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Abstract Autocatalysis and its relevance to various polymeric systems are discussed by taking inspiration from biology. A number of research directions related to synthesis, characterization, and multi-scale modeling are discussed in order to harness autocatalytic reactions in a useful manner for different applications ranging from chemical upcycling of polymers (depolymerization and reconstruction after depolymerization), self-generating micelles and vesicles, and polymer membranes. Overall, a concerted effort involving in situ experiments, multi-scale modeling, and machine learning algorithms is proposed to understand the mechanisms of physical and chemical autocatalysis. It is argued that a control of the autocatalytic behavior in polymeric systems can revolutionize areas such as kinetic control of the self-assembly of polymeric materials, synthesis of self-healing and self-immolative polymers, as next generation of materials for a sustainable circular economy. Graphic Abstract

Deuterium, a stable hydrogen isotope, has been playing important roles in many scientific areas, including polymer science. The developments of deuteration science and polymer science have been int...

Selective deuteration is an important tool for many analytical techniques including neutron scattering and spectroscopies. However, the availability of deuterated materials is limited because of the challenges in their synthesis. Here, we report the synthesis of partially and fully deuterated e-caprolactone monomers and their corresponding polymers, poly(e-caprolactone)s (PCLs), and the investigation of isotope effects on their crystalline structures and physical properties. Deuteration of PCLs leads to smaller crystal lattices and volumes compared to protiated PCLs by the amount proportional to the deuteration levels. The linear trend suggests that the volume isotope effect in PCL is primarily governed by the vibrations of C–D and C–H bonds. The large intrachain contraction of deuterated PCLs compared to that of polyethylene reported in the literature can be ascribed to the presence of polar ester groups in PCLs. Deuterated PCLs also display lower melting temperatures than protiated PCLs proportional to ...

Graphene, with unique mechanical and electrical properties, offers diverse application opportunities from beyond Moore’s nano-electronics to water filtration. However, accomplishing these relies on cleaning and processing large areas of supported and suspended graphene sheets. Here, we demonstrate the use of an Ar cluster ion beam as a versatile tool for graphene cleaning, defect engineering, and nanopore fabrication. In-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques were utilized in combination with first principles molecular dynamics, to highlight the differences in processing of the supported and suspended graphene samples. In this work, we monitor interaction of the Ar cluster ion beam with graphene as a function of ion dose with in-situ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), as well as ex-situ Raman spectroscopy measurements. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) results confirm that the Ar cluster ion beam can form nanopores in the suspended graphene; while the basal plane of graphene remains intact maintaining the lattice structure. Finally, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image analysis of the irradiated samples allows quantitative tracking of pore areas and their distribution as a function of ion dose. This study highlights the flexibility of the Ar cluster ion beam in 2D material processing, and offers insights into Ar beam interaction with graphene.

The prevalent catalysts for natural and artificial N2 fixation are known to hinge upon transition-metal (TM) elements. Herein, we demonstrate by density functional theory that Al-doped graphene is a potential non-TM catalyst to convert N2 to NH3 in the presence of relatively mild proton/electron sources. In the integrated structure of the catalyst, the Al atom serves as a binding site and catalytic center while the graphene framework serves as an electron buffer during the successive proton/electron additions to N2 and its various downstream NxHy intermediates. The initial hydrogenation of N2 can readily take place via an internal H-transfer process with the assistance of a Li+ ion as an additive. In view of the recurrence of H transfer in the first step of N2 reduction observed in biological nitrogenases and other synthetic catalysts, this finding highlights the significance of heteroatom-assisted H transfer in the design of synthetic catalysts for N2 fixation.

According to recent experiments, atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride and graphene are permeable to protons and deuterons (and not to other atomic species), and the experimental estimates of the activation energy are lower than the theoretical values by about 0.5 eV for the isolated proton–membrane transfer model. Our analysis of the electronic potential energy surfaces along the normal to the transmission direction, obtained using correlated electronic structure methods, suggests that the aqueous environment is essential to stabilize the proton transmission, as opposed to the hydrogen atom. Therefore, the process is examined within a molecular model of H2O–H(D)+–material–H2O. Exact quantum-mechanical scattering calculations are performed to assess the relevance of the nuclear quantum effects, such as tunneling factors and the kinetic isotope effect (KIE). Deuteration is found to affect the thermal reaction rate constants (KIE of 3–4 for hexagonal boron nitride and 20–30 for the graphene) and to effect...

The effects of deuterium isotope substitution on conjugated polymer chain stacking of poly(3-hexylthiophene) is studied experimentally by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in combination with gel permeation chromatography and theoretically using density functional theory and quantum molecular dynamics. For four P3HT materials with different levels of deuteration (pristine, main-chain deuterated, side-chain deuterated, and fully deuterated), the XRD measurements show that main-chain thiophene deuteration significantly reduces crystallinity, regardless of the side-chain deuteration. The reduction of crystallinity due to the main-chain deuteration is a quantum nuclear effect resulting from a static zero-point vibrational energy combined with a dynamic correlation of the dipole fluctuations. The quantum molecular dynamics simulations confirm the interchain correlation of the proton-proton and deuteron-deuteron motions but not of the proton-deuteron motion. Thus, isotopic purity is an important factor affecting stability and properties of conjugated polymer crystals, which should be considered in the design of electronic and spintronic devices.

