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Borrelli W, Mei KJ, Park SJ, Schwartz BJ. Partial Molar Solvation Volume of the Hydrated Electron Simulated Via DFT. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2425-2431. [PMID: 38422045 PMCID: PMC10945486 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Different simulation models of the hydrated electron produce different solvation structures, but it has been challenging to determine which simulated solvation structure, if any, is the most comparable to experiment. In a recent work, Neupane et al. [J. Phys. Chem. B 2023, 127, 5941-5947] showed using Kirkwood-Buff theory that the partial molar volume of the hydrated electron, which is known experimentally, can be readily computed from an integral over the simulated electron-water radial distribution function. This provides a sensitive way to directly compare the hydration structure of different simulation models of the hydrated electron with experiment. Here, we compute the partial molar volume of an ab-initio-simulated hydrated electron model based on density-functional theory (DFT) with a hybrid functional at different simulated system sizes. We find that the partial molar volume of the DFT-simulated hydrated electron is not converged with respect to the system size for simulations with up to 128 waters. We show that even at the largest simulation sizes, the partial molar volume of DFT-simulated hydrated electrons is underestimated by a factor of 2 with respect to experiment, and at the standard 64-water size commonly used in the literature, DFT-based simulations underestimate the experimental solvation volume by a factor of ∼3.5. An extrapolation to larger box sizes does predict the experimental partial molar volume correctly; however, larger system sizes than those explored here are currently intractable without the use of machine-learned potentials. These results bring into question what aspects of the predicted hydrated electron radial distribution function, as calculated by DFT-based simulations with the PBEh-D3 functional, deviate from the true solvation structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sanghyun J. Park
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Benjamin J. Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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2
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Chen Q, Denisov SA, Dobrovolskii D, Mostafavi M. Observation of Nanoconfinement Effect on the Kinetics of Hydrated Electron in the Nanoscale Water Pools of Water-AOT-Cyclohexane Microemulsions by Picosecond Pulse Radiolysis. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:7974-7982. [PMID: 37681575 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c04302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
The decay kinetics of the hydrated electron (eaq-) in aerosol OT (AOT)-based ternary microemulsions with pool sizes ranging from 0.34 to 4.85 nm were studied using picosecond pulse radiolysis coupled with transient absorption UV-vis spectroscopy. Electron transfer from oil to water and the subsequent solvation occurred within a time resolution of 7 ps. The decay kinetics of eaq- were accurately modeled using a double-exponential decay model, revealing the occurrence of two types of reactions, i.e., the recombination reaction at the water-oil interface and the radical-radical reactions in the water pools. The apparent lifetimes of both types of decays decreased significantly as the size of water pools decreased, indicating the influence of nanoconfinement effects. Moreover, the importance of the water-oil interface increased with decreasing water content, regardless of the presence or absence of NO3- as an electron scavenger in the water pools. Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding on the kinetics of the radiation reaction in AOT-based microemulsions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingde Chen
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000 CNRS, Bât. 349, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, Cedex, France
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Fundamental Science on Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Laboratory, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Sergey A Denisov
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000 CNRS, Bât. 349, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, Cedex, France
| | - Denis Dobrovolskii
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000 CNRS, Bât. 349, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, Cedex, France
| | - Mehran Mostafavi
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000 CNRS, Bât. 349, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, Cedex, France
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3
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Paillot M, Wong A, Denisov SA, Soudan P, Poizot P, Montigny B, Mostafavi M, Gauthier M, Le Caër S. Predicting Degradation Mechanisms in Lithium Bistriflimide "Water-In-Salt" Electrolytes For Aqueous Batteries. CHEMSUSCHEM 2023:e202300692. [PMID: 37385952 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202300692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Aqueous solutions are crucial to most domains in biology and chemistry, including in energy fields such as catalysis and batteries. Water-in-salt electrolytes (WISEs), which extend the stability of aqueous electrolytes in rechargeable batteries, are one example. While the hype for WISEs is huge, commercial WISE-based rechargeable batteries are still far from reality, and there remain several fundamental knowledge gaps such as those related to their long-term reactivity and stability. Here, we propose a comprehensive approach to accelerating the study of WISE reactivity by using radiolysis to exacerbate the degradation mechanisms of concentrated LiTFSI-based aqueous solutions. We find that the nature of the degradation species depends strongly on the molality of the electrolye, with degradation routes driven by the water or the anion at low or high molalities, respectively. The main aging products are consistent with those observed by electrochemical cycling, yet radiolysis also reveals minor degradation species, providing a unique glimpse of the long-term (un)stability of these electrolytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malaurie Paillot
