Defective Potassium Poly(Heptazine Imide) Preventing Spin Delocalization and Hole Transfer Deactivation for Efficient Solar Energy Conversion and Storage.

Anti-site defective potassium poly(heptazine imide) (KPHI) with the central nitrogen atoms partially replaced by graphitic carbon atoms in the flawed heptazine rings is prepared by direct ionothermal treatment of the rationally designed supramolecular complex in KSCN salt molten. Compared to the KPHIs without the anti-site defect, the anti-site defective KPHI demonstrates significantly improved photocatalytic and dark photocatalytic performances for H2 evolution reaction (HER). In the presence of the hole scavenger, the anti-site defective KPHI exhibits superior photocatalytic stability for HER lasting 20 h, whereas the deactivation is observed from the ordinary KHPIs after 3 h HER. Moreover, the H2 yield in the dark by the stored photoelectrons in the anti-site defective KPHI increases by more than an order of magnitude. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the anti-site defective unit in KPHI not only prevents spin delocalization but also inhibits the deactivation of hole transfer, which are beneficial to photoelectron storage and photocatalytic activity. The findings in this study provide insight into the photophysical and catalytic properties of KPHI, which conclude a strategy to improve the performances for solar energy conversion and storage by incorporating intrinsic anti-site defects in KPHI.

The Influence of Large Pendent Groups on Chain Anisotropy and Electrical Energy Loss of Polyimides at High Frequency through All-Atomic Molecular Simulation.

Polyimide is a potential material for high-performance printed circuit boards because of its chemical stability and excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Flexible printed circuit boards must have a low static dielectric constant and dielectric loss to reduce signal loss in high-speed communication devices. Engineering the molecular structure of polyimides with large pendant groups is a strategy to reduce their dielectric constant. However, there is no systematic study on how the large pendant groups influence electrical energy loss. We integrated all-atomic molecular dynamics and semi-empirical quantum mechanical calculations to examine the influence of pendant groups on polymer chain anisotropy and electrical energy loss at high frequencies. We analyzed the radius of gyration, relative shape anisotropy, dipole moment, and degree of polarization of the selected polyimides (TPAHF, TmBPHF, TpBPHF, MPDA, TriPMPDA, m-PDA, and m-TFPDA). The simulation results show that anisotropy perpendicular to chain direction and local chain rigidity correlate to electrical energy loss rather than dipole moment magnitudes. Polyimides with anisotropic pendant groups and significant local chain rigidity reduce electrical energy loss. The degree of polarization correlated well with the dielectric loss with a moderate computational cost, and difficulties in directly calculating the dielectric loss were circumvented.

Optimization of acetamide based deep eutectic solvents with dual cations for high performance and low temperature-tolerant aqueous zinc ion batteries via tuning the ratio of co-solvents.

In this work, a novel acetamide-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) with Zn2+/ Li+ dual ions is designed and its physicochemical properties are tuned by adjusting the co-solvents (water and acetonitrile). Furthermore, the interplay between electrolyte components is investigated by spectroscopic analyses and molecular dynamics calculations. The addition of acetonitrile facilitates the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) with organic/inorganic components on the zinc anode. The presence of SEI coating enhances Coulombic efficiency and cycling stability by inhibiting the parasitic reactions and dendrite formation in the anode. The advantages of using dual cations in DES are demonstrated by assembling Zn ion batteries (ZIB) with the composite of δ-MnO2 and reduced graphene oxide as the cathode. The study of electrode kinetics in hybrid DES electrolytes suggests that Zn2+ and Li+ ions are responsible for battery-like and pseudocapacitive behavior of δ-MnO2 electrodes, respectively. With these merits, ZIB with the cutoff voltage of 2 V delivers a high cell capacity of 208 mAh g-1 at 0.1 Ag-1 and achieves 91% capacity retention after 1500 cycles at 2 Ag-1. More importantly, ZIB with hybrid DES is stably operated at the temperature of -20 °C, which is impossibly achieved by ZIB with conventional aqueous electrolytes.

A 1.9-V all-organic battery-supercapacitor hybrid device with high rate capability and wide temperature tolerance in a metal-free water-in-saltelectrolyte.

