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Methane is considered to be a cubic structure I (CS-I) clathrate hydrate former, although in a number of instances, small amounts of structure II (CS-II) clathrate hydrate have been transiently observed as well. In this work, solid-state magic angle spinning 13C NMR spectra of methane hydrate formed at low temperatures inside silica-based nanoporous materials with pores in the range of 3.8-20.0 nm (CPG-20, Vycor, and MCM-41) show methane in several different environments. In addition to methane encapsulated in the dodecahedral 512 (D) and tetrakaidecahedral 51262 (T) cages typical of the CS-I clathrate hydrate phase, methane guests in pentakaidecahedral 51263 (P) and hexakaidecahedral 51264 (H) cages are also identified, and these appear to be stabilized for extended periods of time. The ratio of methane guests among the D and T cages determined from the line intensities is significantly different from that of bulk CS-I samples and indicates that both CS-I and CS-II are present as the dominant species. This is the first observation of methane in P cages, and the possible structures in which they could be present are discussed. Broad and relatively strong methane peaks, which are also observed in the spectra, can be related to methane dissolved in an amorphous component of water adjacent to the pore walls. Nanoconfinement and interaction with the pore walls clearly have a strong influence on the hydrate formed and may reflect species present in the early stages of hydrate growth., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Alternative interpretations of the experimental results given in the Communication of Petuya et al. 1 are presented. There is evidence that under certain conditions, ammonia can be incorporated into clathrate hydrate cages.

The superheated state of methane (CH 4 ) hydrate that exists under the surface ice layer can persist for considerable lengths of time, which showed promise as a method for storing and transporting natural gas. This study extends this further by coating sI CH 4 hydrate with one of several sII hydrates, thus eliminating the need for a defect-free continuous interface between the sI and sII hydrates. Gas hydrate crystals were kept intact above their dissociation temperature by immersing them in liquid cyclopentane (CP), as observed with powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray CT methods. It was observed that placing the CH 4 hydrate in CP converted the outer layer of CH 4 hydrate to a thin layer of CP hydrate at around 270 K under atmospheric pressure, which is ∼80 K higher than the usual dissociation temperature. It was also observed that sI CO 2 hydrate and C 2 H 6 hydrate could be preserved by CP hydrate.

Here, we perform molecular dynamics simulations to provide atomic-level insights into the dual roles of methanol in enhancing and delaying the rate of methane clathrate hydrate nucleation. Consistent with experiments, we find that methanol slows clathrate hydrate nucleation above 250 K but promotes clathrate formation at temperatures below 250 K. We show that this behavior can be rationalized by the unusual temperature dependence of the methane-methanol interaction in an aqueous solution, which emerges due to the hydrophobic effect. In addition to its antifreeze properties at temperatures above 250 K, methanol competes with water to interact with methane prior to the formation of clathrate nuclei. Below 250 K, methanol encourages water to occupy the space between methane molecules favoring clathrate formation and it may additionally promote water mobility.

Ultrawideline 35 Cl solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectra of a series of 12 tin chlorides were recorded. The magnitude of the 35 Cl quadrupolar coupling constant ( C Q ) was shown to consistently indicate the chemical state (oxidation number) of the bound Sn center. The chemical state of the Sn center was independently verified by tin Mössbauer spectroscopy. C Q ( 35 Cl) values of >30 MHz correspond to Sn(IV), while C Q ( 35 Cl) readings of <30 MHz indicate that Sn(II) is present. Tin-119 SSNMR experiments would seem to be the most direct and effective route to interrogating tin in these systems, yet we show that ambiguous results can emerge from this method, which may lead to an incorrect interpretation of the Sn oxidation number. The accumulated 35 Cl NMR data are used as a guide to assign the Sn oxidation number in the mixed-valent metal complex Ph 3 PPd Im SnCl 2 . The synthesis and crystal structure of the related Ph 3 PPt Im SnCl 2 are reported, and 195 Pt and 35 Cl SSNMR experiments were also used to investigate its Pt-Sn bonding. Plane-wave DFT calculations of 35 Cl, 119 Sn, and 195 Pt NMR parameters are used to model and interpret experimental data, supported by computed 119 Sn and 195 Pt chemical shift tensor orientations. Given the ubiquity of directly bound Cl centers in organometallic and inorganic systems, there is tremendous potential for widespread usage of 35 Cl SSNMR parameters to provide a reliable indication of the chemical state in metal chlorides.

