Long-lived metastable anions of hydrogen halides

We search for narrow resonances in cross-sections for electron collisions with HCl, DCl, HBr and DBr molecules, calculated with the nonlocal resonance model. Narrow resonances corresponding to long-lived metastable states of anionic molecules are indeed found in both elastic and vibrational excitation cross-sections. The largest lifetime τ = 0.11 ms is predicted for HBr⁻ with rotational quantum number J = 20. For HCl we find maximum τ = 0.6 ns for J = 22 and τ = 0.6 μs for J = 33 in DCl. A surprising isotope effect is found for DBr, where the largest lifetime is τ = 1.5μs, i.e., much smaller than for HBr.     

Electronic spectra of the linear magnesium-containing carbon chains MgC2nH (n = 1–5): A CASPT2 study

Complete active space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) approach has been used for the geometry optimization of the X²Σ⁺ and A²Π electronic states for the linear magnesium-containing carbon chains MgC_2nH (n = 1–5). Multireference second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) has been used to calculate the vertical excitation energies from the ground to selected seven excited states, as well as the potential energy curves of two ²Σ⁺ and two ²Π electronic states. The studies indicate that the vertical excitation energies of the A²Π ← X²Σ⁺ transition for MgC_2nH (n = 1–5) are 2.837, 2.793, 2.767, 2.714, and 2.669 eV, respectively, showing remarkable linear size dependence. Compared with the previous TD-DFT and RCCSD(T) results, our estimates for MgC_2nH (n = 1–3) are in the best agreement with the available observed data of 2.83, 2.78, and 2.74 eV, respectively. In addition, the dissociation energies in MgC_2nH (n = 1–5) are also been evaluated.     

Gas‐Phase Photodissociation of CH3CHBrCOCl at 248 nm: Detection of Molecular Fragments by Time‐Resolved FT‐IR Spectroscopy

By employing time‐resolved Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy, the fragments HCl (v=1–3), HBr (v=1), and CO (v=1‐3) are detected in one‐photon dissociation of 2‐bromopropionyl chloride (CH₃CHBrCOCl) at 248 nm. Ar gas is added to induce internal conversion and to enhance the fragment yields. The time‐resolved high‐resolution spectra of HCl and CO were analyzed to determine the rovibrational energy deposition of 10.0±0.2 and 7.4±0.6 kcal mol^?1, respectively, while the rotational energy in HBr is evaluated to be 0.9±0.1 kcal mol^?1. The branching ratio of HCl(v>0)/HBr(v>0) is estimated to be 1:0.53. The bond selectivity of halide formation in the photolysis follows the same trend as the halogen atom elimination. The probability of HCl contribution from a hot Cl reaction with the precursor is negligible according to the measurements of HCl amount by adding an active reagent, Br₂, in the system. The HCl elimination channel under Ar addition is verified to be slower by two orders of magnitude than the Cl elimination channel. With the aid of ab initio calculations, the observed fragments are dissociated from the hot ground state CH₃CHBrCOCl. A two‐body dissociation channel is favored leading to either HCl+CH₃CBrCO or HBr+CH₂CHCOCl, in which the CH₃CBrCO moiety may further undergo secondary dissociation to release CO.     

Mechanism and kinetics of crystallization of α-Fe in amorphous Fe81B13Si4C2 alloy

The non-isothermal crystallization of α-Fe from Fe₈₁B₁₃Si₄C₂ amorphous alloy was investigated. The kinetic parameters of crystallization process were determined by Kissinger and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) methods. It was established that the kinetic parameters of transformation do not change with the degree of crystallization in the range of 0.1–0.7. The kinetic model of the crystallization process was determined using the Malek's procedure. It was established that the primary crystallization α-Fe phase from amorphous alloy can be described by Šesták–Berggren autocatalytic model with kinetic triplet E_a = 349.4.0 kJ mol⁻¹, ln A = 50.76 and f(α) = α^0.72(1 − α)^1.02.     

