Ordering and Clathrate Hydrate Formation in Co‐deposits of Xenon and Water at Low Temperatures

Local ordering in co‐deposits of water and xenon atoms produced at low temperatures can be followed uniquely by ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy. In water‐rich samples deposited at 10 K and observed at 77 K, xenon NMR results show that there is a wide distribution of arrangements of water molecules around xenon atoms. This starts to order into the definite coordination for the structure I, large and small cages, when samples are annealed at ～140 K, although the process is not complete until a temperature of 180 K is reached, as shown by powder Xray diffraction. There is evidence that Xe ? 20 H₂O clusters are prominent in the early stages of crystallization. In xenon‐rich deposits at 77 K there is evidence of xenon atoms trapped in Xe ? 20 H₂O clusters, which are similar to the small hydration shells or cages observed in hydrate structures, but not in the larger water clusters consisting of 24 or 28 water molecules. These observations are in agreement with results obtained on the formation of Xe hydrate on the surface of ice surfaces by using hyperpolarized Xe NMR spectroscopy. The results indicate that for the various different modes of hydrate formation, both from Xe reacting with amorphous water and with crystalline ice surfaces, versions of the small cage are important structures in the early stages of crystallization.     

Density functional theory of the collective electronic excitations in NanKn clusters

The collective electronic response of Na_nK_n clusters has been studied for some model structures. In their low-temperature lowest-energy structure, those clusters have all the K atoms on the surface. The collective oscillation frequencies for clusters with the K atoms segregated to the surface are red-shifted with respect to the corresponding frequencies for isomers with a very similar underlying skeleton but with the Na atoms segregated to the surface. The collective frequency varies smoothly with respect to the degree of relative segregation. These results may be useful in the analysis of the collective response of large alloy clusters and microcrystals. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Visualization of vortex movements in a molecular dynamics model of liquid argon

A method was proposed to visualize collective displacements of particles in diffusion motion in liquids. Using this method, in molecular dynamics models of liquid argon, groups of collectively moving atoms were detected, which had the shape of long curved flows, often appearing as vortex-like structures. These structures are revealed only by considering movements of atoms over long time intervals, on the order of tens and hundreds of picoseconds, and over long distances, on the order of tens of nanometers.     

Non-lithographic formation of three dimensional periodic nanostructures by germanium nanowire etching

The intrinsic reactivity of curved nanoscale germanium surfaces, under carefully controlled anodic etch conditions, is exploited to produce intricate three-dimensional helical patterns. Such structures, retaining crystalline Ge character and yielding strong visible emission, demonstrate a feature spacing of a periodic nature that correlates with their measured width.     

Periodic tables of diatomic and triatomic molecules

The Mendeleev periodic table of atoms is one of the most important principles in natural science. However, there is shortage of analog for molecules. Here we propose two periodic tables, one for diatomic molecules and one for triatomic molecules. The form of the molecular periodic tables is analogous to that of Mendeleev periodic table of atoms. In the table, molecules are classified and arranged by their group number G, which is the number of valence electrons, and the periodic number P, which represents the size of the molecules. The basic molecular properties, including bond length, binding energy, force constant, ionization potential, spin multiplicity, chemical reactivity, and bond angle, change periodically within the tables. The periodicities of diatomic and triatomic molecules are thus revealed. We also demonstrate that the periodicity originates from the shell-like electronic configurations of the molecules. The periodic tables not only contain free molecules, but also the "virtual" molecules present in polyatomic molecules. The periodic tables can be used to classify molecules, to predict unknown molecular properties, to understand the role of virtual molecules in polyatomic molecules, and to initiate new research fields, such as the periodicities of aromatic species, clusters, or nanoparticles. The tables should be of interest not only to scientists in a variety of disciplines, but also to undergraduates studying natural sciences.     

二原子分子和三原子分子的周期表

门捷列夫元素周期表是自然科学中最重要的原则之一．然而,对于分子而言,却缺乏类似的表格．本文提出两个分别对应于二原子分子和三原子分子的周期表．这些分子周期表的格式和门捷列夫原子周期表相似．在这些表格中,分子依照它们各自的族数G和周期数P分类排列,G是价电子的数目而P则表示分子的尺寸．分子的基本性质,包括键长、结合能、力常数、电离势、自旋多重度、化学反应活性以及键角等等,都随着表中的G和P作周期性的变化．二原子分子和三原子分子的周期性因而被揭示开来．本文还进一步指出这种周期性是源出于分子的壳状电子构型．周期表中不仅包含了游离的分子,还包含了多原子分子中的“赝”分子．这些周期表可用来从本质上分类分子,广泛地预言分子的未知性质,了解在多原子分子中赝分子的作用,以及开拓新的研究领域,如芳香族、团簇或纳米微粒的周期性等．因此这些表格不仅能够引起多学科领域中科学工作者的关注,而且还能引起理科学生们的兴趣．     

