Solvent effects on Diels-Alder reaction in ionic liquids:A reaction density functional study

Extensive experimental studies have been performed on the Diels-Alder(DA)reactions in ionic liquids(ILs),which demonstrate that the IL environment can significantly influence the reaction rates and selectivity.However,the underlying microscopic mechanism remains ambiguous.In this work,the multiscale reaction density functional theory is applied to explore the effect of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([BMIM][PF_(6)])solvent on the reaction of cyclopentadiene(CP)with acrolein,methyl acrylate,or acrylonitrile.By analyzing the free energy landscape during the reaction,it is found that the polarization effect has a relatively small influence,while the solvation effect makes both the activation free energy and reaction free energy decrease.In addition,the rearrangement of local solvent structure shows that the cation spatial distribution responds more evidently to the reaction than the anion,and this indicates that the cation plays a dominant role in the solvation effect and so as to affect the reaction rates and selectivity of the DA reactions.

Hydrogen evolution reaction between small-sized Zr_(n)(n=2–5)clusters and water based on density functional theory

Density functional theory(DFT)is used to calculate the most stable structures of Zr_(n)(n=2-5)clusters as well as the adsorption energy values of Zr_(n)(n=2-5)clusters after adsorbing single water molecule.The results reveal that there is a significant linear relationship between the adsorption energy values and the energy gaps of the Zr_(n)(n=2-5)clusters.Furthermore,the calculations of the reaction paths between Zr_(n)(n=2-5)and single water molecule show that water molecule can react with Zr_(n)(n=2-5)clusters to dissociate,producing hydrogen,and O atoms mix with the clusters to generate Zr_(n)O(n=2-5),all of which are exothermic reactions.According to the released energy,the Zr4 cluster is the most efficient in Zr_(n)(n=2-5)clusters reacting with single water molecule.The natural population analysis(NPA)and density of states(DOS)demonstrate the production of hydrogen and orbital properties in different energy ranges,respectively,jointly forecasting that Zr_(n)O(n=2-5)will probably continue to react with more water molecules.Our findings contribute to better understanding of Zr's chemical reactivity,which can conduce to the development of effective Zr-based catalysts and hydrogen-production methods.

Direct atomic-level insight into oxygen reduction reaction on size-dependent Pt-based electrocatalysts from density functional theory calculations

Developing novel oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)catalysts with high activity is urgent for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.Herein,we investigated a group of size-dependent Pt-based catalysts as promising ORR catalysts by density functional theory calculations,ranging from single-atom,nanocluster to bulk Pt catalysts.The results showed that the ORR overpotential of these Pt-based catalysts increased when its size enlarged to the nanoparticle scale or reduced to the single-atom scale,and the Pt_(38)cluster had the lowest ORR overpotential(0.46 V)compared with that of Pt_(111)(0.57 V)and single atom Pt(0.7 V).Moreover,we established a volcano curve relationship between the ORR overpotential and binding energy of O*(ΔE_(O*),confirming the intermediate species anchored on Pt38cluster with suitable binding energy located at top of volcano curve.The interaction between intermediate species and Pt-based catalysts were also investigated by the charge distribution and projected density of state and which further confirmed the results of volcano curve.

Oxygen Atom Transfer Reaction of Manganese-oxo Corrole toward Dimethyl Sulfide: a Density Functional Study

The effects of axial ligand on the oxygen atom transfer(OAT)reaction from 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole((tpfc)MnVO)to dimethyl sulfide(DMS)have been investigated by density functional theory(DFT)calculations.Imidazole(Im),4-methylimidazole(4-MI)and pyridine(Py)were selected as the axial ligands.The results revealed that the axial ligand can form coordinate bond with(tpfc)MnVO in the transition state(TS)of the OAT reaction.The axial coordination favored charge transferring from(tpfc)MnVO to DMS,and weakened the Mn≡O bond in both singlet and triplet states.Furthermore,axial coordination can reduce the energy barrier of neutral(tpfc)MnVO from 23.62 kJ·mol^-1 to less than 3 kJ·mol^-1 in the triplet state,which is significantly lower than in the singlet state.This makes(tpfc)MnVO tend to direct the OAT reaction via triplet state pathway.On the other hand,the energy barriers of[(tpfc)MnVIO]+species from disproportionation pathway increased from 1.26 to 33.95 kJ·mol^-1 in a doublet state.This suggests axial ligands were conducive for direct(tpfc)MnVO OAT reaction pathway.

