High Throughput Virtual Screening of 200 Billion Molecular Solar Heat Battery Candidates

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Koerstz ◽  
Anders S. Christensen ◽  
Kurt V. Mikkelsen ◽  
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen ◽  
Jan H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Back Reaction ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Promising Candidate ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Quantum Chemical Methods

<div>The dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) thermocouple is a promising candidate for thermal heat batteries that absorb and store solar energy as chemical energy without the need for insulation. However, in order to be viable the energy storage capacity and stability of the high energy form (the free energy barrier to the back reaction) must be increased significantly. We use semiempirical quantum chemical methods, machine learning, genetic algorithms, and density functional theory to virtually screen roughly 200 billion substituted DHA molecules to identify promising candidates for further study. We identify three molecules with predicted energy densities of (0.34-0.36 kJ/g), which is significantly larger than the 0.14 kJ/g computed for the parent system. The free energy barriers to the back reaction are between 6.8 and 7.7 kJ/mol higher than the parent compound, which should correspond to half-lives of days - sufficiently long for many practical applications.</div>

scholarly journals High Throughput Virtual Screening of 230 Billion Molecular Solar Heat Battery Candidates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Koerstz ◽  
Anders S. Christensen ◽  
Kurt V. Mikkelsen ◽  
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen ◽  
Jan H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Back Reaction ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Quantum Chemical Methods

<div>The dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) thermocouple is a promising can- didate for thermal heat batteries that absorb and store solar energy as chemical energy without the need for insulation. However, in order to be viable the energy storage capacity and lifetime of the high energy form (i.e. the free energy barrier to the back reaction) of the canonical parent compound must be increased significantly to be of practical use. We use semiempirical quantum chemical methods, machine learning, and density functional theory to virtually screen over 230 billion substituted DHA molecules to identify promis- ing candidates. We identify a molecule with a predicted energy density of 0.38 kJ/g, which is significantly larger than the 0.14 kJ/g computed for the parent compound. The free energy barrier to the back reaction is 11 kJ/mol higher than the parent compound, which should correspond to a half-life of about 10 days - 4 months. This is considerably longer than the 3-39 hours (depending on solvent) observed for the parent compound and sufficiently long for many practical applications. However, the main conclusion of this study is that there are no molecules among the 230 billion with a storage density approaching 1 kJ/g.<br></div>

scholarly journals High Throughput Virtual Screening of 230 Billion Molecular Solar Heat Battery Candidates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Koerstz ◽  
Anders S. Christensen ◽  
Kurt V. Mikkelsen ◽  
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen ◽  
Jan H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Back Reaction ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Quantum Chemical Methods

<div>The dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) thermocouple is a promising can- didate for thermal heat batteries that absorb and store solar energy as chemical energy without the need for insulation. However, in order to be viable the energy storage capacity and lifetime of the high energy form (i.e. the free energy barrier to the back reaction) of the canonical parent compound must be increased significantly to be of practical use. We use semiempirical quantum chemical methods, machine learning, and density functional theory to virtually screen over 230 billion substituted DHA molecules to identify promis- ing candidates. We identify a molecule with a predicted energy density of 0.38 kJ/g, which is significantly larger than the 0.14 kJ/g computed for the parent compound. The free energy barrier to the back reaction is 11 kJ/mol higher than the parent compound, which should correspond to a half-life of about 10 days - 4 months. This is considerably longer than the 3-39 hours (depending on solvent) observed for the parent compound and sufficiently long for many practical applications. However, the main conclusion of this study is that there are no molecules among the 230 billion with a storage density approaching 1 kJ/g.<br></div>

scholarly journals High Throughput Virtual Screening of 230 Billion Molecular Solar Heat Battery Candidates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Koerstz ◽  
Anders S. Christensen ◽  
Kurt V. Mikkelsen ◽  
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen ◽  
Jan H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Chemical Reactivity ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Back Reaction ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Practical Applications

