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1.
J Chem Phys ; 160(18)2024 May 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38726937

ABSTRACT

We present new results on the underlying guest-host interactions and spectral characterization of a CO2 molecule confined in the cages of the sI clathrate hydrate. Such types of porous solids raise computational challenges, as they are of practical interest as gas storage/capture materials. Accordingly, we have directed our efforts toward addressing their modeling in a proper manner, ensuring the quality of the input data and the efficiency of the computational approaches. The computational procedure for spectral simulations, within the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree framework, involves the development of a fully coupled Hamiltonian, including an exact kinetic energy operator and a many-body representation of the potential, along with dipole moment surfaces, both obtained through neural network machine learning techniques. The resulting models were automatically trained and tested on extensive datasets generated by PW86PBE-XDM calculations, following the outcome of previous benchmark studies. Our simulations enable us to explore various aspects of the quantized dynamics upon confinement of CO2@D/T, such as constrained rotational-translational quantum motions and the averaged position/orientation of the CO2 guest in comparison to the experimental data available. Particularly notable are the distinct energy patterns observed in the computed spectra for the confined CO2 in the D and T cages, with a considerably high rotational-translational coupling in the CO2@T case. Leveraging reliable computations has proved instrumental, highlighting the sensitivity of the spectral features to the shape and strength of the potential interactions, with the explicit description of many-body contributions being significant.

2.
Braz J Infect Dis ; 28(2): 103736, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38467387

ABSTRACT

Trypanosomatids are an important group of parasites that predominate in tropical and subtropical areas of the planet, which cause diseases that are classified as forgotten and neglected by the world health organization. In this group of parasites, we find Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Leishmania spp, for which there is no vaccine available, and its control has focused mainly on pharmacological treatment. Due to the poverty situation where these diseases are found and the biological complexity of these parasites, there are multiple variables to control, including the diversity of species, the complexity of their life cycles, drug resistance, cytotoxicity, the limited use in pregnant women, the high costs of treatment and the little-known pharmacological mechanisms of action, among others. It is therefore necessary to find new strategies and approaches for the treatment of these parasitic diseases. Among these new approaches is the rational search for new targets based on the allosteric inhibition of protein kinases, which have been little studied in trypanosomatids. Among these kinases, we find Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3), a kinase of great pharmacological interest, which is under intense basic and clinical research by pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of cancer. This kinase, highly studied in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway signaling in humans, has an orthologous gene in these parasites (GSK-3 s), which has proven to be essential for them in response to different challenges; Therefore, it is notable to increase research in this kinase in order to achieve a broad structural and functional characterization in the different species of trypanosomatids.


Subject(s)
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 , Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3/antagonists & inhibitors , Humans , Animals , Trypanosomatina/enzymology , Trypanosomatina/drug effects , Trypanosomatina/genetics
3.
Phys Chem Chem Phys ; 26(8): 7060-7071, 2024 Feb 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38345626

ABSTRACT

One of the most fascinating discoveries in recent years, in the cold and low pressure regions of the universe, was the detection of ArH+ and HeH+ species. The identification of such noble gas-containing molecules in space is the key to understanding noble gas chemistry. In the present work, we discuss the possibility of [Ar2H]+ existence as a potentially detectable molecule in the interstellar medium, providing new data on possible astronomical pathways and energetics of this compound. As a first step, a data-driven approach is proposed to construct a full 3D machine-learning potential energy surface (ML-PES) via the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) method. The training and testing data sets are generated from CCSD(T)/CBS[56] computations, while a validation protocol is introduced to ensure the quality of the potential. In turn, the resulting ML-PES is employed to compute vibrational levels and molecular spectroscopic constants for the cation. In this way, the most common isotopologue in ISM, [36Ar2H]+, was characterized for the first time, while simultaneously, comparisons with previously reported values available for [40Ar2H]+ are discussed. Our present data could serve as a benchmark for future studies on this system, as well as on higher-order cationic Ar-hydrides of astrophysical interest.