Addition Reaction of Fe(CO)_n (n = 3～5) on Fullerene C_(50), C_(60), and C_(70): A Density Functional Theory Study

The electronic structure and reactivities of Fe（CO）n （n = 3~5） addition to different fullerenes have been investigated through the first-principles calculations, and the results indicate that Fe（CO）3 and Fe（CO）4 can be adsorbed to the outside network of fullerene via hollow and bridge sites, respectively. Both of them have larger binding energy, but when Fe（CO）5 is adsorbed via the top site, the binding energy is relatively smaller. According to the directional curvature theory, the reactivities of Fe（CO）3 addition to the fullerenes are determined by KM of the ring center, and those of Fe（CO）4 addition by KD of the C–C bond curvature; while for Fe（CO）5, it presents weak reactivities in the addition reaction because of the larger volume effect. No matter whether the addition reaction takes place on the hollow or bridge site, the binding energies show a linear relationship with KD. This work further enriched the directional curvature theory and applied the isolobel analogy theory in the fullerene addition reactions.

Shock-induced reaction behaviors of functionally graded reactive material

In this paper,the ballistic impact experiments,including impact test chamber and impact double-spaced plates,were conducted to study the reaction behaviors of a novel functionally graded reactive material(FGRM),which was composed of polytetrafluoroethylene/aluminum(PTFE/Al)and PTFE/Al/bismuth trioxide(Bi_(2)O_(3)).The experiments showed that the impact direction of the FGRM had a significant effect on the reaction.With the same impact velocity,when the first impact material was PTFE/Al/Bi_(2)O_(3),compared with first impact material PTFE/Al,the FGRM induced higher overpressure in the test chamber and larger damaged area of double-spaced plates.The theoretical model,which considered the shock wave generation and propagation,the effect of the shock wave on reaction efficiency,and penetration behaviors,was developed to analyze the reaction behaviors of the FGRM.The model predicted first impact material of the FGRM with a higher shock impedance was conducive to the reaction of reactive materials.The conclusion of this study provides significant information about the design and application of reactive materials.

A reaction density functional theory study of solvent effect in the nucleophilic addition reactions in aqueous solution

Whereas the proper choice of reaction solvent constitutes the cornerstone of the green solvent concept,solvent effects on chemical reactions are not mechanistically well understood due to the lack of feasible molecular models.Herein,by taking the case study of nucleophilic addition reaction in aqueous solution,we extend the proposed multiscale reaction density functional theory(RxDFT)method to investigate the intrinsic free energy profile and total free energy profile,and study the solvent effect on the activation and reaction free energy for the nucleophilic addition reactions of hydroxide anion with methanal and carbon dioxide in aqueous solution.The predictions of the free energy profile in aqueous solution for these two nucleophilic addition reactions from RxDFT have a satisfactory agreement with the results from the RISM and MD-FEP simulation.Meanwhile,the solvent effect is successfully addressed by examining the difference of the free energy profile between the gas phase and aqueous phase.In addition,we investigate the solvent effect on the reactions occurred near solid-liquid interfaces.It is shown that the activation free energy is significantly depressed when reaction takes place in the region within 10A distance to the substrate surface owing to the decrease of hydration free energy at the solid-liquid interface.

Spreading Speed for a Periodic Reaction-diffusion Model with Nonmonotone Birth Function

A reaction-diffusion model for a single species with age structure and nonlocal reaction for periodic time t is derived. Some results about the model with monotone birth function are firstly introduced, and then by constructing two auxiliary equations and squeezing method, the spreading speed for the system with nonmonotone birth function is obtained.

