Periodic density functional theory study of methane activation over La(2)O(3): activity of O(2-), O(-), O(2)(2-), oxygen point defect,and Sr(2+)-doped surface sites

Results of gradient-corrected periodic density functional theory calculations are reported for hydrogen abstraction from methane at O(s)(2-), O(s)(-), O(2)(s)(2-) point defect, and Sr(2+)-doped surface sites on La(2)O(3)(001). The results show that the anionic O(s)(-) species is the most active surface oxygen site. The overall reaction energy to activate methane at an O(s)(-) site to form a surface hydroxyl group and gas-phase (*)CH(3) radical is 8.2 kcal/mol, with an activation barrier of 10.1 kcal/mol. The binding energy of hydrogen at an site O(s)(-) is -102 kcal/mol. An oxygen site with similar activity can be generated by doping strontium into the oxide by a direct Sr(2+)/La(3+) exchange at the surface. The O(-)-like nature of the surface site is reflected in a calculated hydrogen binding energy of -109.7 kcal/mol. Calculations indicate that surface peroxide (O(2(s))(2-)) sites can be generated by adsorption of O(2) at surface oxygen vacancies, as well as by dissociative adsorption of O(2) across the closed-shell oxide surface of La(2)O(3)(001). The overall reaction energy and apparent activation barrier for the latter pathway are calculated to be only 12.1 and 33.0 kcal/mol, respectively. Irrespective of the route to peroxide formation, the O(2)(s)(2-) intermediate is characterized by a bent orientation with respect to the surface and an O-O bond length of 1.47 A; both attributes are consistent with structural features characteristic of classical peroxides. We found surface peroxide sites to be slightly less favorable for H-abstraction from methane than the O(s)(-) species, with DeltaE(rxn)(CH(4)) = 39.3 kcal/mol, E(act) = 47.3 kcal/mol, and DeltaE(ads)(H) = -71.5 kcal/mol. A possible mechanism for oxidative coupling of methane over La(2)O(3)(001) involving surface peroxides as the active oxygen source is suggested.     

Selective functionalization of the Si(100) surface by a bifunctional alkynylamine molecule: density functional study of the switching adsorption linkage. 2

The reaction of the bifunctional organic molecule 1-(dimethylamino)-2-propyne (DMAP) on the Si(100) surface has been investigated by density functional calculations employing a two-dimer cluster model. We found that, once in the physisorbed dative bonded well (-20.0 kcal mol(-1)), DMAP can proceed via a number of pathways, involving the formation of Si-C sigma bonds, which lead to thermodynamically more stable configurations. We first considered the cycloaddition of the CC triple bond, leading to a Si-C di-sigma bonded product (-58.7 kcal mol(-1)), for which we computed an energy barrier of only 12.5 kcal mol(-1), consistently with the observed switching of DMAP adsorption linkage at 300 K. We also explored the dissociative pathway involving the methylene C-H bond cleavage on the dative bonded DMAP, leading to three adsorption products with one (-57.3 kcal mol(-1)) and three Si-C sigma bonds (-58.7 and -60.6 kcal mol(-1)). The energy barrier for this pathway is computed 24.7 kcal mol(-1) and may therefore compete at temperature above 300 K with the reaction pathway involving the addition of the alkyne unit.     