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, NIMBE, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Alan Wong
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, NIMBE, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Sergey A Denisov
- Institut de Chimie Physique UMR8000, CNRS, Université Paris Saclay, Bâtiment 349, 91405, Orsay, France
| | - Patrick Soudan
- Nantes Université, CNRS, Institut des Matériaux de Nantes Jean Rouxel, IMN, Nantes, F-44000, France
| | - Philippe Poizot
- Nantes Université, CNRS, Institut des Matériaux de Nantes Jean Rouxel, IMN, Nantes, F-44000, France
| | - Benedicte Montigny
- Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Matériaux et des Electrolytes pour l'Energie (EA 6299), Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, 37200, France
| | - Mehran Mostafavi
- Institut de Chimie Physique UMR8000, CNRS, Université Paris Saclay, Bâtiment 349, 91405, Orsay, France
| | - Magali Gauthier
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, NIMBE, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Sophie Le Caër
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, NIMBE, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
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4
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Thøgersen J, Weidner T, Jensen F. The primary photolysis of aqueous carbonate di-anions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:14104-14116. [PMID: 37161877 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp00236e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
We study the primary photolysis dynamics of aqueous carbonate, CO32-(aq), and hydrogen carbonate, HCO3-(aq), when they are excited at λ = 200 nm. The photolysis is recorded with sub-picosecond time resolution using UV pump-Vis probe and UV pump-IR probe transient absorption spectroscopy and interpreted with the aid of density functional theory calculations. When CO32- is excited via single photon absorption at λ = 200 nm, Φ(t = 20 ps) = 82 ± 5% of the excited di-anions either detach an electron or dissociate. The electron detachment takes place from the excited state in t < 1 ps and forms ground state CO3˙- and eaq-. Dissociation occurs from both the electronic ground and excited states of CO32-. Dissociation from the CO32- excited state is assisted by water molecules and forms CO2˙-, OH˙ and OH-. The dissociation occurs both directly from the Franck-Condon region in t < 1 ps and indirectly with a time constant of τ = 13.9 ± 0.5 ps as the excited state relaxes. Dissociation of vibrationally excited CO32- molecules in the electronic ground state is also assisted by water molecules and forms CO2 and two OH- anions. The dissociation and subsequent vibrational relaxation of CO2 occur with a time constant of τ = 10.2 ± 0.5 ps. The residual 1 - Φ(t = 20 ps) = 18 ± 5% of the excited CO32- di-anions return by internal conversion to the equilibrated CO32- ground state with a time constant of τ = 4.0 ± 0.4 ps. The extinction coefficient of aqueous hydrogen carbonate HCO3-(aq) at λ = 200 nm is an order of magnitude smaller than that of carbonate, so even though the hydrogen carbonate anions dominate the carbonate di-anions in the hydrogen carbonate solution, the primary photolysis of hydrogen carbonate is obscured by the photo-products of carbonate. Hence, we are unable to assess the primary photolysis of hydrogen carbonate. However, the weak one-photon absorption facilitates two-photon ionization of water, which forms hydronium, H3O+, cations. The sudden increase in the acidity induced by two-photon ionization protonates the ground state hydrogen carbonate molecules, thus offering a rare spectroscopic glimpse of aqueous carbonic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Thøgersen
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University. Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Tobias Weidner
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University. Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Frank Jensen
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University. Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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Park SJ, Schwartz BJ. How Ions Break Local Symmetry: Simulations of Polarized Transient Hole Burning for Different Models of the Hydrated Electron in Contact Pairs with Na . J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3014-3022. [PMID: 36943261 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The hydrated electron (eaq-) is known via polarized transient hole-burning (pTHB) experiments to have a homogeneously broadened absorption spectrum. Here, we explore via quantum simulation how the pTHB spectroscopy of different eaq- models changes in the presence of electrolytes. The idea is that cation-eaq- pairing can break the local symmetry and, thus, induce persistent inhomogeneity. We find that a "hard" cavity model shows a modest increase in the pTHB recovery time in the presence of salt, while a "soft" cavity model remains homogeneously broadened independent of the salt concentration. We also explore the orientational anisotropy of a fully ab initio density functional theory-based model of the eaq-, which is strongly inhomogeneously broadened without salt and which becomes significantly more inhomogeneously broadened in the presence of salt. The results provide a direct prediction for experiments that can distinguish between different models and, thus, help pin down the hydration structure and dynamics of the eaq-.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanghyun J Park
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Benjamin J Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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Park SJ, Narvaez WA, Schwartz BJ. Ab Initio Studies of Hydrated Electron/Cation Contact Pairs: Hydrated Electrons Simulated with Density Functional Theory Are Too Kosmotropic. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:559-566. [PMID: 36630724 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
