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The 1,4,7,10-tetrazacyclodecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) aqueous complexes of AcIII with H2O, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), OH-, and F- as axial ligands were studied using density functional theory. Formation of the [AcIII(DOTA)(OH)]2- and [AcIII(DOTA)(F)]2- complexes is predicted to be significantly more favorable than that of [AcIII(DOTA)(H2O)]- and [AcIII(DOTA)(DMSO)]- because of the enhanced relative Gibbs free energies. Further electronic structure analyses demonstrate that the type and nature of the bond between Ac and the ligand donor atom is the main driving force that determines the thermodynamic stability of the complexes. Specifically, the [AcIII(DOTA)]- complex strongly binds to OH- and F- via covalent bonds, while the bonding to H2O and DMSO is ionic and relatively weaker.

225Ac-based radiopharmaceuticals have the potential to become invaluable in designated cancer therapy. However, the limited understanding of the solution chemistry and bonding properties of actinium has hindered the development of existing and emerging targeted radiotherapeutics, which also poses a significant challenge in the discovery of new agents. Herein, we report the geometric and electronic structural properties of hydrated AcIII cations in the [AcIII(H2O)n]3+ (n = 4–11) complexes in aqueous solution and gas-phase using density functional theory. We found that nine water molecules coordinated to the AcIII cation is the most stable complex due to an enhanced hydration Gibbs free energy. This complex adopts a closed-shell 18-electron configuration (1S21P61D10) of a superatom state, which indicates a non-negligible covalent character and involves H2O → AcIII σ donation interaction between s-/p-/d-type atomic orbitals of the Ac atom and 2p atomic orbitals of the O atoms. Furthermore, potentially existing 10-coordinated complexes need to overcome an energy barrier (>0.10 eV) caused by hydrogen bonding to convert to 9-coordination. These results imply the importance of superatom states in actinide chemistry generally, and specifically in AcIII solution chemistry, and highlight the conversion mechanism between different coordination numbers., The stable 9-coordinated complex adopts a closed-shell 18-electron configuration of a 1S21P61D10 jellium state, while potential 10-coordinated complexes need to overcome an energy barrier (>0.10 eV) caused by hydrogen bonding to convert to 9-coordination.

Evolutionary searches using the USPEX method (Universal Structure Predictor: Evolutionary Xtallography) combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to obtain the global minimum structures of beryllium (Ben, n = 3–25) clusters. The thermodynamic stability, optoelectronic and photocatalytic properties as well as the nature of bonding are considered for the most stable clusters. It is found that the cluster with n = 15 is the transition point at which the configurations change from 3D hollow cages to filled cage structures (with an interior atom appearing in the structure). All the ground state structures are energetically favorable with negative binding energies, suggesting good synthetic feasibility for these structures. The calculated relative stabilities and electronic structure show that the Be4, Be10 and, Be17 clusters are the most stable structures and can be considered as superatoms. The electron configurations of Be4, Be10 and Be17 clusters with 8, 20 and 34 electrons are identified as 1S2 1P6, 1S2 1P6 1D10 2S2, 1S2 1P6 1D10 2S2 1F14, respectively. Theoretical simulations determined that all the ground state structures exhibit excellent thermal stability, where the upper-limit temperature that the structures can tolerate is 900 K. During AIMD simulation of O2 adsorption onto the Be17 cluster an interesting phenomenon was happening in which the pristine Be17 cluster becomes a new stable Be17O16 cluster. Based on ELF (electron localization function) analysis, it can be concluded that the Be–Be bonds in the small clusters are primarily of van der Waals type, while for the larger clusters, the bonds are of metallic nature. The Ben clusters show very strong absorption in the UV and visible regions with absorption coefficients larger than 105 cm−1, which suggests a wide range of potential advanced optoelectronics applications. The Be17 cluster has a suitable band alignment in the visible-light excitation region which will produce enhanced photocatalytic activities (making it a promising material for water splitting).

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to investigate the tunable nature of band gaps of polythiophene (PTh)- and polypyrrole (PPy)-based conjugated polymers. Two series of c...

Adsorption of actinide (Ac = U, Np, Pu) complexes with environmentally relevant ligands on silicene and germanene surfaces has been investigated using density functional theory to determine the geometrical, energetic, and electronic properties. Three types of ligands for each central metal atom are considered: OH

In this work, we report the potential energy surface between superatoms (SPES) based on first-principles theory. The calculations show that superatoms have SPES crossing behavior between different electronic states similar to an atomic potential energy surface (PES). However, unlike atoms, the relative rotation between superatoms results in new dimensions for the SPES. The rotation is divided into two types, around the direction of the line between two superatoms and perpendicular to it. At the equilibrium distance, the former rotation results in maximum energy and charge changes of 0.03 eV and 10-2 e respectively. However, the latter rotation yields changes that are 17 times and 7 times those of the former. These findings help promote the understanding of intermolecular interactions, and will contribute to the bottom-up superatomic-based assembly of novel materials.

