PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Gordon J Kearley

Publications and source records attributed to Gordon J Kearley.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

The influence of size on phase morphology and Li-ion mobility in nanosized lithiated anatase TiO2.

Sustainable energy storage in the form of Li-ion batteries requires new and advanced materials in particular with a higher power density. Nanostructuring appears to be a promising strategy, in which the higher power density in nanosized materials is related to the dramatically shortened Li-ion diffusion paths. However, nanosizing materials also changes intrinsic material properties, which influence both ionic and electronic conductivity. In this work neutron diffraction is used to show that in addition to these two aspects, nanostructuring changes the phase behavior and morphology. Lithiated 40-nm TiO(2) anatase crystallites become single phase, either having the Li-poor original anatase phase, or the Li-rich Li-titanate phase, in contrast to microsized crystallites where these two phases coexist in equilibrium within one crystal particle. In addition, Li(x)TiO(2) compositions occur with stoichiometries that are not stable in micron-sized crystallites, indicating enhanced solid solution behavior. Reduced conduction electron densities at the sites of the Li ions are observed by NMR spectroscopy. This is accompanied by reduced spontaneous Li-ion mobility, suggesting a correlation between the electron density at the Li-ion site and the Li-ion mobility. The present results show that in the case of lithiated anatase TiO(2), significant effects on phase composition, morphology, and electronic configurations are induced, as well as slower intracrystallite Li diffusion.

Chemistry, Physical↗
PubMed2006

How phonons govern the behavior of short, strong hydrogen bonds in urea-phosphoric acid.

Recent neutron diffraction data have shown that the hydrogen atom involved in the short, strong hydrogen bond in urea-phosphoric acid migrates toward the midpoint of the hydrogen bond as the temperature increases. With the help of solid state ab initio calculations and inelastic neutron scattering, we have investigated the temperature dependence of the structural and vibrational properties of the system. The potential energy surface of the proton in the short, strong hydrogen bond and the thermal population of the energy levels therein cannot account for the observed proton migration. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations clearly reveal the migration of the proton. This molecular dynamics result was reported recently by other authors, but they only offered a tentative explanation in terms of a resonance between high-frequency vibrations, which is not supported by the calculations presented here. We explain the proton migration in terms of phonon-driven structural fluctuations and their impact on the temperature-dependent evolution of the potential energy surface of the short hydrogen-bond proton.

Hydrogen Bonding↗
PubMed2004

Intermolecular charge transfer and hydrogen bonding in solid furan.

The calculated structures of furan as a monomer, a dimer that was isolated from the crystal structure, and the full crystal structure have been thoroughly investigated by a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements. To improve our understanding of the nature and magnitude of the intermolecular interactions in the solid, the atoms in molecules (AIM) theory has been applied to the dimer and a cluster of eight monomers. After a careful topological study of the theoretical charge density and of its Laplacian, we have established the existence of C-H...pi, C-H...O, and H...H interactions between adjacent molecules in solid furan. The electron distribution has also been analyzed by performing natural bond orbital (NBO) calculations for the monomer and a H-bonded dimer. When the hydrogen bond is established between two adjacent furan rings, some electron charge is transferred from the pi electronic system of one furan ring to the other molecule in the dimer. This result provides a model of the interaction between end groups of neighboring chains of polyfuran and could be applicable to other conjugated polymers where the pi system is responsible for their conducting properties. To determine how the intermolecular bonds in the solid affect the vibrational dynamics in the periodic system, INS data were analyzed by performing molecular and periodic density functional calculations. Reasonable agreement is achieved, although we note that the poorest agreement is for modes involving hydrogen atoms.

Furans↗
PubMed2004

Extensive migration of Ni and Mn by lithiation of ordered LiMg0.1Ni0.4Mn(1.5)O4 spinel.