Hydrogen-atom abstraction from the adenine-uracil base pair

The hydrogen-abstracted radicals from the adenine-uracil (AU) base pair have been studied at the B3LYP/DZP++ level of theory. The A(N9)-U and A-U(N1) radicals, which correspond to hydrogen-atom abstraction at the adenine N9 and uracil N1 atoms, respectively, were predicted to be the two lowest-lying among the nine (AU-H) radicals studied in this study. The removal of the amino hydrogen of the adenine moiety that forms a hydrogen bond with the uracil O4 atom in the AU pair resulted in radical A(N6a)-U, which has the smallest base-pair dissociation energy, 5.9 kcal mol(-1). This radical is more likely to dissociate into the two isolated bases than to recover the hydrogen bond with the O4 atom through N6-H bond rotation along the C6-N6 bond. In general, the radicals generated by C-H bond breaking were higher in energy than those arising from N-H bond cleavage, because the unpaired electrons in the carbon-centered radicals were mainly localized on the carbon atom from which the hydrogen atom was removed. However, the highest-lying radical was found to arise from removal of the N3 hydrogen of uracil. The most remarkable structural feature of this radical is a very short C-H...O distance of 2.094 A, consistent with a substantial hydrogen bond. Although this radical lost the N1...H-N3 hydrogen bond between the two bases, its dissociation energy was predicted to be 12.9 kcal mol(-1), similar to that of the intact AU base pair. This is due to the transfer of electron density from the adenine N1 atom to the uracil N3 atom.     

Theoretical calculation of the dehydrogenation of ethanol on a Rh/CeO2(111) surface

We applied periodic density-functional theory (DFT) to investigate the dehydrogenation of ethanol on a Rh/CeO2 (111) surface. Ethanol is calculated to have the greatest energy of adsorption when the oxygen atom of the molecule is adsorbed onto a Ce atom in the surface, relative to other surface atoms (Rh or O). Before forming a six-membered ring of an oxametallacyclic compound (Rh-CH2CH2O-Ce(a)), two hydrogen atoms from ethanol are first eliminated; the barriers for dissociation of the O-H and the beta-carbon (CH2-H) hydrogens are calculated to be 12.00 and 28.57 kcal/mol, respectively. The dehydrogenated H atom has the greatest adsorption energy (E(ads) = 101.59 kcal/mol) when it is adsorbed onto an oxygen atom of the surface. The dehydrogenation continues with the loss of two hydrogens from the alpha-carbon, forming an intermediate species Rh-CH2CO-Ce(a), for which the successive barriers are 34.26 and 40.84 kcal/mol. Scission of the C-C bond occurs at this stage with a dissociation barrier Ea = 49.54 kcal/mol, to form Rh-CH(2(a)) + 4H(a) + CO(g). At high temperatures, these adsorbates desorb to yield the final products CH(4(g)), H(2(g)), and CO(g).     

Quantum chemical study of adsorption and dissociation of H2S on the gallium-rich GaAs (001)-4 x 2 surface

H(2)S adsorption and dissociation on the gallium-rich GaAs(001)-4 x 2 surface is investigated using hybrid density functional theory. Starting from chemisorbed H(2)S on the GaAs(001)-4 x 2 surface, two possible reaction routes have been proposed. We find that H(2)S adsorbs molecularly onto GaAs(001)-4 x 2 via the formation of a dative bond, and this process is exothermic with adsorption energy of 6.6 kcal/mol. For the first reaction route, one of the H atoms from the chemisorbed H(2)S is transferred to a second-layer As atom and the dissociated SH is inserted into the Ga-As bond with an activation barrier of 8.2 kcal/mol, which is found to be 29.3 kcal/mol more stable than the reactants. For the second case, the dissociated species may insert themselves into the Ga-Ga dimer resulting in the Ga-H-Ga and Ga-HS-Ga bridge-bonded states, which are found to be 29.8 and 22.2 kcal/mol more stable than the reactants, respectively. However, the calculations also show that the activation barrier (16.1 kcal/mol) for chemisorbed H(2)S dissociation through the second route is higher than the transfer of one H atom into a second-layer As atom. As a result, we conclude that sulfur insertion into the Ga-As bond is more kinetically favorable.     

