Which density functional is close to CCSD accuracy to describe geometry and interaction energy of small noncovalent dimers? A benchmark study using Gaussian09

A benchmark study on all possible density functional theory (DFT) methods in Gaussian09 is done to locate functionals that agree well with CCSD/aug‐cc‐pVTZ geometry and Ave‐CCSD(T)/(Q‐T) interaction energy (E_int) for small non‐covalently interacting molecular dimers in “dispersion‐dominated” (class 1), “dipole‐induced dipole” (class 2), and “dipole‐dipole” (class 3) classes. A DFT method is recommended acceptable if the geometry showed close agreement to CCSD result (RMSD < 0.045) and E_int was within 80–120% accuracy. Among 382 tested functionals, 1–46% gave good geometry, 13–44% gave good E_int, while 1–33% satisfied geometry and energy criteria. Further screening to locate the best performing functionals for all the three classes was made by counting the acceptable values of energy and geometry given by each functionals. The meta‐generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional M06L was the best performer with total 14 hits; seven acceptable energies and seven acceptable geometries. This was the only functional “recommended” for at least two dimers in each class. The functionals M05, B2PLYPD, B971, mPW2PLYPD, PBEB95, and CAM‐B3LYP gave 11 hits while PBEhB95, PW91B95, Wb97x, BRxVP86, BRxP86, HSE2PBE, HSEh1PBE, PBE1PBE, PBEh1PBE, and PW91TPSS gave 10 hits. Among these, M05, B971, mPW2PLYPD, Wb97x, and PW91TPSS were among the “recommended” list of at least one dimer from each class. Long‐range correction (LC) of Hirao and coworkers to exchange‐correlation functionals showed massive improvement in geometry and E_int. The best performing LC‐functionals were LC‐G96KCIS and LC‐PKZBPKZB. Our results predict that M06L is the most trustworthy DFT method in Gaussian09 to study small non‐covalently interacting systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Estimates of the structure and dimerization energy of polyacetylene from ab initio calculations on finite polyenes

Ab initio calculations at the Hartree-Fock (HF) and the second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) levels are performed for finite polyenes C_2nH_2n+2 to estimate the structure and dimerization energy (E_dim) of polyacetylene. The effect of electron correlation on the structure of finite polyenes is analyzed in detail. The MP3/6–31G* C(DOUBLE BOND)C and C(SINGLE BOND)C bond lengths in polyacetylene are estimated by a simple extrapolation method using empirical corrections for the MP2 deficiencies, yielding values [C(DOUBLE BOND)C(MP3) ∼ 1.36 Å and C(SINGLE BOND)C(MP3) ∼ 1.44 Å] that are in a good agreement with experiment (C(DOUBLE BOND)C (DOUBLE BOND) 1.36 Å and C(SINGLE BOND)C (DOUBLE BOND) 1.44–1.45 Å). Comparison is also made with other theoretical estimates of polyacetylene structure. E_dim is approximated by the energy difference between the equilibrium and hypothetical polyenic structures. It is estimated that E_dim is ∼ 1.4–1.5 kcal/mol (0.06–0.07 eV) per carbon-carbon bond at the HF level with 4–21G and 6–31G* basis sets and ∼ 0.3–0.5 kcal/mol (0.013–0.022 eV) at the MP2 level with the 6–31G* basis set. It is concluded that E_dim is very sensitive to the level of approximation employed so that a proper treatment of electron correlation is essential to obtain a reliable estimate of the dimerization energy. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Density Functional Study on the Reactivity of Carbenes Toward 1,2‐H Shifts

