A new extension of the polarizable continuum model: Toward a quantum chemical description of chemical reactions at extreme high pressure

A quantum chemical method for studying potential energy surfaces of reactive molecular systems at extreme high pressures is presented. The method is an extension of the standard Polarizable Continuum Model that is usually used for Quantum Chemical study of chemical reactions at a standard condition of pressure. The physical basis of the method and the corresponding computational protocol are described in necessary detail, and an application of the method to the dimerization of cyclopentadiene (up to 20 GPa) is reported. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High‐Pressure Synthesis of Cd(NH3)2[B3O5(NH3)]2: Pioneering the Way to the Substance Class of Ammine Borates

To date, the access to the substance class of borates containing nitrogen, for example, nitridoborates, oxonitridoborates, or amine borates, was an extreme effort owing to the difficult starting materials and reaction conditions. Although a number of compounds containing boron and nitrogen are known, no adduct of ammonia to an inorganic borate has been observed so far. A new synthetic approach starting from the simple educts CdO, B₂O₃, and aqueous ammonia under conditions of 4.7 GPa and 800 °C led to the synthesis of Cd(NH₃)₂[B₃O₅(NH₃)]₂ as the first ammine borate. We thoroughly characterized this compound on the basis of low‐temperature single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction data, IR and Raman spectroscopy, and by quantum theoretical calculations. This contribution shows that the adduct of NH₃ to the BO₃ group of a complex B–O network can be stabilized, opening up a fundamentally new synthetic route to nitrogen‐containing borates.     

High-pressure preparation,crystal structure,and properties of alpha-(RE)2B4O9 (RE=Eu,Gd, Tb,Dy): oxoborates displaying a new type of structure with edge-sharing BO4 tetrahedra

High-pressure/high-temperature conditions of 10 GPa and 1150 degrees C were used to synthesize the new rare-earth oxoborates alpha-(RE)(2)B(4)O(9) (RE=Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy) in a Walker-type multianvil apparatus. Single-crystal X-ray structure determination of alpha-(RE)(2)B(4)O(9) (RE=Eu, Gd, Tb) revealed: C2/c, Z=20, alpha-Eu(2)B(4)O(9): a=2547.9(5), b=444.3(1), c=2493.8(5) pm, beta=99.82(3) degrees, R1=0.0277, wR2=0.0693 (all data); alpha-Gd(2)B(4)O(9): a=2539.0(1), b=443.3(1), c=2490.8(1) pm, beta=99.88(1) degrees, R1=0.0457, wR2=0.0643 (all data); alpha-Tb(2)B(4)O(9): a=2529.4(1), b=441.6(1), c=2484.3(1) pm, beta=99.88(1) degrees, R1=0.0474, wR2=0.0543 (all data). The isotypic compounds exhibit a new type of structure that is built up of BO(4) tetrahedra to form a network that incorporates the rare-earth cations. The most important feature is the existence of the new structural motif of edge-sharing BO(4) tetrahedra next to the known motif of corner-sharing BO(4) tetrahedra, which is realized in the presented compounds alpha-(RE)(2)B(4)O(9) (RE=Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy) for the second time. Furthermore, we report the temperature-resolved in-situ powder-diffraction measurements, DTA, IR/Raman spectroscopic investigations, and magnetic properties of the new compounds.     

Synthesis of boron suboxide (B6O) with ball milled boron oxide (B2O3) under lower pressure and temperature

Boron reacted with ball milled boron oxide under pressures between 1 and 5 GPa and at temperatures between 1300 and 1700 °C to afford boron suboxide (B₆O). Icosahedral B₆O grains with diameters ranging from 100 nm to 1.3 μm were prepared. The factors that affect the synthesis of B₆O are investigated. The best sample with crystal size up to 1.3 μm is obtained at 2 GPa and 1400 °C for 6 h. The indentation experiment gave an average Vickers hardness of 32.3 GPa for bulk B₆O sample, which is consistent with previous reports. Bulk B₆O sample exhibits oxidation resistance in air up to 1000 °C and mild oxidation in the temperatures of 1000-1200 °C, which is more oxidation resistant than diamond. It is possible that B₆O could be used as a substitute for diamond in industry because of its relatively mild synthesis conditions, high thermal stability and high hardness.     

