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At least 613 records · Page 34

Confinement effects on the solvation structure of solvated alkaline metal cations in a single-digit 1T-MoS 2 nanochannel: A first-principles study

Confinement plays an important role in determining ion transport in porous materials, which, in turn, may influence the performance of many energy storage and desalination devices. In this work, we combined density functional theory (DFT) with an implicit solvation model and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) to investigate the effects of nanoconfinement on several solvated alkaline metal cations in a single-digit 1T-MoS 2 nanochannel. Our DFT calculations with a solvation model indicated that cations with stronger hydration energy introduce a higher number of co-intercalated water molecules into the channel, consistent with early experimental observation obtained for MXene (2D transition metal carbide) channels. The predicted optimal water numbers for the cations were then used for AIMD simulations that explicitly include the effects of the solvent. When compared with the cations in bulk solution, our simulations showed that the hydration structure and coordination number (CN) of the solvated cations confined in the MoS 2 channel can be significantly altered. Further, we found that larger cations with weaker hydration energy (K + , Rb + , and Cs + ) exhibited a distinctive CN decrease under confinement, while smaller cations (Li + and Na + ) retained a similar hydration shell as in the bulk solution. More specifically, the hydration shell of large cations (K + , Rb + , and Cs + ) in MoS 2 showed similar features of the coordination angle to the bulk, which suggests the partially broken hydration shell with no geometry change under confinement. Our simulations provided insights into the change of the hydration structure of alkaline metal cations under confinement, which may have important implications on their transport in the 1T-MoS 2 channel.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Superlattice-Structured Films by Magnetron Sputtering as New Era Electrodes for Advanced Lithium-ion Batteries

Sustaining sound structures in Si-based anodes is extremely challenging because of the high volumetric expansion that occurs upon cycling. To maintain high capacities over cycles, new designs rely on engineering-specific hierarchical geometries and/or optimized composite compositions such that at least one of the multiple elements serves as buffer and/or electron conductive pathways in the electrodes. In this paper, we report an innovative design in which alternating layers of periodic atomic structures involving multiple elements form a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In this work, a superlattice-structured amorphous film made using Si, Mo, and Cu is fabricated by a simple and scalable magnetron sputtering process for the first time. This continuous and repetitive superlattice formation along the film thickness provides a homogeneous stress-strain distribution. The Mo-Cu layer in the superlattice acts as an inactive-conductive layer and as a backbone to handle the volume expansion of active Si upon cycling. This nano-functional superlattice approach enables harnessing the high energy density of Si while maintaining its structural stability. As a result, the electrode exhibits high specific capacity and capacity retention even at high cycling rates. The possible use of the film in a full cell is also evaluated by cycling it vs. the LiMn 1.5 Ni 0.5 O 4 cathode. The full cell maintains a stable capacity of about 900 mAh g anode -1 over 150 cycles, at ~600 mA g -1 rate. The remarkable performance of this nano-functional superlattice film is found to be promising as anodes for applications that require high energy, long calendar life, and excellent abuse tolerance such as electric vehicle batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

CeTi 2 O 6 —A Promising Oxide for Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production

A large entropy of reduction is crucial in achieving materials capable of high-efficiency solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) production through two-step thermochemical water splitting cycles. We have recently demonstrated that the onsite electronic entropy of reduction attains an extreme value of 4.26 kB at 1500 K in Ce 4+ → Ce 3+ redox reactions, which explains the high performance and uniqueness of CeO 2 as an archetypal STCH material. However, ceria requires high temperatures (T > 1500 °C) to achieve a reasonable reduction extent because of its large reduction enthalpy, which is a major obstacle in practical applications. Therefore, new materials with a large entropy of reduction and lower reduction enthalpy are required. Here, we perform a systematic screening to search for Ce 4+ -based oxides which possess thermodynamics superior to CeO 2 for STCH production. We first search the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and literature for Ce 4+ -based oxides and subsequently use density functional theory to compute their reduction enthalpies (i.e., oxygen vacancy formation energies). Here, we find that CeTi 2 O 6 with the brannerite structure is the most promising candidate for STCH because it possesses three essential characteristics of an STCH material: (i) a smaller reduction enthalpy compared to ceria yet large enough to split water, (ii) a high thermal stability, as reported experimentally, and (iii) a large entropy of reduction associated with Ce 4+ → Ce 3+ redox. Our proposed design strategy suggests that further exploration of Ce 4+ oxides for STCH production is warranted.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Heat transport in liquid water from first-principles and deep neural network simulations

