Between photocatalysis and photosynthesis: Synchrotron spectroscopy methods on molecules and materials for solar hydrogen generation

Energy research is to a large extent materials research, encompassing the physics and chemistry of materials, including their synthesis, processing toward components and design toward architectures, allowing for their functionality as energy devices, extending toward their operation parameters and environment, including also their degradation, limited life, ultimate failure and potential recycling. In all these stages, X-ray and electron spectroscopy are helpful methods for analysis, characterization and diagnostics for the engineer and for the researcher working in basic science.This paper gives a short overview of experiments with X-ray and electron spectroscopy for solar energy and water splitting materials and addresses also the issue of solar fuel, a relatively new topic in energy research. The featured systems are iron oxide and tungsten oxide as photoanodes, and hydrogenases as molecular systems. We present surface and subsurface studies with ambient pressure XPS and hard X-ray XPS, resonant photoemission, light induced effects in resonant photoemission experiments and a photo-electrochemical in situ/operando NEXAFS experiment in a liquid cell, and nuclear resonant vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS). (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oxy-steam gasification of biomass for hydrogen rich syngas production using downdraft reactor configuration

The paper focuses on the use of oxygen and steam as the gasification agents in the thermochemical conversion of biomass to produce hydrogen rich syngas, using a downdraft reactor configuration. Performance of the reactor is evaluated for different equivalence ratios (ER), steam to biomass ratios (SBR) and moisture content in the fuel. The results are compared and evaluated with chemical equilibrium analysis and reaction kinetics along with the results available in the literature. Parametric study suggests that, with increase in SBR, hydrogen fraction in the syngas increases but necessitates an increase in the ER to maintain reactor temperature toward stable operating conditions. SBR is varied from 0.75 to 2.7 and ER from 0.18 to 0.3. The peak hydrogen yield is found to be 104g/kg of biomass at SBR of 2.7. Further, significant enhancement in H-2 yield and H-2 to CO ratio is observed at higher SBR (SBR=1.5-2.7) compared with lower range SBR (SBR=0.75-1.5). Experiments were conducted using wet wood chips to induce moisture into the reacting system and compare the performance with dry wood with steam. The results clearly indicate the both hydrogen generation and the gasification efficiency ((g)) are better in the latter case. With the increase in SBR, gasification efficiency ((g)) and lower heating value (LHV) tend to reduce. Gasification efficiency of 85.8% is reported with LHV of 8.9MJNm(-3) at SBR of 0.75 compared with 69.5% efficiency at SBR of 2.5 and lower LHV of 7.4 at MJNm(-3) at SBR of 2.7. These are argued on the basis of the energy required for steam generation and the extent of steam consumption during the reaction, which translates subsequently in the LHV of syngas. From the analysis of the results, it is evident that reaction kinetics plays a crucial role in the conversion process. The study also presents the importance of reaction kinetics, which controls the overall performance related to efficiency, H-2 yield, H-2 to CO fraction and LHV of syngas, and their dependence on the process parameters SBR and ER. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantum chemical study on influence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the geometry, the atomic charges and the vibrational dynamics of 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile

FT-IR (4000-400 cm(-1)) and FT-Raman (4000-200 cm(-1)) spectral measurements on solid 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (2,6-DCBN) have been done. The molecular geometry, harmonic vibrational frequencies and bonding features in the ground state have been calculated by density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) level. A comparison between the calculated and the experimental results covering the molecular structure has been made. The assignments of the fundamental vibrational modes have been done on the basis of the potential energy distribution (PED). To investigate the influence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the geometry, the charge distribution and the vibrational spectrum of 2,6-DCBN; calculations have been done for the monomer as well as the tetramer. The intermolecular interaction energies corrected for basis set superposition error (BSSE) have been calculated using counterpoise method. Based on these results, the correlations between the vibrational modes and the structure of the tetramer have been discussed. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) contour map has been plotted in order to predict how different geometries could interact. The Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis has been done for the chemical interpretation of hyperconjugative interactions and electron density transfer between occupied (bonding or lone pair) orbitals to unoccupied (antibonding or Rydberg) orbitals. UV spectrum was measured in methanol solution. The energies and oscillator strengths were calculated by Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) and matched to the experimental findings. TD-DFT method has also been used for theoretically studying the hydrogen bonding dynamics by monitoring the spectral shifts of some characteristic vibrational modes involved in the formation of hydrogen bonds in the ground and the first excited state. The C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of the molecule were calculated by the Gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method and compared with experimental results. Standard thermodynamic functions have been obtained and changes in thermodynamic properties on going from monomer to tetramer have been presented. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Artificial photosynthesis and the splitting of water to generate hydrogen

