碳纳米管与咪唑类离子液体相互作用机制的理论研究

离子液体(IL)与碳纳米管(CNT)形成的复合体系在许多重要领域有潜在的应用价值,然而人们对于其微观结构的理解尚不清晰,对IL与CNT相互作用机理的认识还存有争议.本文以(8,0)CNT与1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑六氟化磷IL为例研究了CNT与IL的相互作用,分别探讨了1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑阳离子([BMIM+])、六氟化...     

Highly selective adsorption of methanol in carbon nanotubes immersed in methanol-water solution

The systems of open-ended carbon nanotubes (CNTs) immersed in methanol-water solution are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. For the (6,6) CNT, nearly pure methanol is found to preferentially occupy interior space of the CNT. Even when the mass fraction (MF) of methanol in bulk solution is as low as 1%, the methanol MF within the CNT is still more than 90%. For CNTs with larger diameters, the methanol concentrations within CNTs are also much higher than those outside CNTs. The methanol selectivity decreases with increasing CNT diameter, but not monotonically. From microscopic structural analyses, we find that the primary reason for the high selectivity of methanol by CNTs lies on high preference of methanol in the first solvation shell near the inner wall of CNT, which stems from a synergy effect of the van der Waals interaction between CNT and the methyl groups of methanol, together with the hydrogen bonding interaction among the liquid molecules. This synergy effect may be of general significance and extended to other systems, such as ethanol aqueous solution and methanol/ethanol mixture. The selective adsorption of methanol over water in CNTs may find applications in separation of water and methanol, detection of methanol, and preservation of methanol purity in fuel cells.     

水溶液中碳纳米管的表面增强拉曼光谱研究

合成了碳纳米管和金纳米颗粒的复合物, 测量了水溶液相中复合物的表面增强拉曼光谱, 结果表明, 碳纳米管的巯基化修饰可以提高碳纳米管与金纳米颗粒复合的效率, 随着金纳米颗粒负载量的增加, 碳纳米管的拉曼信号逐渐增强. 加入己二胺分子可以减小金纳米颗粒之间的距离使表面增强效应更显著, 碳纳米管的拉曼光谱得到进一步的增强. 还可进一步在复合体系中加入对巯基苯胺和罗丹明B等小分子拉曼探针, 利用金纳米颗粒的表面增强效应, 这种多元复合体系有望作为多通道拉曼成像探针材料.     

Water chain encapsulated in carbon nanotube revealed by density functional theory

The noncovalent interactions between encapsulated water chains and single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) are studied using a self‐consistent charge density functional tight binding method with dispersion correction. The most interesting and important feature we observe is the diameter shrinking of CNTs when water chains are confined inside SWCNT. The diameter shrinking of CNTs can be suggested to the original of the van der Waals and H‐π interaction between water chains and CNTs. The calculated Raman spectra show the interactions between SWCNTs and water chains probably give rise to a kind of “mode hardening effect,” which agrees with the diameter shrinking of CNTs when water chains are confined inside SWCNT. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011.     

Noncovalent modification of carbon nanotubes by conjugated polymer: A theoretical study

The energetic and optical properties of (n, n) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for n = 3–11 noncovalently modified with poly(phenylenethynylene) (PPE) were studied using a density‐functional tight‐binding method. The binding energies between the PPE and (n, n) CNTs were found increasing with the diameter increase for n ≤ 9 and then decreasing due to steric hindrance effect. It was verified that the binding is due to π–π interaction and van der Waals attraction, with very small charge transfers involved. Significant blue shifts in the absorption and fluorescent spectra of the PPE upon interacting with the CNTs were revealed in the calculation, which are responsible to the optical “quenching” observed in experiment. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Temperature phase transition model for the DNA-CNTs-based nanotweezers

DNA and Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique physical, mechanical and electronic properties that make them revolutionary materials for advances in technology. In state-of-the-art applications, these physical properties can be exploited to design a type of bio-nanorobot. In this paper, we present the behavior of DNA-based nanotweezers and show the capabilities of controlling this robotic device. The theoretical calculations are based on the Peyrard-Bishop model for DNA dynamics. Furthermore, the influence of the van der Waals force between two CNTs on the opening and closing of nanotweezers is studied in comparison with the stretching forces of DNA.     

