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At least 235 records · Page 13

First-principles derivation of magnetic interactions in the triangular quantum spin liquid candidates KYb C h 2 ( C h = S , Se , Te ) and A YbSe 2 ( A = Na , Rb )

The AYb Ch 2 (A=alkali metal, Ch=chalcogen) delafossites are a family of crystals which have a triangular lattice of effective S=1/2 moments on their Yb atoms. They hold great promise for the realization of the triangular quantum spin liquid state because of their defect-minimized growth and the ability to interchange chemical constituencies among the family. Here we use ab initio computations to evaluate the exchange couplings of four realized (and one theoretical) rhombohedral delafossite structures and examine the influence of chemical substitution on promoting the development of a quantum spin liquid state. We find good agreement with experiment regarding the antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange J 1 , but our calculations underestimate J 2 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Vibrational control of the reaction pathway in the H + CHD 3 → H 2 + CD 3 reaction

An accurate full-dimensional quantum state-to-state simulation of the six-atom title reaction based on first-principles theory is reported. Counterintuitive effects are found: Increasing the energy in the reactant’s CD 3 umbrella vibration reduces the energy in the corresponding product vibration. An in-depth analysis reveals the crucial role of the effective dynamical transition state: Its geometry is controlled by the vibrational states of the reactants and subsequently controls the quantum state distribution of the products. This finding enables generalizing the concept of transition state control of chemical reactions to the quantum state–specific level.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reanalysis of NOAA H 2 observations: implications for the H 2 budget

Abstract. Hydrogen (H2) is a promising low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels for many applications. However, significant gaps in our understanding of the atmospheric H2 budget limit our ability to predict the impacts of greater H2 usage. Here we use NOAA H2 dry air mole fraction observations from air samples collected from ground-based and ship platforms during 2010–2019 to evaluate the representation of H2 in the NOAA GFDL-AM4.1 atmospheric chemistry-climate model. We find that the base model configuration captures the observed interhemispheric gradient well but underestimates the surface concentration of H2 by about 10 ppb. Additionally, the model fails to reproduce the 1–2 ppb yr−1 mean increase in surface H2 observed at background stations. We show that the cause is most likely an underestimation of current anthropogenic emissions, including potential leakages from H2-producing facilities. We also show that changes in soil moisture, soil temperature, and snow cover have most likely caused an increase in the magnitude of the soil sink, the most important removal mechanism for atmospheric H2, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. However, there remains uncertainty due to fundamental gaps in our understanding of H2 soil removal, such as the minimum moisture required for H2 soil uptake, for which we performed extensive sensitivity analyses. Finally, we show that the observed meridional gradient of the H2 mixing ratio and its seasonality can provide important constraints to test and refine parameterizations of the H2 soil sink.

Paulot, Fabien (ORCID:0000000175344922)↗

Development of Carbon Molecular Sieves Hollow Fiber Membranes based on Polybenzimidazole Doped with Polyprotic Acids with Superior H 2 /CO 2 Separation Properties (Final Report)

