Adsorption and Dissociation of Methanol on Pd(111), Pd/Au(111) and Pd/Rh(111) Surfaces

The adsorption and dissociation behaviors of methanol on Pd(111), Pd/Au(111) and Pd/Rh(111) surfaces were studied using a periodical slab model and the PW91 generalized gradient approximation(GGA) within the framework of first-principles calculations based on density functional theory(DFT). The adsorption energy and geometric parameters for the three surfaces showed that methanol is preferentially adsorbed onto the top-Pd sites and that the adsorption energy of methanol on these surfaces decreases in the order Pd/Au(111) Pd/Rh(111) Pd(111). After adsorption, the C–O, C–H and O–H bonds in methanol adsorbed onto these surfaces are elongated and the vibrational stretching frequency of the O–H bond is obviously redshifted. Furthermore, the first step for the possible dissociation pathway for methanol on these surfaces was calculated. Our results indicate that the O–H bond in methanol decomposes producing methoxy and a hydrogen atom, with the Pd/Au(111) surface exhibiting the smallest dissociation barrier.     

A theoretical study on the water-mediated asynchronous addition between urea and formaldehyde

The reaction between urea and formaldehyde in water solution was theoretically investigated by using B3LYP and MP2 methods.It was found that the addition of the nitrogen atom in urea to the carbonyl group in formaldehyde precedes the proton transfer and the proton migration from water to the carbonyl group occurs before the proton abstraction from the nitrogen.With one or two water molecules involved in the TS.the activation energy barrier is lowered compared to the TS of the mechanism with no water participation.The energy change along the reaction coordinate clearly shows that a zwitterionic-like intermediate does not exist on the PES.The reaction between urea and formaldehyde occurs in a concerted mechanism but with asynchronous characters.This is different from the stepwise mechanism recently found for the amination reactions of formaldehyde.     

Exploring single atom catalysts of transition-metal doped phosphorus carbide monolayer for HER:A first-principles study

Hydrogen has been identified as one of the most promising sustainable and clean energy. Developing hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) catalyst with high activity is essential for satisfying the future requirements. Considering novel advantages of two-dimensional materials and high catalytic activity of atomic transition metal, in this study, using density functional theory calculation, the HER on single transitionmetal(23 different TM atoms) doped phosphorus carbide monolayer(α-PC) has been investigated. The Volmer–Tafel and Volmer–Heyrovsky reaction mechanisms, and the stability of the most promising HER catalyst are also included. The results show that Ir-αPC with high physical and thermal stability has the most optimal value of Gibbs free adsorption energy for H atom. The relationship of d band center and the HER activity shows a volcano-like curve. The calculation of reaction energy barrier indicates that the Volmer-Heyrovsky step is more favorable than the Volmer-Tafel step.     

Addition Mechanisms of Phenol toward Formaldehyde under Acidic Condition： a Theoretical Investigation

The reaction mechanisms of phenol with formaldehyde in the first and second addition at the ortho- and para-position in acid solution were theoretically investigated at the PW91/DNP level with solvent effects included. The reaction of phenol with protonated methanediol firstly forms an adduct intermediate, via a SN2 mechanism with a water molecule as the leaving group. From the adduct intermediate, there are two reaction channels involving a proton transfer to form the addition products. One is that a proton directly transfers via a four-membered ring transition state with a notable energy barrier (Four-member mechanism). Another mechanism involving a water molecule as catalyst to mediate the proton transfer (WCP mechanism), is a barrierless process, indicating that the formation of the adduct intermediate, the first reaction step, is rate-limiting. The reaction products are free hydroxymethyl phenols and/or hydroxybenzy carbocation (HOC6H4CH2+) which plays an important role in the following formation of methylene and methylene ether linkages. The second addition reactions between formaldehyde and hydroxymethyl phenol at all possible reaction sites of the phenol ring in acid solution were also investigated and discussed.     

Mechanism of palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling between cyanoacetate salts and aryl halides

Recently we reported Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling of cyanoacetate salts with aryl halides and triflates. This reaction shows good functional group tolerance and is useful for the synthesis of-aryl nitriles. To elucidate the mechanism for this reaction, we now carry out a density functional theory study on the cross-coupling of potassium cyanoacetate with bromobenzene. Our results show that the decarboxylation transition state involving the interaction of Pd with the-carbon atom has a very high energy barrier of +34.5 kcal/mol and therefore, must be excluded. Decarboxylation of free ion (or tight-ion-pair) also causes a high energy increase and should be ruled out. Thus the most favored decarboxylation mechanism corresponds to a transition state in which Pd interacts with the cyano nitrogen. The energy profile of the whole catalytic cycle shows that decarboxylation is the rate-determining step. The total energy barrier is +27.5 kcal/mol, which is comprised of two parts, i.e. the energy barrier for decarboxylation and the energy cost for transmetallation.     

