Isomer stability and bond-breaking energies of N8C8H8 cages

Molecules consisting entirely or predominantly of nitrogen have been extensively investigated for their potential as high-energy density materials (HEDM). Such molecules react to produce N2 and large amounts of energy, but many such molecules are too unstable for practical applications. In the present study, cage isomers of N8C8H8 are studied using theoretical calculations to determine the structural features that lead to the most stable cages and determine the energetics of dissociation for the various isomers. The isomers are evaluated for thermodynamic (isomer vs isomer) stability and kinetic (with respect to dissociation) stability. Density functional theory (B3LYP), perturbation theory (MP2), and coupled-cluster theory [CCSD(T)] are employed, in conjunction with the cc-pVDZ basis set of Dunning. Trends in isomer stability and dissociation energies are calculated and discussed.     

Isomer stability of N6C6H6 cages

Recent theoretical studies have identified carbon-nitrogen cages that are potentially stable high energy density materials (HEDM). One such molecule is an N(6)C(6)H(6) cage in which a six-membered ring of nitrogen is bonded to C(3)H(3) triangles on both sides. This molecule is based on the structure of the most stable N(12) cage, with six carbon atoms substituted into the structure. In the current study, several N(6)C(6)H(6) isomers (including the previously studied cage) are examined by theoretical calculations to determine which is actually the most stable. Stability will be evaluated from two points of view: (1) thermodynamic stability of one isomer versus another and (2) kinetic stability of each isomer as determined by the energetics of bond breaking. Density functional theory (B3LYP), perturbation theory (MP2 and MP4), and coupled-cluster theory (CCSD(T)) are used in this study, along with the correlation-consistent basis sets of Dunning. Trends in thermodynamic and kinetic stability are discussed.     

Structure, stability, and cluster-cage interactions in nitride clusterfullerenes M3N@C2n (M = Sc, Y; 2n = 68-98): a density functional theory study

Extensive semiempirical calculations of the hexaanions of IPR (isolated pentagon rule) and non-IPR isomers of C(68)-C(88) and IPR isomers of C(90)-C(98) followed by DFT calculations of the lowest energy structures were performed to find the carbon cages that can provide the most stable isomers of M(3)N@C(2n) clusterfullerenes (M = Sc, Y) with Y as a model for rare earth ions. DFT calculations of isomers of M(3)N@C(2n) (M = Sc, Y; 2n = 68-98) based on the most stable C(2n)(6-) cages were also performed. The lowest energy isomers found by this methodology for Sc(3)N@C(68), Sc(3)N@C(78), Sc(3)N@C(80), Y(3)N@C(78), Y(3)N@C(80), Y(3)N@C(84), Y(3)N@C(86), and Y(3)N@C(88) are those that have been shown to exist by single-crystal X-ray studies as Sc(3)N@C(2n) (2n = 68, 78, 80), Dy(3)N@C(80), and Tb(3)N@C(2n) (2n = 80, 84, 86, 88) clusterfullerenes. Reassignment of the carbon cage of Sc(2)@C(76) to the non-IPR Cs: 17490 isomer is also proposed. The stability of nitride clusterfullerenes was found to correlate well with the stability of the empty 6-fold charged cages. However, the dimensions of the cage in terms of its ability to encapsulate M(3)N clusters were also found to be an important factor, especially for the medium size cages and the large Y(3)N cluster. In some cases the most stable structures are based on the different cage isomers for Sc(3)N and Y(3)N clusters. Up to the cage size of C(84), non-IPR isomers of C(2n)(6-) and M(3)N@C(2n) were found to compete with or to be even more stable than IPR isomers. However, the number of adjacent pentagon pairs in the most stable non-IPR isomers decreases as cage size increases: the most stable M(3)N@C(2n) isomers have three such pairs for 2n = 68-72, two pairs for n = 74-80, and only one pair for n = 82, 84. For C(86) and C(88) the lowest energy IPR isomers are much more stable than any non-IPR isomer. The trends in the stability of the fullerene isomers and the cluster-cage binding energies are discussed, and general rules for stability of clusterfullerenes are established. Finally, the high yield of M(3)N@C(80) (Ih) clusterfullerenes for any metal is explained by the exceptional stability of the C(80)(6-) (Ih: 31924) cage, rationalized by the optimum distribution of the pentagons leading to the minimization of the steric strain, and structural similarities of C(80) (Ih: 31924) with the lowest energy non-IPR isomers of C(760(6-), C(78)(6-), C(82)(6-), and C(84)(6-) pointed out.     

