Electron Transfer Processes at Aryl‐Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

The effect of a layer of electrochemically grafted 4‐diazo‐N,N‐diethylaniline (DEA) groups on the electron transfer kinetics of redox systems, displaying fast and slow heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants at edge and basal planes of carbon, was investigated. The properties of the modified electrode were characterized by cyclic voltammetry using four different inorganic redox systems (Fe(CN) , Co(phen) , Ru(NH₃) , and IrCl in acidic, neutral, and basic media. Two distinct blocking behaviors and electrostatic effects were observed. More precisely, a strong blocking effect of the grafted layer on Fe(CN) and Co(phen) was found, whereas Ru(NH₃) and IrCl showed to be rather unaffected by the presence of the DEA grafted layer.     

Hydrogen isotope effects on covalent and noncovalent interactions: The case of protonated rare gas clusters

We investigate hydrogen isotope and nuclear quantum effects on geometries and binding energies of small protonated rare gas clusters (Rg $_n$ X $^ +$ , Rg = He,Ne,Ar, X = H,D,T, and $n$ = 1–3) with the any particle molecular orbital (APMO) MP2 level of theory (APMO/MP2). To gain insight on the impact of nuclear quantum effects on the different interactions present in the Rg $_n$ X $^ +$ systems, we propose an APMO/MP2 energy decomposition analysis scheme. For RgH $^ +$ ions, isotopic substitution leads to an increase in the stability of the complex, because polarization and charge transfer contributions increase with the mass of the hydrogen. In the case of Rg $_2$ H $^ +$ complexes, isotopic substitution results in a shortening and weakening of the rare gas‐hydrogen ion bond. For Rg $_3$ X $^ +$ complexes, the isotope effects on the rare gas binding energy are almost negligible. Nevertheless, our results reveal that subtle changes in the charge distribution of the Rg $_2$ X $^ +$ core induced by an isotopic substitution have an impact on the geometry of the Rg $_3$ X $^ +$ complex. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bound‐states of diatomic molecules in the Dirac equation with the q‐deformed Morse potential

We present the solutions of the ro‐vibrational motion of a diatomic molecule with a spatially dependent mass by solving the Dirac equation with position‐dependent mass for repulsive vector $V(r)$ and attractive scalar $S(r)$ q‐deformed Morse potential for any $\kappa$ value, within the framework of Pekeris approximation of the spin‐orbitcoupling term. The relativistic energy spectra are obtained using theNikiforov‐Uvarov method and the two‐component spinor wavefunctions are obtained in terms of the Laguerre polynomials. It is found that there exist only negative energy states for bound states, and the energy values for a fixed value of $n_r$ increase with decrease in $\kappa$ . © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Steered molecular dynamics simulation of elastic behavior of adsorbed single polyethylene chains

We investigate the dynamics of the detachment of single polyethylene (PE) chains from a strongly adsorbing surface in vacuum using a united atom model. Various statistical properties, including the mean‐square end‐to‐end distance 〈R²〉, the mean‐square radii of gyration , , the shape factor , the torsion angle distribution, the average surface adsorption energy , the average total energy , and the average force , are analyzed. The relationship between the average force and the pulling velocity v shows two distinctive regions: a weakly dependence region at Å/ps and a strongly dependence region at Å/ps. Remarkably, the PE chain manifests force hysteresis under sequential stretching and releasing. These investigations may provide some insights into the elastic behavior of adsorbed polymer chains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2322–2332, 2007     

Electric and magnetic dipole shielding constants for the ground state of the relativistic hydrogen‐like atom: Application of the Sturmian expansion of the generalized Dirac‐Coulomb Green function

The Sturmian expansion of the generalized Dirac‐Coulomb Green function (Szmytkowski, J Phys B, 1997, 30, 825; erratum 1997, 30, 2747) is exploited to derive closed‐form expressions for electric $(\sigma_{E})$ and magnetic $(\sigma_{M})$ dipole shielding constants for the ground state of the relativistic hydrogen‐like atom with a point‐like and spinless nucleus of charge Ze. It is found that $\sigma_{E}=Z^{-1}$ (as it should be) and where $\gamma_{1}=\sqrt{1-(Z\alpha)^{2}}$ (α is the fine‐structure constant). This expression for $\sigma_{M}$ agrees with earlier findings of several other authors, obtained with the use of other analytical techniques, and is elementary compared to an alternative one presented recently by Cheng et al. (J Chem Phys 2009, 130, 144102), which involves an infinite series of ratios of the Euler's gamma functions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Kinetic Study of Ethylene Homopolymerization in Slurry Using a Ziegler‐Natta Catalyst