Vibrational energy storage in high pressure mixtures of diatomic molecules

CO/N₂, CO/Ar/O₂, and CO/N₂/O₂ gas mixtures are optically pumped using a continuous wave CO laser. Carbon monoxide molecules absorb the laser radiation and transfer energy to nitrogen and oxygen by vibration–vibration energy exchange. Infrared emission and spontaneous Raman spectroscopy are used for diagnostics of optically pumped gases. The experiments demonstrate that strong vibrational disequilibrium can be sustained in diatomic gas mixtures at pressures up to 1 atm, with only a few Watts laser power available. At these conditions, measured first level vibrational temperatures of diatomic species are in the range T_V=1900–2300 K for N₂, T_V=2600–3800 K for CO, and T_V=2200–2800 K for O₂. The translational–rotational temperature of the gases does not exceed T=700 K. Line-of-sight averaged CO vibrational level populations up to v=40 are inferred from infrared emission spectra. Vibrational level populations of CO (v=0–8), N₂ (v=0–4), and O₂ (v=0–8) near the axis of the focused CO laser beam are inferred from the Raman spectra of these species. The results demonstrate a possibility of sustaining stable nonequilibrium plasmas in atmospheric pressure air seeded with a few percent of carbon monoxide. The obtained experimental data are compared with modeling calculations that incorporate both major processes of molecular energy transfer and diffusion of vibrationally excited species across the spatially nonuniform excitation region, showing reasonably good agreement.     

Theoretical studies of uracil–(H2O)n (n = 1–7) clusters by ab initio and ABEEMσπ/MM fluctuating charge model

Uracil–(H₂O)_n (n = 1–7) clusters were systemically investigated by ab initio methods and the newly constructed ABEEMσπ/MM fluctuating charge model. Water molecules have been gradually placed in an average plane containing uracil. The geometries of 38 uracil–water complexes were obtained using B3LYP/6-311++G** level optimizations, and the energies were determined at the MP2/6-311++G** level with BSSE corrections. The ABEEMσπ/MM potential model gives reasonable properties of these clusters when comparing with the present ab initio data. For interaction energies, the root mean square deviation is 0.96 kcal/mol, and the linear coefficient reaches 0.997. Furthermore, the ABEEMσπ charges changed when H₂O interacted with the uracil molecule, especially at the sites where the hydrogen bond form. These results show that the ABEEMσπ/MM model is fine giving the overall characteristic hydration properties of uracil–water systems in good agreement with the high-level ab initio calculations.     

An optical, EPR and electrical conductivity study of blue barium titanate, BaTiO3−δ

The electronic UV–VIS–NIR absorption spectra of single crystalline BaTiO_3−δ (BTO) are studied in the temperature range of 102–1173 K in pure oxygen and at conditions of moderate and strong reduction of the material. The strongly reduced crystals are of deep blue colour. The optical spectra of blue BTO are characterised by a strong absorption in the NIR region at around 7000 cm⁻¹, which is attributed to polaronic defects associated with the formation of Ti³⁺ in the material. This assumption is supported by fits of the spectra using polaronic line shape functions appropriate for disordered systems and also by the electrical conductivity of blue BTO which, in agreement with results from the optical spectra, exhibits an activation energy of 0.20 eV. The EPR spectra of moderately reduced BTO powders show an anisotropic g-factor, which is compatible with the optical spectrum. The temperature dependence of the band gap energy of BTO was found to be given as dE_g/dT = −7.21 × 10⁻⁴ eV/K.     

Theoretical study of electronic spectra of linear carbon clusters HC2nS (n = 1–5)

In this work we report the structures and stabilities of linear carbon clusters HC_2nS (n = 1–5) in their ground states using the B3LYP density functional. The rotational constants at the optimized geometries give excellent agreement with the experimental and previous theoretical values. The vertical excitation energies of the 2²Π ← X²Π transitions at the CASPT2 level are 3.16, 2.66, 2.05, 1.78, and 1.55 eV, respectively, in good agreement with the corresponding observed values of 3.01, 2.48, 2.10, 1.84, and 1.65 eV. Also, the exponential-decay curves for these vertical excitation energies obtained from experiments and theoretical calculations are illuminated.     

The S1 ← S0 0–0 transition energies of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) revisited: CIS(D) and MP2 calculations with correction for correlation energies

This paper reexamines the structures and energies of dibenzofuran and twenty PCDFs in S₁–S₃ states. It was demonstrated that, although the CIS method gives a false relative ordering of excited states, the false ordering can be remedied by the CIS(D) method. Moreover the CIS geometries of typical PCDF molecules reasonably agree with their SAC-CI geometries. It was found that molecules chlorinated at the 1- and 9-positions are twisted in the S₂ state but are planar in other states, except for 1,4,6,9-TeCDF and fully chlorinated dibenzofuran (OCDF). The twisted structure of 1,4,6,9-TeCDF occurs in the S₃ state, but the structure of OCDF is twisted in every state. We partitioned the molecule into the parent structure and four chlorine groups and measured the twist energy with reference to the ground state. Then, the S_i ← S₀ 0–0 transition energies (i = 1, 2) calculated using the CIS(D) and MP2 methods could be expressed as a multiple linear equation with components and twist energy. It was further confirmed that if the multiple linear equation is corrected for residual correlation energies of the parent structure, it can predict the S₁ ← S₀ 0–0 transition energies with high precision.     

