Computational Study of Sorbic Acid Drug Adsorption onto Coronene/Fullerene/Fullerene-Like X12Y12 (X = Al, B and Y = N, P) Nanocages: DFT and Molecular Docking Investigations

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic sensing of the herbicide alachlor using Au16 nanocluster

This study explored the interaction between the herbicidal pollutant alachlor and the Au16 nanocluster employing density functional theory (DFT) described by the functional M062X and basis set SDD. The adsorption energy of alachlor on the Au16 cluster is negative, signifying a strong interaction between the herbicide and the Au cluster. The molecular structures, HOMO-LUMO energies, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), non-covalent interactions (NCI), and reduced density gradient (RDG) scatter plots were analyzed in detail. NCI analysis suggests van der Waals forces, strong attractive, and repulsive steric interactions in the studied complex. Mulliken charge analysis revealed changes in the atomic charges of alachlor upon interaction with the Au16 nanocluster whereas quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analysis unraveled the nature of intermolecular interactions. Electron delocalization in the cluster complex was detected using average local ionization energy (ALIE), electron localization function (ELF), and localized orbital locator (LOL) calculations. The Raman spectrum shows enhanced wavenumbers for various functional groups, indicating the potential for developing Au16 nanosensors for alachlor detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).

Adsorption of sulfur mustard on the transition metals (TM = Ti2+, Cr2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+) porphyrins induced in carbon nanocone (TM-PCNC): Insight from DFT calculation

The density functional theory (DFT) method is applied to investigate the ability of transition metals porphyrins induced in carbon nanocone (TM-PCNC, TM = Ti2+, Cr2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) for identifying and eliminating undesirable SM molecules from the surrounding. The sulfur mustard is effectively adsorbed onto the surface of nanocones through a chemical process. Based on the DFT calculations, the Ti-PCNC displays an appropriate percentage change in energy gap (%ΔEg = 11.82 and 14.67), thus making it a promising candidate for possessing sensing capabilities towards the sulfur mustard. According to the acquired findings, it can be deduced that the work function of nanocones exhibits minimal alterations after the adsorption of sulfur mustard. This signifies that nanocones may not serve as a suitable work function sensor for sulfur mustard detection. In addition, when the UV-visible spectra of pristine Ti-PCNC are compared with its complexes, it is found that sulfur mustard adsorption does not change the nanocones spectra but increases the number of absorption lines.

Deciphering the electrochemical sensing capability of novel Ga12As12 nanocluster towards chemical warfare phosgene gas: insights from DFT

The applications of 3D inorganic nanomaterials in environmental and agriculture monitoring have been exploited continuously; however, the utilization of semiconductor nanoclusters, especially for detecting warfare agents, has not been fully investigated yet. To fill this gap, the molecular modelling of novel inorganic semiconductor nanocluster Ga12As12 as a sensor for phosgene gas (highly toxic for living things and the environment) is accomplished employing benchmark DFT and TD-DFT investigations. Computational tools have been applied to explore different adsorption sites and the potential sensing capability of the Ga12As12 nanoclusters. The calculated adsorption energy (-21.34 ± 2.7 kcal mol-1) for ten selected complexes, namely, Pgn-Cl@4m-ring (MS1), Pgn-Cl@6m-ring (MS2), Pgn-Cl@XY66 (MS3), Pgn-O@4m-ring (MS4), Pgn-O@XY66 (MS5), Pgn-O@XY64 (MS6), Pgn-O@Y (MS7), Pgn-planar@Y (MS8), Pgn-planar@X (MS9), and Pgn-planar@4m-ring (MS10), manifest the remarkable and excessive adsorption response of the studied nanoclusters. The explored molecular electronic properties, such as interaction distance (3.05 ± 0.5 Å), energy gap (∼2.17 eV), softness (∼0.46 eV), hardness (1.10 ± 0.01 eV), electrophilicity index (10.27 ± 0.45 eV), electrical conductivity (∼1.98 × 109), and recovery time (∼3 × 10-12 s-1) values, ascertain the elevated reactivity and an imperishable sensitivity of the Ga12As12 nanocluster, particularly for its complex MS8. QTAIM analysis exhibits the presence of a strong electrostatic bond (positive ∇2ρ(r) values), electron delocalization (ELF < 0.5), and a strong chemical bond (because of high all-electron density values). In addition, NBO analysis explores the lone pair electron delocalization of phosgene to the nanocluster stabilized by intermolecular charge transfer (ICT) and different kinds of non-covalent interactions. Also, the green region existence expressed by NCI analysis (between the nanocluster and adsorbate) stipulate the energetic and dominant interactions. Furthermore, the UV-Vis, thermodynamic analysis, and density of state (DOS) demonstrate the maximum absorbance (562.11 nm) and least excitation energy (2.21 eV) by the complex MS8, the spontaneity of the interaction process, and the significant changes in HOMO and LUMO energies, respectively. Thus, the Ga12As12 nanocluster has proven to be a promising influential sensing material to monitor phosgene gas in the real world, and this study will emphasize the informative knowledge for experimental researchers to use Ga12As12 as a sensor for the warfare agent (phosgene).

