1
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Chen X, Xia Y, Wu Y, Xu Y, Jia X, Zare RN, Wang F. Sprayed Oil-Water Microdroplets as a Hydrogen Source. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:10868-10874. [PMID: 38573037 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c01455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Liquid water provides the largest hydrogen reservoir on the earth's surface. Direct utilization of water as a source of hydrogen atoms and molecules is fundamental to the evolution of the ecosystem and industry. However, liquid water is an unfavorable electron donor for forming these hydrogen species owing to its redox inertness. We report oil-mediated electron extraction from water microdroplets, which is easily achieved by ultrasonically spraying an oil-water emulsion. Based on charge measurement and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, contact electrification between oil and a water microdroplet is demonstrated to be the origin of electron extraction from water molecules. This contact electrification results in enhanced charge separation and subsequent mutual neutralization, which enables a ∼13-fold increase of charge carriers in comparison with an ultrapure water spray, leading to a ∼16-fold increase of spray-sourced hydrogen that can hydrogenate CO2 to selectively produce CO. These findings emphasize the potential of charge separation enabled by spraying an emulsion of liquid water and a hydrophobic liquid in driving hydrogenation reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuke Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Yu Xia
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Yingfeng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, P. R. China
- Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, P. R. China
| | - Yunpeng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, P. R. China
| | - Xiuquan Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, P. R. China
| | - Richard N Zare
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Feng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
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2
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Herzfeld J. Art, fact and artifact: reflections on the cross-talk between theory and experiment. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:9848-9855. [PMID: 38502180 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00005f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
With the increasing sophistication of each, theory and experiment have become highly specialized endeavors conducted by separate research groups. A result has been a weakening of the coupling between them and occasional hostility. Examples are given and suggestions are offered for strengthening the traditional synergy between theory and experiment.
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3
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Herzfeld J. Adventures in interdisciplinary science: a half century at the nexus between chemistry, physics and biology. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:6483-6489. [PMID: 38345336 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp90021a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
A look back over five decades of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Herzfeld
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
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4
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Huo J, Chen J, Liu P, Hong B, Zhang J, Dong H, Li S. Microscopic Mechanism of Proton Transfer in Pure Water under Ambient Conditions. J Chem Theory Comput 2023. [PMID: 37365994 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Water molecules and the associated proton transfer (PT) are prevalent in chemical and biological systems and have been a hot research topic. Spectroscopic characterization and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations have previously revealed insights into acidic and basic liquids. Presumably, the situation in the acidic/basic solution is not necessarily the same as in pure water; in addition, the autoionization constant for water is only 10-14 under ambient conditions, making the study of PT in pure water challenging. To overcome this issue, we modeled periodic water box systems containing 1000 molecules for tens of nanoseconds based on a neural network potential (NNP) with quantum mechanical accuracy. The NNP was generated by training a dataset containing the energies and atomic forces of 17 075 configurations of periodic water box systems, and these data points were calculated at the MP2 level that considers electron correlation effects. We found that the size of the system and the duration of the simulation have a significant impact on the convergence of the results. With these factors considered, our simulations showed that hydronium (H3O+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions in water have distinct hydration structures, thermodynamic and kinetic properties, e.g., the longer-lasting and more stable hydrated structure of OH- ions than that of H3O+, as well as a significantly higher free energy barrier for the OH--associated PT than that of H3O+, leading the two to exhibit completely different PT behaviors. Given these characteristics, we further found that PT via OH- ions tends not to occur multiple times or between many molecules. In contrast, PT via H3O+ can synergistically occur among multiple molecules and prefers to adopt a cyclic pattern among three water molecules, while it occurs mostly in a chain pattern when more water molecules are involved. Therefore, our studies provide a detailed and solid microscopic explanation for the PT process in pure water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Huo
- Kuang Yaming Honors School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jianghao Chen
- Kuang Yaming Honors School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- School of Physics, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Pei Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Benkun Hong
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Physics, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructure, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Hao Dong
- Kuang Yaming Honors School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Shuhua Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
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5
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Garofalini SH, Lentz J. Subpicosecond Molecular Rearrangements Affect Local Electric Fields and Auto-Dissociation in Water. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:3392-3401. [PMID: 37036747 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c06490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