In this work, we compute the thermal conductivity of water within linear response theory from equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, by adopting two different approaches. In one, the potential energy surface (PES) is derived on the fly from the electronic ground state of density functional theory (DFT) and the corresponding analytical expression is used for the energy flux. In the other, the PES is represented by a deep neural network (DNN) trained on DFT data, whereby the PES has an explicit local decomposition and the energy flux takes a particularly simple expression. By virtue of a gauge invariance principle, established by Marcolongo, Umari, and Baroni, the two approaches should be equivalent if the PES were reproduced accurately by the DNN model. We test this hypothesis by calculating the thermal conductivity, at the GGA (PBE) level of theory, using the direct formulation and its DNN proxy, finding that both approaches yield the same conductivity, in excess of the experimental value by approximately 60%. Besides being numerically much more efficient than its direct DFT counterpart, the DNN scheme has the advantage of being easily applicable to more sophisticated DFT approximations, such as meta-GGA and hybrid functionals, for which it would be hard to derive analytically the expression of the energy flux. We find in this way that a DNN model, trained on meta-GGA (SCAN) data, reduces the deviation from experiment of the predicted thermal conductivity by about 50%, leaving the question open as to whether the residual error is due to deficiencies of the functional, to a neglect of nuclear quantum effects in the atomic dynamics, or, likely, to a combination of the two.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reexamining the relation between the binding energy of finite nuclei and the equation of state of infinite nuclear matter

The energy density is calculated in coordinate space for 12 C, 40 Ca, 48 Ca, and 208 Pb using a dispersive optical model constrained by all relevant data including the corresponding energy of the ground state. The energy density of 8 Be is also calculated using the Green’s function Monte-Carlo method employing the Argonne/Urbana two and three-body interactions. The nuclear interior minimally contributes to the total binding energy due to the 4πr 2 phase space factor. Thus, the volume contribution to the energy in the interior is not well constrained. The dispersive-optical-model energy densities are in good agreement with ab initio self-consistent Green’s function calculations of infinite nuclear matter restricted to treat only short-range and tensor correlations. These results call into question the degree to which the equation of state for nuclear matter is constrained by the empirical mass formula. In particular, the results in this work indicate that saturated nuclear matter does not require the canonical value of 16 MeV binding per particle but only about 13-14 MeV when the interior of 208 Pb is considered.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Photoelectrochemically Self Improving Si/GaN Photocathode: Figure 4a Raw Data

Calculated formation energy of (0001 ̅) c-plane GaN surfaces. The density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed with the generalized gradient approximation, using the plane-wave pseudopotential quantum-ESPRESSO package. Ultrasoft pseudopotentials were used to describe the interaction between valence electrons and ionic cores, where Ga 3d electrons were explicitly treated as valence electrons. The wave functions and electronic density were expanded in a plane-wave basis set truncated at a cutoff energy of 30 Ry and 240 Ry, respectively. The surface was modeled using a repeated slab geometry using a (2×2) unit cell with a thickness of seven GaN bilayers, where the Ga-terminated bottom side was passivated by pseudo-hydrogen with charge of 1.25e. In addition, the (1010) surface was modeled using 8 GaN atomic layers with a lateral dimension of 9.57 Å x 10.38 Å. A vacuum width of at least 15.0 Å was introduced between consecutive slabs, and a k-point mesh of 5x5x1 and 2x2x1 was used to sample the surface Brillouin zone for the polar and non-polar surfaces, respectively. Calculated formation energy of (0001 ̅) c-plane GaN surfaces with different oxygen configuration within the anion and cation-rich limits: ideal GaN surfaces of c-plane and m-plane; configurations with 100% replacement of nitrogen by oxygen on the surface c-plane and m-plane; 100% replacement of nitrogen by oxygen in the subsurface bilayer c-plane and m-plane; and configurations with 50% replacement of nitrogen of the surface and subsurface bilayers by oxygens c-plane and m-plane. In both cases, the ideal surface is chosen as the reference.

