Isosteric heat of argon adsorbed on single-walled carbon nanotubes prepared by laser ablation

We have measured 21 adsorption isotherms for argon on single-walled carbon nanotubes produced by laser ablation. We explored temperatures between 40 and 153 K to obtain the coverage dependence of the isosteric heat of adsorption for films in the first and second layers. Our data are compared to results obtained in computer simulation studies and to data obtained in previous experimental investigations of this system.     

The effect of surface ions on water adsorption to mica

We have measured the adsorption isotherms of water on a single surface of freshly cleaved mica with K+ on the surface, and on mica where the K+ has been exchanged for H+. Using a very sensitive interferometric technique, we have found a significant difference between the two isotherms at submonolayer coverage, for relative vapor pressures p/p0 < 0.5. The K+-mica isotherm shows a pronounced convexity, suggesting distinct adsorption sites, whereas the H+-mica isotherm is flatter. The two isotherms converge above monolayer coverage. The results give a graphic demonstration of the importance of nanoscale surface heterogeneities for vapor adsorption at submonolayer coverage.     

Monte Carlo simulations of the adsorption of CO2 on the MgO(100) surface

The adsorption of CO2 gas on the MgO (100) crystal surface is investigated using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. This allows us to obtain adsorption isotherms that can be compared with experiment, as well as to explore the possible formation of monolayers of different densities. Our model calculations agree reasonably well with the available experimental results. We find a "low-density" adsorbed monolayer where each CO2 molecule is bound to two Mg2+ ions on the MgO substrate. We also observe the formation of monolayers of higher density, where some of the CO2 molecules have rotated and tilted to expose additional binding sites. Low-temperature simulations of both the low- and high-density monolayers reveal that these states are very close in energy, with binding energies of approximately 7 kcal/mol at T=5 K. The high-density monolayer given by our model has a density that is significantly less than the reported experimental value. We discuss this discrepancy and offer suggestions for resolving it.     

Alchemical free energy calculations via metadynamics: Application to the theophylline-RNA aptamer complex

We propose a computational workflow for robust and accurate prediction of both binding poses and their affinities at early stage in designing drug candidates. Small, rigid ligands with few intramolecular degrees of freedom, for example, fragment-like molecules, have multiple binding poses, even at a single binding site, and their affinities are often close to each other. We explore various structures of ligand binding to a target through metadynamics using a small number of collective variables, followed by reweighting to obtain the atomic coordinates. After identifying each binding pose by cluster analysis, we perform alchemical free energy calculations on each structure to obtain the overall value. We applied this protocol in computing free energy of binding for the theophylline-RNA aptamer complex. Of the six (meta)stable structures found, the most favorable binding structure is consistent with the structure obtained by NMR. The overall free energy of binding reproduces the experimental values very well.     

Cryogenic separation of hydrogen isotopes in single-walled carbon and boron-nitride nanotubes: insight into the mechanism of equilibrium quantum sieving in quasi-one-dimensional pores

Quasi-one-dimensional cylindrical pores of single-walled boron nitride and carbon nanotubes efficiently differentiate adsorbed hydrogen isotopes at 33 K. Extensive path integral Monte Carlo simulations revealed that the mechanisms of quantum sieving for both types of nanotubes are quantitatively similar; however, the stronger and heterogeneous external solid-fluid potential generated from single-walled boron nitride nanotubes enhanced the selectivity of deuterium over hydrogen both at zero coverage and at finite pressures. We showed that this enhancement of the D(2)/H(2) equilibrium selectivity results from larger localization of hydrogen isotopes in the interior space of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes in comparison to that of equivalent single-walled carbon nanotubes. The operating pressures for efficient quantum sieving of hydrogen isotopes are strongly depending on both the type as well as the size of the nanotube. For all investigated nanotubes, we predicted the occurrence of the minima of the D(2)/H(2) equilibrium selectivity at finite pressure. Moreover, we showed that those well-defined minima are gradually shifted upon increasing of the nanotube pore diameter. We related the nonmonotonic shape of the D(2)/H(2) equilibrium selectivity at finite pressures to the variation of the difference between the average kinetic energy computed from single-component adsorption isotherms of H(2) and D(2). In the interior space of both kinds of nanotubes hydrogen isotopes formed solid-like structures (plastic crystals) at 33 K and 10 Pa with densities above the compressed bulk para-hydrogen at 30 K and 30 MPa.     

