Vibrationally quantum-state-specific dynamics of the reactions of CN radicals with organic molecules in solution

The dynamics of reactions of CN radicals with cyclohexane, d(12)-cyclohexane, and tetramethylsilane have been studied in solutions of chloroform, dichloromethane, and the deuterated variants of these solvents using ultraviolet photolysis of ICN to initiate a reaction. The H(D)-atom abstraction reactions produce HCN (DCN) that is probed in absorption with sub-picosecond time resolution using ～500 cm(-1) bandwidth infrared (IR) pulses in the spectral regions corresponding to C-H (or C-D) and C≡N stretching mode fundamental and hot bands. Equivalent IR spectra were obtained for the reactions of CN radicals with the pure solvents. In all cases, the reaction products are formed at early times with a strong propensity for vibrational excitation of the C-H (or C-D) stretching (v(3)) and H-C-N (D-C-N) bending (v(2)) modes, and for DCN products there is also evidence of vibrational excitation of the v(1) mode, which involves stretching of the C≡N bond. The vibrationally excited products relax to the ground vibrational level of HCN (DCN) with time constants of ～130-270 ps (depending on molecule and solvent), and the majority of the HCN (DCN) in this ground level is formed by vibrational relaxation, instead of directly from the chemical reaction. The time-dependence of reactive production of HCN (DCN) and vibrational relaxation is analysed using a vibrationally quantum-state specific kinetic model. The experimental outcomes are indicative of dynamics of exothermic reactions over an energy surface with an early transition state. Although the presence of the chlorinated solvent may reduce the extent of vibrational excitation of the nascent products, the early-time chemical reaction dynamics in these liquid solvents are deduced to be very similar to those for isolated collisions in the gas phase. The transient IR spectra show additional spectroscopic absorption features centered at 2037 cm(-1) and 2065 cm(-1) (in CHCl(3)) that are assigned, respectively, to CN-solvent complexes and recombination of I atoms with CN radicals to form INC molecules. These products build up rapidly, with respective time constants of 8-26 and 11-22 ps. A further, slower rise in the INC absorption signal (with time constant >500 ps) is attributed to diffusive recombination after escape from the initial solvent cage and accounts for more than 2/3 of the observed INC.     

Hybrid density functional theory band structure engineering in hematite

We present a hybrid density functional theory (DFT) study of doping effects in α-Fe(2)O(3), hematite. Standard DFT underestimates the band gap by roughly 75% and incorrectly identifies hematite as a Mott-Hubbard insulator. Hybrid DFT accurately predicts the proper structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of hematite and, unlike the DFT+U method, does not contain d-electron specific empirical parameters. We find that using a screened functional that smoothly transitions from 12% exact exchange at short ranges to standard DFT at long range accurately reproduces the experimental band gap and other material properties. We then show that the antiferromagnetic symmetry in the pure α-Fe(2)O(3) crystal is broken by all dopants and that the ligand field theory correctly predicts local magnetic moments on the dopants. We characterize the resulting band gaps for hematite doped by transition metals and the p-block post-transition metals. The specific case of Pd doping is investigated in order to correlate calculated doping energies and optical properties with experimentally observed photocatalytic behavior.     

Comprehensive kinetic and thermodynamic study of the reactions of CO2(aq) and HCO3(-) with monoethanolamine (MEA) in aqueous solution

The temperature dependence of the reversible reaction between CO(2)(aq) and monoethanolamine (MEA) has been investigated using stopped-flow spectrophotometry by following the pH changes during the reactions with colored acid-base indicators. Multivariate global analysis of both the forward and backward kinetic measurements for the reaction of CO(2)(aq) with MEA yielded the rate and equilibrium constants, including the protonation constant of MEA carbamate, for the temperature range of 15-45 °C. Analysis of the rate and equilibrium constants in terms of the Arrhenius, Eyring, and van't Hoff relationships gave the relevant thermodynamic parameters. In addition, the rate and equilibrium constants for the slow, reversible reaction of bicarbonate with MEA are reported at 25.0 °C. At high pH, reactions of the amine with CO(2) and with bicarbonate are significant.     

Structure prediction, disorder and dynamics in a DMSO solvate of carbamazepine

We have applied crystal structure prediction methods to understand and predict the formation of a DMSO solvate of the anti-convulsant drug carbamazepine (CBZ), in which the DMSO molecules are disordered. Crystal structure prediction calculations on the 1:1 CBZ:DMSO solvate revealed the generation of two similar low energy structures which differ only in the orientation of the DMSO molecules. Analysis of crystal energy landscapes generated at 0 K suggests the possibility of solvent disorder. A combined computational and experimental study of the changes in the orientation of the DMSO within the crystal structure revealed that the nature of the disorder changes with temperature. At low temperature, the DMSO disorder is static whilst at high temperature the DMSO configurations can interconvert by a 180° rotation of the DMSO molecules within the lattice. This 180° rotation of the DMSO molecules drives a phase change from a high temperature dynamically disordered phase to a low temperature phase with static disorder. Crystallisation of a DMSO solvate of the related molecule epoxycarbamazepine resulted in a different degree of DMSO disorder in the crystal structure, despite the similarity of the carbamazepine and epoxycarbamazepine molecules. We believe consideration of disorder and its contribution to entropy and crystal free energies at temperature other than 0 K is fundamental for the accuracy of future energy rankings in crystal structure prediction calculations of similar solvated structures.     