Clathrate hydrate phases of Cl 2 and Br 2 guest molecules have been known for about 200 years. The crystal structure of these phases was recently re-determined with high accuracy by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In these structures, the water oxygen-halogen atom distances are determined to be shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii, which indicates the action of some type of non-covalent interaction between the dihalogens and water molecules. Given that in the hydrate phases both lone pairs of each water oxygen atom are engaged in hydrogen bonding with other water molecules of the lattice, the nature of the oxygen-halogen interactions may not be the standard halogen bonds characterized recently in the solid state materials and enzyme-substrate compounds. The nature of the halogen-water interactions for the Cl 2 and Br 2 molecules in two isolated clathrate hydrate cages has recently been studied with ab initio calculations and Natural Bond Order analysis (Ochoa-Resendiz et al. J. Chem. Phys. 2016, 145, 161104). Here we present the results of ab initio calculations and natural localized molecular orbital analysis for Cl 2 and Br 2 guests in all cage types observed in the cubic structure I and tetragonal structure I clathrate hydrates to characterize the orbital interactions between the dihalogen guests and water. Calculations with isolated cages and cages with one shell of coordinating molecules are considered. The computational analysis is used to understand the nature of the halogen bonding in these materials and to interpret the guest positions in the hydrate cages obtained from the X-ray crystal structures.

Little is known about the induction period before the nucleation and growth of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots. Here, we introduce an approach that allows us to probe intermediates present in the induction period. We show that this induction period itself exhibits distinct stages with the evolution of the intermediates, first without and then with the formation of covalent bonds between metal cations and chalcogenide anions. The intermediates are optically invisible in toluene, while the covalent-bonded intermediates become visible as magic-size clusters when a primary amine is added. Such evolution of magic-size clusters provides indirect but compelling evidence for the presence of the intermediates in the induction period and supports the multi-step nucleation model. Our study reveals that magic-size clusters could be readily engineered in a single-size form, and suggests that the existence of the intermediates during the growth of conventional quantum dots results in low product yield.

Methanol is one of the most common inhibitors for clathrate hydrate formation. Crystalline clathrate hydrates containing methanol were synthesized and analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and 13 C NMR spectroscopy. The data obtained demonstrate that methanol can be a helper guest for forming structure I, structure II, and structure H clathrate hydrates, as long as the lattice framework contains NH 4 F. The latter acts as a lattice stabilizer by providing sites for strong hydrogen bonding of the normally disruptive methanol hydroxy group. NH 4 F and methanol can be considered key materials for crystal engineering of clathrate hydrates, as the modified lattices allow preparation of hydrates of non-traditional water-soluble guests such as alcohols and diols. Methanol takes on the role of an unconventional helper guest. This extends clathrate chemistry to a realm where neither hydrophobic guests nor high pressures are required. This also suggests that more stable lattices can be engineered for applications such as gas storage., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The crystal structure and phase transition of cubic structure II (sII) binary clathrate hydrates of methane (CH4 ) and propanol are reported from powder X-ray diffraction measurements. The deformation of host water cages at the cubic-tetragonal phase transition of 2-propanol+CH4 hydrate, but not 1-propanol+CH4 hydrate, was observed below about 110 K. It is shown that the deformation of the host water cages of 2-propanol+CH4 hydrate can be explained by the restriction of the motion of 2-propanol within the 5(12) 6(4) host water cages. This result provides a low-temperature structure due to a temperature-induced symmetry-lowering transition of clathrate hydrate. This is the first example of a cubic structure of the common clathrate hydrate families at a fixed composition., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Water versus fluorine: Clathrate hydrates encaging hydrofluorocarbons as guests show both isotropic and anisotropic distributions within host water cages, depending on the number of fluorine atoms in the guest molecule; this is caused by changes in intermolecular interactions to host water molecules in the hydrates., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Methane trapped in the two distinct dodecahedral cages of the ionic clathrate hydrate of TBAB was studied by single crystal XRD and MD simulation. The relative CH4 occupancies over the cage types were opposite to those of CO2, which illustrates the interplay between the cage symmetry and guest shape and dynamics, and thus the gas selectivity.

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) prevent ice growth by binding to a specific ice plane. Some AFPs have been found to inhibit the formation of gas hydrates which are a serious safety and operational challenge for the oil and gas industry. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to determine the mechanism of action of the winter flounder AFP (wf-AFP) in inhibiting methane hydrate growth. The wf-AFP adsorbs onto the methane hydrate surface via cooperative binding of a set of hydrophobic methyl pendant groups to the empty half-cages at the hydrate/water interface. Each binding set is composed of the methyl side chain of threonine and two alanine residues, four and seven places further down in the sequence of the protein. Understanding the principle of action of AFPs can lead to the rational design of green hydrate inhibitor molecules with potential superior performance.

