Reactions of fullerene C60 with methyl methacrylate radicals: A density functional theory study

We have investigated the stepwise addition of four growing methyl methacrylate (MMA) radicals to C₆₀ fullerene, taking into account all possible types of the formed adducts. This reaction set is a reliable approximation for understanding the MMA polymerization process in the presence of C₆₀ fullerene. We have analyzed the structures of the fullerene-MMA adducts and energy parameters of their formation (heat effects and activation enthalpies). We found that up to three MMA growing radicals are favorably attached to C₆₀ as the fullerene-MMA trisadduct is a stable radical of the allyl type. It is inactive for further radical addition, and the elimination of the hydrogen atom from the growing MMA radical becomes preferable. The effects of steric factors and structures of the products of multiple growing MMA radical additions to C₆₀ on the radical polymerization of MMA in the presence of C₆₀ fullerene are considered.     

Theoretical investigation on reverse intersystem crossing from upper triplet to lowest singlet: A “hot exciton” path for blue fluorescent OLEDs

Nowadays, blue fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs) have attracted considerable attention from both academia and industry. According to spin statistics, electrical excitation results in the formation of ∼25% singlet excitons and ∼75% triplet excitons (signifying ~75% energy loss), which triggered wide-ranging efforts to harvest as many triplet excitons as possible. The materials that can convert triplet excitons into singlet excitons from the high-lying excited triplet states (referred as “hot exciton” channel) to realize high efficiency were reported, which can also efficaciously avoid the accumulation of triplet excitons in T₁ state. In this study, by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT, we have theoretically investigated the electronic and photophysical properties of 16 newly designed molecules with donor-bridge-acceptor framework to search for the blue FOLED materials exploiting the “hot exciton” path. Important properties, such as singlet-triplet energy gaps, absorption and emission parameters, and reverse intersystem crossing rates (k_RISC), of five target molecules were studied. The calculated results demonstrate that thiophene-diphenylamine (k_RISC up to 1.03 × 10⁸ seconds⁻¹) may have promising potential as blue FOLED materials by virtue of the “hot exciton” effect.     

Theoretical examination of covalency in berkelium(IV) carbonate complexes

Experimental studies on the speciation of berkelium in carbonate media have shown that complexation of berkelium(III) by carbonate results in spontaneous oxidation to berkelium(IV) and that multiple species can be present in solution. We studied two proposed structures present in solution based on theoretical comparisons with spectroscopic data previously reported for Bk(IV) carbonate solutions. The multiconfigurational character of the ground and low-lying excited states in both complexes is demonstrated to result from the strong spin-orbit coupling. Although bonding in Bk(IV) carbonate and carbonate-hydroxide complexes is dominated by strong Coulombic forces, the presence of non-negligible covalent character is supported by ligand-field theory, natural localized orbitals, topological studies of the electron density, and energy transition state natural orbitals for chemical valence. Bond orders based on natural localized molecular orbitals show that Bk OH bonds possess enhanced orbital overlap, which is reflected in the bond strength. This is also observed in the decomposition of the orbital interaction energy into individual deformation density pairs.     

Dual Metal Active Sites in an Ir1/FeOx Single-Atom Catalyst: A Redox Mechanism for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Herein, we report a theoretical and experimental study of the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction on Ir₁/FeO_x single-atom catalysts. Water dissociates to OH* on the Ir₁ single atom and H* on the first-neighbour O atom bonded with a Fe site. The adsorbed CO on Ir₁ reacts with another adjacent O atom to produce CO₂, yielding an oxygen vacancy (O_vac). Then, the formation of H₂ becomes feasible due to migration of H from adsorbed OH* toward Ir₁ and its subsequent reaction with another H*. The interaction of Ir₁ and the second-neighbouring Fe species demonstrates a new WGS pathway featured by electron transfer at the active site from Fe³⁺−O⋅⋅⋅Ir²⁺−O_vac to Fe²⁺−O_vac⋅⋅⋅Ir³⁺−O with the involvement of O_vac. The redox mechanism for WGS reaction through a dual metal active site (DMAS) is different from the conventional associative mechanism with the formation of formate or carboxyl intermediates. The proposed new reaction mechanism is corroborated by the experimental results with Ir₁/FeO_x for sequential production of CO₂ and H₂.     

Landau theory for isotropic,nematic, smectic-A,and smectic-C phases

ABSTRACT

We use the Landau theory of phase transitions to describe the phase diagram of a liquid crystal displaying the isotropic (i), nematic (N), smectic-A and smectic-C phases. The order parameter of the smectic-C phase is defined as the projection of the director on the plane of the smectic layers, vanishing in the smectic-A phase. We present a detailed phase diagram that shows transition between any two of these phases, containing a triple point INA, a Lifshitz point NAC, a tricritical at the NA line, and a critical end point IAC. As one approaches the NC line from the smectic-C phase, the tilt angle approaches a nonzero value, but if the AC line is approached, the tilt angle vanishes according to the distance to the AC line to the power 1/2.     

