Unique Dynamics of Water Confined on the Surface of Metal Oxide Clusters

Water confined on metal oxide surface plays significant roles in heterogeneous catalysis. Heteropolyacid, a 1.2 nm-metal oxide cluster with well-defined structure, is applied as a model to understand the dynamics of water on its surface. The surface water strongly associates with heteropolyacid cluster and form the so-called ‘pseudoliquid phase’ where catalytic reactions are conducted. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry have been applied to probe the dynamics of water in this pseudoliquid phase. A supercooling phase transition of water below its normal melting temperature and a dipolar glassy relaxation behaviour due to the hindered dynamics of water have been observed. The rich dynamic behavior on the surface of such well-defined metal clusters provide new perspectives to understand the properties of surface water and their relation to catalytic performance of heteropolyacid.     

Molecular Encapsulation of Trimeric Chromium Carboxylate Clusters in Metal–Organic Frameworks and Propylene Sorption

Oxo-bridged trimeric chromium acetate clusters [Cr₃O(OOCCH₃)₆(H₂O)₃]NO₃ have been encapsulated for the first time in the mesoporous cages of the chromium terephthalate MIL-101(Cr). The isolated clusters in MIL-101(Cr) have increased affinity towards propylene compared to propane, due to generation of a new kind of pocket-based propylene-binding site, as supported by DFT calculations.     

Molecular Spin Clusters: New Synthetic Approaches and Neutron Scattering Studies

We review our recent work in the field of molecular spin clusters and single-molecule magnets, showing how inelastic neutron scattering (INS) can be used to determine magnetic exchange interactions and anisotropy splittings. A general introduction to neutron scattering precedes selected examples, building upon the first determination of exchange coupling in a transition metal complex using INS, through anisotropic exchange in cobalt(II ) spin clusters to the determination of exchange interactions in a dodecanuclear nickel(II ) wheel. The strength of INS for the accurate determination of anisotropy splittings in single-molecule magnets is revealed. Not only can one determine the axial zero-field splitting parameter D, which plays a key role in single-molecule magnet behavior, but also higher-order terms important in understanding the quantum tunneling behavior. Finally, we review two of our synthetic approaches towards new single-molecule magnets based on nickel, manganese, and iron.     

(AgI)n团簇熔化行为的分子动力学模拟

用遗传算法结合经验势搜索了(AgI)n(n=3-15)团簇的可能稳定结构, 并用微正则分子动力学方法研究了它们的熔化行为. (AgI)n团簇的稳定结构主要以四元环和六元环相接的笼状结构为主. 大多数(AgI)n会在一个较大的温度范围内随温度升高结构不断扭曲, 原子间距涨落及动能涨落不断增大, 直到在某个温度下熔化, 结构变得完全无序. (AgI)6的结构具有很高的对称性, 熔化发生在一个较窄的温度范围. 对于(AgI)5, 会在熔化前较大的温度范围内发生最稳定结构与能量较高的环状异构体之间的转化, 并可能出现负热容现象.     

正丙醇水溶液准弹性中子散射光谱的分子动力学模拟

准弹性中子散射(QENS)光谱是获取溶液分子动力学性质的重要方法,但光谱解析模型的有效性和去耦合近似的合理性仍存在争议.本文利用分子动力学模拟方法获取纯水和正丙醇水溶液中羟基氢原子的自相关中间散射函数FS(Q,t)和去耦合近似函数FP(Q,t),以及相关性质来评价它们的合理性.结果表明,在低动量转移范围内平-转去耦合近似相对合理,水分子的平-转耦合贡献较小,混合溶液中水分子的平-转耦合项和转动项随动量转移Q值增大而增大,二者显现相互抵消趋势.对于混合溶液中的正丙醇羟基氢原子,由于FS(Q,t)和质心自相关中间散射函数FCM(Q,t)偏差较大,利用实验光谱直接拟合分子平动扩散系数是不合适的.三种平动模型获取的纯水和正丙醇水溶液分子平动扩散系数与实验结果一致,略高于Einstein均方位移方法所得结果.水分子在纯水和混合溶液中表现为跳跃转动,而不是连续转动.正丙醇分子存在转动各向异性,羟基氢原子沿羟基向量为跳跃转动,沿相对质心向量可近似为连续转动.模拟结果显示,高动量转移范围平-转耦合项贡献较大,直接拟合实验光谱获取分子转动扩散系数或弛豫时间是不合适的.鉴于低动量转移范围内转动和平转耦合贡献较小,以及二者的抵消作用,在此范围内获取水分子平动信息是现实可行的.     

