DFT study of gas-phase adsorption of benzotriazole on Cu(111), Cu(100), Cu(110), and low coordinated defects thereon

The adsorption of benzotriazole--an outstanding corrosion inhibitor for copper--on Cu(111), Cu(100), Cu(110), and low coordinated defects thereon has been studied and characterized using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We find that benzotriazole can either chemisorb in an upright geometry or physisorb with the molecular plane being nearly parallel to the surface. While the magnitude of chemisorption energy increases as passing from densely packed Cu(111) to more open surfaces and low coordinated defects, the physisorption energy is instead rather similar on all three low Miller index surfaces. It is pointed out that due to a large dipole moment of benzotriazole the dipole-dipole interactions are rather important. For perpendicular chemisorption modes the lateral repulsion is very long ranged, extending up to the nearest-neighbor distance of about 60 bohrs, whereas for parallel adsorption modes the lateral interactions are far less pronounced and the molecules experience a weak attraction at distances ?25 bohrs. The chemisorption energies were therefore extrapolated to zero coverage by a recently developed scheme and the resulting values are -0.60, -0.73, and -0.92 eV for Cu(111), Cu(100), and Cu(110), respectively, whereas the zero-coverage physisorption energy is about -0.7 eV irrespective of the surface plane. While the more densely packed surfaces are not reactive enough to interact with the molecular π-system, the reactivity of Cu(110) appears to be at the onset of such interaction, resulting in a very stable parallel adsorption structure with an adsorption energy of -1.3 eV that is ascribed as an apparent chemisorption+physisorption mode.     

What determines the inhibition effectiveness of ATA, BTAH, and BTAOH corrosion inhibitors on copper?

Three corrosion inhibitors for copper-3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (ATA), benzotriazole (BTAH), and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (BTAOH)-were investigated by corrosion experiments and atomistic computer simulations. The trend of corrosion inhibition effectiveness of the three inhibitors on copper in near-neutral chloride solution is determined experimentally as BTAH ? ATA ? BTAOH. A careful analysis of the results of computer simulations based on density functional theory allowed to pinpoint the superior inhibiting action of BTAH and ATA as a result of their ability to form strong N-Cu chemical bonds in deprotonated form. While these bonds are not as strong as the Cl-Cu bonds, the presence of solvent favors the adsorption of inhibitor molecules onto the surface due to stronger solvation of the Cl(-) anions. Moreover, benzotriazole displays the largest affinity among the three inhibitors to form intermolecular aggregates, such as [BTA-Cu](n) polymeric complex. This is another factor contributing to the stability of the protective inhibitor film on the surface, thus making benzotriazole an outstanding corrosion inhibitor for copper. These findings cannot be anticipated on the basis of inhibitors' molecular electronic properties alone, thus emphasizing the importance of a rigorous modeling of the interactions between the components of the corrosion system in corrosion inhibition studies.     

Change of the magnetic-field topology by an ergodic divertor and the effect on the plasma structure and transport

The magnetic-field perturbation produced by the dynamic ergodic divertor in TEXTOR changes the topology of the magnetic field in the plasma edge, creating an open chaotic system. The perturbation spectrum contains only a few dominant harmonics and therefore it can be described by an analytical model. The modeling is performed in the vacuum approximation without assuming a backreaction of the plasma and does not rely on any experimentally obtained parameters. It is shown that this vacuum approximation predicts in many details the experimentally observed plasma structure. Several experiments have been performed to prove that the plasma edge behavior is defined mostly by the magnetic topology of the perturbed volume. The change in the transport can be explained with the knowledge of only the magnetic structures; i.e., the ergodic pattern dominates the plasma properties.     

The influence of Ce3+ ions on the corrosion rate of stainless steel in acidic solutions of different pH-values

The corrosion resistance of AISI 420 stainless steel in 0.1 mol L^?1 H₂SO₄ + 0.1 mol L^?1 Na₂SO₄ solutions at different pH-values and the inhibiting effect of Ce³⁺ ions was studied using electrochemical polarization methods. The results reveal decreasing of the corrosion rate with an increasing the pH of the solution, which demonstrates the progressive protective character of the inhibitor used. At pH lower than 3.33, the corrosion inhibition was most probably a result of the competitive adsorption of Ce³⁺ with H⁺ ions on the cathodic sites of the electrode surface, and it was found to be dependent on the relative concentration of H⁺/Ce³⁺. The peroxide generated from the oxygen reduction reaction at pH 3.33 was found to be capable oxidize trivalent cerium (Ce) to the tetravalent state. As obtained hydroxide precipitates act as diffusion barrier hindering the corrosion processes, whereafter a spontaneous passivity occurs on the steel surface at this pH.     