The 1,2‐H shift reactions of simple carbenes (CH₂Y‐C‐X) have been studied using density functional theory (DFT). The influence of the substituent X and Y groups on the activation energy (Ea) of 1,2‐H shifts were examined. The ‘by stander’ Y substituents lower E_a in the order of Me, F > Cl, Br > H. Our analysis shows that the X effect is more significant than the by stander Y effect. X substitutions increase E_a of carbenes in the order of F > Cl > Br > Me > H. The influence of X on E_a is governed by the singlet‐triplet energy separation (ΔE_S‐T) of the carbene, i.e., E_a of a carbene is larger as its ΔE_S‐T in creases due to an X substitution. The X effect was also found to be related to the magnitude of the exothermicity: Ea of reaction is smaller when the reaction is more exothermic. Origin of the Y effect is attributed to the inter play between two factors: ‘lateness’ of transition state on the potential energy surface, and the exothermicity of the reaction.     

Dynamics and structural changes of small water clusters on ionization

Despite utmost importance in understanding water ionization process, reliable theoretical results of structural changes and molecular dynamics (MD) of water clusters on ionization have hardly been reported yet. Here, we investigate the water cations [(H₂O)_{n = 2–6}⁺] with density functional theory (DFT), Möller–Plesset second‐order perturbation theory (MP2), and coupled cluster theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. The complete basis set limits of interaction energies at the CCSD(T) level are reported, and the geometrical structures, electronic properties, and infrared spectra are investigated. The characteristics of structures and spectra of the water cluster cations reflect the formation of the hydronium cation moiety (H₃O⁺) and the hydroxyl radical. Although most density functionals fail to predict reasonable energetics of the water cations, some functionals are found to be reliable, in reasonable agreement with high‐level ab initio results. To understand the ionization process of water clusters, DFT‐ and MP2‐based Born‐Oppenheimer MD (BOMD) simulations are performed on ionization. On ionization, the water clusters tend to have an Eigen‐like form with the hydronium cation instead of a Zundel‐like form, based on reliable BOMD simulations. For the vertically ionized water hexamer, the relatively stable (H₂O)₅⁺ (5sL4A) cluster tends to form with a detached water molecule (H₂O). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A theoretical study of thermodynamics and kinetics of nitrosamines: a potential no carrier

In this theoretical study, several hybird DFT functionals and MP2 method are used to investigate the properties and the kinetics of a series of nitrosamines. The results show SN or NS transnitrosation reaction to be more favorable via an S_N2-like pathway. The stability is predicted to be in the order of H₂NNO > cis-MeHNNO > trans-MeHNNO > Me₂NNO > trans-PhHNNO > cis-PhHNNO > cis-MeSNO > Ph₂NNO > N-methylenenitrous amide, in which Ph₂NNO and N-methylenenitrous amide will be potential candidates for the NO donor. For N-methylenenitrous amide, which has the strongest NO donating strength among the titled nitroamines, a nearly perpendicular configuration between H₂C=N and NO can plausibly be rationalized by the fact that lone pair of the nitrogen atom on the fragment H₂CN must be π-type, not σ-type, to form a mesomeric effect with π*N-O of the NO group. Using the polarizable continuum model to consider the water solvent effect, all the barriers and endothermicities of the transnitrosation reactions are decreased and the correlated %N–H and %N–S are decreased and increased.     

Accurate prediction of vertical electronic transitions of Ni(II) coordination compounds via time dependent density functional theory

Time dependent density functional theory calculations are completed for five Ni(II) complexes formed by polydentate peptides to predict the electronic absorption spectrum. The ligands examined were glycyl‐glycyl‐glycine (GGG), glycyl‐glycyl‐glycyl‐glycine (GGGG), glycyl‐glycyl‐histidine (GGH), glycyl‐glycyl‐cysteine (GGC), and triethylenetetramine (trien). Fifteen functionals and two basis sets were tested. On the basis of the mean absolute percent deviation (MAPD), the ranking among the functionals is: HSE06 ∼ MPW1PW91 ∼ PBE0 > ω‐B97x‐D ∼ B3P86 ∼ B3LYP ∼ CAM‐B3LYP > PBE ∼ BLYP ∼ BP86 > TPSS > TPSSh > BHandHLYP > M06 ≫ M06‐2X. Concerning the basis sets, the triple‐ζ def2‐TZVP performs better than the double‐ζ LANL2DZ. With the functional HSE06 and basis set def2‐TZVP the MAPD with respect to the experimental λ_max is 1.65% with a standard deviation of 1.26%. The absorption electronic spectra were interpreted in terms of vertical excitations between occupied and virtual MOs based on Ni‐d atomic orbitals. The electronic structure of the Ni(II) species is also discussed.     

