Electronic structure theory investigation on the electrochemical properties of cyclohexanone derivatives as organic carbonyl-based cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

Molecular Simulation of the Interaction of Diclofenac with Halogen (F, Cl, Br)-Encapsulated Ga12As12 Nanoclusters

Diclofenac is one of the most frequently consumed over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents globally, and several reports have confirmed its global ubiquity in several environmental compartments. Therefore, the need to develop more efficient monitoring/sensing devices with high detection limits is still needed. Herein, quantum mechanical simulations using density functional theory (DFT) computations have been utilized to evaluate the nanosensing efficacy and probe the applicability of Ga₁₂As₁₂ nanostructure and its engineered derivatives (halogen encapsulation F, Br, Cl) as efficient adsorbent/sensor materials for diclofenac. Based on the DFT computations, it was observed that diclofenac preferred to interact with the adsorbent material by assuming a flat orientation on the surface while interacting via its hydrogen atoms with the As atoms at the corner of the GaAs cage forming a polar covalent As-H bond. The adsorption energies were observed to be in the range of -17.26 to -24.79 kcal/mol and therefore suggested favorable adsorption with the surface. Nonetheless, considerable deformation was observed for the Br-encapsulated derivative, and therefore, its adsorption energy was observed to be positive. Additionally, encapsulation of the GaAs nanoclusters with halogens (F and Cl) enhanced the sensing attributes by causing a decrease in the energy gap of the nanocluster. And therefore, this suggests the feasibility of the studied materials as potentiometric sensor materials. These findings could offer some implications for the potential application of GaAs and their halogen-encapsulated derivatives for electronic technological applications.

Assessing the Performance of Al12N12 and Al12P12 Nanostructured Materials for Alkali Metal Ion (Li, Na, K) Batteries

This study focused on the potential of aluminum nitride (Al₁₂N₁₂) and aluminum phosphide (Al₁₂P₁₂) nanomaterials as anode electrodes of lithium-ion (Li-ion), sodium-ion (Na-ion), and potassium-ion (K-ion) batteries as investigated via density functional theory (DFT) calculations at PBE0-D3, M062X-D3, and DSDPBEP86 as the reference method. The results show that the Li-ion battery has a higher cell voltage with a binding energy of -1.210 eV and higher reduction potential of -6.791 kcal/mol compared to the sodium and potassium ion batteries with binding energies of -0.749 and -0.935 eV and reduction potentials of -6.414 and -6.513 kcal/mol, respectively, using Al₁₂N₁₂ material. However, in Al₁₂P₁₂, increases in the binding energy and reduction potential were observed in the K-ion battery with values -1.485 eV and -7.535 kcal/mol higher than the Li and Na ion batteries with binding energy and reduction potential -1.483, -1.311 eV and -7.071, -7.184 eV, respectively. Finally, Al₁₂N₁₂ and Al₁₂P₁₂ were both proposed as novel anode electrodes in Li-ion and K-ion batteries with the highest performances.

Synthesis, spectral characterization, and theoretical investigation of the photovoltaic properties of (E)-6-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)diazenyl)-2-octyl-benzoisoquinoline-1, 3-dione

This research work focuses on the synthesis, characterization through spectra (FT-IR, UV-vis, and ¹H-NMR) investigations, and the use of density functional theory (DFT) along with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to investigate the electronic, structural, reactivity, photophysical properties, and the photovoltaic properties of a novel (E)-6-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)diazenyl)-2-octyl-benzoisoquinoline-1,3-dione. The structure of the synthesized compound was modeled using the Gaussian09W and GaussView6.0.16 softwares employing B3LYP and 6-31 + G(d) basis set. The DFT studies was performed in order to investigate the Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO), Natural Bond Orbital (NBO), charge distribution, Nonlinear Optics (NLO), and stability of the titled molecule. The HOMO-LUMO energy gap which corresponds to the difference between HOMO and LUMO energies of the studied compound was found to be 2.806 eV indicating stiff and smooth nature of the titled molecule. This accounts for the less stability and high chemical reactivity of the compound. The photovoltaic properties were conducted to evaluate the light harvesting efficiency (LHE), short circuit current density (J_SC), Gibbs free energy of injection ([Formula: see text]), open cycled voltage (V_OC) and Gibbs free energy regeneration ([Formula: see text]) and solar cell conversion efficiency. Interestingly, the results obtained were found to be in good agreement with other experimental and computational findings.

