{"title":"Substrate-dependent deposition of Cu thin films by molecular dynamics simulations","authors":"Shuhong Dong, Aoran Yang, Yonghao Fu, Caobing Su","doi":"10.1039/d4cp04405c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4cp04405c","url":null,"abstract":"Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/Cu composite films simultaneously exhibit the merits of flexibility, light weight and excellent electrical conductivity, which have potential application in 5G technology. Despite PET/Cu films were prepared by available experiments, few studies have further provided an atomistic-scale understanding of these deposition processes. Here, growths of Cu thin films on Cu and PET substrates have been carried out by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and vacuum evaporation experiments. Comparisons of surface roughness, crystal structures and interfacial adhesion for Cu films deposited on these two substrates have been performed in detail. A conclusion has been achieved that Cu films deposited on PET substrate exhibit the lower surface roughness and stronger adhesion than those on metal substrate. This investigation will provide a deep understanding of substrate-dependent deposition performance of metal thin films.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"216 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143737233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thu Duong, Bastien Oliver Burek, Jonathan Zacharias Bloh
{"title":"Stabilization of TiO2-based Photocatalytic Coating on Polymer Substrates with Complex Geometry Using Laser Annealing","authors":"Thu Duong, Bastien Oliver Burek, Jonathan Zacharias Bloh","doi":"10.1039/d4cp04175e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4cp04175e","url":null,"abstract":"TiO2-based photocatalytic coatings on substrates often require thermal annealing to achieve sufficient long-term stability and resistance to abrasion. This is difficult to achieve when using polymer substrates and/or other components in the system which are not stable enough for high temperature annealing. Herein, we present a method for annealing in those cases which relies on localized heating using a laser. This allows the coating the thermally anneal while at the same time protecting the substrate from higher temperatures. This method was then successfully adopted for more complex geometries, namely (half-)spherical substrates used for the so-called wireless light emitter technology.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143737231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhi-Yuan Qiu, Wen-Guang Li, Zheng-Tang Liu, Qi-Jun Liu
{"title":"Phonon-mediated superconductivity in the metal diborides XB2 under pressure","authors":"Zhi-Yuan Qiu, Wen-Guang Li, Zheng-Tang Liu, Qi-Jun Liu","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00342c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00342c","url":null,"abstract":"As a promising candidate for high-temperature superconductors, the AlB<small><sub>2</sub></small> structure has garnered significant attention. Notably, the discovery of MgB<small><sub>2</sub></small>, which is stable at zero pressure and exhibits a high <em>T</em><small><sub>c</sub></small> of 39 K, has sparked a surge in research on metal borides. Metals, acting as electron donors, play a crucial role in stabilizing the relative positions of metal and boron atoms, thereby contributing to the stabilization of the crystal structure and the enhancement of superconductivity. In this study, the Mg atom was replaced with another metal atom X (X = Li, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Rb, Zr, Nb, Cs, Ba, Hf, Ta). The resulting 12 compounds demonstrated stability at zero or low pressure. However, none of these compounds exhibited superconductivity comparable to that of the parent MgB<small><sub>2</sub></small>. Among them, LiB<small><sub>2</sub></small>, CsB<small><sub>2</sub></small>, and RbB<small><sub>2</sub></small> emerged as the most promising candidates for superconductors. These findings highlight the complex interplay between the density of electronic states at the Fermi level and electron–phonon coupling in determining the superconductivity of binary metal borides. The computational results provide valuable insights for future research and the design of new superconducting materials within this family of metal compounds.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luis C. Rincón, Wendy M. Rodríguez, Jose R. Mora, Cesar H Zambrano, Luis E. Seijas, Andrés Reyes, Fernando Javier Torres
{"title":"A Redefinition of Global Conceptual Density Functional Theory Reactivity Indexes by means of the Cubic Expansions of the Energy","authors":"Luis C. Rincón, Wendy M. Rodríguez, Jose R. Mora, Cesar H Zambrano, Luis E. Seijas, Andrés Reyes, Fernando Javier Torres","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00994d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00994d","url":null,"abstract":"In the present work, a new definition of the conceptual density functional theory reactivity indexes is proposed, based on a cubic interpolation of the energy as function of number of electrons as well as a generalization of the net electrophilicity index. This new proposal takes into account both the influence of hyperhardness on the reactivity and a weighted average of the electrodonating and electroacepting powers. Thus, the presented redefinition incorporates corrections and additional degrees of freedom to the prior CDFT indexes. Numerical support for global descriptors is presented for 30 benzhydrylium ions (i.e., charged electrophiles) and 15 alkyl and aryl nucleophiles taken as reference cases from the Mayer Database of Reactivity Parameters. In the best-case scenario, the descriptors correlated better with the electrophilicity parameter (r2 = 0.981) than with the nucleophilicity parameter (r2 = 0.827).","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mireia Sainz-Menchón, Inigo González de Arrieta, Telmo Echániz, Karam Nader, Maite Insausti, Aurélien Canizares, Olivier Rozenbaum, Gabriel A. López
