Aluminum orthovanadate (AlVO4): synthesis and characterization by (27)Al and 51V MAS and MQMAS NMR spectroscopy

Polycrystalline samples of AlVO(4) have been prepared by two methods of synthesis and characterized by (27)Al and (51)V MAS NMR spectroscopy at 14.1 T. The MAS NMR spectra clearly reveal that essentially pure samples with minor impurities of V(2)O(5) and alumina have been obtained. From these samples, (27)Al quadrupole coupling parameters and isotropic chemical shifts as well as the magnitudes and relative orientations of the (51)V quadrupole coupling and chemical shift tensors have been determined with high precision for AlVO(4). These data have been obtained from a combined analysis of multiple-quantum (MQ) MAS NMR spectra and MAS NMR spectra of the central and satellite transitions. The (27)Al and (51)V NMR data show that the asymmetric unit for AlVO(4) contains three isolated VO(4) tetrahedra, one pentacoordinated Al site, and two AlO(6) octahedra. This is in agreement with the supposition that AlVO(4) is isostructural with FeVO(4) and with a recent structure refinement for AlVO(4) based on powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The favorable agreement between the refined crystal structure from powder XRD and the NMR parameters is apparent from a convincing correlation between experimental (51)V quadrupole tensor elements and calculated (51)V electric field gradient tensor elements obtained by the point-monopole approach. An assignment of the (27)Al NMR data is obtained from similar calculations of the (27)Al electric field gradients and by estimation of the distortion of the AlO(6) octahedra.     

Advances in structural analysis of fluoroaluminates using DFT calculations of 27Al electric field gradients

Based on the analysis of 23 aluminum sites from 16 fluoroaluminates, the present work demonstrates the strong potential of combining accurate NMR quadrupolar parameter measurements, density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations of electric field gradients (EFG), and structure optimizations as implemented in the WIEN2k package for the structural and electronic characterizations of crystalline inorganic materials. Structure optimizations are essential for compounds whose structure was refined from usually less accurate powder diffraction data and provide a reliable assignment of the 27Al quadrupolar parameters to the aluminum sites in the studied compounds. The correlation between experimental and calculated EFG tensor elements leads to the proposition of a new value of the 27Al nuclear quadrupole moment Q(27Al) = 1.616 (+/-0.024) x 10(-29) m2. The DFT calculations provide the orientation of the 27Al EFG tensors in the crystal frame. Electron density maps support that the magnitude and orientation of the 27Al EFG tensors in fluoroaluminates mainly result from the asymmetric distribution of the Al 3p orbital valence electrons. In most cases, the definition of relevant radial and angular distortion indices, relying on EFG orientation, allows correlations between these distortions and magnitude and sign of the Vii.     

Computational studies on aluminum nitride and aluminum phosphide nanotubes: density functional calculations of 27Al electric field gradient tensors

Abstract  

Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) parameters including the nuclear quadrupole coupling constant (C _Q) and asymmetry parameter (η _Q) at the sites of various ²⁷Al nuclei on (6,0) zigzag and (4,4) armchair AlN and AlP nanotubes (NTs) were calculated by using the density functional theory (DFT) method to study the properties of the electronic structures of the nanotubes. Geometry optimizations were carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory using the Gaussian 03 suite of programs. The calculated electric field gradient tensors were converted to the nuclear quadrupole resonance parameters, C _Q constant, and η _Q parameter. The quadrupole resonance parameters in each of the structures were divided into four layers with equivalent electric field gradient tensor eigenvalues in each layer. The results show that, in AlN and AlP nanotubes, the Al atoms at the edges of the nanotubes play dominant roles in determining the electronic behavior of the nanotubes and important roles in growth and synthesis processes of the nanotubes. Also the average values of C _Q(²⁷Al) for the AlNNT models were higher in comparison with the AlPNT models, while variations of C _Q(²⁷Al) in AlPNTs were greater in comparison with in AlNNTs.     

