Computational Exploration of Xe Dimers Inside Fullerene Cages

A systematic analysis for the determination of the optimum fullerene cage for encapsulation of xenon dimers was carried out using density functional theory and activation strain analysis. Our calculations indicate that tubular-like fullerenes are better candidates for the encapsulation of xenon atom...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Santha Bhaskaran, Athul, Osuna Oliveras, Sílvia, Swart, Marcel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10256/27218
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10256/27218
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Materials nanoestructurats
Nanostructured materials
Carboni
Carbon
Oligòmers
Oligomers
Descripción
Sumario:A systematic analysis for the determination of the optimum fullerene cage for encapsulation of xenon dimers was carried out using density functional theory and activation strain analysis. Our calculations indicate that tubular-like fullerenes are better candidates for the encapsulation of xenon atoms. However, the tubular-like structure should have at least a diameter that is proportional to the van der Waals radius of encapsulated atoms. Our calculations indicate that the smallest fullerene that can stabilize the encapsulation of the xenon dimers in an energetically favorable dimeric state is Xe2@C120 ([10,0] C120-D5h(10766)). When going to higher order fullerenes, the dispersion interaction will dominate over all other interactions. However, the additional space provided by the tubular-like fullerene leads to elongation of the distance between the encapsulated xenon atoms, thus hampering the formation of a xenon–xenon chemical bond