The anions pertechnetate, TcO4-, and perrhenate, ReO4-, exhibit very similar chemical and physical properties. Revealing and understanding disparities between them enhances fundamental understanding of both. Electrospray ionization generated the gas-phase proton bound dimer (TcO4-)(H+)(ReO4-). Collision induced dissociation of the dimer yielded predominantly HTcO4 and ReO4-, which according to Cooks' kinetic method indicates that the proton affinity (PA) of TcO4- is greater than that of ReO4-. Density functional theory computations agree with the experimental observation, providing PA[TcO4-] = 300.1 kcal mol-1 and PA[ReO4-] = 297.2 kcal mol-1. Attempts to rationalize these relative PAs based on elementary molecular parameters such as atomic charges indicate that the entirety of bond formation and concomitant bond disruption needs to be considered to understand the energies associated with such protonation processes. Although in both the gas and solution phases, TcO4- is a stronger base than ReO4-, it is noted that the significance of even such qualitative accordance is tempered by the very different natures of the underlying phenomena.

Relativistic density functional theory has been employed to characterize [AnO2(L)]0/-1 complexes, where An = U, Np, Pu, and Am, and L is the recently reported hexa-aza porphyrin analogue, termed dipyriamethyrin, which contains six nitrogen donor atoms (four pyrrolic and two pyridine rings). Shorter axial (An═O) and longer equatorial (An-N) bond lengths are observed when going from AnVI to AnV. The actinide to pyrrole nitrogen bonds are shorter as compared to the bonds to the pyridine nitrogens; the former also play a dominant role in the formation of the actinyl (VI and V) complexes. Natural population analysis shows that the pyrrole nitrogen atoms in all the complexes carry higher negative charges than the pyridine nitrogens. Upon binding actinyl ions with the ligand a significant ligand-to-metal charge transfer takes place in all the actinyl (VI and V) complexes. The formation energy of the actinyl(VI,V) complexes in the gas-phase is found to decrease in the order of UO2L > PuO2L > NpO2L > AmO2L. This trend is consistent with results for the formation of complexes in dichloromethane solution. The calculated ΔG and ΔH values are negative for all the complexes. Energy decomposition analysis (EDA) indicates that the interactions between actinyl(V/VI) and ligand are mainly controlled by electrostatic components over covalent orbital interactions, and the covalent character gradually decreases from U to Am for both pentavalent and hexavalent actinyl complexes.

Commonly accepted uranium oxidation states in molecular complexes are III+ to VI+. Recently, this has been extended experimentally by the synthesis of seminal U(II) complexes, Y·[U(Cp′)3] and Y·[URE] (Y = K+(2.2.2-cryptand), Cp′ = C5H4SiMe3, H3RE = (Ad,MeArOH)3mesitylene and Ad = adamantyl). Relativistic density functional theory has been applied to explore whether the uranium oxidation state (+I) is possibly accessible. Calculations show that the U(I) complex of a heterocalix[4]arene (H2L) is energetically stable. It features a 5f5-dominated electronic configuration, four δ(U–Ar)-bond orbitals and a moderate UII/UI reduction potential. Its stability and structural/bonding/energetic properties were corroborated by comparisons with theoretically designed complexes [UI(Cp′)3]2− and [UIRE]2−.

The field of organic electronics has been heavily impacted by the discovery and development of π-conjugated conducting polymers. These polymers show great potential for integration into future optical and electronic devices due to their capacity to transition between semiconducting and conducting states as well as the ability to alter mechanical properties by controlled doping, chemical modification, and stacking or creating composites with other materials. Among π-conjugated polymers, polythiophene and its derivatives has been one of the most extensively studied and is widely investigated computationally and experimentally for use in electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, water purification devices, hydrogen storage, and biosensors. Various theoretical modeling studies of polythiophene ranging from an oligothiophene approach to infinite chain lengths (periodic boundary conditions) have been undertaken to study a variety of electronic and structural properties of these polymers. In this review,...