Exohedral silicon fullerenes: SiNPtN/2 (20<or=N<or=60)

Using density functional theory method we show that hollow silicon fullerene cages, SiN (20相似文献   

C78 cage isomerism defined by trimetallic nitride cluster size: a computational and vibrational spectroscopic study

Molecular structures of Dy(3)N@C(78) and Tm(3)N@C(78) clusterfullerenes are addressed by the IR and Raman vibrational spectroscopic studies and density functional theory (DFT) computations. First, extensive semiempirical calculations of 2927 isomers of C(78) hexaanions followed by DFT optimization were applied to establish their relative stability. Then, DFT calculations of a series of M(3)N@C(78) (M = Sc, Y, Lu, La) isomers were performed which have shown that the stability order of the isomers depends on the cluster size. While the Sc(3)N cluster is planar in the earlier reported Sc(3)N@C(78) (D(3)h: 24,109) clusterfullerenes, relatively large Y(3)N and Lu(3)N clusters would be forced to be pyramidal inside this cage, which would result in their destabilization. Instead, these clusters remain planar in the nonisolated pentagon rule (non-IPR) C(2): 22,010 isomer making Y(3)N@C(78) and Lu(3)N@C(78) clusterfullerenes with this cage structure the most stable ones. Finally, on the basis of a detailed analysis of their IR and Raman spectra supplemented with DFT vibrational calculations, the recently isolated Tm(3)N@C(78) and the major isomer of Dy(3)N@C(78) are assigned to the non-IPR C(2): 22,010 cage structure. A detailed assignment of their experimental and computed IR and Raman spectra is provided to support this conclusion and to exclude other cage isomers.     

Novel BC2N Nanocages: A DFT Investigation

We modeled and studied three types of novel B₁₂C₂₄N₁₂ cages. The structure of these cages was inspired by those of BC₂N nanotubes and the B₂₄N₂₄ fulborene skeleton. Density functional theory was used to investigate the various properties of the cages. All three isomers of B₁₂C₂₄N₁₂ were vibrationally stable. The highest occupied molecular orbital‐lowest unoccupied molecular orbital band gap was dependent on the BC₂N cage type. The B₁₂C₂₄N₁₂‐II cage was the most favorable nanocage and exhibited a large electric dipole moment. Natural bonding orbital (NBO) analysis confirmed the existence of lone pairs and unoccupied orbitals in the B₁₂C₂₄N₁₂ cages. New donor–acceptor interactions of natural MOs (Molecular Orbitals) were observed in BC₂N nanocages. The NBO and atomic polar tensor charges appeared to be fairly well correlated, showing that atomic charges can be obtained at a lower computational cost in this way.     

Ab initio calculation of bowl, cage, and ring isomers of C20 and C20-

High-level ab initio calculations have been carried out to reexamine relative stability of bowl, cage, and ring isomers of C(20) and C(20)(-). The total electronic energies of the three isomers show different energy orderings, strongly depending on the hybrid functionals selected. It is found that among three popular hybrid density-functional (DF) methods B3LYP, B3PW91, PBE1PBE, and a new hybrid-meta-DF method TPSSKCIS, only the PBE1PBE method (with cc-pVTZ basis set) gives qualitatively correct energy ordering as that predicted from ab initio CCSD(T)/cc-pVDZ [CCSD(T)-coupled-cluster method including singles, doubles, and noniterative perturbative triples; cc-pVDZ-correlation consistent polarized valence double zeta] as well as from MP4(SDQ)/cc-pVTZ [MP4-fourth-order Moller-Plesset; cc-pVTZ-correlation consistent polarized valence triple zeta] calculations. Both CCSD(T) and MP4 calculations indicate that the bowl is most likely the global minimum of neutral C(20) isomers, followed by the fullerene cage and ring. For the anionic counterparts, the PBE1PBE calculation also agrees with MP4/cc-pVTZ calculation, both predicting that the bowl is still the lowest-energy structure of C(20)(-) at T=0 K, followed by the ring and the cage. In contrast, both B3LYP/cc-pVTZ and B3PW91/cc-pVTZ calculations predict that the ring is the lowest-energy structure of C(20)(-). Apparently, this good reliability in predicting the energy ordering renders the hybrid PBE method a leading choice for predicting relative stability among large-sized carbon clusters and other carbon nanostructures (e.g., finite-size carbon nanotubes, nano-onions, or nanohorns). The relative stabilities derived from total energy with Gibbs free-energy corrections demonstrate a changing ordering in which ring becomes more favorable for both C(20) and C(20)(-) at high temperatures. Finally, photoelectron spectra (PES) for the anionic C(20)(-) isomers have been computed. With binding energies up to 7 eV, the simulated PES show ample spectral features to distinguish the three competitive C(20)(-) isomers.     

