Effective Discovery Method Research Articles

Chemistry-mediated Ostwald ripening in carbon-rich C/O systems at extreme conditions

There is significant interest in establishing a capability for tailored synthesis of next-generation carbon-based nanomaterials due to their broad range of applications and high degree of tunability. High pressure (e.g., shockwave-driven) synthesis holds promise as an effective discovery method, but experimental challenges preclude elucidating the processes governing nanocarbon production from carbon-rich precursors that could otherwise guide efforts through the prohibitively expansive design space. Here we report findings from large scale atomistically-resolved simulations of carbon condensation from C/O mixtures subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures, made possible by machine-learned reactive interatomic potentials. We find that liquid nanocarbon formation follows classical growth kinetics driven by Ostwald ripening (i.e., growth of large clusters at the expense of shrinking small ones) and obeys dynamical scaling in a process mediated by carbon chemistry in the surrounding reactive fluid. The results provide direct insight into carbon condensation in a representative system and pave the way for its exploration in higher complexity organic materials. They also suggest that simulations using machine-learned interatomic potentials could eventually be employed as in-silico design tools for new nanomaterials.

Towards an understanding of the propensity for crystalline hydrate formation by molecular compounds.

Hydrates are technologically important and ubiquitous yet they remain a poorly understood and understudied class of molecular crystals. In this work, we attempt to rationalize propensity towards hydrate formation through crystallization studies of molecules that lack strong hydrogen-bond donor groups. A Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) survey indicates that the statistical occurrence of hydrates in 124 molecules that contain five- and six-membered N-heterocyclic aromatic moieties is 18.5%. However, hydrate screening experiments on a library of 11 N-heterocyclic aromatic compounds with at least two acceptor moieties and no competing hydrogen-bond donors or acceptors reveals that over 70% of this group form hydrates, suggesting that extrapolation from CSD statistics might, at least in some cases, be deceiving. Slurrying in water and exposure to humidity were found to be the most effective discovery methods. Electrostatic potential maps and/or analysis of the crystal packing in anhydrate structures was used to rationalize why certain molecules did not readily form hydrates.