{"title":"Quantifying lattice vibrational modes and optical conductivity in mixed magnetite-maghemite nanoparticles","authors":"Mireia Sainz-Menchón, Inigo González de Arrieta, Telmo Echániz, Karam Nader, Maite Insausti, Aurélien Canizares, Olivier Rozenbaum, Gabriel A. López","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00503e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00503e","url":null,"abstract":"Magnetite nanoparticles are an important nanomaterial with promising biomedical applications that depend crucially on their stoichiometry. Their tendency to oxidize and turn into isostructural maghemite means that discriminating between both oxides is a essential task that is difficult to achieve with conventional techniques. In this work, a novel methodology based on infrared spectroscopy is developed and tested with practically relevant magnetic nanoparticles. In contrast to Raman spectroscopy, which is prone to systematic errors and only offers a qualitative understanding of the vibrational properties, infrared spectroscopy is not only able to identify all the modes corresponding to magnetite and maghemite, but also capable of discriminating between two possible structural variants of maghemite. Additionally, the proposed approach also allows the acquisition of electrical conductivity, a property that is sensitive to the structure and stoichiometry of the particles. Together, vibrational mode modeling and conductivity quantification provide a detailed picture of the structure and properties of mixed iron oxide nanoparticles that is valuable towards an advanced characterization of magnetic nanomaterials in real biomedical applications.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongxing Chen, Haining Ji, Peng Long, Bin Liu, Yi Wang, Yangyong Ou, Cong Deng, Yan Huang, Junlong Wang
{"title":"Reinforcement learning-based inverse design of composite films for spacecraft smart thermal control","authors":"Yongxing Chen, Haining Ji, Peng Long, Bin Liu, Yi Wang, Yangyong Ou, Cong Deng, Yan Huang, Junlong Wang","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00039d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00039d","url":null,"abstract":"Thermal control is crucial for the normal operation of spacecraft, as it directly affects the performance and lifespan of the payload. The thermochromic properties of VO<small><sub>2</sub></small> give it a natural advantage in smart thermal control of spacecraft, but traditional design methods still struggle to meet the design expectations for thermal control composite films. Based on this, this paper focuses on the thermal control requirements for spacecraft and proposes the design of composite films that integrate the coordinated control of dynamic thermal emitters and solar reflectors using machine learning algorithms. Firstly, a reinforcement learning optimization framework was constructed using a transfer matrix method combined with deep Q-learning. Multiple Fabry–Pérot resonator stacked structures have been optimized for the design of dynamic thermal emitters. The results indicated that a three-resonator stacked structure achieved a wide adjustable emissivity range of 0.939 near the 10 μm wavelength band. Based on this structure, a solar reflector was further designed to achieve low absorption in the solar wavelength band. The resulting smart thermal control composite film achieved a low absorption of 0.180 in the solar wavelength band, while maintaining a high emissivity adjustable range of up to 0.806. The simulated thermal control performance in a space environment indicates that, accounting for solar absorptivity, the cooling power of the film can shift from −183.42 W m<small><sup>−2</sup></small> to 83.13 W m<small><sup>−2</sup></small> before and after the phase transition. Furthermore, the composite film can maintain good thermal control performance within a large range of incident angles, promoting the practical application research of smart thermal control composite films.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Blake K Rogers, Carlos Eduardo Rufino da Silva, Juan Pedro Palomares Báez, Jesus J. Velazquez-Salazar, José Luis Rodríguez-López, Juan Martin Montejano-Carrizales, Miguel Jose Yacaman
{"title":"Study of Decahedral Multimetallic Nanoparticles Using Large-Angle Convergent-Beam Electron Diffraction","authors":"Blake K Rogers, Carlos Eduardo Rufino da Silva, Juan Pedro Palomares Báez, Jesus J. Velazquez-Salazar, José Luis Rodríguez-López, Juan Martin Montejano-Carrizales, Miguel Jose Yacaman","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00109a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00109a","url":null,"abstract":"In this work we report the characterization of AuPdCuNi decahedral nanoparticles using advanced microscopy and computational techniques. In addition to that, we are also proposing a new method to analyze asymmetrical HOLZ patterns. This new approach provides very accurate lattice spacing determinations. Electron Microscopy using Converging Beam Diffraction images together with Molecular Dynamics simulations results in significant insights about the structural properties of the AuCuPdNi decahedral nanoparticles, which correspond to an overall distorted FCC lattice, fitted to a BCT lattice with a=b=0.287 nm, and c=0.415 nm. Strain comes in two pairs of tetrahedra, each one with a different strain and the fifth pair with a different strain from the others.