Stability of high-energy N14H4(2+) ion and the effects of carbon and halogen substitution

Previous studies of oxygen addition into an N12 cage framework revealed the possibility of stable high-energy density materials (HEDM) resulting from such additions. In the current study, nitrogen addition into N12 is studied as a means of generating stable HEDM. Nitrogen addition into N12 is shown to yield an N14H4(2+) ion, which is examined by theoretical calculations to determine its stability with respect to dissociation. Other variations on this ion are generated by substituting carbon for nitrogen and/or halogens for hydrogen. The cage structures will be compared with respect to stability, and factors that enhance stability will be discussed.     

异构体C36O的结构及其相对稳定性的理论研究

用abinitio方法和HF/STO-3G基组对Fullerenes的环氧衍生物C₃₆O所有可能的异构体进行非对称性限制下的结构优化,结合HF/6-31G水平上的单点能计算,确定其相对稳定性,得到等能量异构体的结构.张力分析的结果表明,C-O-C形成的三元环氧桥显著地削弱作用点附近C原子上所释放的张力,决定环氧位置选择性的关键因素不是碳笼上C原子的张力.对等能量异构体的红外光谱进行了理论预测.     

How much carbon dioxide can be stored in the structure H clathrate hydrates?: a molecular dynamics study

The stability of structure H (sH) carbon dioxide clathrate hydrates at three temperature-pressure conditions are determined by molecular dynamics simulations on a 3x3x3 sH unit cell replica. Simulations are performed at 100 K at ambient pressure, 273 K at 100 bars and also 300 K and 5.0 kbars. The small and medium cages of the sH unit cell are occupied by a single carbon dioxide guest and large cage guest occupancies of 1-5 are considered. Radial distribution functions are given for guests in the large cages and unit cell volumes and configurational energies are studied as a function of large cage CO(2) occupancy. Free energy calculations are carried out to determine the stability of clathrates for large cage occupancies at three temperature/pressure conditions stated above. At the low temperature, large cage occupancy of 5 is the most stable while at the higher temperature, the occupancy of 3 is the most favored. Calculations are also performed to show that the CO(2) sH clathrate is more stable than the methane clathrate analog. Implications on CO(2) sequestration by clathrate formation are discussed.     

Nonstandard cages in the formation process of methane clathrate: stability, structure, and spectroscopic implications from first-principles

Endohedral CH(4)@(H(2)O)(n) (n = 16, 18, 20, 22, 24) clusters with standard and nonstandard cage configurations containing four-, five-, six-, seven-membered rings were generated by spiral algorithm and were systematically explored using DFT-D methods. The geometries of all isomers were optimized in vacuum and aqueous solution. In vacuum, encapsulation of methane molecules can stabilize the hollow (H(2)O)(n) cage by 2.31~5.44 kcal/mol; but the endohedral CH(4)@(H(2)O)(n) cages are still less stable than the pure (H(2)O)(n) clusters. Aqueous environment could promote the stabilities of the hollow (H(2)O)(n) cages as well as the CH(4)@(H(2)O)(n) clusters, and the CH(4)@(H(2)O)(n) clusters possess larger stabilization energies with regard to the pure (H(2)O)(n) clusters except for n = 24. The lowest energy structures of the CH(4)@(H(2)O)(20) and CH(4)@(H(2)O)(24) cages are identical to the building units in the crystalline sI clathrate hydrate. All of the low-energy cages (including both regular and irregular ones) have large structural similarity and can be connected by "dimer-insertion" operation and Stone-Wales transformation. Our calculation also showed that in the range of cluster size n = 16-24, the relative energies of cage isomers tend to decrease with increasing number of the adjacent pentagons in the oxygen skeleton structures. In addition to the regular endohedral CH(4)@(H(2)O)(20) and CH(4)@(H(2)O)(24) cage structures, some nonstandard CH(4)@(H(2)O)(n) (n = 18, 20, 22, 24) cages have lower energies and might appear during nucleation process of methane hydrate. For the methane molecules in these low-energy cage isomers, we found that the C-H symmetric stretching frequencies show a red-shift trend and the (13)C NMR chemical shifts generally move toward negative values as the cavity size increases. These theoretical results are comparable to the available experimental data and might help experimental identification of the endohedral water cages during nucleation.     

