Assessing the impact of valence asymmetry in ionic solutions and its consequences on the performance of supercapacitors.

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to describe the properties of hypothetical salt electrolytic solutions. The main focus of this work is the valence asymmetry, which in recent years has been considered an important aspect in the physical chemistry of aqueous electrolytes. In general, our results show that the structural, energetic, and dynamic properties respond differently to the asymmetry of ionic solutions, but in all cases, appreciable changes were observed. Graphene supercapacitors based on the investigated electrolytes were studied in light of their electrostatic properties. We observed that the electrode capacitances, positive and negative, were greatly influenced by the presence of cations in the electrical double layer of the negative electrode and by the absence of these cations, in the double layer of the positive electrode. In general, we assess that quantitative variations due to valence asymmetry may indeed be an important factor for the development of new and more efficient electrolytes.

An evaluation of the capacitive behavior of supercapacitors as a function of the radius of cations using simulations with a constant potential method.

We report on the atomistic molecular dynamics, applying the constant potential method to determine the structural and electrostatic interactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface of electrochemical supercapacitors as a function of the cation radius (Cs+, Rb+, K+, Na+, Li+). We find that the electrical double layer is susceptible to the size, hydration layer volume, and cations' mobility and analyzed them. Besides, the transient potential shows an increase in magnitude and length as a function of the monocation size, i.e., Cs+ > Rb+ > K+ > Na+ > Li+. On the other hand, the charge distribution along the electrode surface is less uniform for large monocations. Nonetheless, the difference is not observed as a function of the radius of the cation for the integral capacitance. Our results are comparable to studies that employed the fixed charge method for treating such systems.

Salt-in-water and water-in-salt electrolytes: the effects of the asymmetry in cation and anion valence on their properties.

We investigated the structural, dynamic, energetic, and electrostatic properties of electrolytes based on the ion pairs LiCl and Li2SO4. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were used to simulate these aqueous electrolytic solutions at two different concentrations 2 M (normal) and 21 M (superconcentrated, WiSE). The effects of the valence asymmetry of the Li2SO4 electrolyte were also discussed for both salt concentrations. Our results differ in the physical aspect of pure electrolytes, showing the drastic effect of high concentration, in particular on the viscosity, which is dramatically increased in WiSE. This is a consequence of their reduced ionic mobility and has a direct effect on ionic conductivity. Also, our results for graphene-based supercapacitors, as indicated by some experimental work, do not indicate any better performance of WiSEs over normal electrolytes. In fact, the differences in the total capacitance, due to the concentration of ions, presented by both electrolytes are negligible. The valence asymmetry can be clearly observed in some properties but for most of them its effects could not be quantified or isolated.

Exploring doped or vacancy-modified graphene-based electrodes for applications in asymmetric supercapacitors.

We report here density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics atomistic simulations to determine the total capacitance of graphene-modified supercapacitors. The contributions of quantum capacitance to the total capacitance for boron-, sulfur-, and fluorine-doped graphene electrodes, as well as vacancy-modified electrodes, were examined. All the doped electrodes presented significant variations in quantum capacitance (ranging from 0 to ∼200 µF cm-2) due to changes in the electronic structure of pristine graphene. The graphene-modified supercapacitors show any appreciable effect on double-layer capacitance being virtually the same for all the devices investigated. The total differential capacitance was found to be limited by the quantum capacitance, and for all the systems, it is lower than the quantum capacitance over the entire voltage window. We found that the total capacitance can be optimized by considering an adequate modification to each electrode in the supercapacitor. In addition, we found that an asymmetric supercapacitor assembled with different doped electrodes, i.e. an F doped negative electrode and an N doped positive electrode, is the best choice for a supercapacitor since this combination results in better capacitance over the entire potential window.

Elucidating the amphiphilic character of graphene oxide.

The amphiphilic character of graphene oxide was analysed in terms of its interfacial activities, using atomistic molecular dynamics. Graphene oxides at four different degrees of oxygenation were investigated considering both the effects of oxidation and carboxyl edge-functionalization. Solvation free energies are strongly negative and of increasing magnitude with the concentration for all systems, even in the toluene phase, indicating that GO presents a favourable solvation in both pure liquids as well as interfaces. The PMF results indicate that only the R20 system is slightly active at the water/vacuum interface, with a PMF minimum of about -2.6 kJ mol-1. Both analyses, free energy and PMF, indicate that all systems with higher oxygen concentrations have lower free energy in water than in toluene, while the R20 system opposes this tendency. Comparison between the reduced GOs (20%) shows that edge-functionalised systems were more active than basal-functionalized systems, indicating that oxygen concentration plays a more relevant role than the distribution of functional groups.

Impact of Edge Groups on the Hydration and Aggregation Properties of Graphene Oxide.