Preparation and reactivity of [D3d]-octahedrane: the most stable (CH)12 hydrocarbon

The synthesis of the (CH)12 hydrocarbon [D(3d)]-octahedrane (heptacyclo[6.4.0.0(2,4).0(3,7).0(5,12).0(6,10).0(9,11)]dodecane) 1 and its selective functionalization retaining the hydrocarbon cage is described. The B3LYP/6-311+G* strain energy of 1 is 83.7 kcal mol(-1) (4.7 kcal mol(-1) per C-C bond) which is significantly higher than that of the structurally related (CH)16 [D(4d)]-decahedrane 2 (75.4 kcal mol(-1); 3.1 kcal mol(-1) per C-C bond) and (CH)20 [I(h)]-dodecahedrane 3 (51.5 kcal mol(-1); 1.7 kcal mol(-1) per C-C bond); the heats of formation for 1-3 computed according to homodesmotic equations are 52, 35, and 4 kcal mol(-1). Catalytic hydrogenation of 1 leads to consecutive opening of the two cyclopropane rings to give C2-bisseco-octahedrane (pentacyclo[6.4.0.0(2,6).0(3,11).0(4,9)]dodecane) 16 as the major product. Although 1 is highly strained, its carbon skeleton is kinetically quite stable: Upon heating, 1 does not decompose until above 180 degrees C. The B3LYP/6-31G* barriers for the S(R)2 attack of the tBuO. and Br3C. radicals on a carbon atom of one of the cyclopropane fragments (Delta(298) = 27-28 kcal mol(-1)) are higher than those for hydrogen atom abstraction. The latter barriers are virtually identical for the abstraction from the C1-H and C2-H positions with the tBuO. radical (DeltaG(298) = 17.4 and 17.9 kcal mol(-1), respectively), but significantly different for the reaction at these positions with the Br3C. radical (DeltaG(298) = 18.8 and 21.0 kcal mol(-1)). These computational results agree well with experiments, in which the chlorination of 1 with tert-butyl hypochlorite gave a mixture of 1- and 2-chlorooctahedranes (ratio 3:2). The bromination with carbon tetrabromide under phase-transfer catalytic (PTC) conditions (nBu4NBr/NaOH) selectively gave 1-bromooctahedrane in 43 % isolated yield. For comparison, the PTC bromination was also applied to 2,4-dehydroadamantane yielding 54 % 7-bromo-2,4-dehydroadamantane.     

Determination of the C4-H bond dissociation energies of NADH models and their radical cations in acetonitrile

Heterolytic and homolytic bond dissociation energies of the C4-H bonds in ten NADH models (seven 1,4-dihydronicotinamide derivatives, two Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives, and 9,10-dihydroacridine) and their radical cations in acetonitrile were evaluated by titration calorimetry and electrochemistry, according to the four thermodynamic cycles constructed from the reactions of the NADH models with N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine radical cation perchlorate in acetonitrile (note: C9-H bond rather than C4-H bond for 9,10-dihydroacridine; however, unless specified, the C9-H bond will be described as a C4-H bond for convenience). The results show that the energetic scales of the heterolytic and homolytic bond dissociation energies of the C4-H bonds cover ranges of 64.2-81.1 and 67.9-73.7 kcal mol(-1) for the neutral NADH models, respectively, and the energetic scales of the heterolytic and homolytic bond dissociation energies of the (C4-H)(.+) bonds cover ranges of 4.1-9.7 and 31.4-43.5 kcal mol(-1) for the radical cations of the NADH models, respectively. Detailed comparison of the two sets of C4-H bond dissociation energies in 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide (BNAH), Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridine (HEH), and 9,10-dihydroacridine (AcrH(2)) (as the three most typical NADH models) shows that for BNAH and AcrH(2), the heterolytic C4-H bond dissociation energies are smaller (by 3.62 kcal mol(-1)) and larger (by 7.4 kcal mol(-1)), respectively, than the corresponding homolytic C4-H bond dissociation energy. However, for HEH, the heterolytic C4-H bond dissociation energy (69.3 kcal mol(-1)) is very close to the corresponding homolytic C4-H bond dissociation energy (69.4 kcal mol(-1)). These results suggests that the hydride is released more easily than the corresponding hydrogen atom from BNAH and vice versa for AcrH(2), and that there are two almost equal possibilities for the hydride and the hydrogen atom transfers from HEH. Examination of the two sets of the (C4-H)(.+) bond dissociation energies shows that the homolytic (C4-H)(.+) bond dissociation energies are much larger than the corresponding heterolytic (C4-H)(.+) bond dissociation energies for the ten NADH models by 23.3-34.4 kcal mol(-1); this suggests that if the hydride transfer from the NADH models is initiated by a one-electron transfer, the proton transfer should be more likely to take place than the corresponding hydrogen atom transfer in the second step. In addition, some elusive structural information about the reaction intermediates of the NADH models was obtained by using Hammett-type linear free-energy analysis.     

