A homometallic tricapped cubane cluster: [(Cp*Mo)4B4H4(μ4-BH)3] (Cp* = η5-C5Me5)

The reaction of [Cp*MoCl(4)] with an excess of LiBH(4), followed by thermolysis with tellurium powder in toluene, afforded a tricapped cubane cluster, [(Cp*Mo)(4)B(4)H(4)(μ(4)-BH)(3)] (1), which represents an unprecedented metal-rich metallaborane cluster with a cubane core containing 58 cluster valence electrons (cve) and three metal-metal bonds.     

Synthesis, characterization, and electronic structure of new type of heterometallic boride clusters

The reaction of [Cp*TaCl(4)], 1 (Cp* = η(5)-C(5)Me(5)), with [LiBH(4)·THF] at -78 °C, followed by thermolysis in the presence of excess [BH(3)·THF], results in the formation of the oxatantalaborane cluster [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(4)H(10)O], 2 in moderate yield. Compound 2 is a notable example of an oxatantalaborane cluster where oxygen is contiguously bound to both the metal and boron. Upon availability of 2, a room temperature reaction was performed with [Fe(2)(CO)(9)], which led to the isolation of [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(2)H(4)O{H(2)Fe(2)(CO)(6)BH}], 3. Compound 3 is an unusual heterometallic boride cluster in which the [Ta(2)Fe(2)] atoms define a butterfly framework with one boron atom lying in a semi-interstitial position. Likewise, the diselenamolybdaborane, [(Cp*Mo)(2)B(4)H(4)Se(2)], 4 was treated with an excess of [Fe(2)(CO)(9)] to afford the heterometallic boride cluster [(Cp*MoSe)(2)Fe(6)(CO)(13)B(2)(BH)(2)], 5. The cluster core of 5 consists of a cubane [Mo(2)Se(2)Fe(2)B(2)] and a tricapped trigonal prism [Fe(6)B(3)] fused together with four atoms held in common between the two subclusters. In the tricapped trigonal prism subunit, one of the boron atoms is completely encapsulated and bonded to six iron and two boron atoms. Compounds 2, 3, and 5 have been characterized by mass spectrometry, IR, (1)H, (11)B, (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and the geometric structures were unequivocally established by crystallographic analysis. The density functional theory calculations yielded geometries that are in close agreement with the observed structures. Furthermore, the calculated (11)B NMR chemical shifts also support the structural characterization of the compounds. Natural bond order analysis and Wiberg bond indices are used to gain insight into the bonding patterns of the observed geometries of 2, 3, and 5.     

Effect of surface modes on the six-dimensional molecule-surface scattering dynamics of H2-Cu(100) and D2-Cu(111) systems

We include the phonon modes originating from the three layers of Cu(100)/Cu(111) surface atoms on the dynamics of molecular [H(2)(v,j)/D(2)(v,j)] degrees of freedom (DOFs) through a mean field approach, where the surface temperature is incorporated into the effective Hamiltonian (potential) either by considering Boltzmann probability (BP) or by including the Bose-Einstein probability (BEP) factor for the initial state distribution of the surface modes. The formulation of effective potential has been carried out by invoking the expression of transition probabilities for phonon modes known from the "stochastic" treatment of linearly forced harmonic oscillator (LFHO). We perform four-dimensional (4D?2D) as well as six-dimensional (6D) quantum dynamics on a parametrically time and temperature-dependent effective Hamiltonian to calculate elastic/inelastic scattering cross-section of the scattered molecule for the H(2)(v,j)-Cu(100) system, and dissociative chemisorption-physisorption for both H(2)(v,j)-Cu(100) and D(2)(v,j)-Cu(111) systems. Calculated sticking probabilities by either 4D?2D or 6D quantum dynamics on an effective potential constructed by using BP factor for the initial state distribution of the phonon modes could not show any surface temperature dependence. In the BEP case, (a) both 4D?2D and 6D quantum dynamics demonstrate that the phonon modes of the Cu(100) surface affect the state-to-state transition probabilities of the scattered H(2) molecule substantially, and (b) the sticking probabilities due to the collision of H(2) on Cu(100) and D(2) on Cu(111) surfaces show noticeable and substantial change, respectively, as function of surface temperature only when the quantum dynamics of all six molecular DOFs are treated in a fully correlated manner (6D).     

