## 2018 Vol. 31, No. 1

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2018, 31(1): .
2018, 31(1): I-Ⅱ.
Binuclear transition metal carbonyl clusters serve as the simplest models in understanding metal-metal and ligand bonding that are important organometallic chemistry catalysis. Binuclear first row transition metal carbonyl ions are produced via a pulsed laser vaporization/supersonic expansion cluster ion source in the gas phase. These ions are studied by mass-selected infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the carbonyl stretching frequency region. Density functional theory calculations have been performed on the geometric structures and vibrational spectra of the carbonyl ions. Their geometric and electronic structures are determined by comparison of the experimental IR spectra with the simulated spectra. The structure and the metal-metal and metal-CO bonding of both saturated and unsaturated homonuclear as well as heteronuclear carbonyl cluster cations and anions are discussed.
Electronically non-adiabatic processes are essential parts of photochemical process, collisions of excited species, electron transfer processes, and quantum information processing. Various non-adiabatic dynamics methods and their numerical implementation have been developed in the last decades. This review summarizes the most significant development of mixed quantum-classical methods and their applications which mainly include the Liouville equation, Ehrenfest mean-field, trajectory surface hopping, and multiple spawning methods. The recently developed quantum trajectory mean-field method that accounts for the decoherence corrections in a parameter-free fashion is discussed in more detail.
The photodissociation dynamics of isocyanic acid (HNCO) has been studied by the timesliced velocity map ion imaging technique at 193 nm. The NH(aΔ) products were measured via (2+1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization. Images have been accumulated for the NH(aΔ) rotational states in the ground and vibrational excited state (v=0 and 1). The center-of-mass translational energy distribution derived from the NH(aΔ) images implies that the CO vibrational distributions are inverted for most of the measured NH(v|j) internal states. The anisotropic product angular distribution observed indicates a rapid dissociation process for the N-C bond cleavage. A bimodal rotational state distribution of CO(v) has been observed, this result implies that isocyanic acid dissociates in the S1 state in two different pathways.
Spin-crossover (SCO) magnets can act as one of the most possible building blocks in molecular spintronics due to their magnetic bistability between the high-spin (HS) and low-spin (LS) states. Here, the electronic structures and transport properties through SCO magnet Fe(Ⅱ)-N4S2 complexes sandwiched between gold electrodes are explored by performing extensive density functional theory calculations combined with non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The optimized Fe-N and Fe-S distances and predicted magnetic moment of the SCO magnet Fe(Ⅱ)-N4S2 complexes agree well with the experimental results. The reversed spin transition between the HS and LS states can be realized by visible light irradiation according to the estimated SCO energy barriers. Based on the obtained transport results, we observe nearly perfect spin-filtering effect in this SCO magnet Fe(Ⅱ)-N4S2 junction with the HS state, and the corresponding current under small bias voltage is mainly contributed by the spin-down electrons, which is obviously larger than that of the LS case. Clearly, these theoretical findings suggest that SCO magnet Fe(Ⅱ)-N4S2 complexes hold potential applications in molecular spintronics.
2018, 31(1): 39-44. doi: 10.1063/1674-0068/31/cjcp1703056
Using the method of the parameter expansion up to the third order, explicitly investigates surface tension effect on harmonics at weakly nonlinear stage in Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) for arbitrary Atwood numbers and compares the results with those of classical RTI within the framework of the third-order weakly nonlinear theory. It is found that surface tension strongly reduces the linear growth rate of time, resulting in mild growth of the amplitude of the fundamental mode, and changes amplitudes of the second and third harmonics, as is expressed as a tension factor coupling in amplitudes of the harmonics. On the one hand, surface tension can either decrease or increase the space amplitude; on the other hand, surface tension can also change their phases for some conditions which are explicitly determined.
2018, 31(1): 45-51. doi: 10.1063/1674-0068/31/cjcp1704077
Fifty-three samples of multi-substituted benzylideneanilines XArCH=NArYs (abbreviated XBAYs) were synthesized and their NMR spectra were determined. An extensional study of substituent effects on the 1H NMR chemical shifts (δH(CH=N)) and 13C NMR chemical shifts (δC(CH=N)) of the CH=N bridging group from di-substituted to multi-substituted XBAYs was made based on a total of 182 samples of XBAYs, together with the NMR data of other 129 samples of di-substituted XBAYs quoted from literatures. The results show that the substituent specific cross-interaction effect parameter $\left(\Delta\left(\displaystyle\sum\sigma\right)^2\right)$ plays an important role in quantifying the δC(CH=N) values of XBAYs, but it is negligible for quantifying the δH(CH=N) values; the other substituent parameters also present different influences on the δC(CH=N) and δH(CH=N). On the whole, the contributions of X and Y to the δC(CH=N) of XBAYs are balanced, but the δH(CH=N) values of XBAYs mainly rely on the contributions of X.