EFFECT OF WATER ON THE OXIDATION OF METHANOL OVER ELECTROLYTIC SILVER

The mechanism of methanol adsorption induced by oxygen and the effect of water on the methanol oxidation on electrolytic silver have been studied by ultra-high vacuum temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy(TPRS), transient response method and isotopic exchange experiment. It has been found that oxygen adsorbed on silver can greatly promote methanol adsorption and can also react with methanol to produce water. Experimental results show that oxygen in the water comes from the adsorbed oxygen and hydrogen from the methyl and the hydroxyl in methanol. It has also been found that there exists competitive adsorption between water and oxygen on silver and water can increase the selectivity of methanol oxidation to formaldehyde. This result is consistent with the catalytic activities.     

Lowering reaction temperature: Electrochemical ammonia synthesis by coupling various electrolytes and catalysts

Ammonia is a vital emerging energy carrier and storage medium in the future hydrogen economy, even presenting relevant advantages compared with methanol due to the higher hydrogen content(17.6 wt% for ammonia versus 12.5 wt% for methanol). The rapidly growing demand for ammonia is still dependent on the conventional high-temperature and high-pressure Haber–Bosch process, which can deliver a conversion rate of about 10%–15%. However, the overall process requires a large amount of fossil fuels,resulting in serious environmental problems. Alternatively, electrochemical routes show the potential to greatly reduce the energy consumption, including sustainable energy sources and simplify the reactor design. Electrolytes perform as indispensable reaction medium during electrochemical processes, which can be further classified into solid oxide electrolytes, molten salt electrolytes, polymer electrolytes, and liquid electrolytes. In this review, recent developments and advances of the electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis catalyzed by a series of functional materials on the basis of aforementioned electrolytes have been summarized and discussed, along with the presentation and evaluation of catalyst preparation, reaction parameters and equipment.     

A fully ab initio potential energy surface for C1H_2 reactive system

An ab initio analytical potential energy surface called BW3 for the CIH2 reactive system is presented. The fit of this surface is based on about 1 200 ab initio energy points, computed with multi-reference configuration interaction(MRCI) and scaling external correlation (SEC) method and a very large basis set. The precision in the fit is very high. The BW3 surface could reproduce correctly the dissociation energy of H2 and HCI, and the endothermicity of the Cl H2 abstraction reaction. For the Cl H2 abstraction reaction, the saddle point of BW3 lies in collinear geometries, and the barrier height is 32.84 kJ/mol; for the H CIH exchange reaction, the barrier of BW3 is also linear, with a height of 77.40 kJ/mol.     

Impact of Water Molecules on the Isomerization of CH3S（OH）CH2 to CH3S（O）CH3： A Computational Investigation

The isomerization of CH3S（OH）CH2 to CH3S（O）CH3 in the absence and presence of water has been investigated at the G3XMP2//B3LYP/6-311 ＋ G（2df, p） level. The naked isomerization, the reaction without water, gives the high barrier height （21.56 kcal.mol^-1）. Three models are constructed to describe the water influence on the isomerization, that is, water molecules are the catalyst and the microsolvation, and water molecules act as the catalyst and microsolvation simultaneously. Our results show that the isomerization barrier heights of CH3S（OH）CH2 to CH3S（O）CH3 are reduced by 12.32, 11.04, and 7.80 kcal.mol^-1, respectively, when one, two, and three water molecules are performed as catalyst, in contrast to the naked isomerization. Moreover, the rate constants of the isomerization are calculated using the transition state theory with the Wigner tunneling correction over the temperature range of 240-425 K. We find that the rate constant of a single water molecule as the catalyst is 1.58 times larger than the naked isomerization at 325 K, whereas it is slower by 6 orders of magnitude when water molecule serves as the microsolvation at 325 K, compared to naked reaction. So the water-catalyzed isomerization of CH3S（OH）CH2 to CH3S（O）CH3 is predicted to be the key role in lowering the activation energy. The isomerization involving water molecules acting as mierosolvation is unfavorable under atmospheric conditions.     

