Chloropicrin sensor based on the pristine BN nanocones: DFT studies

Suitability of chlorobenzene-based single-electron transistor as HCN, AsH3, and COCl2 sensor

A density functional theory (DFT)-based first principle approach has been employed to investigate the suitability of chlorobenzene-based single-electron transistor (SET) for the detection of few toxic gases such as hydrogen cyanide, arsine, and phosgene. The adsorption aspect of toxic gas molecules on the chlorobenzene with different orientations has been analyzed. The attributes such as charge density, molecular energy spectrum, density of states, and Mulliken population have been computed to scrutinize the effect of gas molecules on the surface of chlorobenzene. The sensing mechanism of adsorbate (toxic gases) with the adsorbent (chlorobenzene) has been authenticated in a single-electron transistor (SET) environment through total energy vs. gate voltage plot and charge stability diagram. The recovery time of the chlorobenzene-based SET gas sensor on the adsorption of HCN, AsH₃, and COCl₂ has been computed as 1.93 ns, 0.45 ns, and 36.31 ns, respectively. Based on these findings, it is interesting to see that the COCl₂ gas molecule shows strong physical adsorption with the most significant adsorption distance (3.629 Å) with chlorobenzene, while AsH₃-adsorbed chlorobenzene SET displays a low recovery time in comparison with other considered gases. The present analysis confirms a significantly better range of detection and improved recovery time using chlorobenzene-based single-electron transistor.

A [1 + 2] cycloaddition instead of usual [2 + 3] cycloaddition between the B12N12 cluster and methyl azide: Potential energy surface calculations and Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations

We have examined here the possibility of functionalization of the B12N12 cluster by methyl azide by means of a [2 + 3] cycloaddition reaction in analogy with the spontaneous functionalization of C20 fullerene using the same reaction. To achieve more reliable data, all possible interactions at different positions and orientations were considered by reaction channel study and potential energy surface calculations. Also, Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations were used to find probable species which could emerge during the reactions.