Position matters: competing O-H and N-H photodissociation pathways in hydroxy- and methoxy-substituted indoles

H (Rydberg) atom photofragment translational spectroscopy (HRA-PTS) and complete active space with second order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods have been used to explore the competing N-H and O-H bond dissociation pathways of 4- and 5-hydroxyindoles (HI) and methoxyindoles (MI). When 4-HI was excited to bound (1)L(b) levels, (λ(phot) ≤ 284.893 nm) O-H bond fission was demonstrated by assignment of the structure within the resulting total kinetic energy release (TKER) spectra. By analogy with phenol, dissociation was deduced to occur by H atom tunnelling under the barrier associated with the lower diabats of the (1)L(b)/(1)πσ*((OH)) conical intersection (CI). No evidence was found for a significant N-H bond dissociation yield at these or shorter excitation wavelengths (284.893 ≥ λ(phot) ≥ 193.3 nm). Companion studies of 4-MI revealed different reaction dynamics. In this case, N-H bond fission is deduced to occur at λ(phot) ≤ 271.104 nm, by direct excitation to the (1)πσ*((NH)) state. Analysis of the measured TKER spectra implies a mechanism wherein, as in pyrrole, the (1)πσ*((NH)) state gains oscillator strength by intensity borrowing from nearby bound states with higher oscillator strengths. HRA-PTS studies of 5-HI, in contrast, showed no evidence for O-H bond dissociation when excited on (1)L(b) levels. The present CASPT2 calculations assist in rationalizing this observation: the area underneath the (1)L(b)/(1)πσ* CI diabats in 5-HI is ~60% greater than the corresponding area in 4-HI and O-H bond dissociation by tunnelling is thus much less probable. Only by reducing the wavelength to ≤ 255 nm were signs of N-H and/or O-H bond dissociation identified. By comparison with companion 5-MI studies, we deduce little O-H bond fission in 5-HI at λ(phot) > 235 nm and that N-H bond fission is the dominant source of H atoms in the wavelength region 255 > λ(phot) > 235 nm. The very different dissociation dynamics of 4- and 5-HI are traced to the position of the -OH substituent, and its effect on the overall electronic structure.     

Exterior cloaking with active sources in two dimensional acoustics

We cloak a region from a known incident wave by surrounding the region with three or more devices that cancel out the field in the cloaked region without significantly radiating waves. Since very little waves reach scatterers within the cloaked region, the scattered field is small and the scatterers are for all practical purposes undetectable. The devices are multipolar point sources that can be determined from Green's formula and an addition theorem for Hankel functions. The cloaking devices are exterior to the cloaked region.     

[1l‐3,4‐Bis‐O‐(diphenylphosphino)‐1,2,5,6‐tetra‐O‐methyl‐chiro‐inositol‐κ2P,P′][η4‐(Z,Z)‐cycloocta‐1,5‐diene]rhodium(I) tetrafluoridoborate chloroform solvate

The title compound, [Rh(C₈H₁₂)(C₃₄H₃₈O₆P₂)]BF₄·CHCl₃, a novel asymmetric hydrogenation catalyst, crystallizes with two independent almost identical cations and anions. Cell‐packing interactions are provided by nonclassical hydrogen bonding between phenyl and chloroform H atoms and fluoro and chloro donors of the BF₄⁻ anion and the chloroform solvent molecule.     

Numerical simulation of fluid flows using an unstructured finite volume method with adaptive tri‐tree grids

A tri‐tree grid generation procedure is developed together with a finite volume method on the unstructured grid for solving the Navier–Stokes equations. A hierarchic numbering system for the data structure is used. The grid is adapted by adding and removing cell elements dependent on the vorticity magnitude. A special treatment is developed to ensure good quality triangular elements around the cylinder boundary. The adopted finite volume method is based on the cell‐centred scheme. The pressure–velocity coupling is treated using the SIMPLE algorithm. A modified QUICK scheme for unstructured grids is derived. The developed method is used to simulate the flow past a single and multiple cylinders at low Reynolds number. The obtained results are in good agreement with the published data. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tin(II) aminoalkoxides and heterobimetallic derivatives: the structures of Sn6(O)4(dmae)4, Sn6(O)4(OEt)4 and [Sn(dmae)2Cd(acac)2]2

Tin(II) methoxide reacts with N,N′‐dimethylaminoethanol (dmaeH) to yield Sn(dmae)₂ ( 1 ) along with small amounts of the hydrolysis product Sn₆(O)₄(dmae)₄ ( 2 ). The geometrically more regular iso‐structural cage Sn₆(O)₄(OEt)₄ ( 3 ) was obtained as the only tractable product isolated from reaction of 2 and Sb(OEt)₃, while 1 reacted with CdX₂ (X = acac, I) to afford Sn(dmae)₂Cd(acac)₂ ( 4 ) and Sn(dmae)₂CdI₂ ( 5 ). The X‐ray structures of 2, 3 and 4 are reported. Decomposition of 4 under aerosol‐assisted chemical vapour deposition conditions leads to amorphous tin oxide films with no detectable cadmium (i.e. ca < 2% cadmium), rather than a stoichiometric Sn:Cd oxide. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.