Comparative Study of Alkali-Cation-Based (Li+, Na+, K+) Electrolytes in Acetonitrile and Alkylcarbonates

The development of a suitable functional electrolyte is urgently required for fast-charging and high-voltage alkali-ion (Li, Na, K) batteries as well as next-generation hybrids supercapacitors. Many recent works focused on an optimal selection of electrolytes for alkali-ion based systems and their electrochemical performance but the understanding of the fundamental aspect that explains their different behaviour is rare. Herein, we report a comparative study of transport properties for LiPF₆, NaPF₆, KPF₆ in acetonitrile (AN) and a binary mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC): (EC/DMC : 1/1, weigh) through conductivities, densities and viscosities measurements in wide temperature domain. By application of the Stokes-Einstein, Nernst-Einstein, and Jones Dole equations, the effective ionic solvated radius of cation (r_eff), the ionic dissociation coefficient (α_D) and structuring Jones Dole's parameters (A, B) for salt are calculated and discussed according to solvent or cation nature as a function of temperature. From the results, we demonstrate that better mobility of potassium can be explained by the nature of the ion-ion and ion-solvent interactions due to its polarizability. In the same time, the predominance of triple ions in the case of K⁺, is a disadvantage at high concentration.     

Fullerene compounds with general formulae C60Ox (x = 1–3): Isomerism,stability and polarizability

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Remarkable Size Effect on Photophysical and Nonlinear Optical Properties of All-Carboatomic Rings,Cyclo[18]carbon and Its Analogues

Inspired by recent experimental observation of molecular morphology and theoretical predictions of multiple properties of cyclo[18]carbon, we systematically studied the photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of cyclo[2N]carbons (N=3–15) allotropes through density functional theory. This work unveils the unusual optical properties of the sp-hybridized carbon rings with different sizes. The remarkable size dependence of the optical properties of these systems and their underlying nature are profoundly explored, and the relevance between aromaticity and optical properties are highlighted. The extrapolation curves fitted for energy level of frontier molecular orbitals, maximum absorption wavelength, and (hyper)polarizability of considered carbon rings are presented, which can be used to reliably predict corresponding properties for arbitrarily large carbon rings. The findings in this study will facilitate the exploration of potential application of cyclocarbons in the field of optical materials.     

Dynamic polarizability of two‐electron ions under Debye screening

The effect of plasma screening on the dynamic dipole polarizability (DPP) of two‐electron ions Be²⁺, B³⁺, and C⁴⁺ has been investigated using highly correlated exponential wave functions within the framework of pseudostate summation technique and Debye screening concept. Plasma‐screening effect on the oscillator strengths (OS) of the ultraviolet and visible series has also been investigated for the systems Li⁺, Be²⁺, B³⁺, C⁴⁺. The DPP are reported as functions of screening parameters. The OS for S‐P transitions are also reported for various screening parameters. The OS and dynamic polarizability show interesting behavior with increasing screening strength and nuclear charge. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Intramolecular enantiomerism as revealed from Raman optical activity spectrum

An algorithm is employed to retrieve the differential bond polarizabilities (DBP) of the C‐C bonds from the Raman optical activity spectrum of (‐)β‐pinene. (‐)β‐pinene possesses two stereo centers (chiral centers) and a local mirror reflection that interchanges the S type part and R type part in one molecular. It is demonstrated that this local mirror reflection could induce an approximate (or symmetry breaking) mirror reflection that reverses the signs of the DBP of the pair bond coordinates that are related to each other by the mirror reflection.This can be called intramolecular enantiomerism (IE). More cases of IE are discussed by the analysis of (‐)α‐pinene, (R)‐(+)‐4‐isopropyl‐1‐methylcyclohexene and (R)‐(+)‐3‐methylcyclohexanone together with previously studied limonene case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical determination of the differential polarizability and anisotropy of alkaline earth oxide nanoclusters (BeO)n [n = 2–9]: The basis set and electron correlation effects