B24N24团簇的结构与稳定性

采用密度泛函理论,在B3LYP/6-31G^*水平下,对B₂₄N₂₄笼状团簇的12种异构体进行了优化,并对它们的几何构型、化学键性质、振动光谱和稳定性进行了探讨.研究表明:具有S₈对称的含有2个八元环、8个四元环和16个六元环的结构h是B₂₄N₂₄笼状团簇最稳定的异构体,只存在B-N键,而无N-N和B-B键.含有五元环结构的稳定性最低.B-B和N-N键对的数目越多,结构的稳定性越低.12种异构体的稳定性顺序为h＞a＞b＞I＞g＞l＞c＞k＞j＞d＞e＞f.     

Stability and magnetic properties of transition metal atoms endohedral BnNn (n=12-28) cages

First-principles calculations have been conducted to systemically investigate the stability and magnetic properties of 3d and 4d transitional-metal (TM) atoms doped in the BnNn (n=12,16,20,24,28) cages. Among those cages, the B24N24 is the optimal one for encapsulating 3d and 4d TM atoms according to the computed heat of formation. Inside B24N24 cage, 3d and 4d TM dopants belonging to the same group in the Periodic Table exhibit similar magnetic behaviors. Most of the 3d and 4d TM atoms remain magnetic after doped in the B24N24 cage except for Ni, Zr, and Pd. The magnitudes of the remaining moments for 3d (except for Sc, Ti, and V) and 4d dopants are reduced from those of free atoms. The energy gaps are localized at the doped transition metal atoms. Encapsulations of two TM atoms inside the B24N24 cage were also considered.     

Stability of rare gas structure H clathrate hydrates

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the stability of structure H (sH) clathrate hydrates with the rare gases Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe. Simulations on a 3 x 3 x 3 sH unit cell replica are performed at ambient pressure at 40 and 100 K temperatures. The small and medium (s+m) cages of the sH unit cell are assigned rare gas guest occupancies of 1 and for large (l) cages guest occupancies of 1-6 are considered. Radial distribution functions for guest pairs with occupancies in the l-l, l-(s+m), and (s+m)-(s+m) cages are presented. The unit cell volumes and configurational energies are studied as a function of large cage occupancy for the rare gases. Free energy calculations are carried out to determine the stability of clathrates for large cage occupancies at 100 K and 1 bar and 20 kbar pressures. These studies show that the most stable argon clathrate has five guests in the large cages. For krypton and xenon the most stable configurations have three and two guests in the large cages, respectively.     

DFT study on the stabilities of the heterofullerenes Sc3N@C67B, Sc3N@C67N, and Sc3N@C66BN

On the basis of calculations using density functional theory, we investigated the relative stabilities of all isomers of Sc3N@C67B and Sc3N@C67N as well as those of stable isomers of Sc3N@C66BN. As a result, we predict that Sc3N@C68 can be doped substitutionally with a boron atom much better than C60. This effect can be ascribed to the favorable electrostatic attraction between the encased Sc3N cluster and the polar C-B bonds of the fullerene cage, which show the important role played by the encapsulated atoms in stabilizing the fullerene. A difference in the interaction also determines the regiospecificity of Sc3N@C67B. On the contrary, N-doping of the fullerenes forming Sc3N@C67N is much less favorable than that in C60 or C70. A judicious choice of stable isomers of Sc3N@C66BN among a vast number of possible isomers indicates that Sc3N@C68 can also be doped with a pair of B and N atoms better than C60 under the simultaneous existence of B and N sources. Relative stabilities of various isomers of the BN-substituted fullerenes can be understood in terms of the combined electrostatic effects in the B- and N-substitutions of Sc3N@C68 complemented by a specific local preference in the N-substitution and the formation of a B-N bond.     

Stability of N18C6H6: triangular versus hexagonal structure

Large nitrogen cage molecules Nx have been previously shown to prefer elongated, cylindrical structures with triangular caps versus more spherical structures composed entirely of pentagons and hexagons. It was argued that this preference derived from the electronic properties of the nitrogen atoms, including the lone pairs. In the current study, the same structural comparison is carried out, with the substitution of C-H-bonding groups for six of the nitrogens. Various substitution patterns on the cylindrical (triangular) and spherical (hexagonal) frameworks are examined. Isomers of N18C6H6 are studied by theoretical calculations to determine the relative stability of triangular versus hexagonal structures, as well as the stability effects of the substitution patterns on each framework. Hartree-Fock theory, density functional theory (PBE1PBE), and perturbation theory (MP2) are employed, in conjunction with the correlation-consistent basis sets of Dunning. Stability trends within each class of molecules and between the two classes of molecules are calculated and discussed.     

