Prasenjit Ghosh

Anchored palladium nanoparticles onto single walled carbon nanotubes: Efficient recyclable catalyst for N-containing heterocycles

A convenient process has been developed to decorate palladium nanoparticles onto carboxylic acid functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) via the thermolysis of palladium acetate. This single walled carbon nanotube–palladium nanoparticles (SWNT–PdNPs) composite has been investigated through a number of instrumental techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which disclose that the palladium nanoparticles are attached by carboxylic acid groups onto the surface of SWNTs. The SWNT–PdNPs composite has been tested as an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalytic system for copper free acyl Sonogashira reaction. A library of ynones was synthesized in high yields under mild reaction condition. The catalyst was recovered and recycled successfully up to seven times. This simple protocol was further broadened in the synthesis of trimethylsilyl-ynones (TMS-ynones) and explored in the one-pot multicomponent synthesis of 2,4-disubstituted pyrimidines.

Mesoscopic donor-acceptor multilayer by ultrahigh-vacuum codeposition of Zn-tetraphenyl-porphyrin and C70.

The peculiar electrochemical and photophysical properties of porphyrin and fullerene molecules make them promising candidates for the construction of two- and three-dimensional organic-based materials. An important question is how pristine fullerene and porphyrin will organize when deposited on surfaces via in vacuum molecular beam evaporation. Here we show that codeposition of C(70) and Zn-tetraphenyl-porphyrin (ZnTPP) induces the self-assembly of electron-rich flat aromatic molecules at the curved surface of C(70), thus enhancing the chromophore interaction and forming a supramolecular multilayer donor-acceptor structure. While the ground-state electronic spectra almost reflect a simple summation of ZnTPP and C(70) components, the excited-state electrons at the porphyrin macrocycle can rapidly delocalize to the fullerene. The excited charge transfer time scale is faster than 1-2 fs, as shown by resonant photoemission for the core-excited charges.

Interplay between bonding and magnetism in the binding of NO to Rh clusters

We have studied the binding of NO to small Rh clusters, containing one to five atoms, using density functional theory in both spin-polarized and non-spin-polarized forms. We find that NO bonds more strongly to Rh clusters than it does to Rh(100) or Rh(111), suggesting that Rh clusters may be good catalysts for NO reduction. However, binding to NO also quenches the magnetism of the clusters. This (local) effect results in reducing the magnitude of the NO binding energy, and also washes out the clear size-dependent trend observed in the nonmagnetic case. Our results illustrate the competition present between the tendencies to bond and to magnetize, in small clusters.

Computational approaches to charge transfer excitations in a zinc tetraphenylporphyrin and C70 complex

Electronic charge transfer plays an important role in novel nanostructured photovoltaic materials. Standard density functional theory (DFT) as well as time-dependent DFT severely underestimate the excitation energies related to such transitions. For the paradigmatic case of a donor-acceptor dyad formed by a zinc-porphyrin donor and a C(70) fullerene acceptor these shortcomings are illustrated. A better quantitative estimate of the charge transfer energy is obtained from constrained DFT which is applied to this system in a novel implementation based on a penalty functional.

Origin of the Substitution Mechanism for the Binding of Organic Ligands on the Surface of CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocubes

Optoelectronic properties of CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocubes (NCs) depend strongly on the interaction of the organic passivating molecules with the inorganic crystal. To understand this interaction, we employed a combination of synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and first-principles density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations. Variable energy XPS elucidated the internal structure of the inorganic part in a layer-by-layer fashion, whereas NMR characterized the organic ligands. Our experimental results confirm that oleylammonium ions act as capping ligands by substituting Cs+ ions from the surface of CsPbBr3 NCs. DFT calculations shows that the substitution mechanism does not require much energy for surface reconstruction and, in contrast, stabilizes the nanocrystal by the formation of three hydrogen bonds between the -NH3+ moiety of oleylammonium and surrounding Br- on the surface of NCs. This substitution mechanism and its origin are in stark contrast to the usual adsorption of organic ligands on the surface of typical NCs.

