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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations of Chemical Binding and Reactions

The auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo method developed by the PIs has been shown to provide the most accurate description of strongly correlated electronic systems, from molecules to solids. Unlike other explicitly many‐body approaches, the quantum Monte Carlo method scales as a low order polynomial of systems size, similar to mean‐field methods such as density functional theory. However, the auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo algorithm is significantly more expensive than traditional density functional calculations. This creates a bottleneck for applications to extended systems, such as large molecules and solids. One principal objective of this proposal was to develop new auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo computational strategies to achieve improved scaling with system size, using downfolding and localization schemes, without sacrificing the predictive power of the calculations. A second goal is to extend the reach of auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo to calculate excited states. This final report summarizes what has been achieved during the course the project toward these goals.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Computational investigation of half-Heusler compounds for spintronics applications

We present first-principles density functional calculations of the electronic structure, magnetism, and structural stability of 378 XYZ half-Heusler compounds (with X= Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh; Y=Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni; Z= Al, Ga, In, Si, Ge, Sn, P, As, Sb). We find that a “Slater-Pauling gap” in the density of states (i.e., a gap or pseudogap after nine states in the three atom primitive cell) in at least one spin channel is a common feature in half-Heusler compounds. We find that the presence of such a gap at the Fermi energy in one or both spin channels contributes significantly to the stability of a half-Heusler compound. We calculate the formation energy of each compound and systematically investigate its stability against all other phases in the open quantum materials database (OQMD). Here, we represent the thermodynamic phase stability of each compound as its distance from the convex hull of stable phases in the respective chemical space and show that the hull distance of a compound is a good measure of the likelihood of its experimental synthesis. We find low formation energies and mostly correspondingly low hull distances for compounds with X= Co, Rh, or N, Y= Ti or V, and Z= P, As, Sb, or Si. We identify 26 18-electron semiconductors, 45 half-metals, and 34 near half-metals with negative formation energy that follow the Slater-Pauling rule of three electrons per atom. Our calculations predict several new, as-yet unknown, thermodynamically stable phases, which merit further experimental exploration—RuVAs, CoVGe, FeVAs in the half-Heusler structure, and NiScAs, RuVP, RhTiP in the orthorhombic MgSrSi-type structure. Further, two interesting zero-moment half-metals, CrMnAs and MnCrAs, are calculated to have negative formation energy. In addition, our calculations predict a number of hitherto unreported semiconducting (e.g., CoVSn and RhVGe), half-metallic (e.g., RhVSb), and near half-metallic (e.g., CoFeSb and CoVP) half-Heusler compounds to lie close to the respective convex hull of stable phases, and thus may be experimentally realized under suitable synthesis conditions, resulting in potential candidates for various semiconducting and spintronics applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Interference evidence for Rashba-type spin splitting on a semimetallic WT e 2 surface

Here, semimetallic tungsten ditelluride displays an extremely large nonsaturating magnetoresistance, which is thought to arise from the perfect n–p charge compensation with low carrier densities in WTe 2 . We find a strong Rashba spin-orbit effect in density functional calculations due to the noncentrosymmetric structure. This lifts twofold spin degeneracy of the bands. A prominent umklapp interference pattern is observed by our scanning tunneling microscopic measurements at 4.2 K, which differs distinctly from the surface atomic structure demonstrated at 77 K. The energy dependence of umklapp interference shows a strong correspondence with densities of states integrated from ARPES measurement, manifesting a fact that the bands are spin-split on the opposite sides of Γ. Spectroscopic survey reveals the electron/hole asymmetry changes alternately with lateral locations along the b axis, providing a microscopic picture for double-carrier transport of semimetallic WTe 2 . The conclusion is further supported by our ARPES results and Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) oscillations measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structural, Chemical, and Dynamical Frustration: Origins of Superionic Conductivity in closo -Borate Solid Electrolytes

Li 2 B 12 H 12 , Na 2 B 12 H 12 , and their closo-borate relatives exhibit unusually high ionic conductivity, making them attractive as a new class of candidate electrolytes in solid-state Li- and Na-ion batteries. However, further optimization of these materials requires a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying ultrafast ion conduction. To this end, we use ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and density-functional calculations to explore the motivations for cation diffusion. We find that superionic behavior in Li 2 B 12 H 12 and Na 2 B 12 H 12 results from a combination of key structural, chemical, and dynamical factors that introduce intrinsic frustration and disorder. A statistical metric is used to show that the structures exhibit a high density of accessible interstitial sites and site types, which correlates with the flatness of the energy landscape and the observed cation mobility. Furthermore, cations are found to dock to specific anion sites, leading to a competition between the geometric symmetry of the anion and the symmetry of the lattice itself, which can facilitate cation hopping. Finally, facile anion reorientations and other low-frequency thermal vibrations lead to fluctuations in the local potential that enhance cation mobility by creating a local driving force for hopping. In conclusion, we discuss the relevance of each factor for developing new ionic conductivity descriptors that can be used for discovery and optimization of closo-borate solid electrolytes, as well as superionic conductors more generally.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Interfacial Ga-As suboxide: Structural and electronic properties