<div> <div> <div> <div> <p>The dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) thermocouple is a promising candidate for thermal heat batteries that absorb and store solar energy as chemical energy without the need for insulation. However, in order to be viable the energy storage capacity and lifetime of the high energy form (i.e. the free energy barrier to the back reaction) of the canonical parent compound must be increased significantly to be of practical use. We use semiempirical quantum chemical methods, machine learning, and density func- tional theory to virtually screen over 230 billion substituted DHA molecules to identify promising candidates. We identify a molecule with a predicted energy density of 0.38 kJ/g, which is significantly larger than the 0.14 kJ/g computed for the parent compound. The free energy barrier to the back reaction is 11 kJ/mol higher than the parent com- pound, which should correspond to a half-life of about 10 days - 4 months. This is considerably longer than the 3-39 hours (depending on solvent) observed for the parent compound and sufficiently long for many practical applications. Our paper makes two main important contributions: 1) a novel and generally applicable methodological approach that makes screening of huge libraries for properties involving chemical reactivity with modest computational resources, and 2) a clear demonstration that the storage capacity of the DHA/VHF thermocouple cannot be increased to >0.5 kJ/g by combining simple substituents. </p> </div> </div> </div><br></div>

scholarly journals High throughput virtual screening of 230 billion molecular solar heat battery candidates

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e16
Author(s):  
Mads Koerstz ◽  
Anders S. Christensen ◽  
Kurt V. Mikkelsen ◽  
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen ◽  
Jan H. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Chemical Reactivity ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Parent Compound ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Back Reaction ◽  
Free Energy Barrier

The dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) thermocouple is a promising candidate for thermal heat batteries that absorb and store solar energy as chemical energy without the need for insulation. However, in order to be viable the energy storage capacity and lifetime of the high energy form (i.e., the free energy barrier to the back reaction) of the canonical parent compound must be increased significantly to be of practical use. We use semiempirical quantum chemical methods, machine learning, and density functional theory to virtually screen over 230 billion substituted DHA molecules to identify promising candidates. We identify a molecule with a predicted energy density of 0.38 kJ/g, which is significantly larger than the 0.14 kJ/g computed for the parent compound. The free energy barrier to the back reaction is 11 kJ/mol higher than the parent compound, which should correspond to a half-life of about 10 days—4 months. This is considerably longer than the 3–39 h (depending on solvent) observed for the parent compound and sufficiently long for many practical applications. Our paper makes two main important contributions: (1) a novel and generally applicable methodological approach that makes screening of huge libraries for properties involving chemical reactivity with modest computational resources, and (2) a clear demonstration that the storage capacity of the DHA/VHF thermocouple cannot be increased to >0.5 kJ/g by combining simple substituents.

DFT study on the hydrolysis of metsulfuron-methyl: A sulfonylurea herbicide

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (08) ◽  
pp. 1850050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuhan Luo ◽  
Gang Li ◽  
Junping Xiao ◽  
Chunhui Yin ◽  
Yahui He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Water Molecule ◽  
Carbonyl Group ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Metsulfuron Methyl ◽  
Catalytic Role ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Sulfonylureas are an important group of herbicides widely used for a range of weeds and grasses control particularly in cereals. However, some of them tend to persist for years in environments. Hydrolysis is the primary pathway for their degradation. To understand the hydrolysis behavior of sulfonylurea herbicides, the hydrolysis mechanism of metsulfuron-methyl, a typical sulfonylurea, was investigated using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31[Formula: see text]G(d,p) level. The hydrolysis of metsulfuron-methyl resembles nucleophilic substitution by a water molecule attacking the carbonyl group from aryl side (pathway a) or from heterocycle side (pathway b). In the direct hydrolysis, the carbonyl group is directly attacked by one water molecule to form benzene sulfonamide or heterocyclic amine; the free energy barrier is about 52–58[Formula: see text]kcal[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text]. In the autocatalytic hydrolysis, with the second water molecule acting as a catalyst, the free energy barrier, which is about 43–45[Formula: see text]kcal[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text], is remarkably reduced by about 11[Formula: see text]kcal[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text]. It is obvious that water molecules play a significant catalytic role during the hydrolysis of sulfonylureas.