Probing the bent bonds in cyclopropane systems for gas storage and separation process: A computational study

The hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide gas adsorption and storage capacity of lithium-decorated cyclopropane ring systems were examined with quantum chemical calculations at density functional theory, DFT M06-2X functional using 6-31G(d) and cc-pVDZ basis sets. To examine the reliability of M06-2X DFT functional, a few representative systems are also examined with complete basis set CBS-QB3 method and CCSD-aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The cyclopropane systems can bind to one Li⁺ ion; however, the corresponding the methylated systems can bind with two Li⁺ ions. The cyclopropane systems can adsorb six hydrogen molecules with an average binding energy of 3.8 kcal/mol. The binding free energy (ΔG) values suggest that the hydrogen adsorption process is feasible at 273.15 K. The calculation of desorption energies indicates the recyclable property of gas adsorbed complexes. The same number of CO₂ and CO gas molecules can also be adsorbed with an average binding energy of −14.4 kcal/mol and −10.7 kcal/mol, respectively. The carbon dioxide showed ~3–4 kcal/mol better binding energy as compared to carbon monoxide and hence such designed systems can function as a potential candidate for the separation of these flue gas molecules. The nature of interactions in complexes was examined with atoms in molecules analysis revealed the electrostatic nature for the interaction of Li⁺ ion with cyclopropane rings. The chemical hardness and electrophilicity calculations showed that the gas adsorbed complexes are rigid and therefore robust as gas storage materials.     

Density functional theory study of pyrrole adsorption on Mo(110)

The objective of the present study is to identify possible adsorption configurations of pyrrole on Mo(110) using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Several adsorption configurations were studied including pyrrole and pyrrolyl adsorption as parallel, perpendicular, and tilted adsorption modes relative to the Mo(110) surface plane. Based on the DFT calculations, pyrrole is suggested to adsorb in a parallel mode with respect to the Mo(110) surface through its pi-orbital as mu3,eta(5)-Pyr-0 degrees with an adsorption energy of -28.7 to -31.5 kcal mol(-1). The possibility of a coexisting mode where pyrrole adsorbs on the surface with a slightly tilted molecular plane as mu3,eta(4)(N,C2,C3,C4)-Pyr-5 degrees is also likely to occur, particularly at higher pyrrole coverages. The slightly tilted configuration is suggested to arise from the lateral interactions of adsorbed pyrrole on Mo(110), and not the result of a phase transformation on the surface since this requires a relatively high activation energy as indicated by additional linear synchronous transit (LST)/quadratic synchronous transit (QST) calculations. Both adsorption geometries bond to three surface Mo atoms, and Mo(110) did not promote hydrogen abstraction. Pyrrolyl adsorption on Mo(110) is energetically possible, but unlikely to occur because gas-phase hydrogen has not been previously experimentally observed as a pyrrole decomposition product on Mo(110).     

