Vanadium oxide clusters in substellar atmospheres: A quantum chemical study

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Lecoq-Molinos, Helena, Gobrecht, David, Sindel, J. P., Helling, Christiane, Decin, Leen
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Lecoq-Molinos, Helena
Gobrecht, David
Sindel, J. P.
Helling, Christiane
Decin, Leen
author_facet Lecoq-Molinos, Helena
Gobrecht, David
Sindel, J. P.
Helling, Christiane
Decin, Leen
contents We aim to understand the formation of cloud condensation nuclei in oxygen-rich substellar atmospheres by calculating fundamental properties of the energetically most favorable vanadium oxide molecules and clusters. A hierarchical optimization approach is applied in order to find the most favorable structures for clusters of (VO)$_{N}$ and (VO$_2$)$_{N}$ for N=1-10, and (V$_2$O$_5$)$_{N}$ for N=1-4 and to calculate their thermodynamical potentials. The candidate geometries are initially optimized applying classical interatomic potentials and then refined at the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level of theory to obtain accurate zero-point energies and thermochemical quantities. We present previously unreported vanadium oxide cluster structures as lowest-energy isomers. We report revised cluster energies and their thermochemical properties. Chemical equilibrium calculations are used to asses the impact of the updated and newly derived thermodynamic potentials on the gas-phase abundances of vanadium-bearing species. In chemical equilibrium, larger clusters from different stoichiometric families are found to be the most abundant vanadium-bearing species for temperatures below ~1000 K, while molecular VO is the most abundant between ~1000 K and ~2000 K. We determine the nucleation rates of each stoichiometric family for a given (T$_{gas}$, p$_{gas}$) profile of a brown dwarf using classical and non-classical nucleation theory. Small differences in the revised Gibbs free energies of the clusters have a large impact on the abundances of vanadium bearing species in chemical equilibrium at temperatures below ~1000 K, which subsequently has an impact on the nucleation rates of each stoichiometric family. We find that with the revised and more accurate cluster data non-classical nucleation rates are up to 15 orders of magnitude higher than classical nucleation rates.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_02784
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Vanadium oxide clusters in substellar atmospheres: A quantum chemical study
Lecoq-Molinos, Helena
Gobrecht, David
Sindel, J. P.
Helling, Christiane
Decin, Leen
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Atomic and Molecular Clusters
Chemical Physics
We aim to understand the formation of cloud condensation nuclei in oxygen-rich substellar atmospheres by calculating fundamental properties of the energetically most favorable vanadium oxide molecules and clusters. A hierarchical optimization approach is applied in order to find the most favorable structures for clusters of (VO)$_{N}$ and (VO$_2$)$_{N}$ for N=1-10, and (V$_2$O$_5$)$_{N}$ for N=1-4 and to calculate their thermodynamical potentials. The candidate geometries are initially optimized applying classical interatomic potentials and then refined at the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level of theory to obtain accurate zero-point energies and thermochemical quantities. We present previously unreported vanadium oxide cluster structures as lowest-energy isomers. We report revised cluster energies and their thermochemical properties. Chemical equilibrium calculations are used to asses the impact of the updated and newly derived thermodynamic potentials on the gas-phase abundances of vanadium-bearing species. In chemical equilibrium, larger clusters from different stoichiometric families are found to be the most abundant vanadium-bearing species for temperatures below ~1000 K, while molecular VO is the most abundant between ~1000 K and ~2000 K. We determine the nucleation rates of each stoichiometric family for a given (T$_{gas}$, p$_{gas}$) profile of a brown dwarf using classical and non-classical nucleation theory. Small differences in the revised Gibbs free energies of the clusters have a large impact on the abundances of vanadium bearing species in chemical equilibrium at temperatures below ~1000 K, which subsequently has an impact on the nucleation rates of each stoichiometric family. We find that with the revised and more accurate cluster data non-classical nucleation rates are up to 15 orders of magnitude higher than classical nucleation rates.
title Vanadium oxide clusters in substellar atmospheres: A quantum chemical study
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Atomic and Molecular Clusters
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.02784