The goal of this project was to develop a highly efficient membrane-based process to capture CO 2 from coal-derived syngas with 95% CO 2 purity, achieving the cost of electricity (COE) 30% below the baseline capture approaches (i.e., Selexol process) when coupled with the advancement in other areas of the power generation facility. Our core approach is based on high-permeance hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) with superior H 2 /CO 2 separation properties at the syngas process conditions, which can then be further utilized to design membrane reactors for process intensification of H 2 production and purification and CO 2 capture. Three organizations with complementary skills collaborated to achieve the goal, including the University at Buffalo (UB), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Trimeric Corporation (Trimeric). We formulated logical steps to bring the membrane technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 (Experimental proof of concept) to TRL 4 (Laboratory scale validation in relevant environment). During the budget period (BP) 1, we screened various polymeric materials and identified polybenzimidazole doped with inorganic polyprotic acids as the desirable platform. The acid doping increases the H 2 /CO 2 selectivity, and the sequential carbonization increases H 2 permeability while retaining the high selectivity. By manipulating the acid type and doping level and the carbonization temperature, we demonstrated advanced carbon molecular sieving (CMS) materials with H 2 permeability of above 200 Barrer (1 Barrer = 10 -10 cm 3 (STP) cm cm -2 s -2 cmHg -1 ) and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of above 40 at 200-300°C with simulated syngas containing CO and water vapor. For example, the PBI-(H 3 PO 4 ) 0.11 carbonized at 700 °C exhibits H 2 permeability of 200 Barrer and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of 60 at 200 °C, and H 2 permeability of 240 Barrer and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of 54 at 225 °C, which meets the targeted properties and surpasses Robeson’s upper bound. During the BP2, we focused on the conversion of the advanced CMS materials to stable HFMs. Membranes with H 2 permeance of 1,090 GPU (1 GPU = 10 -6 cm 3 (STP) cm -2 s -2 cmHg -1 ) and H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of 57 at 300 °C were successfully fabricated. The effects of temperature, gas compositions, pressure, and time on the separation properties were systematically investigated. Pencil modules were continuously evaluated for 219 h (dry pure gas) and 669 h (dry simulated syngas) and showed initial decline in permeance and increased H 2 /CO 2 selectivity over time, ultimately achieving a steady state stable value, indicating that the ageing phenomena in the nanoporous structures of the membranes during the test. Membrane reactors were fabricated based on the CMS membranes and evaluated for water-gas shift (WGS) reaction. The use of membranes slightly improves the conversion of the CO. However, parametric tests of the membrane reactors at various temperatures and flow rates need to be conducted, as well as the membranes with improved separation performance. We performed a sensitivity analysis on the impact of H 2 /CO 2 selectivity on the COE based on a hybrid process of a membrane unit and cryogenic unit developed by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR). Three H 2 /CO 2 selectivity (40, 60, and 15) cases were developed and compared with the baseline capture process (Case B5B) provided by the DOE report. Increasing the membrane H 2 /CO 2 selectivity reduces COE, but the rate of the decrease of COE also diminishes. The COE values for H 2 /CO 2 selectivities of 40 and 60 were nearly the same. As the H 2 /CO 2 selectivity increases, the inert recycling decreases, leading to smaller equipment, less auxiliary power requirements, and less heating, cooling, and refrigeration duty. The refrigeration system used to liquefy the CO 2 is the most expensive piece of equipment and consumes the most electricity within the CO 2 capture process. Increasing the CO 2 concentration in the recycle stream would improve the economics of the process by reducing the refrigeration duty requirement of the unit and also allow for higher liquefaction temperatures. The high H 2 -selective membrane developed by our team may be applicable in other separation processes where lower pressure H 2 retains value. Typically, hydrogen retains its pressure when it is separated from syngas components. Residual components may be used as low-quality fuel and then vented to the atmosphere. Applications might include control of H 2 /CO ratios or mitigation of the water gas shift reaction by CO 2 recycling to the feed of a gasifier or steam methane reformer. To summarize, we have developed industrial HFMs with the best H 2 /CO 2 separation performance reported in the literature. The membranes demonstrate stability with simulated syngas and show great potential for membrane reactors for WGS reactions, lowering the cost of blue H 2 production.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

A Novel Hollow Fiber Membrane Reactor for High Purity H 2 Generation from Thermal Catalytic NH 3 Decomposition (Final Report)