Role of Low Molecular Weight Polymers on the Dynamics of Silicon Anodes During Casting

This work probes the slurry architecture of a high silicon content electrode slurry with and without low molecular weight polymeric dispersants as a function of shear rate to mimic electrode casting conditions for poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and lithium neutralized poly(acrylic acid) (LiPAA) based electrodes. Rheology coupled ultra-small angle neutron scattering (rheo-USANS) was used to examine the aggregation and agglomeration behavior of each slurry as well as the overall shape of the aggregates. The addition of dispersant has opposing effects on slurries made with PAA or LiPAA binder. With a dispersant, there are fewer aggregates and agglomerates in the PAA based silicon slurries, while LiPAA based silicon slurries become orders of magnitude more aggregated and agglomerated at all shear rates. The reorganization of the PAA and LiPAA binder in the presence of dispersant leads to a more homogeneous slurry and a more heterogeneous slurry, respectively. This reorganization ripples through to the cast electrode architecture and is reflected in the electrochemical cycling of these electrodes.     

银团簇结构与特性的分子动力学研究

用分子动力学方法模拟了银团簇的结构与力能学.计算模拟中使用了一种基于第一性原理的原子间互作用多体势函数.通过分子动力学模拟确定了银微团簇(原子个数3～13)的稳态结构;模拟了原子个数为13～141的银FCC晶体结构理想球形团簇的力能学,发现球形银团簇形成三雏紧密结构;计算了平均结合能,给出了结合能随团簇原子数N的变化图,发现随N增大团簇结合能逐渐接近块材的数值.     

Hybrid Xerogel Structure and Molecular Guest Dynamics

A new experimental approach to study the porosity of hybrid organic-inorganic glasses is reported. It relies upon nuclear magnetic resonance observation of molecular guest dynamics. It is shown that in MTEOS xerogels, there exists an interconnected organic-rich network in which organic guests are trapped and can eventually diffuse. The interpore translational diffusion is strongly activated and its spatial extension gives information on the pore connectivity, whose decay is characterized by the interpore jump probability given by the theoretical model.     

覆盖的氩原子簇过热的分子动力学模拟(英)

通过分子动力学模拟研究了覆盖较高熔点的原子的氩原子簇．原子族由177个氩原子和72个覆盖原子组成．覆盖原子的势能参数ε比氩原子大50％，该原子簇比纯氩原子簇熔点过热2K．模拟结果表明，覆盖的原子簇过热的原因是：在达到熔点之前，体系缺少氩原子构成的自由表面，仍然是覆盖原子的有序表面．     

Doxorubicin Encapsulation in Carbon Nanotubes Having Haeckelite or Stone–Wales Defects as Drug Carriers: A Molecular Dynamics Approach

Doxorubicin (DOX), a recognized anticancer drug, forms stable associations with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs when properly functionalized have the ability to anchor directly in cancerous tumors where the release of the drug occurs thanks to the tumor slightly acidic pH. Herein, we study the armchair and zigzag CNTs with Stone–Wales (SW) defects to rank their ability to encapsulate DOX by determining the DOX-CNT binding free energies using the MM/PBSA and MM/GBSA methods implemented in AMBER16. We investigate also the chiral CNTs with haeckelite defects. Each haeckelite defect consists of a pair of square and octagonal rings. The armchair and zigzag CNT with SW defects and chiral nanotubes with haeckelite defects predict DOX-CNT interactions that depend on the length of the nanotube, the number of present defects and nitrogen doping. Chiral nanotubes having two haeckelite defects reveal a clear dependence on the nitrogen content with DOX-CNT interaction forces decreasing in the order 0N > 4N > 8N. These results contribute to a further understanding of drug-nanotube interactions and to the design of new drug delivery systems based on CNTs.     

