Electronic and mechanical properties of 5d transition metal mononitrides via first principles

The electronic and mechanical properties of 5d transition metal mononitrides from LaN to AuN are systematically investigated by use of the density-functional theory. For each nitride, Six Structures are considered, i.e., rocksalt, zinc blende, CsCl, wurtzite, NiAs and WC structures. Among the considered structures, rocksalt structure is the most stable for LaN, HfN and ALIN, WC structure for TaN, NiAs structure for WN, wurtzite structure for ReN, OsN, IrN and PtN. The most stable Structure for each nitride is mechanically stable. The formation enthalpy increases from LaN to AuN.

Metal dependent control of cis-/trans-1,4 regioselectivity in 1,3-butadiene polymerization catalyzed by transition metal complexes supported by 2,6-bis[1-(iminophenyl)ethyl]pyridine

Fe(III), Cr(III), Fe(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) chloride complexes supported by 2,6-bis[1-(iminophenyl)ethyl]pyridine have been synthesized and characterized along with single crystal X-ray diffraction. These complexes, in combination with MAO, have been examined in butadiene polymerization. The catalytic activity and regioselectivity are strongly controlled by metal center and cocatalyst (MAO/Co ratio dependent in the case of Co(II) complex). The activity decreases in the order of Fe(III) > Co(II) > Cr(III) approximate to Ni (II) complexes, in consistent with the space around the metal center. Polybutadiene with different microstructure content, from high trans-1,4 units (88-95% for iron(III) and Cr(III)), medium trans-1,4 and cis-1,4 units (55% and 35%, respectively, for iron(II)) to high cis-1,4 units 79% for Co(II) and 97% for Ni(II) call be easily achieved by varying of the metal center.

Electronic structures and chemical bonding in 4d transition metal monohalides

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, dipole moments, dissociation energies, electron affinities, and ionization potentials of NIX (XM = Y-Cd, X = F, Cl, Br, I) molecules in neutral, positively, and negatively charged ions were studied by density functional method, B3LYP. The bonding patterns were analyzed and compared with both the available data and across the series. It was found that besides ionic component, covalent bonds are formed between the 4d transition metal s, d orbitals, and the p orbital of halogen. For both neutral and charged molecules, the fluorides have the shortest bond distance, iodides the longest. Although the opposite situation is observed for vibrational frequency, that is, fluorides have the largest value, iodides the smallest. For neutral and anionic species, the dissociation energy tends to decrease with the increasing atomic number from Y to Cd, suggesting the decreasing or weakening of the bond strength. For cationic species, the trend is observed from Y to Ag.

Interaction of H-2 with transition metal homonuclear dimers Cu-2, Ag-2, Au-2 and heteronuclear dimers PdCu, PdAg and PdAu

The reaction mechanisms of the H-2 with the homonuclear dimers M-2 (Cu, Ag, Au) and the heteronuclear dimers PdM (M = Cu, Ag, Au) were studied by use of density functional theory. For the H-2 reactions with homonuclear dimers M-2 (Cu, Ag, Au), it was found that it is easier for Au-2 to dissociate the hydrogen molecule compared with Cu-2 and Ag-2. For H-2 reactions with the heteronuclear dimers PdM (M = Cu, Ag, An), the hydrogen molecule can be easily dissociated at Pd site, rather than at noble metal site.

Electronic structures of 4d transition metal monoxides by density functional theory

Bond distances, dissociation energies, ionization potentials and electron affinities of 4d transition metal monoxides from YO to CdO and their positive and negative ions were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BPW91, B3P86, BP86, SVWN, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. It was found that calculated properties are highly dependent on the functionals employed, especially for dissociation energy. For most neutral species, pure density functionals BLYP, BPW91 and BP86 have good performance in predicting dissociation energy than hybrid density functionals B3LYP, B3PW91 and B3P86. In addition, BLYP gives the largest bond distance compared with other density functional methods, while SVWN gives shortest bond distance, largest dissociation energy and electron affinity. For the ground state, the spin multiplicity of the charged species can be obtained by +/- 1 of their corresponding neutral species.

