The Oxygen-Rich Beryllium Oxides BeO4 and BeO6

Beryllium Dimer Reactions with Acetonitrile: Formation of Strong Be-Be Bonds

Laser ablated Be atoms have been reacted with acetonitrile molecules in 4 K solid neon matrix. The diberyllium products BeBeNCCH3 and CNBeBeCH3 have been identified by D and 13C isotopic substitutions and quantum chemical calculations. The stabilization of the diberyllium species is rationalized from the formation of the real Be-Be single bonds with bond distances as 2.077 and 2.058 Å and binding energies as -27.1 and -77.2 kcal/mol calculated at CCSD (T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory for BeBeNCCH3 and CNBeBeCH3, respectively. EDA-NOCV analysis described the interaction between Be2 and NC···CH3 fragments as Lewis "acid-base" interactions. In the complexes, the Be2 moiety carries positive charges which transfer from antibonding orbital of Be2 to the bonding fragments significantly strengthen the Be-Be bonds that are corroborated by AIM, LOL and NBO analyses. In addition, mono beryllium products BeNCCH3, CNBeCH3, HBeCH2CN and HBeNCCH2 have also been observed in our experiments.

Effect of adsorption and substitutional B doping at different concentrations on the electronic and magnetic properties of a BeO monolayer: a first-principles study

The 2D form of the BeO sheet has been successfully prepared (Hui Zhang et al., ACS Nano, 2021, 15, 2497). Motivated by these exciting experimental results on the 2D layered BeO structure, we studied the effect of the adsorption of B atoms on BeO (B@BeO) and substitutional B atoms (B-BeO) at the Be site at different B concentrations. We investigated the structural stability and the mechanical, electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of the mentioned structures using first-principles calculations. We found out that hexagonal BeO monolayers with adsorbed and dopant B atoms have different mechanical stabilities at different concentrations. B@BeO and B-BeO monolayers are brittle structures, and B@BeO structures are more rigid than B-BeO monolayers (at the same B concentration). The adsorption and the formation energy per B atom decrease as the B concentration increases. In comparison, the work function increases when increasing the B concentration. The work function of B@BeO is higher than the corresponding value of B-BeO (at the same B concentration). The magnetic moment linearly increases as the B concentration increases. BeO is a semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of 5.3 eV. The B@BeO and B-BeO structures are semiconductors, except for 3B-BeO (14.2% doped concentration), which is a metal. The bandgap is 1.25 eV for most of the adsorbed atom concentrations. For B-BeO, the bandgap decreases to zero at a concentration of 14.2%. The bandgap of the B-BeO monolayer at different B concentrations is smaller than the corresponding values of the B@BeO monolayer, which indicates that B substitutional doping has a greater effect on the electronic structure of the BeO monolayer than B adsorption doping. We investigated the optical properties, including the dielectric function and absorption coefficient. The results indicate good optical absorption in the range of infrared and ultraviolet energies for the B adsorbed and doped BeO monolayer.

Revisiting the Intriguing Electronic Features of the BeOBeC Carbyne and Some Isomers: A Quantum-Chemical Assessment

Extensive high-level quantum-chemical calculations reveal that the rod-shaped molecule BeOBeC, which was recently generated in matrix experiments, exists in two nearly isoenergetic states, the 5 Σ quintet (5 6) and the 3 Σ triplet (3 6). Their IR features are hardly distinguishable at finite temperature. The major difference concerns the mode of spin coupling between the terminal beryllium and carbon atoms. Further, the ground-state potential-energy surface of the [2Be,C,O] system at 4 K is presented and differences between the photochemical and thermal behaviors are highlighted. Finally, a previously not considered, so far unknown C2v -symmetric rhombus-like four-membered ring 3 [Be(O)(C)Be] (3 5) is predicted to represent the global minimum on the potential-energy surface.

Formation and Characterization of a BeOBeC Multiple Radical Featuring a Quartet Carbyne Moiety

Through reaction of beryllium dimers with carbon monoxide, a carbonyl complex BeBeCO is formed in solid neon. Upon visible light excitation, the BeBeCO complex rearranges to a BeCOBe isomer, which further isomerizes to a low-energy BeOBeC species under UV-visible light excitation. These species are identified on the basis of infrared absorption spectroscopy with isotopic substitutions and quantum chemical studies. The BeOBeC molecule is characterized to be a multiple radical species having an electronic quintet ground state featuring an unusual quartet carbyne unit with three unpaired electrons on the carbon center. Bonding analysis indicates that the strong Pauli repulsion between carbon 2s lone pair electrons and the σ electrons of the BeOBe fragment significantly weakens the Be-C bonding and destabilizes the triplet state of the BeOBeC radical with a doublet carbyne unit. The three-center π-bonding of BeOBe is also found to play a role in stabilizing the quartet carbyne.

Penta- and hexa-coordinated beryllium and phosphorus in high-pressure modifications of CaBe2P2O8

Beryllium oxides have been extensively studied due to their unique chemical properties and important technological applications. Typically, in inorganic compounds beryllium is tetrahedrally coordinated by oxygen atoms. Herein based on results of in situ single crystal X-ray diffraction studies and ab initio calculations we report on the high-pressure behavior of CaBe₂P₂O₈, to the best of our knowledge the first compound showing a step-wise transition of Be coordination from tetrahedral (4) to octahedral (6) through trigonal bipyramidal (5). It is remarkable that the same transformation route is observed for phosphorus. Our theoretical analysis suggests that the sequence of structural transitions of CaBe₂P₂O₈ is associated with the electronic transformation from predominantly molecular orbitals at low pressure to the state with overlapping electronic clouds of anions orbitals.

Beryllium in inorganic compounds is usually coordinated to four oxygen atoms, but higher coordination numbers have been predicted. Here the authors observe a pressure induced stepwise transition in CaBe₂P₂O₈ where Be coordination changes to trigonal-bipyramidal and octahedral, implying that d orbitals are not mandatory for high coordination.