A density functional theory study of propylene epoxidation mechanism on Ag2O(001) surface.

Propylene oxide (PO) is one of the 50 most produced chemicals according to the production volume. Environmental and economic drawbacks of conventional PO production processes necessitate new production methods. Among the new production alternatives, direct epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide by molecular oxygen is a highly desired method and seen as the holy grail of propylene epoxidation studies. In this study, the propylene epoxidation mechanism on an Ag2O(001) surface is investigated computationally by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations using the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP). A perfect Ag2O(001) surface and a surface with one O vacancy are utilized for this purpose. It is found that propylene oxide can be directly formed on an Ag2O(001) surface whether there is an oxygen vacancy or not. The rate controlling step is PO desorption from both surfaces. PO isomers, i.e. acetone and propanal, can also be formed on these surfaces. However, activation barriers do exist for these molecules. Direct allyl formation on the Ag2O(001) surface is found to be unfavorable unlike what is proposed in the literature. On the other hand, it is observed that an allyl radical can be formed either via an oxametallocycle path or after the formation of propylene oxide. In fact, the discovered allyl radical formation pathway from propylene oxide is found as the most probable successive reaction pathway because of the high desorption barrier of PO.

How molecular is the chemisorptive bond?

Trends in adsorption energies as a function of transition metal differ for adsorbates that are attached atop a surface atom or are adsorbed onto a high coordination site. When adsorption onto early and late transition metals is compared variation in relative bond energies of adsorbates attached to different sites is large. A theoretical understanding is provided based on the analysis of the electronic structure of the respective chemical bonds. The electronic structure analysis is based on partial density of states (PDOS) and bond order overlap population densities from crystal orbital Hamiltonian population (COHP) calculations available from DFT electronic structure computations. This is complemented by calculations of Bader charge densities and electron density topology properties. Variation of the respective bond energies depends on the symmetry of the molecular orbitals that form the chemical bond. The key electronic structure parameters are the position of the Fermi level in the bonding or antibonding molecular orbital partial density of states region of the chemical bond and chemical bond polarity. These are very different for adsorbates adsorbed onto the same transition metal surface, but which have different coordination with surface metal atoms. The adsorption energies and the respective electronic structures of adatoms H, C and O and molecular fragments CHx (x = 1-3) are compared with those of the analogous molecules that contain a single transition metal atom. When adsorbed atop, trends in bond energies are remarkably similar to those of the corresponding molecules. The difference in bond energies of adsorbates and transition metal molecules, i.e. the embedding energy, is shown to consist of three contributions: quenching of the sometimes high molecular spin states, weakening of the adsorbate-surface interaction energy and weakening of the metal-metal atom bond energies next to the adsorbate. Conventional scaling rules of the interaction energies of adsorbed CHx (0 < x ≤ 3) fragments are satisfied only for adsorbates in high coordination sites. For the early transition metals a breaking of this rule is found for C and CH or N and NH when adsorbed atop a transition metal surface or when they are part of a transition metal molecule. The M-C bond energy is found to be only stronger than that of the M-CH bond as long as the Fermi level or the HOMO is located in the antibonding molecular orbital partial density of states of the chemical bond.

Mechanism and microkinetics of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction.

The increasing availability of quantum-chemical data on surface reaction intermediates invites one to revisit unresolved mechanistic issues in heterogeneous catalysis. One such issue of particular current interest is the molecular basis of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. Here we review current molecular understanding of this reaction that converts synthesis gas into longer hydrocarbons where we especially elucidate recent progress due to the contributions of computational catalysis. This perspective highlights the theoretical approach to heterogeneous catalysis that aims for kinetic prediction from quantum-chemical first principle data. Discussion of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction from this point of view is interesting because of the several mechanistic options available for this reaction. There are many proposals on the nature of the monomeric single C atom containing intermediate that is inserted into the growing hydrocarbon chain as well as on the nature of the growing hydrocarbon chain itself. Two dominant conflicting mechanistic proposals of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction that will be especially compared are the carbide mechanism and the CO insertion mechanism, which involve cleavage of the C-O bond of CO before incorporation of a CHx species into the growing hydrocarbon chain (the carbide mechanism) or after incorporation into the growing hydrocarbon chain (the CO insertion mechanism). The choice of a particular mechanism has important kinetic consequences. Since it is based on molecular information it also affects the structure sensitivity of this particular reaction and hence influences the choice of catalyst composition. We will show how quantum-chemical information on the relative stability of relevant reaction intermediates and estimates of the rate constants of corresponding elementary surface reactions provides a firm foundation to the kinetic analysis of such reactions and allows one to discriminate between the different mechanistic options. The paper will be concluded with a short perspective section dealing with the needs for future research. Many of the current key questions on the physical chemistry as well as computational study of heterogeneous catalysis relate to particular topics for further research on the fundamental aspects of Fischer-Tropsch catalysis.

