Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “molecule”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 811 records · Page 45
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Ions interacting with planar aromatic molecules: Modeling electron transfer reactions

We present theoretical absolute charge exchange cross sections for multiply charged cations interacting with the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules pyrene C{sub 14}H{sub 10}, coronene C{sub 24}H{sub 12}, or circumcoronene C{sub 54}H{sub 18}. These planar, nearly circular, PAHs are modelled as conducting, infinitely thin, and perfectly circular discs, which are randomly oriented with respect to straight line ion trajectories. We present the analytical solution for the potential energy surface experienced by an electron in the field of such a charged disc and a point-charge at an arbitrary position. The location and height of the corresponding potential energy barrier from this simple model are in close agreement with those from much more computationally demanding Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations in a number of test cases. The model results compare favourably with available experimental data on single- and multiple electron transfer reactions and we demonstrate that it is important to include the orientation dependent polarizabilities of the molecules (model discs) in particular for the larger PAHs. PAH ionization energy sequences from DFT are tabulated and used as model inputs. Absolute cross sections for the ionization of PAH molecules, and PAH ionization energies such as the ones presented here may be useful when considering the roles of PAHs and their ions in, e.g., interstellar chemistry, stellar atmospheres, and in related photoabsorption and photoemission spectroscopies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dissociation and excitation coefficients of nitrogen molecules and nitrogen monoxide generation

The excitation coefficient α{sub N2} is calculated for the excited metastable level of N{sub 2}(A{sub 3}Σ{sub u}{sup +}) in nitrogen molecules. In addition, the dissociation coefficient of nitrogen molecules is investigated by making use of the Boltzmann distribution of the electrons in atmospheric plasmas. The excitation and electron-impact dissociation coefficients of nitrogen molecules are analytically expressed in terms of the electron temperature T{sub e} for evaluations of the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in atmospheric plasmas. As an application example of these coefficients, the nitrogen monoxide generation through a microwave torch is carried out for a development of medical tool. The nitrogen monoxide concentration from a microwave plasma-torch can be easily controlled by the nitrogen flow rate, mole fraction of the oxygen gas, and the microwave power. A simple analytic expression of the nitrogen monoxide concentration is obtained in terms of the oxygen molecular density and gas flow rate. The experimental data agree remarkably well with the theoretical results from the analytical expression. A microwave nitrogen-torch can easily provide an appropriate nitrogen monoxide concentration for the wound healings.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

DFT structural investigation on Fe(1,10-phenanthroline){sub 2} (NCS){sub 2} spin crossover molecule

Understanding the coupling of spin crossover molecules to metallic surfaces is a key ingredient for harnessing of their remarkable features for future spintronics applications. Here we investigate the structural and electronic properties of deformed Fe(1,10-phenanthroline){sub 2} (NCS){sub 2} molecules, mimicking the possible effects arising from the interaction with a metallic substrate. We find a relatively large structural flexibility for this molecule, accompanied by small changes in their total energy. This suggests that the spin crossover activity can be modulated by the interaction with the substrate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Quantum transport through aromatic molecules

In this paper, we study the electronic transport properties through aromatic molecules connected to two semi-infinite leads. The molecules are in different geometrical configurations including arrays. Using a nearest neighbor tight-binding approach, the transport properties are analyzed into a Green's function technique within a real-space renormalization scheme. We calculate the transmission probability and the Current-Voltage characteristics as a function of a molecule-leads coupling parameter. Our results show different transport regimes for these systems, exhibiting metal-semiconductor-insulator transitions and the possibility to employ them in molecular devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

A comprehensive analysis of molecule-intrinsic quasi-atomic, bonding, and correlating orbitals. I. Hartree-Fock wave functions

Through a basis-set-independent web of localizing orbital-transformations, the electronic wave function of a molecule is expressed in terms of a set of orbitals that reveal the atomic structure and the bonding pattern of a molecule. The analysis is based on resolving the valence orbital space in terms of an internal space, which has minimal basis set dimensions, and an external space. In the internal space, oriented quasi-atomic orbitals and split-localized molecular orbitals are determined by new, fast localization methods. The density matrix between the oriented quasi-atomic orbitals as well as the locations of the split-localized orbitals exhibit atomic populations and inter-atomic bonding patterns. A correlation-adapted quasi-atomic basis is determined in the external orbital space. The general formulations are specified in detail for Hartree-Fock wave functions. Applications to specific molecules exemplify the general scheme.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Adsorption structure of water molecules on the Be(0001) surface