Resolving the aluminum ordering in aluminosilicates by a combined experimental/theoretical study of 27Al electric field gradients

The discrimination between atomic species in light-element materials is a challenging question. An archetypal example is the resolution of the Al/Si ordering in aluminosilicates. Only an average long-range order can be deduced from powder X-ray or neutron diffraction, while magic-angle-spinning NMR provides an accurate picture of the short-range order. The long- and short-range orders thus obtained usually differ, hence raising the question of whether the difference between local and extended orders is intrinsic or caused by the difficulty of obtaining an accurate picture of the long-range order from diffraction techniques. In this communication we resolve this question for the monoclinic phases of BaAl2Si2O8 and SrAl2Si2O8 on the basis of 27Al NMR measurements and ab initio simulation of electric field gradient. Although the long- and short-range orders deduced from our XRD and NMR experiments differ, they become similar when the XRD atomic positions are optimized by ab initio electronic structure calculations.     

Refinement of borate structures from 11B MAS NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations of 11B electric field gradients

The refinement of borate structures using DFT calculations combined with experimental (11)B quadrupole coupling parameters from solid-state NMR spectroscopy is presented. The (11)B electric field gradient (EFG) tensors, calculated using the WIEN2k software for trigonal and tetrahedral boron sites in a series of model compounds, exhibit a convincing linear correlation with the quadrupole coupling tensor elements, determined from (11)B MAS NMR spectra of the central or satellite transitions. The model compounds include Li(2)B(4)O(7), Mg(2)B(2)O(5), Mg(3)B(2)O(6), NH(4)B(C(6)H(5))(4), and colemanite (CaB(3)O(4)(OH)(3).H(2)O). The (11)B quadrupole moment, Q = 0.0409 +/- 0.0002 barn, derived from the linear correlation, is in excellent agreement with the accepted value for Q((11)B). This demonstrates that DFT (WIEN2k) calculations can provide precise (11)B quadrupole coupling parameters on an absolute scale. On the other hand, DFT calculations based on the reported crystal structures for datolite (CaBSiO(4)(OH)) and danburite (CaB(2)Si(2)O(8)) cannot reproduce the experimental (11)B quadrupole coupling parameters to the same high precision. However, optimization of these structures by minimization of the forces between the atoms (obtained by DFT) results in a significant improvement between the calculated and experimental (11)B quadrupole coupling parameters, which indicates that reliable refinements of the borate structures are obtained by this method. Finally, the DFT calculations also provide important structural information about the sign and orientation of the EFG tensor elements in the crystal frame, a kind of information that cannot be achieved from (11)B NMR experiments on powdered samples.     

Analysis of the magnetic structure and ferroelectric polarization of monoclinic MnSb(2)S(4) by density functional theory calculations

Monoclinic MnSb(2)S(4) consists of MnS(4) chains made up of edge-sharing MnS(6) octahedra and adopts a (0, 0.369, 0) magnetic superstructure below 25 K. This ordered magnetic structure, in which the spins of each MnS(4) chain possess a helical spin arrangement, has C(2)' symmetry. On the basis of density functional theory calculations, we explored the origin of the observed noncollinear spin arrangement of MnSb(2)S(4) by evaluating its spin exchanges to find that spin exchanges are frustrated not only within each MnS(4) chain but also between adjacent MnS(4) chains. Our analysis predicts that MnSb(2)S(4) is a multiferroic with a ferroelectric polarization of ～14 μC/m(2) along the chain direction, and a field-induced reversal of the ferroelectric polarization of MnSb(2)S(4) can occur by reversing the direction of the helical spin rotation in each MnS(4) chain.     

Investigating the vanadium environments in hydroxylamido V(V) dipicolinate complexes using 51V NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory

Using (51)V magic angle spinning solid-state NMR, SSNMR, spectroscopy and quantum chemical DFT calculations we have characterized the chemical shift and quadrupolar coupling parameters of a series of eight hydroxylamido vanadium(V) dipicolinate complexes of the general formula VO(dipic)(ONR1R2)(H2O) where R1 and R2 can be H, CH3, or CH2CH3. This class of vanadium compounds was chosen for investigation because of their seven-coordinate vanadium atom, a geometry for which there is limited (51)V SSNMR data. Furthermore, a systematic series of compounds with different electronic properties are available and allows for the effects of ligand substitution on the NMR parameters to be studied. The quadrupolar coupling constants, C(Q), are small, 3.0-3.9 MHz, but exhibit variations as a function of the ligand substitution. The chemical shift tensors in the solid state are sensitive to changes in both the hydroxylamide substituent and the dipic ligand, a sensitivity which is not observed for isotropic chemical shifts in solution. The chemical shift tensors span approximately 1000 ppm and are nearly axially symmetric. On the basis of DFT calculations of the chemical shift tensors, one of the largest contributors to the magnetic shielding anisotropy is an occupied molecular orbital with significant vanadium d(z)2 character along the V=O bond.     