The kinetic behavior of a Ziegler‐Natta catalyst at 86 °C under homopolymerization conditions in a continuous slurry polymerization reactor is studied. The effects of ethylene and hydrogen concentrations on the polymerization rate and polymer properties such as and were investigated. A kinetic model based on two catalytic lumped sites was developed to predict polymerization rate and and from reactor operating conditions. Each lumped site is assumed to be activated instantaneously. Such activation either is spontaneous or requires an ethylene molecule. The model has high fidelity in predicting experimental observations using kinetic parameters estimated from the experimental data and is used for industrial process development, optimization, and new product development.

     

Dynamic Mirror‐Symmetry Breaking in Bicontinuous Cubic Phases

Chiral segregation of enantiomers or chiral conformers of achiral molecules during self‐assembly in well‐ordered crystalline superstructures has fascinated chemists since Pasteur. Here we report spontaneous mirror‐symmetry breaking in cubic phases formed by achiral multichain‐terminated diphenyl‐2,2′‐bithiophenes. It was found that stochastic symmetry breaking is a general phenomenon observed in bicontinuous cubic liquid crystal phases of achiral rod‐like compounds. In all compounds studied the ${{\it Im}\bar 3m}$ cubic phase is always chiral, while the ${Ia\bar 3d}$ phase is achiral. These intriguing observations are explained by propagation of homochiral helical twist across the entire networks through helix matching at network junctions. In the ${Ia\bar 3d}$ phase the opposing chiralities of the two networks cancel, but not so in the three‐networks ${{\it Im}\bar 3m}$ phase. The high twist in the ${{\it Im}\bar 3m}$ phase explains its previously unrecognized chirality, as well as the origin of this complex structure and the transitions between the different cubic phases.     

Reply to ‘comment on “extending Hirshfeld‐I to bulk and periodic materials”’

The issues raised in the comment by Manz are addressed through the presentation of calculated atomic charges for NaF, NaCl, MgO, SrTiO $$_3$$ , and La $$_2$$ Ce $$_2$$ O $$_7$$ , using our previously presented method for calculating Hirshfeld‐I charges in solids (Vanpoucke et al., J. Comput. Chem. doi: 10.1002/jcc.23088). It is shown that the use of pseudovalence charges is sufficient to retrieve the full all‐electron Hirshfeld‐I charges to good accuracy. Furthermore, we present timing results of different systems, containing up to over 200 atoms, underlining the relatively low cost for large systems. A number of theoretical issues are formulated, pointing out mainly that care must be taken when deriving new atoms in molecules methods based on “expectations” for atomic charges. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

One‐Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Heterostructured ZnO/ZnS Nanorod Arrays with High Ethanol‐Sensing Properties

ZnO/ZnS heterostructured nanorod arrays with uniform diameter and length were synthesized from zinc substrates in a one‐pot procedure by using a simple hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by HRTEM indicated that the heterostructured nanorods were composed of parallel segments of wurtzite‐type ZnO and zinc‐blende ZnS, with a distinct interface along the axial direction, which revealed the epitaxial relationship, ZnO (10$\bar 1$ 0) and ZnS ($\bar 1$ 1$\bar 1$ ). The as‐prepared ZnO/ZnS nanorods showed only two green emissions at around 523 nm and 576 nm. We also found that the nanorods exhibited high sensitivity to ethanol at relatively low temperatures, owing to their smaller size and structure.     

New Nuclear‐Spin‐Induced Cotton–Mouton Effect in Fluids at High DC Magnetic Field

Based on Buckingham and Pople’s theory of magnetic double refraction, a theoretical expression is derived for a new Cotton–Mouton effect ${\phi _{{\rm{C}} - {\rm{M}}}^{(IB)} }$ in liquid induced by the crossed effect between the high dc magnetic field B₀ and the nuclear magnetic moment ${m_z^{(I)} }$ . It contains temperature‐independent and ‐dependent parts. The latter is proportional to the product between anisotropy of polarizability and the nuclear magnetic shielding tensor. For this new effect ${\phi _{{\rm{C}} - {\rm{M}}}^{(IB)} }$ , its order in magnitude for a molecule with large polarizability anisotropy is estimated to be comparable to the nuclear‐spin‐induced optical Faraday rotation (NSOFR). In the multipass approach, ${\phi _{{\rm{C}} - {\rm{M}}}^{(IB)} }$ can be eliminated by time‐reversal symmetry arguments, but NSOFR is enhanced.     