Theoretical prediction of S-H bond rupture in methanethiol upon interaction with gold

Organic thiols are known to react with gold surface to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), which can be used to produce materials with highly attractive properties. Although the structure of various SAMs is widely investigated, some aspects of their formation still represent a matter of debate. One of these aspects is the mechanism of S-H bond dissociation in thiols upon interaction with gold. This work presents a new suggestion for this mechanism on the basis of DFT study of methanethiol interaction with a single gold atom and a Au(20) cluster. The reaction path of dissociation is found to be qualitatively independent of the model employed. However, the highest activation barrier of S-H bond dissociation on the single gold atom (12.9 kcal/mol) is considerably lower than that on the Au(20) cluster (28.9 kcal/mol), which can be attributed to the higher extent of gold unsaturation. The energy barrier of S-H cleavage decreases by 4.6 kcal/mol in the presence of the second methanethiol molecule at the same adsorption site on the model gold atom. In the case of the Au(20) cluster we have observed the phenomenon of hydrogen transfer from one methanethiol molecule to another, which allows reducing the energy barrier of dissociation by 9.1 kcal/mol. This indicates the possibility of the "relay" hydrogen transfer to be the key step of the thiol adsorption observed for the SAMs systems.     

Estimation of intramolecular hydrogen bond energy via molecular tailoring approach

A novel method, based on the molecular tailoring approach for estimating intramolecular hydrogen bond energies, is proposed. Here, as a case study, the O-H...O bond energy is directly estimated by addition/subtraction of the single point individual fragment energies. This method is tested on polyhydroxy molecules at MP2 and B3LYP levels of theory. It is seen to be able to distinguish between weak ( approximately 1 kcal mol(-1)) and moderately strong ( approximately 5 kcal mol(-1)) hydrogen bonds in polyhydroxy molecules.     

The "somersault" mechanism for the p-450 hydroxylation of hydrocarbons. The intervention of transient inverted metastable hydroperoxides

A series of model theoretical calculations are described that suggest a new mechanism for the oxidation step in enzymatic cytochrome P450 hydroxylation of saturated hydrocarbons. A new class of metastable metal hydroperoxides is described that involves the rearrangement of the ground-state metal hydroperoxide to its inverted isomeric form with a hydroxyl radical hydrogen bonded to the metal oxide (MO-OH --> MO....HO). The activation energy for this somersault motion of the FeO-OH group is 20.3 kcal/mol for the P450 model porphyrin iron(III) hydroperoxide [Por(SH)Fe(III)-OOH(-)] to produce the isomeric ferryl oxygen hydrogen bonded to an *OH radical [Por(SH)Fe(III)-O....HO(-)]. This isomeric metastable hydroperoxide, the proposed primary oxidant in the P450 hydroxylation reaction, is calculated to be 17.8 kcal/mol higher in energy than the ground-state iron(III) hydroperoxide Cpd 0. The first step of the proposed mechanism for isobutane oxidation is abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the C-H bond of isobutane by the hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl radical to produce a water molecule strongly hydrogen bonded to anionic Cpd II. The hydroxylation step involves a concerted but nonsynchronous transfer of a hydrogen atom from this newly formed, bound, water molecule to the ferryl oxygen with a concomitant rebound of the incipient *OH radical to the carbon radical of isobutane to produce the C-O bond of the final product, tert-butyl alcohol. The TS for the oxygen rebound step is 2 kcal/mol lower in energy than the hydrogen abstraction TS (DeltaE() = 19.5 kcal/mol). The overall proposed new mechanism is consistent with a lot of the ancillary experimental data for this enzymatic hydroxylation reaction.     

