Low-temperature Raman spectra of nitromethane single crystals. Lattice dynamics and Davydov splittings

Nitroethane at high density: an experimental and computational vibrational study

The vibrational spectrum of liquid and solid nitroethane was measured as a function of pressure. Both Raman scattering and absorption IR spectroscopies were applied to samples of nitroethane, statically compressed at ambient temperature to a maximum pressure of 8.0 GPa and 16.9 GPa, respectively. A new amorphous to crystalline transition pressure was found to lie between 1.59-1.63 GPa. Davydov splitting of internal modes into two components suggests two molecules associated with the unit cell, which is consistent with the DFT predictions made in a previous study. For most bands below 1200 cm-1, pressure induced mode progression was consistent with DFT predictions. Conversely, observed mode shifts in the 2950-3100 cm-1 region were generally stiffer than their DFT counterparts. A discontinuity in mode evolution between 3.7-4.3 GPa was observed for a number of modes and shown to coincide with hydrogen bond rearrangement in this pressure region. Preferred orientation and crystallite strain might explain the increased scatter between the various pressure induced mode shift cycles. Time intervals on the order of ∼30 h may be required between spectra, in order to give the crystallites time to equilibrate their strain.

Vibrational energy redistribution in crystalline nitromethane simulated by ab initio molecular dynamics

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) are systematically performed to study the Vibrational Energy Redistribution (VER) in solid nitromethane (NM) by combining normal mode decomposition and short-time Fourier transform technique. After the selective excitations of all fourteen intramolecular vibrational modes above 400 cm⁻¹, four three-dimensional (3D) excitation and detected vibrational spectra are obtained. The evolution of the kinetic energy proportion of all vibrations are also given and discussed quantitatively. These results show that, as the daughter modes, NO₂ symmetric stretches, CH₃ stretches and bends are usually excited quickly and relatively conspicuously compared with the other vibrations. Interestingly, we found that, although the stretching vibration of the CN bond which is a bridge between the methyl and nitro group can not respond immediately to the selective excitations, it always accumulates the vibrational energy slowly and steadily. Then, the underlying mechanisms are discussed based on the response of vibrational modes in both the time and frequency domain. As a result, we found that anharmonic transfers following symmetry rules which involve the couplings assisted by the overtones and rotations, as well as the transfers among the adjacent modes, play important roles in the VER of solid NM.

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) are systematically performed to study the Vibrational Energy Redistribution (VER) in solid nitromethane (NM) by combining normal mode decomposition and short-time Fourier transform technique.

A DFT study on structural, vibrational properties, and quasiparticle band structure of solid nitromethane

We report a detailed theoretical study of the structural and vibrational properties of solid nitromethane using first principles density functional calculations. The ground state properties were calculated using a plane wave pseudopotential code with either the local density approximation, the generalized gradient approximation, or with a correction to include van der Waals interactions. Our calculated equilibrium lattice parameters and volume using a dispersion correction are found to be in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Also, our calculations reproduce the experimental trends in the structural properties at high pressure. We found a discontinuity in the bond length, bond angles, and also a weakening of hydrogen bond strength in the pressure range from 10 to 12 GPa, picturing the structural transition from phase I to phase II. Moreover, we predict the elastic constants of solid nitromethane and find that the corresponding bulk modulus is in good agreement with experiments. The calculated elastic constants show an order of C11> C22 > C33, indicating that the material is more compressible along the c-axis. We also calculated the zone center vibrational frequencies and discuss the internal and external modes of this material under pressure. From this, we found the softening of lattice modes around 8-11 GPa. We have also attempted the quasiparticle band structure of solid nitromethane with the G0W0 approximation and found that nitromethane is an indirect band gap insulator with a value of the band gap of about 7.8 eV with G0W0 approximation. Finally, the optical properties of this material, namely the absorptive and dispersive part of the dielectric function, and the refractive index and absorption spectra are calculated and the contribution of different transition peaks of the absorption spectra are analyzed. The static dielectric constant and refractive indices along the three inequivalent crystallographic directions indicate that this material has a considerable optical anisotropy.

Structural and vibrational properties of solid nitromethane under high pressure by density functional theory

The structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of solid nitromethane under hydrostatic pressure of up to 20 GPa have been studied using density functional theory. The changes of cell volume, the lattice constants, and the molecular geometry of solid nitromethane under hydrostatic loading are examined, and the bulk modulus B0 and its pressure derivative B0' are fitted from the volume-pressure relation. Our theoretical results are compared with available experiments. The change of electron band gap of nitromethane under high pressure is also discussed. Based on the optimized crystal structures, the vibrational frequencies for the internal and lattice modes of the nitromethane crystal at ambient and high pressures are computed, and the pressure-induced frequency shifts of these modes are discussed.