On the nature of dense CO adlayers on fcc(100) surfaces: a kinetic Monte Carlo study.

We present a kinetic Monte Carlo lattice gas model including top and bridge sites on a square lattice, with pairwise lateral interactions between the adsorbates. In addition to the pairwise lateral interactions we include an additional interaction: an adsorbate is forbidden to adsorb on a bridge site formed by two surface atoms when both surface atoms are already forming a bond with an adsorbate. This model is used to reproduce the low and high coverage adsorption behaviour of CO on Pt(100) and Rh(100). The parameter set used to simulate CO on Pt(100) produces the c(2 x 2)-2t ordered structure at 0.50 ML coverage, a one-dimensionally ordered structure similar to the experimentally observed (3 square root(2) x square root(2)) - 2t + 2b structure at 0.67 ML coverage, the c(4 x 2)-4t + 2b ordered structure at 0.75 ML coverage, and the recently reported c(6 x 2)-6t + 4b ordered structure at 0.83 ML coverage. The (5 square root(2) x square root(2)) ordered structure at 0.60 ML coverage is not reproduced by our model. The parameter set used to simulate CO on Rh(100) produces the c(2 x 2)-2t ordered structure at 0.50 ML coverage, a one-dimensionally ordered structure similar to the experimentally observed (4 square root(2) x square root(2)) - 2t + 4b structure at 0.75 ML coverage, and the c(6 x 2)-6t + 4b ordered structure at 0.83 ML coverage. Additionally, the simulated change of top and bridge site occupation as a function of coverage matches the trend in experimental vibrational peak intensities.

Vesicle deformation by draining: geometrical and topological shape changes.

A variety of factors, including changes in temperature or osmotic pressure, can trigger morphological transitions of vesicles. Upon osmotic upshift, water diffuses across the membrane in response to the osmotic difference, resulting in a decreased vesicle volume to membrane area ratio and, consequently, a different shape. In this paper, we study the vesicle deformations on osmotic deflation using coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations. Simple deflation of a spontaneously formed spherical vesicle results in oblate ellipsoid and discous vesicles. However, when the hydration of the lipids in the outer membrane leaflet is increased, which can be the result of a changed pH or ion concentration, prolate ellipsoid, pear-shaped and budded vesicles are formed. Under certain conditions the deflation even results in vesicle fission. The simulations also show that vesicles formed by a bilayer to vesicle transition are, although spontaneously formed, not immediately stress-free. Instead, the membrane is stretched during the final stage of the transition and only reaches equilibrium once the excess interior water has diffused across the membrane. This suggests the presence of residual membrane stress immediately after vesicle closure in experimental vesicle formation and is especially important for MD simulations of vesicles where the time scale to reach equilibrium is out of reach.

Lipid-based mechanisms for vesicle fission.

Shape transformations and topological changes of lipid vesicles, such as fusion, budding, and fission, have important chemical physical and biological significance. In this paper, we study the fission process of lipid vesicles. Two distinct routes are considered that are both based on an asymmetry of the lipid distribution within the membrane. This asymmetry consists of a nonuniform distribution of two types of lipids. In the first mechanism, the two types of lipids are equally distributed over both leaflets of the membrane. Phase separation of the lipids within both leaflets, however, results in the formation of rafts, which form buds that can split off. In the second mechanism, the asymmetry consists of a difference in composition between the two monolayers of the membrane. This difference in composition yields a spontaneous curvature, reshaping the vesicle into a dumbbell such that it can split. Both pathways are studied with molecular dynamics simulations using a coarse-grained lipid model. For each of the pathways, the conditions required to obtain complete fission are investigated, and it is shown that for the second pathway, much smaller differences between the lipids are needed to obtain fission than for the first pathway. Furthermore, the lipid composition of the resulting split vesicles is shown to be completely different for both pathways, and essential differences between the fission pathway and the pathway of the inverse process, i.e., fusion, are shown to exist.

