Microwave, infrared-microwave double resonance, and theoretical studies of C2H4 center dot center dot center dot H2S complex

In this manuscript, rotational spectra of four new isotopologues of the S-H center dot center dot center dot pi bonded C2H4 center dot center dot center dot H2S complex, i.e., C2D4 center dot center dot center dot H2S, C2D4 center dot center dot center dot D2S, C2D4 center dot center dot center dot HDS, and (CCH4)-C-13 center dot center dot center dot H2S have been reported and analyzed. All isotopologues except C2D4 center dot center dot center dot HDS show a four line pattern whereas a doubling of the transition frequencies was observed for C2D4 center dot center dot center dot HDS. These results together with our previous report on the title complex M. Goswami, P. K. Mandal, D. J. Ramdass, and E. Arunan, Chem. Phys. Lett. 393(1-3), 22-27 (2004)] confirm that both subunits (C2H4 and H2S) are involved in large amplitude motions leading to a splitting of each rotational transition to a quartet. Further, the results also confirm that the motions which are responsible for the observed splittings involve both monomers. Molecular symmetry group analysis, considering the interchange of equivalent H atoms in H2S and C2H4 could explain the observed four line pattern and their intensities in the microwave spectrum. In addition, hydride stretching fundamentals of the complex were measured using coherence-converted population transfer Fourier Transform Microwave-infrared (IR-MW double resonance) experiments in the S-H and C-H stretch regions. Changes in the tunneling splittings upon vibrational excitation are consistent with the isotopic dependence of pure rotational transitions. A complexation shift of 2.7-6.5 cm(-1) has been observed in the two fundamental S-H stretching modes of the H2S monomer in the complex. Vibrational pre-dissociation in the bound S-H stretch has been detected whereas the instrument-limited line-shapes in other S-H and C-H stretches indicate slower pre-dissociation rate. Some local perturbations in the vibrational spectra have been observed. Two combination bands have been observed corresponding to both the S-H stretching fundamentals and what appears to be the intermolecular stretching mode at 55 cm(-1). The tunneling splitting involved in the rotation of C2H4 unit has been deduced to be 1.5 GHz from the IR-MW results. In addition, ab initio barrier heights derived for different motions of the monomers support the experimental results and provide further insight into the motions causing the splitting. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Energy Hyperspace for Stacking Interaction in AU/AU Dinucleotide Step: Dispersion-Corrected Density Functional Theory Study

Double helical structures of DNA and RNA are mostly determined by base pair stacking interactions, which give them the base sequence-directed features, such as small roll values for the purine-pyrimidine steps. Earlier attempts to characterize stacking interactions were mostly restricted to calculations on fiber diffraction geometries or optimized structure using ab initio calculations lacking variation in geometry to comment on rather unusual large roll values observed in AU/AU base pair step in crystal structures of RNA double helices. We have generated stacking energy hyperspace by modeling geometries with variations along the important degrees of freedom, roll, and slide, which were chosen via statistical analysis as maximally sequence dependent. Corresponding energy contours were constructed by several quantum chemical methods including dispersion corrections. This analysis established the most suitable methods for stacked base pair systems despite the limitation imparted by number of atom in a base pair step to employ very high level of theory. All the methods predict negative roll value and near-zero slide to be most favorable for the purine-pyrimidine steps, in agreement with Calladine's steric clash based rule. Successive base pairs in RNA are always linked by sugar-phosphate backbone with C3-endo sugars and this demands C1-C1 distance of about 5.4 angstrom along the chains. Consideration of an energy penalty term for deviation of C1-C1 distance from the mean value, to the recent DFT-D functionals, specifically B97X-D appears to predict reliable energy contour for AU/AU step. Such distance-based penalty improves energy contours for the other purine-pyrimidine sequences also. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 101: 107-120, 2014.

Communication: Benzene dimer-The free energy landscape

Establishing the relative orientation of the two benzene molecules in the dimer has remained an enigmatic challenge. Consensus has narrowed the choice of structures to either a T-shape, that may be tilted, or a parallel displaced arrangement, but the relatively small energy differences makes identifying the global minimum difficult. Here we report an ab initio Car-Parrinello Molecular Dynamics based metadynamics computation of the free-energy landscape of the benzene dimer. Our calculations show that although competing structures may be isoenergetic, free energy always favors a tilted T-shape geometry at all temperatures where the bound benzene dimer exist. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Design and development of Fiber Bragg Grating sensing plate for plantar strain measurement and postural stability analysis