Pyrolysis of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste at elevated pressure: Influence of particle size, heating rate, residence time, temperature and pressure

Lab-scale pyrolysis experiments with weathered CCA treated wood chips have been performed and the influence of particle size, residence time (10-40 min), heating rate (5-20 °C/min), temperature (330-430 °C) and pressure (0 bar, 5 bar) has been investigated. Few data, covering the pyrolysis of weathered wood was found in the literature and the literature data on pyrolysis experiments with a controlled CCA wood input, showed that results were often highly affected by experimental uncertainty. In order to reduce the uncertainty on the results, a thorough characterization of the wood input has been performed and a ratio method has been proposed which allows to study the effect of particle size on arsenic and chromium volatilization. Larger wood particles show a higher arsenic and chromium retention during pyrolysis which is attributed to the higher mass transfer resistance in these particles. Residence time has a limited effect on arsenic retentions. Increasing heating rate results in a limited increase in arsenic retentions and a more profound increase in chromium retentions. The latter is attributed to a lower average particle temperature during heating caused by the thermal lag in larger particles. Elevated pressure results in a significant increase of arsenic retentions, which is probably due to higher mass transfer resistance. Increasing temperature results in a slight decrease in arsenic retentions till 390 °C, with a sharp decrease at higher temperatures. Chromium retentions are less affected by increasing temperature, especially at higher temperatures. To conclude, a mechanism is proposed for the volatilization of chromium and arsenic during low temperature pyrolysis of CCA wood. Mass transfer resistance and the formation of As₄O₆ are crucial for the control of arsenic volatilization, while heat transfer resistance and thermal lag are more important for the control of chromium volatilization.     

Probing the Structural Stability of and Enhanced CO2 Storage in MOF MIL‐68(In) under High Pressures by FTIR Spectroscopy

The unique structural topology of metal–organic framework (MOF) MIL‐68, featuring two types of channels with distinct pore sizes, makes it a promising candidate for application in gas storage and separation. In this study, the behavior of as‐made and activated MIL‐68(In) was investigated in a diamond‐anvil cell under high pressure by in situ IR spectroscopy. The framework exhibits high stability under compression up to 9 GPa, whereas the bridging OH groups appear to be very sensitive to compression. Pressure‐induced structural modifications were found to be completely reversible for as‐made MIL‐68(In) but irreversible for the activated framework. Moreover, the addition of Nujol as pressure‐transmitting medium makes the framework more resilient to pressure. Finally, when loaded with CO₂, the framework exhibited interesting differential binding affinities with CO₂ in the hexagonal and triangular pores at different pressures. The pressure‐enhanced CO₂ storage behavior and the guest–host interaction mechanism between CO₂ and the MOF framework were explored with the aid of Monte Carlo simulations. These studies demonstrated great potential for MIL‐68(In) in gas‐storage applications that require extreme loading pressures.     

Optical spectroscopy of (C2H5NH3)2CdCl4:Cu2+ under pressure: Study of Cu2+ local structure from theoretical calculations

The variations experienced by the energy E_u(π) of the e_u(π)→b_1g (～x²–y²) charge‐transfer transition of (C₂H₅NH₃)₂CdCl₄:Cu²⁺ upon pressure in the 0‐ to 40‐kbar range have been measured at room temperature by means of a sapphire anvil cell. These data reveal that E_u(π) undergoes a red shift of 1400 cm^?1 on passing from ambient pressure to 40 kbars. To understand this puzzling result theoretical calculations of ?E_u(π)/?R_eq and ?E_u(π)/?R_ax have been performed where R_eq and R_ax mean the equatorial and axial Cu²⁺–Cl^? distances of the elongated CuCl₆^4? complex, respectively. All results indicate that ?E_u(π)/?R_eq and ?E_u(π)/?R_ax for R_eq=228 pm and R_ax=297 pm are indeed negative. Moreover ab initio complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF/CASPT2) and density functional calculations lead to ?E_u(π)/?R_ax values, which are about 10 times smaller than those of ?E_u(π)/?R_eq. From the ensemble of experimental and theoretical results, it is concluded that a pressure of 40 kbars gives rise to a decrement of ≈25 pm of the axial distance and at the same time to an increase of ≈7 pm of the equatorial one. It is stressed that the present study on a diluted Jahn–Teller impurity lies far beyond the current possibilities of X‐ray absorption structure techniques. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001