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to describe and quantify the role of edge groups on the hydrating properties of graphene oxide (GO). For this, six different oxygen concentrations were investigated, and in four of them, carboxyl groups were present. Structural analysis indicates a greater probability for the water solvation around the GO edges in detriment of the region of its basal plane, while hydrogen bonding analyses indicates that edge groups are very expressive, participating in about 60% of the total number of bonds. The impact of this bond network formed by edge groups is rationalized in energetic and thermodynamic terms. The resulting hydrophilicity observed, as expected, is of electrostatic origin and has a larger contribution from the edge groups that varies from 22 to 57% depending on the concentration. Hydration free energy and potential of mean force calculations support these findings. It was observed that the edge groups contribute up to 51% of the total hydration-free energy and that the PMF indicates the tendency for spontaneous aggregation at all investigated concentrations, being lower the higher the concentration of oxygen.

Hydration peculiarities of graphene oxides with multiple oxidation degrees.

Hydration properties of graphene oxide (GO) are essential for most of its potential applications. In this work, we employ atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to investigate seven GO compositions with different levels of oxygenation. Two atomic charge models for GO are compared: (1, a simplified model) sp2 carbons are purely Lennard-Jones sites; (2, a CHELPG model) sp2 carbon charges are consistent with the CHELPG scheme. Structural properties were found to depend insignificantly on the charge model, whereas thermodynamics appeared very sensitive. In particular, the simplified model provides systematically stronger GO/water coupling, as compared to the more accurate model. For all GO compositions, hydration free energies are in the range of -5 to -45 kJ mol-1 indicating that hydration is thermodynamically favourable even for modest oxidation degrees, thus differing drastically from the cases of pristine graphene and graphite. In general, it has been observed that as R increases the high oxidation degree obstructs the formation of new hydrogen bonds, which considerably affects their hydration properties. Although both the used charge models are qualitatively equivalent, the energy and number of hydrogen bonds have been shown to be sensitive to the charge set employed. In particular, the comparison shows that the simplified model tends to overestimate the GO/water interaction energy. The results and discussion presented herein provide a physical background for modern applications of GO, e.g. in electrodes of supercapacitors and inhibitors in processes involving biological molecules.

The role of water and structure on the generation of reactive oxygen species in peptide/hypericin complexes.

Hybrid associates formed between peptide assemblies and fluorophores are attractive mainly because of their unique properties for biomedical applications. Recently, we demonstrated that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by hypericin and their stability in excited states are enhanced upon conjugation with l,l-diphenylalanine microtubes (FF-MNTs). Although the detailed mechanisms responsible for improving the photophysical properties of ROS remain unclear, tentative hypotheses have suggested that the driving force is the growth of overall dipolar moments ascribed either to coupling between aligned H2O dipoles within the ordered structures or to the organization of hypericin molecules on peptide interfaces. To provide new insights on ROS activity in hypericin/FF-MNTs hybrids and further explore the role of water in this respect, we present results obtained from investigations on the behavior of these complexes organized into different crystalline arrangements. Specifically, we monitored and compared the photophysical performance of hypericin bound to FF-MNTs with peptides organized in both hexagonal (water-rich) and orthorhombic (water-free) symmetries. From a theoretical perspective, we present the results of new molecular dynamics simulations that highlight the distinct hypericin/peptide interaction at the interface of FF-MNTs for the different symmetries. As a conclusion, we propose that although water enhances photophysical properties, the organization induced by peptide structures and the availability of a hydrophobic environment surrounding the hypericin/peptide interface are paramount to optimizing ROS generation. The findings presented here provide useful basic research insights for designing peptide/fluorophore complexes with outstanding technological potential.

Structural and photophysical properties of peptide micro/nanotubes functionalized with hypericin.

Hypericin is a photosensitizer with promising applications in photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer and infectious diseases treatments. Herein, we present a basic research study of L-diphenylalanine micro/nanotubes (FF-NTs) functionalized with hypericin. The system has special properties according to the hypericin concentration, with direct consequences on both morphological and photophysical behaviors. A clear dependence between the size of the tubes and the concentration of hypericin is revealed. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is found to be improved by ∼57% in the presence of FF-NTs, as indirectly measured from the absorbance profile of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF). In addition, when hypericin appears conjugated with FF-NTs, the characteristic fluorescence lifetime is significantly boosted, demonstrating the role of FF-NTs to enhance the photophysical properties and stabilizing the fluorophore in excited states. Electron paramagnetic resonance allows the proposition of a mechanism for the generation of ROS. Molecular dynamics simulations bring new insights into the interaction between hypericin and peptide assemblies, suggesting the spatial organization of the fluorophore onto the surface of the supramolecular structures as a key element to improve the photophysical properties reported here.

Ab initio study of weakly bound halogen complexes: RX⋯PH3.