Theoretical Study on the Adsorption and Decomposition of Methanol over the Pt-Mo（111）/C Surface

The density functional theory(DFT) and self-consistent periodic calculation were used to investigate the methanol adsorption on the Pt-Mo(111)/C surface.The adsorption energies,equilibrium geometries and vibration frequencies of CH3OH on nine types of sites on the Pt-Mo(111)/C surface were predicted and the favorite adsorption site for methanol is the top-Pt site.Both sites of valence and conduction bands of doped system have been broadened,which are favorable for electrons to transfer to the cavity.The possible decomposition pathway was investigated with transition state searching and the calculation results indicate that the O-H bond is first broken,and then the methanol decomposes into methoxy.The activation barrier of O-H bond breaking with Pt-Mo catalyst is only 104.8 kJ mol-1,showing that carbon supported Pt-Mo alloys have promoted the decomposition of methanol.Comparing with the adsorption energies of CH3OH on the Pt(111)/C surface and that of CO,the adsorption energies of CO are higher,and Pt(111)/C is liable to be oxidized and loses the activity,which suggests that the catalyst Pt-Mo(111)/C is in favor of decomposing methanol and has better anti-poisoning ability than Pt(111)/C.     

Quasi-classical Trajectory Study of F-I-H20→HF-I-OH Reaction： Influence of Barrier Height,Reactant Rotational Excitation,and Isotopic Substitution

The reaction dynamics of the F＋H20/D20→HF/DF＋OH/OD are investigated on an accurate potential energy surface （PES） using a quasi-classical trajectory method. For both isotopomers, the hydrogen/deuterium abstraction reaction is dominated by a direct rebound mechanism over a very low ＂reactant-like＂ barrier, which leads to a vibrationally hot HF/DF product with an internally cold OH/OD companion. It is shown that the lowered reaction barrier on this PES, as suggested by high-level ab initio calculations, leads to a much better agreement with the experimental reaction cross section, but has little impact on the product state distributions and mode selectivity. Our results further indicate that rotational excitation of the H20 reactant leads to significant enhancement of the reactivity, suggesting a strong coupling with the reaction coordinate.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Antibacterial Activities Study of a Pharmaceutical Cocrystal of Artesunate and 4,4’-Bipyridine

We report here a cocrystal with artesunate as the active pharmaceutical ingredient(API) and a pharmaceutical intermediate 4,4?-bipyridine as the cocrystal former(CCF). The analysis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction demonstrates that the eutectic structural unit consists of two artesunate molecules and one 4,4?-bipyridine molecule with their ratio to be 2:1. The carboxyl group on artesunate acts as a donor, and the acceptor is N on 4,4?-bipyridine, forming an O–H···N hydrogen bond. The appearance of new diffraction peaks in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern also indicates the formation of new phases. The PXRD results indicated a pure phase for the synthesized sample. The cocrystal is slightly soluble in water. Antimicrobial activities showed that the cocrystal displayed effective inhibition of different bacteria.     

Theoretical Studies on the Mechanism of Photocycloaddition Reaction Between 6 Azauracil and Acetone

The mechanism of photocycloaddition reaction between 6-azauracll and acetone was studied by using semiemptrical SCFMO AMI method. It was found that this reaction is not a concerted one. The calculated results are as follows:(1) A T1 state exciplex is on the T1 state energy surface; (2) T exciplex as a reactant will proceed along the energy surface of T1 state to form a diradical intermediate. The energy barrier of this reaction step is 63. 6 kJ/mol; (3) The T1 state diradical intermediate happens to be close in energy to the ground state intermediate with a similar geometry. Such a situation turns out to be very favorable for an intersystem crossing (jump from the T, state to the ground state) ; (4) The final product will be formed from the ground S0 state intermediate via an energy barrier 88. 2 kJ/mol.     

Theoretical Study of N_2O Adsorption and Decomposition on the InN （0001） Surface

The adsorption and decomposition of N2O on the InN (0001) surface have been explored employing density functional theory method. To study the most favorable N2O adsorption model, ten typical adsorption cases (four for the parallel style and six for the vertical style) were proposed. The calculated results indicate that the parallel models are energetically preferred over the vertical models. The parallelly adsorbed N2O prefers to be dissociated on the surface, the dissociated O atom is combined at the fcc site, and the N-N piece is desorbed from the surface and forms N2 molecules. The comparison of the density of states of InN (0001) surface before and after N2O adsorption is analyzed in detail. Through the searching for transition state of decomposition reaction, a very low energy barrier of 45.0 KJ/mol is derived.     

Methane Oxidation on the Surfaces of Manganese Oxides: a First Principles Study

A comprehensive density functional theory calculation was employed to investigate the possible reaction pathways and mechanisms of methane complete oxidation(CH_4 + 2O_2 → CO_2 + 2H_2O) on different manganese oxides including a-MnO_2(100) and b-MnO_2(111) surfaces. According to a coupling of the Mars-van Krevelen and Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, the activation energy barrier and the reaction energy of each elementary surface reaction were determined. Our calculated results show that the detailed processes for methane oxidation on two surfaces are different due to the differences in the surface structure. The breaking of the last C–H bond of CH_4 moleculeis the rate-determining step with an activation barrier of 0.85 eV for a-MnO_2(100) surface. By contrast, the overall reaction rate on b-Mn O_2(111) surface is limited by the dissociation of the second O_2 molecule adsorbed on the vacancy site, and re-oxidation of the reduced b-MnO_2(111) surface by the gaseous oxygen requires a much higher energy barrier of 1.44 eV. As a result, the a-Mn O_2(100) exhibits superior activity and durability in the methane oxidation reaction than b-MnO_2(111) surface. The present study provides insight into understanding the structure-catalytic activity relationship of the catalysts based on manganese oxides towards the methane oxidation reaction.     

