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.

Explosives Sensing by Using Electron-Rich Supramolecular Polymers: Role of Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding in Significant Enhancement of Sensitivity

We demonstrate here that supramolecular interactions enhance the sensitivity towards detection of electron-deficient nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) over discrete analogues. NACs are the most commonly used explosive ingredients and are common constituents of many unexploded landmines used during World WarII. In this study, we have synthesised a series of pyrene-based polycarboxylic acids along with their corresponding discrete esters. Due to the electron richness and the fluorescent behaviour of the pyrene moiety, all the compounds act as sensors for electron-deficient NACs through a fluorescence quenching mechanism. A Stern-Volmer quenching constant determination revealed that the carboxylic acids are more sensitive than the corresponding esters towards NACs in solution. The high sensitivity of the acids was attributed to supramolecular polymer formation through hydrogen bonding in the case of the acids, and the enhancement mechanism is based on an exciton energy migration upon excitation along the hydrogen-bond backbone. The presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the acids in solution was established by solvent-dependent fluorescence studies and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments. In addition, the importance of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in solid-state sensing was further explored by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments at the liquid-solid interface, in which structures of self-assembled monolayer of the acids and the corresponding esters were compared. The sensitivity tests revealed that these supramolecular sensors can even detect picric acid and trinitrotoluene in solution at levels as low as parts per trillion (ppt), which is much below the recommended permissible level of these constituents in drinking water.

Obtaining Synthon Modularity in Ternary Cocrystals with Hydrogen Bonds and Halogen Bonds

Design of ternary cocrystals based on synthon modularity is described. The strategy is based on the idea of extending synthon modularity in binary cocrystals of 4-hydroxybenzamide:dicarboxylic acids and 4-bromobenzamide:dicarboxylic acids. If a system contains an amide group along with other functional groups, one of which is a carboxylic acid group, the amide associates preferentially with the carboxylic acid group to form an acidamide heterosynthon. If the amide and the acid groups are in different molecules, a higher multicomponent molecular crystal is obtained. This is a stable pattern that can be used to increase the number of components from two to three in a multicomponent system. Accordingly, noncovalent interactions are controlled in the design of ternary cocrystals in a more predictable manner. If a single component crystal with the amideamide dimer is considered, modularity is retained even after formation of a binary cocrystal with acidamide dimers. Similarly, when third component halogen atom containing molecules are introduced into these binary cocrystals, modularity is still retained. Here, we use acidamide and Br/I center dot center dot center dot O2N supramolecular synthons to obtain modularity in nine ternary cocrystals. The acidamide heterosynthon is robust to all the nine cocrystals. Heterosynthons may assist ternary cocrystal formation when there is a high solubility difference between the coformers. For a successful crystal engineering strategy for ternary cocrystals, one must consider the synthon itself and factors like shape and size of the component molecules, as well as the solubilities of the compounds.

Fluorine prefers hydrogen bonds over halogen bonds! Insights from crystal structures of some halofluorobenzenes

Crystal structures of a series of isomers of chlorofluorobenzene, bromofluorobenzene and iodofluorobenzene, all of which are liquids under ambient conditions, are determined by a technique of in situ cryocrystallography. These simple dihalo substituted benzenes provide clear insights into subtle interplay of packing interactions preferred by fluorine and heavier halogens for example, C-H center dot center dot center dot X hydrogen bonds vs. X center dot center dot center dot X halogen bonds (X=F, Cl, Br, I). The interaction patterns noted here are purely characteristic of halogens, having not been influenced by other stronger interactions. Variability of principal supramolecular synthons among the isomers highlights the importance of molecular shape and relative position of interacting atoms while preserving the basic intermolecular bonds. Mutually exclusive occurrence of homo (I center dot center dot center dot I) and hetero (I center dot center dot center dot F) halogen bonds in polymorphs of 4-iodofluorobenzene questions the robustness and reliability of these interactions.

Hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding and lithium bonding: an atoms in molecules and natural bond orbital perspective towards conservation of total bond order, inter- and intra-molecular bonding

One hundred complexes have been investigated exhibiting D-X center dot center dot center dot A interactions, where X = H, Cl or Li and DX is the `X bond' donor and A is the acceptor. The optimized structures of all these complexes have been used to propose a generalized `Legon-Millen rule' for the angular geometry in all these interactions. A detailed Atoms in Molecules (AIM) theoretical analysis confirms an important conclusion, known in the literature: there is a strong correlation between the electron density at the X center dot center dot center dot A bond critical point (BCP) and the interaction energy for all these interactions. In addition, we show that extrapolation of the fitted line leads to the ionic bond for Li-bonding (electrostatic) while for hydrogen and chlorine bonding, it leads to the covalent bond. Further, we observe a strong correlation between the change in electron density at the D-X BCP and that at the X center dot center dot center dot A BCP, suggesting conservation of the bond order. The correlation found between penetration and electron density at BCP can be very useful for crystal structure analysis, which relies on arbitrary van der Waals radii for estimating penetration. Various criteria proposed for shared-and closed-shell interactions based on electron density topology have been tested for H/Cl/Li bonded complexes. Finally, using the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis it is shown that the D-X bond weakens upon X bond formation, whether it is ionic (DLi) or covalent (DH/DCl) and the respective indices such as ionicity or covalent bond order decrease. Clearly, one can think of conservation of bond order that includes ionic and covalent contributions to both D-X and X center dot center dot center dot A bonds, for not only X = H/Cl/Li investigated here but also any atom involved in intermolecular bonding.

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.

Throwing light on platinized carbon nanostructured composites for hydrogen generation

In the present study, we have synthesised carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) through a relatively simple process using a hydrocarbon precursor. These synthesised CNPs in the form of elongated spherules and/or agglomerates of 30-55 nm were further used as a support to anchor platinum nanoparticles. The broad light absorption (300-700 nm) and a facile charge transfer property of CNPs in addition to the plasmonic property of Pt make these platinized carbon nanostructures (CNPs/Pt) a promising candidate in photocatalytic water splitting. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated using ethanol as the sacrificial donor. The photocatalyst has shown remarkable activity for hydrogen production under UV-visible light while retaining its stability for nearly 70 h. The broadband absorption of CNPs, along with the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) effect of PtNPs singly and in composites has pronounced influence on the photocatalytic activity, which has not been explored earlier. The steady rate of hydrogen was observed to be 20 mu mol h(-1) with an exceptional cumulative hydrogen yield of 32.16 mmol h(-1) g(-1) observed for CNPs/Pt, which is significantly higher than that reported for carbon-based systems.

Active guests in the MoS2/MoSe2 host lattice: efficient hydrogen evolution using few-layer alloys of MoS2(1-x)Se2x

Few-layer transition metal dichalcogenide alloys based on molybdenum sulphoselenides MoS2(1-x)Se2x] possess higher hydrogen evolution (HER) activity compared to pristine few-layer MoS2 and MoSe2. Variation of the sulphur or selenium content in the parent dichalcogenides reveals a systematic structure-activity relationship for different compositions of alloys, and it is found that the composition MoS1.0Se1.0 shows the highest HER activity amongst the catalysts studied. The tunable electronic structure of MoS2/MoSe2 upon Se/S incorporation probably assists in the realization of high HER activity.

Hydrogen-induced hardening and softening of Ni-Nb-Zr amorphous alloys: Dependence on the Zr content

The influence of absorbed hydrogen on the mechanical behavior of a series of Ni-Nb-Zr amorphous metallic ribbons was investigated through nanoindentation experiments. It was revealed that the influence is significantly dependent on Zr content, that is, hydrogen induced softening in relatively low-Zr alloys, whereas hydrogen induced hardening in high-Zr alloys. The results are discussed in terms of the different roles of mobile and immobile hydrogen in the plastic deformation. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dissociation Constants of Weak Acids from ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Using Metadynamics: Influence of the Inductive Effect and Hydrogen Bonding on pK(a) Values

The theoretical estimation of the dissociation constant, or pK(a), of weak acids continues to be a challenging field. Here, we show that ab initio CarParrinello molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with metadynamics calculations of the free-energy profile of the dissociation reaction provide reasonable estimates of the pK(a) value. Water molecules, sufficient to complete the three hydration shells surrounding the acid molecule, were included explicitly in the computation procedure. The free-energy profiles exhibit two distinct minima corresponding to the dissociated and neutral states of the acid, and the difference in their values provides the estimate for pK(a). We show for a series of organic acids that CPMD simulations in conjunction with metadynamics can provide reasonable estimates of pK(a) values. The acids investigated were aliphatic carboxylic acids, chlorine-substituted carboxylic acids, cis- and trans-butenedioic acid, and the isomers of hydroxybenzoic acid. These systems were chosen to highlight that the procedure could correctly account for the influence of the inductive effect as well as hydrogen bonding on pK(a) values of weak organic acids. In both situations, the CPMD metadynamics procedure faithfully reproduces the experimentally observed trend and the magnitudes of the pK(a) values.