It is no exaggeration to state that the energy crisis is the most serious challenge that we face today. Among the strategies to gain access to reliable, renewable energy, the use of solar energy has clearly emerged as the most viable option. A promising direction in this context is artificial photosynthesis. In this article, we briefly describe the essential features of artificial photosynthesis in comparison with natural photosynthesis and point out the modest success that we have had in splitting water to produce oxygen and hydrogen, specially the latter.

Effect of Substrate Temperature on the Microstructure Variation in Sputter-deposited Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thinfilms

Vacancy, void incorporation and Si-H-x configuration in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films was studied. Films were grown by Direct Current (DC), pulsed DC and Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis has been carried out on the films and found that, the a-Si: H films grown by DC magnetron sputtering are of good quality compared to pulsed DC and RF deposited films. The effect of Substrate temperature (T-S) on the total hydrogen concentration (C-H), configuration of hydrogen bonding, density (decided by the vacancy and void incorporation) and the microstructure factor (R*) was studied. T-S is found to be an active parameter in affecting the above said properties of the films. The films contain both vacancies and voids. At low hydrogen dilutions the films are vacancy dominated and at high hydrogen dilutions they are void dominated. It is found that T-S favors monohydride (Si-H) bonding at the cost of dihydride (Si-H-2) bonding. This dividing line is at C-H=14 at.% H for DC sputter deposited films. The microstructure structure factor R* is found to be zero for as deposited DC films at T-S=773K. The threshold C-H for void dominated region is found to be C-H=23 at.% H for RF, C-H=18 at.% H for PDC and C-H similar to 14 at.%H for DC sputter deposited films.

Designing Ternary Co-crystals with Stacking Interactions and Weak Hydrogen Bonds. 4,4 `-Bis-hydroxyazobenzene

Three ternary co-crystals of the title compound are reported. The design strategy hinges on the identification of a robust synthon with O-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen bonds in a binary co-crystal. Construction of this module allows the tuning of pi center dot center dot center dot pi stacking interactions and weak hydrogen bonds to incorporate the third component into the crystal structure. Screening of various co-formers showed that a delicate balance of electrostatics is required for stacking to favor the formation of ternaries. A C-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen-bonded motif was also found to occur repetitively in the ternary co-crystals. The directional nature of weak hydrogen bonds allows them to be used effectively in this study.

Effect of quantum nuclear motion on hydrogen bonding

This work considers how the properties of hydrogen bonded complexes, X-H center dot center dot center dot Y, are modified by the quantum motion of the shared proton. Using a simple two-diabatic state model Hamiltonian, the analysis of the symmetric case, where the donor (X) and acceptor (Y) have the same proton affinity, is carried out. For quantitative comparisons, a parametrization specific to the O-H center dot center dot center dot O complexes is used. The vibrational energy levels of the one-dimensional ground state adiabatic potential of the model are used to make quantitative comparisons with a vast body of condensed phase data, spanning a donor-acceptor separation (R) range of about 2.4-3.0 angstrom, i.e., from strong to weak hydrogen bonds. The position of the proton (which determines the X-H bond length) and its longitudinal vibrational frequency, along with the isotope effects in both are described quantitatively. An analysis of the secondary geometric isotope effect, using a simple extension of the two-state model, yields an improved agreement of the predicted variation with R of frequency isotope effects. The role of bending modes is also considered: their quantum effects compete with those of the stretching mode for weak to moderate H-bond strengths. In spite of the economy in the parametrization of the model used, it offers key insights into the defining features of H-bonds, and semi-quantitatively captures several trends. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

A Modified Fluorimetric Method for Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Homovanillic Acid Oxidation Principle

