Kinetic analysis of solid‐state reactions: Precision of the activation energy calculated by integral methods

The integral methods are extensively used for the kinetic analysis of solid‐state reactions. As the Arrhenius integral function [p(x)] does not have an exact analytical solution, different approximated equations have been proposed in the literature for performing the kinetic analysis of experimental integral data. Since the first approximation of Van Krevelen, a large number of equations have been proposed with the objective of increasing the precision in the determination of the Arrhenius integral, as checked from the standard deviation of the approximated function with regard to the real exact value of the integral. However, the main application of these equations is the determination of the kinetic parameters, in particular activation energies, and not the computation of the Arrhenius integral. A systematic analysis of the errors involved in the determination of the activation energy from these integral methods is still missing. A comparative study of the precision of the activation energy as a function of x and T computed from the different integral methods has been carried out. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 37: 658–666, 2005     

Iterative Solution Method for the Linearized Poisson-Boltzmann Equation: Indirect Boundary Integral Equation Approach

An iterative solution scheme is proposed for solving the electrical double-layer interactions governed by the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The method is based on the indirect integral equation formulation with the double-layer potential kernel of the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation. In contrast to the conventional direct integral equation approach that yields Fredholm integral equations of the first kind, the indirect integral equation approach yields well-posed Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. The eigenvalue analysis reveals that the spectral radius of the double-layer integral operator is always less than one. Thus, iterative solution schemes can be successfully implemented for solving the electrical double-layer interactions for very large and complex systems. The utility of the iterative indirect method is demonstrated for several examples which include spherical and spheroidal particles. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Single-center method of calculation for clusters and molecules other than hydrides

A new single-center method is proposed for solving the one-particle Schrödinger equation for molecules other than hydrides and for clusters, based on the method of associated differential and integral equations. The higher terms of the expansion of the wave function of the electron are replaced by linear combinations of analytical functions. This reduces the system of integro-differential equations to a system of differential and algebraic equations, for which stable numerical solutions have been worked out. Calculations are given of the energy and functions of the 2s state of an oxygen atom with a displaced center.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya,Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 12–20, January–February, 1989.The authors are grateful to A. G. Kochur for making available the program for the SC expansion of atomic functions, and also to V. L. Sukhorukov for discussing the results.     

Application of a renormalization-group treatment to the statistical associating fluid theory for potentials of variable range (SAFT-VR)

An accurate prediction of phase behavior at conditions far and close to criticality cannot be accomplished by mean-field based theories that do not incorporate long-range density fluctuations. A treatment based on renormalization-group (RG) theory as developed by White and co-workers has proven to be very successful in improving the predictions of the critical region with different equations of state. The basis of the method is an iterative procedure to account for contributions to the free energy of density fluctuations of increasing wavelengths. The RG method has been combined with a number of versions of the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT), by implementing White's earliest ideas with the improvements of Prausnitz and co-workers. Typically, this treatment involves two adjustable parameters: a cutoff wavelength L for density fluctuations and an average gradient of the wavelet function Φ. In this work, the SAFT-VR (variable range) equation of state is extended with a similar crossover treatment which, however, follows closely the most recent improvements introduced by White. The interpretation of White's latter developments allows us to establish a straightforward method which enables Φ to be evaluated; only the cutoff wavelength L then needs to be adjusted. The approach used here begins with an initial free energy incorporating only contributions from short-wavelength fluctuations, which are treated locally. The contribution from long-wavelength fluctuations is incorporated through an iterative procedure based on attractive interactions which incorporate the structure of the fluid following the ideas of perturbation theories and using a mapping that allows integration of the radial distribution function. Good agreement close and far from the critical region is obtained using a unique fitted parameter L that can be easily related to the range of the potential. In this way the thermodynamic properties of a square-well (SW) fluid are given by the same number of independent intermolecular model parameters as in the classical equation. Far from the critical region the approach provides the correct limiting behavior reducing to the classical equation (SAFT-VR). In the critical region the β critical exponent is calculated and is found to take values close to the universal value. In SAFT-VR the free energy of an associating chain fluid is obtained following the thermodynamic perturbation theory of Wertheim from the knowledge of the free energy and radial distribution function of a reference monomer fluid. By determining L for SW fluids of varying well width a unique equation of state is obtained for chain and associating systems without further adjustment of critical parameters. We use computer simulation data of the phase behavior of chain and associating SW fluids to test the accuracy of the new equation.     

