Nitrous Oxide Adsorption and Decomposition on Zeolites and Zeolite-like Materials

Decomposition of N₂O on modified zeolites, crystalline titanosilicalites, and related amorphous systems is studied by the catalytic and spectroscopic methods. Zinc-containing HZSM-5 zeolites and titanosilicalites with moderate Ti/Si ratios are shown to exhibit a better catalytic performance in N₂O decomposition as compared with conventionally used Cu/HZSM-5 zeolites and amorphous Cu-containing catalysts. Dehydroxylation of the HZSM-5 zeolite by calcination at 1120 K results in an enhancement of the N₂O conversion. The mechanism of the reaction and the role of coordinatively unsaturated cations and Lewis acid sites in N₂O decomposition are discussed on the basis of the spectroscopic data.     

New concepts in the physics and chemistry op solid polymers fracture

Elementary events in polymer fracture at the molecular level are the breakdowns of single polymeric chains. Breakdown of a stretched macromolecule is accompanied by its mechanical degradation. Comparison of experimental data on the molecular products of thermal and mechanical degradation points to significant distinctions between these two processes. Generation of highly excited (“hot”) molecular products of mechanical degradation by the growing crack cannot be explained in terms of the kinetic concept of polymer fracture. Elaborate theoretical analysis of polymeric chain breakdown and generation of “hot” molecular products in subpicosecond time range is made by numerical molecular dynamic simulation with a computer. The mechanisms of primary and secondary chain breakdowns are established. The principal initiators of breakdowns are localized nonlinear modes of the lattice soliton type. Generation of highly excited (“hot”) molecular products occurs at the initial stage of mechanical degradation (during≈1 picosecond after the first breakdown).     

Revealing Phosphorus Nitrides up to the Megabar Regime: Synthesis of α′-P3N5, δ-P3N5 and PN2

Non-metal nitrides are an exciting field of chemistry, featuring a significant number of compounds that can possess outstanding material properties. These properties mainly rely on maximizing the number of strong covalent bonds, with crosslinked XN₆ octahedra frameworks being particularly attractive. In this study, the phosphorus–nitrogen system was studied up to 137 GPa in laser-heated diamond anvil cells, and three previously unobserved phases were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations. δ-P₃N₅ and PN₂ were found to form at 72 and 134 GPa, respectively, and both feature dense 3D networks of the so far elusive PN₆ units. The two compounds are ultra-incompressible, having a bulk modulus of K₀=322 GPa for δ-P₃N₅ and 339 GPa for PN₂. Upon decompression below 7 GPa, δ-P₃N₅ undergoes a transformation into a novel α′-P₃N₅ solid, stable at ambient conditions, that has a unique structure type based on PN₄ tetrahedra. The formation of α′-P₃N₅ underlines that a phase space otherwise inaccessible can be explored through materials formed under high pressure.     

Neon‐Bearing Ammonium Metal Formates: Formation and Behaviour under Pressure

The incorporation of noble gas atoms, in particular neon, into the pores of network structures is very challenging due to the weak interactions they experience with the network solid. Using high‐pressure single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, we demonstrate that neon atoms enter into the extended network of ammonium metal formates, thus forming compounds Ne_x[NH₄][M(HCOO)₃]. This phenomenon modifies the compressional and structural behaviours of the ammonium metal formates under pressure. The neon atoms can be clearly localised within the centre of [M(HCOO)₃]₅ cages and the total saturation of this site is achieved after ～1.5 GPa. We find that by using argon as the pressure‐transmitting medium, the inclusion inside [NH₄][M(HCOO)₃] is inhibited due to the larger size of the argon. This study illustrates the size selectivity of [NH₄][M(HCOO)₃] compounds between neon and argon insertion under pressure, and the effect of inclusion on the high‐pressure behaviour of neon‐bearing ammonium metal formates.     

Electron Transport in Configurational Model of Ferromagnetic Fulleride with Triple Orbital Degeneracy

Abstract

Phenomenon of ferromagnetic ordering was for a long time associated exclusively with transition metal and rare-earth compounds. Nowadays this view is challenged by growing evidence that in molecular carbon-based systems the ferromagnetic alignment of spins can be observed as well. We have developed a microscopical model of a fulleride electronic subsystem taking into account triple orbital degeneracy of energy states within the configurational-operator approach. Using the Green function method the energy spectrum of the model has been calculated. Conditions for the ferromagnetic state stabilization have been determined. Static electrical conductivity and effective masses of current carriers in the system with orbitally degenerated energy band have been obtained. In the ground state and for low temperatures at different forms of unperturbed density of electronic states the concentration dependences of transport characteristics for less-then-half-filled lower quasiparticle subband have been calculated.     

A Maximal Correlation Framework for Fair Machine Learning

As machine learning algorithms grow in popularity and diversify to many industries, ethical and legal concerns regarding their fairness have become increasingly relevant. We explore the problem of algorithmic fairness, taking an information–theoretic view. The maximal correlation framework is introduced for expressing fairness constraints and is shown to be capable of being used to derive regularizers that enforce independence and separation-based fairness criteria, which admit optimization algorithms for both discrete and continuous variables that are more computationally efficient than existing algorithms. We show that these algorithms provide smooth performance–fairness tradeoff curves and perform competitively with state-of-the-art methods on both discrete datasets (COMPAS, Adult) and continuous datasets (Communities and Crimes).     

Revisiting the Synthesis of Functionally Substituted 1,4-Dihydrobenzo[e][1,2,4]triazines

A series of novel 1,4-dihydrobenzo[1,2,4][e]triazines bearing an acetyl or ester moiety as a functional group at the C(3) atom of the 1,2,4-triazine ring were synthesized. The synthetic protocol is based on an oxidative cyclization of functionally substituted amidrazones in the presence of DBU and Pd/C. It was found that the developed approach is suitable for the preparation of 1,4-dihydrobenzo[e][1,2,4]triazines, but the corresponding Blatter radicals were isolated only in few cases. In addition, a previously unknown dihydrobenzo[e][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-c][1,2,4]triazine tricyclic open-shell derivative was prepared. Studies of thermal behavior of the synthesized 1,4-dihydrobenzo[1,2,4][e]triazines revealed their high thermal stability (up to 240–250 °C), which enables their application potential as components of functional organic materials.