Developing battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices (BSHs) is viewed as an efficient route to shorten the gap between supercapacitors and batteries. In this study, a composite hydrogel consisting of perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is tested as the anode for BSHs in the electrolyte of ammonium acetate (NH4Ac) with a record concentration of 32 molality (m). This water-in-salt electrolyte exhibits a wide electrochemical stability window of 2.13 V and high conductivity of 23.3 mS cm-1 even at -12 °C. Molecular dynamics calculations and spectroscopic measurements reveal that a favorable water-acetate interaction occurs in a high concentration NH4Ac electrolyte. On the other hand, the study of electrode kinetics in 32 m NH4Ac demonstrates a high capacitive contribution to charge storage in PTCDI-rGO although an electrode redox reaction involves reversible enolization of carbonyl groups in PTCDI. This result suggests fast NH4+-ion intercalation kinetics in charge-discharge processes. Furthermore, the electrode performance is improved by optimizing the loading amount of rGO in composites. The best-performing composite electrode delivers the maximum capacity of 165 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and sustains a great capacity retention of 66% at 8 A g-1. Finally, an all-organic BSH device is tested in a broad temperature window from -20 to 50 °C and is well operated at 1.9 V regardless of operating temperatures. Due to the synergetic effect of splendid electrolyte properties and high anode capacities, BSH devices possess the maximum energy density of 12.9 Wh kg-1 at the power density of 827 W kg-1 and retain 74 % of the initial capacity after 3000 cycles at 1 A g-1. Our study paves a novel route towards designing inexpensive and environmentally friendly BSH devices with high performances.

Photoluminescence quenching of thermally treated waste-derived carbon dots for selective metal ion sensing.

In the present study, carbon-dots (CDs) were derived from the thermal oxidation of an agricultural waste, bitter tea residue, to obtain different sp2/sp3 ratios and electronic structures for metal sensing. The CDs obtained from calcination at 700 °C exhibited the highest photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) of 11.8% among all the samples treated at different temperatures. These CDs had a high degree of graphitization, which resulted in a strong π-π* electron transition, and hence in a high QY. The strong photoluminescence of the CDs could be used to sense the metal ions Ag+, Sr2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Sn2+ by monitoring their PL intensity at an excitation wavelength of 320 nm. The metals inhibited the PL intensity in the order Ag+ > Fe2+, Fe3+, Ni2+ > Sr2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Sn2+, which demonstrated that the CDs exhibited high metal ion detection capability and selectivity. The detection of Fe3+ using CDs was performed in the range of 10-100 ppm with a LOD (limit of detection) value of 0.380 ppm. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that Ag+, Sr2+, and Sn2+ induced charge transfer excitation and that Fe2+ and Ni2+ induced d-d transitions via complexation with the sp2 clusters. The charge transfer excitation and d-d transitions hindered the π-π* transition of the sp2 clusters, leading to a quenching effect. On the other hand, Li+, Na+, and K+ ions did not alter the π-π* transition of the sp2 clusters, resulting in a negligible quenching effect. In summary, the oxidation level and electronic structure of CDs derived from bitter tea residue could be tailored, and the CDs were shown to be a facile, sustainable, and eco-friendly material for metal sensing.

Influence of nonmetal dopants on charge separation of graphitic carbon nitride by time-dependent density functional theory.

Photocatalysts are crucial materials for green energy production and environmental remediation. Nonmetal-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted much attention in recent years because of its low-cost and desired photocatalytic performances, such as a high charge separation efficiency and broad visible light absorption. In this study, we conducted time-dependent density functional theory calculations, and a wavefunction analysis to evaluate the charge separation characteristics of phosphorus-, oxygen- and sulfur-doped g-C3N4 upon photo-excitation. In particular, we examined the electron-hole pair distances, the electron-hole pair overlaps, and the amounts of transferred charge. The phosphorus, oxygen, and sulfur dopants shifted the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of doped heptazine rings downward to facilitate the electron transfer upon photo-excitation. Generally, the phosphorus dopant triggers relatively high amounts of transferred charge, strong electron-hole pair separations, and low electron-hole overlaps compared to oxygen and sulfur dopants. At a low dopant concentration, the sulfur dopant showed a similar effect to that of the phosphorus dopant. The phosphorus dopants not only contributed to the electron-hole pair separation, but also attracted photo-excited electrons. The comparison of different dopant distributions on the heptazine rings of g-C3N4 showed that dopants concentrated on one heptazine ring exhibit better charge separation performance than dopants dispersed on different heptazine rings do. This indicates that the doping configuration has a stronger effect than the doping concentration on the charge separation efficiency in nonmetal-doped g-C3N4.

