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Sikorska C, Vincent E, Schnepf A, Gaston N. Tuning the electronic structure of gold cluster-assembled materials by altering organophosphine ligands. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:10673-10687. [PMID: 38511629 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04027e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Superatomic clusters can be assembled to build bulk matter, where the individual characteristics are preserved. The main benefit of these materials over conventional bulk species is the capability to tailor their features by altering the physicochemical identities of individual clusters. Electronic properties of metal clusters can be modified by a protective shell of ligands that attach to the surface and make the whole nanoparticle soluble in organic or aqueous solvents. In the present work, we demonstrate that properly chosen ligands provide not only steric protection from aggregation but also tune the redox activity of metal clusters. We investigate the role of the ligands in electronic structure tunability and ligand-field splitting. Our first-principles calculations agree with the experiments, showing that phosphine-protected gold materials are small gap semiconductors. The obtained bandgaps strongly depend on the ligand used. Hence, using phosphine and organophosphine ligands should be feasible and promising while designing the novel superatom-based materials since the desired range of the bandgap might be achieved (by the proper choice of the ligand).
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Sikorska
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, 38 Princes Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdanśk, Fahrenheit Union of Universities in Gdanśk, 80-308 Gdanśk, Poland
| | - Emma Vincent
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, 38 Princes Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
| | - Andreas Schnepf
- Institut für Anorganische Chemie Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicola Gaston
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, 38 Princes Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
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Sikorska C. Design and Investigation of Superatoms for Redox Applications: First-Principles Studies. MICROMACHINES 2023; 15:78. [PMID: 38258197 PMCID: PMC10820084 DOI: 10.3390/mi15010078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
A superatom is a cluster of atoms that acts like a single atom. Two main groups of superatoms are superalkalis and superhalogens, which mimic the chemistry of alkali and halogen atoms, respectively. The ionization energies of superalkalis are smaller than those of alkalis (<3.89 eV for cesium atom), and the electron affinities of superhalogens are larger than that of halogens (>3.61 eV for chlorine atom). Exploring new superalkali/superhalogen aims to provide reliable data and predictions of the use of such compounds as redox agents in the reduction/oxidation of counterpart systems, as well as the role they can play more generally in materials science. The low ionization energies of superalkalis make them candidates for catalysts for CO2 conversion into renewable fuels and value-added chemicals. The large electron affinity of superhalogens makes them strong oxidizing agents for bonding and removing toxic molecules from the environment. By using the superatoms as building blocks of cluster-assembled materials, we can achieve the functional features of atom-based materials (like conductivity or catalytic potential) while having more flexibility to achieve higher performance. This feature paper covers the issues of designing such compounds and demonstrates how modifications of the superatoms (superhalogens and superalkalis) allow for the tuning of the electronic structure and might be used to create unique functional materials. The designed superatoms can form stable perovskites for solar cells, electrolytes for Li-ion batteries of electric vehicles, superatomic solids, and semiconducting materials. The designed superatoms and their redox potential evaluation could help experimentalists create new materials for use in fields such as energy storage and climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Sikorska
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Fahrenheit Union of Universities in Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland;
- Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
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Opoku E, Pawłowski F, Ortiz JV. Electron Propagator Theory of Vertical Electron Detachment Energies of Anions: Benchmarks and Applications to Nucleotides. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:1085-1101. [PMID: 36656801 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c08372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
A new generation of ab initio electron-propagator self-energy approximations that are free of adjustable parameters is tested on a benchmark set of 55 vertical electron detachment energies of closed-shell anions. Comparisons with older self-energy approximations indicate that several new methods that make the diagonal self-energy approximation in the canonical Hartree-Fock orbital basis provide superior accuracy and computational efficiency. These methods and their acronyms, mean absolute errors (in eV), and arithmetic bottlenecks expressed in terms of occupied (O) and virtual (V) orbitals are the opposite-spin, non-Dyson, diagonal second-order method (os-nD-D2, 0.2, OV2), the approximately renormalized quasiparticle third-order method (Q3+, 0.15, O2V3) and the approximately renormalized, non-Dyson, linear, third-order method (nD-L3+, 0.1, OV4). The Brueckner doubles with triple field operators (BD-T1) nondiagonal electron-propagator method provides such close agreement with coupled-cluster single, double, and perturbative triple replacement total energy differences that it may be used as an alternative means of obtaining standard data. The new methods with diagonal self-energy matrices are the foundation of a composite procedure for estimating basis-set effects. This model produces accurate predictions and clear interpretations based on Dyson orbitals for the photoelectron spectra of the nucleotides found in DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Opoku
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849-5312, United States
| | - Filip Pawłowski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849-5312, United States
| | - J V Ortiz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849-5312, United States
