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Polymer models are a widely used tool to study the prebiotic formation of metabolism at the origins of life. Counts of the number of reactions in these models are often crucial in probabilistic arguments concerning the emergence of…
There is considerable interest in designing new polymeric materials with built-in mechanisms for recycling. In this work, we present a systematic exploration of several polyethylene-based polymers that contain strategically incorporated…
Performing molecular dynamics simulations for all-atom models, we characterize the conformational and structural relaxations of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) melts. The temperature dependence of these relaxation processes…
Accurate knowledge of the properties of hydrogen at high compression is crucial for astrophysics (e.g. planetary and stellar interiors, brown dwarfs, atmosphere of compact stars) and laboratory experiments, including inertial confinement…
The mechanical resistance of a polyethylene strand subject to tension and the way its properties are affected by the presence of a knot is studied using first-principles molecular dynamics calculations. The distribution of strain energy for…
Experimental results from mechanical viscoelastic as well as dielectric relaxation times were compared to theoretical expectations utilizing polymer scaling theory. Viscoelastic relaxation of a hydrogel at 33% relative humidity fabricated…
Accumulation of plastic waste is a major environmental problem. Enzymes, particularly esterases, play an important role in the biodegradation of polyesters. These enzymes are usually only active on aliphatic polyesters, but a few have…
This paper is devoted to study the electrochemical behavior of Pt catalyst in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell at various operating conditions and at different electric potential difference (also known as voltage) cycling applied in…
Molecular simulations of polymer rely on accurate force fields to describe the inter-atomic interactions. In this work, we use first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations to parameterize a united-atom force field for…
A simple model for the formation of the polymer-enzyme conjugates has been proposed and described using corresponding extension of the Wertheim's first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT1) for the system of associating chain…
Electronic structure theory provides a foundation for understanding chemical transformations and processes in complex chemical environments. Our work is focused on the NWChemEx project that has selected two interrelated science challenges…
Non-classical two-step nucleation including preordering and crystal nucleation has been widely proposed to challenge the one-step nucleation framework in diverse materials, while what drives preordering has not been explicitly resolved yet.…
The hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) play an important role in hydrogen based energy conversion. Recently, the frustrating performance in alkaline media raised debates on the relevant mechanism,…
PAHs constitute a major component of the interstellar medium carbon budget, locking up to 10--20% of the elemental carbon. Sequential fragmentation induced by energetic photons leads to the formation of new species, including fullerenes.…
Heat transport can be modelled with a variety of approaches in real space (using molecular dynamics) or in reciprocal space (using the Boltzmann transport equation). Employing two conceptually different approaches of each type, we study…
Molecular process of polymer collapse was reproduced by isothermal molecular dynamics simulation. The initial polymer chains were obtained by mean of random walks in continuum space. Two potential models were considered to represent short…
Here we describe a computational study undertaken in an effort to elucidate the reaction mechanisms behind the experimentally observed oxidations and hydrations catalyzed by graphene oxide (GO). Using the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to…
Previous and present "academic" research aiming at atomic scale understanding is mainly concerned with the study of individual molecular processes possibly underlying materials science applications. Appealing properties of an individual…
We apply first principles computational techniques to analyze the two-electron, multi-step, electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO in water using cobalt porphyrin as a catalyst. Density Functional Theory calculations with hybrid functionals…
We have used computer simulation to study the collapse of a hydrophobic chain in water. We find that the mechanism of collapse is much like that of a first order phase transition. The evaporation of water in the vicinity of the polymer…