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We present a study of the stability of n-vacancies (V (n)) and hydrogens in the hexagonal close-packed titanium system computed by means of first-principles calculations. In this work, performed by using the generalized gradient approximation of density functional theory, we focused on the formation energies and the processes of migration of these defects. In the first part, the calculated formation energy of the monovacancy presents a disagreement with experimental data, as already mentioned in the literature. The activation energy is underestimated by almost 20%. The stability of compact divacancies was then studied. We show that a divacancy is more stable than a monovacancy if their migration energies are of the same order of magnitude. We also predict that the migration process in the basal plane of the divacancy is controlled by an intermediate state corresponding to a body-centered triangle (BO site). The case of the trivacancies is finally considered from an energetic point of view. In the second part, the insertion of hydrogen and the processes of its migration are discussed. We obtain a satisfactory agreement with experimental measurements. The chemical nature of the interactions between hydrogen and titanium are discussed, and we show that the H-atom presents an anionic behavior in the metal. The trapping energy of hydrogen in a monovacancy as a function of the number of hydrogen atoms is finally presented.

The energetic properties of the divacancy defect in fcc nickel are studied by ab initio calculations based on density functional theory. The formation and binding enthalpies of the divacancy in the first (1nn), second (2nn) and third (3nn) nearest-neighbor configurations are presented. Results show that the 1nn divacancy configuration is the most stable with a formation enthalpy H(2v)(f) of 2.71 eV and a small binding energy H(2v)(b) of 0.03 eV. In the 2nn configuration, the monovacancy-monovacancy interaction is repulsive, and it vanishes in the 3nn configuration. The migration process of the divacancy in its stable configuration is studied. We find that the divacancy migrates in the (111) plane by successive rotational steps of 60°. The corresponding migration enthalpy H(2v)(m) is predicted to be 0.59 eV, about half of that found for the monovacancy. For a better comparison of our results with high temperature experimental data, we have analyzed the effects of thermal expansion. Our results show that the inclusion of thermal expansion allows us to reproduce satisfactorily the experimental predictions.

An extension of the anisotropic united atoms intermolecular potential model is proposed for nitriles. The electrostatic part of the intermolecular potential is calculated using atomic charges obtained by a simple Mulliken population analysis. The repulsion-dispersion interaction parameters for methyl and methylene groups are taken from transferable AUA4 literature parameters [Ungerer et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2000, 112, 5499]. Non-bonding Lennard-Jones intermolecular potential parameters are regressed for the carbon and nitrogen atoms of the nitrile group (-C[triple bound] N) from experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium data of acetonitrile. Gibbs Ensemble Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data agreement is very good for acetonitrile, and better than previous molecular potential proposed by Hloucha et al. [J. Chem. Phys., 2000, 113, 5401]. The transferability of the resulting potential is then successfully tested, without any further readjustment, to predict vapor-liquid phase equilibrium of propionitrile and n-butyronitrile.

Within the framework of density functional theory using the projector augmented-wave (PAW) method, we present some energetic properties of atomic oxygen interstitials in crystalline Ni, i.e. the insertion and activation energies of the O diffusion. Concerning the activation energy, two pathways for the migration process are studied. The charge transfer process between atomic oxygen and nickel atoms is analysed in the interstitial sites. We find that the interstitial octahedral site (O site) is lower in energy than the tetrahedral site (T site). The most favourable pathway for the migration between two octahedral sites corresponds to an intermediate metastable state located in a tetrahedral site. Concerning the charge transfers we find that the atomic oxygen ionizes as O(-) and that the electron migrates essentially from the Ni nearest neighbours of atomic oxygen. In addition, the thermal expansion contribution through the dilatation of the solid is studied. When the thermal expansion is introduced, we show that the insertion process is stabilized and that the tetrahedral insertion energy becomes nearly equal to the octahedral ones. However, the activation energy decreases with the dilatation. Taking into account the thermal expansion effects, our results are consistent with the more reliable experimental data.

We report a density-functional study of some properties of the dissociative interaction of hydrogen and oxygen molecules on small palladium clusters (n = 5, 7, and 10). The calculated physisorption and chemisorption energies are compared with those of the infinite (111) palladium surface. First, adsorption of atomic hydrogen and oxygen is investigated on the Pd5, Pd7, and Pd10 clusters. Second, the interaction between H2 (O2) and the small Pd5 cluster is examined and compared to the process occurring on an infinite (111) surface. Finally, the simultaneous adsorption of two hydrogen (oxygen) atoms is analyzed in detail. As shown in a previous work, the binding energy of the first hydrogen (oxygen) atom does not depend significantly on the cluster size, and small two-layer clusters (n ≤ 10) can be used to determine with accuracy the interaction of atomic adsorbates with an infinite (111) palladium surface. In this study, we show that the dissociative chemisorption of H2 and more especially of O2 on a small palladium cluster may lead to erroneous binding energy:  the cluster's size may prevent an accurate description of the adsorbate-adsorbate interaction as a function of their distance. It is demonstrated that a good choice of both the size and the shape of the cluster is preponderant for a good description of the dissociative adsorption of H2 and O2 on an infinite (111) surface.

The complex [PBu4]2[Pd2(mu-CO)2Cl4] has been prepared in high yields by carbonylation of [PBu4]2[Pd2Cl6]. Methanol, potassium acetate, or CO readily reacted under ambient conditions to quantitatively afford a series of dipalladium(I) complexes, namely [Pd2(mu-CO)2Cl3(OCH3)]2-, [Pd2(mu-CO)2Cl3(OC(O)CH3)]2-, [Pd2(mu-CO)2Cl3(CO)]-, and [Pd2(mu-CO)2Cl2(OCH3)(CO)]-, all of which have the Pd2(mu-CO)2 core preserved. All these complexes have been characterized by infrared and NMR spectroscopies; the high nu(CO) stretching wavenumbers observed and the diamagnetic character of these complexes prompted us to perform theoretical calculations to describe the electronic structure of the Pd2(mu-CO)2 core and to gain an intimate description of the Pd-CO bonds. The pairing of the two lonely electrons of the Pd d9 atoms is due to the delocalization along the CO bridging ligands.

Based on ab initio and density-functional theory calculations, an empirical potential is proposed to model the interaction between a fullerene molecule and many sodium atoms. This model predicts homogeneous coverage of C60 below eight Na atoms and a progressive droplet formation above this size. The effects of ionization, temperature, and external electric field indicate that the various, and apparently contradictory, experimental results can indeed be put into agreement.