The understanding and eventual control of guest molecule transport in gas hydrates is of central importance for the efficient synthesis and processing of these materials for applications in the storage, separation, and sequestration of gases and natural gas production. Previously, some links have been established between dynamics of the host water molecules and guest-host hydrogen bonding interactions, but direct observation of transport in the form of cage-to-cage guest diffusion is still lacking. Recent calculations have suggested that pairs of different guest molecules in neighboring cages can affect guest-host hydrogen bonding and, therefore, defect injection and water lattice motions. We have chosen two sets of hydrate guest pairs, tetrahydrofuran (THF)-CO2 and isobutane-CO2, that are predicted to enhance or to diminish guest-host hydrogen bonding interactions as compared to those in pure CO2 hydrate and we have studied guest dynamics in each using (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. In addition, we have obtained the crystal structure of the THF-CO2 sII hydrate using the combined single crystal X-ray diffraction and (13)C NMR powder pattern data and have performed molecular dynamics-simulation of the CO2 dynamics. The NMR powder line shape studies confirm the enhanced and delayed dynamics for the THF and isobutane containing hydrates, respectively, as compared to those in the CO2 hydrate. In addition, from line shape studies and 2D exchange spectroscopy NMR, we observe cage-to-cage exchange of CO2 molecules in the THF-CO2 hydrate, but not in the other hydrates studied. We conclude that the relatively rapid intercage guest dynamics are the result of synergistic guest A-host water-guest B interactions, thus allowing tuning of the guest transport properties in the hydrates by choice of the appropriate guest molecules. Our experimental value for inter-cage hopping is slower by a factor of 10(6) than a published calculated value.

In this study, the kinetics of methane replacement with carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas in methane gas hydrate prepared in porous silica gel matrices has been studied by in situ (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The replacement process was monitored by in situ (1)H NMR spectra, where about 42 mol % of the methane in the hydrate cages was replaced in 65 h. Large amounts of free water were not observed during the replacement process, indicating a spontaneous replacement reaction upon exposing methane hydrate to carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas mixture. From in situ (13)C NMR spectra, we confirmed that the replacement ratio was slightly higher in small cages, but due to the composition of structure I hydrate, the amount of methane evolved from the large cages was larger than that of the small cages. Compositional analysis of vapor and hydrate phases was also carried out after the replacement reaction ceased. Notably, the composition changes in hydrate phases after the replacement reaction would be affected by the difference in the chemical potential between the vapor phase and hydrate surface rather than a pore size effect. These results suggest that the replacement technique provides methane recovery as well as stabilization of the resulting carbon dioxide hydrate phase without melting.

We report a new lattice structure of the ionic clathrate hydrate of tetra-n-butylammonium bromide induced by guest CO2 molecules, which is found to provide high CO2 storage capacity. The structure was characterized by a set of methods, including single crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR, and MD simulations.

Contrary to the thermodynamic inhibiting effect of methanol on methane hydrate formation from aqueous phases, hydrate forms quickly at high yield by exposing frozen water-methanol mixtures with methanol concentrations ranging from 0.6-10 wt% to methane gas at pressures from 125 bars at 253 K. Formation rates are some two orders of magnitude greater than those obtained for samples without methanol and conversion of ice is essentially complete. Ammonia has a similar catalytic effect when used in concentrations of 0.3-2.7 wt%. The structure I methane hydrate formed in this manner was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Steps in the possible mechanism of action of methanol were studied with molecular dynamics simulations of the Ih (0001) basal plane exposed to methanol and methane gas. Simulations show that methanol from a surface aqueous layer slowly migrates into the ice lattice. Methane gas is preferentially adsorbed into the aqueous methanol surface layer. Possible consequences of the catalytic methane hydrate formation on hydrate plug formation in gas pipelines, on large scale energy-efficient gas hydrate formation, and in planetary science are discussed., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Prospective industrial applications of clathrate hydrates as materials for gas separation require further knowledge of cavity distortion, cavity selectivity, and defects induction by guest-host interactions. The results presented in this contribution show that under certain temperature conditions the guest combination of CH3F and a large polar molecule induces defects on the clathrate hydrate framework that allow intercage guest dynamics. (13)C NMR chemical shifts of a CH3F/CH4/TBME sH hydrate and a temperature analysis of the (2)H NMR powder lineshapes of a CD3F/THF sII and CD3F/TBME sH hydrate, displayed evidence that the populations of CH4 and CH3F in the D and D' cages were in a state of rapid exchange. A hydrogen bonding analysis using molecular dynamics simulations on the TBME/CH3F and TBME/CH4 sH hydrates showed that the presence of CH3F enhances the hydrogen bonding probability of the TBME molecule with the water molecules of the cavity. Similar results were obtained for THF/CH3F and THF/CH4 sII hydrates. The enhanced hydrogen bond formation leads to the formation of defects in the water hydrogen bonding lattice and this can enhance the migration of CH3F molecules between adjacent small cages.