The structural and electronic properties of Ga-As suboxide representative of the transition region at the GaAs/oxide interface are studied through density functional calculations. Two amorphous models generated by quenches from the melt are taken under consideration. The absence of As–O bonds indicates that the structure is a mixture of GaAs and Ga-oxide, in accordance with photoemission experiments. The band edges of the models are found to be closely aligned to those of GaAs. The simulation of charging and discharging processes leads to the identification of an As-related defect with an energy level at ∼0.7 eV above the GaAs valence band maximum, in good agreement with the experimental density of interface states.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Adhesion at WC/diamond interfaces - A theoretical study

We investigate the adhesion at the interface of face-centered tungsten-carbide (001) and diamond (001) from density-functional calculations. Four high-symmetry model interfaces, representing different lattice orientations for either side of the interface, are constructed to incorporate different degrees of strain arising due to lattice mismatch. The adhesion, estimated from the ideal work of separation, is found to be in the range of 4 - 7 J m{sup −2} and is comparable to that of metal-carbide interfaces. Maximum adhesion occurs when WC and diamond slabs have the same orientation, even though such a growth induces large epitaxial strain at the interface. From electronic structure calculations, we attribute the adhesion to covalent interaction between carbon p-orbitals as well as partial ionic interaction between the tungsten d- and carbon p-orbitals across the interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Negative infrared photocurrent response in layered WS{sub 2}/reduced graphene oxide hybrids

We report high performance IR photocurrent response of two-dimensional hybrid materials consisting of layered WS{sub 2} nanosheets and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Comparative photocurrent response studies of WS{sub 2} nanosheets, RGO, and WS{sub 2}/RGO hybrids were carried out by performing current-voltage (I-V) and time-dependent current measurements with a laser excitation source having a wavelength of 808 nm. The experimental investigations indicate that WS{sub 2}/RGO hybrids show negative photocurrent response, whereas WS{sub 2} and RGO show positive photocurrent response. The negative photocurrent response of the WS{sub 2}/RGO hybrids is explained using a band alignment diagram and attributed to a charge transfer mechanism between WS{sub 2} and RGO. This analysis is further corroborated by first-principles density functional calculations. The fabricated device based on WS{sub 2}/RGO hybrids shows a photosensitivity R{sub λ} of about 6 AW{sup −1} and a quantum efficiency η of ∼924%, which demonstrates high sensitivity of the hybrid material towards IR detection. WS{sub 2}/RGO hybrids are therefore promising candidates for potential applications in optoelectronic circuits and low cost, high performance, and reliable photodetectors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1990

Electronic structure Fermi liquid theory of high T(sub c) superconductors: Comparison with experiments

For years, there has been controversy on whether the normal state of the Cu-oxide superconductors is a Fermi liquid or some other exotic ground state. However, some experimentalists are clarifying the nature of the normal state of the high T(sub c) superconductors by surmounting the experimental difficulties in producing clean, well characterized surfaces so as to obtain meaningful high resolved photoemission data, which agrees with earlier positron-annihilation experiments. The experimental work on high resolution angle resolved photoemission by Campuzano et al. and positron-annihilation studies by Smedskjaer et al. has verified the calculated Fermi surfaces in YBa2Cu3O7 superconductors and has provided evidence for the validity of the energy band approach. Similar good agreement was found for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 by Olson et al. As a Fermi liquid (metallic) nature of the normal state of the high T(sub c) superconductors becomes evident, these experimental observations have served to confirm the predictions of the local density functional calculations and hence the energy band approach as a valid natural starting point for further studies of their superconductivity.

Freeman, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Energy and mechanical properties predictions in Fe-Ni binary system by ab initio calculations

Here, the fcc random solid solutions in Fe-Ni binary system were investigated using ab initio calculations. Density functional theory (DFT) was applied along with supercells generated by the Special Quasi-Random Structure (SQS) method to predict the enthalpy of mixing and magnetic and elastic properties. The results were compared with relevant experimental and computational data produced by other groups. The effect of SQS supercell size and relaxation procedure on the predicted properties of the alloys were also studied. Our calculations show that 16-atoms SQS model provides adequate approach to the mixing energy of the alloy. However, calculation of mechanical properties requires larger supercell. Excellent agreement between experimental and calculated elastic properties was found in fcc region of Fe-Ni system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