Structures and infrared spectra of calcium phosphate clusters by ab initio methods with implicit solvation models.

Since the first detection of pre-nucleation clusters during the formation of calcium phosphate minerals, determining such clusters' compositions and structures has become crucial for understanding the early-stage nucleation of these minerals in solutions. In previous experimental studies, the composition and sizes of pre-nucleation clusters have been calculated, but their structural information has been difficult to determine because they are very small (<1 nm). In this study, we examined the structures and infrared spectra of small- and medium-sized calcium phosphate clusters using ab initio calculations combined with implicit solvation models. Adding solvent effects increased the possibility of the existence of alternative configurations of calcium phosphate clusters other than their compact configurations. The calcium atoms had a tendency to be located outside of the clusters to coordinate with water molecules in the aqueous environment. The computed infrared spectra of extended small calcium phosphate clusters captured some of the features measured in the in situ infrared spectra, which supports the network structures proposed by large-scale molecular dynamics studies and X-ray adsorption near-edge spectra. The relative stabilities of medium-sized Ca9(PO4)6 clusters with respect to the stability of Posner's cluster in water were also reviewed. We found that in water, alternative structures with low symmetry or large dipole moments had lower energies than Posner's cluster.

Structure prediction of the solid forms of methanol: an ab initio random structure searching approach.

Liquid methanol and methanol clusters have been comprehensively studied to reveal their local structure and hydrogen bond networks. However, our understanding of the crystal forms of methanol is rather limited. The known crystal structures of solid methanol, α, ß, and γ, are composed of infinite hydrogen bond chains in their unit cell. The structural diversity of solid methanol is much less than that of liquid methanol, in which both chain and ring structures exist and have been confirmed by experiments. In this study, we employed ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) to study possible solid methanol structures. AIRSS predicted known solid methanol phases as well as various ring structures that have not been considered. A new possible candidate structure for the δ phase was also discovered. The relative stability of known solid methanol phases and our newly discovered structures were also investigated through dispersion corrected density functional theory. The density functional calculation provides reliable phase transition pressures between the known phases and the searched structures compared with experimental suggestions. In addition, the simulation result indicated that CHO hydrogen bonds play a major role in stabilizing the methanol crystals under high pressures.

Theoretical study on the torsional potential of alkyl, donor, and acceptor substituted bithiophene: the hidden role of noncovalent interaction and backbone conjugation.

Side chain and substituent engineering of conjugated polymers are important to their backbone design. Of particular interest here is how side chains and substituents influence the coplanarity of conjugated backbones. Steric hindrance is usually considered as the principal factor influencing the coplanarity. In this study, we used proper first-principle density functional theories to analyze the change in the torsional potentials of substituted bithiophene with substituents of varying degrees of electron donating/accepting capabilities. Besides steric hindrance, the torsional potential of substituted bithiophene is also determined by other factors such as the position of substitution, non-covalent interactions between the substituents and thiophene ring, and electron conjugation in the backbone. There is no significant change in the torsional potential unless the substituent group is located at the head position of bithiophene. The bulkiness of the substituent group increases the torsional barrier at 0 and 180 degree (planar bithiophene), while the weak noncovalent interaction (such as CH-π, NH-π, and dispersion interactions) stabilizes the transition structure and decreases the barrier at 90 degree (two thiophene rings in perpendicular). Strong electron-withdrawing substituent groups (e.g., formyl or nitro groups) are found to reduce backbone conjugation resulting in reduced internal rotation barrier at 90 degree. Any of these factors deteriorates the coplanarity of bithiophene. On the other hand, the backbone conjugation can be enhanced by introducing electron-donating groups (e.g., methoxy) resulting in an increased internal rotational barrier and stabilized planar structure. The influence of through-space interactions such as S···O, S···N and CH···O interactions are found to play a minor role in the coplanarity of substituted bithiophene.

