Linear scaling computation of the Fock matrix. VII. Parallel computation of the Coulomb matrix

We present parallelization of a quantum-chemical tree-code for linear scaling computation of the Coulomb matrix. Equal time partition is used to load balance computation of the Coulomb matrix. Equal time partition is a measurement based algorithm for domain decomposition that exploits small variation of the density between self-consistent-field cycles to achieve load balance. Efficiency of the equal time partition is illustrated by several tests involving both finite and periodic systems. It is found that equal time partition is able to deliver 91%-98% efficiency with 128 processors in the most time consuming part of the Coulomb matrix calculation. The current parallel quantum chemical tree code is able to deliver 63%-81% overall efficiency on 128 processors with fine grained parallelism (less than two heavy atoms per processor).     

Preparation and characterization of poly(propylene carbonate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites by solution intercalation

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is a new biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonate. However, the poor thermal stability and low glass transition temperatures (T_g) have limited its applications. To improve the thermal properties of PPC, organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) was mixed with PPC by a solution intercalation method to produce nanocomposites. An intercalated-and-flocculated structure of PPC/OMMT nanocomposites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal and mechanical properties of PPC/OMMT nanocomposites were investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), and electronic tensile tester. Due to the nanometer-sized dispersion of layered silicate in polymer matrix, PPC/OMMT nanocomposites exhibit improved thermal and mechanical properties than pure PPC. When the OMMT content is 4 wt%, the PPC/OMMT nanocomposite shows the best thermal and mechanical properties. These results indicate that nanocomposition is an efficient and convenient method to improve the properties of PPC.     

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of microwave-assisted polyol preparation of carbon-supported PtRu nanoparticles

PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon and carbon nanotubes were prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PtRu nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2-6 nm in diameter. All PtRu/C catalysts prepared as such displayed the characteristic diffraction peaks of a Pt face-centered cubic structure, excepting that the 2theta values were shifted to slightly higher values. XPS analysis revealed that the catalysts contained mostly Pt(0) and Ru(0), with traces of Pt(II), Pt(IV), and Ru(IV). The electro-oxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. It was found that both PtRu/C catalysts had high and more durable electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation than a comparative Pt/C catalyst. Preliminary data from a direct methanol fuel cell single stack test cell using the Vulcan-carbon-supported PtRu alloy as the anode catalyst showed high power density.     

新型四硫代富瓦烯衍生物的合成及其性质的研究

合成了3个新的含有卤素取代基的四硫代富瓦烯衍生物及6个新的相关化合物。利用溶液的电子吸收光谱对四硫代富瓦烯衍生物的性质进行了研究。研究结果表明, 四硫代富瓦烯衍生物的分子中π轨道之间的能级差较小, 因而分子具有较高的稳定性。     

Octanuclear and nonanuclear supramolecular copper(II) complexes with linear "tritopic" ligands: structural and magnetic studies

The structures and magnetic properties of self-assembled copper(II) clusters and grids with the "tritopic" ligands 2poap (a), Cl2poap (b), m2poap (c), Cl2pomp (d), and 2pomp (e) are described [ligands derived by reaction of 4-R-2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic hydrazide (R = H, Cl, MeO) with 2-pyridinemethylimidate (a-c, respectively) or 2-acetylpyridine (d, R = Cl; e, R = H)]. Cl2poap and Cl2pomp self-assemble with Cu(NO(3))(2) to form octanuclear "pinwheel" cluster complexes [Cu(8)(Cl2poap-2H)(4)(NO(3))(8)].20H(2)O (1) and [Cu(8)(Cl2pomp-2H)(4)(NO(3))(8)].15H(2)O (2), built on a square [2 x 2] grid with four pendant copper arms, using "mild" reaction conditions. Similar reactions of Cl2pomp and 2pomp with Cu(ClO(4))(2) produce pinwheel clusters [Cu(8)(Cl2pomp-2H)(4)(H(2)O)(8)](ClO(4))(8).7H(2)O (3) and [Cu(8)(2pomp-2H)(4)(H(2)O)(8)](ClO(4))(8) (4), respectively. Heating a solution of 1 in MeOH/H(2)O produces a [3 x 3] nonanuclear square grid complex, [Cu(9)(Cl2poap-H)(3)(Cl2poap-2H)(3)](NO(3))(9).18H(2)O (5), which is also produced by direct reaction of the ligand and metal salt under similar conditions. Reaction of m2poap with Cu(NO(3))(2) produces only the [3 x 3] grid [Cu(9)(m2poap-H)(2)(m2poap-2H)(4)](NO(3))(8).17H(2)O (6) under similar conditions. Mixing the tritopic ligand 2poap with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (picd) in the presence of Cu(NO(3))(2) produces a remarkable mixed ligand, nonanuclear grid complex [Cu(9)(2poap-H)(4)(picd-H)(3)(picd-2H)](NO(3))(9).9H(2)O (7), in which aromatic pi-stacking interactions are important in stabilizing the structure. Complexes 1-3 and 5-7 involve single oxygen atom (alkoxide) bridging connections between adjacent copper centers, while complex 4 has an unprecedented mixed micro-(N-N) and micro-O metal ion connectivity. Compound 1 (C(76)H(92)N(44)Cu(8)O(50)Cl(4)) crystallizes in the tetragonal system, space group I, with a = 21.645(1) A, c = 12.950(1) A, and Z = 2. Compound 2 (C(84)H(88)N(36)O(44)Cl(4)Cu(8)) crystallizes in the tetragonal system, space group I, with a = 21.2562(8) A, c = 12.7583(9) A, and Z = 2. Compound 4 (C(84)H(120)N(28)O(66)Cl(8)Cu(8)) crystallizes in the tetragonal system, space group I4(1)/a, with a = 20.7790(4) A, c = 32.561(1) A, and Z = 4. Compound 7(C(104)H(104)N(46)O(56)Cu(9)) crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P, with a = 15.473(1) A, b = 19.869(2) A, c = 23.083(2) A, alpha = 88.890(2) degrees, beta = 81.511(2) degrees, gamma = 68.607(1) degrees, and Z = 2. All complexes exhibit dominant intramolecular ferromagnetic exchange coupling, resulting from an orthogonal bridging arrangement within each polynuclear structure.     

Adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of traces of molybdenum in natural water in the presence ofα-benzoinoxime

The electrochemical behavior of the molybdenum complex of -benzoinoxime was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and linear scan voltammetry, after adsorptive accumulation of the complex onto a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The signal corresponds to the reduction of molybdenum in the complex adsorbed at the HMDE surface. Under optimal conditions, the adsorptive stripping voltammetric procedure gave an extremely low detection limit of 0.1 nM (9.6ng/l) Mo(VI) following stirred accumulation for 5 min at 0.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The reduction cur rent-[Mo(VI)] relationships were linear up to 25 and 100 nM. Repetitive determinations of 10 nM solutions gave relative standard deviations of 2.2 and 3.5%, for 1 and 5-min accumulation periods, respectively. Most of the ions investigated did not interfere with the determination of molybdenum, except for tungsten. Excellent selectivity against copper was observed. The proposed procedure was applied to the direct determination of molybdenum in natural water.     

Polymerization-induced viscoelastic phase separation in polyethersulfone-modified epoxy systems

The polymerization-induced phase-separation process of polyethersulfone (PES)-modified epoxy systems was monitored in situ continuously on a single sample throughout the entire curing process by using optical microscopes, time-resolved light scattering (TRLS), scanning electronic microscopes (SEM), and a rheometry instrument. At specific PES content a viscoelastic transformation process of phase inversion morphology to bicontinuous was found with an optical microscope. The rheological behavior during phase separation corresponds well with the morphology development. Light-scattering results monitoring the phase-separation process of systems with final phase inversion morphology show a typical exponential decay procedure of scattering vector qm. The characteristic relaxation time of phase separation can be described well by the WLF equation.     

Multiresolution quantum chemistry in multiwavelet bases: Hartree-Fock exchange

In a previous study we reported an efficient, accurate multiresolution solver for the Kohn-Sham self-consisitent field (KS-SCF) method for general polyatomic molecules. This study presents an efficient numerical algorithm to evalute Hartree-Fock (HF) exchange in the multiresolution SCF method to solve the HF equations. The algorithm employs fast integral convolution with the Poission kernel in the nonstandard form, screening the sparse multiwavelet representation to compute results of the integral operator only where required by the nonlocal exchange operator. Localized molecular obitals are used to attain near linear scaling. Results for atoms and molecules demonstrate reliable precision and speed. Calculations for small water clusters demonstrate a total cost to compute the HF exchange potential for all n(occ) occpuied MOs scaling as O(n(occ) (1.5)).     

Boomerang‐Type Substitution Reaction: Reactivity of Fullerene Epoxides and a Halofullerenol

The C_s‐symmetric fullerene chlorohydrin C₆₀(Cl)(OH)(OOtBu)₄ reacts with 4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) and 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) to yield two isomers with the formula C₆₀(O)(OOtBu)₄ in good yields. These isomers differ with respect to the location of the epoxy functionality. The one from DMAP is C_s symmetric, whereas that from DABCO is C₁ symmetric with the epoxy group on the central pentagon. Two different mechanisms are proposed to explain the chemoselectivity of these reactions. The reaction with DMAP involves single‐electron transfer as the key step; DMAP acts as the electron donor. A combination of an oxygen‐atom shift and S_N2′′ processes (boomerang substitution) are responsible for the formation of isomer with DACBO. Various related reactions support the proposed mechanisms. The structures of new fullerene derivatives were determined by spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray analysis, and chemical correlation experiments.     

Synthesis and properties of novel fluorinated epoxy resins based on 1,1-bis(4-glycidylesterphenyl)-1-(3′-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane

A novel fluorinated epoxy resin, 1,1-bis(4-glycidylesterphenyl)-1-(3′-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (BGTF), was synthesized through a four-step procedure, which was then cured with hexahydro-4-methylphthalic anhydride (HMPA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl-methane (DDM). As comparison, a commercial available epoxy resin, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), cured with the same curing agents was also investigated. We found that the BGTF gave the exothermic starting temperature lower than BADGE no mater what kind of curing agents applied, implying the reactivity of the former is higher than the latter. The fully cured fluorinated BGTF epoxy resins have good thermal stability with glass transition temperature of 170-175 °C and thermal decomposition temperature at 5% weight loss of 370-382 °C in nitrogen. The fluorinated BGTF epoxy resins also showed the mechanical properties as good as the commercial BADGE epoxy resins. The cured BGTF epoxy resins exhibited improved dielectric properties as compared with the BADGE epoxy resins with the dielectric constants and the dissipation factors lower than 3.3 and dissipation 2.8 × 10⁻³, respectively, which is related to the low polarizability of the C-F bond and the large free volume of CF₃ groups in the polymer. The BGTF epoxy resins also gave low water absorption because of the existence of hydrophobic fluorine atom.