Theoretical study of [Hg3(o-C6F4)3]n · {benzene} (n = 1, 2) complexes

The electronic structure and spectroscopic properties of [Hg₃(o-C₆F₄)₃]_n · {benzene} (n = 1, 2) were studied at the HF, MP2 and PBE levels. The interaction between [Hg₃(o-C₆F₄)₃] and benzene at the HF and MP2 levels was analyzed. Secondary π-interactions (Hg–benzene) were found to be the main contribution short-range stability in the [Hg₃(o-C₆F₄)₃] · {benzene} complex. At the MP2 and PBE levels equilibrium Hg–C distances of 338.4 and 361.4 pm; and interaction energies of 46.6 and 29.2 kJ/mol were found, respectively. The absorption spectra of these complexes were calculated by the single excitation time-dependent method at PBE level.     

Theoretical study on the structures and properties of the isomers of Nn(CH)8−nH8 (n = 0–7)

With replacement of N atoms by CH groups in the most stable chain isomer of N8H8, 34 possible isomers of N_n(CH)_8−nH₈ (n = 0–7) have been designed and optimized at the B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory. The natural bond orbital (NBO) and atoms in molecules (AIM) analysis are carried out to study the bonding nature and relative stabilities of these conformers. G3MP2 method is applied to calculate energies and heats of formation. The results indicate that the hyperconjugation effect from lone pairs of nitrogen atoms to germinal C–N bonds is the major factor which caused the change of the C–N bond length. With the more replacement of nitrogen atoms by CH groups, the heats of formation of the isomers of N_n(CH)_8−nH₈ (n = 0–7) decrease gradually, but the energies increase linearly.     

X-ray analysis at 150?K, synthesis and theoretical calculations of 1-naphthaleneacrylic acid

The X-ray structure, synthesis, theoretical calculation and IR spectra of 1-naphthaleneacrylic acid are reported. The titled compound crystallizes in the monoclinic C 2/c space group with unit cell parameters: a = 14.556(3), b = 5.1332(10), c = 26.832(5) ?, β = 97.02(3)°, V = 1989.8(7) ?³, Z = 8 and form typical centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded dimers. Theoretical calculations of 1-naphthylacrylic acid isolated molecule and hydrogen-bonded dimer have been carried out using density functional theory at the B3LYP level. For optimized structures the vibrational spectra have been then calculated and compared with experimental IR spectrum. The assignment and characterization of theoretical vibrational spectra were based on the potential energy distribution analysis. This comparison has shown that the theoretical spectrum for the dimer structure is in good agreement with the experimental one. Structural comparisons with naphthalene, and with some substituted 2-propenoic acids have shown influence of the substituent on conformation of the naphthalene ring or 2-propenoic moiety.     

Push–pull effect on the charge transfer, and tuning of emitting color for disubstituted derivatives of mer-Alq3

To design innovative and novel optical materials with high mobility, two kinds of disubstituted derivatives for meridianal isomer of tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (mer-Alq3) with push–pull (X–Y) substituents have been designed. The structures of tris(4-X-6-Y-8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (type 1) and tris(4-Y-6-X-8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (type 2) (where X = –CH₃/–NH₂ and Y = –CN/–Cl) in the ground (S₀) and first excited (S₁) states have been optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G^* and CIS/6-31G^* level of theory, respectively. All the designed derivatives of type 1 show blue shift while most of the type 2 derivatives show red shift as compared to the mer-Alq3. The emitting color could be tuned from blue to red. We have explained the distribution of HOMOs and LUMOs on different individual ligands. The reorganization energies of tris(4-methyl-6-chloro-8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (1), tris(4-methyl-6-cyano-8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (2), tris(4-chloro-6-methyl-8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (5) and tris(4-cyano-6-methyl-8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (6) are comparable with mer-Alq3. Thus these derivatives might be good candidates for emitting materials possessing comparable charge carrier mobility as mer-Alq3.     