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) level in biological samples is used as an important index in various studies. Quantification of H2O2 level in tissue fractions in presence of H2O2 metabolizing enzymes may always provide an incorrect result. A modification is proposed for the spectrofluorimetric determination of H2O2 in homovanillic acid (HVA) oxidation method. The modification was included to precipitate biological samples with cold trichloroacetic acid (TCA, 5% w/v) followed by its neutralization with K2HPO4 before the fluorimetric estimation of H2O2 is performed. TCA was used to precipitate the protein portions contained in the tissue fractions. After employing the above modification, it was observed that H2O2 content in tissue samples was >= 2 fold higher than the content observed in unmodified method. Minimum 2 h incubation of samples in reaction mixture was required for completion of the reaction. The stability of the HVA dimer as reaction product was found to be > 12 h. The method was validated by using known concentrations of H2O2 and catalase enzyme that quenches H2O2 as substrate. This method can be used efficiently to determine more accurate tissue H2O2 level without using internal standard and multiple samples can be processed at a time with additional low cost reagents such as TCA and K2HPO4.

Enhancing hydrogen storage capacity of pyridine-based metal organic framework

Using first principles calculations, we show that the storage capacity as well as desorption temperature of MOFs can be significantly enhanced by decorating pyridine (a common linker in MOFs) by metal atoms. The storage capacity of metal-pyridine complexes are found to be dependent on the type of decorating metal atom. Among the 3d transition metal atoms, Sc turns out to be the most efficient storing unto four H-2 molecules. Most importantly, Sc does not suffer dimerisation on the surface of pyridine, keeping the storage capacity of every metal atom intact. Based on these findings, we propose a metal-decorated pyridine-based MOFs, which has potential to meet the required H-2 storage capacity for vehicular usage. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of the 2.0(5) helix type i -> i hydrogen bond energy at Aib*-Oxa motif: an isodesmic approach

Bending at the valence angle N-C-alpha-C' (tau) is a known control feature for attenuating the stability of the rare intramolecular hydrogen bonded pseudo five-membered ring C-5 structures, the so called 2.0(5) helices, at Aib. The competitive 3(10)-helical structures still predominate over the C5 structures at Aib for most values of tau. However at Aib*, a mimic of Aib where the carbonyl 0 of Aib is replaced with an imidate N (in 5,6-dihydro-4H-1,3-oxazine = Oxa), in the peptidomimic Piv-Pro-Aib*-Oxa (1), the C(5)i structure is persistent in both crystals and in solution. Here we show that the i -> i hydrogen bond energy is a more determinant control for the relative stability of the C5 structure and estimate its value to be 18.5 +/- 0.7 kJ/mol at Aib* in 1, through the computational isodesmic reaction approach, using two independent sets of theoretical isodesmic reactions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen-Bond-Driven Controlled Molecular Marriage in Covalent Cages

A supramolecular approach that uses hydrogen-bonding interaction as a driving force to accomplish exceptional self-sorting in the formation of imine-based covalent organic cages is discussed. Utilizing the dynamic covalent chemistry approach from three geometrically similar dialdehydes (A, B, and D) and the flexible triamine tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (X), three new 3+2] self-assembled nanoscopic organic cages have been synthesized and fully characterized by various techniques. When a complex mixture of the dialdehydes and triamine X was subjected to reaction, it was found that only dialdehyde B (which has OH groups for H-bonding) reacted to form the corresponding cage B3X2 selectively. Surprisingly, the same reaction in the absence of aldehyde B yielded a mixture of products. Theoretical and experimental investigations are in complete agreement that the presence of the hydroxyl moiety adjacent to the aldehyde functionality in B is responsible for the selective formation of cage B3X2 from a complex reaction mixture. This spectacular selection was further analyzed by transforming a nonpreferred (non-hydroxy) cage into a preferred (hydroxy) cage B3X2 by treating the former with aldehyde B. The role of the H-bond in partner selection in a mixture of two dialdehydes and two amines has also been established. Moreover, an example of unconventional imine bond metathesis in organic cage-to-cage transformation is reported.

Equiatomic ternary chalcogenide: PdPS and its reduced graphene oxide composite for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The layered ternary chalcogenide, palladium phosphorous sulphide (PdPS), and its composite with reduced graphene oxide are shown to be efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts. The Tafel slope and the exchange current density values associated with hydrogen evolution reaction are determined to be 46 mV dec(-1) and 1.4 x 10(-4) A cm(-2) respectively.