4.
Braz. j. infect. dis ; 28(2): 103736, 2024. tab, graf
Article in English | LILACS-Express | LILACS | ID: biblio-1557301

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT Trypanosomatids are an important group of parasites that predominate in tropical and subtropical areas of the planet, which cause diseases that are classified as forgotten and neglected by the world health organization. In this group of parasites, we find Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Leishmania spp, for which there is no vaccine available, and its control has focused mainly on pharmacological treatment. Due to the poverty situation where these diseases are found and the biological complexity of these parasites, there are multiple variables to control, including the diversity of species, the complexity of their life cycles, drug resistance, cytotoxicity, the limited use in pregnant women, the high costs of treatment and the little-known pharmacological mechanisms of action, among others. It is therefore necessary to find new strategies and approaches for the treatment of these parasitic diseases. Among these new approaches is the rational search for new targets based on the allosteric inhibition of protein kinases, which have been little studied in trypanosomatids. Among these kinases, we find Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3), a kinase of great pharmacological interest, which is under intense basic and clinical research by pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of cancer. This kinase, highly studied in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway signaling in humans, has an orthologous gene in these parasites (GSK-3 s), which has proven to be essential for them in response to different challenges; Therefore, it is notable to increase research in this kinase in order to achieve a broad structural and functional characterization in the different species of trypanosomatids.

5.
Chemphyschem ; 24(23): e202300570, 2023 Dec 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37723124

ABSTRACT

A water molecule confined inside the C70 fullerene was quantum-mechanically described using a computational approach within the MCTDH framework. Such procedure involves the development of a full-dimensional coupled hamiltonian, with an exact kinetic energy operator, including all rotational, translational and vibrational degrees of freedom of the endofullerene system. In turn, through an effective pairwise potential model, the ground and rotationally excited states of the encapsulated H2 O inside the C70 cage were calculated, and traced back to the isotropic case of the H2 O@C60 endofullerene in order to understand the nature and physical origin of the symmetry breaking observed experimentally in the latter system. Moreover, the computational scheme used here allows to study the quantization of the translational movement of the encapsulated water molecule inside the C70 fullerene, and to investigate the confinement effects in the vibrational energy levels of the H2 O@C70 system.

6.
Access Microbiol ; 5(6)2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37424558

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Carbapenems are usually used in the treatment of infections caused by cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales ; however, the increase in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) has become one of the most important problems in public health. Hafnia alvei is associated with intestinal and extraintestinal infections, especially in patients with any chronic disease or some type of immunosupression. H. alvei is resistant to first-generation aminopenicillins and cephalosporins owing to the ß-lactamase (Amp C) in their chromosome; the only carbapenem-resistant Hafnia strain described until now was due to a lack of the OmpK36 protein that plays an important role in permeability to carbapenems. Case presentation: We present the case of a 65-year-old male diagnosed with acute lithiasic cholecystitis. Culture of the biliary prosthesis yielded a OXA-48-producing H. alvei that was identified by MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight) MS. Carbapenemase production was detected by immunochromatography and confirmed by sequencing. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of OXA-48-producing H. alvei probably obtained by horizontal transfer from Enterobacter cloacae OXA-48 isolated in previous samples.

7.
J Comput Chem ; 44(17): 1587-1598, 2023 Jun 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37013410

ABSTRACT

We report new results on the translational-rotational (T-R) states of the CO2 molecule inside the sI clathrate-hydrate cages. We adopted the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree methodology to solve the nuclear molecular Hamiltonian, and to address issues on the T-R couplings. Motivated by experimental X-ray observations on the CO2 orientation in the D and T sI cages, we aim to evaluate the effect of the CO2 -water interaction on quantum dynamics. Thus, we first compared semiempirical and ab initio-based pair interaction model potentials against first-principles DFT-D calculations for ascertaining the importance of nonadditive many-body effects on such guest-host interactions. Our results reveal that the rotational and translational excited states quantum dynamics is remarkably different, with the pattern and density of states clearly affected by the underlying potential model. By analyzing the corresponding the probability density distributions of the calculated T-R eigenstates on both semiempirical and ab initio pair CO2 -water nanocage potentials, we have extracted information on the altered CO2 guest local structure, and we discussed it in connection with experimental data on the orientation of the CO2 molecule in the D and T sI clathrate cages available from neutron diffraction and 13 C solid-state NMR studies, as well as in comparison with previous molecular dynamics simulations. Our calculations provide a very sensitive test of the potential quality by predicting the low-lying T-R states and corresponding transitions for the encapsulated CO2 molecule. As such spectroscopic observables have not been measured so far, our results could trigger further detailed experimental and theoretical investigations leading to a quantitative description of the present guest-host interactions.