Nanotubes of mixed-valence, transition metal compounds synthesized by solution phase approach

A solution-phase approach to synthesize four kinds of mixed-valence, transition metal compounds nanotube is described. The approach is based on the self-assembly of siloxane sol. The resulted production of mixed-valence, transition metal compounds share a common structural characteristic of tubular geometrical morphology, at least for the ones we studied. The results demonstrate that the synthesis strategy can be a general route for preparation of compound nanotubes. In addition, the size control of nanotubular materials can be easily achieved through varying the ionic strength of solution. Based on the strategy, the diameters of ultrathin Ru-Fe nanotubes can be easily tuned between 100 nm and 800 nm.

Selective hydrogenation of citral with transition metal complexes in supercritical carbon dioxide

The activity and selectivity of the transition metal complexes formed from Ru, Rh, Pd and Ni with triphenylphosphine (TPP) have been investigated for hydrogenation of citral in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)). High activities are obtained with Ru/TPP and Pd/TPP catalysts, and the overall activity is in the order of Pd approximate to Ru > Rh > Ni. The Ru/TPP complex is highly selective to the formation of unsaturated alcohols of geraniol and nerol. In contrast, the Pd/TPP catalyst is more selective to partially saturated aldehydes of citronellal. Furthermore, the influence of several parameters such as CO2 and H-2 pressures, N-2 pressure and reaction time has been discussed. CO2 pressure has a significant impact on the product distribution, and the selectivity for geraniol and nerol can be enhanced from 27% to 75% with increasing CO2 pressure from 6 to 16 MPa, while the selectivity for citronellol decreases from 70% to 20%. Striking changes in the conversion and product distribution in scCO(2) could be interpreted with variations in the phase behavior and the molecular interaction between CO2 and the substrate in the gas phase and in the liquid phase.

Catalytic ring hydrogenation of benzoic acid with supported transition metal catalysts in scCO(2)

The ring hydrogenation of benzoic acid to cyclohexanecarboxylic acid over charcoal-supported transition metal catalysts in supercritical CO2 medium has been studied in the present work. The cyclohexanecarboxylic acid can be produced efficiently in supercritical CO2 at the low reaction temperature of 323 K. The presence of CO2 increases the reaction rate and several parameters have been discussed.

Trends in elasticity and electronic structure of 5d transition metal diborides: first-principles calculations

We investigate the cohesive energy, heat of formation, elastic constant and electronic band structure of transition metal diborides TMB2 (TM = Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os and Ir, Pt) in the Pmmn space group using the ab initio pseudopotential total energy method. Our calculations indicate that there is a relationship between elastic constant and valence electron concentration (VEC): the bulk modulus and shear modulus achieve their maximum when the VEC is in the range of 6.8-7.2. In addition, trends in the elastic constant are well explained in terms of electronic band structure analysis, e.g., occupation of valence electrons in states near the Fermi level, which determines the cohesive energy and elastic properties. The maximum in bulk modulus and shear modulus is attributed to the nearly complete filling of TM d-B p bonding states without filling the antibonding states. On the basis of the observed relationship, we predict that alloying W and Re in the orthorhombic structure OsB2 might be harder than alloying the Ir element. Indeed, the further calculations confirmed this expectation.

Thermal and crystallization behaviors of polyethylene blends synthesized by binary late transition metal catalysts combinations

A series of reactor blends of linear and branched polyethylenes have been prepared, in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane, using a combination of 2,6-bis[1(2,6-dimethyphenylimino) pyridyl]-cobalt(II) dichloride (1), known as an active catalyst for producing linear polyethylene, and [1,4-bis(2,6-diidopropylphenyl)] acenaphthene diimine nickel(II) dibromide (2), which is active for the production of branched polyethylene. The polymerizations were performed at various levels of catalyst feed ratio at 10 bar. The linear correlation between catalyst activity and concentration of catalyst 2 suggested that the catalysts performed independently from each other. The weight-average molecular weights ((M) over bar (w)), crystalline structures, and phase structures of the blends were investigated, using a combination of gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and small angle X-ray scattering techniques. It was found that the polymerization activities and MWs and crystallization rate of the polymers took decreasing tendency with the increase of the catalyst 2 ratios, while melting temperatures (T-m), crystalline temperatures (T,), and crystalline degrees took decreasing tendency. Long period was distinctly influenced by the amorphous component concentration.