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Xue D, Chen Z, Liu J, Liu J, Wu D, Li Y, Li Z. Oxidization of aromatic heterocyclic molecules with superhalogens. Polyhedron 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.poly.2021.115160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Sikorska C. Magnesium-Based Clusters as Building Blocks of Electrolytes in Lithium-Ion Batteries. Chemphyschem 2019; 20:2236-2246. [PMID: 31309658 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201900318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Superhalogens, owing to their large electron affinity (EA, exceeding those of any halogen atom), play an essential role in physical chemistry as well as new material design. They have applications in hydrogen storage and lithium-ion batteries. Owing to the unique geometries and electronic features of magnesium-based clusters, their potential to form a new class of lithium salts has been investigated here theoretically. The idea is assessed by conducting ab initio computations on Li+ /Mgn F2n+1-2m Om - compounds (n=2, 3; m=0-3) and analyzing their performance as potential Li-ion battery electrolytes. The Mg3 F7 - cluster, with large electron binding energy (EA of 7.93 eV), has been proven to serve as a building block for lithium salts. It is shown that, apart from high electronic stability, the new superhalogen-based electrolytes exhibit a set of desirable properties, including a large band gap, high electrolyte stability window, easy mobility of the Li+ , and favorable insensitivity to water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Sikorska
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling Department of Theoretical Chemistry Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland.,MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology Department of Physics, The University of Auckland, 38 Princes Street, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
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Wu LY, Li JF, Zhao RF, Luo L, Wang YC, Yin B. Exploring the structure, bonding and stability of noble gas compounds promoted by superhalogens. A case study on HNgMX 3 (Ng = Ar-Rn, M = Be-Ca, X = F-Br) via combined high-level ab initio and DFT calculations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:19104-19114. [PMID: 31432847 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp03788h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A series of complexes (HNgMX3), formed from superhalogen MX3 (M = Be-Ca, X = F-Br) noble gas (Ar-Rn) and the hydrogen atom, were investigated via combined high-level ab initio and DFT calculations. The high vertical electron detachment energy (VDE) of the superhalogen part will lead to charge transfer from the noble gas hydride to it. This charge transfer gives rise to attractive ionic interaction between the two components and to the existence of these complexes as local minima on the potential energy surface eventually. However, the VDE value of the superhalogen part is not always monotonically correlated with the thermodynamic/kinetic stability of the whole complexes. Therefore the superhalogen itself might not be enough to provide information for the correct prediction of the properties of the whole composites. Although there are exothermic channels of dissociation, the existence of energy barrier might ensure the existence of these Ng hydrides under certain conditions. Our analysis indicates the existence of two important factors, functioning in opposite directions, for the energy barriers along the exothermic channel. To achieve a high energy barrier, the attractive interaction between superhalogen and the H atom in the TS, which lowers the barrier, needs to be suppressed effectively. An understanding of the superhalogen-based composites will provide valuable information on the functional properties and potential application of superhalogens. The details of the interaction between different parts of these composites should be one of the areas of focus in these studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin-Yu Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China. and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, China.
| | - Jin-Feng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China. and College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, P. R. China
| | - Ru-Fang Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
| | - Lan Luo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
| | - Yong-Cheng Wang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, China.
| | - Bing Yin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
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Bian S, Ma Y, Shi Y, Fan X, Kong X. Superhalogen Species of Titanium Oxide Related Clusters Generated by Laser Ablation. J Phys Chem A 2019; 123:6787-6791. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.9b06282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Sikorska C. Magnesium-Based Oxyfluoride Superatoms: Design, Structure, and Electronic Properties. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:2175-2189. [PMID: 30892029 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The ability of mixed ligands to form stable dinuclear and trinuclear magnesium-based superatoms has been investigated theoretically. The Mg2F5-2 mO m and Mg3F7-2 mO m systems (where m = 1-3) were found able to form stable and strongly bound anionic clusters, and those assumptions were validated by (i) the analysis of the geometrical stability; (ii) the estimated Gibbs free energies for the most probable disproportion paths these clusters might be vulnerable to (which allows examining their thermodynamic stabilities); (iii) the localization of the electron density; and (iv) the adiabatic electron affinity (AEA), vertical electron detachment energy (VDE), and adiabatic electron detachment energy (ADE) values calculated for the studied systems. It is demonstrated that the stability of the anionic daughters of these clusters increases with the number of electronegative ligands, and Mg nF2 n+1-2 mO m- ( n = 2, 3; m = 1-3) clusters are stable against electron emission. The largest electron binding energy was found for the Mg3F5O- anion (VDE = 6.826 eV). The strong VDE dependence on (i) the geometrical structure, (ii) the number of central atoms, (iii) ligand type, and (iv) bonding/antibonding character of the highest molecular orbital (HOMO) was also remarked upon and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Sikorska
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry , University of Gdansk , Wita Stwosza 63 , 80-308 Gdansk , Poland
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Freza S, Anusiewicz I, Simons J, Skurski P. A metastable [(MgF3)2]2− dianion composed of two superhalogen anions. J Fluor Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jfluchem.2019.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Shi Y, Bian S, Ma Y, Wang Y, Ren J, Kong X. Structures and Superhalogen Properties of Pt 2Cl n (2 ≤ n ≤ 10) Clusters. J Phys Chem A 2019; 123:187-193. [PMID: 30543428 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b08349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Laser ablation mass spectrometry was applied to study the cluster anions of Pt2Cl n-. Among them, Pt2Cl6- and Pt2Cl9- were observed with remarkable intensities in the mass spectrum. Collision-activated dissociation experiments were also performed for the two anions. A systematic study of the structures and electron affinities (EAs) of Pt1-2Cl n (2 ≤ n ≤ 10) clusters was performed on the level of B3LYP/Lanl2dz/6-311++G(2d, p). For both systems, their EAs do not increase monotonically with the increase of Cl atoms. All the clusters of PtCl n (3 ≤ n ≤ 10) and Pt2Cl n (3 ≤ n ≤ 10) show EAs larger than that of the Cl atom. The highest EAs for the series of Pt2Cl n and PtCl n are 6.55 and 5.82 eV, corresponding to those of Pt2Cl9 and PtCl9, respectively. The results indicate that these clusters might be applied as effective units in constructing new "hypersalts".