Robust acceleration of self consistent field calculations for density functional theory

We show that the type 2 Broyden secant method is a robust general purpose mixer for self consistent field problems in density functional theory. The Broyden method gives reliable convergence for a large class of problems and parameter choices. We directly mix the approximation of the electronic density to provide a basis independent mixing scheme. In particular, we show that a single set of parameters can be chosen that give good results for a large range of problems. We also introduce a spin transformation to simplify treatment of spin polarized problems. The spin transformation allows us to treat these systems with the same formalism as regular fixed point iterations.     

氢化可的松的热力学函数和晶体结构——密度泛函理论分析

采用密度泛函理论B3LYP/6-31G和B3LYP/6-311G*方法优化了气相状态氢化可的松的几何结构,利用优化的结构得到了氢化可的松各原子净电荷及前沿轨道分布;基于简谐振动分析求得氢化可的松的红外光谱频率和热力学函数;并计算了环己烷、乙酸丁酯、二氯乙烷、异丙醇、甲醇、水六种不同极性的溶剂对氢化可的松几何构型、电荷分布及能量的影响.结果表明,由理论计算得到的氢化可的松的晶体结构与实测的晶体结构接近.     

Achieving reliability of calculations for flat potential surfaces in density functional theory: The case of Al4 and Al4+1

Harmonic frequencies obtained by finite-differences from nonlocal density functional calculations are presented for the ground states of Al₄ (neutral and cationic). The effect of varying the step size used in the finite-difference evaluation and the influence of the density convergence threshold are discussed. Potential energy curves along the most important normal coordinates are shown. With these results, we found that for Al₄ the square and the rhombus minima are almost degenerate with each other, while for Al₄⁺¹, the rhombus is more stable and the square is a transition state. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

51V solid-state NMR and density functional theory studies of vanadium environments in V(V)O2 dipicolinic acid complexes

(51)V solid-state NMR and density functional theory (DFT) investigations are reported for a series of pentacoordinate dioxovanadium(V)-dipicolinate [V(V)O(2)-dipicolinate] and heptacoordinate aquahydroxylamidooxovanadium(V)-dipicolinate [V(V)O-dipicolinate] complexes. These compounds are of interest because of their potency as phosphatase inhibitors as well as their insulin enhancing properties and potential for the treatment of diabetes. Experimental solid-state NMR results show that the electric field gradient tensors in the V(V)O(2)-dipicolinate derivatives are affected significantly by substitution on the dipicolinate ring and range from 5.8 to 8.3 MHz. The chemical shift anisotropies show less dramatic variations with respect to the ligand changes and range between -550 and -600 ppm. To gain insights on the origins of the NMR parameters, DFT calculations were conducted for an extensive series of the V(V)O(2)- and V(V)O-dipicolinate complexes. To assess the level of theory required for the accurate calculation of the (51)V NMR parameters, different functionals, basis sets, and structural models were explored in the DFT study. It is shown that the original x-ray crystallographic geometries, including all counterions and solvation water molecules within 5 A of the vanadium, lead to the most accurate results. The choice of the functional and the basis set at a high level of theory has a relatively minor impact on the outcome of the chemical shift anisotropy calculations; however, the use of large basis sets is necessary for accurate calculations of the quadrupole coupling constants for several compounds of the V(V)O(2) series. These studies demonstrate that even though the vanadium compounds under investigations exhibit distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometry, they have a "perfect" trigonal bipyramidal electronic environment. This observation could potentially explain why vanadate and vanadium(V) adducts are often recognized as potent transition state analogs.     