3,4–Dimethyl diphenyldithiophosphate of cobalt(II) with N-donor ligands [{(ArO)2PS2}2CoL2] [Ar = 3,4–(CH3)2C6H3 (1–3); L = C5H5N (1), 3,4–(CH3)2C5H3N (2) and 4–(C2H5)C5H4N (3)] have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, infrared spectroscopy (IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and single crystal X–ray analysis. Complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n whereas complexes 2 and 3 crystallize in the triclinic space group P¯1. The crystal structures of complexes 1–3 reveal mononuclear units with the Co(II) center chelated in bidentate fashion by four S atoms of the two diphenyldithiophosphate ligands. The N atoms from two donor ligands are axially coordinated, leading to distorted octahedral geometry around Co(II). The complexes have been optimized using density functional theory (DFT), structural parameters have been calculated, and the energy gaps of the frontier orbitals (HOMO–LUMO) have been predicted. Mayer bond orders have also been calculated. Structural parameters from the crystallographic and DFT studies are in good agreement with each other. To explore the biological potential, complexes were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against three bacterial strains. The bacterial growth inhibition capacity of the ligand and complexes followed the order of 3 > 2 > 1 > L1.

To understand interfacial behavior of actinides adsorbed onto mineral surfaces and unravel their structure–property relationship, the structures, electronic properties, and energetics of various ligated uranyl species adsorbed onto TiO2 surface nanoparticle clusters (SNCs) were examined using relativistic density functional theory. Rutile (110) and anatase (101) titania surfaces, experimentally known to be stable, were fully optimized. For the former, models studied include clean and water-free Ti27O64H20 (dry), partially hydrated (Ti27O64H20)(H2O)8 (sol) and proton-saturated [(Ti27O64H20)(H2O)8(H)2]2+ (sat), while defect-free and defected anatase SNCs involving more than 38 TiO2 units were considered. The aquouranyl sorption onto rutile SNCs is energetically preferred, with interaction energies of −8.54, −10.36, and −2.39 eV, respectively. Energy decomposition demonstrates that the sorption is dominated by orbital attractive interactions and modified by steric effects. Greater hydrogen-bonding involvemen...

Solvation effects influence reaction equilibria by preferentially stabilizing reactants or products (differential solvation). We propose using simple electrostatic concepts to qualitatively interpret and understand these effects, applying the Born and Kirkwood-Onsager equations. Scenarios include, for charged species, redox potentials, different total absolute charges between reactants and products, and size differences between reactants and products. In addition, for neutral species, they are differences in total dipole moment and size differences. These scenarios are illustrated with several examples from different areas of chemistry.

In this article, an implementation of the newest iteration of the Minnesota solvation model, SM12, into the Amsterdam density functional (ADF) computational package is presented. ADF makes exclusive use of Slater-type orbitals (STO), which correctly represent the true atomic orbitals for atoms, whereas SM12 and the underlying charge model 5 (CM5) have previously only been tested on Gaussian-type orbitals (GTO). This new implementation is used to prove the basis set independence of both CM5 and SM12. A detailed comparison of the SM12 and COSMO solvation models, as implemented in ADF, is also presented. We show that this new implementation of SM12 has a mean unsigned error (MUE) of 0.68 kcal/mol for 272 molecules in water solvent, 4.10 kcal/mol MUE for 112 charged ions in water, and 0.92 kcal/mol MUE for 197 solvent calculations of various molecules. SM12 outperforms COSMO for all neutral molecules and performs as well as COSMO for cationic molecules, only falling short when anionic molecules are taken into consideration, likely due to CM5's use of Hirshfeld charges and their poor description of anionic molecules, though CM5 seems to improve upon this discrepancy.

Ab initio calculations based on plane wave methods show that the band gap of PdS2 is strongly dependent upon the thickness of layers including van der Waals (vdW) interactions. The valence band maximum (VBM) is sensitive to the out-of-plane, and the conduction band minimum (CBM) to the in-plane lattice constants. The out of plane bonding is enhanced by the vdW force, which in turn affects the in-plane bonding. On application of biaxial compressive and tensile strain, the band gap decreases from 1.03 eV to 0.27 eV & 0.14 eV and 0.04 eV & 0.32 eV in case of bilayers with different stackings (AA & AB) respectively. The band gap is found to decrease from 1.03 eV to 0.0 eV (0.03 eV) and 0.0 eV (0.05 eV) on applying an electric field in the z direction on AA (AB) bilayers of PdS2. The effects of strain on the thermoelectric properties of PdS2 monolayer and bilayer were also studied. The electrical conductivity increases with the increase in tensile strain while it decreases with compressive strain in bilayers. As expected for thermoelectric application, the trend in the variation of the Seebeck coefficient is of opposite nature. The present work demonstrates the flexibility available for modulating the electronic and thermoelectric properties of this material for a variety of different applications.