By using density functional theory calculations, we systematically investigate the adsorption of water molecules at different coverages on the Be(0001) surface. The coverage dependence of the prototype water structures and energetics for water adlayer growth are systematically studied. The structures, energetics, and electronic properties are calculated and compared with other available studies. Through our systematic investigations, we find that water molecules form clusters or chains on the Be(0001) surface at low coverages. When increasing the water coverage, water molecules tend to form a 2 × 2 hexagonal network on the Be(0001) surface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Understanding chemical reactions of CO{sub 2} and its isoelectronic molecules with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate by changing the nature of the cation: The case of CS{sub 2} in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium acetate studied by NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations

NMR spectroscopy ({sup 1}H, {sup 13}C, {sup 15}N) shows that carbon disulfide reacts spontaneously with 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium acetate ([BmPyrro][Ac]) in the liquid phase. It is found that the acetate anions play an important role in conditioning chemical reactions with CS{sub 2} leading, via coupled complex reactions, to the degradation of this molecule to form thioacetate anion (CH{sub 3}COS{sup −}), CO{sub 2}, OCS, and trithiocarbonate (CS{sub 3}{sup 2−}). In marked contrast, the cation does not lead to the formation of any adducts allowing to conclude that, at most, its role consists in assisting indirectly these reactions. The choice of the [BmPyrro]{sup +} cation in the present study allows disentangling the role of the anion and the cation in the reactions. As a consequence, the ensemble of results already reported on CS{sub 2}-[Bmim][Ac] (1), OCS-[Bmim][Ac] (2), and CO{sub 2}-[Bmim][Ac] (3) systems can be consistently rationalized. It is argued that in system (1) both anion and cation play a role. The CS{sub 2} reacts with the acetate anion leading to the formation of CH{sub 3}COS{sup −}, CO{sub 2}, and OCS. After these reactions have proceeded the nascent CO{sub 2} and OCS interact with the cation to form imidazolium-carboxylate ([Bmim] CO{sub 2}) and imidazolium-thiocarboxylate ([Bmim] COS). The same scenario also applies to system (2). In contrast, in the CO{sub 2}-[Bmim] [Ac] system a concerted cooperative process between the cation, the anion, and the CO{sub 2} molecule takes place. A carbene issued from the cation reacts to form the [Bmim] CO{sub 2}, whereas the proton released by the ring interacts with the anion to produce acetic acid. In all these systems, the formation of adduct resulting from the reaction between the solute molecule and the carbene species originating from the cation is expected. However, this species was only observed in systems (2) and (3). The absence of such an adduct in system (1) has been theoretically investigated using DFT calculations. The values of the energetic barrier of the reactions show that the formation of [Bmim] CS{sub 2} is unfavoured and that the anion offers a competitive reactive channel via an oxygen-sulphur exchange mechanism with the solute in systems (1) and (2)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nanostructured double-layer FeO as nanotemplate for tuning adsorption of titanyl phthalocyanine molecules

The growth, structure of Pt(111) supported double-layer FeO and the adsorption of titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) molecules with tunable site and orientation were presented. According to the atomic-resolution STM image, the structure was rationalized as (8√3 × 8√3) R30°/Pt(111) nanostructure constructed by Fe species coordinated with different number of oxygen on top of non-rotated (8 × 8) FeO /Pt(111) structure. Due to the modulation of the stacking of Fe atoms in the second layer relative to the O atoms in the second layer and the underlying layer, the interface and total dipole moment periodically vary within (8√3 × 8√3) R30°/Pt(111) structure. The resulted periodically distributed dipole-dipole interaction benefits the growth of TiOPc molecules with area-selective sites and molecular orientations. Thus, this study provides a reliable method to govern the adsorption process of the polar molecules for potential applications in future functional molecular devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Detecting the dipole moment of a single carbon monoxide molecule

