Thierry Azaïs

First-Principles Calculation of NMR Parameters Using the Gauge Including Projector Augmented Wave Method: A Chemist’s Point of View

Including Projector Augmented Wave Method: A Chemist’s Point of View Christian Bonhomme,*,† Christel Gervais,*,† Florence Babonneau,† Cristina Coelho,‡ Fred́eŕique Pourpoint,† Thierry Azaïs,† Sharon E. Ashbrook,* John M. Griffin, Jonathan R. Yates,* Francesco Mauri, and Chris J. Pickard †Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matier̀e Condenseé de Paris, Universite ́ Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 06, CNRS UMR 7574, Colleg̀e de France, 75005 Paris, France ‡IMPC, Institut des Mateŕiaux de Paris Centre, FR2482, UPMC Universite ́ Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 06, Colleg̀e de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France School of Chemistry and EaStCHEM, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews KY16 9ST, United Kingdom Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom Laboratoire de Mineŕalogie Crystallographie, UMR CNRS 7590, Universite ́ Pierre et Marie Curie, UPMC, 75015 Paris, France Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

Water-mediated structuring of bone apatite

It is well known that organic molecules from the vertebrate extracellular matrix of calcifying tissues are essential in structuring the apatite mineral. Here, we show that water also plays a structuring role. By using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, wide-angle X-ray scattering and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to characterize the structure and organization of crystalline and biomimetic apatite nanoparticles as well as intact bone samples, we demonstrate that water orients apatite crystals through an amorphous calcium phosphate-like layer that coats the crystalline core of bone apatite. This disordered layer is reminiscent of those found around the crystalline core of calcified biominerals in various natural composite materials in vivo. This work provides an extended local model of bone biomineralization.

In Situ Observation and Long-Term Reactivity of Si/C/CMC Composites Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries

Si/C/CMC composite for electrodes (Na-Carboxy-Methyl-Cellulose) appear today as the most promising strategy in view of substituting carbonaceous materials for silicon as negative active material in Li-ion batteries, hence the need to understand their reaction mechanism. By means of solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, we confirmed that CMC chains can bind to Si via covalent or hydrogen bonding depending upon the pH of the mother suspension. Through coupled in situ Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy observations of such electrodes reacting with Li, we demonstrated the ability of their porosity to buffer the Si swelling up to 1.7―2 Li/Si, further lithiation resulting in internal reorganization with either a definitive break of the covalent CMC-Si bond, or preservation of both the texture and electric wiring in the case of weaker Si-CMC hydrogen bonding thanks to a self-healing process. A relationship between the nature of the Si-CMC bonding and the electrode performance was found with a very positive impact of hydrogen interaction as 100 cycles could be achieved with preservation of the initial texture and excellent retention (3000 mAh/g Si after 100 cycles). Besides, we demonstrated that an alteration in the electrode texture/porosity, by a freeze-drying process, also impacts the electrode reversibility.

Direct Aerosol Synthesis of Large‐Pore Amorphous Mesostructured Aluminosilicates with Superior Acid‐Catalytic Properties

An old dream comes true: A direct and environmentally benign synthetic strategy was developed for the aerosol-based mass production of large-pore mesostructured aluminosilicate powders (see TEM image). Although amorphous, some powders exhibit higher activity towards m-xylene isomerization and lower coke formation than a Y-zeolite based industrial reference catalyst.

Investigation of the interface in silica-encapsulated liposomes by combining solid state NMR and first principles calculations.

In the context of nanomedicine, liposils (liposomes and silica) have a strong potential for drug storage and release schemes: such materials combine the intrinsic properties of liposome (encapsulation) and silica (increased rigidity, protective coating, pH degradability). In this work, an original approach combining solid state NMR, molecular dynamics, first principles geometry optimization, and NMR parameters calculation allows the building of a precise representation of the organic/inorganic interface in liposils. {(1)H-(29)Si}(1)H and {(1)H-(31)P}(1)H Double Cross-Polarization (CP) MAS NMR experiments were implemented in order to explore the proton chemical environments around the silica and the phospholipids, respectively. Using VASP (Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package), DFT calculations including molecular dynamics, and geometry optimization lead to the determination of energetically favorable configurations of a DPPC (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine) headgroup adsorbed onto a hydroxylated silica surface that corresponds to a realistic model of an amorphous silica slab. These data combined with first principles NMR parameters calculations by GIPAW (Gauge Included Projected Augmented Wave) show that the phosphate moieties are not directly interacting with silanols. The stabilization of the interface is achieved through the presence of water molecules located in-between the head groups of the phospholipids and the silica surface forming an interfacial H-bonded water layer. A detailed study of the (31)P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) parameters allows us to interpret the local dynamics of DPPC in liposils. Finally, the VASP/solid state NMR/GIPAW combined approach can be extended to a large variety of organic-inorganic hybrid interfaces.