Molecular simulations of auto-dissociation of water molecules in an 81,000 atom bulk water system show that the electric field variations caused by local bond length and angle variations enhance proton transfer within ∼600 fs prior to auto-dissociation. In this paper, auto-dissociation relates to the initial separation of a proton from a water molecule to another, forming the H33O+ and OH- ions. Only transfers for which a proton's initial nearest covalently bonded oxygen remained the same for at least 1 ps prior to the transfer and for which that proton's new nearest acceptor oxygen remained the same for at least 1 ps after the transfer were evaluated. Electric fields from solvent atoms within 6 Å of a transferring proton (H*) are dominant, with little contribution from farther molecules. However, exclusion of the accepting oxygen in such electric field calculations shows that the field on H* from the other solvent atoms weakens as the time to transfer becomes less than 600 fs, indicating the primary importance of the accepting oxygen on enabling auto-dissociation. All resultant OH- and H3O+ ion pairs recombined at times greater than 1 ps after auto-dissociation. A concentration of 8.01 × 1017 cm-3 for these ion pairs was observed. The simulations indicate that transient auto-dissociation in water is more common than that inferred from dc-conductivity experiments (10-5 vs 10-7) and is consistent with the results of calculations that include nuclear quantum effects. The conductivity experiments require the rearrangement of farther water molecules to form hydrogen-bonded "water wires" that afford long-range and measurable proton transport away from the reaction site. Nonetheless, the relatively large number of picosecond-lived auto-dissociation products might be engineered within 2D layers and oriented external fields to offer new energy-related systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen H Garofalini
- Department of Matserials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 607 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855, United States
| | - Jesse Lentz
- Department of Matserials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 607 Taylor Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855, United States
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6
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Herzfeld J. Emergence of Linnett's "double quartets" from a model of "Lewis dots". Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:5423-5429. [PMID: 36723373 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp05648h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Chemists routinely explicate molecular structures and chemical reactions in terms of the propensities of semiclassical valence electrons (aka "Lewis dots"). Typically, the electrons are viewed as forming spin pairs and recent efforts to translate this concise and intuitive qualitative picture into an efficient and relatable quantitative model have made good progress. But electrons are not always paired and advanced quantum calculations have shown that this is so even in small diamagnetic species such as dicarbon and benzene. Here we show that the latest semiclassical model for paired electrons can clarify the limitations on pairing simply by dissecting the elements of the interparticle potentials. Although not trained to do so, these elements produce a Linnett-like benzene, with three valence electrons in each CC bond, when the electrons are free to move singly. At the same time, sustaining higher order bonds with independently mobile electrons requires adjustments in the details of the model potentials at short distances. This is addressed with new training data and new forms for the contributions from Coulomb integrals. Although trained on hydrogen and carbon species separately, the combination applied to ethyne predicts the pairing of spins in the CH bonds and the dispersion of spins in the CC bond that is found in ab initio calculations. This adjusted force field is named LINNETT, in appreciation of Linnett's insightful double quartet interpretation of the Lewis octet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Herzfeld
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
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7
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Li J, Song X, Li P, Herzfeld J. A Carbon Is a Carbon Is a Carbon: Orbital-Free Simulations of Hydrocarbon Chemistry without Resort to Atom Types. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:8468-8475. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c05338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jicun Li
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts02454, United States
| | - Xinrui Song
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts02454, United States
| | - Pinyuan Li
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts02454, United States
| | - Judith Herzfeld
- Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts02454, United States
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8
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Volkov AA, Chuchupal SV. Dielectric spectra of liquid water: Ultrabroadband modeling and interpretation. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.120044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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9
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Artemov VG, Uykur E, Roh S, Pronin AV, Ouerdane H, Dressel M. Revealing excess protons in the infrared spectrum of liquid water. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11320. [PMID: 32647228 PMCID: PMC7347896 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68116-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The most common species in liquid water, next to neutral [Formula: see text] molecules, are the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] ions. In a dynamic picture, their exact concentrations depend on the time scale at which these are probed. Here, using a spectral-weight analysis, we experimentally resolve the fingerprints of the elusive fluctuations-born short-living [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] ions in the IR spectra of light ([Formula: see text]), heavy ([Formula: see text]), and semi-heavy (HDO) water. We find that short-living ions, with concentrations reaching [Formula: see text] of the content of water molecules, coexist with long-living pH-active ions on the picosecond timescale, thus making liquid water an effective ionic liquid in femtochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasily G Artemov
- Center for Energy Science and Technology, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia, 121205.