Mercury (Hg) is a global environmental contaminant. Major anthropogenic sources of Hg emission include gold mining and the burning of fossil fuels. Once deposited in aquatic environments, Hg can undergo redox reactions, form complexes with ligands, and adsorb onto particles. It can also be methylated by microorganisms. Mercury, especially its methylated form methylmercury, can be taken up by organisms, where it bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in the food chain, leading to detrimental effects on ecosystem and human health. In support of the recently enforced Minamata Convention on Mercury, a legally binding international convention aimed at reducing the anthropogenic emission of-and human exposure to-Hg, its global biogeochemical cycle must be understood. Thus, a detailed understanding of the molecular-level interactions of Hg is crucial. The ongoing rapid development of hardware and methods has brought computational chemistry to a point that it can usefully inform environmental science. This is particularly true for Hg, which is difficult to handle experimentally due to its ultratrace concentrations in the environment and its toxicity. The current account provides a synopsis of the application of computational chemistry to filling several major knowledge gaps in environmental Hg chemistry that have not been adequately addressed experimentally. Environmental Hg chemistry requires defining the factors that determine the relative affinities of different ligands for Hg species, as they are critical for understanding its speciation, transformation and bioaccumulation in the environment. Formation constants and the nature of bonding have been determined computationally for environmentally relevant Hg(II) complexes such as chlorides, hydroxides, sulfides and selenides, in various physical phases. Quantum chemistry has been used to determine the driving forces behind the speciation of Hg with hydrochalcogenide and halide ligands. Of particular importance is the detailed characterization of solvation effects. Indeed, the aqueous phase reverses trends in affinities found computationally in the gas phase. Computation has also been used to investigate complexes of methylmercury with (seleno)amino acids, providing a molecular-level understanding of the toxicological antagonism between Hg and selenium (Se). Furthermore, evidence is emerging that ice surfaces play an important role in Hg transport and transformation in polar and alpine regions. Therefore, the diffusion of Hg and its ions through an idealized ice surface has been characterized. Microorganisms are major players in environmental mercury cycling. Some methylate inorganic Hg species, whereas others demethylate methylmercury. Quantum chemistry has been used to investigate catalytic mechanisms of enzymatic Hg methylation and demethylation. The complex interplay between the myriad chemical reactions and transport properties both in and outside microbial cells determines net biogeochemical cycling. Prospects for scaling up molecular work to obtain a mechanistic understanding of Hg cycling with comprehensive multiscale biogeochemical modeling are also discussed.

A comprehensive molecular analysis of a simple aqueous complexing system. U(VI) acetate. selected to be independently investigated by various spectroscopic (vibrational, luminescence, X-ray absorption, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and quantum chemical methods was achieved by an international round-robin test (RRT). Twenty laboratories from six different countries with a focus on actinide or geochemical research participated and contributed to this scientific endeavor. The outcomes of this RRT were considered on two levels of complexity: first, within each technical discipline, conformities as well as discrepancies of the results and their sources were evaluated. The raw data from the different experimental approaches were found to be generally consistent. In particular, for complex setups such as accelerator-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the agreement between the raw data was high. By contrast, luminescence spectroscopic data turned out to be strongly related to the chosen acquisition parameters. Second, the potentials and limitations of coupling various spectroscopic and theoretical approaches for the comprehensive study of actinide molecular complexes were assessed. Previous spectroscopic data from the literature were revised and the benchmark data on the U(VI) acetate system provided an unambiguous molecular interpretation based on the correlation of spectroscopic and theoretical results. The multimethodologic approach and the conclusions drawn address not only important aspects of actinide spectroscopy but particularly general aspects of modern molecular analytical chemistry.

During the last half a century, great achievements have been made in molecular recognition in parallel with the invention of numerous synthetic receptors. However, the selective recognition of hydrophilic molecules in water remains a generally accepted challenge in supramolecular chemistry but is commonplace in nature. In an earlier Communication [ Huang et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016 , 138 , 14550 ], we reported a pair of endo-functionalized molecular tubes that surprisingly prefer highly hydrophilic molecules over hydrophobic molecules of a similar size and shape. The hydrophobic effect and hydrogen bonding were proposed to be responsible, but their exact roles were not fully elucidated. In this Article, we present a thorough study on the binding behavior of these molecular tubes toward 44 hydrophilic molecules in water. Principal component analysis reveals that the binding strength is weakly correlated to the hydrophobicity, volume, surface area, and dipole moment of guests. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations show the hydrophobic effect through releasing the poorly hydrogen-bonded cavity water contributes to the binding of all the hydrophilic molecules, while hydrogen bonding differentiates these molecules and is thus the key to achieve a high selectivity toward certain hydrophilic molecules over other molecules with a similar size and shape. Therefore, a good guest for these molecular tubes should meet the following criteria: the hydrogen-bonding sites should be complementary, and the molecular volume should be large enough to expel all the cavity water but not too large to cause steric hindrance. This rule of thumb may also be used to design a selective receptor for certain hydrophilic molecules. Following these guidelines, a "best-fit" guest was found for the syn-configured molecular tube with a binding constant as high as 10