As an important lineage of metal oxides, alkaline earth oxides have attracted significant interest due to their unique properties and potential applications in material science and industry. In this article, we present the first ab initio (HF, MP2, and CCSD(T)) and density functional theory (TPSSh functional) investigation on the optical properties such as polarizabilities per atom (PPA), differential polarizability per unit (DPPU), and anisotropies of (BeO)_n [n = 2–9] nanoclusters as an illustrative example of alkaline earth oxides nanostructures. Basis set augmentation effects on the studied properties of BeO nanoclusters have been explored by using basis sets of triple‐zeta quality starting from 6‐311G with increasing completeness of the diffuse and polarization functions to the 6‐311+G(3df) basis. Checking carefully the basis set effects, it is shown that the 6‐311+G(3d) basis set provides the best compromise between the accuracy and computational cost. We found a decreasing trend for PPA values of BeO nanoclusters using all considered methods, indicating the strong electron delocalization with increasing cluster size. Moreover, in accordance with the energetic analysis of stability of BeO nanoclusters, the values of PPA show that the (BeO)₄ and (BeO)₆ clusters are the most stable magic numbers compared to the neighbors, satisfying the minimum polarizability principle. The computed values of DPPU demonstrate a strong binding effect in BeO nanoclusters. Taking into account the electron correlation correction (ECC), it is observed that the variations of ECC on dipole polarizabilities are almost smooth for clusters under study. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Accurate Modelling of Group Electrostatic Potential and Distributed Polarizability in Dipeptides

Within the scope of accurate structure-property correlations in biomolecules, this work investigates how conformations and electronic configurations of biologically relevant macromolecules affect their intermolecular potentials. With the purpose of testing the suitability of a simple and universal model, the dipeptides are made from the assembly of their building blocks, namely the amino acid residuals or, more finely tuned, the individual functional groups. The model makes use of functional-group electrostatic potentials (GEP) and distributed polarizabilities (GDP), which enable an in depth analysis of the correlation between structural features and property build-up. GEPs and GDPs are calculated for various conformers and protonation states of L-alanyl-L-alanine, glycyl-L-alanine, L-alanylglycine, and glycylglycine, which are prototypic molecules to model the pertinent functional groups. The model provides GEPs that reproduce the exact potential to an average accuracy of ca. 0.05 au. The good agreement between the properties estimated with the simple model and those calculated with state-of-the-art quantum chemical methods encourages further testing of the predictive power of this model, simulating for example interaction energies and optoelectronic properties.     

Correlation between optical constants and crystal chemical parameters of ZrW2O8

The refractive indices of ZrW₂O₈, measured at wavelengths of 435.8-643.8 nm, were used to calculate n_D at λ=589.3 nm and n_∞ at λ=∞ from a one-term Sellmeier equation. Refractive indices, n_D and dispersion values, A, are, respectively, 1.8794 and 114×10⁻¹⁶ m². The high dispersion, relative to other molybdates, tungstates and Zr-containing compounds, is attributed to the low value of E_o=7.7 eV and mean cation coordination number. Total electronic polarizabilities, α_total, were calculated from n_∞ and the Lorenz-Lorentz equation. The unusually large difference between the observed polarizability of 20.087 Å³ and the calculated total polarizability α_T of 17.59 Å³ (Δ=+12.4%) is attributed to (1) a large M-O-W angle, (2) a high degree of W 5d-O_(terminal) 2p and Zr nd-O 2p hybridization, and (3) unusually high oxygen displacement factors, B(O), normalized to B(W).     

Catalyst electronic polarizability and enantiomeric excess in asymmetric hydrogenation

In the classical rhodium-diphosphine complexes-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of enamide substrates, examination on the role of catalyst electronic polarizability in the origin of enantioselectivity reveals its linear free energy relationship with the product enantiomeric ratio that is much more pronounced than analogous correlation with steric effect in the same systems. From a conceptually novel scenario, this work suggests that the often-overlooked chiral catalyst local polarizability property may function as a controlling force in enantioselection thus has important implication in rational catalyst design.