0000000000319642

AUTHOR

Zsuzsanna Varga

Theoretical calculation of the vibrational spectra of cis-cis-cyclooctadienes in the vapour phase.

The theoretical infrared spectra of 1,3-cis-cis-cyclooctadiene (1,3-COD) and 1,5-cis-cis-cyclooctadiene (1,5-COD), were obtained by ab initio MO calculations at Hartree-Fock level. The results were compared with the available IR experimental spectra of 1,3- and 1,5-COD. The apparent agreement between theoretical and experimental data allows us to exploit two bands, found only in the case of the theoretical spectrum of 1,4-COD, as a tool for identifying 1,4-COD during its synthesis.

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Hydrogenation of acetylene-ethylene mixtures on Pd catalysts: study of the surface mechanism by computational approaches. Metal dispersion and catalytic activity

The hydrogenation mechanism of acetylene–ethylene mixtures on Pd catalysts under different experimental conditions was studied by employing a time-dependent Monte Carlo approach set to use a fixed series of event probabilities. The dependence of the catalyst activity and selectivity on the sizes of the metal particles was simulated at microscopic level and the results, also refined by fitting procedures, suggested proper explanations for the apparent nonuniformity of the related experimental findings. The use of the steric hindrance parameter of the surface species and the available surface energy on the metallic catalyst sites was decisive for reproducing the experimental results.

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Hydrogenation of light hydrocarbons on palladium: theoretical study of the local surface arrangements

Abstract Quantum mechanical calculations at HF, MP2 and DFT levels were used to rationalise the surface effects of the hydrocarbon lateral interactions occurring on single planar metal surfaces or on different adjacent surfaces during the hydrogenation on palladium catalyst. The different values of electronic charge, found in the different atoms of palladium clusters, were suggested as a possible explanation of the non-homogeneous behaviour already inferred for catalyst surface sites having non-isotropic local arrangement.

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Theoretical evaluation of structures and energetics involved in the hydrogenation of hydrocarbons on palladium surfaces

Abstract Quantum mechanical calculations were employed to deepen information about the basic properties of the mechanism occurring in the palladium catalytic hydrogenation involving surface hydrogen species of unsaturated hydrocarbons. Activation energy values of elementary events implicated in the whole reaction were computed by potential energy surface analyses, to determine the corresponding occurrence probabilities of the same events. Different surface hydrogen species were pointed out and their relevance in the overall surface process was discussed together with their geometrical and chemical characteristics.

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