This paper describes an ab initio design and development of a novel Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor based strain sensing plate for the measurement of plantar strain distribution in human foot. The primary aim of this work is to study the feasibility of usage of FBG sensors in the measurement of plantar strain in the foot; in particular, to spatially resolve the strain distribution in the foot at different regions such as fore-foot, mid-foot and hind-foot. This study also provides a method to quantify and compare relative postural stability of different subjects under test; in addition, traditional accelerometers have been used to record the movements of center of gravity (second lumbar vertebra) of the subject and the results obtained have been compared against the outcome of the postural stability studies undertaken using the developed FBG plantar strain sensing plate. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Studies of Hemoglobin Confined Inside Silica Tubes of Varying Sizes

In addition to the chemical nature of the surface, the dimensions of the confining host exert a significant influence on confined protein structures; this results in immense biological implications, especially those concerning the enzymatic activities of the protein. This study probes the structure of hemoglobin (Hb), a model protein, confined inside silica tubes with pore diameters that vary by one order of magnitude (approximate to 20-200 nm). The effect of confinement on the protein structure is probed by comparison with the structure of the protein in solution. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), which provides information on protein tertiary and quaternary structures, is employed to study the influence of the tube pore diameter on the structure and configuration of the confined protein in detail. Confinement significantly influences the structural stability of Hb and the structure depends on the Si-tube pore diameter. The high radius of gyration (R-g) and polydispersity of Hb in the 20 nm diameter Si-tube indicates that Hb undergoes a significant amount of aggregation. However, for Si-tube diameters greater or equal to 100 nm, the R-g of Hb is found to be in very close proximity to that obtained from the protein data bank (PDB) reported structure (R-g of native Hb=23.8 angstrom). This strongly indicates that the protein has a preference for the more native-like non-aggregated state if confined inside tubes of diameter greater or equal to 100 nm. Further insight into the Hb structure is obtained from the distance distribution function, p(r), and ab initio models calculated from the SANS patterns. These also suggest that the Si-tube size is a key parameter for protein stability and structure.

Pressure-induced semiconducting to metallic transition in multilayered molybdenum disulphide

Molybdenum disulphide is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide that has recently raised considerable interest due to its unique semiconducting and opto-electronic properties. Although several theoretical studies have suggested an electronic phase transition in molybdenum disulphide, there has been a lack of experimental evidence. Here we report comprehensive studies on the pressure-dependent electronic, vibrational, optical and structural properties of multilayered molybdenum disulphide up to 35 GPa. Our experimental results reveal a structural lattice distortion followed by an electronic transition from a semiconducting to metallic state at similar to 19 GPa, which is confirmed by ab initio calculations. The metallization arises from the overlap of the valance and conduction bands owing to sulphur-sulphur interactions as the interlayer spacing reduces. The electronic transition affords modulation of the opto-electronic gain in molybdenum disulphide. This pressure-tuned behaviour can enable the development of novel devices with multiple phenomena involving the strong coupling of the mechanical, electrical and optical properties of layered nanomaterials.

Improved quasiparticle wave functions and mean field for G(0)W(0) calculations: Initialization with the COHSEX operator

The GW approximation to the electron self-energy has become a standard method for ab initio calculation of excited-state properties of condensed-matter systems. In many calculations, the G W self-energy operator, E, is taken to be diagonal in the density functional theory (DFT) Kohn-Sham basis within the G0 W0 scheme. However, there are known situations in which this diagonal Go Wo approximation starting from DFT is inadequate. We present two schemes to resolve such problems. The first, which we called sc-COHSEX-PG W, involves construction of an improved mean field using the static limit of GW, known as COHSEX (Coulomb hole and screened exchange), which is significantly simpler to treat than GW W. In this scheme, frequency-dependent self energy E(N), is constructed and taken to be diagonal in the COHSEX orbitals after the system is solved self-consistently within this formalism. The second method is called off diagonal-COHSEX G W (od-COHSEX-PG W). In this method, one does not self-consistently change the mean-field starting point but diagonalizes the COHSEX Hamiltonian within the Kohn-Sham basis to obtain quasiparticle wave functions and uses the resulting orbitals to construct the G W E in the diagonal form. We apply both methods to a molecular system, silane, and to two bulk systems, Si and Ge under pressure. For silane, both methods give good quasiparticle wave functions and energies. Both methods give good band gaps for bulk silicon and maintain good agreement with experiment. Further, the sc-COHSEX-PGW method solves the qualitatively incorrect DFT mean-field starting point (having a band overlap) in bulk Ge under pressure.

