Periodic density functional study on supported vanadium oxides

Geträgerte Vanadiumoxidkatalysatoren sind wegen ihrer Vielseitigkeit bei Oxidationsreaktionen von großem Interesse. Der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen ist ein weitreichendes Verständnis in die mikroskopische Struktur der Vanadiumoxide unter verschiedenen Bedingungen sowie die Art der Bindung an die Oberfläche des Trägers. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Systeme Vanadiumoxid/Aluminiumoxid und Vanadiumoxid/Siliziumoxid mittels Dichtefunktionaltheorie in Kombination mit statistischer Thermodynamik untersucht. Als Modelle für Aluminiumoxid werden die stabile alpha-Al2O3 bzw. die metastabile kappa-Al2O3 Phase verwendet und ein ultradünner, epitaxialer SiO2 Film auf Mo(112) wird als Siliziumoxidsupport verwendet. Dessen einzigartige atomare Struktur, genauso wie diejenige eindimensionaler Silizumoxid-Streifen, die mit dem Film auf der Oberfläche koexistieren, wird durch kombinierte experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen aufgeklärt. Die Bildung einer neuen, "sauerstoffreichen" Phase des SiO2/Mo(112) Films wird vorhergesagt und deren Existenz anschließend experimentell gezeigt. Die Zielsetzung der Arbeit ist es zu Verstehen, wie Vanadiumoxidaggregate mit der Oberfläche verknüpft sind und den Einfluß des oxidischen Trägers auf die geometrische und elektronische Struktur der geträgerten Spezies zu untersuchen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der Suche nach einer Korrelation von Struktureigenschaften mit der katalytischen Aktivität von Reaktionen die nach dem Mars-van Krevelen Mechanismus ablaufen. Hierzu wird die Energie für die Bildung eines Sauerstoffdefekts als Indikator für die Leistungsfähigkeit des Katalysators verwendet. Der Einfluß der Trägerstruktur auf die Schwingungsmoden des Interfacebereichs wird untersucht, um den Ursprung von charakteristischen Banden im experimentellen Spektrum von Vanadiumoxid/Siliziumoxid und Vanadiumoxid/Aluminiumoxid zu ergründen.Supported vanadium oxide catalysts are of high interest because of their potential in a wide variety of oxidation reactions. A key step to fully understand the catalytic mechanism is a profound knowledge of the microscopic structure of the active vanadia species under various conditions and the way they are anchored to the support material. In the present work, density functional theory in combination with statistical thermodynamics is employed to investigate two vanadia-based systems, i.e., vanadia/alumina and vanadia/silica. The alumina support is modeled using the stable alpha-Al2O3 and the metastable kappa-Al2O3 phases, whereas ultrathin SiO2 film epitaxially grown on Mo(112) is employed as a silica support. The unique atomic structure of the latter as well as that of the one-dimensional silica stripes, found to coexist with the film in a perfect registry, are precisely determined based on combined theoretical and experimental studies. Moreover, the formation of a new, "O-rich" phase of the SiO2/Mo(112) film is predicted, whose existence is subsequently experimentally confirmed. The aim of the thesis is to provide an understanding on how vanadia aggregates anchor to the surface and to examine the role of the oxide support on the molecular and electronic structure of the stable VOx species. The efforts have focused on finding correlations between structural properties and catalytic activity in reactions proceeding via the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. In accord therewith, the formation energy of a lattice oxygen defect is used as an indicator of catalytic performance. The influence of the support structure on the interface vibrational modes is analyzed in an attempt to shed light on the origin of the characteristic bands observed in the experimental spectra of vanadia/alumina and vanadia/silica model catalysts

Systematic truncation of the virtual space in multiconfigurational perturbation theory

A method is suggested which allows truncation of the virtual space in Cholesky decomposition-based multiconfigurational perturbation theory (CD-CASPT2) calculations with systematic improvability of the results. The method is based on a modified version of the frozen natural orbital (FNO) approach used in coupled cluster theory. The idea is to exploit the near-linear dependence among the eigenvectors of the virtual-virtual block of the second-order Møller–Plesset density matrix. It is shown that FNO-CASPT2 recovers more than 95% of the full CD-CASPT2 correlation energy while requiring only a fraction of the total virtual space, especially when large atomic orbital basis sets are in use. Tests on various properties commonly investigated with CASPT2 demonstrate the reliability of the approach and the associated reduction in computational cost and storage demand of the calculations

Understanding, controlling and programming cooperativity in self-assembled polynuclear complexes in solution