One of the best-known uses of methanol is as antifreeze. Methanol is used in large quantities in industrial applications to prevent methane clathrate hydrate blockages from forming in oil and gas pipelines. Methanol is also assigned a major role as antifreeze in giving icy planetary bodies (e.g., Titan) a liquid subsurface ocean and/or an atmosphere containing significant quantities of methane. In this work, we reveal a previously unverified role for methanol as a guest in clathrate hydrate cages. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and NMR experiments showed that at temperatures near 273 K, methanol is incorporated in the hydrate lattice along with other guest molecules. The amount of included methanol depends on the preparative method used. For instance, single-crystal XRD shows that at low temperatures, the methanol molecules are hydrogen-bonded in 4.4% of the small cages of tetrahydrofuran cubic structure II hydrate. At higher temperatures, NMR spectroscopy reveals a number of methanol species incorporated in hydrocarbon hydrate lattices. At temperatures characteristic of icy planetary bodies, vapor deposits of methanol, water, and methane or xenon show that the presence of methanol accelerates hydrate formation on annealing and that there is unusually complex phase behavior as revealed by powder XRD and NMR spectroscopy. The presence of cubic structure I hydrate was confirmed and a unique hydrate phase was postulated to account for the data. Molecular dynamics calculations confirmed the possibility of methanol incorporation into the hydrate lattice and show that methanol can favorably replace a number of methane guests.

Experiments were carried out to synthesize and characterize a structure H clathrate hydrate containing CO(2) and 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanone (pinacolone) by means of phase equilibrium and powder X-ray diffraction measurements. Molecular dynamics simulations of this structure H hydrate were performed to understand the nature of guest-host molecular interactions.

There is interest in the role of ammonia on Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus as the presence of water, methane, and ammonia under temperature and pressure conditions of the surface and interior make these moons rich environments for the study of phases formed by these materials. Ammonia is known to form solid hemi-, mono-, and dihydrate crystal phases under conditions consistent with the surface of Titan and Enceladus, but has also been assigned a role as water-ice antifreeze and methane hydrate inhibitor which is thought to contribute to the outgassing of methane clathrate hydrates into these moons' atmospheres. Here we show, through direct synthesis from solution and vapor deposition experiments under conditions consistent with extraterrestrial planetary atmospheres, that ammonia forms clathrate hydrates and participates synergistically in clathrate hydrate formation in the presence of methane gas at low temperatures. The binary structure II tetrahydrofuran + ammonia, structure I ammonia, and binary structure I ammonia + methane clathrate hydrate phases synthesized have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, molecular dynamics simulation, and Raman spectroscopy methods.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the pure structure II tetrahydrofuran clathrate hydrate and binary structure II tetrahydrofuran clathrate hydrate with CO(2), CH(4), H(2)S, and Xe small cage guests are performed to study the effect of the shape, size, and intermolecular forces of the small cages guests on the structure and dynamics of the hydrate. The simulations show that the number and nature of the guest in the small cage affects the probability of hydrogen bonding of the tetrahydrofuran guest with the large cage water molecules. The effect on hydrogen bonding of tetrahydrofuran occurs despite the fact that the guests in the small cage do not themselves form hydrogen bonds with water. These results indicate that nearest neighbour guest-guest interactions (mediated through the water lattice framework) can affect the clathrate structure and stability. The implications of these subtle small guest effects on clathrate hydrate stability are discussed.

We use constant energy, constant volume (NVE) molecular dynamics simulations to study the dissociation of the fully occupied structure I methane hydrate in a confined geometry between two hydroxylated silica surfaces between 36 and 41 Å apart, at initial temperatures of 283, 293, and 303 K. Simulations of the two-phase hydrate/water system are performed in the presence of silica, with and without a 3 Å thick buffering water layer between the hydrate phase and silica surfaces. Faster decomposition is observed in the presence of silica, where the hydrate phase is prone to decomposition from four surfaces, as compared to only two sides in the case of the hydrate/water simulations. The existence of the water layer between the hydrate phase and the silica surface stabilizes the hydrate phase relative to the case where the hydrate is in direct contact with silica. Hydrates bound between the silica surfaces dissociate layer-by-layer in a shrinking core manner with a curved decomposition front which extends over a 5-8 Å thickness. Labeling water molecules shows that there is exchange of water molecules between the surrounding liquid and intact cages in the methane hydrate phase. In all cases, decomposition of the methane hydrate phase led to the formation of methane nanobubbles in the liquid water phase., (© 2012 American Chemical Society)

