“双一流”背景下高等农业院校有机化学基础课程教学新模式的构建及实践

The crop science of Sichuan Agricultural University is an authorized first-class discipline. As the strategic supporting department for innovative talent cultivation in agriculture and forestry major, we are facing a long-term challenge in reforming the teaching mode for basic course-organic chemistry and cultivating talented students with solid basic knowledge and strong sense of innovation. Herein a thorough survey was performing to establish the executable teaching programs for this course during the "Double-First Class Universities Plan" period. A multidimensional teaching resource library for organic chemistry course was also constructed. The new classroom teaching mode "Interest cultivation-Creative thought development-Autonomous and Cooperative learning", along with a stepwise practice teaching mode "Foundation skills-Integrated application-Innovative trial" was proposed and practiced among thirty-five majors including agriculture, forestry and veterinary, to improve the quality for innovative talent cultivation and support our first-class discipline construction. This research could probably serve as a reference for congeneric agricultural university.     

Melting points and thermal expansivities of proton-disordered hexagonal ice with several model potentials

A method of free energy calculation is proposed, which enables to cover a wide range of pressure and temperature. The free energies of proton-disordered hexagonal ice (ice Ih) and liquid water are calculated for the TIP4P [J. Chem. Phys. 79, 926 (1983)] model and the TIP5P [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 8910 (2000)] model. From the calculated free energy curves, we determine the melting point of the proton-disordered hexagonal ice at 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure), 50 MPa, 100 MPa, and 200 MPa. The melting temperatures at atmospheric pressure for the TIP4P ice and the TIP5P ice are found to be about T(m)=229 K and T(m)=268 K, respectively. The melting temperatures decrease as the pressure is increased, a feature consistent with the pressure dependence of the melting point for realistic proton-disordered hexagonal ice. We also calculate the thermal expansivity of the model ices. Negative thermal expansivity is observed at the low temperature region for the TIP4P ice, but not for the TIP5P ice at the ambient pressure.     

Bond-order potentials with split-charge equilibration: application to C-, H-, and O-containing systems

A method for extending charge transfer to bond-order potentials, known as the bond-order potential/split-charge equilibration (BOP/SQE) method [P. T. Mikulski, M. T. Knippenberg, and J. A. Harrison, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 241105 (2009)], is integrated into a new bond-order potential for interactions between oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. This reactive potential utilizes the formalism of the adaptive intermolecular reactive empirical bond-order potential [S. J. Stuart, A. B. Tutein, and J. A. Harrison, J. Chem. Phys. 112, 6472 (2000)] with additional terms for oxygen and charge interactions. This implementation of the reactive potential is able to model chemical reactions where partial charges change in gas- and condensed-phase systems containing oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. The BOP/SQE method prevents the unrestricted growth of charges, often observed in charge equilibration methods, without adding significant computational time, because it makes use of a quantity which is calculated as part of the underlying covalent portion of the potential, namely, the bond order. The implementation of this method with the qAIREBO potential is designed to provide a tool that can be used to model dynamics in a wide range of systems without significant computational cost. To demonstrate the usefulness and flexibility of this potential, heats of formation for isolated molecules, radial distribution functions of liquids, and energies of oxygenated diamond surfaces are calculated.     

Core/shell microcapsules consisting of Fe3O4 microparticles coated with nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon for voltammetric sensing of hydrogen peroxide

The authors describe the preparation of core/shell composites consisting of Fe₃O₄ microparticles coated with nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon. Synthesis was accomplished by simultaneous reduction of template α-Fe₂O₃ and pyrolysis of a nitrogen-containing poly(ionic liquids). The mesoporous composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and adsorption/desorption isotherms. The characterizations prove successful formation of an Fe₃O₄ core and an outer shell (coating) consisting of nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon. The material was placed on a glassy carbon electrode and synergistic catalytic effect of of N-doping, the mesoporous, core/shell structure and two types of active sites properties between Fe₃O₄ core and nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon shell is shown to result in superior electrochemical activity towards the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Figures of merit include (a) a sensitivity of 77.1 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²; (b) a linear response over the 50 μM to 33 mM H₂O₂ concentration range, (c) a 5.9 μM detection limit of (at an S/N ratio of 3), and (d) a low working voltage of −0.4 V (vs. saturated calomel electrode) which makes the method more selective.