On the 4JHH long‐range coupling in 2‐bromocyclohexanone: conformational insights

2‐Bromocyclohexanone is a model compound in which a ⁴J_{H2, H6} coupling constant is observed, whereas the corresponding ⁴J_{H2, H4} is absent. The observed long‐range coupling is not only a result of the known W‐type coupling, in the axial conformation, but also because of the less usual diaxial spin–spin coupling in the equatorial conformer. The carbonyl group plays a determining role in describing the coupling pathway, as concluded by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis; although the and interactions in the axial conformer contribute for transmitting the spin information associated with the W‐type coupling, the strong and hyperconjugations in the equatorial conformer define an enhanced coupling pathway for ⁴J_{H2, H6}, despite the inhibition of this coupling because of interaction and the large carbonyl angle. These findings provide the experimental evidence that orbital interactions contribute for the conformational isomerism of 2‐bromocyclohexanone. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Stereo Multiblock Poly(lactic acid)s with Different Block Lengths by Melt Polycondensation of Poly(L‐lactic acid)/Poly(D‐lactic acid) Blends

Stereo multiblock PLAs with different block lengths are synthesized by melt polycondensation of low‐molecular‐weight poly(L ‐lactic acid)/poly(D ‐lactic acid) blends with a wide variety of $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ in the range of 1.1–5.2 × 10³ g · mol^–1. The average block length (ν_av) of the stereo multiblock PLAs increases with increasing $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ of the blend and with the reaction temperature, whereas $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ and PDI of the stereo multiblock PLAs increases with increasing $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ of the blend, the reaction time, and the temperature. Stereo multiblock PLAs with ν_av > 7 are crystallizable to form stereocomplex crystallites, and the crystallinity and melting temperature of the stereo multiblock PLAs increases with increasing ν_av and $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ of the stereo multiblock PLAs.

     

Canonical two‐range addition theorem for slater‐type orbitals

The radial Slater‐type orbitals (STO) ${r^\mu }{e^{ - \alpha r}}$ can be simply obtained by repeated parametric differentiation of the Yukawa Potential $({e^{ - \alpha r}}/r)$ with respect to α. A new compact two‐range addition theorem (AdT) for the STO is herein derived by explicit parametric differentiation of the well‐known Yukawa AdT. The resulting addition formula is combined with the single‐range AdT for solid spherical harmonics $({r^l}Y_l^m(\hat r))$ to present a new AdT for three‐dimensional spherical coordinate STOs. We advance the proposition that this formula is “canonical” in the same sense that the Laplace expansion of the Coulomb potential is considered canonical. We demonstrate how this procedure can be employed for all exponential‐type orbitals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding,Controlling and Programming Cooperativity in Self‐Assembled Polynuclear Complexes in Solution

Deviations from statistical binding, that is cooperativity, in self‐assembled polynuclear complexes partly result from intermetallic interactions ΔE^M,M, whose magnitudes in solution depend on a balance between electrostatic repulsion and solvation energies. These two factors have been reconciled in a simple point‐charge model, which suggests severe and counter‐intuitive deviations from predictions based solely on the Coulomb law when considering the variation of ΔE^M,M with metallic charge and intermetallic separation in linear polynuclear helicates. To demonstrate this intriguing behaviour, the ten microscopic interactions that define the thermodynamic formation constants of some twenty‐nine homometallic and heterometallic polynuclear triple‐stranded helicates obtained from the coordination of the segmental ligands L1 – L11 with Zn²⁺ (a spherical d‐block cation) and Lu³⁺ (a spherical 4f‐block cation), have been extracted by using the site binding model. As predicted, but in contrast with the simplistic coulombic approach, the apparent intramolecular intermetallic interactions in solution are found to be i) more repulsive at long distance ( > ), ii) of larger magnitude when Zn²⁺ replaces Lu³⁺ ( > ) and iii) attractive between two triply charged cations held at some specific distance ( <0). The consequences of these trends are discussed for the design of polynuclear complexes in solution.     