Anchoring of a self-assembling dipeptide on the surface of core/shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots resulted in a competition between coordination of the surface atoms of the QDs and the strong tendency for the dipeptide to self-assemble in toluene. This resulted in a mild QD etching and in a corresponding increase in the band gap of the nanocrystals whose photoluminescent emission gradually turns blue with time. The FmocLeuLeuOH dipeptide supergelator self-assembles in fibrils in which the Fmoc groups are surrounded by the pendant isobutyl side chains of the leucine residues with vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and liquid- and solid-state NMR attributes of twist anti-parallel β-sheets., (© 2012 American Chemical Society)

In the title compound, 2C(12)H(10)N(4)·C(32)H(32)O(8), the calixarene adopts a rctt conformation with dihedral angles of 138.40 (1) and 9.10 (1)° between the opposite rings. The dihedral angles between the rings of the pyridine derivative are 8.80 (1) and 9.20 (1)°. In the crystal, adjacent C-methylcalix[4]resorcinarene molecules are connected into columns parallel to [010] by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds between the axial phenoxyl groups and bipyridine molecules link the columns into sheets parallel to (011), which are connected by O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds. Further O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the bipyridine and C-methylcalix[4]resorcinarene molecules, giving rise to a three-dimensional network.

The asymmetric unit of the title co-crystal, 2CH(6)N(3) (+)·C(6)Cl(2)O(4) (2-), contains one half of a chloranilate anion and one guanidinium cation, which are connected by strong N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a two-dimensional network.

Single crystal x-ray crystallography is used to detect guest-host hydrogen bonding in structure II (sII) binary clathrate hydrate of 1-propanol and methane. X-ray structural analysis shows that the 1-propanol oxygen atom is at a distance of 2.749 and 2.788 Å from the closest clathrate hydrate water oxygen atoms from a hexagonal face of the large sII cage. The 1-propanol hydroxyl hydrogen atom is disordered and at distances of 1.956 and 2.035 Å from the closest cage water oxygen atoms. These distances are compatible with guest-water hydrogen bonding. The C-C-C-O torsional angle in 1-propanol in the cage is 91.47° which corresponds to a staggered conformation for the guest. Molecular dynamics studies of this system demonstrated guest-water hydrogen bonding in this hydrate. The molecular dynamics simulations predict most probable distances for the 1-propanol-water oxygen atoms to be 2.725 Å, and the average C-C-C-O torsional angle to be ~59° consistent with a gauche conformation. The individual cage distortions resulting from guest-host hydrogen bonding from the simulations are rather large, but due to the random nature of the hydrogen bonding of the guest with the 24 water molecules making up the hexagonal faces of the large sII cages, these distortions are not observed in the x-ray structure.

(13)C NMR chemical shifts were measured for pure (neat) liquids and synthetic binary hydrate samples (with methane help gas) for 2-methylbutane, 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2,3-dimethylbutane, 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, methylcyclopentane, and methylcyclohexane and ternary structure H (sH) clathrate hydrates of n-pentane and n-hexane with methane and 2,2-dimethylbutane, all of which form sH hydrates. The (13)C chemical shifts of the guest atoms in the hydrate are different from those in the free form, with some carbon atoms shifting specifically upfield. Such changes can be attributed to conformational changes upon fitting the large guest molecules in hydrate cages and/or interactions between the guests and the water molecules of the hydrate cages. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that for the hexagonal unit cell, the lattice parameter along the a-axis changes with guest hydrate former molecule size and shape (in the range of 0.1 Å) but a much smaller change in the c-axis (in the range of 0.01 Å) is observed. The (13)C NMR chemical shifts for the pure hydrocarbons and all conformers were calculated using the gauge invariant atomic orbital method at the MP2/6-311+G(2d,p) level of theory to quantify the variation of the chemical shifts with the dihedral angles of the guest molecules. Calculated and measured chemical shifts are compared to determine the relative contribution of changes in the conformation and guest-water interactions to the change in chemical shift of the guest upon clathrate hydrate formation. Understanding factors that affect experimental chemical shifts for the enclathrated hydrocarbons will help in assigning spectra for complex hydrates recovered from natural sites.

Guest-host hydrogen bonding in clathrate hydrates occurs when in addition to the hydrophilic moiety which causes the molecule to form hydrates under high pressure-low temperature conditions, the guests contain a hydrophilic, hydrogen bonding functional group. In the presence of carbon dioxide, ethanol clathrate hydrate has been synthesized with 10% of large structure I (sI) cages occupied by ethanol. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to study hydrogen bonding structure and dynamics in this binary sI clathrate hydrate in the temperature range of 100-250 K. We observe that ethanol forms long-lived (>500 ps) proton-donating and accepting hydrogen bonds with cage water molecules from both hexagonal and pentagonal faces of the large cages while maintaining the general cage integrity of the sI clathrate hydrate. The presence of the nondipolar CO(2) molecules stabilizes the hydrate phase, despite the strong and prevalent alcohol-water hydrogen bonding. The distortions of the large cages from the ideal form, the radial distribution functions of the guest-host interactions, and the ethanol guest dynamics are characterized in this study. In previous work through dielectric and NMR relaxation time studies, single crystal x-ray diffraction, and molecular dynamics simulations we have observed guest-water hydrogen bonding in structure II and structure H clathrate hydrates. The present work extends the observation of hydrogen bonding to structure I hydrates.

Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, ab initio molecular dynamics calculations and solid state (1)H and (2)H NMR are used to refine the structure of crystalline NH(4)BH(4) including H atoms. Rapid reorientations of both ions mean that on average half-hydrogens occupy the corners of a cube around B or N.

Natural gas hydrates usually are found in the form of structure I, encasing predominantly methane in the hydrate lattices as guest molecules, sometimes also minor amount of higher hydrocarbons, CO2 or H2S. Raman spectroscopy is an approved tool to determine the composition of the hydrate phase. Thus, in this study Raman spectroscopic analyses have been applied to hydrate samples obtained from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 311 in two different approaches: studying the samples randomly taken from the hydrate core, and--as a new application--mapping small areas on the surface of clear hydrate crystals. The results obtained imply that the gas composition of hydrate, in terms of relative concentrations of CH4 and H2S, is not homogeneous over a core or even within a crystal. The mapping method yielded results with very high lateral resolution, indicating the coexistence of different phases with the same structure but different compositions within a hydrate crystal., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Among a variety of cyclic ether, cyclic ester, and cyclic ketone compounds, six new formers were found to form binary sII or sH hydrates with CH(4) gas. Hydrate-phase equilibria for all the hydrate formers were measured. The results obtained showed distinct relationships between the hydrate-phase equilibrium curve and the molecular size of the guests. In addition, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, or 4-methyl-1,3-dioxane and 4-methyl-1,3-dioxolane, showed different hydrate structures even though they have similar chemical structures. Such structural differences can provide useful information on the critical guest size, which determines hydrate crystal structures according to the size of the captured guest.

Experimental adsorption isotherms were measured and computer simulations were performed to determine the nature of the H(2) gas uptake in the low-density p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (tBC) phase. (1)H NMR peak intensity measurements for pressures up to 175 bar were used to determine the H(2) adsorption isotherm. Weak surface adsorption (up to ≈2 mass % H(2) ) and stronger adsorption (not exceeding 0.25 mass % or one H(2) per calixarene bowl) inside the calixarene phase were detected. The latter type of adsorbed H(2) molecule has restricted motion and shows a reversible gas adsorption/desorption cycle. Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR pressurization/depressurization measurements were performed to study the diffusion of H(2) in the calixarene phases. Direct adsorption isotherms by exposure of the calixarene phase to pressures of H(2) gas to ≈60 bar are also presented, and show a maximum H(2) adsorption of 0.4 H(2) per calixarene bowl. Adsorption isotherms of H(2) in bulk tBC have been simulated using grand canonical Monte Carlo calculations in a rigid tBC framework, and yield adsorptions of ≈1 H(2) per calixarene bowl at saturation. Classical molecular dynamics simulations with a fully flexible calixarene molecular force field are used to determine the guest distribution and inclusion energy of the H(2) in the solid with different loadings., (Copyright © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The title system allows the straightforward formation of three-dimensional crystals of self-assembled pseudorotaxanes formed by the nonionic surfactant Igepal CO-520 and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) in aqueous solution. The work involves a combination of X-ray powder diffraction, high resolution electron transmission microscopy, and (13)C CP/MAS NMR studies of the solid crystal, supported by single crystal structural analysis. The results indicate a lamellar self-assembly of pseudorotaxanes with preferential orientation and disorder in the structure. For the single crystal, the unit cell was found to be triclinic (P1) and contains a beta-CD dimer. The surfactant molecules are located in the channel formed by these dimers along the c axis of the crystal network. The individual pseudorotaxane structure is formed by a dimer of beta-CDs threaded by the oxyethylene hydrophilic segment of Igepal CO-520, and a beta-CD dimer that binds the hydrophobic region of the surfactant. Thus, as in a CD polyrotaxane structure, this system results in an ordered self-assembly of pseudorotaxanes through the formation of a network of hydrogen bonds between head-to-head beta-CD dimers. Moreover, the analysis of the (1)H NMR spectra in solutions of pseudorotaxanes formed by beta-CD and Igepals with different lengths of the hydrophilic tails indicates equal stoichiometry patterns of both oxyethyelene and hydrophobic regions for the different supramolecules. Whereas the common hydrophobic moiety threads two macrocycles, the ratio between complexed oxyehtlyene segments and beta-CD is 2.5 for the hydrophilic tails. All these results show that nonionic surfactants can be used as alternative and effective linear threads to polymers and copolymers in the synthesis of supramolecular polyrotaxane solid crystals with CDs.