Effect of chemical potential on the computer simulation of hydrogen storage in single walled carbon nanotubes

Hydrogen is a kind of clean, sustainable and renewable energy carrier. Of the problems to be solved for the utilization of hydrogen energy, how to store and transport hydrogen has been given high priority on the research agenda. Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were reported to be very promising candidates for hydrogen uptake[1], which may have possibility to satisfy the benchmark set by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Plan for fuel cell powered vehicles: a gravimetric density …     

Monte Carlo simulations of hydrogen adsorption in alkali-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes

Monte Carlo simulations and Widom's test particle insertion method have been used to calculate the solubility coefficients (S) and the adsorption equilibrium constants (K) in single-walled (10,10) armchair carbon nanotubes including single nanotubes, and nanotube bundles with various configurations with and without alkali dopants. The hydrogen adsorption isotherms at room temperature were predicted by following the Langmuir adsorption model using the calculated constants S and K. The simulation results were in good agreement with experimental data as well as the grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation results reported in the literature. The simulations of nanotube bundle configurations suggest that the gravimetric hydrogen adsorption increases with internanotube gap size. It may be attributed to favorable hydrogen-nanotube interactions outside the nanotubes. The effect of alkali doping on hydrogen adsorption was studied by incorporating K+ or Li+ ions into nanotube arrays using a Monte Carlo simulation. The results on hydrogen adsorption isotherms indicate hydrogen adsorption of 3.95 wt% for K-doping, and 4.21 wt% for Li-doping, in reasonable agreement with the experimental results obtained at 100 atm and room temperature.     

Counterion and surface density dependence of the adsorption layer of ionic surfactants at the vapor-aqueous solution interface: a computer simulation study

To test the validity of currently used adsorption theories and understand the origin of the lack of their ability of adequately describing existing surface tension measurement data, we have performed a series of molecular dynamics simulations of the adsorption layer of alkali decyl sulfate at the vapor/aqueous solution interface. The simulations have been performed with five different cations (i.e., Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+) at two different surface concentrations (i.e., 2 micromol/m2 and 4 micromol/m2). The obtained results clearly show that the thickness of the outer Helmholtz plate, a key quantity of the various adsorption theories, depends on two parameters, that is, the size of the cations and the surface density of the anionic surfactant. Namely, with increasing surface concentration, the electrostatic attraction between the two, oppositely charged, layers becomes stronger, leading to a considerable shrinking of the outer Helmholtz plate. Furthermore, this layer is found to be thicker in the presence of larger cations. The former effect could be important in understanding the anomalous shape of the adsorption isotherms of alkali alkyl sulfate surfactants, while the second effect seems to be essential in explaining the cation specificity of these isotherms.     

Porosity of closed carbon nanotubes compressed using hydraulic pressure

Experimental data of nitrogen adsorption (T = 77.3 K) from gaseous phase measured on commercial closed carbon nanotubes are presented. Additionally, we show the results of N₂ adsorption on compressed (using hydraulic press) CNTs. In order to explain the experimental observations the results of GCMC simulations of N₂ adsorption on isolated or bundled multi-walled closed nanotubes (four models of bundles) are discussed. We show that the changes of the experimental adsorption isotherms are related to the compression of the investigated adsorbents. They are qualitatively similar to the theoretical observations. Taking into account all results it is concluded that in the “architecture” of nanotubes very important role has been played by isolated nanotubes.     

Study of hydrogen adsorption on FeTi using molecular dynamics simulations

We have used molecular dynamics simulation to study the adsorption isotherms of molecular hydrogen on FeTi at several temperatures ranging from 60 to 100 K. Adsorption coverage, isosteric heat, and binding energy were calculated at different temperatures and pressures. The results indicated that FeTi can be used as an ideal hydrogen storage material. The surface coverage or total amount of hydrogen adsorbed on FeTi is between 0.28 to 0.35.     

Thermodynamics of CO2 adsorption on functionalized SBA-15 silica. NLDFT analysis of surface energetic heterogeneity

Siliceous SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves were functionalized with different amounts of 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane. To obtain a more detailed insight into the material properties of the prepared samples, their textural parameters were combined with results of thermal analysis. Adsorption isotherms of carbon dioxide on parent and functionalized SBA-15 were measured in the temperature range from 273 to 333 K. From the temperature dependence of CO(2) isotherms the isosteric adsorption heats of CO(2) were determined and discussed. Information about the surface energetic heterogeneity caused by tethered 3-aminopropyl groups were obtained from CO(2) adsorption energy distributions calculated using the theoretical CO(2) adsorption isotherms derived from the non-local density functional theory. The values of isosteric heats and the energy distributions of CO(2) adsorption detect highly energetic sites and enabled quantification of their concentrations.     