Singlet fission (SF) is a particularly interesting process that can ultimately excite two electrons using a single photon and has strong potential for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic devices (solar cells). One limitation of SF research is the relatively small number of known materials that undergo efficient SF. With this limitation in mind, we have used simple computational criteria (TD-DFT excitation energies) to screen various chromophores. Starting from known SF molecules (pentacene, tetracene, pyrene, isobenzofuran, among others), the influence of peripheral substituents was investigated. Depending on the starting molecule and the type of substitution (e.g., symmetric vs. asymmetric, electron donating vs. withdrawing), the influence of chemical modifications is often modest but sometimes large enough to significantly influence the energetics of SF. Specifically, we look at systematic trends of excitation energies among pentacene derivatives and calculated the energy change for SF to estimate the degree of spontaneity, compared to pentacene. The most significant changes are generally caused by substituent groups containing either nitrogen or oxygen, when they are placed opposite each other in the middle of the pentacene molecule. Of all other molecules tested in addition to pentacene and tetracene, only isobenzofuran derivatives were predicted to satisfy all required energetic conditions for efficient SF.

A Schiff-base polypyrrolic ligand (H4L) can accommodate two U3+ ions and form a Pacman-like complex [U2(L)]2+ according to relativistic density functional theory. Sixteen species, featuring four structural models in four electronic states, are energetically stable. Ligand flexibility, lack of axial restriction, and suitable U–N interactions allow the two U3+ ions to stretch freely over a wide range, in contrast to U2@Cn (n = 60, 74, 80) studied previously. Diverse U3+–U3+ interactions are found. The quintet state of the Out–In model, which is calculated to be the global ground state both including and excluding the spin–orbit coupling energy, likely shows a weak single U2 bond. In both vertical and tilt In–In species, a triple bond is found. It is composed of two two-electron–two-center bonds and two one-electron–two-center bonds; moreover, the tilt conformer is almost isoenergetic with Out–In. The Out–Out species shows no U···U bonding. Comparison with explicitly THF-solvated diuranium complexes is also ...

To understand the sensing behaviors of molecular fluorescent probes, lumazine (Lm) and 6-thienyllumazine (TLm) and their complexation with metal(II) ions ([(L)nM(H2O)m](2+), M = Cd(2+) and Hg(2+)) were examined by scalar relativistic density functional theory (DFT). A red shifting from L to [(L)nM(H2O)m](2+) was found. This is due to the metal affinity that stabilizes the LUMOs of [(L)nM(H2O)m](2+) greater than the HOMOs. Singlet excited-state structures of L and [(L)nM(H2O)m](2+) (M = Cd(2+) and Hg(2+)) were fully optimized using time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Their fluorescent emissions in aqueous solution were calculated to be 371 nm (Lm), 439 nm (cis-TLm), and 441 nm (trans-TLm), agreeing with experimental values of 380 nm for Lm and 452 nm for TLm. Theoretical support is presented for a sensing mechanism of photoinduced charge transfer of the L probe. The mechanism of the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) and the chelating quenched fluorescence (CHQF) is explained. Fluorescence amplification (for Cd(2+)) is due to blocking of the nitrogen lone pair orbital due to the stabilizing interaction with the vacant s-orbital of the metal ion, while fluorescence quenching (Hg(2+)) results from the energy of the LUMO of the metal ion being between HOMO and LUMO of the sensor. Effects of structure rearrangements on the fluorescence spectra of the sensors are insignificant. This proposed mechanism of metal orbital controlled fluorescence enhancement/quenching suggests a development concept in the future design of fluorescent turn-on/off sensors.

Tuning the building blocks of pyrrole and arene/pyridine in hybrid heterocalix[4]arene allows for the possible accessibility of several intriguing divalent uranium complexes, which are energetically stabilized by enhanced δ(U–Ar) bonds and further corroborated by computed UIII/II reduction potentials.

Quantum chemistry has been used to investigate the oxidation of water by a family of seven catalysts based on [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(OH2)]2+ (tpy = 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine). The electron-donating −OMe and −NH2 groups (EDG) and electron-withdrawing −COOH and −NO2 groups (EWG) are installed in the catalyst by replacing hydrogen atoms on the bpy and tpy ligands. The EDG induces an increase in the electron density at the Ru center, whereas the EWG does the opposite. Reduced electron density at the metal center facilitates Ru(N+1)/Ru(N) reduction and thus a higher reduction potential. Catalytic evolution of one oxygen molecule from two water molecules using all catalysts is an exothermic process if driven by CeIV. The exothermicity increases from EDG to EWG via parents. Regarding intermediates, the singlet states of 7-coordinated catalysts are slightly more stable than the triplet states of 6-coordinated catalysts for most catalysts. Only for a strong EWG (−NO2) containing catalyst, the triplet 6...