贵金属Au的液态结构分子动力学模拟

用分子动力学模拟方法在1573－200K的温度范围内对液态Au的微正则系综进行了模拟研究。模拟采用或嵌原子相互作用势对时间和空间的平均，得到了不同温度下Au的润分布函数及原子组态变化的重要信息，并利用键对分析技术对模拟结果作了深入讨论．     

Heterogeneities in Polymer Structural and Dynamic Properties in Graphene and Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites: Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The effect of graphene (G) and graphene oxide (GO), used as the nanofiller in polymer nanocomposites (NC), on the structural and dynamic properties of polymer chains, has been studied by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Two polymers, i.e., poly(propylene) and poly(vinyl alcohol), are employed as matrices to cover a wider range of polymer–filler interactions. The local structural properties, e.g., density profile, average R _g, and end‐to‐end distance as well as dynamic properties, e.g., estimated translational and orientational relaxation times, of polymer chains are studied. In addition, the interaction energies are estimated between polymers and nanofillers for different hybrid systems using MD pullout simulations. Strong heterogeneities in polymer structural and dynamic properties have been observed such that chains are more oriented and exhibit slower dynamics in the vicinity of the nanofillers (G and GO) as compared to bulk. It is also found that the orientation of polymer chains at the interface is more influenced by the nanofiller in such a way that the more oriented polymer chains are observed in G‐based NC for both polymers. However, the immobilization of polymer chains at the interface proves to be very much dependent on the polymer–filler interactions.

     

Controllable Encapsulation of “Clean” Metal Clusters within MOFs through Kinetic Modulation: Towards Advanced Heterogeneous Nanocatalysts

Surfactant‐free tiny Pt clusters were successfully encapsulated within MOFs with controllable size and spatial distribution by a novel kinetically modulated one‐step strategy. Our synthesis relies on the rational manipulation of the reduction rate of Pt ions and/or the growth rate of MOFs by using H₂ as assistant reducing agent and/or acetic acid as MOF‐formation modulator. The as‐prepared Pt@MOF core–shell composites exhibited exceedingly high activity and excellent selectivity in the oxidation of alcohols as a result of the ultrafine “clean” Pt clusters, as well as interesting molecular‐sieving effects derived from the outer platinum‐free MOF shell.     

Three-Electron Dynamics of the Interparticle Coulombic Decay in Doubly Excited Clusters with One-Dimensional Continuum Confinement

A detailed analysis of the electronic structure and decay dynamics in a symmetric system with three electrons in three linearly aligned binding sites representing quantum dots (QDs) is given. The two outer A QDs are two-level potentials and can act as (virtual) photon emitters, whereas the central B QD can be ionized from its one level into a continuum confined on the QD axis upon absorbing virtual photons in the inter-Coulombic decay (ICD) process. Two scenarios in such an ABA array are explored. One ICD process is from a singly excited resonance state, whose decay releasing one virtual photon we find superimposed with resonance energy transfer among both A QDs. Moreover, the decay-process manifold for a doubly excited (DE) resonance is explored, in which collective ICD among all three sites and excited ICD among the outer QDs engage. Rates for all processes are found to be extremely low, although ICD rates with two neighbors are predicted to double compared to ICD among two sites only. The slowing is caused by Coulomb barriers imposed from ground or excited state electrons in the A sites. Outliers occur on the one hand at short distances, where the charge transfer among QDs mixes the possible decay pathways. On the other hand, we discovered a shape resonance-enhanced DE-ICD pathway, in which an excited and localized B* shape resonance state forms, which is able to decay quickly into the final ICD continuum.     