Li(x)Mg(0.1)Ni(0.4)Mn(1.5)O(4) spinel (P4(3)32) was chemically and electrochemically lithiated in the range 1 < x <or= 2.25 and subjected to detailed X-ray and neutron diffraction analysis to understand the electrochemical behavior in the 3 V region. Extensive migration of Ni and Mn during lithium insertion was found, resulting in the disappearance of the initial Ni-Mn ordering and the formation of Ni-rich and Ni-poor domains, leading to two Jahn-Teller-distorted tetragonal phases with different Ni:Mn ratios. Such extensive Ni and Mn migration was not known for these spinels, and strongly influences the initial cycling behavior. The newly formed tetragonal phase with a Ni:Mn ratio of approximately 0.07 has a higher cyclability and a higher capacity, and is therefore suggested to have a favorable composition for this intercalation range, as is confirmed in the literature. In addition, lithium is found to occupy multiple positions inside the distorted oxygen octahedron of this phase, a finding previously known only for lithium in anatase TiO(2).

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Hydrogen adsorption in carbon nanostructures: comparison of nanotubes, fibers, and coals.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were reported to have record high hydrogen storage capacities at room temperature, indicating an interaction between hydrogen and carbon matrix that is stronger than known before. Here we present a study of the interaction of hydrogen with activated charcoal, carbon nanofibers, and SWNT that disproves these earlier reports. The hydrogen storage capacity of these materials correlates with the surface area of the material, the activated charcoal having the largest. The SWNT appear to have a relatively low accessible surface area due to bundling of the tubes; the hydrogen does not enter the voids between the tubes in the bundles. Pressure-temperature curves were used to estimate the interaction potential, which was found to be 580+/-60 K. Hydrogen gas was adsorbed in amounts up to 2 wt % only at low temperatures. Molecular rotations observed with neutron scattering indicate that molecular hydrogen is present, and no significant difference was found between the hydrogen molecules adsorbed in the different investigated materials. Results from density functional calculations show molecular hydrogen bonding to an aromatic C[bond]C that is present in the materials investigated. The claims of high storage capacities of SWNT related to their characteristic morphology are unjustified.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Dynamics of a triphenylene discotic molecule, HAT6, in the columnar and isotropic liquid phases.

Discotic molecules have planar, disklike polyaromatic cores that can self-assemble into "molecular wires". Highly anisotropic charge transfer along the wires arises when there is sufficient intermolecular overlap of the pi-orbitals of the molecular cores. Discotic materials can be applied in molecular electronics, field-effect transistors, and-recently with record quantum efficiencies-photovoltaics (Schmidt-Mende, L.; Fechtenkötter, A.; Müllen, K.; Moons, E.; Frien, R. H.; MacKenzie, J. D. Science 2001, 293, 1119). A combination of quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) measurements with molecular dynamics simulations on the discotic molecule hexakis(n-hexyloxy)triphenylene (HAT6) shows that the dynamics of the cores and tails of discotic molecules are strongly correlated. Core and tail dynamics are not separated, the system being characterized by overall in-plane motion, on a time scale of 0.2 ps, and softer out-of-plane motions at 7 ps. Because charge transfer between the molecules is on similar time scales, these motions are relevant for the conducting properties of the materials. Both types of motion are dominated by van der Waals interactions. Small-amplitude in-plane motions in which the disks move over each other are almost entirely determined by tail/tail interactions, these also playing an important role in the out-of-plane motion. The QENS measurements reveal that these motions are little changed by passing from the columnar phase to the isotropic liquid phase, just above the clearing temperature. The model of four HAT6 molecules in a column reproduces the measured QENS spectrum of the liquid phase, suggesting that correlations persist within the liquid phase over about this number of disks.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Multiple Li positions inside oxygen octahedra in lithiated TiO2 anatase.

Intercalation of Li in TiO2 anatase results in a phase separation in a Li-poor and a Li-rich phase. The local lithium configuration in the coexisting crystallographic phases is resolved by detailed analysis of neutron diffraction data. In each of the phases, two distinct positions within the octahedral interstices are found, with a temperature-dependent occupancy. A combination of quasi-elastic neutron scattering and force field molecular dynamics simulations shows that Li is hopping on a picosecond time scale between the two sites in the octahedral interstices. The results also suggest a specific Li arrangement along the crystallographic a direction, albeit without long range order. It is likely that multiple discrete Li sites within a distorted oxygen octahedron occur not only in intercalated TiO2 anatase but also in other (transition metal) oxides.

Journal Article↗