Structure and Vibrational Spectra of 1:1 Chloranilic Acid (CLA)—Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) Complex

In searching for new molecular materials the crystals of 1:1 complexes of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) with chloranilic acid (CLA) were grown. In the crystalline lattice of TMP.CLA infinite chains of hydrogen bonded components are formed. Very strong (d_(O·sN) = 2.692(2) {?}) hydrogen bonds without proton transfer are present. The components of the complex form stacks of parallel arrangement with the distance typical of van der Waals interaction. One can conclude that in packing, interactions via hydrogen bonds play a decisive role. In the IR spectrum one observes a broad, continuous absorption with well resolved trio typical of strong hydrogen bonds. A detailed analysis of IR and Raman spectra in the low frequency region related to deformation vibrations of CH₃ groups shows that strong interaction via hydrogen bonding only slightly affects the dynamics of these groups.     

Nonmonotoic fluctuation-induced interactions between dielectric slabs carrying charge disorder

We investigate the effect of monopolar charge disorder on the classical fluctuation-induced interactions between randomly charged net-neutral dielectric slabs and discuss various generalizations of recent results [A. Naji et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 060601 (2010)] to highly inhomogeneous dielectric systems with and without statistical disorder correlations. We shall focus on the specific case of two generally dissimilar plane-parallel slabs, which interact across vacuum or an arbitrary intervening dielectric medium. Monopolar charge disorder is considered to be present on the bounding surfaces and/or in the bulk of the slabs, may be in general quenched or annealed and may possess a finite lateral correlation length reflecting possible "patchiness" of the random charge distribution. In the case of quenched disorder, the bulk disorder is shown to give rise to an additive long-range contribution to the total force, which decays as the inverse distance between the slabs and may be attractive or repulsive depending on the dielectric constants of the slabs. By contrast, the force induced by annealed disorder in general combines with the underlying van der Waals forces in a nonadditive fashion, and the net force decays as an inverse cube law at large separations. We show, however, that in the case of two dissimilar slabs, the net effect due to the interplay between the disorder-induced and the pure van der Waals interactions can lead to a variety of unusual nonmonotonic interaction profiles between the dielectric slabs. In particular, when the intervening medium has a larger dielectric constant than the two slabs, we find that the net interaction can become repulsive and exhibit a potential barrier, while the underlying van der Waals force is attractive. On the contrary, when the intervening medium has a dielectric constant between that of the two slabs, the net interaction can become attractive and exhibit a free energy minimum, while the pure van der Waals force is repulsive. Therefore, the charge disorder, if present, can drastically alter the effective interaction between net-neutral objects.     

Diamagnetic susceptibilities in some linear van der waals complexes using the promolecule model

The second moments and diamagnetic susceptibilities of some linear van der Waals compounds may be calculated by the simple promolecule model utilizing an atomic monopole approximation for the electronic charge distribution. The results are in good agreement with experimental data. The estimated values for a large number of van der Waals systems can aid in interpreting measured Zeeman effects in rotational spectra.     

ZnNe低激发态的量子化学研究

用相对论赝势ＣＡＳＳＣＦ／ＣＩ方法,对ＺｎＮｅ的基态和低激发态进行了计算,得出了它们的电子结构,势能曲线及光谱常数。计算结果表明,ＺｎＮｅ的基态分子是范德华分子,它的几个低激发态分子中的主要作用力为范德华力,这些态的分子仍为范德华分子。     

Density, distribution, and orientation of water molecules inside and outside carbon nanotubes

The behavior of water molecules inside and outside 1.1, 2.8, 6.9, and 10.4 nm diameter armchair carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is predicted using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of CNT diameter on mass density, molecular distribution, and molecular orientation are identified for both the confined and unconfined fluids. Within 1 nm of the CNT surface, unconfined water molecules assume a spatially varying density profile. The molecules distribute nonuniformly around the carbon surface and have preferred orientations. The behavior of the unconfined water molecules is invariant with CNT diameter. The behavior of the confined water, however, can be correlated to tube diameter. Inside the 10.4 nm CNT, the molecular behavior is indistinguishable from that of the unconfined fluid. Within the smaller CNTs, surface curvature effects reduce the equilibrium water density and force water molecules away from the surface. This effect changes both the molecular distribution and preferred molecular orientations.     