In order to explore the in uence of modification sites of functional groups on landfill gas (CO2/CH4) separation performance of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), six types of organic linkers and three types of functional groups (i.e. -F, -NH2, -CH3) were used to construct 36 MOFs of pcu topology based on copper paddlewheel. Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations were performed in this work to evaluate the separation performance of MOFs at low (vacuum swing adsorption) and high (pressure swing adsorption) pressures, respectively. Simulation results demonstrated that CO2 working capacity of the unfunctionalized MOFs generally exhibits pore-size dependence at 1 bar, which increases with the decrease in pore sizes. It was also found that -NH2 functionalized MOFs exhibit the highest CO2 uptake due to the enhanced Coulombic interactions between the polar -NH2 groups and the quadrupole moment of CO2 molecules, which is followed by -CH3 and -F functionalized ones. Moreover, positioning the functional groups -NH2 and -CH3 at sites far from the metal node (site b) exhibits more significant enhancement on CO2/CH4 separation performance compared to that adjacent to the metal node (site a).
In this work, we discussed the stochastic thermodynamics of mesoscopic electron transfer reactions between ions and electrodes. With a relationship between the reaction rate constant and the electrode potential, we find that the heat dissipation βq equals to the dynamic irreversibility of the reaction system minus an internal entropy change term. The total entropy change Δst is defined as the summation of the system entropy change Δs and the heat dissipation βq such that Δsts+βq. Even though the heat dissipation depends linearly on the electrode potential, the total entropy change is found to satisfy the fluctuation theorem < (e)st>=1, and hence a second law-like inequality reads <Δst>≥0. Our study provides a practical methodology for the stochastic thermodynamics of electrochemical reactions, which may find applications in biochemical and electrochemical reaction systems.
Ultrasmall gold nanoclusters consisting of 2-4 Au atoms were synthesized and their performance in electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) was examined. These clusters were synthesized by exposing AuPPh3Cl to the aqueous ammonia medium for one week. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicate that the as-synthesized gold clusters (abbreviated as Aux) consist of 2-4 Au atoms coordinated by the triphenylphosphine, hydroxyl, and adsorbed oxygen ligands. A glassy carbon disk electrode loaded with the Aux clusters (Aux/GC) was characterized by the cyclic and linear-sweep voltammetry for ORR. The cyclic voltammogram vs. RHE shows the onset potential of 0.87 V, and the kinetic parameters of JK at 0.47 V and the electron-transfer number per oxygen molecule were calculated to be 14.28 mA/cm2 and 3.96 via the Koutecky-Levich equations, respectively.
Imaging the doping elements is critical for understanding the photocatalytic activity of doped TiO2 thin film. But it is still a challenge to characterize the interactions between the dopants and the TiO2 lattice at the atomic level. Here, we use high angle annular dark-field/annular bright-field scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF/ABF-STEM) combined with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to directly image the individual Cr atoms doped in anatase TiO2(001) thin film from [100] direction. The Cr dopants, which are clearly imaged through the atomic-resolution EELS mappings while can not be seen by HADDF/ABF-STEM, occupy both the substitutional sites of Ti atoms and the interstitial sites of TiO2 matrix. Most of them preferentially locate at the substitutional sites of Ti atoms. These results provide the direct evidence for the doping structure of Cr-doped A-TiO2 thin film at the atomic level and also prove the EELS mapping is an excellent technique for characterizing the doped materials.
A novel trifunctional initiator with one alkyne and two trifluoromethanesulfonate moieties was synthesized from a protected alcohol 5-hydroxyl-2-phenyl-1, 3-dioxane. The alkyne functionalized intermediate with two protected alcohol groups was synthesized by reacting with propargyl bromide. The alcohol groups were cleaved using a mixture of tetrahydrofuran and hydrochloric acid aqueous solution. In the last step the initiator was synthesized using triflic anhydride in carbon tetrachloride. The initiator was characterized by 1H NMR and used for the polymerization of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline which gives polymers with narrow distribution. For comparison a similar initiator with two tosylates was prepared and used for the polymerization of the monomer 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline, the resulting product has a wide molecular weight distribution and most of the initiator remains unreacted after 24 h which may be due to the steric hindrance between the two tosylate groups. To further explore the steric hindrance phenomenon, a linear tosylate initiator was synthesized, but still some of the initiator remains unreacted, illustrating that both steric hindrance and electrophilic balance affect the efficiency of the cationic ring-opening polymerization. All of the polymers were characterized in detail by using 1H NMR, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy, and size exclusion chromatography to confirm the purity and distribution of the polymers.
Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we have investigated the adsorption stability and conformation change of different proteins on the surface of pristine graphene (PG) and graphene oxide (GO). We find that: (ⅰ) with the cooperation of the electrostatic interactions between proteins and oxygen-containing groups, GO shows better adsorption stability than PG; (ⅱ) the peptide loses its secondary structure on both PG and GO surface, and the α-helix structure of the protein fragment is partially broken on PG surface, but is well preserved on GO surface, while the secondary structure of globular protein has no distinct change on both PG and GO surface. In general, GO presents better biocompatibility than PG. Our results are of significant importance to understand the interactions between proteins and PG/GO and the applications of PG/GO in biotechnology and biomedicine.
Ag3PO4/Ag/Ag2Mo2O7 composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared via an in situ precipitation method. The as-prepared Ag3PO4/Ag/Ag2Mo2O7 nanocomposite included Ag3PO4 nanoparticles (NPs) as well as Ag NPs assembling on the surface of Ag2Mo2O7 nanowires. Under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), the Ag3PO4/Ag/Ag2Mo2O7 composite degraded rhodamine B (Rh B) efficiently and showed much higher photocatalytic efficiency than pure Ag3PO4, Ag2Mo2O7, or Ag3PO4/Ag2Mo2O7. It was elucidated that the excellent photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4/Ag/Ag2Mo2O7 for the degradation of Rh B under visible light could be ascribed to the high specific surface area, the extended absorption in the visible light region resulting from the Ag3PO4/Ag loading, and the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes through the ternary heterostrucure composed of Ag3PO4, Ag and Ag2Mo2O7.
2018, 31(1): 99-110. doi: 10.1063/1674-0068/31/cjcp1707137
By adjusting various Ru/M (M=Co, Ni) molar ratios, a series of highly dispersed bimetallic RuM alloy nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on MIL-110(Al) have been successfully prepared via a conventional impregnation-reduction method. And they are first used as heterogeneous catalysts for the dehydrogenation reaction of AB at room temperature. The results reveal that the as-prepared Ru1Co1@MIL-110 and Ru1Ni1@MIL-110 exhibit the highest catalytic activities in different RuCo and RuNi molar ratios, respectively. It is worthy of note that the turnover frequency (TOF) values of Ru1Co1@MIL-110 and Ru1Ni1@MIL-110 catalysts reached 488.1 and 417.1 mol H2 min-1 (mol Ru)-1 and the activation energies (Ea) are 31.7 and 36.0 kJ/mol, respectively. The superior catalytic performance is attributed to the bimetallic synergistic action between Ru and M, uniform distribution of metal NPs as well as bi-functional effect between RuM alloy NPs and MIL-110. Moreover, these catalysts exhibit favorable stability after 5 consecutive cycles for the hydrolysis of AB.
The synthesis of chiral polyaniline (PANI) induced by modified hemoglobin (Hb) was profoundly explored for the first time. Results revealed that after being separated, inactivated or immobilized, Hb can still induce the formation of chiral PANI successfully, suggesting that Hb can be used as the chiral inducers regardless of harsh reaction conditions. By examining the properties of PANI induced by modified Hb, it was found that Hb(inactivated)-PANI possessed excellent chirality, stability, and crystalline structure. The globin separated from Hb was demonstrated to have the ability of inducing the production of chiral PANI whereas the hematin from Hb had no capacity to direct enantio specificity for the PANI chains. Results indicated that Hb(immobilized)-PANI exhibited poor yield, doping state, and crystalline structure, indicating that the immobilization of Hb by entrapment was not bene cial to the polymerization reaction. Results also showed that the structure of Hb may have significant effects on the morphologies of chiral PANI.
2018, 31(1): 117-122. doi: 10.1063/1674-0068/31/cjcp1706128
Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) has been widely used for water shut-off and profile control to enhance oil recovery. Herein, we reported a novel technique by which the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3+ in aqueous solutions at 60 ℃ can be delayed effectively. Citric acid was selected as an organic complexing agent of Cr3+ so that the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3+ can be prevented completely. Due to the decomposition of the bicarbonate (HCO3-) embedded in solution, CO2 released from solution and the pH value of solution increased gradually. The degree of ionization of HPAM and its ability to complex with Cr3+ increased accordingly. When the complexation of Cr3+ with HPAM is stronger than that with citric acid, the viscosity of the HPAM solution increased significantly. Under the closed condition, together with the existence of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4), the release of CO2 was very slow and the condition was highly controlled so that the ionization of HPAM was prevented initially. Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding interactions between HPAM and melamine embedded in solution previously also postponed the ionization of HPAM. As a result, the crosslinking between HPAM and Cr3+ can be delayed for almost one month, completely meeting the requirements for deep water shut-off and profile control to enhance oil recovery.