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At least 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Dissolution of Lithium Metal in Poly(ethylene oxide)

We observe that lithium metal is sparingly soluble in poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). 7 Li NMR shows that when a PEO sample is placed in contact with lithium metal at elevated temperatures, a lithium species dissolves and diffuses into the bulk polymer. A lithium/PEO/lithium electrochemical cell, containing no lithium salts, shows increasing conductivity over time when annealed at 120 °C. Chronoamperometry shows that the annealed cell obeys Ohm's law, implying that conduction occurs without the development of concentration gradients. To explain the findings, it is proposed that atomic lithium dissolves into PEO, where it exists as a lithium cation and free electron. The dissolution of lithium also affects the phase behavior of block copolymer electrolytes. These determinations explain the strong adhesion between lithium metal and PEO and have important implications for lithium metal battery systems that contain PEO-based electrolytes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unequal {110} Facets: The Potential Role of Intraparticle Heterogeneity and Facet Termination in Photoelectrochemical Activity of Single BiVO 4 Particles

BiVO 4 photoanodes are promising for solar water splitting, with photogenerated electrons and holes preferentially reacting at top {010} and lateral {110} facets, respectively. However, the mechanisms driving this facet-dependent reactivity remain unclear. Here, in this study, we investigate facet-dependent photocurrent and material heterogeneity using correlative scanning photoelectrochemical microscopy (SPCM), electron beam induced current (EBIC) mapping, and mid-IR scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). SPCM measurements of 62 BiVO 4 particles confirmed higher photocurrents at lateral {110} facets compared to top {010} facets, but unexpectedly revealed variations in photocurrent among lateral facets within the same particle. Variations in lateral facet surface termination could explain the intraparticle-level reactivity heterogeneity, consistent with theoretical predictions. Nano-FTIR spectroscopy and Raman microspectroscopy indicated significant materials chemistry heterogeneity within individual particles and facets that could be attributed to variations in lattice vibration distortions that enhance the overlap between Bi 6s and O 2p orbitals. The increased orbital overlap is significant as it potentially increases hole mobility in the valence band and potentially explains the lateral facet-dependent charge separation efficiency observed in photocurrent maps. Facet-dependent electrical and EBIC measurements showed no space charge regions at interfacet junctions or metal-BiVO 4 contacts under vacuum, suggesting that photogenerated holes beneath top {010} facets are unlikely to transport to lateral {110} facets to drive water/sulfite oxidation. These findings indicate the potential influence of distinct bulk properties and surface termination chemistries across different particles and facets, highlighting the importance of carefully controlling defects and surface chemistry during sample growth to optimize photocatalytic performance.

BiVO4↗
DOE OSTI2016

Understanding the Role of Solvation Forces on the Preferential Attachment of Nanoparticles in Liquid

Optimization of colloidal nanoparticle synthesis techniques requires an understanding of underlying particle growth mechanisms. Non-classical growth mechanisms are particularly important as they affect nanoparticle size and shape distributions which in turn influence functional properties. For example, preferential attachment of nanoparticles is known to lead to the formation of mesocrystals, although the formation mechanism is currently not well understood. Here we employ in situ liquid cell scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to demonstrate that the experimentally observed preference for end-to-end attachment of silver nanorods is a result of weaker solvation forces occurring at rod ends. SMD reveals that when the side of a nanorod approaches another rod, perturbation in the surface bound water at the nanorod surface creates significant energy barriers to attachment. Additionally, rod morphology (i.e. facet shape) effects can explain the majority of the side attachment effects that are observed experimentally.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2016

Assessment of Anisotropic Semiconductor Nanorod and Nanoplatelet Heterostructures with Polarized Emission for Liquid Crystal Display Technology

