. Received: 2 July 1998 / Accepted: 9 September 1998 / Published online: 8 February 1999     

Thermodynamics of forming water clusters at various temperatures and pressures by Gaussian-2, Gaussian-3, complete basis set-QB3, and complete basis set-APNO model chemistries; implications for atmospheric chemistry

The Gaussian-2, Gaussian-3, complete basis set- (CBS-) QB3, and CBS-APNO methods have been used to calculate Delta H degrees and Delta G degrees values for neutral clusters of water, (H(2)O)(n), where n = 2-6. The structures are similar to those determined from experiment and from previous high-level calculations. The thermodynamic calculations by the G2, G3, and CBS-APNO methods compare well against the estimated MP2(CBS) limit. The cyclic pentamer and hexamer structures release the most heat per hydrogen bond formed of any of the clusters. While the cage and prism forms of the hexamer are the lowest energy structures at very low temperatures, as temperature is increased the cyclic structure is favored. The free energies of cluster formation at different temperatures reveal interesting insights, the most striking being that the cyclic trimer, cyclic tetramer, and cyclic pentamer, like the dimer, should be detectable in the lower troposphere. We predict water dimer concentrations of 9 x 10(14) molecules/cm(3), water trimer concentrations of 2.6 x 10(12) molecules/cm(3), tetramer concentrations of approximately 5.8 x 10(11) molecules/cm(3), and pentamer concentrations of approximately 3.5 x 10(10) molecules/cm(3) in saturated air at 298 K. These results have important implications for understanding the gas-phase chemistry of the lower troposphere.     

Thermodynamic studies of the surface and transport properties in Ag–In and Ag–Sb liquid alloys

The surface tension, surface concentration, viscosity and mutual diffusion co-efficients of the Ag–In and Ag–Sb liquid alloys have been calculated using energetics and derivables from a statistical mechanical framework which recognises the formation of atom clusters of self associates. Our calculations suggest the existence of some form of local order in the systems. Ag–In showed higher tendencies to heterocoordination in the bulk-manifested higher values of mutual diffusion coefficient throughout the concentration range. The viscosity values of Ag–In and Ag–Sb were calculated using the expression reported by Kucharsky which relates the viscosity of a liquid binary alloy to the activity coefficients of the liquid alloy components that are raised to some power m. This exponent m is a fitted parameter. The calculated viscosity values for Ag–Sb had some reasonable agreement with experiment above 0.5 atomic fraction of Sb, using a fitted parameter value of m = 4.5. The fitted parameter value for the viscosity of Ag–In is expected to be in the range 1.5 ≤ m ≤ 3.5.     

Growth pattern and electronic properties of acetonitrile clusters: a density functional study

We report a systematic theoretical study on the growth pattern and electronic properties of acetonitrile clusters [(CH(3)CN)(n) (n = 1, 9, 12)] using density functional approach at the B3LYP6-31++G(d,p) level. Although we have considered a large number of configurations for each cluster, the stability of the lowest energy isomer was verified from the Hessian calculation. It is found that the lowest energy isomer of the dimer adopts an antiparallel configuration. For trimer and tetramer, cyclic ring structures were found to be favored over the dipole stabilized structure. In general, it is found that the intermolecular CH...N interactions play a significant role in the stabilization of the cyclic layered geometry of acetonitrile clusters. A critical comparison between trimer and tetramer clusters suggests that the three member cyclic ring is more stable than four member rings. The growth motif for larger clusters (n = 5-9, 12) follows a layered pattern consisting of three or four membered rings, which, in fact, is used as the building block. Based on the stability analysis, it is found that clusters with an even number of molecular entities are more stable than the odd clusters, except trimer and nonamer. The exceptional stability of these two clusters is attributed to the formation of trimembered cyclic rings, which have been found to form the building blocks for larger clusters.     

寡聚物在高分子母体中的扩散──分子动力学模拟研究

应用分子动力学模拟研究甲基丙烯酸甲酯寡聚物(从单聚体到十聚体)在高分子量的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯母体中的扩散.随着寡聚物的聚合度的增加,发现其扩散系数从单聚体到三聚体迅速减小,而从四聚体到十聚体其扩散系数几乎保持不变,与实验得到的数值在趋势上符合得很好.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy for cluster and small particle research

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) are new methods to investigate atomic arrangements and electronic structures of clusters and small particles of atoms. In this paper we review recent developments in this field, in particular the work from our laboratory. We show studies of single adatoms, small clusters and larger particles of platinum and a trimer of aluminum imaged with atomic resolution on highly-orient ed pyrolytic graphite. We find different isomeric structures for clusters of a specific size. Taking the substrate lattice as reference we determine bond lengths and angles for the clusters. We find that adsorbed Pt-particles have a strong influence on the substrate. Periodic charge density modulations on the graphite lattice surrounding the particles are observed. We also discuss recent STS experiments which showed Coulomb blockade in electron tunneling. A silicon-oxide-graphite tip-junction is used where a mesoscopic insulating area containing trap levels for temporary electron storage is responsible for the blockade of single electron transport. Such an ultra-small insulator capacitor shows large voltage steps in current-voltage characteristics and quantization of the tunneling current.