Ab initio calculations were employed to study the role of ipso carbon hybridization in halogenated compounds RX (R=methyl, phenyl, acetyl, H and X=F, Cl, Br and I) and its interaction with a phosphorus atom, as occurs in the halogen bonded complex type RX⋯PH3. The analysis was performed using ab initio MP2, MP4 and CCSD(T) methods. Systematic energy analysis found that the interaction energies are in the range -4.14 to -11.92 kJ mol(-1) (at MP2 level without ZPE correction). Effects of electronic correlation levels were evaluated at MP4 and CCSD(T) levels and a reduction of up to 27% in interaction energy obtained in MP2 was observed. Analysis of the electrostatic maps confirms that the PhCl⋯PH3 and all MeX⋯PH3 complexes are unstable. NBO analysis suggested that the charge transfer between the moieties is bigger when using iodine than bromine and chlorine. The electrical properties of these complexes (dipole and polarizability) were determined and the most important observed aspect was the systematic increase at the dipole polarizability, given by the interaction polarizability. This increase is in the range of 0.7-6.7 u.a. (about 3-7%).

Prediction of the hydration properties of diamondoids from free energy and potential of mean force calculations.

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to predict the thermodynamical properties of the hydration process of the adamantane, diamantane, and trimantane, the first three members of the series of diamondoids. Free-energy results suggest that the water solubility of these molecules is low. The hydration free energy increases with size of the diamondoid. As for the alkane hydrocarbons, hydration free energy correlates linearly with the surface accessible solvent area; however, here it has been shown that small diamondoids present hydration free energy significantly lower than the n-alkanes of similar molecular weights. The decomposition of the hydration free energy in enthalpic and entropic terms revealed that the hydration process of the small diamondoids is entropic driven. The potential of mean-force calculations indicates that the aggregation of these species in the aqueous medium should occur spontaneously and that the contribution of the solvent is greater the larger the diamondoid.

Molecular dynamics simulation of liquid trimethylphosphine.

Structural and dynamical properties of liquid trimethylphosphine (TMP), (CH(3))(3)P, as a function of temperature is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The force field used in the MD simulations, which has been proposed from molecular mechanics and quantum chemistry calculations, is able to reproduce the experimental density of liquid TMP at room temperature. Equilibrium structure is investigated by the usual radial distribution function, g(r), and also in the reciprocal space by the static structure factor, S(k). On the basis of center of mass distances, liquid TMP behaves like a simple liquid of almost spherical particles, but orientational correlation due to dipole-dipole interactions is revealed at short-range distances. Single particle and collective dynamics are investigated by several time correlation functions. At high temperatures, diffusion and reorientation occur at the same time range as relaxation of the liquid structure. Decoupling of these dynamic properties starts below ca. 220 K, when rattling dynamics of a given TMP molecules due to the cage effect of neighbouring molecules becomes important.

Hyperpolarizabilities of the methanol molecule: A CCSD calculation including vibrational corrections.

In this work we present the results for hyperpolarizabilities of the methanol molecule including vibrational corrections and electron correlation effects at the CCSD level. Comparisons to random phase approximation results previously reported show that the electron correlation is in general important for both electronic contribution and vibrational corrections. The role played by the anharmonicities on the calculations of the vibrational corrections has also been analyzed and the obtained results indicate that the anharmonic terms are important for the dc-Pockels and dc-Kerr effects. For the other nonlinear optical properties studied the double-harmonic approximation is found to be suitable. Comparison to available experimental result in gas phase for the dc-second harmonic generation second hyperpolarizability shows a very good agreement with the electronic contribution calculated here while our total value is 14% larger than the experimental value.

Note on the free energy of transfer of fullerene C60 simulated by using classical potentials.

Diverse atomistic parameters of C60 have been developed and utilized to simulate fullerene solutions in biological environments. However, no thermodynamic assessment and validation of these parameters have been so far realized. Here, we employ extensive molecular dynamics simulations with the thermodynamic integration method in the isothermal-isobaric ensemble to investigate the transfer of a single fullerene C60 between different solvent environments using different potential models. A detailed analysis is performed on the structure and standard Gibbs free energy of transfer of C60 from benzene to ethanol. All of the interactions concerned in the transfer process are included via atomistic models. We notice that having only structural and dynamical properties is not decisive to validate reliable atomic parameters capable of describing a more realistic thermodynamic process. Thus, we employ the calculated free energy of transfer to validate more accurate atomic parameters for the solvation thermodynamics of fullerenes by direct comparison with the solubility experimental data.

Effects of hydroxyl group distribution on the reactivity, stability and optical properties of fullerenols.