Semiconductor nanorods can emit linear-polarized light at efficiencies over 80%. Polarization of light in these systems, confirmed through single-rod spectroscopy, can be explained on the basis of the anisotropy of the transition dipole moment and dielectric confinement effects. Here we report emission polarization in macroscopic semiconductor polymer composite films containing CdSe/CdS nanorods and colloidal CdSe nanoplatelets. Anisotropic nanocrystals dispersed in polymer films of poly butyl-co-isobutyl methacrylate (PBiBMA) can be stretched mechanically in order to obtain unidirectionally aligned arrays. A high degree of alignment, corresponding to an orientation factor of 0.87, was achieved and large areas demonstrated polarized emission, with the contrast ratio I-parallel to/I-perpendicular to= 5.6, making these films viable candidates for use in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. To some surprise, we observed significant optical anisotropy and emission polarization for 2D CdSe nanoplatelets with the electronic structure of quantum wells. The aligned nanorod arrays serve as optical funnels, absorbing unpolarized light and re-emitting light from deep-green to red with quantum efficiencies over 90% and high degree of linear polarization. Our results conclusively demonstrate the benefits of anisotropic nanostructures for LCD backlighting. The polymer films with aligned CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod and rod-in-rod nanostructures show more than 2-fold enhancement of brightness compared to the emitter layers with randomly oriented nanostructures. This effect can be explained as the combination of linearly polarized luminescence and directional emission from individual nanostructures.

liquid crystal display↗
DOE OSTI2018

Impact of Solution Chemistry and Particle Anistropy on the Collective Dynamics of Oriented Aggregation

Although oriented aggregation of nanoparticles is a widely recognized mechanism of crystal growth, the impact of many fundamental parameters, such as crystallographically distinct interfacial structures, solution composition, and particle-shape-specific hydrodynamic characteristics, on the governing mechanisms and assembly kinetics are largely unexplored. In this context, we investigated the structure and dynamics of boehmite aggregation as a function of solution pH and ionic strength. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy shows that boehmite platelets assemble by oriented attachment on (010) planes. The coagulation rate constants obtained from dynamic light scattering during the early stages of aggregation are found to span seven orders of magnitude and cross both the reaction-limited and diffusion-limited regimes. Combining a simple scaling with calculations for stability ratio and rotational/translational diffusivities of irregular particle shapes, the effects of orientation for irregular-shaped particles on the early stages of aggregation is understood via angular dependence of van der Waals, electrostatic, and hydrodynamic interactions. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we found that a simple geometric parameter, namely the contact area between two attaching platelets, provides physical insight into the unique structural characteristics of the larger aggregates of the irregular-shaped particles, explaining the unusually high fractal dimensions measured in the diffusion-limited aggregation regime.

oriented aggregation, boehmite, attachment, nanopl↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterizing Variability in Lignocellulosic Biomass: A Review

Feedstock variability is a significant barrier to the scale-up and commercialization of lignocellulosic biofuel technologies. Variability in feedstock characteristics and behavior creates numerous challenges to the biorefining industry by affecting continuous operation and biofuels yields. Recently, feedstock variability is understood and explained largely on the basis of chemical composition. Physical and mechanical properties and behavior of lignocellulosic feedstock in various unit operations, studied through advanced analytical methods, can further explain variability. Such studies will enable us in developing processes and designing equipment to improve operation and conversion performance. In this perspective, we review several advanced analytical methods that measure density, moisture content, thermal properties, flowability, grindability, rheology properties, and micromorphological characteristics. We also discuss the correlations and interactions among these properties that reflect the complexity of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock and the associated quality metrics and logistics of supplying consistent quality feedstock to a biorefinery. We further examine methods that have not traditionally been used to characterize lignocellulosic feedstocks but have the potential to bridge the gap in our explanation of feedstock variability.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Mechanism and Substrate Recognition of 2-Hydroxyethylphosphonate Dioxygenase