Adsorption and Reaction of CN +O→OCN on Cu(100) Surface: A Density Functional Theory Study

The adsorption and reaction of O ＋ CN → OCN on Cu（100） are studied by using density functional theory and cluster model. Cu14 cluster model is used to simulate the surface. The calculated results show that the OCN species with the molecule perpendicular to the surface via N atom （N-down） is more favorable than other adsorption models, and the N-down at the bridge site is the most favorable. For N-down, calculated OCN symmetric and asymmetric stretching frequencies are all blue-shifted compared with the calculated values of free and in good agreement with the experiments. The charge transfer from the surface to the OCN species leads to that the bonding of OCN to the metal surface is largely ionic. The present studies also show that CN with the molecule perpendicular to the surface via C atom （NC-down） at the top site is the most stable. Except NC-down at the top site, the calculated CN stretching frequencies are all red-shifted. With O coadsorbed at the hollow site, the adsorption of NC-down at the next nearest bridge or top site is energetically more favorable than that at the adjacent hollow site. The reaction of O ＋ CN → OCN on Cu（100） has no energy barrier via both Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood processes.

Evaluation of Excitation Functions of Reactions Used in Production of Some Medical Radioisotopes

In this work, reaction cross-sections were calculated and Excitation Functions were evaluated for productions of 208Bi, 212,211,210At, 211,210Po isotopes using EXIFON code in the energy range from 0 MeV to 30 MeV. The code is based on an analytical model for statistical multistep direct and multistep compound reactions (SMD/SMC model). This work also investigates the shell structure effect on the reaction cross-section, the results obtained show that the cross-sections of (a, na) reaction for both with shell correction and without shell correction are zeros at energies range considered, this shows that the energy of the incident particle is below the threshold of this reaction due to the present of coulomb repulsive force between the projectile and target nucleus.

A reaction density functional theory study of solvent effects on keto-enol tautomerism and isomerization in pyruvic acid

It is important to study the solvent effect on keto-enol tautomerism that has applications in many areas of chemical engineering.In this work,we use a multiscale reaction density functional theory(Rx DFT)to study the keto-enol tautomerism and isomerization of pyruvic acid.The results show that both effects of solvation and water assistance could reduce the reaction barriers.The water molecule participates the reaction as a catalyst to accept/give the protons with forming a hexagonal ring in the transition state.As a result of this temporary and intermediate hexagonal ring,the solute configuration undergoes a small variation during the reaction,giving a diminished contribution to the intrinsic reaction free energy.The solvent distribution shows a local ordering behavior near the solute that also reduces the contribution of solvation effect to the reaction barrier.Water assistance plays a major role in both pre-reaction and postreaction process.In terms of the driving force for the reaction,the effects of both solvation and water assistance are important.

Branched Polyamines Functionalized with Proposed Reaction Pathways Based on ¹H-NMR, Atomic Absorption and IR Spectroscopies

Three novel branched polyamines N,N,N’,N’-tetrakis-[3((pyridine-2-methyl)-amine) propyl]-1,4- butanediamine (1), N,N,N’,N’-tetrakis-[N-((2-methylpyridine)ethyl)propanamide]ethylenediamine (2) and N,N,N’,N’-tetrakis-[3((2-hidroxibenziliden)-amine)propyl]-1,4-butanediamine (3), were synthesized starting from 2-pyridinecarboxaldeyde with DAB-Am-4 for 1, PAMAM G0 for 2 and from salicylaldehyde with DAB-Am-4 for 3. The pathway reactions have been proposed by 1H-NMR, IR and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The optimal reaction time was set by IR spectroscopy following aldehyde? peak modification. 1 and 2 were obtained as both hydrochlorides and as free amines and 3 only as free imine. These polyamines were characterized by UV-Vis, IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR and Mass Spectrometry.

Density Function Theory Study on the Reaction Mechanism of Cerium with Oxygen for Ce-bearing Aerosol Particle Formation

We obtained the reaction mechanism of cerium with oxygen by means of density functional theory (DFT) under the explosive or detonation situation. The energy level order of cerium was calculated and the potential energy profile was plotted. The properties of the bonds of all special structures in the reaction path were analyzed using the method of the electron localization function (ELF). The results indicate that the final reaction pathway can be expressed as Ce+O2→ FC→TS→IM→O-Ce-O, and the formation of Ce2O3 has not been found. In addition, the ELF diagram of the final product CeO2 shows that Ce bonds with both O atoms and the bond angles increase significantly.