Effects of Potassium on the Supramolecular Structure and Electronic Properties of Eumelanin Thin Films

The role of potassium in the formation of synthetic eumelanin aggregates is investigated by atomic force microscopy and soft-X-ray spectroscopy. Control over the thin film granularity is achieved by using K salts, in both drop casting and electrodeposition of eumelanin thin films. Further control over orientation is made possible by a suitable choice of the substrate: evidence of self-assembly is found for thin films deposited on gold. Finally, it is shown that the potassium content affects not only the samples morphology, but also the low-lying states in the valence band, where a transfer of spectral weight across the HOMO-LUMO gap is observed, disclosing possible applications of this multifunctional biomacromolecule.

Size dependence of structural, electronic, elastic, and optical properties of selenium nanowires : A first-principles study

We have studied the structural, elastic, and optical properties of selenium nanowires, as well as bulk selenium, by performing first-principles density functional theory calculations. The nanowires are structurally similar to bulk trigonal Se, in that they consist of hexagonal arrays of helices, though there is a slight structural rearrangement in response to the finite size of the nanowires. These small structural changes result in Youngs modulus decreasing slightly for progressively thinner nanowires. However, there is a significant effect on electronic structure and optical properties. The thinner the nanowire, the greater the band gap, and the greater the anisotropy in optical conductivity. The latter is due to the effects of finite size being much more marked for the case where the electric field is polarized perpendicular to the helical axis, than in the case where the polarization is parallel to c. For the case of bulk Se, we obtain good agreement with experimental data on the structure, elastic constants, and dielectric function.

Nuclear quantum effects in a HIV/cancer inhibitor: The case of ellipticine

Ellipticine is a natural product that is currently being actively investigated for its inhibitory cancer and HIV properties. Here we use path-integral molecular dynamics coupled with excited state calculations to characterize the role of nuclear quantum effects on the structural and electronic properties of ellipticine in water, a common biological solvent. Quantum effects collectively enhance the fluctuations of both light and heavy nuclei of the covalent and hydrogen bonds in ellipticine. In particular, for the ellipticine-water system, where the proton donor and acceptor have different proton affinities, we find that nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) strengthen both the strong and the weak H bonds. This is in contrast to what is observed for the cases where the proton affinity of the donors and acceptors is same. These structural fluctuations cause a significant red-shift in the absorption spectra and an increase in the broadening, bringing it into closer agreement with the experiments. Our work shows that nuclear quantum effects alter both qualitatively and quantitatively the optical properties of this biologically relevant system and highlights the importance of the inclusion of these effects in the microscopic understanding of their optical properties. We propose that isotopic substitution will produce a blue shift and a reduction in the broadening of the absorption peak.

Lifting of Ir{100} reconstruction by CO adsorption : An ab initio study

The adsorption of CO on unreconstructed and reconstructed Ir{100} has been studied, using a combination of density functional theory and thermodynamics, to determine the relative stability of the two phases as a function of CO coverage, temperature, and pressure. We obtain good agreement with experimental data. At zero temperature, the (5 x 1) reconstruction becomes less stable than the unreconstructed (1 x 1) surface when the CO coverage exceeds a critical value of 0.09 ML. The interaction between CO molecules is found to be weakly repulsive on the reconstructed surface but attractive on the unreconstructed, explaining the experimental observation of high CO coverage on growing (1 x 1) islands. At all temperatures and pressures, we find only two possible stable states: 0.5 ML CO c(2 x 2) overlayer on the (1 x 1) substrate and the clean (5 x 1) reconstructed surface.

Effective coordination as a predictor of adsorption energies: A model study of NO on Rh(100) and Rh/MgO(100) surfaces

We have studied the adsorption of NO, and the coadsorption of N and O, on four physical and hypothetical systems: unstrained and strained Rh(100) surfaces and monolayers of Rh atoms on strained and unstrained MgO(100) surfaces. We find that as we go from Rh(100) to Rh/Mg0(100), via the other two hypothetical systems, the effective coordination progressively decreases, the d band narrows and its center shifts closer to the Fermi level, and the strength of adsorption and coadsorption increases. Both the strain and the presence of the oxide substrate contribute significantly to this. However, charge transfer is found to play a negligible role due to a canceling out between donation and back-donation processes. Our results suggest that lowering the effective coordination of Rh catalysts by strain, roughening, or the use of inert substrates might lower activation energies for the dissociation of NO.