Using non-contact atomic force microscopy with metallic tips enabled us to detect the electrostatic dipole moment of single carbon monoxide (CO) molecules adsorbed on three very different substrates. The observed distance dependent contrast can be explained by an interplay between the attractive van der Waals interaction and the repulsive electrostatic interaction, respectively, with the latter stemming from antiparallel aligned dipoles in tip and molecule. Our results suggest that metallic as well as CO-functionalized tips are able to probe electrostatic properties of polar molecules and that repulsive dipole-dipole interactions have to be considered when interpreting complex contrast patterns.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Stochastic models for surface diffusion of molecules

We derive a stochastic model for the surface diffusion of molecules, starting from the classical equations of motion for an N-atom molecule on a surface. The equation of motion becomes a generalized Langevin equation for the center of mass of the molecule, with a non-Markovian friction kernel. In the Markov approximation, a standard Langevin equation is recovered, and the effect of the molecular vibrations on the diffusion is seen to lead to an increase in the friction for center of mass motion. This effective friction has a simple form that depends on the curvature of the lowest energy diffusion path in the 3N-dimensional coordinate space. We also find that so long as the intramolecular forces are sufficiently strong, memory effects are usually not significant and the Markov approximation can be employed, resulting in a simple one-dimensional model that can account for the effect of the dynamics of the molecular vibrations on the diffusive motion.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Insertion of liquid crystal molecules into hydrocarbon monolayers

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the molecular mechanisms of vertical surface alignment of liquid crystals. We study the insertion of nCB (4-Cyano-4{sup ′}-n-biphenyl) molecules with n = 0,…,6 into a bent-core liquid crystal monolayer that was recently found to provide good vertical alignment for liquid crystals. The results suggest a complex-free energy landscape for the liquid crystal within the layer. The preferred insertion direction of the nCB molecules (core or tail first) varies with n, which can be explained by entropic considerations. The role of the dipole moments was found to be negligible. As vertical alignment is the leading form of present day liquid crystal displays (LCD), these results will help guide improvement of the LCD technology, as well as lend insight into the more general problem of insertion of biological and other molecules into lipid and surfactant layers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

X-ray induced demagnetization of single-molecule magnets

Low-temperature x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements on the endohedral single-molecule magnet DySc{sub 2}N@C{sub 80} at the Dy M{sub 4,5} edges reveal a shrinking of the opening of the observed hysteresis with increasing x-ray flux. Time-dependent measurements show that the exposure of the molecules to x-rays resonant with the Dy M{sub 5} edge accelerates the relaxation of magnetization more than off-resonant x-rays. The results cannot be explained by a homogeneous temperature rise due to x-ray absorption. Moreover, the observed large demagnetization cross sections indicate that the resonant absorption of one x-ray photon induces the demagnetization of many molecules.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Measurement and understanding of single-molecule break junction rectification caused by asymmetric contacts

The contact effects of single-molecule break junctions on rectification behaviors were experimentally explored by a systematic control of anchoring groups of 1,4-disubstituted benzene molecular junctions. Single-molecule conductance and I-V characteristic measurements reveal a strong correlation between rectifying effects and the asymmetry in contacts. Analysis using energy band models and I-V calculations suggested that the rectification behavior is mainly caused by asymmetric coupling strengths at the two contact interfaces. Fitting of the rectification ratio by a modified Simmons model we developed suggests asymmetry in potential drop across the asymmetric anchoring groups as the mechanism of rectifying I-V behavior. This study provides direct experimental evidence and sheds light on the mechanisms of rectification behavior induced simply by contact asymmetry, which serves as an aid to interpret future single-molecule electronic behavior involved with asymmetric contact conformation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

On the calculation of internal forces in mechanically stressed polyatomic molecules

We discuss how to define and to compute internal forces in a molecule subjected to mechanical stress. Because of the inherently many-body character of intramolecular interactions, internal forces cannot be uniquely defined without specifying a set of internal coordinates used to describe the molecular structure. When such a set is comprised of 3N − 6 interactomic distances (N being the number of atoms) and includes the bond lengths of interest, we show that the associated forces, while satisfying the equation F = ∂V/∂R (where R is the bond length, F is the internal force in this bond, and V is the potential energy of the molecule), can be determined from the molecular geometry alone. We illustrate these ideas using several toy models ranging from small molecules to a graphene sheet and show that the magnitude of the internal force in a bond is not necessarily a good predictor of its strength in response to mechanical loading. At the same time, analysis of internal forces reveals interesting phenomena such as the force multiplication effect, where weak external forces may, e.g., be used to break strong bonds, and offers insight into the catch-bond phenomenon where chemical reactivity is suppressed through application of a force.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