8.
Chemphyschem ; 23(9): e202200034, 2022 May 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35289042

ABSTRACT

We explore the origin of the anomalous splitting of the 101 levels reported experimentally for the H2 O@C60 endofullerene, in order to give some insight about the physical interpretations of the symmetry breaking observed. We performed fully-coupled quantum computations within the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree approach employing a rigorous procedure to handle such computationally challenging problems. We introduce two competing physical models, and discuss the observed unconventional quantum patterns in terms of anisotropy in the interfullerene interactions, caused by the change in the off-center position of the encapsulated water molecules inside the cage or the uniaxial C60 -cage distortion, arising from noncovalent bonding upon water's encapsulation, or exohedral fullerene perturbations. Our results show that both scenarios could reproduce the experimentally observed rotational degeneracy pattern, although quantitative agreement with the available experimental rotational levels splitting value has been achieved by the model that considers an uniaxial elongation of the C60 -cage. Such finding supports that the observed symmetry breaking could be mainly caused by the distortion of the fullerene cage. However, as nuclear quantum treatments rely on the underlying interactions, a decisive conclusion hinges on the availability of their improved description, taken into account both endofullerene and exohedral environments, from forthcoming highly demanding electronic structure many-body interaction studies.

9.
J Chem Theory Comput ; 17(9): 5839-5848, 2021 Sep 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34420292

ABSTRACT

We introduce an efficient quantum fully coupled computational scheme within the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) approach to handle the otherwise extremely costly computations of translational-rotational-vibrational states and energies of light-molecule endofullenes. Quantum calculations on energy levels are reported for a water molecule inside C60 fullerene by means of such a systematic approach that includes all nine degrees of freedom of H2O@C60 and does not consider restrictions above them. The potential energy operator is represented as a sum of natural potentials employing the n-mode expansion, along with the exact kinetic energy operator, by introducing a set of Radau internal coordinates for the H2O molecule. On the basis of the present rigorous computations, various aspects of the quantized intermolecular dynamics upon confinement of H2O@C60 are discussed, such as the rotational energy level splitting and the significant frequency shifts of the encapsulated water molecule vibrations. The impact of water encapsulation on quantum features is explored, and insights into the nature of the underlying forces are provided, highlighting the importance of a reliable first-principles description of the guest-host interactions.

10.
Chemphyschem ; 22(4): 359-369, 2021 Feb 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33368985

ABSTRACT

The formation of specific clathrate hydrates and their transformation at given thermodynamic conditions depends on the interactions between the guest molecule/s and the host water lattice. Understanding their structural stability is essential to control structure-property relations involved in different technological applications. Thus, the energetic aspects relative to CO2 @sI clathrate hydrate are investigated through the computation of the underlying interactions, dominated by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, from first-principles electronic structure approaches. The stability of the CO2 @sI clathrate is evaluated by combining bottom-up and top-down approaches. Guest-free and CO2 guest-filled aperiodic cages, up to the gradually CO2 occupation of the entire sI periodic unit cells were considered. Saturation, cohesive and binding energies for the systems are determined by employing a variety of density functionals and their performance is assessed. The dispersion corrections on the non-covalent interactions are found to be important in the stabilization of the CO2 @sI energies, with the encapsulation of the CO2 into guest-free/empty cage/lattice being always an energetically favorable process for most of the functionals studied. The PW86PBE functional with XDM or D3(BJ) dispersion corrections predicts a lattice constant in accord to the experimental values available, and simultaneously provides a reliable description for the guest-host interactions in the periodic CO2 @sI crystal, as well as the energetics of its progressive single cage occupancy process. It has been found that the preferential orientation of the single CO2 in the large sI crystal cages has a stabilizing effect on the hydrate, concluding that the CO2 @sI structure is favored either by considering the individual building block cages or the complete sI unit cell crystal. Such benchmark and methodology cross-check studies benefit new data-driven model research by providing high-quality training information, with new insights that indicate the underlying factors governing their structure-driven stability, and triggering further investigations for controlling the stabilization of these promising long-term CO2 storage materials.