Nanoporous carbon allotropes by septupling map operations

Spongy carbon nanostructures, also called schwarzites, have been synthesized. They consist of highly connected covalent networks, periodic in the three dimensions of Euclidean space. The intimate structure of schwarzites has a topology of triply periodic minimal surfaces. They can be tessellated by some geometric operations on maps, including the newly proposed septupling operations. Formulas for calculating the lattice parameters of iteratively transformed maps are presented. Examples are given for both finite/closed cages and infinite/open all-sp2 carbon structures. Strain energy calculations for structures, consisting of thousands of atoms, show that such carbon allotropes are very relaxed and approach to the non-strained graphite sheet.     

Optical properties of passivated silicon nanoclusters: the role of synthesis

The effect of preparation conditions on the structural and optical properties of silicon nanoparticles is investigated. Nanoscale reconstructions, unique to curved nanosurfaces, are presented for silicon nanocrystals and shown to have lower energy and larger optical gaps than bulk-derived structures. We find that high-temperature synthesis processes can produce metastable noncrystalline nanostructures with different core structures than bulk-derived crystalline clusters. The type of core structure that forms from a given synthesis process may depend on the passivation mechanism and time scale. The effect of oxygen on the optical of different types of silicon structures is calculated. In contrast to the behavior of bulklike nanostructures, for noncrystalline and reconstructed crystalline structures surface oxygen atoms do not decrease the gap. In some cases, the presence of oxygen atoms at the nanocluster surface can significantly increase the optical absorption gap, due to decreased angular distortion of the silicon bonds. The relationship between strain and the optical gap in silicon nanoclusters is discussed.     

Description of metallic and covalent clusters with icosahedral symmetry: the polytope model

Compact and tetravalent clusters with icosahedral local or global symmetries are generated by mapping from ideal structures in curved space onto a tangent euclidean 3D space. The observed elastic energy of the clusters can thus be interpreted as an intrinsic curvature associated to a frustrated local order. It is then proposed a kind of classification of the very rich family of possible clusters using a limited set of parameters.     

Negatively curved graphite and triply periodic minimal surfaces

The Weierstrass representation has been used to construct negatively curved graphite in which atoms rest no a perfect triply periodic minimal surface. By applying the Bonnet transformation on a patch of the D surface decorated with graphite we have been able to construct the Gyroid and P minimal surfaces. Curvatures, densities and lattice parameters have been calculated. It has been found that the maximum Gaussian curvature for our negatively curved structures is less in magnitude than the Gaussian curvature ofC ₆₀. In addition, a new periodic graphitic set with the same topology as the I-WP minimal surface has been obtained by introducing pentagonal and octagonal rings.     

Universal transition state scaling relations for (de)hydrogenation over transition metals

We analyse the transition state energies for 249 hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions of atoms and simple molecules over close-packed and stepped surfaces and nanoparticles of transition metals using Density Functional Theory. Linear energy scaling relations are observed for the transition state structures leading to transition state scaling relations for all the investigated reactions. With a suitable choice of reference systems the transition state scaling relations form a universality class that can be approximated with one single linear relation describing the entire range of reactions over all types of surfaces and nanoclusters.     

What is a chemical substance and how is it formed?

The objects of nature are structurally generalized, especially the objects undergoing the stage of formation from atoms to macrosized species. No exceptions from a large number of the examined structures of inorganic and organic compounds, algae, plants, viruses, and other objects have been found out. For the majority of substances, the build-up starts from fundamental configurations, then clusters are formed, whereby the structure is assembled. The hierarchical construction is the basic principle irrespective of whether the whole structure is periodic or aperiodic. The spatial domain, in which the substance is formed, is tens to hundreds of nanometers in size, the type of the space geometry being inessential because in the small all the geometries are equivalent.     

Comparison between selenium and tellurium clusters

Selenium and tellurium clusters are produced by the inert gas condensation technique. The mass spectra of both species are completely different and reveal different properties. In selenium, a periodicity of 6–7 is observed and may be interpreted by the binding energy between small cyclic molecules. Moreover, it was very difficult to obtained large clusters probably because the binding energy between these molecules is very small. In tellurium, these periodic structures do not exist and large clusters are easily obtained in nucleation conditions where only small selenium clusters are present. These results are discussed and a simple nucleation model is used to illustrate this different behavior. Finally these clusters properties are correlated to the bulk structure of both materials.     

