DFT, Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations for the prediction of corrosion inhibition efficiency of novel pyrazolylnucleosides on Cu(111) surface in acidic media

Recent advances in catalyst design, performance, and challenges of metal-heteroatom-co-doped biochar as peroxymonosulfate activator for environmental remediation

The escalation of global water pollution due to emerging pollutants has gained significant attention. To address this issue, catalytic peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation technology has emerged as a promising treatment approach for effectively decontaminating a wide range of pollutants. Recently, modified biochar has become an increasingly attractive as PMS activator. Metal-heteroatom-co-doped biochar (MH-BC) has emerged as a promising catalyst that can provide enhanced performance over heteroatom-doped and metal-doped biochar due to the synergism between metal and heteroatom in promoting PMS activation. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the fabrication pathways (i.e., internal vs external doping and pre-vs post-modification) and key parameters (i.e., source of precursors, synthesis methods, and synthesis conditions) affecting the performance of MH-BC as PMS activator. Subsequently, an overview of all the possible PMS activation pathways by MH-BC is provided. Subsequently, Also, the detection, identification, and quantification of several reactive species (such as, •OH, SO4•-, O2•-, 1O2, and high valent oxo species) generated in the catalytic PMS system by MH-BC are also evaluated. Lastly, the underlying challenges associated with poor stability, the lack of understanding regarding the interaction between metal and heteroatom during PMS activation and quantification of radicals in multi-ROS system are also deliberated.

A combined experimental and modeling approach to elucidate the adsorption mechanism for sustainable water treatment via In2S3-anchored chitosan

A novel Chitosan/Indium sulfide (CS/In2S3) nanocomposite was created by co-precipitating Chitosan and InCl3 in solution, resulting in In2S3 agglomeration on the Chitosan matrix with a remarkable pore diameter of 170.384 Å, and characterized it for the physical and chemical properties. Under optimal conditions (pH = 7, time = 60 min, catalyst dosage = 0.24 g L-1, and dye concentration = 100 mg L-1), the synthesized nanocomposite demonstrated remarkable adsorption capabilities for Victoria Blue (VB), attaining a removal efficiency of 90.81%. The Sips adsorption isotherm best matched the adsorption process, which followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. With a rate constant of 6.357 × 10-3 g mg-1 min-1, the highest adsorption capacity (qm) was found to be 683.34 mg g-1. Statistical physics modeling (SPM) of the adsorption process revealed multi-interaction and multi-molecular adsorption of VB on the CS/In2S3 surface. The nanocomposite demonstrated improved stability and recyclability, indicating the possibility for low-cost, reusable wastewater dye removal adsorbents. These results have the potential to have practical applications in environmental remediation.

Insight into the corrosion inhibiting potential and anticancer activity of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-N'-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide via computational approaches

Cancer is a major health concern globally. Orthodox and traditional medicine have actively been explored to manage this disease. Also, corrosion is a natural catastrophe that weakens and deteriorates metallic structures and their alloys causing major structural failures and severe economic implications. Designing and exploring multi-functional materials are beneficial since they are adaptive to different fields including engineering and pharmaceutics. In this study, we examined the anti-corrosion and anti-cancer potentials of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-N'-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide (MAC) using computational approaches. The molecular reactivity descriptors and charge distribution parameters of MAC were studied in gas and water at density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) theory level. The binding and mechanism of interaction between MAC and iron surface was studied using Monte Carlo (MC) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in hydrochloric acid medium. From the DFT, MC, and MD simulations, it was observed that MAC interacted spontaneously with iron surface essentially via van der Waal and electrostatic interactions. The near-parallel alignment of the corrosion inhibitor on iron plane facilitates its adsorption and isolation of the metal surface from the acidic solution. Further, the compound was docked in the binding pocket of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK: 4FNZ) protein to assess its anti-cancer potential. The binding score, pharmacokinetics, and drug-likeness of MAC were compared with the reference drug (Crizotinib). The MAC displayed binding scores of -5.729 kcal/mol while Crizotinib has -3.904 kcal/mol. MD simulation of the complexes revealed that MAC is more stable and exhibits more favourable hydrogen bonding with the ALK receptor's active site than Crizotinib.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Computational Exploration of Phenolic Compounds in Corrosion Inhibition: A Case Study of Hydroxytyrosol and Tyrosol

