Density functional studies on the endohedral complex of fullerene C70 with tetrahedrane (C4H4): C4H4@C70

Electronic sensors for alkali and alkaline earth cations based on Fullerene-C60 and silicon doped on C60 nanocages: a computational study

In this research, we have reported the electrical sensitivity of pristine C60 and silicon doped on C60 (SiC59) nanocages as sensors that can be used for detecting the presence of alkali (Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺) and alkaline earth (Be²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺) cations. The computations are carried out at the B3LYP level of theory with a 6-31G(d) basis set. The atoms in molecules (AIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses are performed to evaluate the intermolecular interactions between cations and nanocages. The physical properties of the selected complexes are also analyzed by the frontier molecular orbital, energy gap, electronegativity, chemical hardness, softness, and other quantities such as work function, number of transferred electron, and dipole moment. The results show that the adsorption process is exothermic and with increasing the charge of cations, the adsorption energies enhance. Our findings also reveal a decrease in the energy gap along with an increase in the electrical conductivity of the respective complexes. Finally, the density of state calculations is presented to confirm the obtained results.

Molecular structure, electronic property and vibrational spectroscopy of C24-glycine and Gd@C24-glycine complexes

Structure, electronic property and vibrational spectroscopy of C(24)-glycine and Gd@C(24)-glycine were systematically explored using the hybrid DFT-B3LYP functional. The interaction between empty C(24) cage and the smallest amino acid (glycine) was also investigated. It was found that the glycine molecule is energetically favorable to interact with the Mid-site on the C(24) cage through the amino nitrogen active site, rather than Top-site. The endohedral Gd atom increases the volume of the cage by around 6.7-9.8%. Analysis of frontier molecular orbitals reveals that the Gd@C(24)-glycine has the low-kinetic stability, being consistent with its thermodynamic property reflected by dissociation energy. We also see that the VIE and VEA of empty C(24) cage are slightly affected by absorbed glycine and endohedral Gd atom. Additionally, the assignments of simulated IR spectra are explored. The work may provide a theoretical reference for further application related structurally to potential antitumour activity.