We have investigated the atomistic mechanism behind the irradiation-induced amorphization in Si using molecular dynamics simulation techniques. The microscopic description of the process is based on the defect known as bond defect or IV pair. IV pairs recombine very fast when isolated, but if they interact to each other they survive longer times and thus accumulate giving rise to amorphization. This fact accounts for the superlinear behavior of the accumulated damage with dose and the different activation energies for recrystallization observed in the experiments. The molecular dynamics results have been used to define an atomistic model for amorphization and recrystallization which has been implemented in a kinetic Monte Carlo code. The model is able to reproduce quantitatively the dependence of the critical crystal-amorphous transition on the irradiation parameters.

The hydrogen bonds involving sulfur in the furfuryl mercaptan monohydrate are compared with the interactions originating from the hydroxyl group in furfuryl alcohol. The dimers with water were created in a supersonic jet expansion and characterized using microwave spectroscopy and supporting molecular orbital calculations. In furfuryl alcohol-water, a single isomer is observed, in which the water molecule forms an insertion complex with two simultaneous hydrogen bonds to the alcohol (O-H⋅⋅⋅O ) and the ring oxygen (O -H⋅⋅⋅O ). When the alcohol is replaced by a thiol group in furfuryl mercaptan-water, two isomers are observed, with the thiol group preferentially behaving as proton donor to water. The first isomer is topologically equivalent to the alcohol analog but the stronger hydrogen bond is now established by water and the ring oxygen, assisted by a thiol S-H⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bond. In the second isomer the sulfur group accepts a proton from water, forming a O -H⋅⋅⋅S hydrogen bond. Binding energies for the mercaptan-water dimer are predicted around 12 kJ mol weaker than in the alcohol hydrate (B3LYP-D3(BJ)). The non-covalent interactions in the furfuryl dimers are dominantly electrostatic according to a SAPT(0) energy decomposition, but with increasing dispersion components in the mercaptan dimers, which are larger for the isomer with the weaker O -H⋅⋅⋅S interaction.

A novel DFT-based Reaction Kinetics (DFT-RK) simulation approach, employed in combination with real-time data from reaction monitoring instrumentation (like UV-vis, FTIR, Raman, and 2D NMR benchtop spectrometers), is shown to provide a detailed methodology for the analysis and design of complex synthetic chemistry schemes. As an example, it is applied to the opening of epoxides by titanocene in THF, a catalytic system with abundant experimental data available. Through a DFT-RK analysis of real-time IR data, we have developed a comprehensive mechanistic model that opens new perspectives to understand previous experiments. Although derived specifically from the opening of epoxides, the prediction capabilities of the model, built on elementary reactions, together with its practical side (reaction kinetics simulations of real experimental conditions) make it a useful simulation tool for the design of new experiments, as well as for the conception and development of improved versions of the reagents. From the perspective of the methodology employed, because both the computational (DFT-RK) and the experimental (spectroscopic data) components can follow the time evolution of several species simultaneously, it is expected to provide a helpful tool for the study of complex systems in synthetic chemistry.

Abstract-In this paper, a 10-bit 40-MS/s analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is presented. A power consumption of 12 mW was achieved by using a time-interleaved and pipelined architecture with shared operational amplifiers. This circuit was fabricated in a 2.5-V 0.25-m technology with metal-oxide-metal capacitors. Experimental results are within design ranges and are in good agreement with simulation data. It turns out that the proposed Nyquistrate ADC provides a potential solution for low-power high-speed applications, e.g., wireless LANs.

In a recent article (ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 11119–11133), a comprehensive catalytic mechanism is proposed to explain the effects of residual water on the reactivity and regioselectivity of tris­(pentafluorophenyl)­borane catalyst in the ring-opening reaction of 1,2-epoxyoctane by 2-propanol. Using it as a representative example of a common trend followed also by other groups, we show that the heavily under-constrained (loose) kinetic modeling approach employed can lead to several pitfalls and propose an alternative, more stringent (tight) modeling protocol to avoid them. In addition to providing similar or better accuracy, this approach considerably reduces the DFT parameter calculation time (by a factor of 10 in the present case). We also show an example of how delayed or second-order mechanisms can then be added incrementally to the already built and tested, first-approximation model to achieve a highly predictive and comprehensive microkinetic model. We hope that this simple and robust microkinetic modeling protocol may contribute to the current efforts to establish new, more predictive computational methodologies for synthetic chemistry.