Adsorption of water molecules inside a Au nanotube: a molecular dynamics study

A molecular dynamics simulation of water molecules through a Au nanotube with a diameter of 20 A at bulk densities 0.8, 1, and 1.2 gcm(3) has been carried out. The water molecules inside a nanoscale tube, unlike those inside a bulk tube, have a confined effect. The interaction energy of the Au nanotube wall has a direct influence on the distribution of water molecules inside the Au tube in that the adsorption of the water molecules creates shell-like formations of water. Moreover, the high number of adsorbed molecules has already achieved saturation at the wall of the Au nanotube at three bulk densities. This work compares the distribution percentage profiles of hydrogen bonds for different regions inside the tube. The structural characteristics of water molecules inside the tube have also been studied. The results reveal that the numbers of hydrogen bonds per water molecule influence the orientational order parameter q. In addition, the phenomenon of a group of molecules bonded inside the tube can be observed as the number of hydrogen bonds increase.     

Orientation of a benzene molecule inside a carbon nanotube

Benzene molecules confined in carbon nanotubes of varying radii are employed as semiconductors in electronic nanodevices, and their orientation determines the electrical properties of the system. In this paper, we investigate the interaction energy of all the possible configurations of a benzene molecule inside various carbon nanotubes and then we determine the equilibrium configuration. We adopt the continuous approach together with the semi-empirical Lennard-Jones potential function to model van der Waals interaction between a benzene molecule and a carbon nanotube. This approach results in an analytical expression, which accurately approximates the interaction energy and can be readily used to generate numerical data. We find that horizontal, tilted and perpendicular configurations on the axis of the carbon nanotube are all possible equilibrium configurations of the benzene molecule when the radius of the carbon nanotube is less than 5.580 Å. However, when the radius of the carbon nanotube is larger than 5.580 Å an offset horizontal orientation is the only possible equilibrium configuration of the benzene molecule. In the limiting case, the orientation of a benzene molecule on a graphene sheet can be derived simply by letting the radius of the carbon nanotube tend to infinity.     

Investigation of the electrocatalytic behavior of single-wall carbon nanotube films on an Au electrode

The voltammetric behavior of uric acid (UA) was studied with an Au electrode modified with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). In 0.1 M HAc-NaAc buffer solution (pH 5.0), the SWNT-modified electrode shows high electrocatalytic activity toward UA oxidation. The electro-oxidation of UA is an irreversible diffusion-controlled process with a diffusion coefficient (D) of 8.85×10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹. The peak current increases linearly with the concentration of UA in the range of 4.0×10⁻⁶-7.0×10⁻⁴ M. The detection limit is 1.0×10⁻⁶ M. The SWNT was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the SWNT-modified electrode has favorable electrocatalytic activity toward dopamine and norepinephrine. This SWNT-modified electrode can also separate the electrochemical responses of uric acid, norepinephrine and ascorbic acid.     

Conformational behavior of ethane molecule encapsulated in a nanotube

Investigation of conformation transformations of ethane molecule in single-wall carbon nanotubes by the hybrid DFT method PBE/3z showed that the parameters and the character of the nanotube (length, diameter, open, closed, or semiopened) affect the conformational behavior of the encapsulated molecule leveling the difference in the energy or even resulting in the inversion of the relative stability of the staggered and eclipsed forms.     

单硫酸卡那霉素、乙醇及其混合物在水中的稀释热

本文测定了25℃的单硫酸卡那霉素水溶液和卡那霉素-乙醇水溶液的稀释热. 同时对乙醇水溶液的稀释热也重新进行了测定.     

Enhancement of ethanol electrooxidation on plasmonic Au/TiO2 nanotube arrays

Novel electrocatalysts Au/TiO₂ nanotube arrays (Au/TiO₂NTs) were prepared by loading low-content(1.9 at.%) of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto highly ordered TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TiO₂NTs). Ethanol electrooxidation indicates that visible-light (λ > 400 nm) irradiation can significantly enhance the activity as well as resistpoisoning of Au/TiO₂NTs electrocatalysts that are activated by plasmon resonance. Au/TiO₂NTs catalysts calcinated at 300 °C display the highest performance due to the strong synergistic interactions between TiO₂ and Au NPs. The combination of visible-light irradiation with a controllable potential offers a new strategyfor enhancing the performance of anodes in direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC).     

Local environment and property of water inside the hollow cylinder of a lipid nanotube

We investigated the local environment of water confined inside the hollow cylinder of lipid nanotubes (LNTs) by time-resolved fluorescent measurements and attenuated-total-reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. The LNT was obtained by self-assembly of cardanyl glucosides in water at room temperature and had an open-ended cylindrical nanospace with a diameter of 10-15 nm, a length of 10-100 microm, and hydrophilic inner and outer surfaces. We introduced a fluorescent probe of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate into the confined water and observed an extremely slow dynamic Stokes shift with a correlation time of 1.26 ns, which was 2-3 orders of magnitude longer than that of bulk-phase water. From the peak shift of the fluorescent spectrum, the local solvent polarity (ET(30)) of the confined water was estimated as 50 kcal/mol, which is 20% lower than that in bulk water. ATR-IR measurements showed that the hydrogen-bond network of water inside the LNT was more developed than that in bulk water at room temperature, which is in contrast to the water in other self-assembled confined geometries, such as Aerosol-OT (AOT) reversed micelles.     