Ammonia (NH 3 ), as a promising carbon neutral liquid fuel (CNLF) and an effective H 2 source, can be synthesized from air and water (N 2 extracted from air and H 2 from water) using renewable energy sources. To produce H 2 as an intermediate, it is essential to develop effective and economic NH 3 decomposition technologies. We have been developing an innovative hollow fiber membrane reactor for high purity H 2 generation from thermal catalytic NH 3 decomposition. The objective of the proposed research is to fabricate a compact and robust prototype with high energy efficiency (>80%) to deliver high purity (>99%) H2 at high rate per volume (>0.15 g H 2 /h/cm 3 ) from NH3 decomposition at low temperature (<450 °C) and high conversion (>99%). Our overall technical approach is to effectively combine an active catalyst for NH 3 decomposition with a selective H 2 membrane separation process in a novel, compact modular system to generate high purity H 2 and simultaneously achieve high NH 3 conversion and optimize the entire system energy efficiency. This novel integrated membrane reactor design, together with low-cost, highly active Ru-based catalyst, makes it most appropriate for the project objective. The proposed applied research and development work, therefore, represents an innovative and transformational solution to H 2 generation from thermal catalytic NH 3 decomposition. During the course of our research we i) synthesized and characterized ruthenium(Ru)-based catalysts, evaluated their catalytic performance for NH 3 decomposition and optimized the catalyst composition and performance based on machine learning, ii) prepared SAPO-34, MFI membranes on α-alumina hollow fibers and measured their performance for H 2 /N 2 , H 2 /N 2 /NH 3 separation and evaluated carbon molecular sieve (CMS) and Pd/Ag membranes for H 2 /N 2 , H 2 /N 2 /NH 3 separation at different conditions, iii) designed and evaluated several types of membrane reactors for H 2 production from NH 3 decomposition, and iv) evaluated the H 2 delivery cost base on catalysts development, membrane development and membrane reactor. For 3,1,12 RuYK catalyst, H 2 productivity of 6.35 mmol/min/gcat with NH 3 conversion of 95~98% was achieved at 5 bar and 400 °C; for SAPO-34 membrane, the best membrane showed H 2 permeance of 7.56×10 -7 mol/(m 2 ∙s∙Pa) and H 2 /N 2 selectivity of 23.1 at 20 °C; For CMS and Pd/Ag membranes, both showed superior stability for 71%H 2 /24%N 2 /5%NH 3 mixture separation at 450 °C and 7 bar for over 120 h; for the membrane reactor, high H 2 purity of >99.99% with NH 3 conversion of >99.4% were achieved in Pd/Ag membrane reactor at 450 °C, and the NH 3 concentration was always below 10 ppb in H 2 product. The H 2 generation rate was calculated to be as high as 0.47 g/h/cm 3 and the energy efficiency was calculated to be 88%. The membrane reactor showed superior stability for over 370 h and high H 2 purity, H 2 production rate and NH 3 conversion. Based on calculation, the H 2 delivery cost can be as low as $3.66/kg.

08 HYDROGEN↗

$\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ constraints from the cross-correlation of eBOSS galaxies and Green Bank Telescope intensity maps

We present the joint analysis of Neutral Hydrogen ($\rm {H\,\small {I}}$) Intensity Mapping observations with three galaxy samples: the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) and Emission Line Galaxy (ELG) samples from the eBOSS survey, and the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey sample. The $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ intensity maps are Green Bank Telescope observations of the redshifted $21\rm cm$ emission on $100 \, {\rm deg}^2$ covering the redshift range 0.6 < z < 1.0. We process the data by separating and removing the foregrounds present in the radio frequencies with FastI ICA. We verify the quality of the foreground separation with mock realizations, and construct a transfer function to correct for the effects of foreground removal on the $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ signal. We cross-correlate the cleaned $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ data with the galaxy samples and study the overall amplitude as well as the scale dependence of the power spectrum. We also qualitatively compare our findings with the predictions by a semianalytical galaxy evolution simulation. The cross-correlations constrain the quantity $\Omega _{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} b_{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} r_{\rm {H\,\small {I}},{\rm opt}}$ at an effective scale k eff , where $\Omega _\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ is the $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ density fraction, $b_\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ is the $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ bias, and $r_{\rm {H\,\small {I}},{\rm opt}}$ the galaxy–hydrogen correlation coefficient, which is dependent on the $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ content of the optical galaxy sample. At $k_{\rm eff}=0.31 \, h\,{\rm Mpc^{-1}}$ we find $\Omega _{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} b_{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} r_{\rm {H\,\small {I}},{\rm Wig}} = [0.58 \pm 0.09 \, {\rm (stat) \pm 0.05 \, {\rm (sys)}}] \times 10^{-3}$ for GBT-WiggleZ, $\Omega _{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} b_{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} r_{\rm {H\,\small {I}},{\rm ELG}} = [0.40 \pm 0.09 \, {\rm (stat) \pm 0.04 \, {\rm (sys)}}] \times 10^{-3}$ for GBT-ELG, and $\Omega _{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} b_{\rm {H\,\small {I}}} r_{\rm {H\,\small {I}},{\rm LRG}} = [0.35 \pm 0.08 \, {\rm (stat) \pm 0.03 \, {\rm (sys)}}] \times 10^{-3}$ for GBT-LRG, at z ≃ 0.8. We also report results at $k_{\rm eff}=0.24$ and $k_{\rm eff}=0.48 \, h\,{\rm Mpc^{-1}}$. With little information on $\rm {H\,\small {I}}$ parameters beyond our local Universe, these are amongst the most precise constraints on neutral hydrogen density fluctuations in an underexplored redshift range.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular simulation study of H 2 and CH 4 adsorption onto shale and sandstone for hydrogen geological storage