The small alcohols ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol are miscible in water, form strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules, and are usually known as inhibitors for clathrate hydrate formation. However, in the presence of methane or other help gases, clathrate hydrates of these substances have been synthesized. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations are used to characterize guest-host hydrogen bonding, microscopic structures, and guest dynamics of binary structure II clathrate hydrates of methane (small cages) with ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol in the temperature range of 100-250 K to gain insight into the stability of these materials. We observe that these alcohols form structures with dynamic long-lived ( approximately 10 ps) guest-host hydrogen bonds in the hydrate phases while maintaining the general cage structure of the sII clathrate hydrate form. The hydroxyl groups of ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol act as both proton acceptors and proton donors and there is a considerable probability of simultaneous hydrogen bonding between O and H hydroxyl atoms with different cage water molecules. The presence of the nonpolar methane molecule and the hydrophobic moieties of the alcohols stabilize the hydrate phase, despite the strong and prevalent alcohol-water hydrogen bonding. The effect of the alcohol molecules on the structural properties of the hydrate and the effect of guest-host hydrogen bonding on the guest dynamics are studied.

Nonequilibrium, constant energy, constant volume (NVE) molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the decomposition of methane clathrate hydrate in contact with water. Under adiabatic conditions, the rate of methane clathrate decomposition is affected by heat and mass transfer arising from the breakup of the clathrate hydrate framework and release of the methane gas at the solid-liquid interface and diffusion of methane through water. We observe that temperature gradients are established between the clathrate and solution phases as a result of the endothermic clathrate decomposition process and this factor must be considered when modeling the decomposition process. Additionally we observe that clathrate decomposition does not occur gradually with breakup of individual cages, but rather in a concerted fashion with rows of structure I cages parallel to the interface decomposing simultaneously. Due to the concerted breakup of layers of the hydrate, large amounts of methane gas are released near the surface which can form bubbles that will greatly affect the rate of mass transfer near the surface of the clathrate phase. The effects of these phenomena on the rate of methane hydrate decomposition are determined and implications on hydrate dissociation in natural methane hydrate reservoirs are discussed.

The formation of hydrate plugs in oil and gas pipelines is a serious industrial problem and recently there has been an increased interest in the use of alternative hydrate inhibitors as substitutes for thermodynamic inhibitors like methanol. We show here that antifreeze proteins (AFPs) possess the ability to modify structure II (sII) tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate crystal morphologies by adhering to the hydrate surface and inhibiting growth in a similar fashion to the kinetic inhibitor poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The effects of AFPs on the formation and growth rate of high-pressure sII gas mix hydrate demonstrated that AFPs are superior hydrate inhibitors compared to PVP. These results indicate that AFPs may be suitable for the study of new inhibitor systems and represent an important step towards the development of biologically-based hydrate inhibitors.

This study focuses on the cage occupancy of guest molecules in the infinitely dilute state. At the extreme conditions of highly diluted guest concentrations the direct measurements of the cage occupancy ratio representing the competitive inclusion of multiguest species appear to be so difficult because of spectroscopic intensity limitation, but its thermodynamic significance might be considerable due to the fact that the infinite-dilution value of the cage occupancy ratio can provide the valuable thermodynamic information as a very unique and guest-specific parameter. To experimentally identify gaseous guest populations in structure I (sI) and structure II (sII) cages, we used the solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gas chromatography, and direct gas measurements. Furthermore, we derived the simple and generalized thermodynamic equation related to cage occupancies at infinite dilution from the van der Waals-Platteeuw model. Both experimental and predicted values agree well within the experimental error range.

Structural determination of crystalline powders, especially those of complex materials, is not a trivial task. For non-stoichiometric guest-host materials, the difficulty lies in how to determine dynamical disorder and partial cage occupancies of the guest molecules without other supporting information or constraints. Here, we show how direct space methods combined with Rietveld analysis can be applied to a class of host-guest materials, in this case the clathrate hydrates. We report crystal structures in the three important hydrate crystal classes, sI, sII, and sH, for the guests CO(2), C(2)H(6), C(3)H(8), and methylcyclohexane + CH(4). The results obtained for powder samples are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data from single crystal X-ray diffraction and (13)C solid-state NMR spectroscopy. This method is also used to determine the guest disorder and cage occupancies of neohexane and tert-butyl methyl ether binary hydrates with CH(4) in the structure H clathrate hydrates. The results are found to be in good agreement with the results from the (13)C solid-state NMR and molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that the ab initio crystal structure determination methodology reported here is able to determine absolute cage occupancies and the dynamical disorder of guest molecules in clathrate hydrates from powdered crystalline samples.