Heterogeneity of multiwalled carbon nanotubes based on adsorption of simple aromatic compounds from aqueous solutions

The surface heterogeneity of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is studied on the basis of adsorption isotherms from dilute aqueous phenol and dopamine solutions at various pH values. The generalized Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm equation was applied to investigate the cooperative effect of the surface heterogeneity and the lateral interactions between the adsorbates. The theoretical isosteric heats of adsorption were obtained assuming that the heat of adsorption profile reveals both the energetic heterogeneity of the adsorption system and the strength of the interactions between the neighboring molecules. The adsorption energy distribution functions were calculated by using algorithm based on a regularization method. The great advantage of this method is that the regularization makes no assumption about the shape of the obtained energy distribution functions. Analysis of the isosteric heats of adsorption for MWCNTs showed that the influence of the surface heterogeneity is much stronger than the role of the lateral interactions. The most typical adsorption heat is 20–22 kJ/mol for both phenol and dopamine. After purification of nanotubes, heat value for phenol dropped to 16–17 kJ/mol. The range of the energy distribution is only slightly influenced by the surface chemistry of the nanotubes in the aqueous conditions.     

Ethane/ethylene adsorption on carbon nanotubes: temperature and size effects on separation capacity

We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the adsorption of single-component ethane and ethylene and of equimolar mixtures of these two gases on bundles of closed, single-walled carbon nanotubes. Two types of nanotube bundles were used in the simulations: homogeneous (i.e., those in which all the nanotubes have identical diameters) and heterogeneous (those in which nanotubes of different diameters are allowed). We found that at the same pressure and temperature more ethane than ethylene adsorbs on the bundles over the entire range of pressures and temperatures explored. The simulation results for the equimolar mixtures show that the pressure at which maximum separation is attained is a very sensitive function of the diameter of the nanotubes present in the bundles. Simulations using heterogeneous bundles yield better agreement with single-component experimental data for isotherms and isosteric heats than those obtained from simulations using homogeneous bundles. Possible applications of nanotubes in gas separation are discussed. We explored the effect of the diameter of the nanotubes on the separation ability of these sorbents, both for the internal and for the external sites. We found that substrate selectivity is a decreasing function of temperature.     

Quantitative determination of competitive molecular adsorption on gold nanoparticles using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Surface-sensitive quantitative studies of competitive molecular adsorption on nanoparticles were conducted using a modified attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy method. Adsorption isotherms for thiolated poly(ethylene glycol) (SH-PEG) on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a function of molecular mass (1, 5, and 20 kDa) were characterized. We find that surface density of SH-PEG on AuNPs is inversely proportional to the molecular mass (M(m)). Equilibrium binding constants for SH-PEG, obtained using the Langmuir adsorption model, show the binding affinity for SH-PEG is proportional to M(m). Simultaneous competitive adsorption between mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and 5 kDa SH-PEG (SH-PEG5K) was investigated, and we find that MPA concentration is the dominant factor influencing the surface density of both SH-PEG5K and MPA, whereas the concentration of SH-PEG5K affects only SH-PEG5K surface density. Electrospray differential mobility analysis (ES-DMA) was employed as an orthogonal characterization technique. ES-DMA results are consistent with the results obtained by ATR-FTIR, confirming our conclusions about the adsorption process in this system. Ligand displacement competitive adsorption, where the displacing molecular species is added after completion of the ligand surface binding, was also interrogated by ATR-FTIR. Results indicate that for SH-PEG increasing M(m) yields greater stability on AuNPs when measured against displacement by bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model serum protein. In addition, the binding affinity of BSA to AuNPs is inhibited for SH-PEG conjugated AuNPs, an effect that is enhanced at higher SH-PEG M(m) values.     

Binding energies of protonated betaine complexes: a probe of zwitterion structure in the gas phase

The dissociation kinetics of proton-bound dimers of betaine with molecules of comparable gas-phase basicity were investigated using blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD). Threshold dissociation energies were obtained from these data using master equation modeling. For bases that have comparable or higher gas-phase basicity, the binding energy of the protonated base.betaine complex is ~1.4 eV. For molecules that are ~2 kcal/mol or more less basic, the dissociation energy of the complexes is ~1.2 eV. The higher binding energy of the former is attributed to an ion-zwitterion structure which has a much larger ion-dipole interaction. The lower binding energy for molecules that are ~2 kcal/mol or more less basic indicates that an ion-molecule structure is more favored. Semiempirical calculations at both the AM1 and PM3 levels indicate the most stable ion-molecule structure is one in which the base interacts with the charged quaternary ammonium end of betaine. These results indicate that the measurement of binding energies of neutral molecules to biological ions could provide a useful probe for the presence of zwitterions and salt bridges in the gas phase. From the BIRD data, the gas-phase basicity of betaine obtained from the kinetic method is found to be 239.2 +/- 1.0 kcal/mol. This value is in excellent agreement with the value of 239.3 kcal/mol (298 K) from ab initio calculations at the MP2/6-31+g** level. The measured value is slightly higher than those reported previously. This difference is attributed to entropy effects. The lower ion internal energy and longer time frame of BIRD experiments should provide values closer to those at standard temperature.     