Volumetric and refractive properties of binary mixtures containing 1,3-dioxolane and isomeric chlorobutanes

The relation between refractive index deviations and excess volumes for binary mixtures formed by a cyclic ether and a haloalkane has been tested using several methods: refractive index mixing rules and equations of state. Refractive index deviations, excess volumes and molar refractions have been calculated from experimental data of refractive indices and densities at two temperatures 298.15 and 313.15 K. Results obtained have been discussed in terms of intermolecular interactions. Refractive indices were compared with those predicted by several mixing rules. Excess volumes have also been correlated using several cubic equations of state and finally a relation between parameter b from equations of state and molar refraction has been provided.     

Multiple solutions of coupled-cluster doubles equations for the Pariser–Parr–Pople model of benzene

To gain some insight into the structure and physical significance of the multiple solutions to the coupled-cluster doubles (CCD) equations corresponding to the Pariser–Parr–Pople model of cyclic polyenes, complete solutions to the CCD equations for the ¹A _1g ^- states of benzene are obtained by means of the homotopy method. By varying the value of the resonance integral ß from –5.0 to –0.5 eV, we cover the so-called weakly, moderately, and strongly correlated regimes of the model. For each value of ß, 230 CCD solutions are obtained. It turned out, however, that only for a few solutions a correspondence with some physical states can be established. It has also been demonstrated that, unlike for the standard methods of solving CCD equations, some of the multiple solutions to the CCD equations can be attained by means of the iterative process based on Pulay's direct inversion in the iterative subspace approach.     

Solution of the Percus-Yevick equation for hard disks

The authors solve the Percus-Yevick equation in two dimensions by reducing it to a set of simple integral equations. They numerically obtain both the pair correlation function and the equation of state for a hard disk fluid and find good agreement with available Monte Carlo results. The present method of resolution may be generalized to any even dimension.     

Cholesky decomposition of the two-electron integral matrix in electronic structure calculations

A standard Cholesky decomposition of the two-electron integral matrix leads to integral tables which have a huge number of very small elements. By neglecting these small elements, it is demonstrated that the recursive part of the Cholesky algorithm is no longer a bottleneck in the procedure. It is shown that a very efficient algorithm can be constructed when family type basis sets are adopted. For subsequent calculations, it is argued that two-electron integrals represented by Cholesky integral tables have the same potential for simplifications as density fitting. Compared to density fitting, a Cholesky decomposition of the two-electron matrix is not subjected to the problem of defining an auxiliary basis for obtaining a fixed accuracy in a calculation since the accuracy simply derives from the choice of a threshold for the decomposition procedure. A particularly robust algorithm for solving the restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) equations can be speeded up if one has access to an ordered set of integral tables. In a test calculation on a linear chain of beryllium atoms, the advocated RHF algorithm nicely converged, but where the standard direct inversion in iterative space method converged very slowly to an excited state.     

Equations of state for pure and mixture square-well fluids. II. Equations of state

New coordination number models for square-well (SW) fluids are incorporated with the generalized van der Waals partition function to develop equations of state for both pure and mixture SW fluids. The equations of state have been extensively tested with the Monte Carlo simulation data, of which three sets (18 data points) for the pure SW fluids are produced in this work. The results show that, without any parameters, our model reasonably describes not only the PVT behaviors but also the second and third virial coefficients of the model fluids. In addition, a comprehensive comparison has been made between our models and the other equations of state derived from the Lee-Chao and Lee-Sandler coordination number correlations.     

A new iterative linear integral isoconversional method for the determination of the activation energy varying with the conversion degree

The conventional linear integral isoconversional methods may lead to important errors in the determination of the activation energy when the significant variation of the activation energy with the conversion degree occurs. Vyazovkin proposed an advanced nonlinear isoconversional method, which allows the activation energy to be accurately determined [Vyazovkin, J Comput Chem 2001, 22, 178]. However, the use of the Vyazovkin method raises the problem of the time‐consuming minimization without derivatives. A new iterative linear integral isoconversional method for the determination of the activation energy as a function of the conversion degree has been proposed, which is capable of providing valid values of the activation energy even if the latter strongly varies with the conversion degree. Also, the new method leads to the correct values of the activation energy in much less time than the Vyazovkin method. The application of the new method is illustrated by processing of theoretically simulated data of a strongly varying activation energy process. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Highly efficient and exact method for parallelization of grid‐based algorithms and its implementation in DelPhi

