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Cui C, Zhang H, Gu Y, Geng L, Jia Y, Lin S, Ma J, Luo Z. Tailoring Titanium Carbide Clusters for New Materials: from Met-Cars to Carbon-Doped Superatoms. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:9302-9310. [PMID: 38506150 PMCID: PMC10996009 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c01068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Tailoring materials with prescribed properties and regular structures is a critical and challenging research topic. Early transition metals were found to form supermagic M8C12 metallocarbohedrenes (Met-Cars); however, stable metal carbides are not limited to this common stoichiometry. Utilizing self-developed deep-ultraviolet laser ionization mass spectrometry, here, we report a strategy to generate new titanium carbides by reacting pure Tin clusters with acetylene. Interestingly, two products corresponding to Ti17C2 and Ti19C10 exhibit superior abundances in addition to the Ti8C12 Met-Cars. Using global-minimum search, the structures of Ti17C2 and Ti19C10 are determined to be an ellipsoidal D4d and a rod-shaped D5h geometry, respectively, both with carbon-capped Ti4C moieties and superatomic features. We illustrate the electronic structures and bonding nature in these carbon-doped superatoms concerning their enhanced stability and local aromaticity, shedding light on a new class of metal-carbide nanomaterials with atomic precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaonan Cui
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Hanyu Zhang
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yuming Gu
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing
University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Lijun Geng
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yuhan Jia
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School
of Chemical Science, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shiquan Lin
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School
of Chemical Science, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jing Ma
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing
University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zhixun Luo
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory
for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute
of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School
of Chemical Science, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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2
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Maneri AH, Krishnamurty S, Joshi K. Understanding the Stability of an Unprecedented Si-Be Bond within Quantum Confinement. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:14814-14822. [PMID: 37125089 PMCID: PMC10134223 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
As of today, the Si-Be bond remains underexplored in the literature, and therefore its anomalous behavior continues to be an unsolved puzzle to date. Therefore, the present study aims at evaluating the integrity of an unprecedented Si-Be bond within quantum confinement. To accomplish this, first-principles-based calculation are performed on Be-doped silicon clusters with atomic sizes 6, 7, and 10. Silicon clusters are sequentially doped with one, two, and three Be atoms, and their thermal response is registered in the temperature range of 200-1500 K, which discloses several research findings. During the course of the simulations, the clusters face various thermal events such as solid cluster phase, rapid structural metamorphosis, and fragmentation. Si-Be nanoalloy clusters are noted to be thermally stable at lower temperatures (200-700 K); however, they begins to disintegrate earlier at a temperature as low as 800 K. This lower stability is attributed to the weak nature of Si and Be heteroatomic interactions, which is corroborated from the structural and electronic property analysis of the doped clusters. In addition to this, the performance of Be-doped clusters at finite temperatures is also compared with the thermal response of two other popular systems, viz., C- and B-doped silicon clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asma Harun Maneri
- Physical
and Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National
Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune 411008, India
- Academy
of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Gaziabad 201002, India
| | - Sailaja Krishnamurty
- Physical
and Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National
Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune 411008, India
- Academy
of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Gaziabad 201002, India
- ,
| | - Krati Joshi
- Physical
and Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National
Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune 411008, India
- ,
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3
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Probing the Structural, Electronic and Adsorptive Properties of $${{\text{V}}_{\text{n}}}{{{\text{O}}}^{-}}\boldsymbol{ }\text{(n}$$ = 10–15) Clusters. J CLUST SCI 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10876-022-02267-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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Geng L, Jia Y, Zhang H, Cui C, Luo Z. Plasma-Assisted Dinitrogen Activation on Small Cobalt Clusters: Co 4 N 9 + with Enhanced Stability. Chemphyschem 2022; 23:e202200288. [PMID: 35689533 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202200288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
We have performed a study on the accommodation of nitrogen doping toward superatomic states of transition metal clusters. By reacting cobalt clusters with N2 in the presence of plasma radiation, a large number of odd-nitrogen clusters were observed, typically Co3 N2m-1 + (m=1-5) and Co4 N2m-1 + (m=1-6) series, showing N≡N bond cleavage in the mild plasma atmosphere. Interestingly, the Co3 N7 + , Co4 N9 + , and Co5 N9 + clusters exhibit prominent mass abundances. First-principles calculation results elucidate the stability of the diverse cobalt nitride clusters and find unique stability of Co4 N9 + with a swallow-kite structure of which four coordinated N2 molecules causes a significantly enlarged HOMO-LUMO gap, while the single N atom doping gives rise to superatomic states of 1S2 1P3 ||1D0 . We reveal an efficient dinitrogen activation strategy by reacting multiple N2 molecules with cobalt clusters under a plasma atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijun Geng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yuhan Jia
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Hanyu Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Chaonan Cui
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Zhixun Luo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.,School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
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5