The X-C center dot center dot center dot pi (X = F, Cl, Br, CN) Carbon Bond

High-level ab initio calculations have been used to study the interactions between the CH3 group of CH3X (X = F, Cl, Br, CN) molecules and pi-electrons. These interactions are important because of the abundance of both the CH3 groups and pi-electrons in biological systems. Complexes between C2H4/C2H2 and CH3X molecules have been used as model systems. Various theoretical methods such as atoms in molecules theory, reduced density gradient analysis, and natural bond orbital analysis have been used to discern these interactions. These analyses show that the interaction of the p-electrons with the CH3X molecules leads to the formation of X-C...p carbon bonds. Similar complexes with other tetrel molecules, SiH3X and GeH3X, have also been considered.

Rotational spectra of propargyl alcohol dimer: A dimer bound with three different types of hydrogen bonds

Pure rotational spectra of the propargyl alcohol dimer and its three deuterium isotopologues have been observed in the 4 to 13 GHz range using a pulsed-nozzle Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. For the parent dimer, a total of 51 transitions could be observed and fitted within experimental uncertainty. For two mono-substituted and one bi-substituted deuterium isotopologues, a total of 14, 17, and 19 transitions were observed, respectively. The observed rotational constants for the parent dimer A = 2321.8335(4) MHz, B = 1150.4774(2) MHz, and C = 1124.8898(2) MHz] are close to those of the most stable structure predicted by ab initio calculations. Spectra of the three deuterated isotopologues and Kraitchman analysis positively confirm this structure. Geometrical parameters and ``Atoms in Molecules'' analysis on the observed structure reveal that the two propargyl alcohol units in the dimer are bound by three different types of hydrogen bonds: O-H center dot center dot center dot O, O-H center dot center dot center dot pi, and C-H center dot center dot center dot pi. To the best of our knowledge, propargyl alcohol seems to be the smallest molecule forming a homodimer with three different points of contact. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Effect of functional groups on separating carbon dioxide from CO2/N-2 gas mixtures using edge functionalized graphene nanoribbons

Development of microporous adsorbents for separation and sequestration of carbon dioxide from flue gas streams is an area of active research. In this study, we assess the influence of specific functional groups on the adsorption selectivity of CO2/N-2 mixtures through Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. Our model system consists of a bilayer graphene nanoribbon that has been edge functionalized with OH, NH2, NO2, CH3 and COOH. Ab initio Moller-Plesset (MP2) calculations with functionalized benzenes are used to obtain binding energies and optimized geometries for CO2 and N-2. This information is used to validate the choice classical forcefields in GCMC simulations. In addition to simulations of adsorption from binary mixtures of CO2 and N-2, the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) is used to predict mixture isotherms. Our study reveals that functionalization always leads to an increase in the adsorption of both CO2 and N-2 with the highest for COOH. However, significant enhancement in the selectivity for CO2 is only seen with COOH functionalized nanoribbons. The COOH functionalization gives a 28% increase in selectivity compared to H terminated nanoribbons, whereas the improvement in the selectivity for other functional groups are much Enure modest. Our study suggests that specific functionalization with COOH groups can provide a material's design strategy to improve CO2 selectivity in microporous adsorbents. Synthesis of graphene nanoplatelets with edge functionalized COOH, which has the potential for large scale production, has recently been reported (Jeon el, al., 2012). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved,

Beyond classical dynamic structural plasticity using mesh-free modelling techniques

The problem of modelling the transient response of an elastic-perfectly-plastic cantilever beam, carrying an impulsively loaded tip mass, is,often referred to as the Parkes cantilever problem 25]; The permanent deformation of a cantilever struck transversely at its tip, Proc. R. Soc. A., 288, pp. 462). This paradigm for classical modelling of projectile impact on structures is re-visited and updated using the mesh-free method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). The purpose of this study is to investigate further the behaviour of cantilever beams subjected to projectile impact at its tip, by considering especially physically real effects such as plastic shearing close to the projectile, shear deformation, and the variation of the shear strain along the length and across the thickness of the beam. Finally, going beyond macroscopic structural plasticity, a strategy to incorporate physical discontinuity (due to crack formation) in SPH discretization is discussed and explored in the context of tip-severance of the cantilever beam. Consequently, the proposed scheme illustrates the potency for a more refined treatment of penetration mechanics, paramount in the exploration of structural response under ballistic loading. The objective is to contribute to formulating a computational modelling framework within which transient dynamic plasticity and even penetration/failure phenomena for a range of materials, structures and impact conditions can be explored ab initio, this being essential for arriving at suitable tools for the design of armour systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure, dynamics and thermodynamics of single-file water under confinement: effects of polarizability of water molecules