Determination and correlation of the solubility of tricin in water and ethanol mixtures

The solubility of tricin in water and ethanol mixtures was measured over the temperature range of (288.15 to 328.15) K. The concentrations of tricin in the aqueous mixtures were assayed by the ultraviolet spectrophotometric method. The experimental solubility data indicated that the solubility of tricin increases with an increase in temperature and an enrichment in ethanol content. The two models, including the modified Apelblat equation and λh equation were used to correlate the experimental solubility data. The calculated solubility of tricin shows good agreement with the experimental results. Additionally, the estimation of thermodynamic properties including the activity coefficients, dissolution enthalpy, and entropy were obtained from the experimental data. Within the studied temperature range the dissolution process of tricin is endothermic, and the driving force is the entropy.     

Wetting behavior of mixtures of water and nonionic polyoxyethylene alcohol

Five binary water + C4Ej mixtures, water + n-C4E0, water + 2-C4E0, water + iso-C4E0, water + n-C4E1, and water + iso-C4E1, were chosen to perform the surface/interfacial tension measurements over the experimental temperature range from 10 to 85 degrees C at the normal pressure by using a homemade pendent drop/bubble tensiometer. The symbol CiEj is the abbreviation of a nonionic polyoxyethylene alcohol CiH(2i+1)(OCH2CH2)jOH. The wetting behavior of the CiEj-rich phase at the interface separating gas and the aqueous phase is systematically examined according to the wetting coefficient resulting from the experimental data of surface/interfacial tensions measurements. For those systems with a lower critical solution temperature, for example, water + n-C6E2, water + n-C4E1, and water + iso-C4E1, a wetting transition from partial wetting to nonwetting is always observed when the system is brought to close to its lower critical solution temperature. On the other hand, to start with a partial wetting CiEj-rich phase, a wetting transition from partial wetting to complete wetting is always observed when the system is driven to approach its upper critical solution temperature. The effect of hydrophobicity of CiEj on the wetting behavior of the CiEj-rich phase at the interface separating gas and the aqueous phase was carefully investigated by using five sets of mixtures: (1) water + n-C4E0, water + n-C5E0, and water + n-C6E0; (2) water + 2-C4E0 and water + 2-C5E0; (3) water + 2-C4E0 and water + n-C4E0; (4) water + n-C4E1, water + n-C5E1, and water + n-C6E1; (5) water + n-C4E0 and water + n-C4E1. The CiEj-rich phase would tend to drive away from complete wetting (or nonwetting) to partial wetting with an increase in the hydrophobicity of CiEj in the binary water + CiEj system. All the wetting behavior observed in the water + CiEj mixtures is consistent with the prediction of the critical point wetting theory of Cahn.     

Effect of flexibility on hydrophobic behavior of nanotube water channels

Carbon nanotubes can serve as simple nonpolar water channels. Here we report computer simulations exploring the relationship between the mechanical properties of such channels and their interaction with water. We show that on one hand, increasing the flexibility of the carbon nanotubes increases their apparent hydrophobic character, while on the other hand the presence of water inside the channel makes them more resistant to radial collapse. We quantify the effect of increasing flexibility on the hydrophobicity of the nanotube water channel. We also show that flexibility impedes water transport across the nanotube channel by increasing the free-energy barriers to such motion. Conversely, the presence of water inside the nanotube is shown to affect the energetics of radial collapse in a water nanotube, an ostensibly mechanical property. We quantify the magnitude of the effect and show that it arises from the formation of energetically favorable low-dimensional water structures inside the nanotube such as one-dimensional wires and two-dimensional sheets.     

基于太赫兹透射光谱的乙醇水溶液Debye模型研究

利用太赫兹透射光谱测量了液态乙醇和液态水以及不同浓度乙醇水溶液在22℃的介电常数.并利用Levenberg-Marquardt算法拟合得到了它们的Debye模型,该模型包含3个弛豫过程和1个分子间伸缩振动模式.其中,慢速弛豫模式的强度(弛豫时间20~160ps)贡献了主要的介电强度,中间弛豫模式与其密切相关.而快速弛豫模式(弛豫时间约为1ps)只占了大约5%的介电常数.     