Detection of Carbon, Sulfur, and Nitrogen Dioxide Pollutants with a 2D Ca12O12 Nanostructured Material

In recent times, nanomaterials have been applied for the detection and sensing of toxic gases in the environment owing to their large surface-to-volume ratio and efficiency. CO₂ is a toxic gas that is associated with causing global warming, while SO₂ and NO₂ are also characterized as nonbenign gases in the sense that when inhaled, they increase the rate of respiratory infections. Therefore, there is an explicit reason to develop efficient nanosensors for monitoring and sensing of these gases in the environment. Herein, we performed quantum chemical simulation on a Ca₁₂O₁₂ nanocage as an efficient nanosensor for sensing and monitoring of these gases (CO₂, SO₂, NO₂) by employing high-level density functional theory modeling at the B3LYP-GD3(BJ)/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory. The results obtained from our studies revealed that the adsorption of CO₂ and SO₂ on the Ca₁₂O₁₂ nanocage with adsorption energies of -2.01 and -5.85 eV, respectively, is chemisorption in nature, while that of NO₂ possessing an adsorption energy of -0.69 eV is related to physisorption. Moreover, frontier molecular orbital (FMO), global reactivity descriptors, and noncovalent interaction (NCI) analysis revealed that the adsorption of CO₂ and SO₂ on the Ca₁₂O₁₂ nanocage is stable adsorption, while that of NO₂ is unstable adsorption. Thus, we can infer that the Ca₁₂O₁₂ nanocage is more efficient as a nanosensor in sensing CO₂ and SO₂ gases than in sensing NO₂ gas.

Electrocatalytic activity of metal encapsulated, doped, and engineered fullerene-based nanostructured materials towards hydrogen evolution reaction

The utilization of nanostructured materials as efficient catalyst for several processes has increased tremendously, and carbon-based nanostructured materials encompassing fullerene and its derivatives have been observed to possess enhanced catalytic activity when engineered with doping or decorated with metals, thus making them one of the most promising nanocage catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) during electro-catalysis. Prompted by these, and the reported electrochemical, electronic and stability advantage, an attempt is put forward herein to inspect the metal encapsulated, doped, and decorated dependent HER activity of C24 engineered nanostructured materials as effective electro-catalyst for HER. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been utilized to evaluate the catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction activity of four proposed bare systems: fullerene (C24), calcium encapsulated fullerene (CaencC24), nickel-doped calcium encapsulated fullerene (NidopCaencC24), and silver decorated nickel-doped calcium encapsulated (AgdecNidopCaencC24) engineered nanostructured materials at the TPSSh/GenECP/6-311+G(d,p)/LanL2DZ level of theory. The obtained results divulged that, a potential decrease in energy gap (Egap) occurred in the bare systems, while a sparing increase was observed upon adsorption of hydrogen onto the surfaces, these surfaces where also observed to maintain the least EH-L gap while the AgdecNidopCaencC24 surface exhibited an increased electrocatalytic activity when compared to others. The results also showed that the electronic properties of the systems evinced a correspondent result with their electrochemical properties, the Ag-decorated surface also exhibited a proficient adsorption energy [Formula: see text] and Gibb's free energy (ΔGH) value. The engineered Ag-decorated and Ni-doped systems were found to possess both good surface stability and excellent electro-catalytic property for HER activities.

Heteroatoms (Si, B, N, and P) doped 2D monolayer MoS2 for NH3 gas detection

2D transition metal dichalcogenide MoS2 monolayer quantum dots (MoS2-QD) and their doped boron (B@MoS2-QD), nitrogen (N@MoS2-QD), phosphorus (P@MoS2-QD), and silicon (Si@MoS2-QD) surfaces have been theoretically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) computation to understand their mechanistic sensing ability, such as conductivity, selectivity, and sensitivity toward NH3 gas. The results from electronic properties showed that P@MoS2-QD had the lowest energy gap, which indicated an increase in electrical conductivity and better adsorption behavior. By carrying out comparative adsorption studies using m062-X, ωB97XD, B3LYP, and PBE0 methods at the 6-311G++(d,p) level of theory, the most negative values were observed from ωB97XD for the P@MoS2-QD surface, signifying the preferred chemisorption surface for NH3 detection. The mechanistic studies provided in this study also indicate that the P@MoS2-QD dopant is a promising sensing material for monitoring ammonia gas in the real world. We hope this research work will provide informative knowledge for experimental researchers to realize the potential of MoS2 dopants, specifically the P@MoS2-QD surface, as a promising candidate for sensors to detect gas.