Xin-Lu Cheng

Quantum chemical study on nitroimidazole, polynitroimidazole and their methyl derivatives

The insensitive explosive candidates, nitroimidazoles, polynitroimidazoles and their methyl derivatives, are investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The homolytic bond dissociation energies (BDEs) corresponding to -NO2 group removal from carbon or nitrogen site on imidazole ring were calculated at B3P86/6-311G** level, and the weakest bond has been determined. Further, a correlation is developed between impact sensitivity h50 and the ratio (BDE/E) of the weakest bond BDE to the total energy E, and we extrapolate this relationship to predict the impact sensitivities for compounds where experiments are not available. It is found that most of the title compounds are insensitive towards impact stimuli with their h50 larger than 60.0cm. Heats of formation (HOFs) for the 21 title compounds at 298K in gas are also determined both at B3LYP/6-311G** and B3P86/6-311G** levels using isodesmic work reactions. The calculated BDEs and HOFs consistently indicate that C-nitro-substituted imdazole is more stable than the corresponding N-substituted one, and the introduction of methyl on C increases the stability whereas the methyl attached to N atom decreases the stability.

Origin of c-axis ultraincompressibility of Zr2InC above 70 GPa via first-principles

The elastic and structural properties of nanolaminate Zr2InC are studied by first-principles, and it is shown that, for any used modes, including the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and localized density approximation, there always exists an ultraincompressibility along c axis between 70 GPa and 400 GPa. Such anomalous behavior is originated from the slowdown of core-valence charge transfer. The rapid shift of Zr atom along c axis also contributed much to the ultraincompressibility as it is greatly reduced once the Zr atom shift suspends along c axis above about 400 GPa. Both the elastic constants and the phononic vibrational frequencies investigations confirmed the structural unstable simultaneously. The Poissons ratio investigations observed a higher ionic or weaker covalent contribution in interatomic bonding and the degree of ionicity increases with pressure.

Design of 3D 1,3,5,7-tetraphenyladamantane-based covalent organic frameworks as hydrogen storage materials

A new type of 1,3,5,7-tetraphenyladamantane-based covalent organic framework (adm-COF) was designed under the ctn and bor net topology with the method of molecular mechanics. The computed results reveal that all four designed adm-COFs exhibit extremely high porosity (86–95%) and large H2 accessible surface area (5967–6709 m2 g−1). The grand canonical Monte Carlo method was employed to simulate the adsorption isotherms of H2 gas in these adm-COFs at 77 K and 298 K. The simulated results indicate that, at 77 K and 100 bar, adm-COF-4 has the highest gravimetric H2 adsorption capacity of 38.36 wt%, while adm-COF-1 has the highest volumetric H2 adsorption capacity of 60.71 g L−1. Impressively, the gravimetric H2 adsorption capacity of adm-COF-1 can reach up to 5.81 wt% under 100 bar at room temperature, which is very close to the criterion of 6 wt% for the practical application of hydrogen at room temperature set by the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition, possible schemes for synthesizing these adm-COFs have been proposed.

Molecular dynamics simulations on the melting, crystallization, and energetic reaction behaviors of Al/Cu core-shell nanoparticles

Using molecular dynamics simulations combined with the embedded atom method potential, we investigate the heating, cooling, and energetic reacting of core-shell structured Al-Cu nanoparticles. The thermodynamic properties and structure evolution during continuous heating and cooling processes are also investigated through the characterization of the total potential energy distribution, mean-square-distance and radial distribution function. Some behaviors related to nanometer scale Cu/Al functional particles are derived that two-way diffusion of Al and Cu atoms, glass phase formation for the fast cooling rate, and the crystal phase formation for the low cooling rate. Two-way atomic diffusion occurs first and causes the melting and alloying. In the final alloying structure, Cu and Al atoms mixed very well except for the outmost shell which has more Al atoms. For the investigation of the thermal stability and energetic reaction properties, our study show that a localized alloying reaction between the Al core...

THEORETICAL STUDIES ON HEATS OF FORMATION FOR SOME THIOL COMPOUNDS BY DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY AND CBS-Q METHOD

The heats of formation (HOFs) for 15 thiol compounds are calculated by employing the hybrid density functional theory (B3LYP, B3PW91, B3P86) methods with 6-311G** basis set and the complete basis set (CBS-Q) method. It is demonstrated that the B3P86 and CBS-Q methods are accurate to compute the reliable HOFs for thiol compounds. In order to test whether the B3P86 method has a low basis set sensitivity, the HOFs for six thiol compounds are also calculated by using the B3P86 method with 6-31+G*, 6-31+G**, and 6-311+G** basis sets for comparison. We also extend our study by employing the nonlocal BLYP method together with 6-31+G* basis set to calculate the HOFs for thiol compounds. The obtained results are compared with the experimental results. It is noted that the B3P86 method is not sensitive to the basis sets. Considering the inevitably computational cost of CBS-Q method and the reliability of the B3P86 calculation, the B3P86 method with a moderate or a larger basis set such as 6-311G** and 6-311+G** may be more suitable to calculate the HOFs of thiol compounds. In addition, we believe that the maximum error associated with the calculated HOFs is less than 6 kcal/mol for the B3P86/6-311G** method and it is expected that the error bar is more likely 1–5 kcal/mol for the HOFs of thiol compounds.