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of Back Skeleton Ligand on Ultrafast Excited-state Dynamics of Cu(I) Cyano Substituted Bipyridine Complexes","authors":"Guanzhi Wu, Qingxue Li, Jing-Lin Chen, Wenkai Zhang","doi":"10.1039/d4cp03464c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4cp03464c","url":null,"abstract":"Cu(I) complexes have attracted a lot of research interest for their potential replacement of functional noble metal complexes. In previous researches of Cu(I) complexes’ ultrafast dynamics, most of the acceptor ligands used are symmetric and only a limited number of asymmetric ligands examples were reported. To further understanding the ultrafast excited states’ dynamics of Cu(I) complexes with asymmetric cyano-substituted bipyridine electron acceptors ligand, Cu(I) complexes with 6-cyano-2,2ʹ-bipyridine and 4,4ʹ-dimethyl-6-cyano-2,2ʹ-bipyridine ligand in dichloromethane and acetonitrile were investigated by applying femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. From the TA spectra, it was found that there are two different metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) states with different nature could be populated after pseudo-Jahn-Teller distortion. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculation results also support this hypothesis that in one MLCT state, electron density is donated from Cu(I) center to the cyanobipyridine ligand with electron density delocalised on the whole bipyridine ligand and in the other MLCT state is with electron density donated from Cu(I) center to the cyano-substituted pyridine fragment of the cyanobipyridine ligand. This result indicates that asymmetric electron acceptors may lead to extra excited states could be populated comparing with symmetric electron acceptors.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin Janotta, Maximilian Schalenbach, Hermann Tempel, Rüdiger-A. Eichel
{"title":"Fitting ambiguities mask deficiencies of the Debye–Hückel theory: revealing inconsistencies of the Poisson–Boltzmann framework and permittivity","authors":"Benjamin Janotta, Maximilian Schalenbach, Hermann Tempel, Rüdiger-A. Eichel","doi":"10.1039/d5cp00646e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00646e","url":null,"abstract":"The more than 100-year-old Debye–Hückel theory displays the most widely used approach for modeling ionic activities in electrolytes. The Debye–Hückel theory finds widespread application, such as in equations of state and Onsager's theory for conductivities. Here, a theoretical inconsistency of the Debye–Hückel theory is discussed, which originates from the employed Poisson–Boltzmann framework that violates the statistical independence of states presumed for the Boltzmann statistics. Furthermore, the static permittivity of electrolytic solutions is discussed as not directly measurable, while common methods for its extraction from experimental data are assessed as erroneous. A sensitivity analysis of modeled activity coefficients with respect to the permittivity and ionic radii as input parameters is conducted, showing that their influences overshadow physicochemical differences of common variations of Debye–Hückel models. Eventually, this study points out that the justification of the traditional and still often used Debye–Hückel models by experimental validation is affected by fitting ambiguities that eventually impede its predictive capabilities.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"98 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Observation of the hemibond formation in (H2O-Arn)+ radical cation clusters by electronic spectroscopy and ion imaging technique","authors":"Mizuhiro Kominato, Takumi Koshiba, Fuminori Misaizu, Asuka Fujii","doi":"10.1039/d5cp01001b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp01001b","url":null,"abstract":"The hemibond is a non-classical covalent bond formed by the overlap of non-bonding orbitals of a radical (cation) and a closed-shell molecule. For (H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O-Ar<small><sub>n</sub></small>)<small><sup>+</sup></small> radical cation clusters, competition between the hemibonded type and hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) type isomers has been discussed on the basis of infrared spectroscopy and theoretical computations. It has been commonly recognized that the H-bonded type is predominant, while the coexistence of the hemibonded type remains a topic of debate. Hemibonded species are known to exhibit very strong electronic transitions in the ultraviolet and/or visible (UV-Vis) region, which are marker bands for hemibond formation. In this study, we performed electronic spectroscopy and photofragment ion imaging experiments on (H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O-Ar<small><sub>n</sub></small>)<small><sup>+</sup></small> to observe the hemibond formation between H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sup>+</sup></small> and Ar. The observed spectra of (H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O-Ar<small><sub>n</sub></small>)<small><sup>+</sup></small> (n = 1-3) exhibit absorption in the UV and visible regions. A comparison with quantum chemical calculations suggests the coexistence of the hemibonded type in (H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O-Ar<small><sub>n</sub></small>)<small><sup>+</sup></small> (n = 1 and 2). In addition, the photofragment ion imaging experiment on (H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O-Ar)<small><sup>+</sup></small> showed an angular distribution attributed to the absorption of the hemibonded type, providing firm experimental evidence of the coexistence of the hemibonded type.","PeriodicalId":99,"journal":{"name":"Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143733971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}