Direct write with a liquid precursor using an ion beam in situ, allows fabrication of nanostructures with higher purity than using gas phase deposition. Specifically, positively charged helium ions, when compared to electrons, localize the reaction zone to a single-digit nanometer scale. However, to control the interaction of the ion beam with the liquid precursor, as well as enable single digit fabrication, a comprehensive understanding of the radiolytic process, and the role of secondary electrons has to be developed. Here, we demonstrate an approach for directly writing platinum nanostructures from aqueous solution using a helium ion microscope, and discuss possible mechanisms for the beam-induced particle growth in the framework of Born-Oppenheimer and real-time electron dynamics models. We illustrate the nanoparticle nucleation and growth parameters through data analysis of in situ acquired movie data, and correlate these results to a fully encompassing, time-dependent, quantum dynamical simulation that takes into account both quantum and classical interactions. Finally, sub-15 nm resolution platinum structures generated in liquid are demonstrated.

Over the past decade, the open frame (``cagey'') structure of $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ skutterudite has invited intensive filling studies with various rare-earth elements for delivering state-of-the-art midtemperature thermoelectric performance. To rationalize previously reported experimental results and provide new insight into the underexplored roles of La fillers and Sb vacancies, ab initio density functional theory studies, along with semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory calculations, are performed for pristine $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ of different lattice settings and La-filled $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ with and without Sb's mono- and divacancy defects. The effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC), partial La filling, Sb vacancy defects, and spin polarization on the electronic and thermoelectric properties are systematically examined. The SOC shows minor effects on the electronic and thermoelectric properties of $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$. The peculiar quasi-Dirac band in the pristine $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ largely survives La filling but not Sb vacancies, which instead introduce dispersive bands in the band gap region. The non-spin-polarized and spin-polarized solutions of La-filled $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ are nearly degenerate. Importantly, the band structure, density of states, and Fermi surface of the latter are significantly spin polarized, giving rise to spin-dependent thermoelectric properties. Seebeck coefficients directly calculated as a function of chemical potential are interpreted in connection with the electronic structures. Temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficients derived for the experimentally studied materials agree well with available experimental data. Seebeck coefficients obtained as a function of charge carrier concentration corroborate the thermoelectrically favorable role at high filling fractions played by the Fermi electron pockets associated with the degenerate valleys in the conduction bands, and also point toward a similar role of the Fermi hole pockets associated with the degenerate hills in the valence bands. These results serve to advance the understanding of $\mathrm{CoS}{\mathrm{b}}_{3}$ skutterudite, a class of materials with important fundamental and application implications for thermoelectrics and spintronics.

Developing devices that can reliably and accurately demonstrate the principles of superposition and entanglement is an on-going challenge for the quantum computing community. Modeling and simulation offer attractive means of testing early device designs and establishing expectations for operational performance. However, the complex integrated material systems required by quantum device designs are not captured by any single existing computational modeling method. We examine the development and analysis of a multi-staged computational workflow that can be used to design and characterize silicon donor qubit systems with modeling and simulation. Our approach integrates quantum computational chemistry calculations with electrostatic field solvers to perform detailed simulations of a phosphorus dopant in silicon. We show how atomistic details can be synthesized into an operational model for the logical gates that define quantum computation in this particular technology. The resulting computational workflow realizes a design tool for silicon donor qubits that can help verify and validate current and near-term experimental devices., 21 pages, 8 figures; A smart model is a good model

The experimentally observed effect of selective deuterium substitution on the open circuit voltage for a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM; Nat. Commun. 2014, 5, 3180) is explored using a 221-atom model of a polymer-wrapped PCBM molecule. The protonic and deuteronic wave functions for the H/D isotopologues of the hexyl side chains are described within a quantum trajectory/electronic structure approach where the dynamics is performed with newly developed nonlinear corrections to the quantum forces, necessary to describe the nuclear wave functions; the classical forces are generated with a density functional tight binding method. The resulting protonic and deuteronic time-dependent wave functions are used to assess the effects of isotopic substitution (deuteration) on the energy gaps relevant to the charge transfer for the donor and acceptor electronic states. While the isotope effect on the electronic energy levels is found negligible, the quantum-induced fluctuations of the energy gap between the charge transfer and charge separated states due to nuclear wave functions may account for experimental trends by promoting charge transfer in P3HT:PCBM and increasing charge recombination on the donor in the deuterium substituted P3HT:PCBM.

Ionicity plays an important role in determining material properties, as well as optoelectronic performance of organometallic trihalide perovskites (OTPs). Ion migration in OTP films has recently been under intensive investigation by various scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques. However, controversial findings regarding the role of grain boundaries (GBs) associated with ion migration are often encountered, likely as a result of feedback errors and topographic effects common in to SPM. In this work, electron microscopy and spectroscopy (scanning transmission electron microscopy/electron energy loss spectroscopy) are combined with a novel, open-loop, band-excitation, (contact) Kelvin probe force microscopy (BE-KPFM and BE-cKPFM), in conjunction with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to examine the ion behavior in the GBs of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films. This combination of diverse techniques provides a deeper understanding of the differences between ion migration within GBs and interior grains in OTP films. This work demonstrates that ion migration can be significantly enhanced by introducing additional mobile Cl− ions into GBs. The enhancement of ion migration may serve as the first step toward the development of high-performance electrically and optically tunable memristors and synaptic devices.