Solid-state NMR characterization of drug-model molecules encapsulated in MCM-41 silica

In this contribution, we present a solid-state NMR approach to characterize drug-model molecules as ibuprofen, benzoic acid and lauric acid, encapsulated in MCM-41 silica and submitted to strong confinement effects. In particular, we show that by a careful choice of the solid-state NMR sequences, it is possible to efficiently characterize these highly mobile molecules and their interactions with the pore surface. Thus, we demonstrate that 13C NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool to characterize and even quantify entrapped and non-entrapped species by using either single-pulse excitation (SPE) or cross-polarization (CP). Whereas the standard {1H}-13C CP experiment is of poor efficiency for mobile species, we show that 13C signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio can be significantly improved through 1H-13C cross-relaxation (namely, nuclear Overhauser effect, nOe) by using a 1H power-gated technique. The long transversal relaxation times [T2(1H) up to 22 ms] observed allow the set-up of J-coupling based experiments such as 2D {1H}-13C heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (HMQC) in order to fully characterize the encapsulated molecules. Thus, we demonstrate that the use of sequences derived from solution-state NMR such as these two latter experiments is highly efficient to characterize highly mobile organic molecules trapped in mesopores. Finally, we show that 1H spin diffusion-based experiments can give useful informations on the proximities between trapped molecules and the silica surface.

New perspectives in the PAW/GIPAW approach: JP‐O‐Si coupling constants, antisymmetric parts of shift tensors and NQR predictions

In 2001, Pickard and Mauri implemented the gauge including projected augmented wave (GIPAW) protocol for first‐principles calculations of NMR parameters using periodic boundary conditions (chemical shift anisotropy and electric field gradient tensors). In this paper, three potentially interesting perspectives in connection with PAW/GIPAW in solid‐state NMR and pure nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) are presented: (i) the calculation of J coupling tensors in inorganic solids; (ii) the calculation of the antisymmetric part of chemical shift tensors and (iii) the prediction of 14N and 35Cl pure NQR resonances including dynamics. We believe that these topics should open new insights in the combination of GIPAW, NMR/NQR crystallography, temperature effects and dynamics. Points (i), (ii) and (iii) will be illustrated by selected examples: (i) chemical shift tensors and heteronuclear 2JPOSi coupling constants in the case of silicophosphates and calcium phosphates [Si5O(PO4)6, SiP2O7 polymorphs and α‐Ca(PO3)2]; (ii) antisymmetric chemical shift tensors in cyclopropene derivatives, C3X4 (X = H, Cl, F) and (iii) 14N and 35Cl NQR predictions in the case of RDX (C3H6N6O6), β‐HMX (C4H8N8O8), α‐NTO (C2H2N4O3) and AlOPCl6. RDX, β‐HMX and α‐NTO are explosive compounds. Copyright

Sulfonic and Phosphonic Acid and Bifunctional Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Membranes and Their Proton Conduction Properties

Hybrid organic-inorganic approaches are used for the synthesis of bifunctional proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) membranes owing to their ability to combine the properties of a functionalized inorganic network and an organic thermostable polymer. We report the synthesis of both sulfonic and phosphonic acid functionalized mesostructured silica networks into a poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (poly(VDF-co-HFP) copolymer. These membranes, containing different amounts of phosphonic acid and sulfonic acid groups, have been characterized using FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, SA-XRD, SAXS, and electrochemical techniques. The proton conductivity of the bifunctional hybrid membranes depends strongly on hydration, increasing by two orders of magnitude over the relative humidity (RH) range of 20 to 100%, up to a maximum of 0.031 S cm(-1) at 60 °C and 100% RH. This value is interesting as only half of the membrane conducts protons. This approach allows the synthesis of a porous SiO(2) network with two different functions, having -SO(3)H and -PO(3)H(2) embedded in a thermostable polymer matrix.

Probing the mobility of ibuprofen confined in MCM-41 materials using MAS-PFG NMR and hyperpolarised-129Xe NMR spectroscopy

The continuous-flow hyperpolarised (HP)-(129)Xe NMR and magic angle spinning-pulsed field gradient (MAS-PFG) NMR techniques have been used for the first time to study the distribution and the dynamics of ibuprofen encapsulated in MCM-41 with two different pore diameters.

Physical properties and in vitro bioactivity of hierarchical porous silica–HAP composites

In two recent papers (J. Andersson, S. Areva, B. Spliethoff and M. Linden, Biomaterials, 2005, 26, 6827–6835 and J. Andersson, E. Johannessen, S. Areva, M. Jarn and M. Linden, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2006, 6, 2438–2444) we have presented new means of synthesizing silica–calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite or tricalcium phosphate) composite materials, where the calcium phosphate is covered by a mesoporous layer of silica. These materials are bifunctional biomaterials, as they can be used both as drug carrier matrices and osteoconductive materials. Some of these materials, especially if synthesized according to a one-pot method, exhibit a very high in vitro bioactivity, and nucleate and grow calcium phosphate on their surfaces in less than 24 h if exposed to a simulated body fluid. In the present study, we have carried out a thorough characterization of the one-pot sol–gel derived composite materials by the means of solid state 29Si magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR, 31P MAS NMR, 23Na MAS NMR, and transfer of population in double resonance (TRAPDOR) NMR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The aim of the study is to relate the material properties to the in vitro bioactivity. The reason for high bioactivity of the composites cannot be ascribed to the silica content, but primarily to the presence of a highly soluble second calcium phosphate phase, NaCaPO4, co-existing with the hydroxyapatite in the hybrid material. Furthermore, the hydroxyapatite becomes increasingly calcium deficient with increasing silica content, which adds to increase the bioactivity. Also the overall crystallinity of the apatitic calcium phosphate phase could contribute to the bioactivity of the composites in vitro.