The corrosion of materials remains a critical challenge with significant economic and infrastructural impacts. A comprehensive understanding of adsorption characteristics of phytochemicals can facilitate the effective design of high-performing environmentally friendly inhibitors. This study conducted a computational exploration of hydroxytyrosol (HTR) and tyrosol (TRS) (potent phenolic compounds found in olive leaf extracts), focusing on their adsorption and reactivity on iron surfaces. Utilizing self-consistent-charge density-functional tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) simulations, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and quantum chemical calculations (QCCs), we investigated the molecules' structural and electronic attributes and interactions with iron surfaces. The SCC-DFTB results highlighted that HTR and TRS coordinated with iron atoms when adsorbed individually, but only HTR maintained bonding when adsorbed alongside TRS. At their individual adsorption, HTR and TRS had interaction energies of -1.874 and -1.598 eV, which became more negative when put together (-1.976 eV). The MD simulations revealed parallel adsorption under aqueous and vacuum conditions, with HTR demonstrating higher adsorption energy. The analysis of quantum chemical parameters, including global and local reactivity descriptors, offered crucial insights into molecular reactivity, stability, and interaction-prone atomic sites. QCCs revealed that the fraction of transferred electron ∆N aligned with SCC-DFTB results, while other parameters of purely isolated molecules failed to predict the same. These findings pave the way for potential advancements in anticorrosion strategies leveraging phenolic compounds.

DFT Study on Corrosion Inhibition by Tetrazole Derivatives: Investigation of the Substitution Effect

Corrosion is one of the problems that most industries face. Our aim in the current study is to perform density functional theory calculations and Monte Carlo simulation to theoretically investigate the corrosion inhibition of the copper (1 1 1) surface by tetrazole molecules and a group of their derivatives. These compounds have electron-donating groups (CH₃, CH₃O, and OH) and electron-withdrawing groups (F, CN, and NO₂). Two different isomeric forms of tetrazole molecules and their derivatives, including 1H and 2H tautomers, were studied in two configurations, parallel and perpendicular to the Cu (1 1 1) surface. With the help of DMol3 calculations, the most important parameters related to the molecular ability of tetrazole derivatives as corrosion inhibitors include the adsorption energy (ΔE), E _HOMO, E _LUMO, E _gap, and issues related to chemical reactions, including total hardness (η), electronegativity (χ), and electron fraction transitions from the anti-corrosion molecule to the copper atom (ΔN), were calculated and compared in the tetrazole molecules and their derivatives. Also, with the help of adsorption locator calculations, the inhibitory effects of these compounds were theoretically investigated in an acidic environment. Through these calculations, it was determined that tetrazole molecules with electron-donating groups adsorbed perpendicularly to the copper (1 1 1) surface, by forming a stronger bond, are considered suitable corrosion inhibitors. Also, among the examined molecules, the 2H-tetrazole isomer form plays a more influential role than the 1H-tetrazole form.

Essential Oil of Origanum vulgare as a Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Carbon Steel in Acidic Medium

In this study, Oregano (Origanum vulgare) leaf essential oil was studied as an environmental-friendly anticorrosion agent for carbon steel in aggressive hydrochloric acid. The corrosion inhibition of O. vulgare was characterized by surface morphology, electrochemical, weight loss, theoretical and computational methods. It was found that the highest inhibition performance of O. vulgare was 85.64% at 2 g/l in 1 M HCl. The results of Langmuir isotherm and adsorption thermodynamics investigation demonstrated that the O. vulgare inhibitor adsorbed on the metal surface by the formation of rigid covalent bonds. The adsorption and inhibition centers of the selected inhibitor were studied by the computational methods, resulting in that the hydroxyl functional groups and benzoyl rings are mainly responsible for the high inhibition efficiency.

