Using the first-principles plane wave pseudopotential method we have studied structural, electronic, and transport properties of atomic chains of group-IV elements and group III-V and group II-VI binary compounds. Several materials which are insulating or semiconducting in bulk are found to be metallic in nanowire structures. Our calculations reveal that monatomic chains of Si, Ge, and Sn eleme...

The higher affinity of Cd(2+) for sulfur compounds than for nitrogen and oxygen led to the theoretical consideration that cadmium toxicity should result mainly from the binding of Cd(2+) to sulfide, thiol groups, and sulfur-rich complex compounds rather than from Cd(2+) replacement of transition-metal cations from nitrogen- or oxygen-rich biological compounds. This hypothesis was tested by usin...

Tris(2-pyridylthio)methane ([Tptm]H) has been employed to synthesize a series of cadmium carbatrane compounds that feature an [N3C] coordination environment. Specifically, [Tptm]H reacts with Cd[N(SiMe3)2]2 to afford [Tptm]CdN(SiMe3)2, which thereby provides access to other derivatives. For example, [Tptm]CdN(SiMe3)2 reacts with (i) CO2 to form {[Tptm]Cd(μ-NCO)}2 and (ii) Me3SiOH and Ph3SiOH to...

The compounds Ln3Cu4P4O2ÿx (Ln = Pr, Sm) were prepared by annealing the elemental components in a NaCl/KCl flux. They crystallize with an ordered Zr3Cu4Si6-type structure (space group I4/mmm, Z = 2), which was refined from single-crystal X-ray data for both compounds; Pr3Cu4P4O2ÿx: a = 397.8(1), c = 2658.7(3) pm, R = 0.046 for 235 structure factors and 19 variable parameters; Sm3Cu4P4O2ÿx: a = ...