Factors influencing Al(3+)-dimer speciation and stability from density functional theory calculations

We have investigated aqueous Al-dimer complexes using density functional theory methods (e.g. the B3LYP exchange-correlation functional and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set). In these calculations interactions between the Al(3+) cations and the H(2)O or OH(-) coordinating ligands are considered explicitly while the second hydration shell and remaining solvent are treated as a continuum under the IEF-PCM formalism. The Al-dimer chemical reactivity is discussed by analysis of changes in geometry, electronic structure and Gibbs free energy of formation, relative to two independent Al(H(2)O) monomers, as a function of water and hydroxide coordination. Our results indicate that the mechanism of cooperativity, i.e. decreased Al-water bond stability with increasing OH(-) coordination and increased water ligand hydrolysis as complex CN decreases, is operating on the dimer species and that, therefore, a wide variety of dimer species are available. While the stability of these species is observed to be dependent on the number of water and hydroxide ligands, the hydroxide bridging structure (singly, doubly and triply bridged species are considered) does not appear to correlate with dimer stability. Interestingly, intra-molecular H-bonds (in the form of the well known H(3)O bridge as well as two bridging structures, H(4)O(2) and H(2)O, that have not, to our knowledge, been previously considered) are observed to influence dimer stability. The evaluation of the equilibrium mole fraction of the dimer species in equilibrium with the aqueous Al(3+) monomer species of our previous study displays the qualitatively correct trend of solution composition as pH increases, namely monomeric aqueous Al(3+) and Al(OH) complexes dominate at low and high pH, respectively, and all remaining monomer and dimer species exist at intermediate pH. Further refinement of our data set by eliminating dimer complexes with OH/Al ratios greater than 2.6 brings our predicted equilibrium mole fraction distributions into excellent agreement with experimental observations. The triply bridged dimer is observed in low amounts while the singly and doubly bridged dimers dominate our model system at pH = ～4-7.     

密度泛函理论模拟外电场对铁氧体电子结构的影响

通过密度泛函理论(DFT)模拟了3种典型的铁氧体(Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH)受外电场作用下的电子结构,研究了外电场对不同铁氧体电子结构的影响。DFT模拟结果显示：外电场的存在能够有效提高Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH晶体结构的价带位置,从而导致3种铁氧体的带隙出现明显的降低;当外电场强度为0.01 V·nm^-1时,Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH的带隙分别降低了0.36、0.12和0.34 eV;当电场增大至0.1 V·nm^-1时,Fe₂O₃晶体出现击穿现象,Fe—O化学键断裂导致Fe原子的电子沿外电场方向高度离域至相邻Fe原子,而Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH则仅出现不同价带能级电子局域性增强且能量同质化,因而显示出相对稳定的物理化学结构。此外,外电场的存在可导致3种铁氧体价带电子均出现简并现象,且随电场强度增大而增强。3种铁氧体中,外电场的存在导致Fe₂O₃晶体中Fe原子的电荷密度增大而降低O原子的电荷密度; Fe₃O₄晶体结构中不同配位结构的Fe原子以及配位O原子的Hirshfeld电荷几乎不受外电场的影响; α-FeOOH晶体中共边FeO₆配位结构的Hirshfeld电荷受外电场影响较小,而共角FeO₆配位结构的Hirshfeld电荷受外电场影响较大,且H原子的电荷在强外电场作用下发生歧化响应。随着外电场强度逐渐增大,Fe₃O₄晶体的电子自旋态密度逐渐增大,而α-FeOOH晶体的电子自旋态密度则显示出降低的规律。     

密度泛函理论模拟外电场对铁氧体电子结构的影响

通过密度泛函理论(DFT)模拟了3种典型的铁氧体(Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH)受外电场作用下的电子结构,研究了外电场对不同铁氧体电子结构的影响。DFT模拟结果显示:外电场的存在能够有效提高Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH晶体结构的价带位置,从而导致3种铁氧体的带隙出现明显的降低;当外电场强度为0.01 V·nm^-1时,Fe₂O₃、Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH的带隙分别降低了0.36、0.12和0.34 eV;当电场增大至0.1 V·nm^-1时,Fe₂O₃晶体出现击穿现象,Fe—O化学键断裂导致Fe原子的电子沿外电场方向高度离域至相邻Fe原子,而Fe₃O₄和α-FeOOH则仅出现不同...     

