Publications related to Nuclear Quantum Effects in Sodium Hydroxide Solutions from Neural Network Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Chalcogen bonding catalysis

Catalysts play a major role in chemical synthesis, and catalysis is considered to be a green and economic process. Catalysis is dominated by covalent interactions between the catalyst and substrate. The design of non-covalent catalysts came into limelight ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2024

Large-cage occupation and quantum dynamics of hydrogen molecules in sII clathrate hydrates

Richard Gaal, Livia Eleonora Bove Kado, Umbertoluca Ranieri

Hydrogen clathrate hydrates are ice-like crystalline substances in which hydrogen molecules are trapped inside polyhedral cages formed by the water molecules. Small cages can host only a single H-2 molecule, while each large cage can be occupied by up to f ...

Aip Publishing2024

Structure and dynamics of liquid water from ab initio simulations: adding Minnesota density functionals to Jacob's ladder

Ursula Röthlisberger, Justin Villard, Martin Peter Bircher

The accurate representation of the structural and dynamical properties of water is essential for simulating the unique behavior of this ubiquitous solvent. Here we assess the current status of describing liquid water using ab initio molecular dynamics, wit ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Gas/Surface reactions probed by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy

Harmina Vejayan

In my thesis, I present an investigation of the dissociation reactions of gas phase molecules on single crystal metal surfaces studied by a molecular beam in combination with Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (RAIRS). Two gas/surface systems were ...

EPFL2023

Atomic-Level and Surface Structure of Calcium Silicate Hydrate Nanofoils

Paul Bowen, Karen Scrivener, Aslam Kunhi Mohamed, Ziga Casar

Deciphering the calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) surface is crucial for unraveling the mechanisms of cement hydration and property development. Experimental observations of C-S-H in cement systems suggest a surface termination which is fundamentally differ ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

Computational Studies for the Design of Metalloenzyme Mimics

Guido Frisari

At present, there is no general standard automated method for engineering metalloenzymes, industrially-relevant systems able to catalyze environmentally friendly reactions. One of the most studied natural metalloenzymes is the second isoform of human carbo ...

EPFL2023

Advancing Computational Chemistry with Stochastic and Artificial Intelligence Approaches

Justin Villard

Computational chemistry aims to simulate reactions and molecular properties at the atomic scale, advancing the design of novel compounds and materials with economic, environmental, and societal implications. However, the field relies on approximate quantum ...

EPFL2023

Size dependence of second-harmonic scattering from nanoparticles: Disentangling surface and electrostatic contributions

Arianna Marchioro, Sylvie Roke, Bingxin Chu

Polarimetric angle-resolved second-harmonic scattering (AR-SHS) is an all-optical tool enabling the study of unlabeled interfaces of nano-sized particles in an aqueous solution. As the second harmonic signal is modulated by interference between nonlinear c ...

AIP Publishing2023

Electro- and photochemical H-2 generation by Co(ii) polypyridyl-based catalysts bearing ortho-substituted pyridines

Rosario Scopelliti, Euro Solari, Albert Ruggi, Vincent Artero, Fiorella Lucarini

Cobalt(II) complexes featuring hexadentate amino-pyridyl ligands have been recently discovered as highly active catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER), whose high performance arises from the possibility of assisting proton transfer processes v ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2023

Advancing first principle-based molecular dynamics of biological systems with machine learning

François Louis Mouvet

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have emerged as a transformative approach to analyse molecular systems at the atomic level, offering valuable insights into complex biological processes. Many biological phenomena can only accurately be described by inco ...

EPFL2023

Salt Bridge Structure of Microhydrated Arginine Kinetically Trapped in the Gas Phase by Evaporative Cooling

Oleg Boyarkine, Andrei Zviagin

Aminoacids and peptides generally exhibit zwitterionic forms withsalt bridge (SB) structures in solution but charge-solvated (CS) motifsin the gas phase. Here, we report a study of non-covalent complexesof the protonated amino acid arginine, ArgH(+)(H2O)( ...

2023

Single emulsion drops for photocatalytic water splitting as a membrane-free approach to product separation

Sophia Haussener, Esther Amstad, Swarnava Nandy, Sangram Ashok Savant, Gaia De Angelis

The coevolution of hydrogen and oxygen during photocatalytic water splitting presents a challenge for efficient product separation. Here, we demonstrate membrane-free, drop-based photocatalytic water splitting with inherent product separation and competiti ...

2023

Deuterated TEKPol Biradicals and the Spin-Diffusion Barrier in MAS DNP

Dominik Józef Kubicki, David Lyndon Emsley, Yu Rao, Amrit Venkatesh, Federico De Biasi

The sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy is considerably enhanced by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). In DNP polarization is transferred from unpaired electrons of a polarizing agent to nearby proton spins. In solids, this transfer is followed by the transpo ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2023

Antenna-coupled infrared nanospectroscopy of intramolecular vibrational interaction

Felipe Herrera, Hatice Altug, Aurélian Michel John-Herpin

Many photonic and electronic molecular properties, as well as chemical and biochemical reactivities are controlled by fast intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR). This fundamental ultrafast process limits coherence time in applications from ...

National Academy of Sciences2023

The role of Zn in C-S-H atomic structure, nucleation and growth

Anna Morales Melgares

The most promising solution towards cementitious materials with a lower carbon footprint is the partial substitution of the clinker by supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, limestone and calcined clays. The produc ...

EPFL2023

In Situ Monitoring of the Surface Evolution of a Silver Electrode from Polycrystalline to Well-Defined Structures

Yunchang Liang

Capturing the surface-structural dynamics of metal electrocatalysts under certain electrochemical environments is intriguingly desired for understanding the behavior of various metal-based electrocatalysts. However, in situ monitoring of the evolution of a ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2022

Effect of alkali, aluminium and equilibration time on calcium-silicate-hydrates

Yu Yan

Calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) is the main hydration product in Portland and blended cements, and greatly affects durability and mechanical properties of the hydrated cement. In the presence of Al-rich supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), C-(A-)S ...

EPFL2022

Weakening effect of various pore fluids on the tensile strength of granite

Guanyi Lu

Laboratory three-point bending experiments are carried out to evaluate the effect of various fluids on the tensile strength of granite. The granite specimens were tested under both dry and saturated conditions. The fluids used to saturate the granite inclu ...

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG2022

Effect of alkali hydroxide on calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H)

Karen Scrivener, Barbara Lothenbach, Émilie Michèle L'Hôpital, Sheng-Yu Yang, Yu Yan

This paper investigates the effect of KOH and NaOH on C-S-H structure and solubility. Both KOH and NaOH have a similar effect, they increase pH values and silicon concentrations, and decrease calcium concentrations. At higher alkali hydroxide concentration ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2022

Resolving the charging paradox of neat oil droplets in water

Sergey Kulik

The thesis covers the series of questions regarding the molecular structure and charge of oil nanodroplets in water. This work proposes a mechanism responsible for the stabilization of oil nanodroplets in water, which does not involve OH- adsorption. First ...

EPFL2022