金属串配合物[MoMoCo(npo)4(NCS)2]的配位结构及其与电场的关系

应用密度泛函理论B3LYP方法研究了具有分子导线潜在应用的金属串配合物[MoMoCo(npo)4(NCS)2](npo=1,8-萘基-2-酮)的配位结构及其受电场作用的影响。配位方式记为(n,m),其中n、m分别表示4个赤道配体npo^-的O与Co和Mo配位的个数:n=0,1,2,3,4;m=4,3,2,1,0。结果表明:(1)零电场下,基态能量高低为(0,4)>(4,0)>(3,1)≈(1,3)>(2,2),5种配位方式均可稳定存在且互为竞争态。Z方向偶极矩μ(Z)值大小为(0,4)(+)>(1,3)(+)>(2,2)(-)>(3,1)(-)>(4,0)(-)(+、-表示μ(Z)值的正负,与Z方向相同即为正,相反即为负),4个npo^-趋向越一致能量越高极性越大。(2)Mo-Mo具有四重键,键长随μ(Z)值减小而减小,而Mo-Co键长则相反。随μ(Z)值减小前线轨道中πNCS(1)轨道能降低,π'NCS(2)轨道能升高。(3)Z方向电场作用下,除(0,4)外所有配位方式的Mo1-N8键显著增长,结构不稳定。(4)电场作用下前线轨道能级交错,μ(Z)为正值的(0,4)、(1,3)的能隙E_LUMO-HOMO在-Z方向电场中降低更显著,μ(Z)为负值的(2,2)、(3,1)和(4,0)的能隙在Z方向电场中降低更显著。分子极性越大,随电场强度增强能隙降低越显著,分子导电性可能越好。(0,4)、(3,1)和(4,0)可能具有整流效应,但(3,1)和(4,0)的稳定性较低。     

Different defect morphologies in polyethylene crystal induced by surface physicochemical properties

The physicochemical properties of surfaces have a great effect on the micro-morphologies of the crystal structures which are in contact with them.Understanding the interaction mechanism between the internal driving forces of the crystal and external inducing forces of the surfaces is the prerequisite of controlling and obtaining the desirable morphologies.In this work,the dynamic density functional theory was applied to construct the free energy functional expression of polyethylene(PE) lattice,and the micro-dynamic evolution processes of PE lattice morphology near the surfaces with different properties were observed to reveal the interaction mechanism at atomic scale.The results showed that the physical and chemical properties of the external surfaces synergistically affect the morphologies in both the defect shapes and the distribution of the defect regions.In the absence of the contact surfaces,driven by the oriented interactions among different CH2 groups,PE lattices gradually grow and form a defect-free structure.Conversely,the presence of contact surfaces leads to lattice defects in the interfacial regions,and PE lattice shows different self-healing abilities around different surfaces.     

基于UbD理论的化学教学设计研究 ——以“酸、碱、盐在水溶液中的电离”为例

UbD理论注重以教学预期目标为导向,通过先预设评估标准,再设计学习活动,最终达成对科学本质理解的学习目标。尝试采用UbD理论及其操作模式,对高中化学“酸、碱、盐在水溶液中的电离”教学内容进行教学设计,并对今后教学中推广和实践这一教学理论提出了几点思考。     

Structures,g-tensors,and hyperfine coupling constants of L-α-alanine radicals in radiation dosimetry: An ab initio molecular dynamics simulation study

Alanine is used as a transfer standard dosimeter for gamma ray and electron beam calibration. An important factor affecting its dosimetric response is humidity which can lead to errors in absorbed dose calculations. Ab initio molecular dynamics calculations were performed to determine the environmental effects on the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameters of L-α-alanine radicals in acidic and alkaline solutions. A new result, not dissimilar to the closed-shell amino acid molecule alanine, is that the non-zwitterionic form of the alanine radical is the stable form in the gas phase while the zwitterionic neutral alanine radical is not a stable structure in the gas phase. Geometric and EPR parameters of radicals in both gas and solution phases are found to be dependent on hydrogen bonding of water molecules with the polar groups and on dynamic solvation. Calculations on the optimized free radicals in the gas phase revealed that for the neutral radical, hydrogen bonding to water molecules drives a decrease in the magnitudes of g-tensor components g _xx and g _yy without affecting neither g _zz component nor the hyperfine coupling constants (HFCCs). The transfer from the gas to solution phase of the alanine radical anion is accompanied with an increase in the spin density on the carboxylic group's oxygen atoms. However, for the neutral radical, this transfer from gas to solution phase is accompanied with the decrease in the spin density on oxygen atoms. Calculated isotropic HFCCs and g-tensor of all radicals are in good agreement with experiment in both acidic and alkaline solutions.     

Benchmark approach to search of cost-effective and accurate density functional for homolytic cleavage of C─Mg bond of Grignard reagent

Grignard reactions are of importance in organic chemistry for the synthesis β-keto esters and diethyl malonate, alcohols, aldehydes or ketones, monocarboxylic acids, and other organometallic compounds. Generally, the heterolytic dissociation of C─Mg bond in Grignard reagent is the key step in these reactions. Recently, homolytic cleavage of the C─Mg bond in Grignard reagents has been reported in the preparation of stable radicals. These reactive species react with other compounds, which result in the formation of hydrocarbons and their derivatives. Therefore, the study of homolytic cleavage of C─Mg bonds is quite vital to better understand the kinetics and thermodynamics of these reactions. In the current study, a benchmark approach is adopted to find a cost-effective and accurate density functional (DF) for bond dissociation energies measurement of the C─Mg bond of Grignard reagents. Twenty-nine DFs from 13 density functional theory (DFT) classes with three types of basis sets (Pople' 6-31G(d) and 6-311G(d), Dunning's aug-cc-pVDZ, and Karlsruhe' def2-SVP basis sets) are implemented for the measurement of dissociation energies of the C─Mg bond. Theoretical dissociation energy values are compared with experimental reported values of the C─Mg bond of selected Grignard reagents. TPSSTPSS of the meta-GGA class with 6-31G (d) basis set gave accurate results, and its Pearson's correlation is 0.95. SD, root mean square deviation, and mean unsigned error of this method are 2.36 kcal mol⁻¹, 2.33 kcal mol⁻¹, and −0.46 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. TPSSTPSS of the meta-GGA class is a one-electron, self-interaction, error-free Tao-Perdew-Staroverov-Scuseria functional that performed better with the 6-31G(d) basis set.