Ag Clusters as Active Species for HC-SCR Over Ag-Zeolites

The addition of hydrogen in the reaction atmosphere is effective in promoting the activity of Ag/alumina and Ag-zeolites on the selective reduction of NO by hydrocarbons (HC-SCR) at low temperatures. The increment of NO conversion over Ag-MFI corresponds to the periodic addition of hydrogen into C₃H₈-SCR conditions. The UV–VIS spectra of Ag-MFI have revealed that the addition of hydrogen results in the formation of Ag_n^δ+ clusters due to partial reduction and agglomeration of Ag species. The coincidence of the formation of the Ag_n^δ+ clusters and the increment of NO conversion suggests that Ag_n^δ+ clusters are the highly active species for HC-SCR. From analysis by H₂-TPR, UV–VIS, and EXAFS, the structure of Ag_n^δ+ clusters on Ag-MFI is identified as being Ag₄²⁺ on average. The formation of Ag clusters was strongly affected by the type of zeolites: The major Ag species are Ag⁺ ions for MOR, Ag_n^δ+ clusters for MFI and BEA, and relatively large metallic Ag_mparticles for Y. The sequence of Ag agglomeration (MOR < MFI < BEA < Y) is in accordance with the strength of the acid sites of zeolites. It can be expected that the interaction between the positive charge of Ag_n^δ+ clusters and acid sites, i.e., the ion-exchange site of zeolites, stabilizes Ag_n^δ+ clusters. The type of Ag species under HC-SCR conditions depends on the concentration of gas-phase oxidants (NO, O₂) and reductants (H₂, HC), and also on the number and strength of the zeolite acid sites.     

Limitations of Global Hybrids in Predicting the Geometries and Torsional Energy Barriers of Dimeric Systems and the Role of Hartree Fock and DFT Exchange

Prediction of accurate geometries is a prerequisite for accurate prediction of molecular properties. Impact of Hartree Fock (HF) exchange (a₀) on geometry in the framework of DFT is investigated by monitoring dihedral angles, bond length alternations, and torsional energy barriers of 10 dimeric systems against CCSD (ADZ/ATZ) benchmarks. A strong correlation is observed between the fraction of HF exchange, equilibrium dihedral angles, and the potential energy barriers in global hybrids. Full HF exchange is critical to accurately predict the nonplanarity. Lower fractions of (a₀)/larger DFT exchange (1-a₀) results in overestimation of torsional energy barriers at 90⁰ and underestimation at 0⁰. Large contributions of (1-a₀) in global hybrid functionals tend to overestimate torsional energy barriers (90⁰) and are biased toward planar geometries. However, inclusion of larger fractions of (a₀)/lower (1-a₀) also overestimate the torsional energy barriers in syn-conformations due to the localization errors associated with HF exchange in global hybrids. Hence, irrespective of the fraction of HF/DFT exchange incorporated, global hybrids fail to accurately predict torsional energy barriers at 0⁰ and 90⁰ simultaneously. Long-range corrected (LC) functionals, which employ full HF exchange at longer regions, outperform global hybrid functionals in predicting geometries and torsional energy barriers of the dimeric molecules. The distance dependence of (a₀) thus provides a balanced fraction of HF exchange as the dihedral torsion varies. Impact of range separation parameter on geometries is marginal in altering the planarity/nonplanarity. However, range separation parameter within 0.20–0.40 bohr⁻¹ predicts more reliable torsional energies and geometries. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The design of photocatalysts for the removal of NOx at normal temperatures—Copper (I) and silver (I) ion catalysts anchored within zeolite cavities