11.
Chemphyschem ; 21(23): 2618-2628, 2020 Dec 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33001534

ABSTRACT

Through reliable first-principles computations, we have demonstrated the impact of CO2 molecules enclathration on the stability of sI clathrate hydrates. Given the delicate balance between the interaction energy components (van der Waals, hydrogen bonds) present on such systems, we follow a systematic bottom-up approach starting from the individual 512 and 512 62 sI cages, up to all existing combinations of two-adjacent sI crystal cages to evaluate how such clathrate-like models perform on the evaluation of the guest-host and first-neighbors inter-cage effects, respectively. Interaction and binding energies of the CO2 occupation of the sI cages were computed using DF-MP2 and different DFT/DFT-D electronic structure methodologies. The performance of selected DFT functionals, together with various semi-classical dispersion corrections schemes, were validated by comparison with reference ab initio DF-MP2 data, as well as experimental data from x-ray and neutron diffraction studies available. Our investigation confirms that the inclusion of the CO2 in the cage/s is an energetically favorable process, with the CO2 molecule preferring to occupy the large 512 62 sI cages compared to the 512 ones. Further, the present results conclude on the rigidity of the water cages arrangements, showing the importance of the inter-cage couplings in the cluster models under study. In particular, the guest-cage interaction is the key factor for the preferential orientation of the captured CO2 molecules in the sI cages, while the inter-cage interactions seems to cause minor distortions with the CO2 guest neighbors interactions do not extending beyond the large 512 62 sI cages. Such findings on these clathrate-like model systems are in accord with experimental observations, drawing a direct relevance to the structural stability of CO2 @sI clathrates.

12.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci ; 377(2154): 20180396, 2019 Sep 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31378176

ABSTRACT

The protonated hydrogen dimer, H5+, is the smallest system including proton transfer, and has been of long-standing interest since its first laboratory observation in 1962. H5+ and its isotopologues are the intermediate complexes in deuterium fractionation reactions, and are of central importance in molecular astrophysics. The recently recorded infrared spectra of both H5+ and D5+ reveal a rich vibrational dynamics of the cations, which presents a challenge for standard theoretical approaches. Although H5+ is a four-electron ion, which makes highly accurate electronic structure calculations tractable, the construction of ab initio-based potential energy and dipole moment surfaces has proved a hard task. In the same vein, the difficulties in treating the nuclear motion could also become cumbersome due to their high dimensionality, floppiness and/or symmetry. These systems are prototypical examples for studying large-amplitude motions, as they are highly delocalized, interconverting between equivalent minima through internal rotation and proton transfer motions requiring state-of-the-art treatments. Recent advances in the computational vibrational spectroscopy of the H5+ cation and its isotopologues are reported from full quantum spectral simulations, providing important information in a rigorous manner, and open perspectives for further future investigations. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Advances in hydrogen molecular ions: H3+, H5+ and beyond'.

13.
J Comput Chem ; 40(25): 2200-2206, 2019 Sep 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31148224

ABSTRACT

We present 15-dimensional quantum multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree calculations of the vibrational levels of the He5 I2 van der Waals (vdW) complex employing an ab initio-based potential energy surface (PES). The energies and spatial features of such bound structures are analyzed, providing predictions on the structures and relative stabilities of its three lowest isomers. We found that the most stable isomer corresponds to all five He atoms encircling the I2 molecule, indicating that in this case the anharmonic quantum effects do not stabilize the isomers involving a He atom in a linear configuration as reported previously for the smaller HeN I2 systems. Such finding provides information on the overall structuring of the finite-size-solvent systems, highlighting the intriguing interplay between weak intermolecular interactions and quantum effects. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

14.
J Chem Theory Comput ; 14(12): 6521-6531, 2018 Dec 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30419169

ABSTRACT

We implemented a systematic procedure for treating the quantal rotations by including all translational and vibrational degrees of freedom for any triatomic bent molecule in any embedded or confined environment, within the MCTDH framework. Fully coupled quantum treatments were employed to investigate unconventional properties in nanoconfined molecular systems. In this way, we facilitate a complete theoretical analysis of the underlying dynamics that enables us to compute the energy levels and the nuclear spin isomers of a single water molecule trapped in a C60 fullerene cage. The key point lies in the full 9D description of both nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom, as well as a reliable representation of the guest-host interaction. The presence of occluded impurities or inhomogeneities due to noncovalent interactions in the interfullerene environment could modify aspects of the potential, causing significant coupling between otherwise uncoupled modes. Using specific n-mode model potentials, we obtained splitting patterns that confirm the effects of symmetry breaking observed by experiments in the ground ortho-H2O state. Further, our investigation reveals that the first rotationally excited states of the encapsulated ortho- and para-H2O have also raised their 3-fold degeneracy. In view of the complexity of the problem, our results highlight the importance of accurate and computational demanding approaches for building up predictive models for such nanoconfined molecules.