Synthesis and reactivity of neodymium(III) amido-tethered N-heterocyclic carbene complexes

The reaction of the heteroleptic Nd(III) iodide, [Nd(L′)(N″)(μ-I)] with the potassium salts of primary aryl amides [KN(H)Ar′] or [KN(H)Ar^*] affords heteroleptic, structurally characterised, low-coordinate neodymium amides [Nd(L′)(N″)(N(H)Ar′)] and [Nd(L′)(N″)(N(H)Ar^*)] cleanly (L′ = t-BuNCH₂CH₂[C{NC(SiMe₃)CHNt-Bu}], N″ = N(SiMe₃)₂, Ar′ = 2,6-Dipp₂C₆H₃, Dipp = 2,6-Prⁱ₂C₆H₃, Ar^* = 2,6-(2,4,6-Prⁱ₃C₆H₂)₂C₆H₃). The potassium terphenyl primary amide [KN(H)Ar^*] is readily prepared and isolated, and structurally characterised. Treatment of these primary amide-containing compounds with alkali metal alkyl salts results in ligand exchange to give alkali metal primary amides and intractable heteroleptic Nd(III) alkyl compounds of the form [Nd(L′)(N″)(R)] (R = CH₂SiMe₃, Me). Attempted deprotonation of the Nd-bound primary amide in [Nd(L′)(N″)(N(H)Ar^*)] with the less nucleophilic phosphazene superbase Bu^tNP{NP(NMe₂)₃}₃ resulted in indiscriminate deprotonations of peripheral ligand CH groups.     

Kinetics of the R + HBr RH + Br (CH3CHBr, CHBr2 or CDBr2) equilibrium. Thermochemistry of the CH3CHBr and CHBr2 radicals

The kinetics of the reaction of the CH₃CHBr, CHBr₂ or CDBr₂ radicals, R, with HBr have been investigated in a temperature-controlled tubular reactor coupled to a photoionization mass spectrometer. The CH₃CHBr (or CHBr₂ or CDBr₂) radical was produced homogeneously in the reactor by a pulsed 248 nm exciplex laser photolysis of CH₃CHBr₂ (or CHBr₃ or CDBr₃). The decay of R was monitored as a function of HBr concentration under pseudo-first-order conditions to determine the rate constants as a function of temperature. The reactions were studied separately from 253 to 344 K (CH₃CHBr + HBr) and from 288 to 477 K (CHBr₂ + HBr) and in these temperature ranges the rate constants determined were fitted to an Arrhenius expression (error limits stated are 1σ + Student’s t values, units in cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, no error limits for the third reaction): k(CH₃CHBr + HBr) = (1.7 ± 1.2) × 10⁻¹³ exp[+ (5.1 ± 1.9) kJ mol⁻¹/RT], k(CHBr₂ + HBr) = (2.5 ± 1.2) × 10⁻¹³ exp[−(4.04 ± 1.14) kJ mol⁻¹/RT] and k(CDBr₂ + HBr) = 1.6 × 10⁻¹³ exp(−2.1 kJ mol⁻¹/RT). The energy barriers of the reverse reactions were taken from the literature. The enthalpy of formation values of the CH₃CHBr and CHBr₂ radicals and an experimental entropy value at 298 K for the CH₃CHBr radical were obtained using a second-law method. The result for the entropy value for the CH₃CHBr radical is 305 ± 9 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹. The results for the enthalpy of formation values at 298 K are (in kJ mol⁻¹): 133.4 ± 3.4 (CH₃CHBr) and 199.1 ± 2.7 (CHBr₂), and for α-C–H bond dissociation energies of analogous compounds are (in kJ mol⁻¹): 415.0 ± 2.7 (CH₃CH₂Br) and 412.6 ± 2.7 (CH₂Br₂), respectively.     

Comparison effects of different doping on spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO(3)

The comparison between non-magnetic spin-Peierls (SP) and magnetic Néel ground states have been investigated in CuGeO₃ doped with Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions by using the electron spin resonance (ESR) techniques in the temperature range of 3–300 K. It was concluded that the one-dimensional (1D) antiferromagnetic (AF) spin chain formed of spin-1/2 (Cu²⁺) ions is broken by spin-0 (Zn²⁺), spin-1 (Ni²⁺), and spin-5/2 (Mn²⁺) ions, giving uncoupled spins at the end of the chains that give extra contribution to the spectra at lower temperature. An almost linearly dependence of frequency of resonance field has been showed for X-, K- and Q-band spectra. By the analysis of resonance field–frequency relations, the effects of the internal field is refined and thus the spectroscopic g-factor and internal field were calculated to be g = 1.9386 and H_i = 148 G, respectively.     