A bio-attuned ratiometric hydrogen sulfate ion selective receptor in aqueous solvent: structural proof of the H-bonded adduct

A new cell permeable quinazoline based receptor (1) selectively senses HSO4- ions of nanomolar region in 0.1 M HEPES buffer (ethanol-water: 1/5, v/v) at biological pH over other competitive ions through the proton transfer followed by hydrogen bond formation and subsequent anion coordination to yield the LHSO4]-LH+center dot 3H(2)O (2) ensemble, which has been crystallographically characterised to ensure the structure property relationship. This non-cytotoxic HSO4- ion selective biomarker has great potential to recognize the intercellular distribution of HSO4- ions in HeLa cells under fluorescence microscope.

Remarkable enhancement in hydrogen storage on free-standing Ti3B and BC3 supported Ti-3 clusters

Hydrogen storage capacity of Tin-1B (n = 3-7) clusters is studied and compared with that of the pristine Ti-n (n = 3-7), using density functional theory (DFT) based calculations. Among these clusters, Ti3B shows the most significant enhancement in the storage capacity by adsorbing 12 H-2, out of which three are dissociated and the other nine are stored as dihydrogen via Kubas-interaction. The best storage in Ti3B is owed to a large charge transfer from Ti to B along with the largest distance of Ti empty d-states above the Fermi level, which is a distinct feature of this particular cluster. Furthermore, the effect of substrates on the storage capacity of Ti3B was assessed by calculating the number of adsorbed H-2 on Ti-3 cluster anchored onto B atoms in the B-doped graphene, BC3, and BN substrates. Similar to free-standing Ti3B, Ti-3 anchored onto boron atom in BC3, stores nine di-hydrogen via Kubas interaction, at the same time eliminating the total number of non-useful dissociated hydrogen. Gibbs energy of adsorption as a function of H-2 partial pressure, indicated that at 250 K and 300 K the di-hydrogens on Ti-3@BC3 adsorb and desorb at ambient pressures. Importantly, Ti-3@BC3 avoids the clustering, hence meeting the criteria for efficient and reversible hydrogen storage media. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IR spectroscopy as a probe for C-H center dot center dot center dot X hydrogen bonded supramolecular synthons

Weak hydrogen bonds of the type C-H center dot center dot center dot X (X: N, O, S and halogens) have evoked considerable interest over the years, especially in the context of crystal engineering. However, association patterns of weak hydrogen bonds are generally difficult to characterize, and yet the identification of such patterns is of interest, especially in high throughput work or where single crystal X-ray analysis is difficult or impossible. To obtain structural information on such assemblies, we describe here a five step IR spectroscopic method that identifies supramolecular synthons in weak hydrogen bonded dimer assemblies, bifurcated systems, and p-electron mediated synthons. The synthons studied here contain C-H groups as hydrogen bond donors. The method involves: (i) identifying simple compounds/cocrystals/salts that contain the hydrogen bonded dimer synthon of interest or linear hydrogen bonded assemblies between the same functionalities; (ii) scanning infrared (IR) spectra of the compounds; (iii) identifying characteristic spectral differences between dimer and linear; (iv) assigning identified bands as marker bands for identification of the supramolecular synthon, and finally (v) identifying synthons in compounds whose crystal structures are not known. The method has been effectively implemented for assemblies involving dimer/linear weak hydrogen bonds in nitrobenzenes (C-H center dot center dot center dot O-NO), nitro-dimethylamino compounds (NMe2 center dot center dot center dot O2N), chalcones (C-H center dot center dot center dot O=C), benzonitriles (C-H center dot center dot center dot N C) and fluorobenzoic acids (C-H center dot center dot center dot F-C). Two other special cases of C-H center dot center dot center dot pi and N-H center dot center dot center dot pi synthons were studied in which the band shape of the C-H stretch in hydrocarbons and the N-H deformation in aminobenzenes was examined.