Mechanistic Studies of [AlCp*]4 Combustion.

The combustion mechanism of [AlCp*]4 (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl), a ligated aluminum(I) cluster, was studied by a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. Two complementary experimental methods, temperature-programmed reaction and T-jump time-of-flight mass spectrometry, were used to investigate the decomposition behaviors of [AlCp*]4 in both anaerobic and oxidative environments, revealing AlCp* and Al2OCp* to be the major decomposition products. The observed product distribution and reaction pathways are consistent with the prediction from molecular dynamics simulations and static density functional theory calculations. These studies demonstrated that experiment and theory can indeed serve as complementary and predictive means to study the combustion behaviors of ligated aluminum clusters and may help in engineering stable compounds as candidates for rocket propellants.

Elucidation of the Fe(III) Gallate Structure in Historical Iron Gall Ink.

Synthetic, structural, spectroscopic and aging studies conclusively show that the main colorant of historical iron gall ink (IGI) is an amorphous form of Fe(III) gallate·xH2O (x = ∼1.5-3.2). Comparisons between experimental samples and historical documents, including an 18th century hand-written manuscript by George Washington, by IR and Raman spectroscopy, XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy confirm the relationship between the model and authentic samples. These studies settle controversy in the cultural heritage field, where an alternative structure for Fe(III) gallate has been commonly cited.

Growth of metalloid aluminum clusters on graphene vacancies.

Ab initio simulations are used to show that graphene vacancy sites may offer a means of templated growth of metalloid aluminum clusters from their monohalide precursors. We present density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the aluminum halide AlCl interacting with a graphene surface. Unlike a bare Al adatom, AlCl physisorbs weakly on vacancy-free graphene with little charge transfer and no hybridization with carbon orbitals. The barrier for diffusion of AlCl along the surface is negligible. Covalent bonding is seen only with vacancies and results in strong chemisorption and considerable distortion of the nearby lattice. Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations of AlCl liquid around a graphene single vacancy show spontaneous metalloid cluster growth via a process of repeated insertion reactions. This suggests a means of templated cluster nucleation and growth on a carbon substrate and provides some confirmation for the role of a trivalent aluminum species in nucleating a ligated metalloid cluster from AlCl and AlBr solutions.

Ab initio metadynamics simulations of oxygen/ligand interactions in organoaluminum clusters.

Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics combined with a metadynamics algorithm is used to study the initial interaction of O2 with the low-valence organoaluminum clusters Al4Cp4 (Cp=C5H5) and Al4Cp4* (Cp*=C5[CH3]5). Prior to reaction with the aluminum core, simulations suggest that the oxygen undergoes a hindered crossing of the steric barrier presented by the outer ligand monolayer. A combination of two collective variables based on aluminum/oxygen distance and lateral oxygen displacement was found to produce distinct reactant, product, and transition states for this process. In the methylated cluster with Cp* ligands, a broad transition state of 45 kJ/mol was observed due to direct steric interactions with the ligand groups and considerable oxygen reorientation. In the non-methylated cluster the ligands distort away from the oxidizer, resulting in a barrier of roughly 34 kJ/mol with minimal O2 reorientation. A study of the oxygen/cluster system fixed in a triplet multiplicity suggests that the spin state does not affect the initial steric interaction with the ligands. The metadynamics approach appears to be a promising means of analyzing the initial steps of such oxidation reactions for ligand-protected clusters.

Electronic property modification of single-walled carbon nanotubes by encapsulation of sulfur-terminated graphene nanoribbons.

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as cylindrical reactor vessels has become a viable means for synthesizing graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). While previous studies demonstrated that the size and edge structure of the as-produced GNRs are strongly dependent on the diameter of the tubes and the nature of the precursor, the atomic interactions between GNRs and surrounding CNTs and their effect on the electronic properties of the overall system are not well understood. Here, it is shown that the functional terminations of the GNR edges can have a strong influence on the electronic structure of the system. Analysis of SWCNTs before and after the insertion of sulfur-terminated GNRs suggests a metallization of the majority of semiconducting SWCNTs. This is indicated by changes in the radial breathing modes and the D and G band Raman features, as well as UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra. The variation in resonance conditions of the nanotubes following GNR insertion make direct (n,m) assignment by Raman spectroscopy difficult. Thus, density functional theory calculations of representative GNR/SWCNT systems are performed. The results confirm significant changes in the band structure, including the development of a metallic state in the semiconducting SWCNTs due to sulfur/tube interactions. The GNR-induced metallization of semiconducting SWCNTs may offer a means of controlling the electronic properties of bulk CNT samples and eliminate the need for a physical separation of semiconducting and metallic tubes.

Oxidation of ligand-protected aluminum clusters: an ab initio molecular dynamics study.