Understanding pure H 2 and H 2 /CH 4 adsorption and diffusion in earth materials is one vital step toward a successful and safe H 2 storage in depleted gas reservoirs. Despite recent research efforts such understanding is far from complete. In this work we first use Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments to study the NMR response of injected H 2 into Duvernay shale and Berea sandstone samples, representing materials in confining and storage zones. Then we use molecular simulations to investigate H 2 /CH 4 competitive adsorption and diffusion in kerogen, a common component of shale. Our results indicate that in shale there are two H 2 populations, i.e., free H 2 and adsorbed H 2 , that yield very distinct NMR responses. However, only free gas presents in sandstone that yields a H 2 NMR response similar to that of bulk H 2 . About 10 % of injected H 2 can be lost due to adsorption/desorption hysteresis in shale, and no H 2 loss (no hysteresis) is observed in sandstone. Here, our molecular simulation results support our NMR results that there are two H 2 populations in nanoporous materials (kerogen). The simulation results also indicate that CH 4 outcompetes H 2 in adsorption onto kerogen, due to stronger CH 4 -kerogen interactions than H 2 -kerogen interactions. Nevertheless, in a depleted gas reservoir with low CH 4 gas pressure, about ~30 % of residual CH 4 can be desorbed upon H 2 injection. The simulation results also predict that H 2 diffusion in porous kerogen is about one order of magnitude higher than that of CH 4 and CO 2 . This work provides an understanding of H 2 /CH 4 behaviors in deleted gas reservoirs upon H 2 injection and predictions of H 2 loss and CH 4 desorption in H 2 storage.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Ring Size Effects on the Structures of Sandwich Compounds with a Stoichiometry of C 12 H 12 M (M = Ti–Ni)

Ring size effects on geometries and electronic structures were investigated for the (C n H n )M(C m H m ) (n = 4, 5, or 6; m = 8, 7, or 6; m + n = 12; M = Ti–Ni) systems using density functional theory. The lowest-energy C 12 H 12 M structures for the early transition metals titanium, vanadium, and chromium are the experimentally known singlet (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Ti(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ), doublet (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )V(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ), and singlet (η 6 -C 6 H 6 ) 2 Cr, respectively. The likewise experimentally known singlet (η 6 -C 6 H 6 ) 2 Ti, doublet (η 6 -C 6 H 6 ) 2 V, and singlet (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Cr(η 7 -C 7 H 7 ) are the secondlowest- energy structures with only a small energy difference between the two vanadium structures. For the later transition metals, dibenzenemetal complexes are the lowest-energy C 12 H 12 M species with two fully bonded hexahapto benzene rings in the lowest-energy manganese and iron derivatives and one hexahapto and one dihapto benzene ring in the lowest-energy cobalt and nickel derivatives. The lowest-energy (C 5 H 5 )M(C 7 H 7 ) structures for the later transition metals iron, cobalt, and nickel have partially bonded nonplanar C 7 H 7 rings with one or two uncomplexed C=C bonds. The (C 4 H 4 )M(C 8 H 8 ) (M = Ti–Ni) structures with the metal sandwiched between four- and eight-membered rings were found to be much higher in energy than their (C 5 H 5 )M(C 7 H 7 ) and (C 6 H 6 ) 2 M isomers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Polyhydrido Copper Nanoclusters with a Hollow Icosahedral Core: [Cu 30 H 18 {E 2 P(OR) 2 } 12 ] (E=S or Se; R= n Pr, i Pr or i Bu)