A DFT and QTAIM insight into ethylene oxide adsorption on the surfaces of pure and metal-decorated inorganic fullerene-like nanoclusters

In this industrial era, the use of low-dimensional nanomaterials as gas sensors for environmental monitoring has received enormous interest. To develop an effective sensing method for ethylene oxide (EO), DFT computations are conducted using method ωB97X-D and B3LYP with 6-31G(d,p) basis set to evaluate the adsorption behavior of ethylene oxide gas on the surfaces of pristine, as well as Scandium and Titanium decorated B12N12, Al12N12, and Al12P12 nanocages. Several properties like structural, physical, and electronic are studied methodically to better understand the sensing behavior. Scandium-decorated aluminum phosphate and boron nitride nanocages were shown to perform better in terms of adsorption properties. The short recovery time observed in this study is beneficial for the repetitive use of the gas sensor. The Natural Bond Orbital and molecular electrostatic potential analysis demonstrated a substantial quantity of charge transfer from adsorbate to adsorbents. The bandgap alternation after adsorption shows an influence of adsorption on electronic properties. The interactions of adsorbate and adsorbents are further studied using the ultraviolet-visible predicted spectrum, and quantum theory of atoms in molecules all of which yielded promising findings.

Elucidating the adsorption of 2-Mercaptopyridine drug on the aluminum phosphide (Al12P12) nanocage: A DFT study

Adsorption amplitude of the aluminum phosphide (Al12P12) nanocage toward the 2-Mercaptopyridine (MCP) drug was herein monitored based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The adsorption process through MCP⋅⋅⋅Al12P12 complex in various configurations was elucidated by means of adsorption (Eads) energies. According to the energetic affirmations, the Al12P12 nanocage demonstrated potential versatility toward adsorbing the MCP drug within the investigated configurations and exhibited significant negative adsorption energies up to -27.71 kcal/mol. Upon the results of SAPT analysis, the electrostatic forces showed the highest contributions to the overall adsorption process with energetic values up to -74.36 kcal/mol. Concurrently, variations of molecular orbitals distribution along with alterations in the energy gap (Egap) and Fermi level (EFL) of the studied nanocage were denoted after adsorbing the MCP drug. The favorable impact of water solvent within the MCP⋅⋅⋅Al12P12 complexes was unveiled and confirmed by negative solvation energy (ΔEsolv) values up to -17.75 kcal/mol. According to thermodynamic parameters, the spontaneous and exothermic natures of the considered adsorption process were proclaimed by negative values of ΔG and ΔH parameters. Significant changes in the IR and Raman peaks, along with the appearance of new peaks, were noticed, confirming the occurrence of the targeted adsorption process. Furthermore, the adsorption features of the MCP drug on the Al12N12 nanocage were elucidated and compared to the Al12P12 analog. The obtained results demonstrated the higher preferability of Al12P12 nanocage than the Al12N12 candidate towards adsorbing the MCP drug without structural distortion.

Evidences of noncovalent interactions between indole and dichloromethane under different solvent conditions

CONTEXT

Theoretical investigation of indole (IND) and its binary combination with dichloromethane (DC) in various solvents were computed to track the impact of molecular interactions on spectral characteristics. When transitioning from plain drug to complexes, different modes of IND display a substantial shift in peak location. The 3561.26 cm^-1 band shows (~15.58 cm^-1) red shift upon dilution. The geometry in various solvents was calculated using quantum chemical calculation utilizing density functional theory (DFT). The highest ALIE values are located at the indole skeleton and on complexation with DC, and the ring atoms become more electron rich. The atom-centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) molecular dynamic (MD) calculation shows that the geometries optimized through the DFT calculation match the global minima effectively. MD simulations indicate that indole is more stable in water and methanol.

METHODS

DFT studies have been employed to study the interaction between indole and dichloromethane. CAM-B3LYP/6-311++G(d)(6D,7F) level of theory was employed using Gaussian 16 W suite. Quantum topological descriptors were discussed using quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) with the help of Multiwfn software. Reduced density gradient (RDG) plot describes the nature of the interaction, while average local ionization energy (ALIE) explained the variation in local ionization energy of the molecular surface before and after complexation.

Adsorption of a thione derivative on carbon, AlN, and BN nanotubes: a detailed DFT and MD investigation

The performance of nanotubes (NT) of carbon (CC), aluminium-nitrogen (AlN), and boron-nitrogen (BN) as a sensor and nanocarrier for mercaptopurine (MCP) was investigated by means of a theoretical approach. The calculated negative values of adsorption energy showed the interaction and adsorption of MCP. Highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) distributions were only found on the NT counter portion of the drug-nanotube not on MCP for AlN-NT and BN-NT while HOMO is over MCP and LUMO is over NT for CC-NT. The polarizability of MCP-NTs is greater than that of MCP. Raman wavenumbers of MCP are enhanced in NTs, and hence, NTs can act as a sensor for the detection of MCP. Solvent dependency on adsorption behaviour is also presented in the manuscript, where we found that the AlN nanotube showed exceptionally high free energy of adsorption over other nanotubes in all solvent mediums. Solvation-free energies were also reported. Noncovalent interaction scattered plot also showed significant intermolecular interaction between AlN nanotubes and the mercaptopurine when compared to other nanotubes under study. To find the antiviral activity of MCP and MCP-NTs against antiviral activities, docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed with 1HMP PDB. Recovery times show that MCP desorption occurs quickly. The MD simulations and docking results show that BN and CC-NTs with MCP show good activity as drug carriers.

DFT analysis of valproic acid adsorption onto Al12/B12-N12/P12 nanocages with solvent effects

Using density functional theory, the adsorption of valproic acid onto the surface of fullerene-like nanocages was investigated. Valproic acid interacts with the nanocages through the carboxylic group with energies of - 144.14, - 109.71, - 105.22, and - 84.96 kcal/mol. The frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energy levels were considerably altered upon adsorption, resulting in a reduction in energy gap and increase in electrical conductivity. This suggests that nanocages could be used as sensors as well as options for drug administration in biological systems. Solvation effects in water are also reported.