纳米碳管电子结构和键合特性的第一原理研究

利用第一原理方法对一系列尺寸变化的单层纳米碳管电子结构进行了研究,得到了总态密度和态密度随碳管半径R的变化情况与实验结果完全一致,Fermi能级处态密度值随着管径R的增大而减小,说明纳米管的化学活性随着管径的增大而增强。碳管中C-C之间的键合为2s和2p价电子混合而成的弯曲的σ,π键,随着管径R的增大,化学键的弯曲度逐渐减小,C-C之间的键合作用和结合能逐渐增强,电荷密度和对应的势场也逐渐减弱。这些结果表明管径较小的纳米碳管在复合材料的合成中具有一定的优势。     

Monte Carlo Simulation and Experimental Studies of CO2, CH4 and Their Mixture Capture in Porous Carbons

Adsorption of carbon dioxide and methane in porous activated carbon and carbon nanotube was studied experimentally and by Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation. A gravimetric analyzer was used to obtain the experimental data, while in the simulation we used graphitic slit pores of various pore size to model activated carbon and a bundle of graphitic cylinders arranged hexagonally to model carbon nanotube. Carbon dioxide was modeled as a 3-center-Lennard-Jones (LJ) molecule with three fixed partial charges, while methane was modeled as a single LJ molecule. We have shown that the behavior of adsorption for both activated carbon and carbon nanotube is sensitive to pore width and the crossing of isotherms is observed because of the molecular packing, which favors commensurate packing for some pore sizes. Using the adsorption data of pure methane or carbon dioxide on activated carbon, we derived its pore size distribution (PSD), which was found to be in good agreement with the PSD obtained from the analysis of nitrogen adsorption data at 77 K. This derived PSD was used to describe isotherms at other temperatures as well as isotherms of mixture of carbon dioxide and methane in activated carbon and carbon nanotube at 273 and 300 K. Good agreement between the computed and experimental isotherm data was observed, thus justifying the use of a simple adsorption model.     

Adsorption of gases in metal organic materials: comparison of simulations and experiments

Molecular simulations using standard force fields have been carried out to model the adsorption of various light gases on a number of different metal organic framework-type materials. The results have been compared with the available experimental data to test the validity of the model potentials. We observe good agreement between simulations and experiments for a number of different cases and very poor agreement in other cases. Possible reasons for the discrepancy in simulated and measured isotherms are discussed. We predict hydrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 and 298 K in a number of different metal organic framework materials. The importance of quantum diffraction effects and framework charges on the adsorption of hydrogen at 77 K is discussed. Our calculations indicate that at room temperature none of the materials that we have tested is able to meet the requirements for on-board hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles. We have calculated the volume available in a given sorbent at a specified adsorption energy (density of states). We discuss how this density of states can be used to assess the effectiveness of a sorbent material for hydrogen storage.     

Effect of pressure on spin–orbit interaction in a quantum wire with V-shaped cross section

In the present work, we have considered a GaAs/Ga_1−xAl_xAs V-shaped quantum wire with a hydrogenic donor impurity at the center. First, the Schrödinger equation is analytically solved without the impurity. Second, we have used variational approximation to obtain the ground state binding energy. Third, the spin–orbit interaction (SOI) is studied by the perturbation theory. We also have investigated the effect of pressure on the binding energy and SOI in this quantum wire. According to the obtained results, it is found that i) the binding energy increases with increasing pressure, ii) the level splitting increases by increasing pressure, iii) the splitting decreases with increasing wire size.     

The Cohesive Energy and Vibration Characteristics of Parallel Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Based on the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between carbon atoms, the interface cohesive energy between parallel single-walled carbon nanotubes was studied using continuous mechanics theory, and the influence of the diameter of carbon nanotubes and the distance between them on the cohesive energy was analyzed. The results show that the size has little effect on the cohesive energy between carbon nanotubes when the length of carbon nanotubes is over 10 nm. At the same time, we analyzed the cohesive energy between parallel carbon nanotubes with the molecular dynamics simulation method. The results of the two methods were compared and found to be very consistent. Based on the vdW interaction between parallel carbon nanotubes, the vibration characteristics of the two parallel carbon nanotube system were analyzed based on the continuous mechanical Euler-beam model. The effects of the vdW force between carbon nanotubes, the diameter and length of carbon nanotubes on the vibration frequency of carbon nanotubes was studied. The obtained results are helpful in improving the understanding of the vibration characteristics of carbon nanotubes and provide an important theoretical basis for their application.