In this paper, the structural and electronic properties of polythiophene and polyprrrole-based systems have been investigated using first-principles calculations both in periodic and oligomer forms. Of particular interest is the band gap modulation through substitutions and bilayer formation. Specifically, S has been substituted by Se and Te in polythiophene, leading to polyseleophene and polytellurophene, respectively, and N has been substituted by P and As in polypyrrole. The values obtained of the binding energy suggest that all the systems studied can be realized experimentally. Stacking (bilayer formation) of pure polythiophene, polypyrrole and their derivatives leads to linear suppression of the band gap or HOMO-LUMO gap as a function of the stacking. Mixed bilayers, including one formed from polythiophene on top of polypyrrole, have also been considered. Overall, a wide range of band gaps can be achieved through substitutions and stacking. Hybrid (B3LYP) calculations also suggest the same trend in the band gap as PBE calculations. Trends in the binding energy are similar for both periodic and molecular calculations. In addition, the $\Gamma$-point phonon calculation are performed in order to check the stability of selected systems., Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, and 4 Tables

Eighteen actinyl complexes of a Schiff-base polypyrrolic macrocycle (H4L), [(Sol)(AnmO2)(H2L)]n− (Sol = Vacant, pyridine (py) and tetrahydrofuran (THF); An=U, Np and Pu; m = VI and n = 0, m = V and n = 1) were investigated using relativistic density functional theory. Comparison of complexes with and without the explicit solvent coordination to the metal center, and changes in actinide element and metal oxidation state provide insight into their effects on structural and energetic properties of the complexes. Compared with those of the solvent-free complexes, the An=O bond lengths of the solvated complexes differ within 0.01 A, and the deviation of the O=An=O angles is less than 1°. The H···Oendo bonds are relatively sensitive to the explicit solvent coordination, showing the largest discrepancy of 0.05 A. Charges and electron-spin densities of actinides are only slightly affected by the inclusion of the explicit solvent. Reduction potentials of actinyl complexes have been addressed, and their dependence on the bulk solvent polarity is being discussed, using a simple model based on the Born equation.

A dramatic difference in the ability of the reducing An(III) center in AnCp3 (An=U, Np, Pu; Cp=C5 H5 ) to oxo-bind and reduce the uranyl(VI) dication in the complex [(UO2 )(THF)(H2 L)] (L="Pacman" Schiff-base polypyrrolic macrocycle), is found and explained. These are the first selective functionalizations of the uranyl oxo by another actinide cation. At-first contradictory electronic structural data are explained by combining theory and experiment. Complete one-electron transfer from Cp3 U forms the U(IV) -uranyl(V) compound that behaves as a U(V) -localized single molecule magnet below 4 K. The extent of reduction by the Cp3 Np group upon oxo-coordination is much less, with a Np(III) -uranyl(VI) dative bond assigned. Solution NMR and NIR spectroscopy suggest Np(IV) U(V) but single-crystal X-ray diffraction and SQUID magnetometry suggest a Np(III) -U(VI) assignment. DFT-calculated Hirshfeld charge and spin density analyses suggest half an electron has transferred, and these explain the strongly shifted NMR spectra by spin density contributions at the hydrogen nuclei. The Pu(III) -U(VI) interaction is too weak to be observed in THF solvent, in agreement with calculated predictions.

The flexible small-cavity macrocycle, trans-calix[2]benzene[2]pyrrolide (H2L), has been found experimentally to complexate low-valent UIII and UIV with binding pockets (BP) of bis(arene) (Ar) and bis(pyrrolide) (Pl), respectively. This switchable coordination of the uranium center has been explored using relativistic density functional theory (DFT) in this work. Systematic calculations of [(BP-L)Anm(η-H)nBH4-n)]z+ (BP = Ar and Pl; An = U, Np and Pu; m = III and IV; n = 2 and 3; and z = 0 and 1), labeled as BP-Anm-nH, were carried out. Energetics and geometrical/electronic-structure analyses reveal that the size matching between actinide ions and the binding pocket plays a significant role in determining the energetic ordering of isomers. The relatively large-size UIII and NpIII ions are selectively preferred by the large bis(arene) pocket, yielding the most stable isomer of Ar-An-2H; simultaneously formed δ(An-Ar2) bonding helps stabilizing the system. In contrast, the small-size PuIII and AnIV are held by the smaller bis(pyrrolide) to show the energetically favored Pl-An-3H isomer. This size argument is further supported by calculations on the related Th and Pa compounds. The formation reactions of BP-Anm-nH demonstrate an endothermic process when using the H2L ligand reactant. Applying a more basic alkali ligand (A2L; A = Li, Na and K) as the reactant significantly reduces the reaction energy and presents thermodynamic possibility to prepare the low-valent actinide complexes. This is in agreement with the experimental synthesis where K2L was utilized. The redox potentials (E0) from tri- to tetravalent actinides were calculated while including both solvation and spin-orbit coupling effects. The highly reductive nature of the UIII complex was manifested by the calculated E0 of over 1.1 V.