Although atomically precise polyhydrido copper nanoclusters are of prime interest for a variety of applications, they have so far remained scarce. Here, we describe the synthesis of a dithiophosphate-protected copper(I) hydride-rich nanocluster (NC), [Cu 30 H 18 {S 2 P(O n Pr) 2 } 12 ] ( 1 H ), fully characterized by various spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The X-ray structure of 1 H reveals an unprecedented central Cu 12 hollow icosahedron. Six faces of this icosahedron are capped by Cu 3 triangles, the whole Cu 30 core being wrapped by twelve dithiophosphate ligands and the whole cluster has ideal S 6 symmetry. The locations of the 18 hydrides in 1 H were ascertained by a single-crystal neutron diffraction study. They are composed of three types: capping μ 3 -H, interstitial μ 4 -H (seesaw) and μ 5 -H ligands (square pyramidal), in good agreement with the DFT simulations. The numbers of hydrides and ligand resonances in the 1 H NMR spectrum of 1 H are in line with their coordination environment in the solid state, retaining the S 6 symmetry in solution. Furthermore, two new Se-protected polyhydrido copper nanoclusters, [Cu 30 H 18 {Se 2 P(OR) 2 } 12 ] ( 2 H : R= i Pr 3 H : R= i Bu) were synthesized from their sulfur relative 1 H via ligand displacement reaction and their X-ray structures feature the exceptional case where both the NC shape and size are fully conserved during the course of ligand exchange. DFT and TD-DFT calculations allow understanding the bonding and optical properties of clusters 1 H – 3 H . In addition, the reaction of 1 H with [Pd(PPh 3 ) 2 Cl 2 ] in the presence of terminal alkynes led to the formation of new bimetallic Cu–Pd alloy clusters [PdCu 14 H 2 {S 2 P(O n Pr) 2 } 6 (C≡CR) 6 ] ( 4 : R=Ph; 5 : R = C 6 H 4 F).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Theoretical assessments of Pd–PdO phase transformation and its impacts on H 2 O 2 synthesis and decomposition pathways

The direct synthesis of H 2 O 2 from O 2 and H 2 provides a green pathway to produce H 2 O 2 , a popular industrial oxidant. Here, in this study, we theoretically investigate the effects of Pd oxidation states, coordination environments, and particle sizes on primary H 2 O 2 selectivities, assessed by calculating the ratio of rate constants for the formation of H 2 O 2 (via OOH* reduction; k O–H ) and the decomposition of OOH* (via O–O cleavage; k O–O ). For Pd metals, the k O–H /k O–O ratio decreased from 10 -4 for Pd(111) to 10 -10 for the Pd 13 cluster at 300 K, indicating poorer H 2 O 2 selectivity as Pd particle size decreases and low primary selectivities for H 2 O 2 overall. As the oxygen chemical potential increases and metals form surface and bulk oxides, the perturbation of Pd–Pd ensemble sites by lattice O atoms results in selectivities that become dramatically higher than unity. For instance, at 300 K, the k O–H /k O–O ratio increases significantly from 10 -4 to 10 9 to 10 16 as Pd(111) oxidizes to Pd 5 O 4 /Pd(111) and to PdO(100), respectively. In contrast, such selectivity enhancements are not observed for surface and bulk oxides that persistently contain rows of more metallic, undercoordinated Pd–Pd ensemble sites, such as PdO(101)/Pd(100) and PdO(101). These Pd–Pd ensembles are also absent when smaller Pd nanoparticles fully oxidize, indicating that smaller PdO clusters can be more selective for H 2 O 2 synthesis. These trends for primary H 2 O 2 selectivities were found to inversely correlate with trends for H 2 O 2 decomposition rates via O–O bond cleavage, demonstrating that catalysts with high primary H 2 O 2 selectivity can also hinder H 2 O 2 decomposition. Ab initio thermodynamic calculations are used to estimate the thermodynamically favored phase among Pd, PdO/Pd and PdO in O 2 , H 2 O 2 /H 2 O, and O 2 /H 2 environments. These results are combined to show that smaller Pd nanoparticles are more prone to be oxidized at lower oxygen chemical potentials, upon which they become more selective than larger Pd particles for H 2 O 2 synthesis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Disturbed, diffuse, or just missing? A global study of the H I content of Hickson compact groups