15.
Int J Mol Sci ; 19(8)2018 Aug 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30111689

ABSTRACT

Cardiac aging is characterized by alterations in contractility and intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) homeostasis. It has been suggested that oxidative stress may be involved in this process. We and others have reported that in cardiomyopathies the NADPH oxidase (NOX)-derived superoxide is increased, with a negative impact on [Ca2+]i and contractility. We tested the hypothesis that in the aged heart, [Ca2+]i handling and contractility are disturbed by NOX-derived superoxide. For this we used adults (≈5 month-old) and aged (20⁻24 month-old) rats. Contractility was evaluated in isolated hearts, challenged with isoproterenol. To assess [Ca2+]i, isolated cardiac myocytes were field-stimulated and [Ca2+]i was monitored with fura-2. Cardiac concentration-response to isoproterenol was depressed in aged compared to adults hearts (p < 0.005), but was restored by NOX inhibitors apocynin and VAS2870. In isolated cardiomyocytes, apocynin increased the amplitude of [Ca2+]i in aged myocytes (p < 0.05). Time-50 [Ca2+]i decay was increased in aged myocytes (p < 0.05) and reduced towards normal by NOX inhibition. In addition, we found that myofilaments Ca2+ sensitivity was reduced in aged myocytes (p < 0.05), and was further reduced by apocynin. NOX2 expression along with NADPH oxidase activity was increased in aged hearts. Phospholamban phosphorylation (Ser16/Thr17) after isoproterenol treatment was reduced in aged hearts compared to adults and was restored by apocynin treatment (p < 0.05). In conclusion, ß-adrenergic-induced contractility was depressed in aged hearts, and NOX inhibition restored back to normal. Moreover, altered Ca2+ handling in aged myocytes was also improved by NOX inhibition. These results suggest a NOX-dependent effect in aged myocytes at the level of Ca2+ handling proteins and myofilaments.


Subject(s)
Acetophenones/pharmacology , Adrenergic beta-Agonists/pharmacology , Benzoxazoles/pharmacology , Calcium/metabolism , Heart/drug effects , Isoproterenol/pharmacology , Myocardial Contraction/drug effects , NADPH Oxidases/antagonists & inhibitors , Triazoles/pharmacology , Aging/drug effects , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Female , Heart/physiology , Male , Myocytes, Cardiac/drug effects , Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism , NADPH Oxidases/metabolism , Rats
16.
Chemistry ; 24(37): 9353-9363, 2018 Jul 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29600599

ABSTRACT

Clathrate hydrates of CO2 have been proposed as potential molecular materials in tackling important environmental problems related to greenhouse gases capture and storage. Despite the increasing interest in such hydrates and their technological applications, a molecular-level understanding of their formation and properties is still far from complete. Modeling interactions is a challenging and computationally demanding task, essential to reliably determine molecular properties. First-principles calculations for the CO2 guest in all sI, sII, and sH clathrate cages were performed, and the nature of the guest-host interactions, dominated by both hydrogen-bond and van der Waals forces, was systematically investigated. Different families of density functionals, as well as pairwise CO2 @H2 O model potentials versus wavefunction-based quantum approaches were studied for CO2 clathrate-like systems. Benchmark energies for new distance-dependent datasets, consisting of potential energy curves sampling representative configurations of the systems at the repulsive, near-equilibrium, and asymptotic/long-range regions of the full-dimensional surface, were generated, and a general protocol was proposed to assess the accuracy of such conventional and modern approaches at minimum and non-minimum orientations. Our results show that dispersion interactions are important in the guest-host stabilization energies of such clathrate cages, and the encapsulation of the CO2 into guest-free clathrate cages is always energetically favorable. In addition, the orientation of CO2 inside each cage was explored, and the ability of current promising approaches to accurately describe non-covalent CO2 @H2 O guest-host interactions in sI, sII, and sH clathrates was discussed, providing information for their applicability to future multiscale computer simulations.