The dynamics of allyl radical dissociation

Dissociation of the allyl radical, CH(2)CHCH(2), and its deuterated isotopolog, CH(2)CDCH(2), have been investigated using trajectory calculations on an ab initio ground-state potential energy surface calculated for 97,418 geometries at the coupled cluster single and double and perturbative treatment of triple excitations, with the augmented correlation consistent triple-ζ basis set level (CCSD(T)/AVTZ). At an excitation energy of 115 kcal/mol, corresponding to optical excitation at 248 nm, the primary channel is hydrogen loss with a quantum yield of 0.94 to give either allene or propyne in a ratio of 6.4:1. The total dissociation rate for CH(2)CHCH(2) is 6.3 × 10(10) s(-1), corresponding to a 1/e time of 16 ps. Methyl and C(2)H(2) are produced with a quantum yield of 0.06 by three different mechanisms: a 1,3 hydrogen shift followed by C-C cleavage to give methyl and acetylene, a double 1,2 shift followed by C-C cleavage to give methyl and acetylene, or a single 1,2 hydrogen shift followed by C-C cleavage to give methyl and vinylidene. In this last channel, the vinylidene eventually isomerizes to give internally excited acetylene, and the kinetic energy distribution is peaked at much lower energy (6.4 kcal/mol) than that for the other two channels (18 kcal/mol). The trajectory results also predict the v-J correlation, the anisotropy of dissociation, and distributions for the angular momentum of the fragments. The v-J correlation for the CH(3) + HCCH channel is strongest for high rotational levels of acetylene, where v is perpendicular to J. Methyl elimination is anisotropic, with β = 0.66, whereas hydrogen elimination is nearly isotropic. In the hydrogen elimination channel, allene is rotationally excited with a total angular momentum distribution peaked near J = 17. In the methyl elimination channel, the peak of the methyl rotational distribution is at J ≈ 12, whereas the peak of the acetylene rotational distribution is at J ≈ 28.     

1,3 Geminal interactions as the possible trend setting factors for C-H and C-C bond energies in alkanes. Support from a density functional theory based bond energy decomposition study

A bond energy decomposition analysis has been carried out to rationalize the well-established experimental fact that C-C and C-H bond energies decrease with increasing substitution on the carbon. It is shown that this trend is set by steric 1,3 repulsive interactions (geminal repulsion) that increase in the order 1,3 hydrogen-hydrogen < 1,3 hydrogen-carbon < 1,3 carbon-carbon. On the other hand, the radical stabilization energy has little influence on the observed trend for the C-H bond energy in H-CR(1)R(2)R(3) or the C-C bond energy in H(3)C-CR(1)R(2)R(3). Thus, it varies in H-CR(1)R(2)R(3) from -7.2 kcal/mol (H-CH3) to -6.5 kcal/mol (H-C(CH3)3) and in H(3)C-CR(1)R(2)R(3) from -19.0 kcal/mol (H(3)C-CH(3)) to -16.9 kcal/mol (H(3)C-C(CH(3))(3)). It was further found that the average intrinsic C-H bond energy in H-CR(1)R(2)R(3) of 129.2 kcal/mol is smaller than the average intrinsic C-C bond energy in H(3)C-CR(1)R(2)R(3) of 143.4 kcal/mol. However, after the inclusion of steric effects, the overall C-H bond becomes stronger than the C-C bond. The role of steric 1,3 repulsive interactions as the trend setting factor has most recently been suggested by Gronert (J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 1209) based on an empirical fit of alkane atomization energies.     

First principle study of hydrogen storage on the graphene-like aluminum nitride nanosheet

Employing density functional calculations including an empirical dispersion term, we investigated the hydrogenation of an aluminum nitride nanosheet (h-AlN) with atomic and molecular hydrogen. It was found that atomic H prefers to be adsorbed on an N atom rather than Al, releasing energy of 21.1 kcal/mol. The HOMO/LUMO energy gap of the sheet is dramatically reduced from 107.9 to 44.5 kcal/mol, upon the adsorption of one hydrogen atom. The adsorption of atomic H on the h-AlN presents properties which are promising for nanoelectronic applications. The molecular H₂ was found to be adsorbed collinearly on an N atom and dissociated to two H atoms on Al–N bond. Calculated barrier and adsorption energies for this dissociation process are about +18.9 and ?1.9 kcal/mol. We predict that each nitrogen atom in an AlN sheet can adsorb two hydrogen molecules on opposite sides of the sheet, and thus the gravimetric density for hydrogen storage on AlN sheet is evaluated to be about 8.9 wt%.     