The Gauss–Seidel (GS) method is a standard iterative numerical method widely used to solve a system of equations and, in general, is more efficient comparing to other iterative methods, such as the Jacobi method. However, standard implementation of the GS method restricts its utilization in parallel computing due to its requirement of using updated neighboring values (i.e., in current iteration) as soon as they are available. Here, we report an efficient and exact (not requiring assumptions) method to parallelize iterations and to reduce the computational time as a linear/nearly linear function of the number of processes or computing units. In contrast to other existing solutions, our method does not require any assumptions and is equally applicable for solving linear and nonlinear equations. This approach is implemented in the DelPhi program, which is a finite difference Poisson–Boltzmann equation solver to model electrostatics in molecular biology. This development makes the iterative procedure on obtaining the electrostatic potential distribution in the parallelized DelPhi several folds faster than that in the serial code. Further, we demonstrate the advantages of the new parallelized DelPhi by computing the electrostatic potential and the corresponding energies of large supramolecular structures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Generalized formulation of quantum and classical crystallography using Green's functions

Quantum crystallography is a methodology by which structural information about a crystalline material obtained from X‐ray crystallography is combined with quantum mechanical methods. The objective is to enhance the data obtained from the X‐ray diffraction experiment, which are related to the atomic structure of the crystal, and to predict the properties and efficacy of those chemical compounds from which the crystals are derived. One approach in quantum crystallography is to use a projector matrix with a normalized trace. In this approach, quantum mechanical parameters in the projector matrix are fit into crystallographic data. During this fitting, the properties of the projector matrix called idempotency and normalization are used. Throughout this implementation procedure, Clinton's iteration scheme has been used in addition to the least‐squares technique. The purpose of the present study is to generalize Clinton's iterative equations in quantum crystallography by means of single‐particle Green's functions with the aid of the equal atoms model in the theory of direct methods. Convergency characters of the novel iterative equations are discussed by the steepest descent procedure. Furthermore, whether the calculations are valid in nonorthogonal bases was also examined. The iteration schemes widely used in quantum crystallography have been generalized but, in addition, the generalized expressions relating to the phase determination procedure and the probabilities of the sign relations between the structure factors are obtained and discussed comprehensively. The phrase order of crystallography has been put forward as a new concept. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Computer-assisted method development in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: new proposals

A new approach is proposed for computer-assisted method development in LC-MS. The procedure consists of three stages. Firstly, an accurate retention model is developed for the peaks in the mixture to be separated by use of an iterative approach with isocratic priming data, which is calibrated and validated by means of a few gradient runs. Secondly, a specially developed LC-MS objective function, based on selectivity targets (the selectivity matrix), is calculated and used to evaluate the simulated chromatograms and drive the optimization process. Thirdly, the retention model and the selectivity matrix objective function are used with an evolutionary algorithm in which the concepts of constrained Pareto optimality are applied, to carry out the unattended optimization process. The system was applied to real data for a complex separation and compared with the results provided by a commercial tool for computer-assisted method development.     

用单一非等温DSC曲线确定2,6-二硝基苯酚热分解反应的最可几机理函数和动力学参数

本文用自行设计加工的耐压不锈钢密封池在CDR-1型差动热分析仪上测得的一条DSC曲线, 利用计算非等温动力学的积分方程和微分方程拟合四组实验数据, 逻辑选择确定2,6-二硝基苯酚在分解深度为0.007-0.66范围内的热分解反应的最可几数学模式为F(α)=α。用放热速率方程算得其热分解反应的级数为零, 其表观活化能、指前因子的测量真值分别为134±9 k Jmol~(-1)、10~(9.17±0.77)S~(-1)。积分方程逻辑选择求得的表观活化能和指前因子的测量真值相应为133±8 kJmol~(-1)和10~(9.01±0.79)S~(-1)。微分方程逻辑选择求得的表观活化能和指前因子的测量真值相应为134±8 kJmol~(-1)和10~(9.10±0.63)S~(-1)。三者吻合良好。     

Quintic equation of state for pure substances in sub- and supercritical range

A new quintic equation of state (EOS) for pure substances and mixtures is proposed. The equation is based on critical parameters and one saturation point. The proposed Q5EOS is a generalisation of many cubic equations of state. Equation Q5 has five parameters, four of which are temperature-independent. The temperature-dependent parameter a is expressed by a relation based on a simple power function. Parameters defining this function can be calculated from saturation data, Boyle temperature and supercritical data.     

