V2CO2 MXene负载过渡金属单原子催化剂氧还原和氢氧化活性的DFT研究

开发廉价且高性能的电催化剂对推动燃料电池的商业应用具有重要意义.二维(2D) MXenes和单原子(SAs)催化剂是催化研究中的两个前沿领域.2D MXenes材料具有独特的几何和电子结构,能够有效调节负载SAs的催化性能.而负载的SAs又会反过来影响2D MXenes材料的本征活性,使2D MXenes形成更加丰富的活性位,进而提升其催化性能.为了拓展2D负载SAs催化剂在燃料电池中的应用,本文采用密度泛函理论(DFT)计算,系统地研究了V2CO2 MXenes负载过渡金属(TM,包括一系列3d、部分4d和5d金属)SAs催化剂的稳定结构、电子结构及其催化氧还原(ORR)和氢氧化(HOR)的催化活性,并筛选出潜在的可替代贵金属铂的ORR/HOR的双功能催化剂.稳定结构计算结果表明,3d TM SAs倾向于以锚定的形式负载于V2CO2表面与O原子作用,而4d,5d TM原子倾向于以掺杂的形式负载于含氧空穴的V2CO2表面与V原子作用;同时,Sc,Ti,V,Rh,Pd,Pt,Ag和Au SAs在V2CO2表面因具有较高扩散能垒,不易团聚,具有较高的热力学稳定性.电子结构计算结果表明,锚定型的TM SAs与O形成共价键,伴随发生明显的电荷转移,带较多正电荷;掺杂型的TM SAs与V形成金属键,因TM-V和V-O键间电荷转移的协同影响,导致TM SAs仅带有少量的电荷.TM-V2CO2电子结构与ORR/HOR中间物种的吸附关系为,TM位点为ORR中间物种(O,OH和OOH)的吸附位点,且d电子数为1、5、10的TM比其他TM对ORR物种的吸附更弱;而TM-V2CO2表面的O原子为HOR中间物种(H)的有效吸附位点,且H的吸附强弱与O位点的电荷有关,即O位点负电荷越多,对H的吸附越弱.TM-V2CO2催化剂各活性位对ORR和HOR反应物种的选择性吸附结果表明,催化剂有利于形成丰富多样的活性位,并具备作为双功能催化剂的内在优势.TM-V2CO2催化剂ORR和HOR理论活性筛选发现:与Pt(111)相比,Sc-、Mn-、Rh-和Pt-V2CO2具有较高的ORR活性,而Sc-、Ti-、V-、Cr-和Mn-V2CO2表现出较高的HOR活性.其中,Sc-V2CO2和Mn-V2CO2因同时具有较高的ORR和HOR活性和稳定性,有望成为高效和低成本的燃料电池双功能催化剂.本文从研究TM-V2CO2性质和活性出发,深入研究了SAs与2D MXenes间相互作用及其对ORR与HOR催化活性的影响机制,筛选出了高效、低成本的ORR/HOR双功能催化剂,为合理设计燃料电池双功能催化剂提供了理论指导.     

不同液体环境下聚丙烯酰胺的单分子力学

利用单分子力谱研究了非离子型聚丙烯酰胺(NPAM)及其水解产物阴离子型聚丙烯酰胺(APAM)在不同液体环境下的单链弹性. 利用改进的自由连接链(M-FJC)模型中的单链弹性模量参数(K₀)描述NPAM在不同pH值水溶液中的单链弹性. 实验结果表明, K₀随着溶液pH值增加而增大, 表明NPAM在碱性溶液中的水解度具有pH依赖性. 由于K₀和高分子链的净电荷正相关, K₀增大表明NPAM链净电荷增多, 结构单元之间的静电排斥作用增强使高分子链呈现高度伸展的构象. 在此基础上研究了APAM在不同pH值溶液中的构象, 单分子力谱数据表明, APAM在酸性水溶液中为柔性链, 在碱性水溶液中呈现较伸展的构象, 从而在分子水平上阐明APAM链构建的水凝胶网络的溶胀机理. 单分子层面的深入研究有望阐明这类高分子的减阻机理.     

Adsorption and valence electronic states of nitric oxide on metal surfaces

Among fundamental diatomic molecules, the adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO) on metal surfaces has been a subject of intensive research in the surface science community, partly owing to its relevance to heterogeneous catalysis used for environmental control. Compared to the rather well-defined adsorption mechanism of CO, that of NO is less understood because the adsorption results in much more complex reactions. The complexity is ascribed to the open-shell structure of valence electrons, making the molecule readily interact with the metal surface itself as well as with co-adsorbed molecules. Furthermore, the interaction crucially depends on the local structure of the surface. Therefore, to elucidate the interaction at the molecular scale, it is essential to study the valence state as well as the bonding geometry for individual NO molecules placed in a well-defined environment on the surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is suitable for this purpose. In this review, we summarize the knowledge about the interaction of NO with metal surfaces, mainly focused on the valence electronic states, followed by recent studies using STM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) at the level of individual molecules.     