Various structural, dynamic and thermodynamic properties of water molecules confined in single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are investigated using both polarizable and non-polarizable water models. The inclusion of polarizability quantitatively affects the nature of hydrogen bonding, which governs many properties of confined water molecules. Polarizable water leads to tighter hydrogen bonding and makes the distance between neighboring water molecules shorter than that for non-polarizable water. Stronger hydrogen bonding also decreases the rotational entropy and makes the diffusion constant smaller than in TIP3P and TIP3PM water models. The reorientational dynamics of the water molecules is governed by a jump mechanism, the barrier for the jump being highest for the polarizable water model. Our results highlight the role of polarizability in governing the dynamics of confined water and demonstrate that the inclusion of polarizability is necessary to obtain agreement with the results of ab initio simulations for the distributions of waiting and jump times. The SPC/E water model is found to predict various water properties in close agreement with the results of polarizable water models with much lower computational costs.

Stacking Interactions in RNA and DNA: Roll-Slide Energy Hyperspace for Ten Unique Dinucleotide Steps

Understanding dinucleotide sequence directed structures of nuleic acids and their variability from experimental observation remained ineffective due to unavailability of statistically meaningful data. We have attempted to understand this from energy scan along twist, roll, and slide degrees of freedom which are mostly dependent on dinucleotide sequence using ab initio density functional theory. We have carried out stacking energy analysis in these dinucleotide parameter phase space for all ten unique dinucleotide steps in DNA and RNA using DFT-D by B97X-D/6-31G(2d,2p), which appears to satisfactorily explain conformational preferences for AU/AU step in our recent study. We show that values of roll, slide, and twist of most of the dinucleotide sequences in crystal structures fall in the low energy region. The minimum energy regions with large twist values are associated with the roll and slide values of B-DNA, whereas, smaller twist values correspond to higher stability to RNA and A-DNA like conformations. Incorporation of solvent effect by CPCM method could explain the preference shown by some sequences to occur in B-DNA or A-DNA conformations. Conformational preference of BII sub-state in B-DNA is preferentially displayed mainly by pyrimidine-purine steps and partly by purine-purine steps. The purine-pyrimidine steps show largest effect of 5-methyl group of thymine in stacking energy and the introduction of solvent reduces this effect significantly. These predicted structures and variabilities can explain the effect of sequence on DNA and RNA functionality. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 103: 134-147, 2015.

Amorphous W-S-N thin films: The atomic structure behind ultra-low friction

Amorphous W-S-N in the form of thin films has been identified experimentally as an ultra-low friction material, enabling easy sliding by the formation of a WS2 tribofilm. However, the atomic-level structure and bonding arrangements in amorphous W-S-N, which give such optimum conditions for WS2 formation and ultra-low friction, are not known. In this study, amorphous thin films with up to 37 at.% N are deposited, and experimental as well as state-of-the-art ab initio techniques are employed to reveal the complex structure of W-S-N at the atomic level. Excellent agreement between experimental and calculated coordination numbers and bond distances is demonstrated. Furthermore, the simulated structures are found to contain N bonded in molecular form, i.e. N-2, which is experimentally confirmed by near edge X-ray absorption fine structure and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Such N-2 units are located in cages in the material, where they are coordinated mainly by S atoms. Thus this ultra-low friction material is shown to be a complex amorphous network of W, S and N atoms, with easy access to W and S for continuous formation of WS2 in the contact region, and with the possibility of swift removal of excess nitrogen present as N-2 molecules. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synergistic Effect of Mo plus Cu Codoping on the Photocatalytic Behavior of Metastable TiO2 Solid Solutions

Codoping with Cu and Mo is shown to have a synergistic effect on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The enhancement in activity is observed only if the synthesis route results in TiO2 in which (Cu, Mo) codopants are forced into the TiO2 lattice. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Cu and Mo are shown to be present in the +2 and +6 oxidation states, respectively. A systematic study of the ternary system shows that TiO2 containing 6 mol % CuO and 1.5 mol % MoO3 is the most active ternary composition. Ab initio calculations show that codoping of TiO2 using (Mo, Cu) introduces levels above the valence band, and below the conduction band, resulting in a significant reduction in the band gap (similar to 0.8 eV). However, codoping also introduces deep defect states, which can have a deleterious impact on photoactivity. This helps rationalize the narrow compositional window over which the enhancement in photocatalytic activity is observed.