Structural and electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes adsorbed with 1-pyrenebutanoic acid, succinimidyl ester

The adsorption of a 1-pyrenebutanoic acid, succinimidyl ester (PSE) interacting with metallic armchair (n, n) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (n= 3-13) was investigated by using a density-functional tight-binding method with an empirical van der Waals force correction. In this study of large systems involving weak interactions, our calculations showed that the pyrene ring of PSE could be spontaneously absorbed onto the CNTs surface through π-π stacking at the physisorption distances. Increasing of the CNTs diameter leads to a higher adsorption energy. After adsorption of PSE on its sidewall, the geometric and electronic structures of CNTs are basically undamaged. CNTs contribute to the main peak of the electron excitation procedure in the UV/vis spectrum, with a slight red shift after adsorption of PSE.     

Computational Studies on Non‐covalent Interactions of Carbon and Boron Fullerenes with Graphene

First‐principles DFT calculations are carried out to study the changes in structures and electronic properties of two‐dimensional single‐layer graphene in the presence of non‐covalent interactions induced by carbon and boron fullerenes (C₆₀, C₇₀, C₈₀ and B₈₀). Our study shows that larger carbon fullerene interacts more strongly than the smaller fullerene, and boron fullerene interacts more strongly than that of its carbon analogue with the same nuclearity. We find that van der Waals interactions play a major role in governing non‐covalent interactions between the adsorbed fullerenes and graphene. Moreover, a greater extent of van der Waals interactions found for the larger fullerenes, C₈₀ and B₈₀, relative to smaller C₆₀, and consequently, results in higher stabilisation. We find a small amount of electron transfer from graphene to fullerene, which gives rise to a hole‐doped material. We also find changes in the graphene electronic band structures in the presence of these surface‐decorated fullerenes. The Dirac cone picture, such as that found in pristine graphene, is significantly modified due to the re‐hybridisation of graphene carbon orbitals with fullerenes orbitals near the Fermi energy. However, all of the composites exhibit perfect conducting behaviour. The simulated absorption spectra for all of the graphene–fullerene hybrids do not exhibit a significant change in the absorption peak positions with respect to the pristine graphene absorption spectrum. Additionally, we find that the hole‐transfer integral between graphene and C₆₀ is larger than the electron‐transfer integrals and the extent of these transfer integrals can be significantly tuned by graphene edge functionalisation with carboxylic acid groups. Our understanding of the non‐covalent functionalisation of graphene with various fullerenes would promote experimentalists to explore these systems, for their possible applications in electronic and opto‐electronic devices.     

Flow structure of water in carbon nanotubes: poiseuille type or plug-like?

We have conducted molecular dynamics simulations of water flow in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for (6,6) to (20,20) CNTs at a streaming velocity of 100 ms. The fluidized piston model (FPM) and the ice piston model (IPM) are employed to drive flow through the CNTs. The results show that the single-file water flow inside (6,6) CNT has a convex upward streaming velocity profile, whereas the velocity profiles in (10,10) to (20,20) CNTs are flat except near the tube wall. The flow structure of cylindrical water in the (8,8) CNT is intermediate between that for the (6,6) CNT and the larger CNTs. The flow parameters are found not to exhibit any dependence on streaming velocity at up to 300 ms in the (12,12) CNT. The hydrogen bond lifetimes of water flowing in CNTs tend to be longer than for the corresponding equilibrium states, and nonzero flow does not reduce the microscopic structure or structural robustness (hydrogen bond lifetime). Although the atomic density profile varies with tube diameter, reflecting the change in static microscopic structure of flow from single file to cylindrical, tube diameter does not induce a clear transition in streaming velocity, temperature, or hydrogen bond lifetime over this diameter range. The results suggest that water flow in CNTs of this size is more pluglike than Poiseuille type, although the flow structure does not strictly accord with either definition.     