Theoretical Study of Chemical Binding of Noble Gas Atom and Transition Metal Complexes: Ng–NiCO, Ng–NiN2, Ng–CoCO (Ng = He–Xe)

Ab initio multireference and coupled cluster methods (MR-SDCI(+Q), CASPT2, CCSD(T)) and density functional theory methods (B3LYP, MPWPW91) have been applied to examine geometrical structures and vibrational frequencies of noble gas (Ng) – transition metal compounds, Ng–NiCO, Ng–NiN₂, and Ng–CoCO (Ng = He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe). It is shown that the respective compounds can have a larger binding energy than a typical van der Waals interaction energy. The binding mechanism is explained by a partial electron transfer from a noble gas atom to the low-lying 4s and 3d vacant orbitals of the transition metal atom. Theoretical calculations show that the binding of noble gas atom results in a large shift of the bending frequency: 361.1cm^–1 (NiCO) to 403.5cm^–1 (Ar–NiCO); 308.5cm^–1 (NiN₂) to 354.8cm^–1 (Ar–NiN₂); 373.0cm^–1 (CoCO) to 422.6cm^–1 (Ar–CoCO). The corresponding experimental frequencies determined in solid argon are 409.1cm^–1 (NiCO), 357.0cm^–1 (NiN₂), and 424.9cm^–1 (CoCO), which are much closer to the corresponding frequency of Ar–NiCO, Ar–NiN₂, and Ar–CoCO, respectively.     

Theoretical Study of Chemical Binding of Noble Gas Atom and Transition Metal Complexes: Ng–NiCO, Ng–NiN2, Ng–CoCO (Ng = He–Xe)

Summary. Ab initio multireference and coupled cluster methods (MR-SDCI(+Q), CASPT2, CCSD(T)) and density functional theory methods (B3LYP, MPWPW91) have been applied to examine geometrical structures and vibrational frequencies of noble gas (Ng) – transition metal compounds, Ng–NiCO, Ng–NiN₂, and Ng–CoCO (Ng = He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe). It is shown that the respective compounds can have a larger binding energy than a typical van der Waals interaction energy. The binding mechanism is explained by a partial electron transfer from a noble gas atom to the low-lying 4s and 3d vacant orbitals of the transition metal atom. Theoretical calculations show that the binding of noble gas atom results in a large shift of the bending frequency: 361.1cm^–1 (NiCO) to 403.5cm^–1 (Ar–NiCO); 308.5cm^–1 (NiN₂) to 354.8cm^–1 (Ar–NiN₂); 373.0cm^–1 (CoCO) to 422.6cm^–1 (Ar–CoCO). The corresponding experimental frequencies determined in solid argon are 409.1cm^–1 (NiCO), 357.0cm^–1 (NiN₂), and 424.9cm^–1 (CoCO), which are much closer to the corresponding frequency of Ar–NiCO, Ar–NiN₂, and Ar–CoCO, respectively.     

Isolation of p-tricyanovinylphenyldicyanomethide ion via a [2+2] cycloaddition of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) molecules

In the presence of CoCl₂·6H₂O and dppm (bis(diphenylphosphino) methane), the reaction of TCNQ (7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) molecules by [2+2] cycloaddition forms a p-tricyanovinylphenyldicyanomethide ion (PCQ⁻), which has been obtained as one anion unit in one new compound [Co(dppmdo)₃][PCQ⁻]₂·H₂O 1 (dppmdo = bis(diphylphospine oxide) methane). Its structure was determined by X-ray crystallography: 1 crystallizes in with a = 14.174(3) Å, b = 19.553(4) Å, c = 19.776(4) Å, α = 112.72(3)°, β = 95.43(3)°, γ = 110.79(3)°, and Z = 2. It was characterized by IR spectra, UV–Vis spectra, and cyclic voltammogram. Magnetic properties indicate that no magnetic coupling between PCQ⁻ and [Co(dppmdo)₃]²⁺ unit.     

Determination of vibrational parameters of methanol from matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Part 2 – Theoretical treatment including a perturbative approach of the resonances within the methyl group

Ab initio calculations of the potential energy surface of methanol have been developed for the determination of vibrational parameters and their comparison with vibrational data reported in the first part of this work. The strong resonances between the methyl bending and stretching modes, giving rise to polyads of levels P_n in the ranges 3000–2800 (P₂), 4500–4250 (P₃) and 6000–5600 cm⁻¹ (P₄), have been treated by solving for each polyad two Hamiltonian matrices containing off-diagonal terms including both Fermi and Darling-Dennison anharmonic contributions. These terms were calculated from the ab initio determination of the potential energy surface developed up to the quartic terms using the Möller–Plesset 2 method. The choice of the basis set was made to minimize the problem of divergence of the Darling-Dennison constants. Their determination requires however the omission of the terms in which the difference between the harmonic frequencies of the symmetrical methyl stretching and the sum of the two A′ bendings (ω₃–ω₄–ω₅) appears in the denominator. Then, by adjustment of the diagonal elements of the Hamiltonian matrices, it becomes possible to propose a realistic assignment of the matrix spectra.