Glen R. Jenness

A second generation distributed point polarizable water model.

A distributed point polarizable model (DPP2) for water, with explicit terms for charge penetration, induction, and charge transfer, is introduced. The DPP2 model accurately describes the interaction energies in small and large water clusters and also gives an average internal energy per molecule and radial distribution functions of liquid water in good agreement with experiment. A key to the success of the model is its accurate description of the individual terms in the n-body expansion of the interaction energies.

Benchmark calculations of water-acene interaction energies: Extrapolation to the water-graphene limit and assessment of dispersion-corrected DFT methods

In a previous study (J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009, 113, 10242-10248) we used density functional theory based symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) calculations of water interacting with benzene (C(6)H(6)), coronene (C(24)H(12)), and circumcoronene (C(54)H(18)) to estimate the interaction energy between a water molecule and a graphene sheet. The present study extends this earlier work by use of a more realistic geometry with the water molecule oriented perpendicular to the acene with both hydrogen atoms pointing down. We also include results for an intermediate C(48)H(18) acene. Extrapolation of the water-acene results gives a value of -3.0 +/- 0.15 kcal mol(-1) for the binding of a water molecule to graphene. Several popular dispersion-corrected DFT methods are applied to the water-acene systems and the resulting interacting energies are compared to results of the DFT-SAPT calculations in order to assess their performance.

Assessment of the performance of common density functional methods for describing the interaction energies of (H2O)6 clusters.

Localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis and symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) calculations are used to analyze the two- and three-body interaction energies of four low-energy isomers of (H(2)O)(6) in order to gain insight into the performance of several popular density functionals for describing the electrostatic, exchange-repulsion, induction, and short-range dispersion interactions between water molecules. The energy decomposition analyses indicate that all density functionals considered significantly overestimate the contributions of charge transfer to the interaction energies. Moreover, in contrast to some studies that state that density functional theory (DFT) does not include dispersion interactions, we adopt a broader definition and conclude that for (H(2)O)(6) the short-range dispersion interactions recovered in the DFT calculations account about 75% or more of the net (short-range plus long-range) dispersion energies obtained from the SAPT calculations.

Ring-Opening Reaction of Furfural and Tetrahydrofurfuryl Alcohol on Hydrogen-Predosed Iridium(1 1 1) and Cobalt/Iridium(1 1 1) Surfaces

The ring‐opening of furfural is crucial for its conversion into value‐added chemicals such as 1,5‐pentanediol (1,5‐PeD), an important polymer precursor. Ir‐based catalysts have shown activity in ring‐opening reactions, and the use of an oxophilic metal additive is reported to be beneficial. To better understand the effect of an oxophilic metal on Ir for the opening of the furan ring, a combination of DFT calculations and experimental surface science studies were performed to investigate the ring‐opening of furfural and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The experimental results suggest that Co/Ir(1 1 1) has a higher ring‐opening activity for an unsaturated furan ring, however, the difference in activities between Ir and Co/Ir(1 1 1) is insignificant for a saturated furan ring. The DFT results reveal that Co/Ir(1 1 1) has a stronger interaction with an unsaturated furan ring than Ir(1 1 1); both surfaces show a weaker interaction with the saturated furan ring, which causes the lower ring‐opening activity than that of furfural.