A Review Featuring Fabrication,Properties and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) Reinforced Polymer and Epoxy Nanocomposites

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have long been recognized as the stiffest and strongest man-made material known to date.In addition,their high electrical conductivity has roused interest in the areas of electrical appliances and communication related applications.However,due to their miniature size,the excellent properties of these nanostructures can only be exploited if they are homogeneously embedded into light-weight matrices as those offered by a whole series of engineering polymers.In order to enhance their chemical affinity to engineering polymer matrices,chemical modification of the graphitic sidewalls and tips is necessary.The mechanical and electrical properties to date of a whole range of nanocomposites of various carbon nanotube contents are also reviewed in this attempt to facilitate progress in this emerging area.Recently,carbonaceous nano-fillers such as graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) play a promising role due to their better structural and functional properties and broad range of applications in every field.Since CNTs usually form stabilized bundles due to van der Waals interactions,they are extremely difficult to disperse and align in a polymer matrix.The biggest issues in the preparation of CNTs reinforced composites reside in efficient dispersion of CNTs into a polymer matrix,the assessment of the dispersion,and the alignment and control of the CNTs in the matrix.An overview of various CNT functionalization methods is given.In particular,CNT functionalization using click chemistry and the preparation of CNT composites employing hyperbranched polymers are stressed as potential techniques to achieve good CNT dispersion.In addition,discussions on mechanical,thermal,electrical,electrochemical and applications ofpolymer/CNT composites are also included.     

Tuning of redox properties of iron and iron oxides via encapsulation within carbon nanotubes

We report the tuning of the redox properties of iron and iron oxide nanoparticles by encapsulation within carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with varying inner diameters. Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate the interaction of the encapsulated nanoparticles with the CNTs. A red shift of the Fe-O mode is observed in the nanoparticles deposited on the outer CNT surfaces with respect to bulk Fe2O3. However, this mode is found to be stepwise blue-shifted with decreasing inner diameter in the CNT-encapsulated Fe2O3 nanoparticles, suggesting an enhanced interaction of Fe2O3 with the inner CNT surface as its curvature increases. The autoreduction of the encapsulated Fe2O3 is significantly facilitated inside CNTs with respect to the outside nanoparticles. Interestingly, it becomes more facile with decreasing CNT channel diameter as evidenced by temperature programmed reaction, in situ XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The oxidation of encapsulated metallic Fe nanoparticles on the other hand is retarded in comparison to that of the outside Fe particles as shown by in situ XRD and gravimetrical measurements with an online microbalance. We attribute this tunable redox behavior of transition metal nanoparticles inside CNTs to a particular electronic interaction of the encapsulates with the interior CNT surface, which stabilizes the metallic state of Fe.     

Specific and nonspecific interaction forces between Escherichia coli and silicon nitride, determined by poisson statistical analysis

The nature of the physical interactions between Escherichia coli JM109 and a model surface (silicon nitride) was investigated in water via atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM force measurements on bacteria can represent the combined effects of van der Waals and electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding, steric interactions, and perhaps ligand-receptor type bonds. It can be difficult to decouple these forces into their individual components since both specific (chemical or short-range forces such as hydrogen bonding) and nonspecific (long-range colloidal) forces may be present in the overall profiles. An analysis is presented based on the application of Poisson statistics to AFM adhesion data, to decouple the specific and nonspecific interactions. Comparisons with classical DLVO theory and a modified form of a van der Waals expression for rough surfaces were made in order to help explain the nature of the interactions. The only specific forces in the system were due to hydrogen bonding, which from the Poisson analysis were found to be -0.125 nN. The nonspecific forces of 0.155 nN represent an overall repulsive interaction. These nonspecific forces are comparable to the forces calculated from DLVO theory, in which electrostatic-double layer interactions are added to van der Waals attractions calculated at the distance of closest approach, as long as the van der Waals model for "rough" spherical surfaces is used. Calculated electrostatic-double layer and van der Waals interactions summed to 0.116 nN. In contrast, if the classic (i.e., smooth) sphere-sphere model was used to predict the van der Waals forces, the sum of electrostatic and van der Waals forces was -7.11 nN, which appears to be a large overprediction. The Poisson statistical analysis of adhesion forces may be very useful in applications of bacterial adhesion, because it represents an easy way to determine the magnitude of hydrogen bonding in a given system and it allows the fundamental forces to be easily broken into their components.     