Density functional study of electronic,bonding, and vibrational properties of Ca (NH2BH3)2

We present structural, electronic, bonding and vibrational properties of new type hydrogen storage material calcium amidoborane ${\rm Ca}({\rm NH}_{2}{\rm BH}_{3})_{2}$ by first principles density functional theory using plane wave pseudopotential method. The calculated ground state properties are in good agreement with experiments. The computed Bulk modulus of ${\rm Ca}({\rm NH}_{2}{\rm BH}_{3})_{2}$ is found to be 28.7 GPa which is slightly higher than that of ${\rm NH}_{3}{\rm BH}_{3}$ indicating that the material is hard over ${\rm NH}_{3}{\rm BH}_{3}$ . From the band structure calculations, the compound is found to be a direct band gap insulator with a band gap of 3.27 eV at the Γ point. The calculated bandstructure shows that the top of the valance band is from the p states of N and the bottom of the conduction band is from d states of Ca. The Mulliken bond populations, Born effective charges and charge density distributions are used to analyze the bonding nature of the compound. It is found that the N‐H and B‐H bonds are covalent in nature. Further we also compared the phonon density of states and vibrational frequencies of ${\rm Ca}({\rm NH}_{2}{\rm BH}_{3})_{2}$ with ${\rm NH}_{3}{\rm BH}_{3}$ . The study reveals that in both the cases the heavier mass atoms Ca, N, B are involved in the low frequency vibrations whereas the higher frequency vibrations are from H atoms. It is also observed that the vibrational frequencies of B‐H bonds are soft in ${\rm Ca}({\rm NH}_{2}{\rm BH}_{3})_{2}$ when compared to ${\rm NH}_{3}{\rm BH}_{3}$ and thereby concluded that ${\rm Ca}({\rm NH}_{2}{\rm BH}_{3})_{2}$ is a potential hydrogen storage material for fuel cell applications when compared to ${\rm NH}_{3}{\rm BH}_{3}$ . © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Guanidinium Alkynesulfonates with Single‐Layer Stacking Motif: Interlayer Hydrogen Bonding Between Sulfonate Anions Changes the Orientation of the Organosulfonate R Group from “Alternate Side” to “Same Side”

Hydrolyses of HC?CSO₃SiMe₃ ( 1 ) and CH₃C?CSO₃SiMe₃ ( 2 ) lead to the formation of acetylenic sulfonic acids HC?CSO₃H?2.33 H₂O ( 3 ) and CH₃C?CSO₃H?1.88 H₂O ( 4 ). These acids were reacted with guanidinium carbonate to yield [⁺C(NH₂)₃][HC?CSO₃^?] ( 5 ) and [⁺C(NH₂)₃][CH₃C?CSO₃^?] ( 6 ). Compounds 1 – 6 were characterized by spectroscopic methods, and the X‐ray crystal structures of the guanidinium salts were determined. The X‐ray results of 5 show that the guanidinium cations and organosulfonate anions associate into 1D ribbons through ${{\rm R}{{2\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (8) dimer interactions, whereas association of these ions in 6 is achieved through ${{\rm R}{{2\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (8) and ${{\rm R}{{1\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (6) interactions. The ribbons in 5 associate into 2D sheets through ${{\rm R}{{2\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (8) dimer interactions and ${{\rm R}{{3\hfill \atop 6\hfill}}}$ (12) rings, whereas those in 6 are connected through ${{\rm R}{{1\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (6) and ${{\rm R}{{2\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ (8) dimer interactions and ${{\rm R}{{4\hfill \atop 6\hfill}}}$ (14) rings. Compound 6 exhibits a single‐layer stacking motif similar to that found in guanidinium alkane‐ and arenesulfonates, that is, the alkynyl groups alternate orientation from one ribbon to the next. The stacking motif in 5 is also single‐layer, but due to interlayer hydrogen bonding between sulfonate anions, the alkynyl groups of each sheet all point to the same side of the sheet.     

A New Quantum Chemical Approach to the Magnetic Properties of Oligonuclear Transition‐Metal Complexes: Application to a Model for the Tetranuclear Manganese Cluster of Photosystem II

Broken‐symmetry DFT calculations on transition‐metal clusters with more than two centers allow the hyperfine coupling constants to be extracted. Application of the proposed theoretical scheme to a tetranuclear manganese complex that models the S₂ state of the oxygen‐evolving complex of photosystem II yields hyperfine parameters that can be directly compared with experimental data. The picture shows the metal–oxo core of the model and the following parameters; exchange coupling constant J_ij, the expectation value of the site‐spin operator , and the isotropic hyperfine coupling parameters.

