ISSN:
1432-2021
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract A simulated annealing technique was used to search for global and local minimum energy structures of a potential energy model for silica. The model is based on ab initio SCF MO calculations on the disilicic acid molecule, H6Si2O7. Starting with 4 SiO2 units, with the atoms randomly distributed in the unit cell, 23 distinct silica tetrahedral framework structures were found, with a variety of space group symmetries and cell dimensions. Despite the assumption of P 1 space group symmetry for the starting structure, only 7 of the local minimum energy structures were found to possess triclinic symmetry with the remainder exhibiting symmetries ranging from P c to $$I\bar 42d$$ to within 0.001 Å. Although the interaction potential for the disilicic acid molecule has a single minimum energy SiO bond length and SiOSi angle, the local minimum energy structures exhibit angles that range between 105° and 180° and bond lengths that range between 1.55 and 1.68 Å. The correlation observed for coesite and the other silica polymorphs between SiO bond length and fs(O) is reproduced. The generated structures show a wide variety of coordination sequences, ring sizes and framework densities, the later ranging from 19.8 to 35.5 Si/1000 Å3. The energies of these structures correlate with their framework densities, particularly for higher energy structures.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00202091