We investigate the impact of hydroxyl groups on the properties of C(60)(OH)(n) systems, with n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 16, 18, 24, 32 and 36 by means of first-principles density functional theory calculations. A detailed analysis from the local density of states has shown that adsorbed OH groups can induce dangling bonds in specific carbon atoms around the adsorption site. This increases the tendency to form polyhydroxylated fullerenes (fullerenols). The structural stability is analyzed in terms of the calculated formation enthalpy of each species. Also, a careful examination of the electron density of states for different fullerenols shows the possibility of synthesizing single molecules with tunable optical properties.

Gas-phase electrophilic addition promoted by CH(3)S(+)=CH(2) ions on aromatic systems.

The gas-phase methylenation reaction between CH(3)S(+)=CH(2) and alkylbenzenes, aniline, phenol and alkyl phenyl ethers, which yields [M + CH](+) and CH(3)SH, has been studied by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) techniques and computational chemistry at the DFT level. The methylthiomethyl cation is less reactive than methoxymethyl and, unlike the latter, is unreactive toward benzene. The calculations suggest that reaction with toluene should proceed primarily by addition at the para and ortho positions resulting in a benzyl-type ion. Reaction with aniline-2,3,4,5,6-d(5) reveals that elimination of CH(3)SD is kinetically favored by a factor of 5 over elimination of CH(3)SH. Experiments with C(6)H(6)ND(2) and theoretical calculations suggest that methylenation at the nitrogen atom is energetically favorable and likely, but the observed results may reflect some H/D scrambling, which occurs after attack at a ring position. By comparison, reaction with phenol-2,3,4,5,6-d(5) reveals that methylenation followed by elimination of CH(3)SD is kinetically favored by a factor of 3.8 over elimination of CH(3)SH. For phenol, the theoretical calculations suggest that attack by CH(3)S(+)=CH(2) at the para or ortho position is the only low-energy pathway for methylenation. However, a low-energy pathway for hydrogen scrambling is predicted by the calculations originating from the exit complex, [CH(3)SH(...) CH(2)=C(6)H(4)=OH](+), of reaction at a ring position.

Structure and UV-vis spectrum of C(60) fullerene in ethanol: a sequential molecular dynamics/quantum mechanics study.

A molecular dynamics simulation combined with semiempirical quantum mechanics calculations has been performed to investigate the structure, dynamical, and electronic properties of pure C60 in liquid ethanol. The behavior of the fullerene alcoholic solution was obtained by using the NPT ensemble under ambient conditions, including one C60 fullerene immersed in 1000 ethanol molecules. Our analyzed center-of-mass pairwise radial distribution function indicated that, on average, there are 32, 72, 132, and 187 ethanol molecules around, respectively, the first, second, third, and fourth solvation shells of the C60 molecule. To investigate the UV-vis transition energies of C60 in the presence of ethanol, we have considered constituents of the time uncorrelated supramolecular structures of the first solvation shell, i.e., clusters of C60@{EtOH}32 types. The semiempirical calculations were performed at the intermediate neglect of differential overlap level with configuration interaction singles (INDO/CIS). Our results have pointed out that the characteristic C60 UV-vis absorbance peaks are slightly shifted to longer wavelengths, as compared to the isolated molecule. These findings are in connection with the weak donor-acceptor character of the interactions involving electron lone pairs of oxygen atoms on the solvent and the fullerene surface.

Electronic changes due to thermal disorder of hydrogen bonds in liquids: pyridine in an aqueous environment.

Combined Metropolis Monte Carlo computer simulation and first-principles quantum mechanical calculations of pyridine in water are performed to analyze the role of thermal disorder in the electronic properties of hydrogen bonds in an aqueous environment. The simulation uses the NVT ensemble and includes one pyridine and 400 water molecules. Using a very efficient geometric-energetic criterion, the hydrogen bonds between pyridine and water C5H5N---H2O are identified and separated for subsequent quantum mechanical calculations of the electronic and spectroscopic properties. Statistically uncorrelated configurations composed of one pyridine and one water molecule are used to represent the configuration space of the hydrogen bonds in the liquid. The quantum mechanical calculations on these structures are performed at the correlated second-order perturbation theory level and all results are corrected for basis-set superposition error. The results are compared with the equivalent electronic properties of the hydrogen bond in the minimum-energy configuration. Charge transfer, dipole moment, and dipole polarizabilities are calculated for the thermally disordered and minimum-energy structures. In addition, using the mean and anisotropic polarizabilities, the Rayleigh depolarizations are obtained. All properties obtained for the thermally disordered structures are represented by a statistical distribution and a convergence of the average values is obtained. The results indicate that the charge transfer, dipole moment, and average depolarization ratios are systematically decreased in the liquid compared to the optimized cluster. This study quantifies, using ab initio quantum mechanics and statistical analysis, the important aspect of the thermal disorder of the hydrogen bond in a liquid system.