scholarly journals Prebiotic Peptide Bond Formation Through Amino Acid Phosphorylation. Insights from Quantum Chemical Simulations

Life ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berta Martínez-Bachs ◽  
Albert Rimola
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Quantum Chemical ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Bond Formation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Peptide Bond ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Peptide Bond Formation ◽  
Condensation Reactions

Condensation reactions between biomolecular building blocks are the main synthetic channels to build biopolymers. However, under highly diluted prebiotic conditions, condensations are thermodynamically hampered since they release water. Moreover, these reactions are also kinetically hindered as, in the absence of any catalyst, they present high activation energies. In living organisms, in the formation of peptides by condensation of amino acids, this issue is overcome by the participation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), in which, previous to the condensation, phosphorylation of one of the reactants is carried out to convert it as an activated intermediate. In this work, we present for the first time results based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the peptide bond formation between two glycine (Gly) molecules adopting this phosphorylation-based mechanism considering a prebiotic context. Here, ATP has been modeled by a triphosphate (TP) component, and different scenarios have been considered: (i) gas-phase conditions, (ii) in the presence of a Mg2+ ion available within the layer of clays, and (iii) in the presence of a Mg2+ ion in watery environments. For all of them, the free energy profiles have been fully characterized. Energetics derived from the quantum chemical calculations indicate that none of the processes seem to be feasible in the prebiotic context. In scenarios (i) and (ii), the reactions are inhibited due to unfavorable thermodynamics associated with the formation of high energy intermediates, while in scenario (iii), the reaction is inhibited due to the high free energy barrier associated with the condensation reactions. As a final consideration, the role of clays in this TP-mediated peptide bond formation route is advocated, since the interaction of the phosphorylated intermediate with the internal clay surfaces could well favor the reaction free energies.

Mechanistic Insights into Protonated Diamines-catalyzed Decarboxylation of Oxaloacetate

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-208
Author(s):  
Chuangang Fan ◽  
Mingzhi Song
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Gibbs Free Energy ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Proton Donor ◽  
Proton Acceptor ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Chemical Mechanisms ◽  
Insight Into

The chemical mechanisms of protonated diamines-catalyzed decarboxylation of oxaloacetic acid anions in water solutions have been studied by using density functional theory. The calculated results show that the activated Gibbs free energy of the decarboxylation step is the highest in the whole diamine-catalytic processes for OA2-, and protonated ethylenediamine (ENH+) is the best catalyst of the five diamines, which is consistent with the study of Thalji et al. However, for OA-, different with OA2-, the dehydration step is the rate-determining one except 1,3-diaminopropane, and protonated 1,4- diaminobutane is the best catalyst of the five catalysts. The results also indicate that the second amino group participates in the reaction as the proton acceptor or proton donor, and it assists in decarboxylation by hydrogen bonds, decreasing the active Gibbs free energy barrier of the whole catalytic process. These results provide insight into the precise catalytic mechanism of several enzymes whose reactions are known to proceed via an imine intermediate.

Effect of Substitution for Insertion of CO2 into Epoxides and Aziridines: An Ab Initio Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Yunhan Yang ◽  
Fenji Li ◽  
Cuicui Yang ◽  
Lijuan Jia ◽  
Lijuan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Density Functional Theory ◽  
Free Energy ◽  
Reaction Mechanism ◽  
Ab Initio ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Ab Initio Study ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Concerted Mechanism

The insertion of CO2 into epoxides and aziridines has been studied using density functional theory (B3LYP) and ab initio (MP2) methods, and the effect of substitution for the two reactions are further explored. It is found that the reactivity of epoxides and aziridines are similar, and insertion of CO2 proceeds through a concerted mechanism. The substitutions of methyl and phenyl does not change the reaction mechanism, but the transition state for the substitution on the attacking position becomes loose with a lower free energy barrier. The substitutions of methyl and phenyl decrease the free energy barrier, with phenyl substitution having a greater affect. The results also show that the free energy barriers for the insertions of CO2 into aziridines are ~10kcalmol−1 lower than the corresponding reactions of CO2 with epoxides.

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