Structural and Optical Properties of Passivated Silicon Nanoclusters with Different Shapes: A Theoretical Investigation

Confined Lewis Pairs: Investigation of the X- →Si20 Interaction in Halogen-Encapsulating Silafulleranes

A joint theoretical and experimental study on 32 endohedral silafullerane derivatives [X@Si20 Y20 ]- (X=F-I; Y=F-I, H, Me, Et) andT h ${T_h }$ -[Cl@Si20 H12 Y8 ]- (Y=F-I) is presented. First, we evaluated the structure-determining template effect of Cl- in a systematic series of concave silapolyquinane model systems. Second, we investigated the X- →Si20 interaction energy (E int ${E_{{\rm{int}}} }$ ) as a function of X- and Y and found the largestE int ${E_{{\rm{int}}} }$ values for electron-withdrawing exohedral substituents Y. Given that X- ions can be considered as Lewis bases and empty Si20 Y20 clusters as Lewis acids, we classify our inseparable host-guest complexes [X@Si20 Y20 ]- as "confined Lewis pairs". Third, 35 Cl NMR spectroscopy proved to be highly diagnostic for an experimental assessment of the Cl- →Si20 interaction as the paramagnetic shielding and, in turn, δ ${\delta }$ (35 Cl) of the endohedral Cl- ion correlate inversely withE int ${E_{{\rm{int}}} }$ . Finally, we disclose the synthesis of [PPN][Cl@Si20 Y20 ] (Y=Me, Et, Br) and provide a thorough characterization of these new silafulleranes.

Effect of Water Adsorption on the Photoluminescence of Silicon Quantum Dots

The optical properties of silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) are strongly influenced by circumjacent surface-adsorbed molecules, which would highly affect their applications; however, water, as the ubiquitous environment, has not received enough attention yet. We employed the time-dependent density functional calculations to investigate the water effect of photoluminescence (PL) spectra for Si QDs. In contrast with the absorption spectra, PL spectra exhibit distinct characteristics. For Si32H38, PL presents the single maximum in the dry and humid environment, while the emission spectrum displays a dual-band fluorescence spectroscopy in the low-humidity environment. This phenomenon is also observed in the larger Si QDs. The distinct character in spectroscopy is dominated by the stretching of the Si-Si bond, which could be explained by the self-trapped exciton model. Our results shed light on the Si-water interaction that is important for the development of optical devices based on Si-coated surfaces.

Small silicon, big opportunities: the development and future of colloidally-stable monodisperse silicon nanocrystals

Nanomaterials are becoming increasingly widespread in consumer technologies, but there is global concern about the toxicity of nanomaterials to humans and the environment as they move rapidly from the research laboratory to the market place. With this in mind, it makes sense to intensify the nanochemistry community's global research effort on the synthesis and study of nanoparticles that are purportedly "green". One potentially green nanoparticle that seems to be a most promising candidate in this context is silicon, whose appealing optical, optoelectronic, photonic, and biomedical attributes are recently gaining much attention. In this paper, we outline some of our recent contributions to the development of the growing field of silicon nanocrystals (ncSi) in order to stress the importance of continued study of ncSi as a green alternative to the archetypal semiconductor nanocrystals like CdSe, InAs, and PbS. While a variety of developments in synthetic methods, characterization techniques, and applications have been reported in recent years, the ability to prepare colloidally-stable monodisperse ncSi samples may prove to have the largest impact on the field, as it opens the door to study and access the tunable size-dependent properties of ncSi. Here, we summarize our recent contributions in size-separation methods to achieve monodisperse samples, the characterization of size-dependant property trends, the development of ncSi applications, and their potential impact on the promising future of ncSi.

Infrared spectrum of the Ag(+)-(pyridine)2 ionic complex: probing interactions in artificial metal-mediated base pairing

The isolated pyridine-Ag(+)-pyridine unit (Py-Ag(+)-Py) is employed as a model system to characterize the recently observed Ag(+)-mediated base pairing in DNA oligonucleotides at the molecular level. The structure and infrared (IR) spectrum of the Ag(+)-Py(2) cationic complex are investigated in the gas phase by IR multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations to determine the preferred metal-ion binding site and other salient properties of the potential-energy surface. The IRMPD spectrum has been obtained in the 840-1720 cm(-1) fingerprint region by coupling the IR free electron laser at the Centre Laser Infrarouge d'Orsay (CLIO) with a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. The spectroscopic results are interpreted with quantum chemical calculations conducted at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. The analysis of the IRMPD spectrum is consistent with a σ complex, in which the Ag(+) ion binds to the nitrogen lone pairs of the two Py ligands in a linear configuration. The binding motif of Py-Ag(+)-Py in the gas phase is the same as that observed in Ag(+)-mediated base pairing in solution. Ag(+) bonding to the π-electron system of the aromatic ring is predicted to be a substantially less-favorable binding motif.

Large-scale first principles and tight-binding density functional theory calculations on hydrogen-passivated silicon nanorods

We present a computational study by density functional theory (DFT) of entire silicon nanorods with up to 1648 atoms without any periodicity or symmetry imposed. The nanorods have been selected to have varying aspect ratios and levels of surface passivation with hydrogen. The structures of the nanorods have been optimized using a density functional tight-binding approach, while energies and electronic properties have been computed using linear-scaling DFT with plane-wave accuracy with the ONETEP (Skylaris et al 2005 J. Chem. Phys. 122 084119) program. The aspect ratio and surface passivation (1×1 and 2×1 reconstructions) along with the size of the nanorods which leads to quantum confinement along all three dimensions, significantly affect their electronic properties. The structures of the nanorods also show interesting behaviour as, depending on their characteristics, they can in certain areas retain the structure of bulk silicon while in other parts significantly deviate from it.