Acoustic frequency and optimum sonochemical production at single and multi-bubble scales: A modeling answer to the scaling dilemma

The present work consists of an innovative approach aiming to address the scalability dilemma of the sonochemical activity dependency of acoustic frequency. The study originates from the discordance of observations between the theoretical investigations of the sonochemical activity of the single acoustic cavitation bubble in function of the acoustic frequency, in one hand, and the experimental findings regarding the optimal frequency condition, mainly in terms of pollutant degradation, in the other hand. A single bubble and an up-scaled model of the sonochemical activity are suggested and simulations were conducted based on both of them over the frequencies 20, 200, 300, 360, 443, 500, 600 and 800 kHz under an oxygen atmosphere. The results reveal that the sonochemical production at single bubble scale is monotonously decreasing with the increase of frequency, while all the products demonstrate an absolute optimum of sonochemical production at 200 kHz, except HO^• that attains its maximum molar yield under 300 kHz. Besides, the production of the predominant species, namely HO₂^•, HO^• and O₃, manifests a clear rebound at 500 kHz. All the present results were compared to and confirmed by experimental findings, while the scalability of the concentrations of sonochemically produced species was discussed using a parameter we introduced as “the mass focusing factor”.     

Long-range ordering of composites for organic electronics: TIPS-pentacene single crystals with incorporated nano-fibers

Fluorescent nanofibers are incorporated into high-mobility single-crystals without substantially disrupting crystalline lattice, demonstrating a strategy to multifunctionalize semiconducting single-crystals.     

π-Electron-Assisted Relaxation of Spin Excited States in Cobalt Phthalocyanine Molecules on Au(111) Surface

We present our investigation on the spin relaxation of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) films on Au(111) (CoPc/Au(111)) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The spin relaxation time derived from the linewidth of spin-flip inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy is quantitatively analyzed according to the Korringa-like formula. We find that although this regime of the spin relaxation time calculation by just considering the exchange interaction between itinerant conduction electrons and localized d-shells (s-d exchange interaction) can successfully reproduce the experimental value of the adsorbed magnetic atom, it fails in our case of CoPc/Au(111). Instead, we can obtain the relaxation time that is in good agreement with the experimental result by considering the fact that the π electrons in CoPc molecules are spin polarized, where the spin polarized π electrons extended at the Pc macrocycle may also scatter the conduction electrons in addition to the localized d spins. Our analyses indicate that the scattering by the π electrons provides an efficient spin relaxation channel in addition to the s-d interaction and thus leads to much short relaxation time in such a kind of molecular system on a metal substrate.     

Electronic and steric effects controlling efficiencies of photoaddition reactions of fullerene C60 with N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines

Single electron transfer (SET)-promoted photoaddition reactions between fullerene C₆₀ and both various alkyl (Me, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu)- and para-substituted (p-Me, p-OMe, p-F, p-CF₃) arene ring containing, N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines were explored to gain information about photoproduct profiles and how the electronic and steric nature of the amine substrates influence reaction efficiencies. The results show that visible light (λ > 540 nm) irradiation of 10% EtOH-toluene solutions containing C₆₀ and N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines produce 1-aminomethyl-1,2-dihydrofullerenes as a sole photoproduct. In addition, SET-promoted photoaddition reactions of unsubstituted and para-electron donating group substituted arene ring containing N-α-trimethylsilyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylamines take place to give photoproducts more efficiently than those containing para-electron withdrawing group substituted arene rings. Moreover, although steric factors are less significant than the electronic nature of the amine substrates in governing reaction efficiencies, sterics do play a significant role in photoreactions of electron deficient amine substrates.     

A selective and cost-effective method for the reductive deuteration of activated alkenes

A new single electron transfer reaction for the reductive deuteration of activated alkenes has been developed for the selective synthesis of α,β-dideuterio compounds. A cheap, stable and commercially-available sodium dispersion with high specific surface area is employed as the electron donor to replace the traditionally used sodium/liquid ammonium system. Deuterium source is provided by EtOD-d₁. Excellent yields and deuterium incorporations were obtained across a broad range of activated alkenes with good functional group tolerance. This method provided a cheap, efficient and operationally-simple method for the synthesis of deuterium labeled compounds.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-ones and 6,7-dihydro-5H-furo[2,3-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones using Mn(OAc)3

2-Hydroxy-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one 2a and 7-hydroxy-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-one 2b, were obtained in high yields under mild conditions from the cyclization reactions of bis-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) malonate and 2-aminobenzothiazole or 2-aminothiazole, respectively. A new class of compounds, 2,3-dihydro-4H-benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]furo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-ones and 6,7-dihydro-5H-furo[2,3-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5-ones, were synthesized via the microwave assisted radical addition of compounds 2a and 2b to various alkenes using manganese(III) acetate. A preliminary acetylcholine esterase (AchE) inhibition test of compound 4e showed excellent (92%) inhibitory potential, comparable with the standard drug Donapezil®.