We have performed the first DFT-based ab initio MD simulations of a hydrated electron (eaq-) in the presence of Na+, a system chosen because ion-pairing behavior in water depends sensitively on the local hydration structure. Experiments show that eaq-'s interact weakly with Na+; the eaq-'s spectrum blue shifts by only a few tens of meV upon ion pairing without changing shape. We find that the spectrum of the DFT-simulated eaq- red shifts and changes shape upon interaction with Na+, in contrast with experiment. We show that this is because the hydration structure of the DFT-simulated eaq- is too ordered or kosmotropic. Conversely, simulations that produce eaq-'s with a less ordered or chaotropic hydration structure form weaker ion pairs with Na+, yielding predicted spectral blue shifts in better agreement with experiment. Thus, ab initio simulations based on hybrid GGA DFT functionals fail to produce the correct solvation structure for the hydrated electron.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanghyun J Park
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Wilberth A Narvaez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Benjamin J Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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Narvaez WA, Park SJ, Schwartz BJ. Competitive Ion Pairing and the Role of Anions in the Behavior of Hydrated Electrons in Electrolytes. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7701-7708. [PMID: 36166380 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Experiments have shown that in the presence of electrolytes, the hydrated electron's absorption spectrum experiences a blue shift whose magnitude depends on both the salt concentration and chemical identity. Previous computer simulations have suggested that the spectral blue shift results from the formation of (cation, electron) contact pairs and that the concentration dependence arises because the number of cations simultaneously paired with the electron increases with increasing concentration. In this work, we perform new simulations to build an atomistic picture that explains the effect of salt identity on the observed hydrated electron spectral shifts. We simulate hydrated electrons in the presence of both monovalent (Na+) and divalent (Ca2+) cations paired with both Cl- and a spherical species representing ClO4- anions. Our simulations reproduce the experimental observations that divalent ions produce larger blue shifts of the hydrated electron's spectrum than monovalent ions with the same anion and that perchlorate salts show enhanced blue shifts compared to chloride salts with the same cation. We find that these observations can be explained by competitive ion pairing. With small kosmotropic cations such as Na+ and Ca2+, aqueous chloride salts tend to form (cation, anion) contact pairs, whereas there is little ion pairing between these cations and chaotropic perchlorate anions. Hydrated electrons also strongly interact with these cations, but if the cations are also paired with anions, this affects the free energy of the electron-cation interaction. With chloride salts, hydrated electrons end up in complexes containing multiple cations plus a few anions as well as the electron. Repulsive interactions between the electron and the nearby Cl- anions reduce the cation-induced spectral blue shift of the hydrated electron. With perchlorate salts, hydrated electrons pair with multiple cations without any associated anions, leading to the largest possible cation-induced spectral blue shift. We also see that the reason multivalent cations produce larger spectral blue shifts than monovalent cations is because hydrated electrons are able to simultaneously pair with a larger number of multivalent cations due to a larger free energy of interaction. Overall, the interaction of hydrated electrons with electrolytes fits well with the Hofmeister series, where the electron behaves as an anion that is slightly more able to break water's H-bond structure than chloride.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilberth A Narvaez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Sanghyun J Park
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Benjamin J Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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Narvaez WA, Wu EC, Park SJ, Gomez M, Schwartz BJ. Trap-Seeking or Trap-Digging? Photoinjection of Hydrated Electrons into Aqueous NaCl Solutions. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:8653-8659. [PMID: 36083839 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
It is well-known that when excess electrons are injected into an aqueous solution, they localize and solvate in ∼1 ps. Still debated is whether localization occurs via "trap-digging", in which the electron carves out a suitable localization site, or by "trap-seeking", where the electron prefers to localize at pre-existing low-energy trap sites in solution. To distinguish between these two possible mechanisms, we study the localization dynamics of excess electrons in aqueous NaCl solutions using both ultrafast spectroscopy and mixed quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulations. By introducing pre-existing traps in the form of Na+ ions, we can use the cation-induced blue-shift of the hydrated electron's absorption spectrum to directly monitor the site of electron localization. Our experimental and computational results show that the electron prefers to localize directly at the sites of Na+ traps; the presence of concentrated electrolytes otherwise has little impact on the way trap-seeking hydrated electrons relax following injection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilberth A Narvaez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Eric C Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Sanghyun J Park
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Mariah Gomez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Benjamin J Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
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