HEPD belongs to the superfamily of 2-His-1-carboxylate non-heme iron-dependent dioxygenases. It converts 2-hydroxyethylphosphonate (2-HEP) to hydroxymethylphosphonate (HMP) and formate. Previously postulated mechanisms for the reaction catalyzed by HEPD cannot explain its conversion of 1-HEP to acetylphosphate. Alternative mechanisms that involve either phosphite or methylphosphonate as intermediates, which potentially explain all experimental studies including isotope labeling experiments and use of substrate analogues, were investigated. The results of these studies reveal that these alternative mechanisms are not correct. Site-directed mutagenesis studies of Lys16, Arg90, and Tyr98 support roles of these residues in binding of 2-HEP. Mutation of Lys16 to Ala resulted in an inactive enzyme, whereas mutation of Arg90 to Ala or Tyr98 to Phe greatly decreased k{sub cat}/K{sub m,2-HEP}. Furthermore, the latter mutants could not be saturated in O{sub 2}. These results suggest that proper binding of 2-HEP is important for O{sub 2} activation and that the enzyme uses a compulsory binding order with 2-HEP binding before O{sub 2}. The Y98F mutant produces methylphosphonate as a minor side product providing indirect support for the proposal that the last step during catalysis involves a ferric hydroxide reacting with a methylphosphonate radical.

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

Functioning Mechanism of AlF 3 Coating on the Li- and Mn-Rich Cathode Materials

We report systematic studies of the microstructural changes of uncoated and AlF3-coated Li-rich Mn-rich (LMR) cathode materials (Li1.2Ni0.15Co0.10Mn0.55O2) before and after cycling using a combination of aberration-corrected scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). TEM coupled with EELS provides detailed information about the crystallographic and electronic structure changes that occur after cycling, thus revealing the fundamental improvement mechanism of surface coating. The results demonstrate that the surface coating reduces oxidation of the electrolyte at high voltage, suppressing the accumulation of a thick solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on electrode particle surface. Surface coating significantly enhances the stability of the surface structure and protects the electrode from severe etching/corrosion by the acidic species in the electrolyte, reducing the formation of etched surfaces and corrosion pits. Moreover, surface coating alleviates the undesirable voltage fade by mitigating layered to spinel-like phase transformation in the bulk region of the material. These fundamental findings may also be widely applied to explain the functioning mechanisms of other surface coatings used in a broad range of electrode materials.

Zheng, Jianming↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhanced O-2 Selectivity versus N-2 by Partial Metal Substitution in Cu-BTC

Here, we describe the homogeneous substitution of Mn, Fe, and Co at various levels into a prototypical metal organic framework (MOP), namely Cu-BTC (HKUST-1), and the effect of that substitution on preferential gas sorption. Using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, postsynthetic metal substitutions, materials characterization, and gas sorption testing, we demonstrate that the identity of the metal ion has a quantifiable effect on their oxygen and nitrogen sorption properties at cryogenic temperatures. An excellent correlation is found between O-2/N-2 selectivities determined experimentally at 77 K and the difference in O-2 and N-2 binding energies calculated from DFT modeling data: Mn > Fe Co >> Cu. Room temperature gas sorption studies were also performed and correlated with metal substitution. The Fe-exchanged sample shows a significantly higher nitrogen isosteric heat of adsorption at temperatures close to ambient conditions (273-298 K) as compared to all other metals studied, indicative of favorable interactions between N-2 and coordinatively unsaturated Fe metal centers. Interestingly, differences in gas adsorption results at cryogenic and room temperatures are evident; they are explained by comparing experimental results with DFT binding energies (0 K) and room temperature Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations.

Sava Gallis, Dorina F.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Transport of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in a Silicon Micromodel

Effective removal of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by granular filtration requires the knowledge of oocyst transport and deposition mechanisms, which can be obtained based on real time microscopic observation of oocyst transport in porous media. Attachment of oocysts to silica surface in a radial stagnation point flow (RSPF) cell and in a micromodel, which has 2-dimensional (2-D) microscopic pore structures consisting of an array of cylindrical collectors, was studied and compared. Real time transport of oocysts in the micromodel was recorded to determine the attached oocyst distributions in transversal and longitudinal directions. In the micromodel, oocysts attached to the forward portion of clean collectors, where the flow velocity was lowest. After initial attachment, oocysts attached onto already attached oocysts. As a result, the collectors ripened and the region available for flow was reduced. Results of attachment and detachment experiments suggest that surface charge heterogeneity allowed for oocyst attachment. In addition to experiments, Lattice-Boltzmann simulations helped understanding the slightly non-uniform flow field and explained differences in the removal efficiency in the transversal direction. However, the hydrodynamic modeling could not explain differences in attachment in the longitudinal direction.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Modeling Precipitation and Sorption of Al, U and Co-contaminants during Titration of Acidic Sediments in Recirculation Flow-Through Experiments

