Biomedical subjects

Carmen Barrientos

Publications and source records attributed to Carmen Barrientos.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Structure and bonding in first-row transition-metal dicarbides: are they related to the stability of met-cars?

First-row transition-metal dicarbides MC(2) (M=Sc-Zn) have been investigated by using quantum-mechanical techniques. The competition between cyclic and linear isomers in these systems has been studied and the bonding scheme for these compounds is discussed through topological analysis of electron density. All of the systems have been found to prefer a C(2v)-symmetric arrangement, although for ZnC(2) the energy difference between this and the linear isomer is rather small. In most cases the C(2v)-symmetric structure corresponds to a T-shaped structure, with the exceptions of TiC(2), CoC(2), and NiC(2) which have been shown to be true rings. A detailed analysis of the variation of the energy of the system with geometry has been carried out. An analysis of the bonding, taking into account the main interactions between the valence orbitals of both fragments, the M atom and the C(2) molecule, has allowed the main features of these compounds to be interpreted. A clear correlation between the dissociation energies of the first-row transition-metal dicarbides and the bonding energies of the corresponding met-cars was observed.

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PubMed2006

Small ScCn cyclic clusters: a density functional study of their structure and stability.

A theoretical study of the ScCn, ScCn+, and ScCn- (n = 1-10) cyclic clusters has been carried out employing the B3LYP density functional method. Predictions for several molecular properties that could help in their possible experimental characterization, such as equilibrium geometries, electronic structures, dipole moments, and vibrational frequencies, are reported. All ScCn cyclic clusters are predicted to have doublet ground states. For cationic clusters the ground state is alternate between singlets (n-even species) and triplets (n-odd members). In the case of anionic clusters the singlet-triplet separation is relatively small, with the singlets being favored in most cases. In general, even-odd parity effects are also observed for different properties, such as incremental binding energies, ionization energies, and electron affinities. For all neutral, cationic, and anionic clusters it is found that cyclic species are more stable than their open-chain counterparts. Therefore, cyclic structures are the most interesting possible targets for an experimental search of scandium-doped carbon clusters.

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PubMed2005

Small carbon clusters doped with early transition metals: a theoretical study of ScCn, ScCn+, and ScCn- (n = 1-8) open-chain clusters.

A theoretical study of the ScCn, ScCn+, and ScCn- (n = 1-8) open-chain clusters has been carried out. Predictions for their electronic energies, rotational constants, dipole moments and vibrational frequencies have been made using the B3LYP method with different basis set including effective core potentials, ECPs. For the ScCn open-chain clusters the lowest-lying states correspond to quartet states for n-odd members, whereas for n-even species the ground state is found to be a doublet. In the cationic and anionic species, the electronic ground state is found to be a singlet for even n and a triplet for odd n. An even-odd parity effect (n-even clusters being more stable than n-odd ones) is observed in neutral and charged clusters. Ionization energies and electron affinities also exhibit a clear parity alternation trend, with n-even clusters having higher values than n-odd ones.

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PubMed2005

Computational study of the reaction of N(2D) atoms with CH2F radicals: an example of a barrier-free reaction involving very high internal energies.

The singlet potential-energy surface for the N(2D)+CH2F(2A') reaction has been studied employing both second-order Møller-Plesset and density-functional theories. The energies of the involved species have been refined using the Gaussian-2, complete basis set, and coupled-cluster singles and doubles (triples) methods. The reaction proceeds through the formation of an initial intermediate, which does not involve any activation barrier. Based on the energy profile for the singlet potential-energy surface, the preferred product should be the most exothermic one, namely, HCN+HF, followed by HNC+HF and FCN+H2. This result seems in contradiction with a computational study of the kinetics of the title reaction in terms of the statistical theories, which leads to the prediction that the production of HNC+HF should be the dominant channel. Consequently, a limited molecular-dynamics study has been carried out, concluding that in fact the system behaves in a nonstatistical way. According to the molecular-dynamics study, the most exothermic channel, HCN+HF, should be the dominant one. An analysis of the possible role of the singlet surface in the reaction of N(4S) with CH2F(2A') has also been carried out. The computational study shows that the microcanonical coefficients for the nonadiabatic channels are much smaller than the competing adiabatic ones. Therefore, the reaction of N(4S) with CH2F(2A') should proceed on the triplet surface without spin change.

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PubMed2005

A computational study of the reaction of ground-state nitrogen atoms with chloromethyl radicals.

A computational study of the N(4S) + CH2Cl reaction has been carried out. The first step of the reaction is the formation of an initial intermediate (NCH2Cl), which is relatively stable and does not involve any energy barrier. The two most exothermic products are those resulting from the release of a chlorine atom, H2C=N + Cl and trans-HC=NH + Cl. A kinetic study within the framework of the statistical theories suggests that the kinetically preferred product is also the most exothermic one. This is in contrast with the analogue reaction of nitrogen atoms with CH2F, where the preferred product from both thermodynamic and kinetic points of view is HFCN + H. Therefore, reactions of nitrogen atoms with chloromethyl radicals release chlorine atoms as major products. The rate coefficient for the title reaction is estimated to be about 3.09 x 10(-13) cm3 s(-1) molecule(-1) at 300 K, a value four times smaller than the rate coefficient for its fluorine analogue.

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PubMed2004

On the competition between linear and cyclic isomers in second-row dicarbides.

Second-row dicarbides C(2)X (X = Na-Cl) are investigated with quantum mechanical techniques. The cyclic-linear competition in these systems is studied, and the bonding scheme for these compounds is discussed in terms of the topological analysis of the electronic density. C(2)Na, C(2)Mg, C(2)Al, and C(2)Si are found to prefer a C(2)(v)-symmetric arrangement corresponding to a T-shape structure. On the other hand, for C(2)P, C(2)S, and C(2)Cl the linear isomer is predicted to be the ground state. A detailed analysis of the variation of the electronic energy and orbital energies with the geometry has been carried out. A simple theoretical model, taking into account the main interactions between the valence orbitals of both fragments, the X atom and the C(2) molecule, allows an interpretation of the main features of these compounds.

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