     

Polysulfide Chemistry in Sodium–Sulfur Batteries and Related Systems— A Computational Study by G3X(MP2) and PCM Calculations

The sodium–sulfur (NAS) battery is a candidate for energy storage and load leveling in power systems, by using the reversible reduction of elemental sulfur by sodium metal to give a liquid mixture of polysulfides (Na₂S_n) at approximately 320 °C. We investigated a large number of reactions possibly occurring in such sodium polysulfide melts by using density functional calculations at the G3X(MP2)/B3LYP/6‐31+G(2df,p) level of theory including polarizable continuum model (PCM) corrections for two polarizable phases, to obtain geometric and, for the first time, thermodynamic data for the liquid sodium–sulfur system. Novel reaction sequences for the electrochemical reduction of elemental sulfur are proposed on the basis of their Gibbs reaction energies. We suggest that the primary reduction product of S₈ is the radical anion ${{\rm S}{{{{\bullet}}- \hfill \atop 8\hfill}}}$ , which decomposes at the operating temperature of NAS batteries exergonically to the radicals ${{\rm S}{{{{\bullet}}- \hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ and ${{\rm S}{{{{\bullet}}- \hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ together with the neutral species S₆ and S₅, respectively. In addition, ${{\rm S}{{{{\bullet}}- \hfill \atop 8\hfill}}}$ is predicted to disproportionate exergonically to S₈ and ${{\rm S}{{2- \hfill \atop 8\hfill}}}$ followed by the dissociation of the latter into two ${{\rm S}{{{{\bullet}}- \hfill \atop 4\hfill}}}$ radical ions. By recombination reactions of these radicals various polysulfide dianions can in principle be formed. However, polysulfide dianions larger than ${{\rm S}{{2- \hfill \atop 4\hfill}}}$ are thermally unstable at 320 °C and smaller dianions as well as radical monoanions dominate in Na₂S_n (n=2–5) melts instead. The reverse reactions are predicted to take place when the NAS battery is charged. We show that ion pairs of the types ${{\rm NaS}{{{{\bullet}}\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ , ${{\rm NaS}{{- \hfill \atop n\hfill}}}$ , and Na₂S_n can be expected at least for n=2 and 3 in NAS batteries, but are unlikely in aqueous sodium polysulfide except at high concentrations. The structures of such radicals and anions with up to nine sulfur atoms are reported, because they are predicted to play a key role in the electrochemical reduction process. A large number of isomerization, disproportionation, and sulfurization reactions of polysulfide mono‐ and dianions have been investigated in the gas phase and in a polarizable continuum, and numerous reaction enthalpies as well as Gibbs energies are reported.     

Unprecedented Electron‐Poor Octahedral Ta6 Clusters in a Solid‐State Compound: Synthesis,Characterisations and Theoretical Investigations of Cs2BaTa6Br15O3

The crystal structure of Cs₂BaTa₆Br₁₅O₃ has been elucidated by using synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction and absorption experiments. It is built from edge‐bridged octahedral [(Ta₆${{\rm Br}{{{\rm i}\hfill \atop 9\hfill}}}$ ${{\rm O}{{{\rm i}\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ )${{\rm Br}{{{\rm a}\hfill \atop 6\hfill}}}$ ]^4? cluster units with a singular poor metallic electron (ME) count equal to thirteen. This leads to a paramagnetic behaviour related to one unpaired electron. The arrangement of the Ta₆ clusters is similar to that of Cs₂LaTa₆Br₁₅O₃ exhibiting 14‐MEs per [(Ta₆${{\rm Br}{{{\rm i}\hfill \atop 9\hfill}}}$ ${{\rm O}{{{\rm i}\hfill \atop 3\hfill}}}$ )${{\rm Br}{{{\rm a}\hfill \atop 6\hfill}}}$ ]^5? motif. The poorer electron‐count cluster presents longer metal–metal distances as foreseen according to the electronic structure of edge‐bridged hexanuclear cluster. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on molecular models were used to rationalise the structural properties of 13‐ and 14‐ME clusters. Periodic DFT calculations demonstrate that the electronic structure of these solid‐state compounds is related to those of the discrete octahedral units. Oxygen–barium interactions seem to prevent the geometry of the octahedral cluster to strongly distort, allowing stabilisation of this unprecedented electron‐poor Ta₆ cluster in the solid state.     

Enhanced Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence of Tris(2,2′‐bipyridyl) Ruthenium(II)/tripropylamine in the Presence of Pyridine and Its Analogues

In the present work, we conducted an investigation on the electrochemical and ECL behavior of Ru(bpy) /TPrA system in the presence of pyridine and its analogues on platinum and gold electrode. Results showed that pyridine and its analogues enhanced Ru(bpy) /TPrA ECL signal and exhibited different enhancement effects on different electrodes. On platinum electrode, the maximum enhancement factor of about 5 was obtained. On gold electrode, a low‐oxidation‐potential (LOP) ECL signal occurred and increased.