We conducted batch and recirculating column titration tests with contaminated acidic sediments with controlled CO2 in the headspace, and extended the geochemical model by Gu et al. (2003, GCA) to better understand and quantify the reactions governing trace metal fate in the subsurface. The sediment titration curve showed slow pH increase due to strong buffering by Al precipitation and CO2 uptake. Assuming precipitation of basaluminite at low saturation index (SI=-4), and decreasing cation exchange selectivity coefficient (kNa\Al=0.3), the predictions are close to the observed pH and Al; and the model explains 1) the observed Ca, Mg, and Mn concentration decrease by cation exchange with sorbed Al, and 2) the decrease of U by surface complexation with Fe hydroxides at low pH, and precipitation as liebigite (Ca2UO2(CO3)3:10H2O) at pH>5.5. Without further adjustment geochemical parameters, the model describes reasonably well previous sediment and column titration tests without CO2 in the headspace, as well as the new large column test. The apparent inhibition of U and Ni decrease in the large column can be explained by formation of aqueous carbonate complexes and/or competition with carbonate for surface sites. These results indicated that ignoring labile solid phase Al would underestimate base requirement in titration of acidic aquifers.

Tang, Guoping↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fifteen-Year Global Time Series of Satellite-Derived Fine Particulate Matter

Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a leading environmental risk factor for premature mortality. We use aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved from two satellite instruments, MISR and SeaWiFS, to produce a unified 15-year global time series (1998-2012) of ground-level PM2.5 concentration at a resolution of 1 degrees x 1 degrees. The GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) is used to relate each individual AOD retrieval to ground-level PM2.5. Four broad areas showing significant, spatially coherent, annual trends are examined in detail: the Eastern U.S. (-0.39 +/- 0.10 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)), the Arabian Peninsula (0.81 +/- 0.21 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)), South Asia (0.93 +/- 0.22 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)) and East Asia (0.79 +/- 0.27 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)). Over the period of dense in situ observation (1999-2012), the linear tendency for the Eastern U.S. (-0.37 +/- 0.13 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)) agrees well with that from in situ measurements (-0.38 +/- 0.06 mu g m(-3) yr(-1)). A GEOS-Chem simulation reveals that secondary inorganic aerosols largely explain the observed PM2.5 trend over the Eastern U.S., South Asia, and East Asia, while mineral dust largely explains the observed trend over the Arabian Peninsula.

Boys, B. L.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from 2-Methyl-3-Buten-2-ol Photooxidation: Evidence of Acid-Catalyzed Reactive Uptake of Epoxides

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) photooxidation has recently been observed in both field and laboratory studies. Similar to isoprene, MBO-derived SOA increases with elevated aerosol acidity in the absence of nitric oxide; therefore, an epoxide intermediate, (3,3-dimethyloxiran-2-yl)methanol (MBO epoxide) was synthesized and tentatively proposed here to explain this enhancement. In the present study, the potential of the synthetic MBO epoxide to form SOA via reactive uptake was systematically examined. SOA was observed only in the presence of acidic aerosols. Major SOA constituents, 2,3-dihydroxyisopentanol (DHIP) and MBO-derived organosulfate isomers, were chemically characterized in both laboratory-generated SOA and in ambient fine aerosols collected from the BEACHON-RoMBAS field campaign during summer 2011, where MBO emissions are substantial. Our results support epoxides as potential products of MBO photooxidation leading to formation of atmospheric SOA and suggest that reactive uptake of epoxides may generally explain acid enhancement of SOA observed from other biogenic hydrocarbons.