The Cu⁺/ZSM-5 and Ag⁺/ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by a combination of ion-exchange and thermovacuum treatments. In situ photoluminescence, ESR, XAFS, UV-VIS and FT-IR measurements of the catalysts revealed that within the cavity of the ZSM-5 zeolite, the Cu⁺ ion or Ag⁺ ion exists in an isolated state. UV irradiation of the catalysts in the presence of NO at normal temperature led to the formation of N₂ and O₂ for Cu⁺/ZSM-5 and N₂, N₂O and NO₂ for Ag⁺/ZSM-5, indicating that the isolated Cu⁺ ion or Ag⁺ ion acts as a photocatalyst for the direct decomposition of NO. However, the Cu⁺/ZSM-5 catalyst loses its photocatalytic reactivity under the coexistence of O₂, while the Ag⁺/ZSM-5 catalyst maintains its reactivity under the coexistence of O₂ and H₂O.     

Mo3S132− Intercalated Layered Double Hydroxide: Highly Selective Removal of Heavy Metals and Simultaneous Reduction of Ag+ Ions to Metallic Ag0 Ribbons

We demonstrate a new material by intercalating Mo₃S₁₃^2? into Mg/Al layered double hydroxide (abbr. Mo₃S₁₃-LDH), exhibiting excellent capture capability for toxic Hg²⁺ and noble metal silver (Ag). The as-prepared Mo₃S₁₃-LDH displays ultra-high selectivity of Ag⁺, Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ in the presence of various competitive ions, with the order of Ag⁺>Hg²⁺>Cu²⁺>Pb²⁺≥Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺. For Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺, extremely fast adsorption rates (≈90 % within 10 min, >99 % in 1 h) are observed. Much high selectivity is present for Ag⁺ and Cu²⁺, especially for trace amounts of Ag⁺ (≈1 ppm), achieving a large separation factor (SF_Ag/Cu) of ≈8000 at the large Cu/Ag ratio of 520. The overwhelming adsorption capacities for Ag⁺ (q_m^Ag=1073 mg g^?1) and Hg²⁺ (q_m^Hg=594 mg g^?1) place the Mo₃S₁₃-LDH at the top of performing sorbent materials. Most importantly, Mo₃S₁₃-LDH captures Ag⁺ via two paths: a) formation of Ag₂S due to Ag-S complexation and precipitation, and b) reduction of Ag⁺ to metallic silver (Ag⁰). The Mo₃S₁₃-LDH is a promising material to extract low-grade silver from copper-rich minerals and trap highly toxic Hg²⁺ from polluted water.     

N-vinylcarbazole polymerization by 13X molecular sieve exchanged with Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)

The polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole by 13X molecular sieves modified by five different transition metal ions, viz. Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II), has been studied under various conditions. The order of reactivity follows the trend: Mn(II) ≈ Cu(II) > Co(II) > Zn(II) > Ni(II) at pH ∼ 3.55 and an exchange level of 30% of the metal ion. The polymerizations are believed to occur by a dual-ion-initiation mechanism in which both metal ions and proton centres participate. The overall energy of activation (E_a) for each system decreases with decreasing pH of the exchanging salt solution. Average activation energy on proton centre (E_H) and that on metal ion centre (E_a) have been evaluated for each system. E_a, E_H and E_c have been shown to correlate with one another. The molecular weights and their distributions are affected by the nature of the metal ion and also by the protonic centres. The possibility of a correlation of the catalytic activity of the modified 13X with ionic radius, electronegativity and normal co-ordination number has been examined.     

