A new method for the pH calculation of solutions and mixtures of acids,bases and salts

The improved successive approximation method calculates the exact [H⁺] and pH value of solutions and mixtures of acids, bases and salts, and can be applied to titration data. The procedure consists in the calculation of the concentration of all species present in solution, selection of the appropriate rule of electroneutrality and introduction of suitable correction factors in order to obtain a final quadratic equation which is easily solved. Compared with existing methods of pH calculation, which are based on the Newton-Raphson iteration procedure, the proposed method requires a smaller number of iterations and a shorter calculation time. As there are no limitations on the number of compounds, nor on the number or values of acidity and basicity constants, nor on the concentration range, complex problems can be solved and titration curves plotted in a short time.     

Kinetic and thermodynamic stability of cluster compounds under heating

A new polymorphic form of Norfloxacin has been identified and fully characterized by a variety of methods including powder X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy (IR and Raman), thermal analysis (DSC and TG), SEM and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The relationship between the new form C and the previously known forms A and B have been studied. Moreover, the crystal structure of the known form A has been solved by single-crystal methods.     

Gaseous salts of oxygen-containing acids: Thermal stability,structure, and thermodynamic properties

Experimental data and results of quantum-chemical calculations on the structure and thermodynamic properties of gaseous salts of oxygen-containing acids were systematized. A criterion of thermal stability of these compounds was offered and regularities in the atomization enthalpies were established.     

First-principles density functional calculation of electrochemical stability of fast Li ion conducting garnet-type oxides

The research and development of rechargeable all-ceramic lithium batteries are vital to realize their considerable advantages over existing commercial lithium ion batteries in terms of size, energy density, and safety. A key part of such effort is the development of solid-state electrolyte materials with high Li(+) conductivity and good electrochemical stability; lithium-containing oxides with a garnet-type structure are known to satisfy the requirements to achieve both features. Using first-principles density functional theory (DFT), we investigated the electrochemical stability of garnet-type Li(x)La(3)M(2)O(12) (M = Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, Sb, Bi; x = 5 or 7) materials against Li metal. We found that the electrochemical stability of such materials depends on their composition and structure. The electrochemical stability against Li metal was improved when a cation M was chosen with a low effective nuclear charge, that is, with a high screening constant for an unoccupied orbital. In fact, both our computational and experimental results show that Li(7)La(3)Zr(2)O(12) and Li(5)La(3)Ta(2)O(12) are inert to Li metal. In addition, the linkage of MO(6) octahedra in the crystal structure affects the electrochemical stability. For example, perovskite-type La(1/3)TaO(3) was found, both experimentally and computationally, to react with Li metal owing to the corner-sharing MO(6) octahedral network of La(1/3)TaO(3), even though it has the same constituent elements as garnet-type Li(5)La(3)Ta(2)O(12) (which is inert to Li metal and features isolated TaO(6) octahedra).     

2,6-二巯基嘌呤互变异构体热力学稳定性的密度泛函理论研究

利用密度泛函(DFT)B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)方法,水相计算采用自洽反应场(SCRF)中的Onsager模型,对气相和水相中可能存在的13种2,6-二巯基嘌呤互变异构体进行了全优化,并计算了各异构体的热力学参数、偶极矩及原子净电荷。计算结果表明,不论是气相还是水相,二硫酮DTP(1,3,7)是最稳定的异构体。溶剂化效应使各异构体的稳定性均增强,偶极矩大者其稳定性显著增大。溶剂化吉布斯自由能与异构体在两相中偶极矩之差存在相关性。二硫酮DTP(1,3,7)在水相中与致癌物BPDE进行亲核取代反应时,二硫酮DTP(1,3,7)中的S10原子优先进攻亲电试剂BPDE.     