Zhang, Haofei↗
DOE OSTI2014

Partial Spin Ordering and Complex Magnetic Structure in BaYFeO4: A Neutron Diffraction and High Temperature Susceptibility Study

The novel iron-based compound, BaYFeO4, crystallizes in the Pnma space group with two distinct Fe3+ sites, that are alternately corner-shared [FeO5]7 square pyramids and [FeO6]9 octahedra, forming into [Fe4O18]24 rings, which propagate as columns along the b-axis. A recent report shows two discernible antiferromagnetic (AFM) transitions at 36 and 48 K in the susceptibility, yet heat capacity measurements reveal no magnetic phase transitions at these temperatures. An upturn in the magnetic susceptibility measurements up to 400 K suggests the presence of shortrange magnetic behavior at higher temperatures. In this Article, variable-temperature neutron powder diffraction and hightemperature magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed to clarify the magnetic behavior. Neutron powder diffraction confirmed that the two magnetic transitions observed at 36 and 48 K are due to long-range magnetic order. Below 48 K, the magnetic structure was determined as a spin-density wave (SDW) with a propagation vector, k = (0, 0, 1/3), and the moments along the b-axis, whereas the structure becomes an incommensurate cycloid [k = (0, 0, 0.35)] below 36 K with the moments within the bc-plane. However, for both cases the ordered moments on Fe3+ are only of the order 3.0 B, smaller than the expected values near 4.5 B, indicating that significant components of the Fe moments remain paramagnetic to the lowest temperature studied, 6 K. Moreover, new high-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed a peak maximum at 550 K indicative of short-range spin correlations. It is postulated that most of the magnetic entropy is thus removed at high temperatures which could explain the absence of heat capacity anomalies at the long-range ordering temperatures. Published spin dimer calculations, which appear to suggest a k = (0, 0, 0) magnetic structure, and allow for neither low dimensionality nor geometric frustration, are inadequate to explain the observed complex magnetic structure.

Thompson, Corey↗
DOE OSTI2014

On the Bonding Nature of Ozone (O 3 ) and Its Sulfur-Substituted Analogues SO 2 , OS 2 , and S 3 : Correlation between Their Biradical Character and Molecular Properties

We investigate the bonding mechanism in ozone (O 3 ) and its sulfur-substituted analogues, SO 2 , OS 2 , and S 3 . By analyzing their ground-state multireference configuration interaction wave functions, we demonstrate that the bonding in these systems can be represented as a mixture of a closed-shell structure with one and a half bonds between the central and terminal atoms and an open-shell structure with a single bond and two lone electrons on each terminal atom (biradical). The biradical character (β) further emerges as a simple measure of the relative contribution of those two classical Lewis structures emanating from the interpretation of the respective wave functions. Our analysis yields a biradical character of 3.5% for OSO, 4.4% for SSO, 11% for S 3 , 18% for O 3 , 26% for SOO, and 35% for SOS. The size/electronegativity of the end atoms relative to the central one is the prevalent factor for determining the magnitude of β: smaller and more electronegative central atoms better accommodate a pair of electrons facilitating the localization of the remaining two lone π-electrons on each of the end atoms, therefore increasing the weight of the second picture in the mixed bonding scenario (larger β). The proposed mixture of these two bonding scenarios allows for the definition of the bond order of the covalent bonds being (3-β)/2, and this accounts for the different O–O, S–S, or S–O bond lengths in the triatomic series. The biradical character was furthermore found to be a useful concept for explaining several structural and energetic trends in the series: larger values of β mark a smaller singlet–triplet splitting, closer bond lengths in the ground 1 A' and the first excited 3 A' states, and larger bond dissociation and atomization energies in the ground state. Finally, the latter explains the relative energy difference between the OSS/SOS and OOS/OSO isomers due to their different β values.