A facile approach for morphosynthesis of Pd nanoelectrocatalysts

A facile approach has been developed for synthesis of highly-structured, anisotropic Pd nanostructures. The dendritic Pd nanostructures show superior performance toward oxidation of formic acid and methanol for fuel cell application.     

The effect of phonon modes on the H2(v, j)/D2(v, j)-Cu(1nn) scattering processes

We include the effect of the phonon modes originating from the three layers of Cu(1nn) surface atoms on the dynamics of incoming molecular [H(2)(v, j)/D(2)(v, j)] degrees of freedom (DOFs) through a mean-field approach, where the surface temperature is incorporated into the effective potential by considering Bose-Einstein probability (BEP) factor for the initial state distribution of the surface modes calculated within harmonic approximation. Such time and temperature dependent effective Hamiltonian is further subdivided assuming a weak coupling between the two sets of molecular DOFs, namely, (x, y, z, Z) and (X, Y), respectively, in particular, to reduce the computational cost and the corresponding coupled quantum dynamical equations of motion have been formulated in terms of Time Dependent Discrete Variable Representation (TDDVR) approach. We demonstrate the workability of TDDVR method to investigate the scattering of H(2)(v, j) on Cu(1nn) surface by calculating the reaction probabilities and scattering cross-sections. Calculated results show that the phonon modes affect (a) the state-to-state transition probabilities of the scattered H(2) molecule substantially but chemisorption and physisorption processes negligibly and (b) the reaction probability of the incoming D(2) molecule noticeably.     

Supramolecular Synthons in Designing Low Molecular Mass Gelling Agents: L‐Amino Acid Methyl Ester Cinnamate Salts and their Anti‐Solvent‐Induced Instant Gelation

Easy access to a class of chiral gelators has been achieved by exploiting primary ammonium monocarboxylate ( PAM ), a supramolecular synthon. A combinatorial library comprising of 16 salts, derived from 5 l ‐amino acid methyl esters and 4 cinnamic acid derivatives, has been prepared and scanned for gelation. Remarkably, 14 out of 16 salts prepared (87.5 % of the salts) show moderate to good gelation abilities with various solvents, including commercial fuels, such as petrol. Anti‐solvent induced instant gelation at room temperature has been achieved in all the gelator salts, indicating that the gelation process is indeed an aborted crystallization phenomenon. Rheology, optical and scanning electron microscopy, small angle neutron scattering, and X‐ray powder diffraction have been used to characterize the gels. A structure‐property correlation has been attempted, based on these data, in addition to the single‐crystal structures of 5 gelator salts. Analysis of the FT‐IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy data reveals that some of these salts can be used as supramolecular containers for the slow release of certain pest sex pheromones. The present study clearly demonstrates the merit of crystal engineering and the supramolecular synthon approach in designing new materials with multiple properties.     

Boundary element method for wave trapping by a multi-layered trapezoidal breakwater near a sloping rigid wall

This study examines the multiple layers in a rubble mound breakwater and their effect on reflection and dissipation of incoming ocean waves. The numerical model is developed using multi-domain boundary element method for oblique water wave trapping near a sloping wall by a multi-layered trapezoidal porous structure, which is utilized to model armour, filter and core layers while examining the hydrodynamics in different configurations. Both, the constant element and linear element approaches to boundary element method are discussed. The cases of bottom-standing porous structures as being submerged and fully extended are considered. The wave hydrodynamics over the structure is described by the reflection and dissipation coefficients along with the forces acting on the sloping wall, and is influenced by wave and structural parametrics of the system. The influence of armour layer in different configurations is highlighted for various structural and wave parameters.

     

Theoretical study of excited state proton transfer in pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid

Pyrrole 2-carboxylic acid (PCA) shows dual emission (310 nm and 430 nm) in water on photo-excitation, which indicates that more than one species is in the excited state. This paper reports on the quantum chemical analysis of pyrrole 2-carboxylic acid (PCA) in the light of a possible excited state proton transfer. Dipole moment, excited state energy and findings in molecular orbital calculations (HOMO, LUMO) establish that PCA is a likely candidate for transfer of a proton from the pyrrole moiety to the C=O of carboxylic moiety (possible zwitterionic form) in the excited state. Overall, the computed predicted results of intramolecular and intermolecular excited state proton transfer corroborates the experimental results.