Theoretical Studies on the Reaction Mechanism of AsCl_3 with H_2 in the Vapor Phase Epitaxy of GaAs

The reaction mechanism of AsCl3 with H2 has been studied by using the method of BHandHLYP in Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the 6-311G** basis set. The transition state of each reaction is verified via the analysis of vibration mode and Intrinsic Reaction Coordinate (IRC). Meanwhile,single-point energy has been calculated at the QCISD(T)/6-311G** level,and the zero-point energy correction has been made to the total energy and reaction energy barrier. It shows that AsCl3 reacts with H2 to first result in AsHCl2 which may incline to self-decompose and finally afford the product As2,or continue to react with H2 to provide the product AsH3. The computing result demonstrates that the former is the main reaction channel.     

Critical temperatures and pressures of reacting mixture in synthesis of dimethyl carbonate with methanol and carbon dioxide

Critical temperatures and pressures of nominal reacting mixture in synthesis of dimethyl carbonate （DMC） from methanol and carbon dioxide （quaternary mixture of carbon dioxide ＋ methanol ＋ water ＋ DMC） were measured using a high-pressure view cell. The results suggested that the critical properties of the reacting mixture depended on the reaction extent as well as its initial composition （initial ratio of carbon dioxide to methanol）. Such information is essential for determining the reaction conditions when one intends to carry out the synthesis of DMC with CO2 and methanol under supercritical conditions.     

Theoretical Study on the Reaction Mechanism of Ketene CH2CO with Isocyanate NCO Radical

The bimolecular single collision reaction potential energy surface of an isocyanate NCO radical with a ketene CH2CO molecule was investigated by means of B3LYP and QCISD（T） methods. The computed results indicate that two possible reaction channels exist on the surface. One is an addition-elimination reaction process, in which the CH2CO molecule is attacked by the nitrogen atom at its methylene carbon atom to lead to the formation of the intermediate OCNCH2CO followed by a C-C rupture channel to the products CH2NCO＋CO. The other is a direct hydrogen abstraction channel from CHzCO by the NCO radical to afford the products HCCO＋HNCO. Because of a higher barrier in the hydrogen abstraction reaction than in the addition-elimination reaction, the direct hydrogen abstraction pathway can only be considered as a secondary reaction channel in the reaction kinetics of NCO＋ CH2CO. The predicted results are in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical investigations.     

Epoxidation of allyl chloride with H_2O_2 on Ti-ZSM-5 prepared by the isomorphous substitution

The epoxidation of allyl chloride with H2O2 on Ti-ZSM-5 prepared by isomorphous substitution of HZSM-5 with TiCl4 gas was studied. The results show that Ti-ZSM-5 has a high catalytic efficiency for the epoxidation of allyl chloride. The H2O2 utilization reaches 99.50% when the allyl chloride/H2O2 molar ratio is > 1. The effect of solvent species, catalyst concentration, H2O2 and allyl chloride concentration and reaction temperature on the epoxidation was investigated simultaneously. It is found that methanol is the best solvent for the reaction. The reaction rate equation with v = k[Cat. ] [H2O2]1/2-[C3H5Cl] and the apparent activation energy with Ea = 63.462 kJ/mol are obtained according to the kinetics study.     

Ab initio Mechanism Study on the Reaction of Chlorine Atom with Formic Acid

The potential energy surface(PES) for the reaction of Cl atom with HCOOH is predicted using ab initio molecular orbital calculation methods at UQCIDS(T,full)6-311 G(3df,2p)//UMP2(full)/6-311 G(d,P) level of theory with zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE) correction.The calculated results show that the reaction mechanism of Cl atom with formic acid is a C-site hydrogen abstraction reaction from cis-HOC(H)O molecule by Cl atom with a 3.73kJ/mol reaction barrier height,leading to the formation of cis-HOCO radical which will reacts with Cl atom or other molecules in such a reaction system.Because the reaction barrier height of O-site hydrogen abstraction reaction from cis-HOC(H)O molecule by Cl atom which leads to the formation of HCO2 radical is 67.95kJ/mol,it is a secondary reaction channel in experiment,This is in good agreement with the prediction based on the previous experiments.