Characterization of singlet ground and low-lying electronic excited states of phosphaethyne and isophosphaethyne

The singlet ground ((approximate)X(1)Sigma1+) and excited (1Sigma-,1Delta) states of HCP and HPC have been systematically investigated using ab initio molecular electronic structure theory. For the ground state, geometries of the two linear stationary points have been optimized and physical properties have been predicted utilizing restricted self-consistent field theory, coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD), CCSD with perturbative triple corrections [CCSD(T)], and CCSD with partial iterative triple excitations (CCSDT-3 and CC3). Physical properties computed for the global minimum ((approximate)X(1)Sigma+HCP) include harmonic vibrational frequencies with the cc-pV5Z CCSD(T) method of omega1=3344 cm(-1), omega2=689 cm(-1), and omega3=1298 cm(-1). Linear HPC, a stationary point of Hessian index 2, is predicted to lie 75.2 kcal mol(-1) above the global minimum HCP. The dissociation energy D0[HCP((approximate)X(1)Sigma+)-->H(2S)+CP(X2Sigma+)] of HCP is predicted to be 119.0 kcal mol(-1), which is very close to the experimental lower limit of 119.1 kcal mol(-1). Eight singlet excited states were examined and their physical properties were determined employing three equation-of-motion coupled cluster methods (EOM-CCSD, EOM-CCSDT-3, and EOM-CC3). Four stationary points were located on the lowest-lying excited state potential energy surface, 1Sigma- -->1A", with excitation energies Te of 101.4 kcal mol(-1) (1A"HCP), 104.6 kcal mol(-1)(1Sigma-HCP), 122.3 kcal mol(-1)(1A" HPC), and 171.6 kcal mol(-1)(1Sigma-HPC) at the cc-pVQZ EOM-CCSDT-3 level of theory. The physical properties of the 1A" state with a predicted bond angle of 129.5 degrees compare well with the experimentally reported first singlet state ((approximate)A1A"). The excitation energy predicted for this excitation is T0=99.4 kcal mol(-1) (34 800 cm(-1),4.31 eV), in essentially perfect agreement with the experimental value of T0=99.3 kcal mol(-1)(34 746 cm(-1),4.308 eV). For the second lowest-lying excited singlet surface, 1Delta-->1A', four stationary points were found with Te values of 111.2 kcal mol(-1) (2(1)A' HCP), 112.4 kcal mol(-1) (1Delta HPC), 125.6 kcal mol(-1)(2(1)A' HCP), and 177.8 kcal mol(-1)(1Delta HPC). The predicted CP bond length and frequencies of the 2(1)A' state with a bond angle of 89.8 degrees (1.707 A, 666 and 979 cm(-1)) compare reasonably well with those for the experimentally reported (approximate)C(1)A' state (1.69 A, 615 and 969 cm(-1)). However, the excitation energy and bond angle do not agree well: theoretical values of 108.7 kcal mol(-1) and 89.8 degrees versus experimental values of 115.1 kcal mol(-1) and 113 degrees. of 115.1 kcal mol(-1) and 113 degrees.     

Density functional theory study of the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on the (001) surface of V2O5

The density functional theory using a plane‐waves basis set and pseudopotential has been used to study the reaction pathways for ODH of propane on the V₂O₅(001) surface. The calculations indicated that propane adsoprtion step was initiated by the insertion of vanadyl oxygen O (1) into methylene C? H bond forming an iso‐propanol structure. This step is the rate‐determining step with an activation energy of 23.3 kcal/mol. The subsequent step involved the abstraction of the second hydrogen by O (1) site leading the formation of propene. This process had an activation energy of 22.5 kcal/mol. The elimination of surface bound water molecule at the O (1) was a barrierless process. The energy required for this process was compensated from O2 dissociative adsorption. Finally, the electronic density of state has been applied to prove the reality of the calculated results. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Carbon chains and the (5,5) single-walled nanotube: structure and energetics versus length