Elastic properties of YAG: First-principles calculation and experimental investigation

The hardness and elastic stiffness of Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) were investigated by first-principles calculations and experiments. The mechanical properties including the second-order elastic coefficients, hardness, bulk modulus, Young's modulus and shear modulus were calculated by density functional theory (DFT). The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental values. The hardness of YAG is mainly attributed to Al_tet–O bonds. The elastic anisotropy of YAG was discussed. Zener anisotropy parameter of YAG is close to unit and its universal anisotropy index is very close to zero, which indicates the structure of YAG is nearly centrosymmetric. The longitudinal and transverse sound velocities and Debye temperature were also investigated.     

Titrations with piezoelectric monitoring : Part 1. Fundamental theory and titration of acids and bases

The use of a piezoelectric quartz crystal detector is proposed for monitoring the course of a titration reaction by observation of the frequency shift of the oscillating crystal. Satisfactory titrations can often be obtained using the acid-base technique, which is much more sensitive than the classical conductimetric titration and oscillometric titrration, with a lowest titratable concentration that is much lower but which can still be applied in the presence of a large amount of unreacting electrolyte.     

Stepwise hydration of phosphate anion: A microscopic theory connecting domain of instability and stability

Present theoretical calculations predict that the phosphate–water clusters, are unstable due to spontaneous electron loss. Microscopic theory‐based expression is applied to extract vertical detachment energies for the larger clusters (n > 8) including the bulk (n = ∞). We do observe an excellent agreement (within 5.1%) between theory and experiment for the bulk detachment energy. It is observed that at least 14 water molecules are essential to stabilize the phosphate anion against spontaneous electron loss. Present theoretical investigations can provide information about the domain of stability (experimentally accessible region) from the knowledge of the domain of instability (experimentally inaccessible region). Bulk solvation energy of phosphate anion is also calculated from the microscopic theory‐based expression. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The thermodynamic properties and stability of tert-butyl peroxyesters of o-and m-carborane-1-carboxylic acids

The paper presents the results of experimental determination of the enthalpies of combustion and formation and the temperature dependence of the heat capacity of the o-and m-derivatives of tert-butyl peroxyesters of carborane-1-carboxylic acid. The entropies and Gibbs energies of formation of these compounds were calculated. The enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs energies of the o-m transitions of the isomers in the condensed and gaseous states were determined.     

Use of comparative calculation methods to study the equilibrium of tautomers and acids (bases)

Conclusions On the example of the Meyer equation it was shown that comparative calculation methods can be used when the properties have unknown values.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 940–941, April, 1973.     

Improved modification for the density-functional theory calculation of thermodynamic properties for C-H-O composite compounds

A three-parametric modification equation and the least-squares approach are adopted to calibrating hybrid density-functional theory energies of C(1)-C(10) straight-chain aldehydes, alcohols, and alkoxides to accurate enthalpies of formation DeltaH(f) and Gibbs free energies of formation DeltaG(f), respectively. All calculated energies of the C-H-O composite compounds were obtained based on B3LYP6-311++G(3df,2pd) single-point energies and the related thermal corrections of B3LYP6-31G(d,p) optimized geometries. This investigation revealed that all compounds had 0.05% average absolute relative error (ARE) for the atomization energies, with mean value of absolute error (MAE) of just 2.1 kJ/mol (0.5 kcal/mol) for the DeltaH(f) and 2.4 kJ/mol (0.6 kcal/mol) for the DeltaG(f) of formation.     

Homogeneous nucleation at high supersaturation and heterogeneous nucleation on microscopic wettable particles: A hybrid thermodynamic/density-functional theory

Homogeneous nucleation at high supersaturation of vapor and heterogeneous nucleation on microscopic wettable particles are studied on the basis of Lennard-Jones model system. A hybrid classical thermodynamics and density-functional theory (DFT) approach is undertaken to treat the nucleation problems. Local-density approximation and weighted-density approximation are employed within the framework of DFT. Special attention is given to the disjoining pressure of small liquid droplets, which is dependent on the thickness of wetting film and radius of the wettable particle. Different contributions to the disjoining pressure are examined using both analytical estimations and numerical DFT calculation. It is shown that van der Waals interaction results in negative contribution to the disjoining pressure. The presence of wettable particles results in positive contribution to the disjoining pressure, which plays the key role in the heterogeneous nucleation. Several definitions of the surface tension of liquid droplets are discussed. Curvature dependence of the surface tension of small liquid droplets is computed. The important characteristics of nucleation, including the formation free energy of the droplet and nucleation barrier height, are obtained.     