Thermodynamically consistent force fields for the assembly of inorganic, organic, and biological nanostructures: the INTERFACE force field.

The complexity of the molecular recognition and assembly of biotic-abiotic interfaces on a scale of 1 to 1000 nm can be understood more effectively using simulation tools along with laboratory instrumentation. We discuss the current capabilities and limitations of atomistic force fields and explain a strategy to obtain dependable parameters for inorganic compounds that has been developed and tested over the past decade. Parameter developments include several silicates, aluminates, metals, oxides, sulfates, and apatites that are summarized in what we call the INTERFACE force field. The INTERFACE force field operates as an extension of common harmonic force fields (PCFF, COMPASS, CHARMM, AMBER, GROMACS, and OPLS-AA) by employing the same functional form and combination rules to enable simulations of inorganic-organic and inorganic-biomolecular interfaces. The parametrization builds on an in-depth understanding of physical-chemical properties on the atomic scale to assign each parameter, especially atomic charges and van der Waals constants, as well as on the validation of macroscale physical-chemical properties for each compound in comparison to measurements. The approach eliminates large discrepancies between computed and measured bulk and surface properties of up to 2 orders of magnitude using other parametrization protocols and increases the transferability of the parameters by introducing thermodynamic consistency. As a result, a wide range of properties can be computed in quantitative agreement with experiment, including densities, surface energies, solid-water interface tensions, anisotropies of interfacial energies of different crystal facets, adsorption energies of biomolecules, and thermal and mechanical properties. Applications include insight into the assembly of inorganic-organic multiphase materials, the recognition of inorganic facets by biomolecules, growth and shape preferences of nanocrystals and nanoparticles, as well as thermal transitions and nanomechanics. Limitations and opportunities for further development are also described.

Hydrogen bonding between the Q(B) site ubisemiquinone and Ser-L223 in the bacterial reaction center: a combined spectroscopic and computational perspective.

In the Q(B) site of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides photosynthetic reaction center, the donation of a hydrogen bond from the hydroxyl group of Ser-L223 to the ubisemiquinone formed after the first flash is debatable. In this study, we use a combination of spectroscopy and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations to comprehensively explore this topic. We show that ENDOR, ESEEM, and HYSCORE spectroscopic differences between mutant L223SA and the wild-type sample (WT) are negligible, indicating only minor perturbations in the ubisemiquinone spin density for the mutant sample. Qualitatively, this suggests that a strong hydrogen bond does not exist in the WT between the Ser-L223 hydroxyl group and the semiquinone O(1) atom, as removal of this hydrogen bond in the mutant should cause a significant redistribution of spin density in the semiquinone. We show quantitatively, using QM/MM calculations, that a WT model in which the Ser-L223 hydroxyl group is rotated to prevent hydrogen bond formation with the O(1) atom of the semiquinone predicts negligible change for the L223SA mutant. This, together with the better agreement between key QM/MM calculated and experimental hyperfine couplings for the non-hydrogen-bonded model, leads us to conclude that no strong hydrogen bond is formed between the Ser-L223 hydroxyl group and the semiquinone O(1) atom after the first flash. The implications of this finding for quinone reduction in photosynthetic reaction centers are discussed.

Binding site influence on the electronic structure and electron paramagnetic resonance properties of the phyllosemiquinone free radical of photosystem I.

Electronic structure calculations are performed on models of the phyllosemiquinone (PhSQ) free radical in the A(1A) and A(1B) sites of photo system I. Partial geometry optimization of each site is performed, and from the resultant geometry spin densities and hyperfine couplings are calculated. We exploit the ONIOM methodology to progressively build up a model of the A(1A) site and monitor the effect on the spin density distribution of the PhSQ and its hyperfine couplings. For the A(1A) site, we show that while the O1 atom of the PhSQ is not involved in direct hydrogen bonding, the (17)O anisotropic hyperfine coupling for this position is sensitive to interactions with neighboring groups, especially Trp A697 and Phe A689. The results obtained are in agreement with experimental determinations which indicate small differences in (17)O hyperfine couplings for both oxygen atoms. Good agreement between calculated and experimental (1)H and (13)C hyperfine couplings is also found. In addition, we find that a significant (14)N isotropic coupling of 1.4 MHz is calculated for the peptide NH group of Leu A722. The (14)N isotropic hyperfine coupling obtained for the indole nitrogen atom of Trp A697 is calculated to be zero in disagreement with a previous experimental assignment. The spin density distribution of the PhSQ in the A(1B) site is calculated to be very similar to that in the A(1A) site. The presence of just one relatively weak hydrogen bond to the photo system I quinone is proposed to contribute substantially to its relatively low redox potential when compared with the more strongly hydrogen bonded quinone acceptors present in type II reaction centers.