Crystal of semiconducting quantum dots built on covalently bonded t5 [in(28)cd(6)s(54)](-12): the largest supertetrahedral cluster in solid state

Periodic array of nanoparticles is essential for practical applications in optical devices. Periodic dot arrays often exhibit very interesting collective phenomenon. We report a periodic crystal of InCdS pseudo-T5 nanocluster, the largest supertetrahedral cluster found thus far in solid state. Each InCdS cluster behaves like a nanoparticle with the same size. Unlike the array of colloidal dots in which the dot-dot separation is large ( approximately 5 nm), the neighboring T5 clusters in [In28Cd6S54].[(CH3)4N]12[(HSCH2COOH)2]3.5 crystal form a natural point contact by sharing covalently bonded S atoms. Both experimental and theoretical studies show that this crystal is a semiconductor with a band gap of 3.0 eV.     

Crystal growth simulations of methane hydrates in the presence of silica surfaces

We present a molecular dynamics simulation study of the crystal growth of methane hydrates in the presence of model silica (SiO(2)) surfaces. The crystal growth under apparent steady-state conditions shows a clear preference for bulk solution. We observe rather disordered water arrangements very close to the silica surface within about 5 ? in both liquid and crystalline regions of the system. These disordered structures have dynamic and structural properties intermediate between those exhibited by molecules in bulk liquid and crystalline phases. The presence of methane molecules appears to help stabilize these structures. We observe that under appropriate conditions, the hydroxylated silica surfaces can serve as a source of methane molecules which can help promote hydrate growth near the surfaces.     

Liquid crystal engineering--new complex mesophase structures and their relations to polymer morphologies, nanoscale patterning and crystal engineering

This critical review focuses on recent progress in the field of T-shaped ternary amphiphiles. These molecules can self-assemble into a series of new liquid crystalline (LC) phases with polygonal cylinder structures, new lamellar phases and LC phases combining columns and layers. These structures are analyzed on the basis of symmetry, net topology and tiling pattern (Laves and Archimedean tilings) and discussed in relation to morphologies of multiblock copolymers, self organized DNA super-lattices, metal-organic frameworks, crystal-engineering and self-assembled periodic superstructures on surfaces (210 references).     

Molekulare Wortspiele: Anagramme,Metagramme, Palindrome

Words and molecules are comparable. Words are a string of letters just as molecules are linked atoms. Isomers can be considered as molecular anagrams. Isosteres correspond to verbal metagrams. The linkage of identic syllables in a word is comparable with the linkage of same atomic groups in a molecule. Numerous natural substances and active compounds (drugs) correspond in their structure to a palindrom, which results in the same sense read from left to the right as in reverse.     

Exploring the free energy surfaces of clusters using reconnaissance metadynamics

A new approach is proposed for exploring the low-energy structures of small to medium-sized aggregates of atoms and molecules. This approach uses the recently proposed reconnaissance metadynamics method [G. A. Tribello, M. Ceriotti, and M. Parrinello. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107(41), 17509 (2010)] in tandem with collective variables that describe the average structure of the coordination sphere around the atoms/molecules. We demonstrate this method on both Lennard-Jones and water clusters and show how it is able to quickly find the global minimum in the potential energy surface, while exploring the finite temperature free energy surface.     

Metalloid aluminum and gallium clusters: element modifications on the molecular scale?

As members of the same group in the periodic table, the industrially significant elements aluminum and gallium exhibit strong similarities in the majority of their compounds. In contrast there are significant differences in the structures of the two elemental forms: Aluminum forms a typical closest-packed metallic structure whereas gallium demonstrates a diversity of molecular bonding principles in its seven structural modifications. It can therefore be expected that differences between Al and Ga compounds will arise when, as for the elemental forms, many metal-metal bonds are formed. To synthesize such cluster compounds, we have developed the following synthesis procedure: Starting from gaseous monohalides at around 1000 degrees C, metastable solutions are generated from which the elements ultimately precipitate by means of a disproportionation reaction at room temperature. On the way to the elemental forms, molecular Al and Ga cluster compounds can be obtained by selection of suitable ligands (protecting groups), in which a core of Al or Ga atoms are protected from the formation of the solid element by a ligand shell. Since the arrangement of atoms in such clusters corresponds to that in the elements, we have designated these clusters as metalloid or elementoid. In accordance with the Greek word [see text] (ideal, prototype), the atomic arrangement in metalloid clusters represents the prototypic or ideal atomic arrangement in the elements at the molecular level. The largest clusters of this type contain 77 Al or 84 Ga atoms and have diameters of up to two nanometers. They hold the world record with respect to the naked metal-atom core for structurally characterized metalloid clusters.