To provide improved understanding of guest-host interactions in clathrate hydrates, we present some correlations between guest chemical structures and observations on the corresponding hydrate properties. From these correlations it is clear that directional interactions such as hydrogen bonding between guest and host are likely, although these have been ignored to greater or lesser degrees because there has been no direct structural evidence for such interactions. For the first time, single-crystal X-ray crystallography has been used to detect guest-host hydrogen bonding in structure II (sII) and structure H (sH) clathrate hydrates. The clathrates studied are the tert-butylamine (tBA) sII clathrate with H(2)S/Xe help gases and the pinacolone + H(2)S binary sH clathrate. X-ray structural analysis shows that the tBA nitrogen atom lies at a distance of 2.64 A from the closest clathrate hydrate water oxygen atom, whereas the pinacolone oxygen atom is determined to lie at a distance of 2.96 A from the closest water oxygen atom. These distances are compatible with guest-water hydrogen bonding. Results of molecular dynamics simulations on these systems are consistent with the X-ray crystallographic observations. The tBA guest shows long-lived guest-host hydrogen bonding with the nitrogen atom tethered to a water HO group that rotates towards the cage center to face the guest nitrogen atom. Pinacolone forms thermally activated guest-host hydrogen bonds with the lattice water molecules; these have been studied for temperatures in the range of 100-250 K. Guest-host hydrogen bonding leads to the formation of Bjerrum L-defects in the clathrate water lattice between two adjacent water molecules, and these are implicated in the stabilities of the hydrate lattices, the water dynamics, and the dielectric properties. The reported stable hydrogen-bonded guest-host structures also tend to blur the longstanding distinction between true clathrates and semiclathrates.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are gaining increasing interest and are considered part of the green chemistry paradigm due to their negligible vapour pressure and ease of recycling. Evidence of liquid-state order, observed by IR and Raman spectroscopy, diffraction studies, and simulated by ab initio methods, has been reported in the literature. Here, quadrupolar nuclei are used as NMR probes to extract information about the solid and possible residual order in the liquid state of RTILs. To this end, the anisotropic nature and field dependence of quadrupolar and chemical shift interactions are exploited. Relaxation time measurements and a search for residual second-order quadrupolar coupling were employed to investigate the molecular motions present in the liquid state and infer what kind of order is present. The results obtained indicate that on a timescale of approximately 10(-8) sec or longer, RTILs behave as isotropic liquids without residual order.

Due to sensitivity problems, (25)Mg remains a largely under-explored nucleus in solid state NMR spectroscopy. In this work at an ultrahigh magnetic field of 21.1 T, we have studied at natural abundance the (25)Mg solid state (SS) NMR spectra for a number of previously unreported magnesium compounds with known crystal structures. Some previously reported compounds have been revisited to clarify the spectra that were obtained at lower fields and were either not sufficiently resolved, or misinterpreted. First principles calculations of the (25)Mg SS NMR parameters have been carried out using plane wave basis sets and periodic boundary conditions (CASTEP) and the results are compared with experimental data. The calculations produce the (25)Mg absolute shielding scale and give us insight into the relationship between the NMR and structural parameters. At 21.1 T the effects of the quadrupolar interactions are reduced significantly and the sensitivity and accuracy in determining chemicals shifts and quadrupole coupling parameters improve dramatically. Although T(1) measurements were not performed explicitly, these proved to be longer than assumed in much of the previously reported work. We demonstrate that the chemical shift range of magnesium in diamagnetic compounds may approach 200 ppm. Most commonly, however, the observed shifts are between -15 and +25 ppm. Quadrupolar effects dominate the (25)Mg spectra of magnesium cations in non-cubic environments. The chemical shift anisotropy appears to be rather small and only in a few cases could the contribution of the CSA be detected reliably. A good correspondence between the calculated shielding constants and experimental chemical shifts was obtained, demonstrating the good potential of computational methods in spectroscopic assignments of solid state (25)Mg NMR spectroscopy.

The preparation of entrapped CdSe?ZnS fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) in cucurbituril (CB) polymer capsules is reported.

Statistically averaged Raman spectra of H(2) in hydrogen clathrate are calculated by quantum-mechanical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. The result shows that the H(2) molecules in the large cages and singly occupied small cages are loosely encaged and the vibrational modes are softened and uncoupled, while those in the doubly occupied small cages are tightly confined, the vibrational modes are strongly coupled, and the frequencies are blue-shifted relative to the free gas. This finding provides important new insights on characterizing the cage occupancy and could inspire innovative experiments for synthesizing the clathrate as a hydrogen storage medium.