We report Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations of the oxidation of ligand-protected aluminum clusters that form a prototypical cluster-assembled material. These clusters contain a small aluminum core surrounded by a monolayer of organic ligand. The aromatic cyclopentadienyl ligands form a strong bond with surface Al atoms, giving rise to an organometallic cluster that crystallizes into a low-symmetry solid and is briefly stable in air before oxidizing. Our calculations of isolated aluminum/cyclopentadienyl clusters reacting with oxygen show minimal reaction between the ligand and O2 molecules at simulation temperatures of 500 and 1000 K. In all cases, the reaction pathway involves O2 diffusing through the ligand barrier, splitting into atomic oxygen upon contact with the aluminum, and forming an oxide cluster with aluminum/ligand bonds still largely intact. Loss of individual aluminum-ligand units, as expected from unimolecular decomposition calculations, is not observed except following significant oxidation. These calculations highlight the role of the ligand in providing a steric barrier against oxidizers and in maintaining the large aluminum surface area of the solid-state cluster material.

Predicting temperature-dependent solid vapor pressures of explosives and related compounds using a quantum mechanical continuum solvation model.

Temperature-dependent vapor pressures of solid explosives and their byproducts are calculated to an accuracy of 0.32 log units using a modified form of the conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS). Accurate predictions for solids within COSMO-RS require correction for the free energy of fusion as well as other effects such as van der Waals interactions. Limited experimental data on explosives is available to determine these corrections, and thus we have extended the COSMO-RS model by introducing a quantitative structure-property relationship to estimate a lumped correction factor using only information from standard quantum chemistry calculations. This modification improves the COSMO-RS estimate of ambient vapor pressure by more than 1 order of magnitude for a range of nitrogen-rich explosives and their derivatives, bringing the theoretical predictions to within typical experimental error bars for vapor pressure measurements. The estimated temperature dependence of these vapor pressures also agrees well with available experimental data, which is particularly important for estimating environmental transport and gas evolution for buried explosives or environmentally contaminated locations. This technique is then used to predict vapor pressures for a number of explosives and degradation products for which experimental data is not readily available.

Adsorption of ethane, ethylene, propane, and propylene on a magnesium-based metal-organic framework.

Separation of olefin/paraffin is an energy-intensive and difficult separation process in petrochemical industry. Energy-efficient adsorption process is considered as a promising alternative to the traditional cryogenic distillation for separating olefin/paraffin mixtures. In this work, we explored the feasibility of adsorptive separation of olefin/paraffin mixtures using a magnesium-based metal-organic framework, Mg-MOF-74. Adsorption equilibria and kinetics of ethane, ethylene, propane, and propylene on a Mg-MOF-74 adsorbent were determined at 278, 298, and 318 K and pressures up to 100 kPa. A dual-site Sips model was used to correlate the adsorption equilibrium data, and a micropore diffusion model was applied to extract the diffusivities from the adsorption kinetics data. A grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to calculate the adsorption isotherms and to elucidate the adsorption mechanisms. The simulation results showed that all four adsorbate molecules are preferentially adsorbed on the open metal sites where each metal site binds one adsorbate molecule. Propylene and propane have a stronger affinity to the Mg-MOF-74 adsorbent than ethane and ethylene because of their significant dipole moments. Adsorption equilibrium selectivity, combined equilibrium and kinetic selectivity, and adsorbent selection parameter for pressure swing adsorption processes were estimated. The relatively high values of adsorption selectivity suggest that it is feasible to separate ethylene/ethane, propylene/propane, and propylene/ethylene pairs in a vacuum swing adsorption process using Mg-MOF-74 as an adsorbent.

Kinetic separation of carbon dioxide and methane on a copper metal-organic framework.

Separation of carbon dioxide and methane is an important issue in upgrading low-quality natural gas. Adsorption equilibria and kinetics of CO(2) and CH(4) on a copper metal-organic framework (MOF), Cu(hfipbb)(H(2)hfipbb)(0.5) [H(2)hfipbb=4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) bis(benzoic acid)], were investigated to evaluate the feasibility of removing CO(2) from CH(4) in a pressure swing adsorption process using this new MOF adsorbent. The heat of adsorption of CO(2) on the Cu-MOF at zero-coverage (29.7 kJ/mol) is much lower than those on a carbon molecular sieve and a zeolite 5A adsorbent; and the heat of adsorption of CH(4) on the Cu-MOF (21.4 kJ/mol) is similar to that on the zeolite 5A adsorbent and smaller than that on a carbon molecular sieve. The Cu-MOF being investigated has apertures of (~3.5 × 3.5 Å), which favors the kinetically controlled separation of CO(2) and CH(4). The kinetic selectivity is found to be 26 at 298 K, and the overall selectivity (combining the equilibrium and kinetic effects) is about 25 for an adsorption separation process. These results suggest that the Cu-MOF adsorbent is an attractive alternative adsorbent for the CO(2)/CH(4) separation.