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Sikorska C. Oxidizing Metal Oxides with Polynuclear Superhalogen: An ab Initio Study. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:7328-7338. [PMID: 30142273 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b05095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The ability of metal oxides (CoO, CuO, MgO, MnO2, NiO, SiO2, TiO2, and ZnO) to form stable systems with polynuclear superhalogen (i.e., Mg3F7) is examined on the basis of theoretical considerations supported by ab initio calculations. It is demonstrated that the MeO n ( n = 1, 2) molecules (such as CoO, CuO, MgO, MnO2, NiO, TiO2, ZnO) should form stable and strongly bound (MeO n)+(superhalogen)- salts when combined with the Mg3F7 superhalogen radical (acting as an oxidizing agent). This conclusion is supported by providing: (i) structural deformation of superhalogen upon ionization, (ii) predicted charge flow between each MeO n and superhalogen (which allows estimating the amount of electron density withdrawn from MeO n molecule during the ionization process), (iii) the localization of the spin density distribution, and (iv) the interaction energies and vertical ionization potentials (VIPs) for the compounds obtained at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d) level of theory. On the other hand, the Mg3F7 superhalogen was found to be incapable of ionizing molecules whose adiabatic ionization potentials (AIPs) exceed 12 eV (e.g., SiO2). I believe that the results provided in this contribution may likely be of prospective relevance in the future studies on the issue of binding and preventing metal oxide nanoparticles aggregation in the environment before they occur harmful to human health and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina Sikorska
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry , University of Gdansk Wita Stwosza 63 , 80-308 Gdansk , Poland
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Li JF, Zhao RF, Chai XT, Zhou FQ, Li CC, Li JL, Yin B. Why do higher VDEs of superhalogen not ensure improved stabilities of the noble gas hydrides promoted by them? A high-level ab initio case study. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:064301. [PMID: 30111124 DOI: 10.1063/1.5038191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of 20 composite structures, consisting of superhalogen and noble gas (Ng) hydrides, was explored via high-level coupled-cluster single, double and perturbative triple excitations calculations in this work. The existence of these composites, as local minima on the potential energy surface, arises from the charge transfer from the Ng hydride part to the superhalogen moiety. Clearly, this transfer could lead to stabilizing the interaction of the ionic type between the two components. The driving force of the charge transfer should be the high vertical electron detachment energy (VDE) of the superhalogen part leading to its enough capability of extracting the electron from the Ng hydride moiety. However, except triggering the ionic attractive interaction, there is nomonotonic correlation between the VDE value and the thermodynamic stability of the whole composite. This counter-intuitive result actually originates from the fact that, irrespective of various superhalogens, only two of their F ligands interact with the Ng atoms directly. Thus, although leading to higher VDE values, the increase in the number of electronegative ligands of the superhalogen moiety does not affect the stabilizing interaction of the composites here directly. In other words, with the necessary charge transfer generated, further increase of the VDE does not ensure the improvement of the thermodynamic stabilities of the whole composite. Moreover, in the transition state of the exothermic dissociation channel, more F atoms will give rise to higher probability of additional attractions between the F and H atoms which should lower the energy barrier. That is to say, increasing VDE, i.e., having more F atoms in many cases, will probably reduce the kinetic stability. Knowing the inevitable existence of the exothermic channel, kinetic stability is crucial to the ultimate goal of experimental observation of these Ng hydrides. Thus, in some cases, only the superhalogen itself may not provide enough information for the correct prediction on the properties of the whole composites. The understanding of the superhalogen-based composites will provide valuable information on the functional properties as well as the application potential of superhalogen clusters. Thus, the corresponding researches should focus on not only the superhalogen itself but also other related aspects, especially the details of the interaction between different parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Feng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Ru-Fang Zhao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Xu-Ting Chai
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Fu-Qiang Zhou
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Chao-Chao Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Jian-Li Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
| | - Bing Yin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
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Overview of experimental and computational methods for the determination of the pKa values of 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, imatinib and methotrexate. Trends Analyt Chem 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2017.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Interpreting Bonding and Spectra With Correlated, One-Electron Concepts From Electron Propagator Theory. ANNUAL REPORTS IN COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.arcc.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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