Synthesis, experimental and computational studies on the anti-corrosion performance of substituted Schiff bases of 2-methoxybenzaldehyde for mild steel in HCl medium

Corrosion inhibition performance of two synthesized Schiff base ligands; (E)-2-((2-methoxybenzylidene)amino)phenol L1 and (E)-2-((4-methoxybenzylidene)amino)phenol L2 were carried out by weight loss measurement in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were applied to theoretically explain the inhibitors' intrinsic properties and adsorption mechanism in the corrosion study. The result of the inhibition performances carried out at varying concentrations and temperatures were compared. The corrosion inhibition efficiencies of L1 and L2 at an optimal concentration of 10 × 10^-4 M were 75% and 76%. Langmuir isotherm model fits the data obtained from the experiment with a correlation coefficient (R²) value closer to unity. The adsorption mechanism of inhibitor on the surface of the Fe metal occurred via chemisorption inferred from the Gibbs free energy (ΔG_ads). Scanning electron microscopy showed a mild degradation on the surface of the mild steel immersed in the L1, and L2 inhibited acid solution, which could be due to surface coverage. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed the metal surface's elemental composition and the existence of the chlorine peak, which emanates from the HCl medium. DFT calculations revealed that the hybrid B3LYP functional performed better than the M06-2X meta-functional in estimating the energies of the synthesized Schiff bases for corrosion inhibition as seen in the lower ΔE values of 3.86 eV and 3.81 eV for L1 and L2. The MD simulation revealed that the orientation of inhibitors on the surface of the metal resulted in the coordination bond formation and that the interaction energy of L2 was -746.84 kJ/mol compared to -743.74 kJ/mol of L1. The DFT and MD results agreed with the observed trend of the experimental findings.

Cellulose polymers with β-amino ester pendant group: design, synthesis, molecular docking and application in adsorption of toxic metals from wastewater

BACKGROUND

Cellulose polymers with multidentate chelating functionalities that have high efficiency for toxic metal ions present in water were designed, synthesized, and analyzed. The synthesis was carried out by reacting microcrystalline cellulose extracted from the solid waste of the olive industry with tert-Butyl acetoacetate (Cell-AA), produced cellulose with β-ketoester functionality was then reacted with aniline and the amino acid glycine to produce Cell-β-AN and Cell-β-GL, respectively.

RESULTS

The adsorption efficiency of the three polymers toward Pb(II) and various toxic metal ions present in sewage was evaluated as a function of adsorbent dose, time, temperature, pH value, and initial ion concentration to determine optimum adsorption conditions. The three polymers showed excellent efficiency toward about 20 metal ions present in a sewage sample collected from the sewer. The adsorption process follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model with a second-order of adsorption rate, the calculated qe values (2.675, 15.252, 20.856 mg/g) were close to the experimental qe values (2.133, 13.91, 18.786 mg/g) for the three polymers Cell-AA, Cell-β-AG and Cell-β-AN, respectively. Molecular Dynamic (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed on the three polymers complexed with Pb(II).

CONCLUSION

The waste material of the olive industry was used as a precursor for making the target cellulose polymers with β-Amino Ester Pendant Group. The polymer was characterized by SEM, proton NMR, TGA, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The efficacy of adsorption was quantitative for metal ions present in a real sample of wastewater and the efficiency didn't drop even after 7 cycles of use. The results indicate the existence of strong complexation. The thermodynamic study results showed a spontaneous bonding between of Pb(II) and the polymers pendant groups expressed by the negative value of the Gibbs free energy.

An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Efficacy of Pantoprazole as a Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel in an Acidic Medium

The corrosion behavior of mild steel in a 1 M aqueous sulfuric acid medium in the presence and absence of the drug Pantoprazole was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization and quantum chemical calculations as well as Monte Carlo and molecular dynamic simulations. The potentiodynamic experiments indicated that this molecule, as a result of its adsorption on a mild steel surface, functioned as a mixed inhibitor. The goal of the study was to use theoretical calculations to acquire a better understanding of how inhibition works. The adsorption behavior of the examined compounds on the Fe (1 1 0) surface was calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, the molecules were studied using density functional theory (DFT), especially the PBE functional, to determine the relationship between the molecular structure and the corrosion inhibition behavior of the chemical under research. The adsorption energies of Pantoprazole (in its three different protonation states) iron were calculated more precisely using molecular mechanics with periodic boundary conditions (PBC). The predicted theoretical parameters were found to be in agreement with the experimental data, which was a considerable help in understanding the corrosion inhibition mechanism displayed by this chemical.