Structure and UV-vis spectrum of C(60) fullerene in ethanol: a sequential molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics study

A molecular dynamics simulation combined with semiempirical quantum mechanics calculations has been performed to investigate the structure, dynamical, and electronic properties of pure C60 in liquid ethanol. The behavior of the fullerene alcoholic solution was obtained by using the NPT ensemble under ambient conditions, including one C60 fullerene immersed in 1000 ethanol molecules. Our analyzed center-of-mass pairwise radial distribution function indicated that, on average, there are 32, 72, 132, and 187 ethanol molecules around, respectively, the first, second, third, and fourth solvation shells of the C60 molecule. To investigate the UV-vis transition energies of C60 in the presence of ethanol, we have considered constituents of the time uncorrelated supramolecular structures of the first solvation shell, i.e., clusters of C60@{EtOH}32 types. The semiempirical calculations were performed at the intermediate neglect of differential overlap level with configuration interaction singles (INDO/CIS). Our results have pointed out that the characteristic C60 UV-vis absorbance peaks are slightly shifted to longer wavelengths, as compared to the isolated molecule. These findings are in connection with the weak donor-acceptor character of the interactions involving electron lone pairs of oxygen atoms on the solvent and the fullerene surface.     

Unmasking the constitution and bonding of the proposed lithium nickelate “Li3NiPh3(solv)3”: revealing the hidden C6H4 ligand

More than four decades ago, a complex identified as the planar homoleptic lithium nickelate “Li₃NiPh₃(solv)₃” was reported by Taube and co-workers. This and subsequent reports involving this complex have lain dormant since; however, the absence of an X-ray diffraction structure leaves questions as to the nature of the Ni–PhLi bonding and the coordination geometry at Ni. By systematically evaluating the reactivity of Ni(COD)₂ with PhLi under different conditions, we have found that this classical molecule is instead a unique octanuclear complex, [{Li₃(solv)₂Ph₃Ni}₂(μ-η²:η²-C₆H₄)] (5). This is supported by X-ray crystallography and solution-state NMR studies. A theoretical bonding analysis from NBO, QTAIM, and ELI perspectives reveals extreme back-bonding to the bridging C₆H₄ ligand resulting in dimetallabicyclobutane character, the lack of a Ni–Ni bond, and pronounced σ-bonding between the phenyl carbanions and nickel, including a weak σ_C–Li → s_Ni interaction with the C–Li bond acting as a σ-donor. Employing PhNa led to the isolation of [Na₂(solv)₃Ph₂NiCOD]₂ (7) and [Na₂(solv)₃Ph₂(NaC₈H₁₁)Ni(COD)]₂ (8), which lack the benzyne-derived ligand. These findings provide new insights into the synthesis, structure, bonding and reactivity of heterobimetallic nickelates, whose prevalence in organonickel chemistry and catalysis is likely greater than previously believed.

We disclose the actual octanuclear nature of the major compound from reacting Ni(COD)₂ and PhLi, assigned for more than four decades as ‘Li₃NiPh₃(solv)₃’. We provide a thorough bonding analysis and discuss its potential implications in catalysis.     

Structural and dynamical aspects of water in contact with a hydrophobic surface

By means of molecular dynamics simulations we study the structure and dynamics of water molecules in contact with a model hydrophobic surface: a planar graphene-like layer. The analysis of the distributions of a local structural index indicates that the water molecules proximal to the graphene layer are considerably more structured than the rest and, thus, than the bulk. This structuring effect is lost in a few angstroms and is basically independent of temperature for a range studied comprising parts of both the normal liquid and supercooled states (240K to 320K). In turn, such structured water molecules present a dynamics that is slower than the bulk, as a consequence of their improved interactions with their first neighbors.     

Rank two aCM bundles on the del Pezzo fourfold of degree 6 and its general hyperplane section

In the present paper we completely classify locally free sheaves of rank 2 with vanishing intermediate cohomology modules on the image of the Segre embedding ${\mathbb{P}}^2\times {\mathbb{P}}^2?{\mathbb{P}}^8$ and its general hyperplane sections.Such a classification extends similar already known results regarding del Pezzo varieties with Picard numbers 1 and 3 and dimension at least 3.     

Intramolecular Reaction of Transient Phosphenium and Arsenium Ions Giving Rise to Isolable 9‐Phospha‐ and 9‐Arsena‐Fluorenium Ions

Transient phosphenium and arsenium ions, generated by fluoride abstraction from bis(m‐terphenyl)fluoropnictogens, underwent intramolecular electrophilic attack prior to methyl group migration and gave rise to isolable 9‐phospha‐ and 9‐arsena‐fluorenium ions.     

Tautomerism in acyl-pyrazolones and in a novel photolysis product—importance and impact of the accurate localization of hydrogen atoms in crystal structures

Acyl-pyrazolones exist in four different tautomeric forms (two keto and two enol) in crystal structures. Routine crystal structure refinements using an independent atom model and routine isolated-molecule calculations fail in locating the mobile hydrogen atoms accurately in 22 investigated acyl-pyrazolone examples. However, a combination of both within the framework of quantum crystallography represented by the method of Hirshfeld atom refinement accurately locates the mobile hydrogen atom in a resonance-assisted hydrogen bond of title compound 3, a novel photolysis product. The impact of the hydrogen atom position on the resonance system of the non-hydrogen framework of the various tautomers is discussed, and the importance of intermolecular interactions for the positioning of the hydrogen atom is highlighted.     

A few splitting criteria for vector bundles

We prove a few splitting criteria for vector bundles on a quadric hypersurface and Grassmannians. We give also some cohomological splitting conditions for rank 2 bundles on multiprojective spaces. The tools are monads and a Beilinson’s type spectral sequence generalized by Costa and Miró-Roig.