Favorable performance of the DFT methods in predicting the minimum‐energy structure of the lowest triplet state of WF4

The tetrahedral structure of the lowest triplet state of the WF₄ complex was examined using different variants of the density functional theory (DFT) and conventional ab initio methods. The low‐level, conventional, ab initio methods, such as SCF, MP2, MP3, and CISD, predict the tetrahedral structure to be a minimum, whereas the DFT schemes predict an imaginary frequency for the e vibrational mode. Only after recovering electron correlation effects at the MP4 and higher levels, the conventional electronic structure methods also predict the T_d structure to be a second‐order stationary point. This is not the correlation but the exchange part of the DFT functionals which is responsible for the discrepancy between the DFT and low‐level, conventional, ab initio predictions. The lowering of symmetry to C_2v leads to a minimum on the lowest triplet potential energy surface and the electronic energy difference between the T_d and C_2v stationary points amounts to 0.85 and 0.96 kcal/mol at the B3LYP and CCSD(T) levels, respectively. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 73: 369–375, 1999     

DFT quantum-chemical calculations of nitrogen oxide chemisorption and reactivity on the Cu(100) surface

A DFT quantum-chemical study of NO adsorption and reactivity on the Cu₂₀ and Cu₁₆ metal clusters showed that only the molecular form of NO is stabilized on the copper surface. The heat of monomolecular adsorption was calculated to be ΔH _m = ?49.9 kJ/mol, while dissociative adsorption of NO is energetically unfavorable, ΔH _d = + 15.7 kJ/mol, and dissociation demands a very high activation energy, E _a = + 125.4 kJ/mol. Because of the absence of NO dissociation on the copper surface, the formation mechanism of the reduction products, N₂ and N₂O, is debatable since the surface reaction ultimately leads to N-O bond cleavage. As the reaction occurs with a very low activation energy, E _a = 7.3 kJ/mol, interpretation of the NO direct reduction mechanism is both an important and intriguing problem because the binding energy in the NO molecule is high (630 kJ/mol) and the experimental studies revealed only physically adsorbed forms on the copper surface. It was found that the formation mechanism of the N₂ and N₂O reduction products involves formation (on the copper surface) of the (O_adN-NO_ad) dimer intermediate that is chemisorbed via the oxygen atoms and characterized by a stable N-N bond (r _N-N ～1.3 Å). The N-N binding between the adsorbed NO molecules occurs through electron-accepting interaction between the oxygen atoms in NO and the metal atoms on the “defective” copper surface. The electronic structure of the (O_adN-NO_ad) surface dimer is characterized by excess electron density (ON-NO)^δ? and high reactivity in N-O_ad bond dissociation. The calculated activation energy of the destruction of the chemisorbed intermediate (O_adN-NO_ad) is very low (E _a = 5–10 kJ/mol), which shows that it is kinetically unstable against the instantaneous release of the N₂ and N₂O reduction products into the gas phase and cannot be identified by modern experimental methods of metal surface studies. At the same time, on the MgO surface and in the individual (Ph₃P)₂Pt(O₂N₂) complex, a stable (O_adN-NO_ad) dimer was revealed experimentally.     

Interaction of Dihydrogen with Transition Metal (Pd,Ni, Ag,Cu) Clusters

Quantum calculations of interaction of the molecular hydrogen with transition-metal clusters have been performed. The aim of the project is to compare the results for different metals and different methods of calculations. The calculations have been mostly based on the gradient-corrected methods of the density functional theory. The list of the exchange-correlation functionals includes: the gradient corrected functional BP86, the hybrid functionals B3P86, B3LYP, B3PW9, and the local SVWN functional. The calculations of the potential energy surface (PES) for the hydrogen molecule positioned over the planar Pd₅ clusters have been performed. It was found that the H–H bond activation is without barrier for most of the functionals used. However, the results obtained for the B3LYP functional suggest very small potential barrier, of the order of 0.003 eV. The calculations of the PES for dihydrogen in contact with metal clusters have been performed for Ni₅, Ag₅, Cu₅ clusters and for mixed clusters Ag₄Pd, AgPd₄, NiCu₄, and NiPd₄. The dissociation paths for all the cases with the exception of Ag₅ and Cu₅ have been found and the dissociation energies and activation barriers have been estimated.     