Deviations from statistical binding, that is cooperativity, in self-assembled polynuclear complexes partly result from intermetallic interactions DeltaE(M,M), whose magnitudes in solution depend on a balance between electrostatic repulsion and solvation energies. These two factors have been reconciled in a simple point-charge model, which suggests severe and counter-intuitive deviations from predictions based solely on the Coulomb law when considering the variation of DeltaE(M,M) with metallic charge and intermetallic separation in linear polynuclear helicates. To demonstrate this intriguing behaviour, the ten microscopic interactions that define the thermodynamic formation constants of some twenty-nine homometallic and heterometallic polynuclear triple-stranded helicates obtained from the coordination of the segmental ligands L1-L11 with Zn(2+) (a spherical d-block cation) and Lu(3+) (a spherical 4f-block cation), have been extracted by using the site binding model. As predicted, but in contrast with the simplistic coulombic approach, the apparent intramolecular intermetallic interactions in solution are found to be i) more repulsive at long distance (${{ m{Delta }}E_{{ m{1 - 4}}};{{ m{Lu}}{ m{,Lu}}} }$>${{ m{Delta }}E_{{ m{1 - 2}}};{{ m{Lu}}{ m{,Lu}}} }$), ii) of larger magnitude when Zn(2+) replaces Lu(3+) (${{ m{Delta }}E_{{ m{1 - 2}}};{{ m{Zn}}{ m{,Lu}}} }$>${{ m{Delta }}E_{{ m{1 - 2}}};{{ m{Lu}}{ m{,Lu}}} }$) and iii) attractive between two triply charged cations held at some specific distance (${{ m{Delta }}E_{{ m{1 - 3}}};{{ m{Lu}}{ m{,Lu}}} }$<0). The consequences of these trends are discussed for the design of polynuclear complexes in solution

A Multi-Step Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Bromodiacetylene Dimerization

Packing constraints and precise placement of functional groups are the reason that organic molecules in the crystalline state often display unusual physical or chemical properties not observed in solution. Here we report a single-crystal-to-single-crystal dimerization of a bromodiacetylene that involves unusually large atom displacements as well as the cleavage and formation of several bonds. Density functional theory computations support a mechanism in which the dimerization is initiated by a [2 + 1] photocycloaddition favoured by the nature of carbon–carbon short contacts in the crystal structure. The reaction proceeded up to the theoretical degree of conversion without loss of crystallinity, and it was also performed on a preparative scale with good yield. Moreover, it represents the first synthetic pathway to (E)-1,2-dibromo-1,2-diethynylethenes, which could serve as synthetic intermediates for the preparation of molecular carbon scaffolds. Our findings both extend the scope of single-crystal-to-single-crystal reactions and highlight their potential as a synthetic tool for complex transformations

The Ru−Hbpp water oxidation catalyst

A thorough characterization of the Ru−Hbpp (in,in-{[RuII(trpy)(H2O)]2(μ-bpp)}3+ (trpy is 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, bpp is bis(2-pyridyl)-3,5-pyrazolate)) water oxidation catalyst has been carried out employing structural (single crystal X-ray), spectroscopic (UV−vis and NMR), kinetic, and electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry) analyses. The latter reveals the existence of five different oxidation states generated by sequential oxidation of an initial II,II state to an ultimate, formal IV,IV oxidation state. Each of these oxidation states has been characterized by UV−vis spectroscopy, and their relative stabilities are reported. The electron transfer kinetics for individual one-electron oxidation steps have been measured by means of stopped flow techniques at temperatures ranging from 10 to 40 °C and associated second-order rate constants and activation parameters (ΔH and ΔS) have been determined. Room-temperature rate constants for substitution of aqua ligands by MeCN as a function of oxidation state have been determined using UV−vis spectroscopy. Complete kinetic analysis has been carried out for the addition of 4 equiv of oxidant (CeIV) to the initial Ru−Hbpp catalyst in its II,II oxidation state. Subsequent to reaching the formal oxidation state IV,IV, an intermediate species is formed prior to oxygen evolution. Intermediate formation and oxygen evolution are both much slower than the preceding ET processes, and both are first order with regard to the catalyst; rate constants and activation parameters are reported for these steps. Theoretical modeling at density functional and multireference second-order perturbation theory levels provides a microscopic mechanism for key steps in intermediate formation and oxygen evolution that are consistent with experimental kinetic data and also oxygen labeling experiments, monitored via mass spectrometry (MS), that unambiguously establish that oxygen−oxygen bond formation proceeds intramolecularly. Finally, the Ru−Hbpp complex has also been studied under catalytic conditions as a function of time by means of manometric measurements and MS, and potential deactivation pathways are discussed