Vesicle shapes from molecular dynamics simulations.

Lipid bilayer membranes are known to form various structures such as large sheets or vesicles. When the two leaflets of the bilayer have an equal composition, the membrane preferentially forms a flat sheet or a spherical vesicle. However, a difference in the composition of the two leaflets may result in a curved bilayer or in a wide variety of vesicle shapes. Vesicles with different shapes have already been shown in experiments and diverse vesicle shapes have been predicted theoretically from energy minimization of continuous curves. Here we present a molecular dynamics study of the effect of small changes in the phospholipid headgroups on the spontaneous curvature of the bilayer and on the resulting vesicle shape transformations. Small asymmetries in the bilayers already result in high spontaneous curvature and large vesicle deformations. Vesicle shapes that are formed include ellipsoids, discoids, pear-shaped vesicles, cup-shaped vesicles, as well as budded vesicles. Comparison of these vesicles with theoretically derived vesicle shapes shows both resemblances and differences.

A periodic density functional theory study of cumene formation catalyzed by H-mordenite.

A periodic density functional theory study of the alkylation of benzene with propene in proton-exchanged mordenite has been achieved. The two different reaction routes that are usually proposed for this reaction, namely the direct and the step-by-step reaction pathways, have been investigated. The explicit consideration of the zeolite catalyst framework allows a better level of description of the interactions between the catalyst framework and the reaction than what is obtained with the cluster approach method. The direct reaction route is found to be the preferred one. It is observed that the cluster approach method, which does not describe the zeolite framework, is unable to qualitatively described the trend in activation energies. This is owing to the greater stabilization of larger transition state by the mordenite zeolite framework compared with smaller ones.

N2O decomposition over Fe/ZSM-5: reversible generation of highly active cationic Fe species.

Fe-oxide species in Fe/ZSM-5 (prepared by chemical vapor deposition of FeCl3)--active in N2O decomposition--react with zeolite protons during high temperature calcination to give highly active cationic Fe species, this transformation being reversible upon exposure to water vapor at lower temperature.

Production of chemically pure gaseous [13N]NH3 pulses for PEP studies using a modified DeVarda reduction.

A fast and reproducible production method for pure gaseous [13N]NH3 pulses has been developed. 13N was produced by irradiation of water with 500 nA of 16 MeV protons via the 16O(p,alpha)13N reaction. A mixture of DeVarda's alloy and NaOH was used to convert the produced nitrate/nitrite to ammonia. Pre-treatment of this mixture with water increased the concentrated production of gaseous [13N]NH3. Separation and further purification of ammonia were performed with GC, leading to 5s pulses (1.1 ml STP) with 3.5 +/- 0.5 MBq [13N]NH3 with a high chemical and radiochemical purity suited for positron emission profiling (PEP).

Ethylene epoxidation catalyzed by chlorine-promoted silver oxide.

It is demonstrated that, on a silver oxide surface, direct formation of ethylene oxide (EO) through the reaction between gas phase ethylene and surface oxygen is possible. The direct reaction channel produces EO selectively without competing with acetaldehyde (AA) formation. The oxometallacycle (OMC) forms on an oxygen vacant surface and reduces EO selectivity. Cl adsorption removes these surface vacant sites and hence prevents the formation of the OMC intermediate.

Interaction of graphene with FCC-Co(111).

One of the possible catalyst deactivation mechanisms in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is carbon deposition in the form of a graphene overlayer. Currently no information is available on the nature of the interaction of these layers with the surface. The adsorption of graphene on the FCC-Co(111) surface was therefore studied. A chemical interaction between the graphene sheet and the cobalt surface was observed as evidenced by the partial DOS and Bader charge analysis. The adsorption energy was found to be small when normalized per carbon atom, but becoming large for extended graphene sheets. Graphene removal from the surface via lifting or sliding was considered. The energy barrier for sliding a graphene sheet is lower than the barrier for lifting, but the energy barriers become significant when placed into the context of realistic catalytic surfaces in the nanometer range.

Catalytic ammonia oxidation on platinum: mechanism and catalyst restructuring at high and low pressure.