Structure and dynamics of polymer chains in hydrophilic nanocomposites

Poly(hexa(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)/sodium montmorillonite, (PHEGMA/Na⁺-MMT) nanocomposites with varying composition were synthesized utilizing melt intercalation and solution mixing. Intercalated hybrids were obtained but, for the solution prepared hybrids, the equilibrium structure could only be reached following thermal annealing. At equilibrium, all nanocomposites showed the same interlayer distance independent of the hybrid composition. For low polymer content nanocomposites, where all polymer chains reside within the inorganic galleries, the glass transition temperature of PHEGMA was completely suppressed. Quasielastic neutron scattering was utilized to investigate the effect of severe confinement on the dynamics of the intercalated polymer chains. Both elastic and quasielastic measurements were performed and showed that the confined system exhibits a much weaker temperature and wavevector dependence of the elastic intensity and of the respective relaxation times. The segmental mean square displacement in confinement begins to increase at temperatures well below the bulk polymer glass transition, indicating enhanced mobility compared with the pure polymer. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1658–1667, 2010     

小尺寸金属团簇熔化过程的分子动力学模拟

运用分子动力学方法模拟了小尺寸金属团簇的熔化过程, 原子之间的作用采用嵌入原子法(EAM)模型, 计算了均方根键长涨落δ随温度的变化, 以及升温过程中团簇热容的变化. 包含55、56个原子的面心立方(FCC)结构Au团簇的熔化过程是基本相同的. 而同样结构和数目Cu团簇的熔化过程却呈现出不同的趋势. Cu55、Cu56在模拟过程中都出现了FCC结构到二十面体结构的转变. 但由于表面多出了一个原子, Cu56的热容曲线比Cu55多了一个峰, 体系出现了预熔化现象. 这表明小尺寸团簇的固液转变的过程与团簇的原子类型、几何结构和原子数目密切相关.     

Molecular Dynamics Investigation of Differences in Melting Behaviors of Cu57 and Cu58 Clusters

Within the framework of the embedded-atom method, we performed molecular-dynamics calculations to investigate the structural transformation during melting of two copper clus- ters containing 57 and 58 atoms. The simulation results reveal how their different structural changes can strongly influence internal energy and radial distribution functions. The local structural patterns of different regions during the temperature increase, determined by atom density profiles, are identified for the melting of each cluster. The simulations show sensi- tivities of the structural changes for these two small size clusters with different structures.     

TNT高温热解及含碳团簇形成的反应分子动力学模拟

ReaxFF-MD模拟三硝基甲苯(TNT)高温热解显示增加了伦敦耗散力项(E_lg)的ReaxFF/lg 势函数在含能材料平衡密度计算方面具有优越性. 产物识别分析得出TNT热解的主要产物为NO₂、NO、H₂O、N₂、CO₂、CO、OH以及HONO,且最终产物为H₂O、N₂和CO₂. 使用ReaxFF势函数模拟同样过程进行比较性分析显示,在主要产物和最终产物方面与ReaxFF/lg 作用结果具有一致性,但在化学反应动力学方面表现出一些差异. ortho-NO₂键断裂和C―NO₂→C―ONO重排布-断裂形成NO₂和NO是TNT热解的主要初级反应,且前者产生速率大于后者,NO₂和NO形成后很快参与次级反应并最终形成N₂. 高温热解中形成OH等小分子会促进H₂O的形成. 环上基团相互反应或直接脱落后,主环间C―C键才发生断裂,但温度升高会加快主环断裂,并进一步分解形成CO₂,这也是高温条件下CO₂分布产生波动的一个重要原因. 并且当晶胞中的TNT分子几乎完全分解时,系统的势能开始明显衰减. 与温度相比,密度对热解中最大含碳团簇形成的影响更明显. 并且,模拟结果显示,在TNT完全分解前已经出现含碳中间体的聚合现象. 此项工作表明使用ReaxFF/lg 反应力场研究TNT高温热解可以提供具体的动力学和化学方面的信息,并有助于理解含能材料的爆轰问题并可进行安全评估.