Electrochemical method for H₂O₂ detection based on Fe₃O₄@nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon microcapsules core/shell composites (Fe₃O₄@NMCMs), prepared by the polymerization of the ionic liquids (1-Allyl-3-ethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [AEIm]BF₄) monomer (PILs) on the surface of α-Fe₂O₃ nano-peanuts and then pyrolysis.

     

Expressions for the stress and elasticity tensors for angle-dependent potentials

The stress and elasticity tensors for interatomic potentials that depend explicitly on bond bending and dihedral angles are derived by taking strain derivatives of the free energy. The resulting expressions can be used in Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations in the canonical and microcanonical ensembles. These expressions are particularly useful at low temperatures where it is difficult to obtain results using the fluctuation formula of Parrinello and Rahman [J. Chem. Phys. 76, 2662 (1982)]. Local elastic constants within heterogeneous and composite materials can also be calculated as a function of temperature using this method. As an example, the stress and elasticity tensors are derived for the second-generation reactive empirical bond-order potential. This potential energy function was used because it has been used extensively in computer simulations of hydrocarbon materials, including carbon nanotubes, and because it is one of the few potential energy functions that can model chemical reactions. To validate the accuracy of the derived expressions, the elastic constants for diamond and graphite and the Young's Modulus of a (10,10) single-wall carbon nanotube are all calculated at T = 0 K using this potential and compared with previously published data and results obtained using other potentials.     

Contact forces at the sliding interface: mixed versus pure model alkane monolayers

Classical molecular dynamics simulations of an amorphous carbon tip sliding against monolayers of n-alkane chains are presented. The tribological behavior of tightly packed, pure monolayers composed of chains containing 14 carbon atoms is compared to mixed monolayers that randomly combine equal amounts of 12- and 16-carbon-atom chains. When sliding in the direction of chain cant under repulsive (positive) loads, pure monolayers consistently show lower friction than mixed monolayers. The distribution of contact forces between individual monolayer chain groups and the tip shows pure and mixed monolayers resist tip motion similarly. In contrast, the contact forces "pushing" the tip along differ in the two monolayers. The pure monolayers exhibit a high level of symmetry between resisting and pushing forces which results in a lower net friction. Both systems exhibit a marked friction anisotropy. The contact force distribution changes dramatically as a result of the change in sliding direction, resulting in an increase in friction. Upon continued sliding in the direction perpendicular to chain cant, both types of monolayers are often capable of transitioning to a state where the chains are primarily oriented with the cant along the sliding direction. A large change in the distribution of contact forces and a reduction in friction accompany this transition.     

Atomic-scale friction on diamond: a comparison of different sliding directions on (001) and (111) surfaces using MD and AFM

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to examine single-asperity friction as a function of load, surface orientation, and sliding direction on individual crystalline grains of diamond in the wearless regime. Experimental and simulation conditions were designed to correspond as closely as state-of-the-art techniques allow. Both hydrogen-terminated diamond (111)(1 x 1)-H and the dimer row-reconstructed diamond (001)(2 x 1)-H surfaces were examined. The MD simulations used H-terminated diamond tips with both flat- and curved-end geometries, and the AFM experiments used two spherical, hydrogenated amorphous carbon tips. The AFM measurements showed higher adhesion and friction forces for (001) vs (111) surfaces. However, the increased friction forces can be entirely attributed to increased contact area induced by higher adhesion. Thus, no difference in the intrinsic resistance to friction (i.e., in the interfacial shear strength) is observed. Similarly, the MD results show no significant difference in friction between the two diamond surfaces, except for the specific case of sliding at high pressures along the dimer row direction on the (001) surface. The origin of this effect is discussed. The experimentally observed dependence of friction on load fits closely with the continuum Maugis-Dugdale model for contact area, consistent with the occurrence of single-asperity interfacial friction (friction proportional to contact area with a constant shear strength). In contrast, the simulations showed a nearly linear dependence of the friction on load. This difference may arise from the limits of applicability of continuum mechanics at small scales, because the contact areas in the MD simulations are significantly smaller than the AFM experiments. Regardless of scale, both the AFM and MD results show that nanoscale tribological behavior deviates dramatically from the established macroscopic behavior of diamond, which is highly dependent on orientation.