Free energies of carbon dioxide sequestration and methane recovery in clathrate hydrates

Classical molecular dynamics simulations are used to compare the stability of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and mixed CO(2)N(2) structure I (sI) clathrates under deep ocean seafloor temperature and pressure conditions (275 K and 30 MPa) which were considered suitable for CO(2) sequestration. Substitution of methane guests in both the small and large sI cages by CO(2) and N(2) fluids are considered separately to determine the separate contributions to the overall free energy of substitution. The structure I clathrate with methane in small cages and carbon dioxide in large cages is determined to be the most stable. Substitutions of methane in the small cages with CO(2) and N(2) have positive free energies. Substitution of methane with CO(2) in the large cages has a large negative free energy and substitution of the methane in the large cages with N(2) has a small positive free energy. The calculations show that under conditions where storage is being considered, carbon dioxide spontaneously replaces methane from sI clathrates, causing the release of methane. This process must be considered if there are methane clathrates present where CO(2) sequestration is to be attempted. The calculations also indicate that N(2) does not directly compete with CO(2) during methane substitution or clathrate formation and therefore can be used as a carrier gas or may be present as an impurity. Simulations further reveal that the replacement of methane with CO(2) in structure II (sII) cages also has a negative free energy. In cases where sII CO(2) clathrates are formed, only single occupancy of the large cages will be observed.     

C24和B12N12团簇的结构与稳定性

本文采用量子化学密度泛函理论的B3LYP/6-31G*方法,对C24和B12N12团簇的12种异构体进行了优化,并对它们的几何构型、振动频率、核独立化学位移(NICS)和结合能进行了理论探讨, 比较了C24和B12N12团簇结构的稳定性。研究表明:C24团簇的最稳定几何构型为类石墨结构d,B12N12团簇的最稳定结构为4/6笼状结构g。C24异构体的稳定性大小顺序为d > b > f > c > a > e。B12N12团簇异构体稳定性大小顺序为a > f> c> d > e >b。     

Derivatization of fullerene dimer C120 by the Bingel reaction and a 3He NMR study of 3He@C120 monoadducts.

Cyclopropanation with diethyl bromomalonate and base (the Bingel reaction) was conducted on fullerene dimer C120 to give a mixture of "monoadducts" (45% yield) and "bisadducts" (< or =37% yield), while 18% of the C120 remained unchanged. The "monoadducts" were separated into five positional isomers, i.e., e(face), e(edge), trans-4, trans-3, and trans-2, by preparative HPLC. Assignments were made based on 1H (and 13C) NMR and confirmed by theoretical calculations of the addends' 1H NMR chemical shifts. The relative yields of these isomers were in fair agreement with those observed for the Bingel bisaddition of C60. The Bingel reaction was also carried out on the dimer C120 encapsulating 3He in one of the C60 cages. Each positional isomer of the "monoadduct" exhibited a pair of 3He NMR signals corresponding to an isomer with functionalization on the 3He-containing cage and the other isomer with functionalization on the empty cage. Using the 3He NMR spectroscopy, a pair of signals for the trans-1 isomer, which eluded detection by 1H NMR, were observed, in addition to pairs of signals for e(face), e(edge), trans-4, trans-3, and trans-2 isomers. The 3He NMR signals for isomers with functionalization on the 3He-containing cage were spread out over a 1.82-ppm range reflecting the direct effects of the addition pattern on the C60 surface. In contrast, the isomers with functionalization on the empty cage exhibited 3He NMR signals that appeared over a 0.14-ppm range, which was shown to be primarily due to changes in the diamagnetism of the functionalized cage based on theoretical calculations of 3He NMR chemical shifts for the model system in which the C60 cage encapsulating 3He was removed.     

From pure C(60) to silicon carbon fullerene-based nanotube: an ab initio study

The energetics, geometrical, and electronic properties of the silicon carbon fullerene-based materials, obtained from C(60) by replacing 12 carbon atoms of the C(60) cage with silicon atoms, are studied based on ab initio calculations. We have found that, of the two C(48)Si(12) isomers obtained, the one with the carbon atoms and the silicon atoms located in separated region, i.e., with a phase-separated structure is more stable. Fullerene-based C(36)Si(24) cluster, C(36)Si(24)-C(36)Si(24) dimer, and the nanotube constructed from the clusters are then studied. The calculations on the electronic properties of these silicon carbon fullerene-based nanomaterials demonstrate that the energy gaps are greatly modified and show a decreasing trend with increasing the size of the clusters. The silicon carbon fullerene-based nanotube has a narrow and direct energy band gap, implying that it is a narrow gap semiconductor and may be a promising candidate for optoelectronic devices.