Synthesis and preliminary biological evaluations of (+)-isocampholenic acid-derived amides

The synthesis of two novel (+)-isocampholenic acid-derived amines has been realized starting from commercially available (1S)-(+)-10-camphorsulfonic acid. The novel amines as well as (+)-isocampholenic acid have been used as building blocks in the construction of a library of amides using various aliphatic, aromatic, and amino acid-derived coupling partners using BPC and CDI as activating agents. Amide derivatives have been assayed against several enzymes that hold potential for the development of new drugs to battle bacterial infections and Alzheimer’s disease. Compounds 20c and 20e showed promising selective sub-micromolar inhibition of human butyrylcholinesterase \((h\hbox {BChE})\) (\(\hbox {IC}_{50}\) values \(0.80\,\pm 0.05\) and \(0.25\,\pm 0.02\,{\upmu }\hbox {M}\), respectively).     

Thermal degradation of epoxy-silica organic-inorganic hybrid materials

Degradation kinetics of organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on epoxy resin were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The hybrid materials were prepared from diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GLYMO) polymerised simultaneously by poly(oxypropylene)diamine (Jeffamine D230). Nanometric level of homogeneity in the hybrids was verified by electron microscopy. Energy of activation of degradation for the hybrids with varying inorganic content, as well as for the unmodified epoxy-amine system, was determined by the isoconversional Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose method, and was found to be significantly higher for the hybrid materials than for the unmodified epoxy-amine system. The degradation process was described by empirical kinetic models. The results indicated that presence of the inorganic network influences the mechanism of degradation of organic phase. Greater thermal stability of hybrid materials was confirmed by other parameters obtained from TGA curves.     

Toroidal plasma rotation induced by the dynamic ergodic divertor in the TEXTOR tokamak

The first results of the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor in TEXTOR, when operating in the m/n=3/1 mode configuration, are presented. The deeply penetrating external magnetic field perturbation of this configuration increases the toroidal plasma rotation. Staying below the excitation threshold for the m/n=2/1 tearing mode, this toroidal rotation is always in the direction of the plasma current, even if the toroidal projection of the rotating magnetic field perturbation is in the opposite direction. The observed toroidal rotation direction is consistent with a radial electric field, generated by an enhanced electron transport in the ergodic layers near the resonances of the perturbation. This is an effect different from theoretical predictions, which assume a direct coupling between rotating perturbation and plasma to be the dominant effect of momentum transfer.     

First Monte-Carlo modelling of global beryllium migration in ITER using ERO2.0

ERO2.0 is a recently developed Monte-Carlo code for modelling global erosion and redeposition in fusion devices. We report here on the code's application to ITER for studying the erosion of the beryllium (Be) first wall armour under burning plasma steady state diverted conditions. An important goal of the study is to provide synthetic signals for the design of two key diagnostics: the main chamber visible spectroscopy and the laser in-vessel viewing systems. The simulations are performed using toroidally symmetric plasma backgrounds obtained by combining SOLPS simulations extended to the wall using the OSM-EIRENE-DIVIMP edge code package. These are then further combined with a shadowing model using magnetic field line tracing to provide a three-dimensional correction for the flux patterns. The resulting plasma wetted area, which amounts to ∼10% of the total first wall area, is in excellent agreement with shadowing calculations obtained with the SMITER field line tracing code. The simulations reveal that the main Be erosion zones are located in regions intersected by the secondary separatrix, in particular the upper Be panels, which are close to the secondary X-point. For the particular high-density Q = 10 background plasma case studied here, ∼80% of the eroded Be is found to re-deposit on main chamber surfaces. The rest migrates in almost equal parts to the inner and outer divertor and is deposited close to the strike lines.     

Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Hierarchically Porous MIL‐100(Fe)@polyHIPE Hybrid Membranes

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles in combination with a nonionic surfactant (Pluronic L‐121) are used to stabilize dicyclopentadiene (DCPD)‐in‐water high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The resulting HIPEs containing the MIL‐100(Fe) nanoparticles (MIL: Materials of Institut Lavoisier) at the interface between the oil‐ and the water‐phases are then cured, and 100 μm thick, fully open, hierarchically porous hybrid membranes are obtained. The properties of the MIL‐100(Fe)@pDCPD polyHIPE membranes are characterized and it is found that up to 14 wt% of the MIL‐100(Fe) nanoparticles are incorporated in the hybrid material resulting in an increase of the microporosity up to 130 m² g⁻¹. Hybrid membranes show an appealing catalytic activity in Friedel–Crafts alkylation in a batch mode as well as in a flow‐through mode, thereby demonstrating the preserved accessibility of Lewis acidic sites in the MOF nanostructures.

     

The Use of an Emulsion Templated Microcellular Poly(dicyclopentadiene‐co‐norbornene) Membrane as a Separator in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

The preparation of open‐cell macroporous membranes made by the ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of a mixture of norbornene and dicyclopentadiene, and their basic applicability as separators in lithium‐ion batteries, is discussed. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements of negative electrodes (graphite) and positive electrodes (LiCoO₂) are performed and the results prove the absence of parasitic decomposition reactions within the membrane at high oxidative or reductive potentials. Furthermore, LiCoO₂/Li half cell cycling studies of 100 charging/discharging cycles reveal that the newly disclosed separator and conventional commercial polyolefin based separators have similar performance. These results demonstrate that a potential weakness in the newly disclosed separator, namely residual double bonds present in the polymer network, does not limit the use of this material as a separator in lithium‐ion batteries.