When a single hole aligns several spins: Double exchange in organic systems

The double exchange is a well-known and technically important phenomenon in solid state physics. Ionizing a system composed of two antiferromagnetically coupled high-spin units, the ground state of which is a singlet state, may actually produce a high-spin ground state. This work illustrates the possible occurrence of such a phenomenon in organic chemistry. The here-considered high-spin units are triangulenes, the ground state of which is a triplet. Bridging two of them through a benzene ring produces a molecular architecture of singlet ground state. A careful exploitation of a series of unrestricted density functional calculations enables one to avoid spin contamination in the treatment of the doublet states and shows that under ionization the system becomes of quartet multiplicity in its ground state. The possibility to align more than three spins from conjugated hydrocarbon polyradicals is explored, considering partially hydrogenated triangulenes. A dramatic example shows that ionization of a singlet ground state molecule may generate a decuplet.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Operando Elucidation on the Working State of Immobilized Fluorinated Iron Porphyrin for Selective Aqueous Electroreduction of CO 2 to CO

Iron porphyrin-based molecular catalysts can electrocatalyze CO 2 reduction to CO at nearly 100% selectivity in water. Nevertheless, the associated active sites and reaction mechanisms remain debatable, impeding the establishment of design guidelines for effective catalysts. This study reports coupling in operando experiments and theoretical calculations for immobilized 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin Fe(III) chloride (FeF 20 TPP) for electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction in an aqueous phase. In operando UV–vis and X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra indicated the persisting presence of Fe(II) species during the cathodic reaction, acting as catalytic sites that accommodate CO as Fe(II)–CO adducts. Consistently, the density functional calculations pointed out that the ligand-reduced state with oxidized Fe, namely, [Fe(II)F 20 (TPP • )] - , prevails in the catalytic cycle prior to the rate-controlling step. This work provides the conclusive representation related to the working states of Fe-based molecular catalysts under reaction conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Infrared-active phonon modes in single-crystal thorium dioxide and uranium dioxide

The infrared-active phonon modes, in single-crystal samples of thorium dioxide (ThO 2 ) and uranium dioxide (UO 2 ), were investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and compared with density functional theory. Both ThO 2 and UO 2 are found to have one infrared-active phonon mode pair [consisting of one transverse optic (TO) and one associated longitudinal optic (LO) mode], which is responsible for the dominant features in the ellipsometric data. Furthermore, at room temperature, our results for the mode pair’s resonant frequencies and broadening parameters are comparable with previous reflectance spectroscopy characterizations and density functional theory predictions. For ThO 2 , our ellipsometry and density function theory results both show that the LO mode broadening parameter is larger than the TO mode broadening. This signifies mode anharmonicity, which can be attributed to the intrinsic phonon–phonon interaction. In addition to the main mode pair, a broad low-amplitude impurity-like vibrational mode pair is detected within the reststrahlen band for both ThO 2 and UO 2 . Elevated temperature measurements were performed for ThO 2 in order to study the mechanisms by which the phonon parameters evolve with increased heat. The observed change in the TO resonant frequency is in excellent agreement with previous density functional calculations, which only consider volume expansion of the crystal lattice. This suggests that the temperature-dependent change in the TO frequency is primarily due to volume expansion. The change in the main mode pair’s broadening parameters is nearly linear within the temperature range of this study, which indicates the intrinsic anharmonic scattering (via cubic anharmonicities) as the main decay mechanism.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic interactions in praseodymium ruthenate Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} with fluorite-related structure

Solid solutions Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7} (0≤x≤1.0) and (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7} (0≤x≤0.7) were obtained as a single phase compound. They crystallize in an orthorhombic superstructure derived from that of the cubic fluorite with space group Cmcm. The results of the Rietveld analysis for X-ray diffraction profiles of Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7} showed that Ru and Ta atoms are randomly situated at the six-coordinate 4b site. For (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7}, with increasing the concentration of Y ions (x value), the smaller Y ions occupy selectively the seven-coordinate 8g site rather than the eight-coordinate 4a site. Through magnetic susceptibility measurements for Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7}, the antiferromagnetic transition temperatures decrease linearly with increasing x value, and at x=0.75 no magnetic ordering was found down to 1.8 K, indicating the magnetic interaction is not one-dimensional, but three-dimensional. On the other hand, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature for (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7} decreases with increasing x value, but above x≥0.50 it becomes constant (~12 K). This result indicates that Pr{sup 3+} ions at the seven-coordinate site greatly contribute to the antiferromagnetic interactions observed in (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7}. Density functional calculations of Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} demonstrate that the electronic structure gives insulating character and that oxygen 2p orbitals hybridize strongly with Ru 4d orbitals in the valence band (VB). Near the top of VB, the Pr 4 f orbitals at the seven-coordinated site also show a weak hybridization with the O(1) 2p orbitals. The Ru-O(1)-Pr superexchange pathway take part in three-dimensional magnetic interaction and play an important role in an enhancement of long-range magnetic ordering. - Graphical abstract: The spin densities and the spin polarization of Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} are shown. Significant spin polarization is seen on the magnetic Pr and Ru ions, but there is also some on the O(1), (3) ligands of Ru. - Highlights: • New fluorite-related quaternary praseodymium ruthenates were prepared. • Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} shows an antiferromagnetic transition at 55 K. • The Ru-O-Pr superexchange interactions are three-dimensional.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spin-orbit interaction tuning of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in L1{sub 0} FePdPt films