| | - Ece Uykur
- 1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Seulki Roh
- 1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Artem V Pronin
- 1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Henni Ouerdane
- Center for Energy Science and Technology, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia, 121205
| | - Martin Dressel
- 1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
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10
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Classical-quantum interfaces in living neural tissue supporting conscious functions. ADVANCES IN QUANTUM CHEMISTRY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aiq.2020.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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11
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Brini E, Fennell CJ, Fernandez-Serra M, Hribar-Lee B, Lukšič M, Dill KA. How Water's Properties Are Encoded in Its Molecular Structure and Energies. Chem Rev 2017; 117:12385-12414. [PMID: 28949513 PMCID: PMC5639468 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
How are water's material properties encoded within the structure of the water molecule? This is pertinent to understanding Earth's living systems, its materials, its geochemistry and geophysics, and a broad spectrum of its industrial chemistry. Water has distinctive liquid and solid properties: It is highly cohesive. It has volumetric anomalies-water's solid (ice) floats on its liquid; pressure can melt the solid rather than freezing the liquid; heating can shrink the liquid. It has more solid phases than other materials. Its supercooled liquid has divergent thermodynamic response functions. Its glassy state is neither fragile nor strong. Its component ions-hydroxide and protons-diffuse much faster than other ions. Aqueous solvation of ions or oils entails large entropies and heat capacities. We review how these properties are encoded within water's molecular structure and energies, as understood from theories, simulations, and experiments. Like simpler liquids, water molecules are nearly spherical and interact with each other through van der Waals forces. Unlike simpler liquids, water's orientation-dependent hydrogen bonding leads to open tetrahedral cage-like structuring that contributes to its remarkable volumetric and thermal properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiliano Brini
- Laufer
Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of
Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Christopher J. Fennell
- Department
of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, United States
| | - Marivi Fernandez-Serra
- Laufer
Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of
Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Barbara Hribar-Lee
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University
of Ljubljana, Večna
pot 113, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miha Lukšič
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University
of Ljubljana, Večna
pot 113, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ken A. Dill
- Laufer
Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of
Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
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12
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Bai C, Kale S, Herzfeld J. Chemistry with semi-classical electrons: reaction trajectories auto-generated by sub-atomistic force fields. Chem Sci 2017; 8:4203-4210. [PMID: 28626563 PMCID: PMC5468998 DOI: 10.1039/c7sc01181d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
For a century now, "Lewis dots" have been a mainstay of chemical thinking, teaching and communication. However, chemists have assumed that this semi-classical picture of electrons needs to be abandoned for quantitative work, and the recourse in computational simulations has been to the extremes of first principles treatments of electrons on the one hand and force fields that avoid explicit electrons on the other hand. Given both the successes and limitations of these highly divergent approaches, it seems worth considering whether the Lewis dot picture might be made quantitative after all. Here we review progress to that end, including variations that have been implemented and examples of applications, specifically the acid-base behavior of water, several organic reactions, and electron dynamics in silicon fracture. In each case, the semi-classical approach is highly efficient and generates reasonable and readily interpreted reaction trajectories in turnkey fashion (i.e., without any input about products). Avenues for further progress are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Bai
- Department of Chemistry , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA 02454 , USA .
| | - Seyit Kale
- Department of Chemistry , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA 02454 , USA .
| | - Judith Herzfeld
- Department of Chemistry , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA 02454 , USA .
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