Hickson compact groups (HCGs) are dense configurations of four to ten galaxies, whose H I morphology appears to follow an evolutionary sequence of three phases, with gas initially confined to galaxies, then significant amounts spread throughout the intra-group medium, and finally with almost no gas remaining in the galaxies themselves. It has also been suggested that several groups may harbour a diffuse H I component that is resolved out by interferometric observations. The H I deficiency of HCGs is expected to increase as the H I morphological phase progresses along the evolutionary sequence. If this is the case, H I deficiency would be a rough proxy for the age and evolutionary state of a HCG. We aim to test this hypothesis for the first time using a large sample of HCGs and to investigate the evidence for diffuse H I in HCGs. We performed a uniform reduction of all publicly available VLA H I observations (38 HCGs) with a purpose-built pipeline that also maximises the reproducibility of this study. The resulting H I data cubes were then analysed with the latest software tools to perform a manual separation of emission features into those belonging to galaxies and those extending into the intra-group medium. We thereby classified the H I morphological phase of each group as well as quantified their H I deficiency compared to galaxies in isolation. We find little evidence that H I deficiency can be used as a proxy for the evolutionary phase of a compact group in either of the first two phases, with the distribution of H I deficiency being consistent in both. However, for the final phase, the distribution clearly shifts to high H I deficiencies, with more than 90% of the expected H I content typically missing. Across all HCGs studied, we identify a few cases where there is strong evidence for a diffuse gas component in the intra-group medium, which might be detectable with improved observations. We also classify a new sub-phase where groups contain a lone H I -bearing galaxy, but are otherwise devoid of gas. The new morphological phase we have identified is likely the result of an evolved, gas-poor group acquiring a new, gas-rich member. The large spread of H I deficiencies in the first two morphological phases suggests that there is a broad range of initial H I content in HCGs, which is perhaps influenced by large-scale environment, and that the timescale for morphological changes is, in general, considerably shorter than the timescale for the destruction or consumption of neutral gas in these systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The MeerKAT Fornax Survey: II. The rapid removal of H I from dwarf galaxies in the Fornax cluster

We present MeerKAT Fornax Survey atomic hydrogen (H I) observations of the dwarf galaxies located in the central ~2.5 × 4 deg 2 of the Fornax galaxy cluster (R vir ~2°). The H I images presented in this work have a 3σ column density sensitivity between 2.7 and 50 × 10 18 cm –2 over 25 km s –1 for spatial resolution between 4 and 1 kpc. We are able to detect an impressive M HI = 5 × 10 5 M ⊙ 3σ point source with a line width of 50 km s –1 at a distance of 20 Mpc. We detected H I in 17 out of the 304 dwarfs in our field, with 14 out of the 36 late-type dwarfs (LTDs) and three out of the 268 early-type dwarfs (ETDs). The H I-detected LTDs have likely just joined the cluster and are on their first infall as they are located at large clustocentric radii, with comparable MHI and mean stellar surface brightness at fixed luminosity as blue, star-forming LTDs in the field. By contrast, the H I-detected ETDs have likely been in the cluster longer than the LTDs and acquired their H I through a recent merger or accretion from nearby H I. Eight of the H I-detected LTDs host irregular or asymmetric H I emission and disturbed or lopsided stellar emission. There are two clear cases of ram pressure shaping the H I, with the LTDs displaying compressed H I on the side closest to the cluster centre and a one-sided, starless tail pointing away from the cluster centre. The H I-detected dwarfs avoid the most massive potentials (i.e. cluster centre and massive galaxies), consistent with massive galaxies playing an active role in the removal of H I. We created a simple toy model to quantify the timescale of H I stripping in the cluster by reproducing the observed M r' –M HI relation. We find that a M HI = 10 8 M ⊙ dwarf is stripped in ~240 Myr. The model is consistent with our observations, where low-mass LTDs are directly stripped of their H I from a single encounter and more massive LTDs can harbour a disturbed H I morphology due to longer times or multiple encounters being required to fully strip their H I. This is the first time dwarf galaxies with M HI ≲ 1 × 10 6 M ⊙ have been detected and resolved beyond the local group and in a galaxy cluster.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An Assessment of Current Understanding of the Greenhouse Gas Impacts from H 2 Emissions