Catalytic action of metallic salts in autoxidation and polymerization. IV. Polymerization of methyl methacrylate by cobalt(II) or (III) acetylacetonate–tert-butyl hydroperoxide or dioxane hydroperoxide

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate was carried out by four initiating systems, namely, cobalt(II) or (III) acetylacetonate–tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-Bu HPO) or dioxane hydroperoxide (DOX HPO). Dioxane hydroperoxide systems were much more effective for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate than tert-butyl hydroperoxide systems, and cobaltous acetylacetonate was more effective than cobaltic acetylacetonate in both hydroperoxides. The initiating activity order and activation energy for the polymerization were as follows: Co(acac)₂–DOX HPO (E_a-9.3 kcal/mole) > Co (acac)₃–DOX HPO (E_a = 12.4 kcal/mole) > Co(acac)₂–t-Bu HPO (E_a = 15.1 kcal/mole) > Co(acac)₃–t-Bu HPO (E_a-18.5 kcal/mole). The effects of conversion and hydroperoxide concentration on the degree of polymerization were also examined. The kinetic data on the decomposition of hydroperoxides catalyzed by cobalt salts gave a little information for the interpretation of polymerization process.     

DFT and MO calculations of atomic and molecular chemisorption energies on surface cluster models

Summary Density functional theory (DFT) (including gradient corrections) and MCPF calculations have been performed for atomic (H, C, N, O) and molecular CH _x (x = 1–3) chemisorption on cluster models of different sites of the Cu(100) surface. The DFT and MCPF results are in good agreement once the important effects of core-valence correlation have been accounted for in the MCPF calculations by including contributions from a core polarization potential (CPP); in the DFT approach the core-valence correlation is obtained directly from the total density using the functional. Very large effects on the four-fold hollow site binding energy from core-valence correlation are found for C, N and CH. Several different DFT functionals were employed and compared in the calculations.     

Kinetics of the thermal isomerization of 1,1,2‐trimethylcyclopropane

The Arrhenius parameters for the gas phase, unimolecular structural isomerizations of 1,1,2‐trimethylcyclopropane to three isomeric methylpentenes and two dimethylbutenes have been determined over a wide range of temperatures, 688–1124 K, using both static and shock tube reactors. For the overall loss of reactant, E_a = 63.7 (± 0.5) kcal/mol and log₁₀ A = 15.28 (± 0.12). These values are higher by 2.6 kcal/mol and 0.7–0.8 than previously reported from experimental work or predicted from thermochemical calculations. E_a for the formation of trans‐4‐methyl‐2‐pentene is 1.5 kcal/mol higher than E_a for the formation of the cis isomer, which is identical to the E_a difference previously reported for the formation of trans‐ and cis‐2‐butene from methylcyclopropane. Substitution of methyl groups for hydrogen atoms on the cyclopropane ring is expected to weaken the C? C ring bonds, and it has been reported previously that activation energies for structural isomerizations of methylcyclopropanes do decrease substantially over the series cyclopropane > methylcyclopropane > 1,1‐ or 1,2‐dimethylcyclopropane. However, the present study shows that the trend does not continue beyond dimethylcyclopropane isomerization. Besides reductions in C? C bond energy, steric interactions may be increasingly important in determining the energy surface and conformational restrictions near the transition state in isomerizations of the more highly substituted methylcyclopropanes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 475–482, 2006     

Front Cover: High-level ab initio evidence of bipyramidal Cu5 clusters as fluxional Jahn-Teller molecules (ChemPhysChem 19/2023)