A first principles study of the lattice stability of diamond-structure semiconductors under intense laser irradiation

Using density-functional linear-response theory, we calculated the phonon dispersion curves for the diamond structural elemental semiconductors of Ge, C and zinc-blende structure semiconductors of GaAs, InSb at different electronic temperatures. We found that the transverse-acoustic phonon frequencies of C and Ge become imaginary as the electron temperature is elevated, which means the lattices of C and Ge become unstable under intense laser irradiation. These results are very similar with previous theoretical and experimental results for Si. For GaAs and InSb, not only can be obtained the similar results for their transverse-acoustic modes, but also their LO-TO splitting gradually decreases as the electronic temperature is increased. It means that the electronic excitation weakens the strength of the ionicity of ionic crystal under intense laser irradiation.

THEORETICAL CALCULATION OF BOND DISSOCIATION ENERGIES AND HEATS OF FORMATION FOR ALKYL NITRATE AND NITRITE COMPOUNDS WITH DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY AND COMPLETE BASIS SET METHOD

The N–O bond dissociation energies (BDEs) and the heats of formation (HOFs) of alkyl nitrate and nitrite compounds in gas phase at 298.15 K were theoretically calculated. Density functional theory (B3LYP and PBE1PBE) with 6-311+g** and 6-311g** basis sets was employed. It is found that PBE1PBE functional has an average increased BDE of 4.03 kcal/mol from B3LYP functional. What is more, we find the reverse trend in ab initio approach, which is slightly smaller than PBE1PBE. The B3LYP functional is found to be sufficiently reliable to compute the BDEs of alkyl nitrate compounds without the presence of diffusion functions. The BDEs of alkyl nitrite compounds appear to be a constant. The functionals (B3LYP and PBE1PBE) with 6-311g** and 6-311+g** basis sets and CBS-4M ab initio method can all yield good results with respect to the experimental HOFs with the deviation less than 2.0 kcal/mol. As the number of methylene group increases, the HOFs of alkyl nitrate and nitrite compounds increase. In addition, the conclusion of Ventural et al. (J Phys Chem A105:9912, 2001 and Phys Lett245:488, 1995) is confirmed again by our computational results.

Ab initio calculation of the thermodynamic properties of InSb under intense laser irradiation

In this paper, phonon spectra of InSb at different electronic temperatures are presented. Based on the phonon dispersion relationship, we further perform a theoretical investigation of the thermodynamic properties of InSb under intense laser irradiation. The phonon entropy, phonon heat capacity, and phonon contribution to Helmholtz free energy and internal energy of InSb are calculated as functions of temperature at different electronic temperatures. The abrupt change in the phonon entropy- temperature curve from Te = 0.75 to 1.0 eV provides an indication of InSb undergoing a phase transition from solid to liquid. It can be considered as a collateral evidence of non-thermal melting for InSb under intense electronic excitation effect.

H2 ADSORPTION ON LiB (001) SURFACE: A FIRST PRINCIPLES CALCULATION

The adsorption behavior of H2 on the LiB (001) surface was investigated with density functional theory (DFT) method. It was found that the site of H2 adsorbed on the Li-B bridge II was easier than the other four sites (Li top, B top, hollow vertical and Li-B bridge I). H2 adsorbed on the Li-B bridge II site was a strong chemical adsorption. The adsorption energy was 2.190 eV, and the H, B atoms exhibited covalent characteristics, the H–H atoms have a little interaction, and the H2 was 0.331 A below the surface of Li-B bridge II. The charge density, band structure, totals and partial density of states were calculated utilizing the first principle method. These calculations showed that the H interacted with the surface atoms, and partially saturated the dangling bonds with the surface atoms. The interaction between H and the surface atoms were mainly attributed to the H 1 s, B 2 s and B 2 p states. The calculated band gap was 0.075 eV and 0.199 eV before and after adsorption.

Phase transition and chemical decomposition of shocked CO–N2 mixture

Using quantum molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory including dispersion corrections (DFT-D), we have studied the thermophysical properties of liquid carbon monoxide and nitrogen (CO-N(2)) mixture under extreme conditions. Density functional theory (DFT) method significantly overestimates the pressure as compared to DFT-D. It is demonstrated that the van der Waals (vdW) interaction has a negative contribution to the pressure and tends to reduce the overestimation of the equilibrium volume. We also demonstrate that a negative slope of Hugoniot curve could possibly be caused by both the absorption of dissociation energy and the uncertainties in composition. As density and temperature increase along the Hoguniot curve, the system appears to undergo a continuous transition and provides for a much richer set of dissociation products. The influence of dissociated carbon and oxygen atoms on nitrogen molecules is also discussed.