With the anticipated growth in hydrogen generation and use as part of a broad shift in energy use away from fossil fuels, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of increased H 2 emissions on global warming. Atmospheric scientists have long recognized that H 2 emissions into the atmosphere do have an indirect impact on global warming, largely because a portion of emitted H 2 is consumed by the hydroxyl radical (OH), which is the primary reactant that removes the potent greenhouse gas methane from the atmosphere. Therefore, increases in H 2 emissions will result in decreases in the average OH concentrations in the atmosphere and an increase in the atmospheric lifetime of methane. Various assessments of the impact of H 2 emissions on global warming have been performed over the past couple of decades. These assessments have yielded significant variability and recognized uncertainty in the magnitude of the warming effect of a given quantity of emitted H 2 , and an even greater uncertainty in the magnitude of H 2 leakage and releases that can be anticipated with an expanded H 2 infrastructure. Consequently, definitive estimates of the magnitude of the warming effect of additional emitted H 2 are lacking. However, given the current understanding of the warming potential of emitted H 2 and given reasonable expectations of the emission rate of an expanded H 2 infrastructure, it is anticipated that warming effects from emitted H 2 will offset no more than 5% of the reduction in warming associated with avoided CO 2 emissions from using clean H 2 . Further, it is highly unlikely that the warming effects from emitted H 2 will offset more than 10% of the benefit from avoided CO 2 emissions, at least as considered over a typical 100-year accounting period. Because of the short atmospheric lifetimes of H 2 and methane, however, the warming effect of emitted H 2 is enhanced over the first few years following increases in H 2 emission.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

On the H I Content of MaNGA Major Merger Pairs

The role of H I content in galaxy interactions is still under debate. To study the H I content of galaxy pairs at different merging stages, we compile a sample of 66 major-merger galaxy pairs and 433 control galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) MaNGA IFU survey. In this study, we adopt kinematic asymmetry as a new effective indicator to describe the merging stage of galaxy pairs. With archival data from the HI-MaNGA survey and new observations from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we investigate the differences in H I gas fraction (f H I ), star formation rate (SFR), and H I star formation efficiency (SFE H I ) between the pair and control samples. Our results suggest that the H I gas fraction of major-merger pairs on average is marginally decreased by ~15% relative to isolated galaxies, implying mild H I depletion during galaxy interactions. Compared to isolated galaxies, pre-passage paired galaxies have similar f H I , SFR, and SFE H I , while pairs during the pericentric passage have weakly decreased f H I (–0.10 ± 0.05 dex), significantly enhanced SFR (0.42 ± 0.11 dex), and SFE H I (0.48 ± 0.12 dex). When approaching the apocenter, paired galaxies show marginally decreased f H I (–0.05 ± 0.04 dex), comparable SFR (0.04 ± 0.06 dex), and SFE H I (0.08 ± 0.08 dex). We propose that the marginally detected H i depletion may originate from the gas consumption in fueling the enhanced H2 reservoir of galaxy pairs. In addition, new FAST observations also reveal a H I absorber (N H I ~ 4.7 × 10 21 cm –2 ), which may suggest gas infalling and the triggering of active galactic nuclei activity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Pd III Sulfate Dimer Initiates Rapid Methane Monofunctionalization by H Atom Abstraction

An electrogenerated Pd III 2 species in fuming sulfuric acid is competent for rapid and concurrent methane monohydroxylation to methyl bisulfate (CH 3 OSO 3 H) and methane sulfonation to methanesulfonic acid (CH 3 SO 3 H). In situ NMR at 50 °C is used to track methane transformation exclusively to CH 3 OSO 3 H and CH 3 SO 3 H at high conversions. Integrating a set of kinetic and computational studies, the mechanism of methane monofunctionalization by Pd III 2 is examined. Here, experimental rate laws and common kinetic isotope effects for CH 3 OSO 3 H and CH 3 SO 3 H formation suggest that both transformations proceed via a common rate-limiting C-H activation step. Introduction of O 2 or Pd II,III 2 suppresses CH 3 SO 3 H generation, indicating a radical chain sequence. Although the metal-metal bonded Pd III 2 complex is a net two-electron oxidant, our aggregate kinetic data point to a mechanistic model that features rate-limiting H atom abstraction by the Pd III 2 complex to generate a methyl radical intermediate. The CH 3 • intermediate then recombines with Pd II,III 2 to furnish a CH 3 Pd III 2 intermediate that reductively eliminates CH 3 OSO 3 H. Alternatively, the CH 3 intermediate can enter a chain reaction with SO 3 to generate CH 3 SO 3 H. DFT computations support the radical-based C-H activation by Pd III 2 and delineate H atom abstraction pathways with computed reaction barriers and kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) that are consistent with experimental data. These mechanistic investigations challenge the paradigm of electrophilic C-H activation and highlight H atom abstraction as a potent pathway for selective methane C-H oxidative functionalization at high reaction rates.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