Tautomeric Preference and Conformation Locking in Fenobam, Thiofenobam, and Their Analogues: The Decisive Role of Hydrogen Bond Hierarchy

The crystal and molecular structures of the potential antidepressant drug fenobam and its derivatives are examined in terms of the preferred form among the two possible tautomeric structures. In this study, chemical derivatization has been utilized as a means to ``experimentally simulate'' the tautomeric preference and conformational variability in fenobam. Eight new derivatives of fenobam have been synthesized, and structural features have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy. The specific tautomeric preference found in all of these compounds and their known crystal forms have been construed in terms of the stabilizing intramolecular N-H center dot center dot center dot O and N-H center dot center dot center dot S hydrogen bonding. The hierarchy of intramolecular hydrogen bonds evidenced as the preference of the C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bond over C-H center dot center dot center dot N and that of the C-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen bond over C-H center dot center dot center dot S explains the two distinct conformations adopted by fenobam and thiofenobam derivatives. The relative energy values of different molecular conformations have been calculated and compared.

Halogen Bonds in Crystal Engineering: Like Hydrogen Bonds yet Different

CONSPECTUS: The halogen bond is an attractive interaction in which an electrophilic halogen atom approaches a negatively polarized species. Short halogen atom contacts in crystals have been known for around 50 years. Such contacts are found in two varieties: type I, which is symmetrical, and type II, which is bent. Both are influenced by geometric and chemical considerations. Our research group has been using halogen atom interactions as design elements in crystal engineering, for nearly 30 years. These interactions include halogen center dot center dot center dot halogen interactions (X center dot center dot center dot X) and halogen center dot center dot center dot heteroatom interactions (X center dot center dot center dot B). Many X center dot center dot center dot X and almost all X center dot center dot center dot B contacts can be classified as halogen bonds. In this Account, we illustrate examples of crystal engineering where one can build up from previous knowledge with a focus that is provided by the modern definition of the halogen bond. We also comment on the similarities and differences between halogen bonds and hydrogen bonds. These interactions are similar because the protagonist atoms halogen and hydrogen are both electrophilic in nature. The interactions are distinctive because the size of a halogen atom is of consequence when compared with the atomic sizes of, for example, C, N, and O, unlike that of a hydrogen atom. Conclusions may be drawn pertaining to the nature of X center dot center dot center dot X interactions from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). There is a clear geometric and chemical distinction between type I and type II, with only type II being halogen bonds. Cl/Br isostructurality is explained based on a geometric model. In parallel, experimental studies on 3,4-dichlorophenol and its congeners shed light on the nature of halogen center dot center dot center dot halogen interactions and reveal the chemical difference between Cl and Br. Variable temperature studies also show differences between type I and type II contacts. In terms of crystal design, halogen bonds offer a unique opportunity in the strength, atom size and interaction gradation; this may be used in the design of ternary cocrystals. Structural modularity in which an entire crystal structure is defined as a combination of modules is rationalized on the basis of the intermediate strength of a halogen bond. The specific directionality of the halogen bond makes it a good tool to achieve orthogonality in molecular crystals. Mechanical properties can be tuned systematically by varying these orthogonally oriented halogen center dot center dot center dot halogen interactions. In a further development, halogen bonds are shown to play a systematic role in organization of LSAMs (long range synthon aufbau module), which are bigger structural units containing multiple synthons. With a formal definition in place, this may be the right time to look at differences between halogen bonds and hydrogen bonds and exploit them in more subtle ways in crystal engineering.

Effect of hydrogen on the yielding behavior and shear transformation zone volume in metallic glass ribbons

The effect of hydrogen (H) charging on the shear yield strength (tau(max)) and shear transformation zone volume (Omega) of Ni-Nb-Zr metallic glass ribbons, with varying Zr content, were studied through the first pop-in loads during nanoindentation. Weight gain measurements after H charging and desorption studies were utilized to identify how the total H absorbed during charging is partitioned into mobile and immobile (or trapped) parts. These, in turn, indicate the significant role of H mobility in the amorphous structure on the yielding behavior. In high-Zr alloys, tau(max) increases significantly whereas Omega decreases. In low-Zr alloys, a slight decrease in tau(max) and increase in Omega were noted. These experimental observations are rationalized in terms of the mobility of the absorbed H in the amorphous structure and the possible role of it in the shear transformation zone dynamics during deformation of the metallic glass. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.