The computationally- and experimentally-determined molecular structures of a bis-uranyl(VI) complex of an expanded Schiff-base polypyrrolic macrocycle [(UO2)2(L)] are in close agreement only if the pyridine in the fifth equatorial donor site on the uranium is included in the calculations. The relativistic density functional theory (DFT) calculations presented here are augmented from those on previously reported simpler frameworks, and demonstrate that other augmentations, such as the incorporation of condensed-phase media and the changes in the peripheral groups of the ligand, have only a slight effect. Synthetic routes to pure samples of the bis- and mono-uranyl(VI) complexes have been developed using pyridine and arene solvents, respectively, allowing the experimental determination of the molecular structures by X-ray single crystal diffraction; these agree well with the calculated structures. A comprehensive set of calculations have been performed on a series of actinyl AnO2n+ complexes of this macrocyclic ligand. These include both bis- and mono-actinyl adducts for the metals U, Np and Pu, and formal oxidation states VI and V. The reduction potentials of the complexes for U, Np, and Pu, incorporating both solvation and spin-orbit coupling considerations, show the order Np > Pu > U. The agreement between experimental and computed data for U is excellent, suggesting that at this level of computation predictions made about the significantly more radiotoxic Np and Pu molecules should be accurate. A particularly unusual structure of the mononuclear plutonyl(V) complex was predicted by quantum chemical calculations, in which a twist in the macrocycle allows one of the two endo-oxo groups to form a hydrogen bond to one pyrrole group of the opposite side of the macrocycle, in accordance with this member of the set containing the most Lewis basic oxo groups.

Based on first-principles calculations, the materials properties (structural, electronic, vibrational, and optical properties) of out-of-plane heterostructures formed from the transiti on metal dichalcogenides, specifically MoS$_2$-WSe$_2$ and WS$_2$-MoSe$_2$ were investigated. The heterostructures of MoS$_2$-WSe$_2$ and WS$_2$-MoSe$_2$ are found to be direct and ind irect band gap semiconductors, respectively. However, a direct band gap in the WS$_2$-MoSe$_2$ heterostructure can be achieved by applying compressive strain. Furthermore, the excitoni c peaks in both monolayer and bilayer heterostructures are calculated to understand the optical behavior of these systems. The suppression of the optical spectrum with respect to the c orresponding monolayers is due to interlayer charge transfer. The stability of the systems under study is confirmed by performing phonon spectrum calculations.

First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the electronic structure of two-dimensional (2-D) Ge, Sn, and Pb without and with the presence of an external electric field in combination with spin-orbit coupling. Tight-binding calculations based on four orbitals per atom and an effective single orbital are presented to match with the results obtained from first-principles calculations. In particular, the electronic band structure and the band splitting are investigated with both models. Moreover, the simple $k\cdot p$ model is also considered in order to understand the band splitting in the presence of an external electric field and spin-orbit coupling. A large splitting is obtained, which is expected to be useful for spintronic devices. The fair agreement between the first-principle, $k\cdot p$ model, and tight-binding approaches leads to a table of parameters for future tight-binding studies on hexagonal 2-D nanostructures. By using the tight binding parameters, the transport properties of typical 0-D triangular quantum dots between two semi-infinite electrodes in the presence of spin-orbit coupling are addressed., 23 pages, 6 figures, and 3 tables

Exploration of the unusual properties of the two-dimensional materials silicene and germanene is a very active research field in recent years. This article therefore reviews the latest developments, focusing both on the fundamental materials properties and on possible applications., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, and 2 tables

Based on density functional theory calculations, the structural and electronic properties of polythiophene in periodic and oligomer forms have been investigated. In particular, the effects of Li or Cl adsorption onto a monolayer and Li or Cl-intercalation into bulk or bilayer polythiophene are addressed using periodic calculations. The binding energy of Li or Cl adsorbed bulk or bilayer polythiophene is significantly larger than for the monolayer. The trends in the binding energy as a function of adsorbent remain the same for both the periodic and molecular cases. The band gap or HOMO-LUMO gap and charge transfer are analysed. In addition, for the bulk or bilayer, different kinds of stacking have been considered. It is found that the parallel bulk or bilayer structure is energetically favorable compared to flipping the second layer by 180$^\circ$. This has been considered for both the periodic and oligomer forms. Moreover, for Li adsorption, polarons are found to be more stable than bipolarons, while the situation is opposite for Cl adsorption. The detailed analysis of the present study will be useful for understanding the structural properties and the tuneability of the electronic states, which is an important step to construct polythiophene based electronic devices., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, and 3 tables