两种组氨酸酰胺衍生物的合成及其与人血清白蛋白的结合

L-组氨酸对生物有机体有着良好的亲和能力,通过修饰其化学结构以期寻找药理活性和生物利用度高的衍生物。本文将L-组氨酸分别与反式肉桂酸和对甲氧基肉桂酸反应,合成了两种组氨酸酰胺类衍生物,利用傅里叶变换红外光谱、质谱、氢谱/碳谱核磁共振谱进行了结构表征。采用分子操作环境(MOE)软件分子对接技术、荧光光谱法、同步荧光光谱法(SFS)、紫外-可见光谱法(UV-Vis),共同研究了两种衍生物分别和人血清白蛋白(HSA)相结合的机理。MOE对接结果显示,这两种衍生物与HSA的模拟结合能分别为-13.82和-16.25 kcal/mol,主要是通过范德华力和疏水作用结合在HSA亚结构域ⅡA(即siteⅠ)的疏水腔内。荧光猝灭数据表明,衍生物与HSA相互作用并形成了新的基态配合物,荧光猝灭过程为静态猝灭;不同温度(300、305和310 K)下衍生物与HSA相互作用的结合常数分别为1.773×104、6.354×10~3、1.260×10~3和5.314×10~4、4.614×10~3、1.420×10~3;由热力学参数得到衍生物与HSA的结合过程是由范德华力驱动;SFS表明,衍生物使得HSA的二级结构发生了变化。结合UV-Vis的结果可以确定,在体外生理条件下,组氨酸酰胺类衍生物均可以通过范德华力与HSA结合,并对HSA内源荧光产生静态猝灭及构象影响,这与分子对接结果一致,从而为组氨酸酰胺类衍生物药物的进一步开发提供了参考。     

Amino acid analogues bind to carbon nanotube via π-π interactions: comparison of molecular mechanical and quantum mechanical calculations

Understanding the interaction between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and biomolecules is essential to the CNT-based nanotechnology and biotechnology. Some recent experiments have suggested that the π-π stacking interactions between protein's aromatic residues and CNTs might play a key role in their binding, which raises interest in large scale modeling of protein-CNT complexes and associated π-π interactions at atomic detail. However, there is concern on the accuracy of classical fixed-charge molecular force fields due to their classical treatments and lack of polarizability. Here, we study the binding of three aromatic residue analogues (mimicking phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan) and benzene to a single-walled CNT, and compare the molecular mechanical (MM) calculations using three popular fixed-charge force fields (OPLSAA, AMBER, and CHARMM), with quantum mechanical (QM) calculations using the density-functional tight-binding method with the inclusion of dispersion correction (DFTB-D). Two typical configurations commonly found in π-π interactions are used, one with the aromatic rings parallel to the CNT surface (flat), and the other perpendicular (edge). Our calculations reveal that compared to the QM results the MM approaches can appropriately reproduce the strength of π-π interactions for both configurations, and more importantly, the energy difference between them, indicating that the various contributions to π-π interactions have been implicitly included in the van der Waals parameters of the standard MM force fields. Meanwhile, these MM models are less accurate in predicting the exact structural binding patterns (matching surface), meaning there are still rooms to be improved. In addition, we have provided a comprehensive and reliable QM picture for the π-π interactions of aromatic molecules with CNTs in gas phase, which might be used as a benchmark for future force field developments.