Catalytic ammonia oxidation over platinum has been studied experimentally from UHV up to atmospheric pressure with polycrystalline Pt and with the Pt single crystal orientations (533), (443), (865), and (100). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations explored the reaction pathways on Pt(111) and Pt(211). It was shown, both in theory and experimentally, that ammonia is activated by adsorbed oxygen, i.e. by O(ad) or by OH(ad). In situ XPS up to 1 mbar showed the existence of NH(x)(x= 0,1,2,3) intermediates on Pt(533). Based on a mechanism of ammonia activation via the interaction with O(ad)/OH(ad) a detailed and a simplified mathematical model were formulated which reproduced the experimental data semiquantitatively. From transient experiments in vacuum performed in a transient analysis of products (TAP) reactor it was concluded that N(2)O is formed by recombination of two NO(ad) species and by a reaction between NO(ad) and NH(x,ad)(x= 0,1,2) fragments. Reaction-induced morphological changes were studied with polycrystalline Pt in the mbar range and with stepped Pt single crystals as model systems in the range 10(-5)-10(-1) mbar.

On two alternative mechanisms of ethane activation over ZSM-5 zeolite modified by Zn2+ and Ga1+ cations.

The activation of ethane over zinc- and gallium-modified HZSM-5 dehydrogenation catalysts was studied by diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. Hydrocarbon activation on HZSM-5 modified by bivalent Zn and univalent Ga cations proceeds via two distinctly different mechanisms. The stronger molecular adsorption of ethane by the acid-base pairs formed by distantly separated cationic Zn2+ and basic oxygen sites results already at room temperature in strong polarizability of adsorbed ethane and subsequent heterolytic dissociative adsorption at moderate temperatures. In contrast, molecular adsorption of ethane on Ga+ cations is weak. At high temperatures dissociative hydrocarbon adsorption takes place, resulting in the formation of ethyl and hydride fragments coordinating to the cationic gallium species. Whereas in the zinc case a Brønsted acid proton is formed upon ethane dissociation, decomposition of the ethyl fragment on gallium results in gallium dihydride species and does not lead to Brønsted acid protons. This difference in alkane activation has direct consequences for hydrocarbon conversions involving dehydrogenation.

Lateral interactions and multi-isotherms: nitrogen recombination from Rh(111).

Lateral adsorbate-adsorbate interactions result in variation of the desorption rate constants with coverage. This effect can be studied in great detail from the shape of a multi-isotherm. To produce the multi-isotherm, the temperature is increased in a (semi)stepwise fashion to some temperature, followed by maintaining this temperature for a prolonged time. Then, the temperature is stepped to a higher value and held constant at this new temperature. This cycle is continued until all of the adsorbates have desorbed. Using a detailed kinetic Monte Carlo model and an optimization algorithm based on Evolutionary Strategy, we are able to reproduce the shape of the experimentally measured multi-isotherm of nitrogen on Rh(111) and obtain the lateral interactions between the nitrogen atoms.

27Al quadrupole interaction in zeolites loaded with probe molecules--a quantum-chemical study of trends in electric field gradients and chemical bonds in clusters.

The electric field gradient (EFG) has been calculated in zeolite clusters at the aluminium site surrounded by four SiO4 tetrahedra. Density functional theory (DFT) with the 6-31G** basis set has been employed. Formation of a Brønsted acid site by protonation of one oxygen atom of the AlO4 tetrahedron perturbs the coordination of aluminium, i.e., the corresponding Al-O bond is considerably weaker than in the unprotonated case. This leads to a large EFG, and the calculated quadrupole coupling constant (QCC) for 27Al is 18.2 MHz. Different probe molecules were adsorbed on the Brønsted site. The hydrogen bond formed between the acid proton and the probe molecule weakened the zeolitic O-H bond. For conservation of the overall bond order of the oxygen atom, its bonds to the neighboring tetrahedral atoms (Si, Al) become stronger. As a consequence, the perturbation of the AlO4 tetrahedron and the EFG at the aluminium position decrease depending on the strength of the hydrogen bond. Perturbation of an oxygen atom of the AlO4 tetrahedron by accepting a hydrogen bond from the base molecule also affects the corresponding Al-O bond order. A linear correlation is found between the calculated QCC constants for 27Al and the Al-O bond orders of the oxygen atoms which are perturbed by protonation or by hydrogen bonds. A geometrical shear strain parameter and a simple electrostatic point charge model are less successful at predicting the trends in EFG which clearly shows the importance of the chemical bonds.