Molecular structure and vibrational assignment of melaminium phthalate by density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations

The molecular geometry, the normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignment of melaminium phthalate (C₃H₇N₆⁺·C₈H₅O₄⁻) in the ground state were performed by HF and B3LYP levels of theory using the 6-31G(d) basis set. The optimized bond length numbers with bond angles are in good agreement with the X-ray data. The vibrational spectra of melaminium phthalate which is calculated by HF and B3LYP methods, reproduces vibrational wave numbers with an accuracy which allows reliable vibrational assignments. The title compound has been studied in the 4000–100 cm⁻¹ region where the theoretical evaluation and assignment of all observed bands were made.     

Subsolidus area of the AlVO4−Al2(MoO4)3 system

The behaviour of Al₂(MoO₄)₃ towards AIVO₄ in the subsolidus area, over the whole component concentration range, has been studied using the DTA and XRD methods. The experimental results have been presented in the form of a phase diagram. It has been found that components of the system of interest do not remain in equilibrium, and AlVO₄?Al₂(MoO₄)₃ system is not a real two-component system, even in the subsolidus area.     

Molecular structure and vibrational spectra of three substituted 4-thioflavones by density functional theory and ab initio Hartree-Fock calculations

The vibrational frequencies of three substituted 4-thioflavones in the ground state have been calculated using the Hartree-Fock and density functional method (B3LYP) with 6-31G* and 6-31+G** basis sets. The structural analysis shows that there exists H-bonding in the selected compounds and the hydrogen bond lengths increase with the augment of the conjugate parameters of the substituent group on the benzene ring. A complete vibrational assignment aided by the theoretical harmonic wavenumber analysis was proposed. The theoretical spectrograms for FT-IR spectra of the title compounds have been constructed. In addition, it is noted that the selected compounds show significant activity against Shigella flexniri. Several electronic properties and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated.     

X-ray crystal structure, Raman spectroscopy, and Ab initio density functional theory calculations on 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium bromide

The salt 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium bromide, [((CH(3))(2)N)(2)C═NH(2)](+)Br(-) or [tmgH]Br, was found to melt at 135(5) °C, forming what may be referred to as a moderate temperature ionic liquid. The chemistry was studied and compared with the corresponding chloride compound. We present X-ray diffraction and Raman evidence to show that also the bromide salt contains dimeric ion pair "molecules" in the crystalline state and probably also in the liquid state. The structure of [tmgH]Br determined at 120(2) K was found to be monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, with a = 7.2072(14), b = 13.335(3), c = 9.378(2) ?, β =104.31(3)°, Z = 2, based on 11769 reflections, measured from θ = 2.71-28.00° on a small colorless needle crystal. Raman and IR spectra are presented and assigned. When heated, both the chloride and the bromide salts form vapor phases. The Raman spectra of the vapors are surprisingly alike, showing, for example, a characteristic strong band at 2229 cm(-1). This band was interpreted by some of us to show that the [tmgH]Cl gas phase should consist of monomeric ion pair "molecules" held together by a single N-H(+)···Cl(-) hydrogen bond, the stretching vibration of which should be causing the band, based on ab initio molecular orbital density functional theory type calculations. It is not likely that both the bromide and chloride should have identical spectra. As explanation, the formation of 1,1-dimethylcyanamide gas is proposed, by decomposition of [tmgH]X leaving dimethylammonium halogenide (X = Cl, Br). The Raman spectra of all gas phases were quite identical and fitted the calculated spectrum of dimethylcyanamide. It is concluded that monomeric ion pair "molecules" held together by single N-H(+)···X(-) hydrogen bonds probably do not exist in the vapor phase over the solids at about 200-230 °C.     

Time-dependent density functional theory scheme for efficient calculations of dynamic (hyper)polarizabilities

The authors present an efficient perturbative method to obtain both static and dynamic polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities of complex electronic systems. This approach is based on the solution of a frequency-dependent Sternheimer equation, within the formalism of time-dependent density functional theory, and allows the calculation of the response both in resonance and out of resonance. Furthermore, the excellent scaling with the number of atoms opens the way to the investigation of response properties of very large molecular systems. To demonstrate the capabilities of this method, they implemented it in a real-space (basis-set-free) code and applied it to benchmark molecules, namely, CO, H2O, and para-nitroaniline. Their results are in agreement with experimental and previous theoretical studies and fully validate their approach.