Effects of zinc on χ-Fe_(5)C_(2) for carbon dioxide hydrogenation to olefins:Insights from experimental and density function theory calculations

Production of light olefins from CO_(2), the primary greenhouse gases, is of great importance to mitigate the adverse effects of CO_(2) emission on environment and to supply the value-added products from nonpetroleum resource. However, development of robust catalyst with controllable selectivity and stability remains a challenge. Herein, we report that Zn-promoted Fe catalyst can boost the stable and selective production of light olefins from CO_(2). Specifically, the Zn-promoted Fe exhibits a highly stable activity and olefin selectivity over 200 h time-on-stream compared to the unpromoted Fe catalyst, primarily owing to the preservation of active χ-Fe_(5)C_(2) phase. Structural characterizations of the spent catalysts suggest that Zn substantially regulates the content of iron carbide on the surface and suppresses the reoxidation of bulk iron carbide during the reaction. DFT calculations confirm that adsorption of surface carbon atoms and graphene-like carbonaceous species are not thermochemically favored on Zn-promoted Fe catalyst. Carbon deposition by CAC coupling reactions of two surface carbon atoms and dehydrogenation of CH intermediate are also inhibited. Furthermore, the effects of Zn on antioxidation of iron carbide were also investigated. Zn favored the hydrogenation of surface adsorbed oxygen atoms to H_(2)O and the desorption of H_(2)O, which reduces the possibility of surface carbide being oxidized by the chemisorbed oxygen.

Upcycling end of lithium cobalt oxide batteries to electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in direct methanol fuel cell via sustainable approach

Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries(SLIBs)has become essential to preserve the environment and reclaim vital resources for sustainable development.The typical SLIBs recycling concentrated on separating valuable components had limitations,including high energy consumption and complicated separation processes.This work suggests a safe hydrometallurgical process to recover usable metallic cobalt from depleted LiCoO_(2)batteries by utilizing citric acid as leachant and hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent,with ethanol as a selective precipitating agent.The anode graphite was also recovered and converted to graphene oxide(GO).The above components were directly resynthesized to cobaltintegrated nitrogen-doped graphene(Co@NG).The Co@NG showed a decent activity towards oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)with a half-wave potential of 0.880 V vs.RHE,almost similar to Pt/C(0.888 V vs.RHE)and with an onset potential of 0.92 V vs.RHE.The metal-nitrogen-carbon(Co-N-C)having the highest nitrogen content has decreased the barrier for ORR since the reaction was enhanced for Co@NG-800,as confirmed by density functional theory(DFT)simulations.The Co@NG cathode catalyst coupled with commercial Pt-Ru/C as anode catalyst exhibits excellent performance for direct methanol fuel cell(DMFC)with a peak power density of 34.7 mW cm^(-2)at a discharge current density of120 m A cm^(-2)and decent stability,indicating the promising utilization of spent battery materials in DMFC applications.Besides,lithium was recovered from supernatant as lithium carbonate by coprecipitation process.This work avoids sophisticated elemental separation by utilizing SLIBs for other renewable energy applications,lowering the environmental concerns associated with recycling.

Changes in brain activation patterns according to cross-training effect in serial reaction time task An functional MRI study

Cross-training is a phenomenon related to motor learning, where motor performance of the untrained limb shows improvement in strength and skill execution following unilateral training of the homologous contralateral limb. We used functional MRI to investigate whether motor performance of the untrained limb could be improved using a serial reaction time task according to motor sequential learning of the trained limb, and whether these skill acquisitions led to changes in brain activation patterns. We recruited 20 right-handed healthy subjects, who were randomly allocated into training and control groups. The training group was trained in performance of a serial reaction time task using their non-dominant left hand, 40 minutes per day, for 10 days, over a period of 2 weeks. The control group did not receive training. Measurements of response time and percentile of response accuracy were performed twice during pre- and post-training, while brain functional MRI was scanned during performance of the serial reaction time task using the untrained right hand. In the training group, prominent changes in response time and percentile of response accuracy were observed in both the untrained right hand and the trained left hand between pre- and post-training. The control group showed no significant changes in the untrained hand between pre- and post-training. In the training group, the activated volume of the cortical areas related to motor function （i.e., primary motor cortex, premotor area, posterior parietal cortex） showed a gradual decrease, and enhanced cerebellar activation of the vermis and the newly activated ipsilateral dentate nucleus were observed during performance of the serial reaction time task using the untrained right hand, accompanied by the cross-motor learning effect. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Our findings indicate that motor skills learned over the 2-week training using the trained limb were transferred to the opposite homologous limb, and motor skill acquisition of the untrained limb led to changes in brain activation patterns in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum.