Reliable thermochemistry is computed for infinite stretches of pure-carbon materials including acetylenic and cumulenic carbon chains, graphene sheet, and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by connection to the properties of finite size molecules that grow into the infinitely long systems. Using ab initio G3 theory, the infinite cumulenic chain (:C[double bond]C[double bond]C[double bond]C:) is found to be 1.9+/-0.4 kcal/mol per carbon less stable in free energy at room temperature than the acetylenic chain (.C[triple bond]C-C[triple bond]C.) which is 24.0 kcal/mol less stable than graphite. The difference between carbon-carbon triple, double, and single bond lengths (1.257, 1.279, and 1.333 A, respectively) in infinite chains is evident but much less than with small hydrocarbon molecules. These results are used to evaluate the efficacy of similar calculations with the less rigorous PM3 semiempirical method on the (5,5) SWCNT, which is too large to be studied with high-level ab initio methods. The equilibrium electronic energy change for C(g)-->C[infinite (5,5) SWCNT] is -166.7 kcal/mol, while the corresponding free energy change at room temperature is -153.3 kcal/mol (6.7 kcal/mol less stable than graphite). A threefold alternation (6.866, 6.866, and 6.823 A) in the ring diameter of the equilibrium structure of infinitely long (5,5) SWCNT is apparent, although the stability of this structure over the constant diameter structure is small compared to the zero point energy of the nanotube. In general, different (n,m) SWCNTs have different infinite tube energetics, as well as very different energetic trends that vary significantly with length, diameter, and capping.     

DFT study on the mechanism of water-assisted dihydrogen elimination in group 6 octahedral metal hydride complexes

The reaction of water with octahedral bis-, tris- and tetrakis-(phosphine)tungsten, (phosphine)molybdenum and (phosphine)chromium complexes has been studied using B3LYP/def2-TZVPP level of DFT to elucidate dissociative, associative and hydride migratory insertion mechanisms for hydrogen elimination. In the dissociative mechanism, phosphine dissociation requires 19.3-28.5 kcal mol(-1) of energy. The phosphine-water ligand exchange is endergonic due to poor coordination ability of water to group 6 metals (binding energy 8.8-15.5 kcal mol(-1)). The ligand exchange leads to intermolecular M-HH(2)O dihydrogen interaction and facilitates dihydrogen elimination (G(act) = 6.8-15.5 kcal mol(-1)). In the associative mechanism, a water molecule in the first solvation shell interacts with the M-H bond through a dihydrogen bond (interaction energy 2.7-4.0 kcal mol(-1)) and leads to the elimination of H(2) by forming a hydroxide complex. Compared to the dissociative mechanism, G(act) of associative mechanisms are ～22 kcal mol(-1) higher. In the hydride migratory insertion mechanism, the hydride ligand shifts to the CO ligand (G(act) = 25.4-30.4 kcal mol(-1)) to afford a formyl complex and subsequently the H-H bond coupling occurs between formyl and water ligand (G(act) = 2.8-4.4 kcal mol(-1)). In many cases, the migratory insertion mechanism can simultaneously operate with the dissociative mechanism as a minor pathway, whereas owing to high G(act) value, the associative mechanism can be described as inactive in the reaction. The general argument that dihydrogen elimination is preceded by the formation of a dihydrogen intermediate is not applicable for the systems studied herein as the most favoured dissociative mechanism does not pass through such an intermediate. On the other hand, irrespective of the mechanisms, dihydrogen elimination invariably occurs with the formation of a dihydrogen bonded transition state. Our results also suggest that group 6 octahedral metal hydride complexes are attractive targets for the design of water splitting reactions.