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Kondinski A, Ghorbani-Asl M. Polyoxoplatinates as covalently dynamic electron sponges and molecular electronics materials. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2021; 3:5663-5675. [PMID: 36133270 PMCID: PMC9417413 DOI: 10.1039/d1na00387a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In organic systems, dynamic covalent chemistry provides an adaptive approach (i.e., "covalent dynamics") where thermodynamic equilibria are used to tailor structural and electronic changes in molecular assemblies. The covalent dynamics finds utility in the design of novel self-healing materials, sensors, and actuators. Herein, using density functional theory (DFT) we explore the structural, electronic and transport properties of the Pt-based polyoxometalate (POM) [PtIII 12O8(SO4)12]4- and its derivatives. The latter POM has six redox responsive {O-Pt-Pt-O} moieties and prospects for storage of up to twelve electrons, thus exemplifying how dynamic covalent chemistry may manifest itself in fully inorganic systems. Simulations of the Au/POM/Au junction show that the electron conduction strongly depends on the redox of the POM but more weakly on its rotations with respect to the Au surface. Moreover, the POM shows promising spin-polarized current behaviour, which can be modulated using bias and gate voltages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandar Kondinski
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge Philippa Fawcett Dr Cambridge CB3 0AS UK
| | - Mahdi Ghorbani-Asl
- Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf 01328 Dresden Germany
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Geng L, Cui C, Jia Y, Yin B, Zhang H, Sun ZD, Luo Z. Reactivity of Cobalt Clusters Co n±/0 with Dinitrogen: Superatom Co 6+ and Superatomic Complex Co 5N 6. J Phys Chem A 2021; 125:2130-2138. [PMID: 33689326 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c00483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We report a joint experimental and theoretical study on the reactions of cobalt clusters (Con±/0) with nitrogen using the customized reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer combined with a 177.3 nm deep-ultraviolet laser. Comparing to the behaviors of neutral Con (n = 2-30) and anionic Con- clusters (n = 7-53) which are relatively inert in reacting with nitrogen in the fast-flow tube, Con+ clusters readily react with nitrogen resulting in adducts of one or multiple N2 except Co6+ which stands firm in the reaction with nitrogen. Detailed quantum chemistry calculations, including the energetics, electron occupancy, and orbital analysis, well-explained the reasonable reactivity of Con+ clusters with nitrogen and unveiled the open-shell superatomic stability of Co6+ within a highly symmetric (D3d) structure. The D3d Co6+ bears an electron configuration of a half-filled superatomic 1P orbital (i.e., 1S21P3||1D0), a large α-highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap, symmetric multicenter bonds, and reasonable electron delocalization pertaining to metallic aromaticity. Topology analysis by atom-in-molecule illustrates the interactions between Con+ and N2 corresponding to covalent bonds, but the Co-N interactions in cationic Co2+N2 and Co6+N2 clusters are apparently weaker than those in the other systems. In addition, we identify a superatomic complex Co5N6+ which exhibits similar frontier orbitals as the naked Co5+ cluster, but the alpha HOMO-LUMO gap is nearly double-magnified, which is consistent with the high-abundance peak of Co5N6+ in the experimental observation. The enhanced stability of such a ligand-coordinated superatomic complex Co5N6+, along with the superatom Co6+ with aromaticity, sheds light on special and general superatoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijun Geng
- School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, P. R. China.,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Chaonan Cui
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yuhan Jia
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Baoqi Yin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Hanyu Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Zhen-Dong Sun
- School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, P. R. China.,School of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Kashi University, Kashgar 844006, P. R. China
| | - Zhixun Luo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
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7
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Gan W, Huang B, Yang M, Geng L, Luo Z, Hansen K. The reactivity of Nb n+ clusters with acetylene and ethylene to produce a cubic aromatic metal carbide Nb 4C 4+. NEW J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1039/d1nj04750g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The reactions of niobium cationic clusters with acetylene and ethylene under sufficient gas collision conditions give rise to dominant dehydrogenation and produce a main metal carbide Nb4C4+ which is associated with cubic aromaticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Gan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Benben Huang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mengzhou Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lijun Geng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zhixun Luo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Klavs Hansen
- Center for Joint Quantum Studies and Department of Physics, School of Science, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300072, China
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8
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Lei X, Zhang H, Jia Y, Luo Z. Gas-phase preparation and the stability of superatomic Nb 11O 15. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:15766-15773. [PMID: 34286767 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp02128a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We report a study of the reactions of pure metal clusters Nbn- with dioxygen in the gas phase. It is found that the presence of low-concentration dioxygen reactants results in oxygen-addition products, whereas sufficient high-concentration dioxygen enables oxygen-etching reactions giving rise to molecular niobium oxides. Interestingly, in the presence of a suitable gas flow rate of an intermediate dioxygen concentration, a highly selective product Nb11O15- shows up in the mass spectra. Utilizing density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have discussed the reactivities of Nbn- (3 ≤ n ≤ 14) clusters with oxygen, and unveiled the reasonable stability of Nb11O15- pertaining to its unique geometric structure with a D5h Nb@Nb10 core fully protected by 15 bridge-oxygen atoms. The oxygen-passivated Nb@Nb10O15- cluster exhibits a large HOMO-LUMO gap (1.46 eV) and effective multicenter bonds with remarkable superatom orbitals for all the 26 valence electrons of the Nb@Nb10 core corresponding to well-staggered energy levels. We illustrate the superatomic features in the Nb@Nb10 metallic core for which the adaptive natural density partitioning (AdNDP) analysis unveils thirteen 11c-2e bonds. Among them, one of the 11c-2e bonds accounts for the superatomic S orbital, three bonds correspond to superatomic P orbitals, another five display vivid D orbital characteristics, and the remaining four 11c-2e bonds are assigned to F orbital features. In addition, the net atomic charge of the center Nb atom is as high as -0.804 |e| rendering core-shell electrostatic interactions and the shielding effect of the Nb10O15 shell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Lei
- State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Hanyu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Yuhan Jia
- State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhixun Luo
- State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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