Novel highly selective synthesis techniques have enable the production of atomically precise monodisperse metal clusters (AMCs) of subnanometer size. These AMCs exhibit ‘molecule-like’ structures that have distinct physical and chemical properties, significantly different from those of nanoparticles and bulk material. In this work, we study copper pentamer Cu₅ clusters as model AMCs by applying both density functional theory (DFT) and high-level (wave-function-based) ab initio methods, including those which are capable of accounting for the multi-state multi-reference character of the wavefunction at the conical intersection (CI) between different electronic states and augmenting the electronic basis set till achieving well-converged energy values and structures. After assessing the accuracy of a high-level multi-multireference ab initio protocol for the well-known Cu₃ case, we apply it to demonstrate that bypiramidal Cu₅ clusters are distorted Jahn-Teller (JT) molecules. The method is further used to evaluate the accuracy of single-reference approaches, finding that the coupled cluster singles and doubles and perturbative triples CCSD(T) method delivers the results closer to our ab initio predictions and that dispersion-corrected DFT can outperform the CCSD method. Finally, we discuss how JT effects and, more generally, conical intersections, are intimately connected to the fluxionality of AMCs, giving them a ‘floppy’ character that ultimately facilitates their interaction with environmental molecules and thus enhances their functioning as catalysts.     

Kinetics of Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> binding to the poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel

Isothermal kinetics of copper (ion) binding to poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hydrogel at 20, 25, 35 and 45°C was investigated. Isothermal conversions and kinetic curves of Cu²⁺ binding to the PAA hydrogel were determined. It was found that the well-known kinetic models of Peppas cannot be applied to describing the entire process of Cu²⁺ binding. The new method for the determination of the kinetic model of the Cu²⁺ binding process, as well as the activation energy density distribution functions of PAA hydrogel interaction with Cu²⁺, were established. It was found that Cu²⁺ diffusion to the active centers (with E _a = 9 kJ/mol) has a dominant influence on the kinetics of the process at temperatures T ≥ 30°C, but at T ≥ 30°C and for the degree of bound Cu²⁺ α ≥ 0.2, the interaction of Cu²⁺ from the adsorption center with E _a = 26 kJ/mol is dominant. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization and DFT study of dinuclear ruthenium sawhorse-type complexes derived from the reaction of trinuclear aggregates and (Z)-5-arylidenerhodanines

The synthesis of dinuclear ruthenium sawhorse-type complexes [Ru₂(μ-ArCH:Rhod)₂(CO)₄]_n 12a–e and [Ru₂(ArCH:Rhod)₂(μ-ArCH:Rhod)₂(CO)₄] 13a–e through reaction of [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(NCMe)₂] and [Ru₃(CO)₁₂] and the corresponding (Z)-5-arylidenerhodanines (ArCH:Rhod) 10a–e, respectively, are reported. These complexes are arranged in a sawhorse structure in which two bridged (Z)-5-arylidenerhodanines coordinate to the metals using sulfur and nitrogen of the rhodanine ring. A Density Functional Theory method was used to gain insight into the polymerization process by calculating dimerization Gibbs energies (ΔG_dim). Values between ?10.7 and ?5.3 kcal mol^?1 indicate that dimerization is a spontaneous process. A reaction pathway for formation of the sawhorse compounds [Ru₂(μ-ArCH:Rhod)₂(CO)₄] was calculated and the rate-determining step for the mechanism is coordination of a second (Z)-5-arylidenerhodanine ligand with activation energies between 41.1 and 47.8 kcal mol^?1. In order to understand the apparent thermodynamic favorability of the fragmentation step, we calculated the fragmentation energy (ΔE_Frag) for the key intermediate and its energetic contributors, the interaction energy, ΔE_int and the reorganization energy, ΔE_reorg. Low values of ΔE_Frag imply that the fragmentation is thermodynamically facile. Large values of ΔE_int are countered by opposite and large values of ΔE_reorg which indicate that the cleavage of the trimetallic intermediate aggregate is determined by the nature of the ligand and the balance between its interaction with the metal and the extent of structural reorganization.