Numerical technique and computational procedure for isotachophoresis

This paper presents a new numerical method for computation of solutions of prototypical equations of isotachophoresis. Numerical computation is complicated because the Poisson equation, which relates electrostatic potential to space charge density, contains a small parameter. This parameter is usually assumed to have the value of zero. Under this assumption the Poisson differential equation is replaced by an algebraic equation, which is often called the equation of electroneutrality, because it indeed states that the electrolyte is electrically neutral this assumption were not studied in the past. Here we propose an iterative procedure which allows for computation of solutions without the assumption of electroneutrality. The accuracy is controlled by a number of iterations and is limited by a computer round-off error only. The method is based on our previously published theory of existence and uniqueness of solutions of isotachophoretic equations. Details of the computational algorithm for prototypical equations of isotachophoresis are given. A numerical example and comparison with previously published data are also provided.     

Development of equations for differential and integral enthalpy change of adsorption for simulation studies

We present equations to calculate the differential and integral enthalpy changes of adsorption for their use in Monte Carlo simulation. Adsorption of a system of N molecules, subject to an external potential energy, is viewed as one of transferring these molecules from a reference gas phase (state 1) to the adsorption system (state 2) at the same temperature and equilibrium pressure (same chemical potential). The excess amount adsorbed is the difference between N and the hypothetical amount of gas occupying the accessible volume of the system at the same density as the reference gas. The enthalpy change is a state function, which is defined as the difference between the enthalpies of state 2 and state 1, and the isosteric heat is defined as the negative of the derivative of this enthalpy change with respect to the excess amount of adsorption. It is suitable to determine how the system behaves for a differential increment in the excess phase adsorbed under subcritical conditions. For supercritical conditions, use of the integral enthalpy of adsorption per particle is recommended since the isosteric heat becomes infinite at the maximum excess concentration. With these unambiguous definitions we derive equations which are applicable for a general case of adsorption and demonstrate how they can be used in a Monte Carlo simulation. We apply the new equations to argon adsorption at various temperatures on a graphite surface to illustrate the need to use the correct equation to describe isosteric heat of adsorption.     

An improved algorithm for the normalized elimination of the small-component method

A new algorithm for the iterative solution of the normalized elimination of the small component (NESC) method is presented that is less costly than previous algorithms and that is based on (1) solving the NESC equations for the uncontracted rather than contracted basis (??First-Diagonalize-then-Contract??), (2) a new iterative procedure for obtaining the NESC Hamiltonian (??iterative TU algorithm??), (3) the renormalization scheme connected to the picture change, and (4) a finite nucleus model with a Gaussian charge distribution. The accuracy of NESC energies, which match those of 4-component Dirac calculations, is demonstrated. Test calculations with CCSD(T), DFT, and large basis sets including high angular momentum basis functions (f,g,h,i) are presented to prove the general applicability of the new NESC algorithm. Comparison with other algorithms of solving the NESC equations are shortly discussed and time savings are presented.     

A perturbation method for the Ornstein-Zernike equation and the generic van der Waals equation of state for a square well potential model

We calculate the generic van der Waals parameters A and B for a square well model by means of a perturbation theory. To calculate the pair distribution function or the cavity function necessary for the calculation of A and B, we have used the Percus-Yevick integral equation, which is put into an equivalent form by means of the Wiener-Hopf method. This latter method produces a pair of integral equations, which are solved by a perturbation method treating the Mayer function or the well width or the functions in the square well region exterior to the hard core as the perturbation. In the end, the Mayer function times the well width is identified as the perturbation parameter in the present method. In this sense, the present perturbation method is distinct from the existing thermodynamic perturbation theory, which expands the Helmholtz free energy in a perturbation series with the inverse temperature treated as an expansion parameter. The generic van der Waals parameters are explicitly calculated in analytic form as functions of reduced temperature and density. The van der Waals parameters are recovered from them in the limits of vanishing density and high temperature. The equation of state thus obtained is tested against Monte Carlo simulation results and found reliable, provided that the temperature is in the supercritical regime. By scaling the packing fraction with a temperature-dependent hard core, it is suggested to construct an equation of state for fluids with a temperature-dependent hard core that mimicks a soft core repulsive force on the basis of the equation of state derived for the square well model.