An ONIOM study of the spin density distribution of the QA site plastosemiquinone in the photosystem II reaction center.

ONIOM (QM/MM) calculations are used to calculate the spin density distribution for the plastosemiquinone anion radical in the Q(A) binding site of photosystem II. A number of models are examined that explore the effect of iron depletion on the Q(A) site semiquinone spin density distribution and resultant hyperfine couplings. For a model system with a divalent metal ion in the nonheme site the calculated spin density in the Q(A) site model suggests that differential hydrogen-bonding strength to the O1 and O4 oxygen atoms of the radical results in an asymmetric spin density distribution in the semiquinone anion free radical form. The hydrogen bond to the proximal O1 atom is significantly stronger. This is similar to the situation shown to exist previously in the bacterial reaction center of Rba sphaeroides. Various models of depleted nonheme site metal show the profound effect that the presence of a divalent ion in this site has on the spin density distribution of the Q(A) site semiquinone. The variation in calculated spin density distribution of the Q(A) site plastosemiquinone as a function of the occupancy of the nonheme site needs to be taken into account in the interpretation of experimental paramagnetic resonance data. For Type II reaction centers a major role for Fe(2+) in the nonheme site may be the raising of the redox potential of the Q(A)/Q(A)(-) couple to ensure that electron transfer from the (bacterio)pheophytin anion free radical occurs at a sufficient rate to compete with wasteful back-reactions.

Hydrogen bonding and spin density distribution in the Qb semiquinone of bacterial reaction centers and comparison with the Qa site.

In the photosynthetic reaction center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, the primary (Q(A)) and secondary (Q(B)) electron acceptors are both ubiquinone-10, but with very different properties and functions. To investigate the protein environment that imparts these functional differences, we have applied X-band HYSCORE, a 2D pulsed EPR technique, to characterize the exchangeable protons around the semiquinone (SQ) in the Q(A) and Q(B) sites, using samples of (15)N-labeled reaction centers, with the native high spin Fe(2+) exchanged for diamagnetic Zn(2+), prepared in (1)H(2)O and (2)H(2)O solvent. The powder HYSCORE method is first validated against the orientation-selected Q-band ENDOR study of the Q(A) SQ by Flores et al. (Biophys. J.2007, 92, 671-682), with good agreement for two exchangeable protons with anisotropic hyperfine tensor components, T, both in the range 4.6-5.4 MHz. HYSCORE was then applied to the Q(B) SQ where we found proton lines corresponding to T ≈ 5.2, 3.7 MHz and T ≈ 1.9 MHz. Density functional-based quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations, employing a model of the Q(B) site, were used to assign the observed couplings to specific hydrogen bonding interactions with the Q(B) SQ. These calculations allow us to assign the T = 5.2 MHz proton to the His-L190 N(δ)H···O(4) (carbonyl) hydrogen bonding interaction. The T = 3.7 MHz spectral feature most likely results from hydrogen bonding interactions of O1 (carbonyl) with both Gly-L225 peptide NH and Ser-L223 hydroxyl OH, which possess calculated couplings very close to this value. The smaller 1.9 MHz coupling is assigned to a weakly bound peptide NH proton of Ile-L224. The calculations performed with this structural model of the Q(B) site show less asymmetric distribution of unpaired spin density over the SQ than seen for the Q(A) site, consistent with available experimental data for (13)C and (17)O carbonyl hyperfine couplings. The implications of these interactions for Q(B) function and comparisons with the Q(A) site are discussed.