乙醇和环己烷液体混合物的内压

测定了25-65℃温度范围内乙醇和环己烷液体混合物的热压力系数, 它们都很好地遵守我们先前提出的修正van der Waals模型。从模型参数B/A^2, 可以得到乙醇自缔合的破坏与浓度间的定量关系。混合物的内压不仅取决于两个组分的内压, 而且还与相互作用参数A12有关。     

Regioselective competitive adsorption of water and organic vapor mixtures on pristine single-walled carbon nanotube bundles

Sequential adsorption of water and organic vapor mixtures onto single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles is studied experimentally and by grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation to elucidate the distinct interactions between select adsorbates and the nanoporous structure of SWNTs. Experimental adsorption isotherms on SWNT bundles for hexane, methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexane, and toluene individually mixed in carrier gases that were nearly saturated with water vapor are compared with the GCMC-simulated isotherms for hexane, as a representative organic, on the external surface of the heterogeneous SWNT bundles. From the nearly perfect overlap between the experimental and simulated isotherms, it is concluded that until near saturation only the internal pore volume of pristine SWNT bundles fills with water. The adsorption of water vapor on the peripheral surface of the bundles remains insignificant, if not negligible, in comparison to the adsorption of water in the internal volume of the bundles. This is in contrast with the adsorption of pure hexane, which exhibits appreciable adsorption both inside the bundles and on their external surface. It is also suggested that during competitive adsorption, water molecules take precedence over small nonpolar and polar organic molecules for adsorption inside SWNTs and leave unoccupied the hydrophobic external surface of the bundles for other more compatible adsorbates.     

水/乙醇混合溶剂中氨基酸离解的取代基效应

用LKB-2277BioActivityMonitor测定了298.15K时甘氨酸,丙氨酸和丝氨酸在水/乙醇混合溶剂中的离解焓,计算了相应的离解熵。根据三个氨基酸分别与某一参考酸之间的质子交换反应,重点讨论了溶剂结构变化对取代基效应焓,熵变化的影响。实验结果表明在水/乙醇混合溶剂的最大结构化区域,取代基效应最为显著。认为在混合溶剂的富水区大块的似冰山结构的水分子簇的寿命大大延长。     

Au2、Au3小团族分子的结构和势能函数

原子团簇的结构和性质研究是当今物理学和材料学中的一个热门课题,过渡金属团簇特别是Au团簇,由于其独特的物理和化学性质而被广泛地应用于催化反应、材料吸附[1-2]和光的吸收中[3]。近年来,人们用不同的理论方法研究金原子团簇。H儯kkinen等人利用GGA方法研究了中性和阴离Au2-10团簇的性质[4];Bravo-P啨rez等人采用从头计算的HF和post-HF方法研究Au2-Au6小团簇[5],这些计算结果与实验值相比,相差较大。由于金团簇电子结构的复杂性,对Au体系考虑旋—轨耦合和电子相关效应是很重要的,这种计算的不确定性对Au的影响比IB簇的其它金属团…     

Simulating the nucleation of water/ethanol and water/n-nonane mixtures: mutual enhancement and two-pathway mechanism

A combination of the aggregation-volume-bias and configurational-bias Monte Carlo algorithms and the umbrella sampling technique was applied to investigate two different binary vapor-liquid nucleation systems: water/ethanol and water/n-nonane. The simulations are able to reproduce the different nonideal nucleation behavior observed experimentally for these two systems, i.e., the mutual enhancement of nucleation rates for water/ethanol mixtures and the two-pathway nucleation for water/n-nonane mixtures. Structural analysis provides microscopic explanations for the observed nucleation behavior. In particular, the simulations show a large and size-dependent surface enrichment of ethanol in the water/ethanol droplets, which confirms the previous experimental interpretation for this system. The immiscibility observed even for small water/n-nonane clusters causes the two-pathway nucleation mechanism.     

Surface bonding and dynamical behavior of the CH3SH molecule on Au(111)

The chemisorption of the undissociated CH3SH molecule on the Au(111) surface has been studied at 5 K using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The molecule was found to adsorb on atop Au sites on the defect-free surface. CH3SH undergoes hindered rotation about the Au-S bond on the defect-free surface which is seen in STM as a time-averaged 6-fold pattern. The pattern suggests that the potential minima directions occur for the rotating molecule at the six hollow sites surrounding the atop adsorption site. The barrier for rotation, obtained by DFT calculations, is approximately 0.1 kcal.mol(-1). At low coverages, preferential adsorption occurs at defect sites in the surface, namely, the herringbone "elbows" and random atomic step sites. Molecules adsorbed on these sites do not exhibit rotational freedom.     

甘氨酸在DMF/水和乙醇/水混合溶剂中的焓对相互作用

利用LKB2277生物活性检测仪对298.15K时甘;氨酸在纯水,DBF/水和乙醇/水混合溶剂DBF(或乙醇的质量分数为0.05~0.45,以10%递增)中的稀释焓进行了测定,并利用维里展开式法关联得到焓对相互作用系数值.结果表明,焓对相互作用系数h~2与溶剂的结构性质密切相关.在DBF/水混合物溶剂中,h~2随DBF含量的增加而变得更负;而在乙醇/水混合溶剂中,h~2与乙醇含量近似呈抛物线型关系,在乙醇质量分数为0.25时h~2达到一个极小值。