Stability of Zn(II) cations in chabazite studied by periodical density functional theory.

The location of the Zn(2+) cation in Zn-exchanged chabazite has been studied by the periodical density functional method. Chabazite was chosen as a zeolite model, because it contains three different types of rings commonly found in the zeolite structures: four-, six-, and eight-membered rings. Two aluminum atoms have been employed to substitute the silicon atoms in the same D6R unit cell of the zeolite framework. This leads to different arrangements for the Brønsted site pair and the Zn(II) cation. The two Brønsted sites are found to be more stable when placed in the small ring (4T ring) than in the other rings. This suggests that the most reactive Brønsted sites are located in the large rings. Two Brønsted sites are most stable when the O(H)-Al-O-Si-O(H)-Al sequence is followed in the same ring instead of being located in two different rings. This resembles the aluminum distribution in the small four-membered ring and agrees with bond order conservation rules. The cation stability is markedly influenced by the distortions of the framework. Other factors that also contribute to the stabilization are the aluminum content near the cation and the stability of the original Brønsted sites. The Zn(2+) cation is more stable in the large rings than in the small ones, the six-membered one being the most stable configuration. In the small rings, the cation is, therefore, more reactive. Two different probe molecules have been used to study the interaction with the Zn(II) cation: water and methane. These probe molecules can extract the active center from its original position. For the water molecule, this effect is large and leads to a high framework relaxation. The value of the binding energy of this molecule to the active sites is influenced by these framework relaxations as well as by the cationic position environment. For weakly interacting methane, these effects are significantly less.

Generation of mid-infrared pulses by X(3) difference frequency generation in CaF(2) and BaF(2).

Tunable mid-IR pulses in the range 1300-4200 cm(-1) (7.7-2.4 microm) are generated through a phase-matched four-wave mixing process in ordinary mid-IR window materials such as CaF(2) and BaF(2) . In this process the difference frequency v(3)=2v(2)-v(1) is generated from pump fields v(1) and v(2) . The process can be phase matched to different frequencies by adjustment of the angle between the pump fields.

Quantum chemical calculation of infrared spectra of acidic groups in chabazite in the presence of water.

The changes in the spectra of the acidic group in chabazite are studied by quantum chemical calculations. The zeolite is modeled by two clusters consisting of eight tetrahedral atoms arranged in a ring and seven tetrahedral atoms coordinated around the zeolite OH group. The potential energy and dipole surfaces were constructed from the zeolite OH stretch, in-plane and out-of-plane bending coordinates, and the intermolecular stretch coordinate that corresponds to a movement of the water molecule as a whole. Both the anharmonicities of the potential energy and dipole were taken into account by calculation of the frequencies and intensities. The matrix elements of the vibrational Hamiltonian were calculated within the discrete variable representation basis set. We have assigned the experimentally observed frequencies at approximately 2900, approximately 2400, and approximately 1700 cm(-1) to the strongly perturbed zeolite OH vibrations caused by the hydrogen bonding with the water molecule. The ABC triplet is a Fermi resonance of the zeolite OH stretch mode with the overtone of the in-plane bending (the A band) and the overtone of the out-of-plane bending (the C band). In the B band the stretch is also coupled with the second overtone of the out-of-plane bending. The frequencies at approximately 3700 and approximately 3550 cm(-1) we have assigned to the OH stretch frequencies of a slightly perturbed water molecule.

A periodic DFT study of intramolecular isomerization reactions of toluene and xylenes catalyzed by acidic mordenite.

A periodic density functional theory (DFT) study of the isomerization reactions of toluene and xylene catalyzed by acidic mordenite is reported. Monomolecular isomerization reactions have been considered and analyzed. The different reaction pathways have been discussed in detail. The use of periodic structure calculations allows consideration and analysis of zeolite electrostatic contributions and steric constraints that occur within zeolite micropores. Major differences in the details of protonation reaction pathways are found when periodic structures are used rather than small cluster models of the Brønsted acidic site. Complex relationships are found between zeolite topology and reaction pathways.