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Decoding Structures from Molecules to Crystals/Solutions: Characterization and Computational Simulations

A Special Issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049) belonging to the section "Molecular Structure".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 643

Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: theoretical chemistry; computational chemistry; molecular dynamics; molecular design; structure-activity relationship; dielectric materials; atmospheric chemistry; combustion chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Molecular geometries and the structural intricacies of chemical bonds, crystalline lattices, and solvation environments govern fundamental physicochemical properties and reaction mechanisms in chemical and material systems. The precise characterization of these structural elements is critical for decoding distinctive properties in materials and chemical systems in terms of rational molecular design. Experimental characterization and computational simulation have become indispensable in this endeavor, offering powerful tools such as various spectroscopy and data-driven machine learning models for probing atomic- and molecular-scale interactions with high accuracy. These approaches enable definitive or predictive insights into bond formation and breaking, crystal polymorphism, surface catalysis, and solvent-mediated processes, together with thermodynamic, kinetic, and transport properties at the molecular level. This Special Issue focuses on innovative achievements in experiments, algorithms and theories related to the structures of organic/inorganic/bio-molecules, crystals, amorphous phases, polymers, fluids, surface/interfaces, solvation characteristics, and relevant properties, addressing structural complexity across different scales in terms of chemical bonds for promoting cutting-edge development in structural chemistry and, thus, the rational design of functional materials.

Prof. Dr. Baoshan Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • molecular geometries and bonding
  • synthesis and catalysis
  • spectroscopy analysis
  • solvation effect
  • chemical bond
  • computational chemistry
  • molecular design

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2388 KB  
Article
In-Situ Growth of Bimetallic ZnCo-ZIF-67 on Carbon Fibers as High-Efficiency Catalyst for Enhancing Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate
by Junyu Li, Zhican Lu, Qihui Zeng, Fang Wang, Bo Yuan, Zeyu Zheng, Xiaolin Tang, Yifu Zhang and Chi Huang
Molecules 2026, 31(16), 2767; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31162767 - 9 Aug 2026
Viewed by 318
Abstract
Due to its abundant active sites, the bimetallic zeolite imidazole framework ZnCo-ZIF-67 exhibits excellent catalytic performance on the key oxidant ammonium perchlorate in composite solid propellants. In addition, carbon fiber has been proven to promote the combustion of propellants due to its high [...] Read more.
Due to its abundant active sites, the bimetallic zeolite imidazole framework ZnCo-ZIF-67 exhibits excellent catalytic performance on the key oxidant ammonium perchlorate in composite solid propellants. In addition, carbon fiber has been proven to promote the combustion of propellants due to its high thermal conductivity efficiency. In order to integrate the advantages of both, this study designed and prepared a novel composite catalyst, ZnCo-ZIF-67/CF, by a co-precipitation method. The thermal decomposition test demonstrated that the ZnCo-ZIF-67/CF composite exhibited significant catalytic activity. When the addition amount was 5 wt%, the high-temperature decomposition peak temperature of AP decreased significantly from 424.3 °C to 337.2 °C, and the combustion process was also significantly accelerated. Furthermore, analysis of the products of thermal decomposition gases revealed a significant increase in the proportion of N2O in the catalyzed products to 55.7%, whilst the proportion of high oxidation state nitrogen-containing oxides such as NO2 and NOCl decreased. This finding suggests that the highly dispersed metal active sites in ZnCo-ZIF-67/CF synergistically promote the decomposition reaction pathway of AP, leading to enhanced N2O generation. This study proposes a novel approach for the development of efficient and stable AP decomposition catalysts, which has positive significance for the regulation of the combustion performance of propellants. Full article
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