17.
J Phys Chem A ; 120(47): 9458-9464, 2016 Dec 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27802030

ABSTRACT

The multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method using a six-dimensional Hamiltonian that includes all rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom and an ab initio potential energy surface was employed to calculate the rovibronic states of the HeBr2 van der Waals complex. All rotational states of energies within 7 cm -1 with respect to the energy of the linear ground state were calculated without restriction of the total angular momentum. In total, we obtained 500 and 320 rotationally excited states of the ground vibrational T-shaped and linear isomers of the HeBr2, respectively, and compared them with those predicted by the rigid rotor model. A thermodynamic model was then introduced to determine the relative stability of the two conformers as a function of the temperature. On the basis of the present results, the linear conformers were found to be energetically more stable than the T-shaped ones by 1.14 cm-1 at T = 0 K, whereas conversion from linear to T-shaped complexes was observed at temperatures above 2.87 K.

18.
J Phys Chem A ; 119(51): 12736-41, 2015 Dec 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26634405

ABSTRACT

The structure and relative stability of higher-order He3,4I2 clusters are investigated by carrying out full-dimensional quantum calculations within the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree framework. The full interaction between the I2 molecule and the He atoms is based on analytical three-body ab initio He-I2 potentials obtained from high level ab initio calculations plus the He-He interaction. The low-lying minima on the potential surfaces are found to be very close in energy with the He atoms in a ring encircling the dopant for the global minimum structure, while for the local minima one or two of the He atoms prefer the linear arrangements along the I2-axis. Such classical description on the basis of the potential energy landscape is corrected by including anharmonic quantum effects, present in highly floppy systems, by carrying out full dimensional quantum calculations. The potential energy operator was constructed by natural potential fits, while a mode combination scheme was employed to optimize the computational cost of the improved relaxation calculations. The obtained results predict the relative stability of the He3,4I2 isomers at zero temperature and provide benchmark data on binding energies and structural properties of these van der Waals systems. The (2,1) and (2,2), involving two He atoms in the T-shape and one or two He atoms in the linear configurations, respectively, are found to be the most stable isomers, although extremely close in energy with the (3,0) and (4,0) ones as predicted by classical optimizations. Comparison with experimental data on similar systems at low temperatures is also discussed. This analysis indicates once more the importance of quantum delocalization and the need of accurate quantum-mechanical treatments to characterize such doped helium nanosystems.

19.
J Phys Chem A ; 118(33): 6492-500, 2014 Aug 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24869502

ABSTRACT

The energetics and structure of small HeNI2 clusters are analyzed as the size of the system changes, with N up to 38. The full interaction between the I2 molecule and the He atoms is based on analytical ab initio He-I2 potentials plus the He-He interaction, obtained from first-principle calculations. The most stable structures, as a function of the number of solvent He atoms, are obtained by employing an evolutionary algorithm and compared with CCSD(T) and MP2 ab initio computations. Further, the classical description is completed by explicitly including thermal corrections and quantum features, such as zero-point-energy values and spatial delocalization. From quantum PIMC calculations, the binding energies and radial/angular probability density distributions of the thermal equilibrium state for selected-size clusters are computed at a low temperature. The sequential formation of regular shell structures is analyzed and discussed for both classical and quantum treatments.

20.
Phys Chem Chem Phys ; 16(13): 6217-24, 2014 Apr 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24562473

ABSTRACT

The IR spectra of the H5(+) and D5(+) cations in the mid- and far-IR spectral regions have been recently reported by experimentalists. These spectra show very rich vibrational patterns representing a challenge for state-of-the-art theoretical methods to provide definitive interpretations of them. Using a full-dimensional quantum anharmonic treatment, within the MCTDH approach, together with ab initio potential and dipole moment surfaces, the predominant features in the spectra are assigned, completing an important part in previous theoretical and experimental comparisons. The internal rotation of the H3(+) unit by exciting the H3(+)-H2 stretching mode is found to correspond to the new calculated features at 1182, 1876, and 2139 cm(-1) of the H5(+) spectrum, leading to a consistent assignment with the experimental spectra. In the calculated spectra of both H5(+) and D5(+) clusters, the progressions in the H3(+)-H2 stretch of the shared proton and the in- and out-of- plane H3(+) rotation are demonstrated to be the main features. Such states are expected to play a central role in the low temperature hydrogen/deuterium proton hop/exchange H3(+) + H2 reactions.

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