VUV photoionization and dissociative photoionization of the prebiotic molecule acetyl cyanide: Theory and experiment

The present combined theoretical and experimental investigation concerns the single photoionization of gas-phase acetyl cyanide and the fragmentation pathways of the resulting cation. Acetyl cyanide (AC) is inspired from both the chemistry of cyanoacetylene and the Strecker reaction which are thought to be at the origin of medium sized prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium. AC can be formed by reaction from cyanoacetylene and water but also from acetaldehyde and HCN or the corresponding radicals. In view of the interpretation of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) experimental data obtained using synchrotron radiation, we explored the ground potential energy surface (PES) of acetyl cyanide and of its cation using standard and recently implemented explicitly correlated methodologies. Our PES covers the regions of tautomerism (between keto and enol forms) and of the lowest fragmentation channels. This allowed us to deduce accurate thermochemical data for this astrobiologically relevant molecule. Unimolecular decomposition of the AC cation turns out to be very complex. The implications for the evolution of prebiotic molecules under VUV irradiation are discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

An efficient computational scheme for electronic excitation spectra of molecules in solution using the symmetry-adapted cluster–configuration interaction method: The accuracy of excitation energies and intuitive charge-transfer indices

Solvent effects on electronic excitation spectra are considerable in many situations; therefore, we propose an efficient and reliable computational scheme that is based on the symmetry-adapted cluster-configuration interaction (SAC-CI) method and the polarizable continuum model (PCM) for describing electronic excitations in solution. The new scheme combines the recently proposed first-order PCM SAC-CI method with the PTE (perturbation theory at the energy level) PCM SAC scheme. This is essentially equivalent to the usual SAC and SAC-CI computations with using the PCM Hartree-Fock orbital and integrals, except for the additional correction terms that represent solute-solvent interactions. The test calculations demonstrate that the present method is a very good approximation of the more costly iterative PCM SAC-CI method for excitation energies of closed-shell molecules in their equilibrium geometry. This method provides very accurate values of electric dipole moments but is insufficient for describing the charge-transfer (CT) indices in polar solvent. The present method accurately reproduces the absorption spectra and their solvatochromism of push-pull type 2,2{sup ′}-bithiophene molecules. Significant solvent and substituent effects on these molecules are intuitively visualized using the CT indices. The present method is the simplest and theoretically consistent extension of SAC-CI method for including PCM environment, and therefore, it is useful for theoretical and computational spectroscopy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Single molecule transistor based nanopore for the detection of nicotine

A nanopore based detection methodology was proposed and investigated for the detection of Nicotine. This technique uses a Single Molecular Transistor working as a nanopore operational in the Coulomb Blockade regime. When the Nicotine molecule is pulled through the nanopore area surrounded by the Source(S), Drain (D), and Gate electrodes, the charge stability diagram can detect the presence of the molecule and is unique for a specific molecular structure. Due to the weak coupling between the different electrodes which is set by the nanopore size, the molecular energy states stay almost unaffected by the electrostatic environment that can be realised from the charge stability diagram. Identification of different orientation and position of the Nicotine molecule within the nanopore area can be made from specific regions of overlap between different charge states on the stability diagram that could be used as an electronic fingerprint for detection. This method could be advantageous and useful to detect the presence of Nicotine in smoke which is usually performed using chemical chromatography techniques.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Investigation of inelastic electron tunneling spectra of metal-molecule-metal junctions fabricated using direct metal transfer method

We measured the inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) characteristics of metal-molecule-metal junctions made with alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers. The molecular junctions were fabricated using a direct metal transfer method, which we previously reported for high-yield metal-molecule-metal junctions. The measured IETS data could be assigned to molecular vibration modes that were determined by the chemical structure of the molecules. We also observed discrepancies and device-to-device variations in the IETS data that possibly originate from defects in the molecular junctions and insulating walls introduced during the fabrication process and from the junction structure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