The dependence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy K{sub u} on spin-orbit coupling strength ξ is investigated in L1{sub 0} ordered FePd{sub 1−x}Pt{sub x} films by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements and ab initio density functional calculations. Continuous tuning of K{sub u} over a wide range of magnitude is realized by changing the Pt/Pd concentration ratio, which strongly modifies ξ but keeps other leading parameters affecting K{sub u} nearly unchanged. Ab initio calculations predict a nearly quadratic dependence of K{sub u} on ξ, consistent with experimental data. K{sub u} increases with increasing chemical order and decreasing thermal spin fluctuations, which becomes more significant for samples with higher Pt concentration. The results demonstrate an effective method to tune K{sub u} utilizing its sensitivity on ξ, which will help fabricate magnetic systems with desirable magnetic anisotropy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

New Bonding Model of Radical Adsorbate on Lattice Oxygen of Perovskites

In this paper, a new model of bonding between radical adsorbates and lattice oxygens is proposed that considers both the adsorbate–oxygen bonding and the weakening of the metal–oxygen bonds. Density functional calculations of SrMO 3 perovskites for M being 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals are used to correlate the bulk electronic structure with the surface-oxygen reactivity. Occupation of the metal–oxygen antibonding states, examined via the crystal orbital Hamilton population (COHP), is found to be a useful bulk descriptor that correlates with the vacancy formation energy of the lattice oxygen and its hydrogen adsorption energy. Analysis of density-of-states and COHP indicates that H adsorption energy is a combined result of formation of the O–H bond and the weakening of the surface metal–oxygen bond due to occupation of the metal–oxygen antibonding states by the electron from H. Lastly, this insight will be useful in understanding the trends in surface reactivity of perovskites and transition-metal oxides in general.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Strain-induced magnetism in MoS{sub 2} monolayer with defects

The strain-induced magnetism is observed in single-layer MoS{sub 2} with atomic single vacancies from density functional calculations. Calculated magnetic moment is no less than 2 μ{sub B} per vacancy defect. The strain-induced band gap closure is concurrent with the occurrence of the magnetism. Possible physical mechanism of the emergence of strain-induced magnetism is illustrated. We also demonstrate the possibility to test the predicted magnetism in experiment. Our study may provide an opportunity for the design of new type of memory-switching or logic devices by using earth-rich nonmagnetic materials MoS{sub 2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetism in intercalated graphene

Using density functional calculations we explore the possibilities of inducing spin moments in otherwise non-magnetic electronic structure of graphene. Through intercalation of H, N, O and F atoms between two hexagonal stacked graphene layers, we show that unpaired electrons can be generated when the planar coordinates of the functional atoms coincide with the center of the graphene hexagon. The spin-half states are realized at the functional sites for certain values of interlayer separations. For oxygen and fluorine these interlayer separations represent the natural stable phases and for hydrogen and nitrogen they induce instability which can be overcome by applying external pressure. We attribute the formation of spin-half states to the one dimensional confinement potential exerted by the graphene layers on the valence electrons of the functional elements.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Stabilities and defect-mediated lithium-ion conduction in a ground state cubic Li 3 N structure

A stable ground state structure with cubic symmetry of Li 3 N (c-Li 3 N) is found by ab initio initially symmetric random-generated crystal structure search method. Gibbs free energy, calculated within quasi-harmonic approximation, shows that c-Li 3 N is the ground state structure for a wide range of temperature. The c-Li 3 N structure has a negative thermal expansion coefficient at temperatures lower than room temperature, due mainly to two transverse acoustic phonon modes. This c-Li 3 N phase is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 1.90 eV within hybrid density functional calculation. We also investigate the migration and energetics of native point defects in c-Li 3 N, including lithium and nitrogen vacancies, interstitials, and anti-site defects. Lithium interstitials are found to have a very low migration barrier (~0.12 eV) and the lowest formation energy among all possible defects. Thus, the ionic conduction in c-Li 3 N is expected to occur via an interstitial mechanism, in contrast to that in the well-known α-Li 3 N phase which occurs via a vacancy mechanism.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