Methylation reactions at dopaminergic nerve endings, serving as biological off-switches in managing dopaminergic functions

The mechanisms for the regulation of synaptic dopamine （DA） include its release from presynaptic vesicles, its interaction with post-synaptic and pre-synaptic DA receptors, the reuptake of DA, via dopamine transporter （DAT）, the diffusion of DA and its metabolism by mono-amine oxidase （MAO） and cate- chol-O-methyl transferase （COMT）. DA controls complex and specialized functions including, movements, behavior, mood, perception, reward, and more recently, neurogenesis （Popolo et al., 2004; Reimer et al., 2013） and neuroregeneration （Hoglinger et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2008）. These functions are varied and of high fidelity. Movement, as an example, requires regulatory mechanisms for initiating, stopping, slowing-down speed- ing-up, changing directions, for governing the relentless urges to move in the young and sedentariness in the old as well as in motor-freezing, catalepsy, tremor and stereotypy.

Poly (N-Isopropyl Acrylamide-<i>Co</i>-Vanillin Acrylate) Dual Responsive Functional Copolymers for Grafting Biomolecules by Schiff’s Base Click Reaction

This article reports on the synthesis of acrylate monomer from renewable material. Vanillin was selected to be the start material to produce new monomer called vanillin acrylate and abbreviated by (VA). It has been successfully investigated by 1H, 13C NMR, IR and UV and all results were in logic state. The next step was to synthetize three different thermo-responsive functional copolymers by incorporation of three different molar ratios of vanillin acrylate (10, 20, 30 mol%) with N-Isopropylacrylamide via free radical polymerization by AIBN as initiator in solution. All copolymers were deduced by 1NMR and IR and all showed the presence of aldehyde group. The copolymer was used for grafting of tryptophan and β-alanine through the chemical link between amino group and the active aldehyde group by click reactions to form Schiff’s base imine compounds. Moreover, polymers were also elucidated by 1HNMR, IR and UV, Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) was used for the molecular weight determination, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for glass temperature of solid polymers, XRD for crystallinity. UV-vis Spectroscopy was used for the determination of phase separation or the lower critical solution temperature (Tc) of polymers solution not only in deionized water but in pH5 and pH11. The mount of conversation and linked amino acid was determined by UV-vis Spectroscopy.

Effect of laparoscopic myomectomy on inflammatory reaction, immune function, stress hormones and ovarian function

Objective: To investigate the effect of laparoscopic myomectomy on inflammatory reaction, immune function, stress hormones and ovarian function. Methods: Selected a total of 82 patients with hysteromyoma accorded with the screening criteria as the objects of study, according to the random data table, the patients were divided into the control group (n=41) and the observation group (n=41);The patients in the control group received traditional laparotomy myomectomy, and the observation group patients received laparoscopic myomectomy. The inflammatory reaction, immune function, stress hormone and ovarian function levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment (before operation and after 1 d of operation). Results: After comparison, before treatment the difference of TNF-α, CRP, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, COR, NE, LH, FSH and E2 levels between the groups was not statistically significant;After treatment, the TNF-α, CRP, CD8+, COR, NE, LH and FSH levels of two groups were significantly increased, and the levels after treatment in the control group were significantly higher than the observation group, the difference was statistically significant;The levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ and E2 in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Laparoscopic myomectomy can effectively reduce the inflammatory reaction and stress reaction, and have a less influence on the immune function and ovarian function, which is more conducive to postoperative rehabilitation.