Hard and soft acids and bases: structure and process

Under investigation is the structure and process that gives rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic atomic bases. That for simple atomic bases the chemical hardness is expected to be the only extrinsic component of acid-base strength, has been substantiated in the current study. A thermochemically based operational scale of chemical hardness was used to identify the structure within anionic atomic bases that is responsible for chemical hardness. The base's responding electrons have been identified as the structure, and the relaxation that occurs during charge transfer has been identified as the process giving rise to hard-soft behavior. This is in contrast the commonly accepted explanations that attribute hard-soft behavior to varying degrees of electrostatic and covalent contributions to the acid-base interaction. The ability of the atomic ion's responding electrons to cause hard-soft behavior has been assessed by examining the correlation of the estimated relaxation energies of the responding electrons with the operational chemical hardness. It has been demonstrated that the responding electrons are able to give rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic bases.     

Triplet-triplet energy-transfer coupling: theory and calculation

Triplet-triplet (TT) energy transfer requires two molecular fragments to exchange electrons that carry different spin and energy. In this paper, we analyze and report values of the electronic coupling strengths for TT energy transfer. Two different methods were proposed and tested: (1) Directly calculating the off-diagonal Hamiltonian matrix element. This direct coupling scheme was generalized from the one used for electron transfer coupling, where two spin-localized unrestricted Hartree-Fock wave functions are used as the zero-order reactant and product states, and the off-diagonal Hamiltonian matrix elements are calculated directly. (2) From energy gaps derived from configuration-interaction-singles (CIS) scheme. Both methods yielded very similar results for the systems tested. For TT coupling between a pair of face-to-face ethylene molecules, the exponential attenuation factor is 2.59 A(-1)(CIS6-311+G(**)), which is about twice as large as typical values for electron transfer. With a series of fully stacked polyene pairs, we found that the TT coupling magnitudes and attenuation rates are very similar irrespective of their molecular size. If the polyenes were partially stacked, TT couplings were much reduced, and they decay more rapidly with distance than those of full-stacked systems. Our results showed that the TT coupling arises mainly from the region of close contact between the donor and acceptor frontier orbitals, and the exponential decay of the coupling with separation depends on the details of the molecular contacts. With our calculated results, nanosecond or picosecond time scales for TT energy-transfer rates are possible.     

First-principles calculation of the 17O NMR parameters of a calcium aluminosilicate glass

We have computed the (17)O NMR parameters of an amorphous calcium aluminosilicate (CAS) from first-principles. The atomic coordinates of a CAS glass of composition (CaO)(0.21)(Al(2)O (3))(0.12)(SiO (2))(0.67) were obtained by quenching a liquid to room temperature by the means of ab initio molecular-dynamics simulations of the Car-Parrinello type. The structure of the glass is found to be overall in good agreement with diffraction experiments. Some excess nonbridging O (NBO) atoms are found and are compensated by tricluster O atoms, i.e., by 3-fold coordinated O atoms to 4-fold coordinated Al or Si atoms. The glass coordinates were used to compute the (17)O NMR parameters using GGA-DFT and a correction of the Ca 3d orbital energy. The chemical shifts and the electric field gradients were obtained with the gauge including projector augmented-wave (GIPAW) and the projector augmented-wave (PAW) methods, respectively. The simulated 2D-3QMAS NMR spectrum of the CAS glass is in very good agreement with the available experimental data, notably because it takes into account the disorder present in the glass. This agreement further validates our CAS glass model. We show that the oxygen triclusters are not visible in a 2D-3QMAS NMR (17)O spectrum since their NMR parameters overlap with those of the Al-O-Si, Si-O-Si, or Al-O-Al sites. Finally, correlations between the structural characteristics and the values of the NMR parameters are extracted from the calculation with the aim of helping the interpretation of NMR spectra of glasses of similar compositions.