Thermodynamically and Dynamically Boosted Electrocatalytic Iodine Conversion with Hydroxyl Groups for High-Efficiency Zinc-Iodine Batteries

Rechargeable zinc-iodine (Zn-I2) batteries have shown immense potential for grid-scale energy storage applications, but there remain challenges of improving efficiency and cycling stability due to the sluggish iodine reduction reaction (IRR) kinetics and serious shuttle problem of polyiodides. We herein demonstrate an efficient metal-free hydroxyl (-OH)-functionalized carbon catalyst that effectively boosts the performance of Zn-I2 batteries. It has been found that the obtained electrocatalytic performance is strongly correlated with the surface oxygen chemical environment in the carbon matrix. Both theoretical calculations and experimental measurements have uncovered that the -OH group, rather than carbonyl (-C═O) and carboxyl (-COOH), provides the active electrocatalytic site for IRR, improves the iodine redox kinetics and the electrochemical reversibility, and facilitates I2 nucleation. As confirmed by a series of in situ and ex situ spectroscopy techniques, due to the favorable reaction thermodynamics and the lowered energy barrier for I3- dissociation, the O-H···I channels can effectively trigger the direct transformation of I2/I- and avoid the formation of stable polyiodides. As a result, the as-assembled battery of I2/oxygen-functionalized carbon cloth (I2/OCC-2)//Zn exhibits a high capacity of 2.27 mA h cm-2 at 1 mA cm-2, outstanding rate capability with 89.0% capacity retention at 20 mA cm-2, and long-term stability of 10,000 cycles.

Theoretical, Solid-State, and Solution Quantification of the Hydrogen Bond-Enhanced Halogen Bond

Proximal noncovalent forces are commonplace in natural systems and understanding the consequences of their juxtaposition is critical. This paper experimentally quantifies for the first time a Hydrogen Bond-Enhanced Halogen Bond (HBeXB) without the complexities of protein structure or preorganization. An HBeXB is a halogen bond that has been strengthened when the halogen donor simultaneously accepts a hydrogen bond. Our theoretical studies suggest that electron-rich halogen bond donors are strengthened most by an adjacent hydrogen bond. Furthermore, stronger hydrogen bond donors enhance the halogen bond the most. X-ray crystal structures of halide complexes (X^- =Br^- , I^- ) reveal that HBeXBs produce shorter halogen bonds than non-hydrogen bond analogues. ¹⁹ F NMR titrations with chloride highlight that the HBeXB analogue exhibits stronger binding. Together, these results form the foundation for future studies concerning hydrogen bonds and halogen bonds in close proximity.

Substituent effects on hydrogen bonding of aromatic amide-carboxylate

N-(p-benzoyl)-anthranilic acid (BAA) derivatives have been synthesized with different substituents (X: Br, Cl, OCH3, CH3), and their crystal structures have been analyzed in order to understand the variations in their molecular geometries with respect to the substituents by using (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, IR and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The carboxylic acid group forms classic OH⋯O hydrogen bonded dimers in a centrosymmetric R2(2)(8) ring motifs for BAA-Br and BAA-Cl. However, no carboxylic acid group forms classic OH⋯O hydrogen bonded dimers in BAA-OCH3 and BAA-CH3. The asymmetric unit consists of two crystallographically independent molecules in BAA-OCH3. DFT computations show that the interaction energies between monomer and dimer are in the range of 0.5-3.8kcal/mol with the B3LYP/6-31+G*, B3LYP/6-31++G*, B3LYP/6-31++G**, and B3LYP/AUG-cc-pVDZ levels of theory. The presence of different hydrogen bond patterns is also governed by the substrate. For monomeric compounds studied herein, theoretical calculations lead to two low-energy conformers; trans (a) and cis (b). Former one is more stable than latter by about 4kcal/mol.

Role of chloroform and dichloromethane solvent molecules in crystal packing: an interaction propensity study

Using the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), it is shown that the acidic C-H donors of chloroform and dichloromethane, respectively, form hydrogen bonds with N, O, S, halides or carbon-bound halogens in 82% and 77% of structures in which such interactions can occur. This hydrogen-bond potency is retained to a significant degree even in the presence of the more conventional O-H and N-H donors. The hydrogen-bond propensities exhibited by the C-H protons in CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 are similar to those of the acetylenic C-C≡C-H proton. However, involvement of the Cl atoms of CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 in non-bonded interactions is rather limited: the propensities for formation of (O or N)-H...Cl bonds are only 6% in both cases, while the propensities for the formation of halogen-halogen bonds is generally < 15%, with only Cl...Br interactions having slightly higher values. While C(phenyl)-H...Cl interactions are commonly observed, they are of low propensity and have distances at the upper end of the van der Waals limit. We conclude that the acidic C-H protons in chloroform and dichloromethane solvent molecules play a clear role in the involvement of these molecules in molecular aggregation in crystal structures, and this is exemplified by hydrogen-bond predictions made using the statistical propensity tool which is now part of the CSD system.

Structural characterization of some N-phenyl-4-oxo-4H-2-chromone carboxamides

N-phenyl-4-oxo-4H-2-chromone carboxamides were found to be inactive as MAO inhibitors in contrast with their N-phenyl-4-oxo-4H-3-chromone carboxamide isomers. In order to obtain a close insight into the docking mechanism for this family of compounds, the molecular and supramolecular structures of nine N-phenyl-4-oxo-4H-2-chromone carboxamides were determined. It was found that, in most of the secondary structures, the N(amido) and the O(carboxyl) of the carboxamide residue participate in strong intramolecular interactions, with the O atom of the chromene ring and with the H(ortho)-C (phenyl), respectively. When the phenyl ring had accessible acceptors as substituents a third intramolecular hydrogen bond was also observed. As a consequence, rotations of the chromone and phenyl rings around the N-C(alpha) and C(alpha')-C=O are constrained and the compounds were found to be more planar than would otherwise be expected. The deviation from planarity of the whole molecule can be quantified by the dihedral angles between mean planes of the aromatic rings and it was found that they were mainly affected by the degree of torsion of the phenyl ring with respect to the amide residue. The molecular conformations assumed by the secondary amides clearly contrast with that of a related tertiary amide that was also determined in this study. The unavailability of the N in this compound as a donor strongly influences the molecular isomerism and conformation. This analysis demonstrates that the molecules can be classified into four groups depending on the types of interactions formed as described above. If the secondary N(amido) of the carboximide is involved in two intramolecular interactions then this atom does not form any intermolecular contacts. In all other cases it does and the supramolecular structure formed is in most cases supplemented by weak C-H···O interactions.