Density functional study of the second row transition metal dimers

Equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies and dissociation energies of the second row transition metal dimers (from Y-2 to Cd-2 except Tc-2) ere studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BHLYP, BP86, B3P86, SVWN, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. The accuracy DFT methods is found to be highly dependent on the functional employed, in particular for vibrational frequency and dissociation energy. In most cases, the predicted bond distance is in general agreement with experiment and previous theoretical results. For van der Waals dimer Cd-2, B3LYP and BLYP have excellent performance in predicting the bond distance. For Ag-2, all density functional methods used in this study perform well in producing the bond distance, vibrational frequency and dissociation energy.

Structural stability and electronic state of transition metal trimers

Ground state geometries were searched for transition metal trimers Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, Lu-3, Ti-3, Zr-3, and Hf-3 by density functional methods. For all the studied trimers, our calculation indicates that the ground state geometries are either equilateral triangle (Zr-3 and Hf-3) or near equilateral triangle (Ti-3, Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, and Lu-3). For rare earth trimers Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, and Lu-3, isosceles triangle (near equilateral triangle) at quartet state is the ground state. Isosceles triangle at doublet state is the competitive candidate for the ground state. For Zr-3 and Hf-3, equilateral triangle at singlet state is the most stable. For Ti-3, isosceles triangle (near equilateral triangle) at quintet state gives the ground state. For Sc-3, Zr-3, and Hf-3, where experimental results are available, the predicted geometries are in agreement with experiment in which the ground state is equilateral triangle (Zr-3) or fluxional (Sc-3 and Hf-3). For Y-3, the calculated geometry is in agreement with experimental observation and previous theoretical study that Y-3 is a bent molecule for the ground state.

Electronic structures and chemical bonding in transition metal monosilicides MSi (M=3d, 4d, 5d elements)

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, dissociation energies, and dipole moments of the title molecules in neutral, positively, and negatively charged ions were studied using the density functional method. Ground state was assigned for each species. The bonding patterns were analyzed and compared with both the available data and across the series. It was found that besides an ionic component, covalent bonds are formed between the metal s, d orbitals and the silicon 3p orbital. The covalent character increases from ScSi (YSi) to NiSi (PdSi) for 3d (4d) metal monosilicides, then decreases. For 5d metal monosilicides, the covalent character increases from LaSi to OsSi, then decreases. For the dissociation of cations, the dissociation channel depends on the magnitude of the ionization potential between metal and silicon. If the ionization potential of the metal is smaller than that of silicon, channel MSi+-> M++Si is favored. Otherwise, MSi+-> M+Si+ will be favored. A similar behavior was observed for anions, in which the dissociation channel depends on the magnitude of electron affinity.

Electron affinities and ionization potentials of 4d and 5d transition metal atoms by CCSD(T), MP2 and density functional theory

The electron affinities and ionization potentials of 4d and 5d transition metal atoms were studied by CCSD(T), MP2 and density functional methods. The calculated results indicate that density functional method B3LYP has the best overall performance in predicting both electron affinity and ionization potential. SVWN gives largest IP and EA for 4d and 5d atoms. For the two basis sets used in this study, LANL2DZ and SDD, the performance of B3LYP/SDD combination is better than B3LYP/LANL2DZ, in particular for electron affinity calculation.

A novel 2D arsenic vanadate network grafted with a transition metal complex: [Cu(phen)][(VV4As2O19)-V-IV-As-V]center dot 0.5H(2)O

A novel organic-inorganic hybrid compound [Cu(phen)](2)[(VV4As2O19)-V-IV-As-V-O-V].0.5H(2)O 1 has been hydrothermally synthesized. Its structure, determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, exhibits an unusual two-dimensional arsenic vanadate layered network grafted with the [Cu(phen)](2+) complex. The chelating phen ligands project perpendicularly beyond the inorganic layer. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility studies indicate that both ferro- and antiferro-magnetic interactions exist in 1.