The structures and harmonic vibrational frequencies of water clusters (H2O)n, n = 1-10, have been computed using the M06-L/, B3LYP/, and CAM-BLYP/cc-pVTZ levels of theories. On the basis of the literature and our results, we use three hexamer structures of the water molecules to calculate an estimated "experimental" average solvation free energy of [Hg(H2O)6](2+). Aqueous formation constants (log K) for Hg(2+) complexes, [Hg(L)m(H2O)n](2-mq), L = Cl(-), HO(-), HS(-), and S(2-), are calculated using a combination of experimental (solvation free energies of ligands and Hg(2+)) and calculated gas- and liquid-phase free energies. A combined approach has been used that involves attaching n explicit water molecules to the Hg(2+) complexes such that the first coordination sphere is complete, then surrounding the resulting (Hg(2+)-Lm)-(OH2)n cluster by a dielectric continuum, and using suitable thermodynamic cycles. This procedure significantly improves the agreement between the calculated log K values and experiment. Thus, for some neutral and anionic Hg(II) complexes, particularly Hg(II) metal ion surrounded with homo- or heteroatoms, augmenting implicit solvent calculations with sufficient explicit water molecules to complete the first coordination sphere is required-and adequate-to account for strong short-range hydrogen bonding interactions between the anion and the solvent. Calculated values for formation constants of Hg(2+) complexes with S(2-) and SH(-) are proposed. Experimental measurements of these log K values have been lacking or controversial.

The heterobimetallic complexes [{UO2Ln-(py)2(L)}2], combining a singly reduced uranyl cation and a rare-earth trication in a binucleating polypyrrole Schiff-base macrocycle (Pacman) and bridged through a uranyl oxo-group, have been prepared for Ln = Sc, Y, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb, and Lu. These compounds are formed by the single-electron reduction of the Pacman uranyl complex [UO2(py)(H2L)] by the rare-earth complexes LnIII(A)3 (A = N(SiMe3)2, OC6H3But2-2,6) via homolysis of a Ln-A bond. The complexes are dimeric through mutual uranyl exo-oxo coordination but can be cleaved to form the trimetallic, monouranyl "ate" complexes [(py)3LiOUO(μ-X)Ln(py)(L)] by the addition of lithium halides. X-ray crystallographic structural characterization of many examples reveals very similar features for monomeric and dimeric series, the dimers containing an asymmetric U2O2 diamond core with shorter uranyl U=O distances than in the monomeric complexes. The synthesis by LnIII-A homolysis allows [5f1-4fn]2 and Li[5f1-4fn] complexes with oxo-bridged metal cations to be made for all possible 4fn configurations. Variable-temperature SQUID magnetometry and IR, NIR, and EPR spectroscopies on the complexes are utilized to provide a basis for the better understanding of the electronic structure of f-block complexes and their f-electron exchange interactions. Furthermore, the structures, calculated by restricted-core or all-electron methods, are compared along with the proposed mechanism of formation of the complexes. A strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the metal centers, mediated by the oxo groups, exists in the UVSmIII monomer, whereas the dimeric UVDyIII complex was found to show magnetic bistability at 3 K, a property required for the development of single-molecule magnets.

First-principles and semi-empirical tight binding calculations were performed to understand the adsorption of oxygen on the surface of two dimensional (2D) and zigzag stanene nano-ribbons. The intrinsic spin-orbit interaction is considered in the Kane-Mele tight binding model. The adsorption of an oxygen atom or molecule on the 2D stanene opens an electronic energy band gap. We investigate the helical edge states and topological phase in the pure zigzag stanene nano-ribbons. The adsorption of oxygen atoms on the zigzag stanene nano-ribbons deforms the helical edge states at the Fermi level which causes topological (non-trivial) to trivial phase transition. The structural stability of the systems is checked by performing $\Gamma$-point phonon calculations. The adsorption of an oxygen atom or molecule on the 2D staneneSpecific arrangements of adsorbed oxygen atoms on the surface of zigzag stanene nano-ribbons conserve the topological phase which has potential applications in future nano-electronic devices., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, and 1 Table

The inclusion of NH4+ as counterions in Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) simulations of anionic uranyl(VI) complexes is proposed as a viable approach to modeling "real" aqueous solutions. For [UO2F4(H2O)](2-) in water, it is shown that the inclusion of two NH4+ ions strengthens the bond between uranyl and the water ligand by ca. 2 kcal/mol, improving the accordance with experiment. According to CPMD simulations for [UO2X5]-[NH4](3) (X = F, OH) in water, the fifth fluoride is bound much stronger than the fifth OH-. Implications for a recently proposed model for oxygen exchange in uranyl hydroxide are discussed. Postprint