Miliordos, Evangelos↗
DOE OSTI2021

Origins of Acid-Gas Stability Behavior in Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks: The Unique High Stability of ZIF-71

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are promising materials for industrial process separations, but recent literature reports have highlighted their vulnerability to acid gases (e.g., SO 2 , CO 2 , NO 2 , H 2 S), often present in practical applications. While previous work has documented the widely varying stability behavior of many ZIFs under varying (humid and dry) acid gas environments, efforts to explain or correlate these experimental observations via empirical descriptors have not succeeded. A key observation is that ZIF-71 (RHO topology) is an extraordinarily stable ZIF material, retaining both structure and porosity under prolonged humid SO 2 exposure whereas many other well-known ZIFs with different linkers and topologies (such as ZIF-8) were shown to degrade. Through a combination of hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) based methods and statistical mechanical models, we successfully explain this important experimental observation via atomistic investigations of the reaction mechanism. Our holistic approach reveals an ~9 times lower average defect formation rate in ZIF-71 RHO compared to ZIF-8 SOD, leading to the conclusion that the observed experimental stability of this material rises from kinetic effects. Moreover, our analysis reveals that differing stability of the two materials is determined by the distributions of acid gas molecules, which is difficult to capture using empirical descriptors. Furthermore, our results suggest wider applicability of the present approach, toward identifying tuned functional groups and topologies that move the acid gas distributions away from more reactive sites and thus allow enhanced kinetic stability.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Elucidating the Roles of Local and Nonlocal Rate Enhancement Mechanisms in Plasmonic Catalysis

Plasmonic metal nanoparticles (e.g., Ag, Au, and Cu) constitute a class of materials that interact with light via the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Numerous studies have reported substantial enhancements in the rates of chemical reactions on illuminated plasmonic nanoparticle catalysts compared to corresponding systems in the absence of illumination. There are two mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the LSPR-induced chemical reactivity. One mechanism assumes a local plasmon-induced hot charge-carrier-mediated activation of the reactants, while the other assumes an LSPR-induced equilibrium heating of the catalyst, which leads to energy transfer to and chemical reaction of the adsorbed reactants. Here, in this contribution, we developed a setup amenable to accurate in situ catalyst temperature and kinetic reaction rate measurements. We employed this setup to study the LSPR-induced rate enhancement in a case study of the CO oxidation reaction on plasmonic, monometallic Ag nanoparticle catalysts supported on α-Al 2 O 3 . We explored various Ag loadings and clustering levels. Our data show that the equilibrium heating of the catalyst cannot fully explain the illumination-induced plasmonic rate enhancements. This is the case even for high loading and clustering of Ag nanoparticles, where the equilibrium heating significantly increases. Based on the analysis, we propose that local effects, related to the plasmon-induced activation of adsorbates (reactants) via electronic excitation of the reactant or photothermal heating of the reactants that is highly localized to the individual nanoparticles, play a critical role in driving LSPR-induced chemical reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Substituent and Heteroatom Effects on π–π Interactions: Evidence That Parallel-Displaced π-Stacking is Not Driven by Quadrupolar Electrostatics

Stacking interactions are a recurring motif in supramolecular chemistry and biochemistry, where a persistent theme is a preference for parallel-displaced aromatic rings rather than face-to-face π-stacking. This is usually explained in terms of quadrupole–quadrupole interactions between the arene moieties but that interpretation is inconsistent with accurate calculations, which reveal that the quadrupolar picture is qualitatively wrong. At typical π-stacking distances, quadrupolar electrostatics may differ in sign from an exact calculation based on charge densities of the interacting arenes. We apply symmetry-adapted perturbation theory to dimers composed of substituted benzene and various aromatic heterocycles, which display a wide range of electrostatic interactions, and we investigate the interplay of Pauli repulsion, dispersion, and electrostatics as it pertains to parallel-displaced π-stacking. Profiles of energy components along cofacial slip-stacking coordinates support a prominent role for the “van der Waals model” (dispersion in competition with Pauli repulsion), even for polar monomers where electrostatic interactions are significant. While electrostatic interactions are necessary to explain the optimal face-to-face π-stacking distance and to account for the relative orientation of one polar arene with respect to another, we find no evidence to support continued invocation of quadrupolar electrostatics as a basis for π-stacking. Our results suggest that a driving force for offset-stacking exists even in the absence of electrostatic interactions. Consequently, tuning electrostatics via functionalization does not guarantee that slip-stacking can be avoided. This has implications for rational design of soft materials and other supramolecular architectures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