photocathode↗

Photoelectrochemically Self Improving Si/GaN Photocathode: Figure 4b Raw Data

Calculated formation energy of (1010 ̅) m-plane GaN surfaces. The density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed with the generalized gradient approximation, using the plane-wave pseudopotential quantum-ESPRESSO package. Ultrasoft pseudopotentials were used to describe the interaction between valence electrons and ionic cores, where Ga 3d electrons were explicitly treated as valence electrons. The wave functions and electronic density were expanded in a plane-wave basis set truncated at a cutoff energy of 30 Ry and 240 Ry, respectively. The surface was modeled using a repeated slab geometry using a (2×2) unit cell with a thickness of seven GaN bilayers, where the Ga-terminated bottom side was passivated by pseudo-hydrogen with charge of 1.25e. In addition, the (1010) surface was modeled using 8 GaN atomic layers with a lateral dimension of 9.57 Å x 10.38 Å. A vacuum width of at least 15.0 Å was introduced between consecutive slabs, and a k-point mesh of 5x5x1 and 2x2x1 was used to sample the surface Brillouin zone for the polar and non-polar surfaces, respectively. Calculated formation energy of (1010 ̅) m-plane GaN surfaces with different oxygen configuration within the anion and cation-rich limits: ideal GaN surfaces of c-plane and m-plane; configurations with 100% replacement of nitrogen by oxygen on the surface c-plane and m-plane; 100% replacement of nitrogen by oxygen in the subsurface bilayer c-plane and m-plane; and configurations with 50% replacement of nitrogen of the surface and subsurface bilayers by oxygens c-plane and m-plane. In both cases, the ideal surface is chosen as the reference.

photocathode↗

Iterative redox activation promotes interfacial synergy in an Ag/Cu x O catalyst for oxygen reduction

In this study, an iterative electrochemical activation process is demonstrated to maximize the interface between Ag and Cu x O. Morphological reconstruction and phase transformation of Cu x O occurs through the iterative electrochemical redox reaction, as indicated by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The activated Ag/Cu x O/C catalysts exhibits enhanced oxygen reduction reaction performance, with an onset potential of 0.86 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode, a Tafel slope of 46mV dec -1 , and a high stability as compared to Ag/C. A mechanistic study using density functional theory shows that the weakened binding energy of the OH intermediate, originating from the charge transfer from Ag to Cu x O, improves the ORR activity at the interface sites of the Ag/Cu x O electrocatalysts. Ag/Cu x O shows a higher limiting potential of 0.14V for interface sites than isolated Ag nanoparticles. The interfacial charge transfer between Ag and CuO is verified experimentally.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Extending Orbital-Optimized Density Functional Theory to L-Edge XPS and Beyond: Spin–Orbit Coupling via Nonorthogonal Quasi-Degenerate Perturbation Theory

Quantum mechanical calculations of core electron binding energies (CEBEs) are relevant to interpreting X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Orbital-optimized density functional theory (OO-DFT) accurately predicts K-edge CEBEs but is challenged by the presence of significant spin–orbit coupling (SOC) at L- and higher edges involving inner-shell orbitals with nonzero angular momentum. Here, to extend OO-DFT to L-edges and higher, our method utilizes scalar-relativistic, spin-restricted open-shell OO-DFT to construct a minimal, quasi-degenerate basis of core-hole states corresponding to a chosen inner-shell (e.g., ionizing all six possible 2p spin orbitals). Nonorthogonal configuration interaction (NOCI) is then used to obtain the matrix elements of the full Hamiltonian including SOC in this quasi-degenerate model space of determinants. Using a screened 1-electron SOC operator parametrized with the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit (DCB) Hamiltonian results in doublet splitting (DS) values for third row elements that are nearly in quantitative agreement with experiment. The resulting NOCI eigenvalues are shifted by the average of the (scalar) OO-DFT CEBEs to yield CEBEs (split by SOC) corrected for dynamic correlation. Comparing calculations on gas phase molecules with experimental results establishes that NO-QDPT with the SCAN functional (NO-QDPT/SCAN), using the DCB screened 1-electron SOC operator is accurate to about 0.2 eV for L-edge CEBEs of molecules containing third row atoms. However, this NO-QDPT approach becomes less accurate for fourth-row elements starting in the middle of the 3d transition metal series, with errors increasing as atomic number increases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Simulation of multi-shell fullerenes using Machine-Learning Gaussian Approximation Potential

Multi-shell fullerenes ”buckyonions ” were simulated, starting from initially random configurations, using a density-functional-theory (DFT)-trained machine-learning carbon potential within the Gaussian Approximation Potential (GAP) Framework [Volker L. Deringer and Gábor Csányi, Phys. Rev. B 95, 094203 (2017)]. Fullerenes formed from seven different system sizes, ranging from 60 ~ 3774 atoms, were considered. The buckyonions are formed by clustering and layering starting from the outermost shell and proceeding inward. Inter-shell cohesion is partly due to interaction between delocalized π electrons protruding into the gallery. The energies of the models were validated ex post facto using density functional codes, VASP and SIESTA , revealing an energy difference within the range of 0.02 - 0.08 eV/atom after conjugate gradient energy convergence of the models was achieved with both methods.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Construction of meta-GGA functionals through restoration of exact constraint adherence to regularized SCAN functionals

The strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-GGA exchange–correlation functional is constructed as a chemical environment-determined interpolation between two separate energy densities: one describes single-orbital electron densities accurately and another describes slowly varying densities accurately. To conserve constraints known for the exact exchange–correlation functional, the derivatives of this interpolation vanish in the slowly varying limit. While theoretically convenient, this choice introduces numerical challenges that degrade the functional’s efficiency. We have recently reported a modification to the SCAN meta-GGA, termed restored-regularized-SCAN (r 2 SCAN) , that introduces two regularizations into SCAN, which improve its numerical performance at the expense of not recovering the fourth order term of the slowly varying density gradient expansion for exchange. Here, we show the derivation of a progression of density functional approximations [regularized SCAN (rSCAN), r++SCAN, r 2 SCAN, and r 4 SCAN] with increasing adherence to exact conditions while maintaining a smooth interpolation. The greater smoothness of r 2 SCAN seems to lead to better general accuracy than the additional exact constraint of SCAN or r 4 SCAN does.

, correlation energy↗

The role of ligands in atomically precise nanocluster-catalyzed CO2 electrochemical reduction

Ligand effects are of major interest in catalytic reactions owing to their potential critical role in determining the reaction activity and selectivity. Herein, we report ligand effects in the CO 2 electrochemical reduction reaction at the atomic level with three unique Au 25 nanoclusters comprising the same kernel but different protecting ligands (–XR, where X = S or Se, and R represents the carbon tail). It is observed that a change in the carbon tail shows no obvious impact on the catalytic selectivity and activity, but the anchoring atom (X = S or Se) strongly affects the electrocatalytic selectivity. Specifically, the S site acts as the active site and sustains CO selectivity, while the Se site shows a higher tendency of hydrogen evolution. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the energy penalty associated with the *COOH formation is lower on the S site by 0.26 eV compared to that on the Se site. Additionally, the formation energy of the product (*CO) is lower on the sulfur-based Au nanocluster by 0.43 eV. Furthermore, we attribute these energetic differences to the higher electron density on the sulfur sites of the Au nanocluster, resulting in a modified bonding character of the reaction intermediates that reduce the energetic penalty for the *COOH and *CO formation. Overall, this work demonstrates that S/Se atoms at the metal–ligand interface can play an important role in determining the overall electrocatalytic performance of Au nanoclusters.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Interplay between Facets and Defects during the Dissociative and Molecular Adsorption of Water on Metal Oxide Surfaces

Both surface terminations and defects play a central role in determining how water interacts with metal oxides, thereby setting important properties of the interface that govern reactivity such as the type and distribution of hydroxyl groups. However, the interconnections between facets and defects remain poorly understood, limiting the usefulness of conventional notions such as that hydroxylation is controlled by metal cation exposure at the surface. Here, using hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) as a model system, we show how oxygen vacancies overwhelm surface cation-dependent hydroxylation behavior. Synchrotron-based ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to monitor the adsorption of molecular water and its dissociation to form hydroxyl groups in situ on (001), (012), or (104) facet-engineered hematite nanoparticles. Supported by density functional theory calculations of the respective surface energies and oxygen vacancy formation energies, the findings show how oxygen vacancies are more prone to form on higher energy facets and induce surface hydroxylation at extremely low relative humidity values of 5 x10 - 5 %. Further, when these vacancies are eliminated, the extent of surface hydroxylation across the facets is as expected from the areal density of exposed iron cations at the surface. These findings help answer fundamental questions about the nature of reducible metal oxide-water interfaces in natural and technological settings and lay the groundwork for rational design of improved oxide-based catalysts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Role of ripples in altering the electronic and chemical properties of graphene

Ripples of graphene are known to manipulate electronic and hydrogenation properties of graphitic materials. More detailed work is needed to elucidate the structure–property relationship of these systems. In this work, the density functional theory is used to compute the energy and electronic structure of the graphene models with respect to variable curvatures and hydrogen adsorption sites. The magnitude of finite bandgap opening depends on the orientation of ripples, and the hydrogen adsorption energy depends on the local curvature of graphene. An adsorbed hydrogen alters the local curvature, resulting in relatively weakened adsorption on the neighboring three sites, which gives a rationale to experimentally observed dynamic equilibrium stoichiometry (H:C = 1:4) of hydrogenated graphene. The surface diffusion transition state energy of adsorbed hydrogen is computed, which indicates that the Eley–Rideal surface recombination mechanism may be important to establish the dynamic equilibrium, instead of the commonly assumed Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Modulating the Electron Affinity of Small Bipyridyl Molecules on Single Gold Nanoparticles for Plasmon-Driven Electron Transfer

Developing controlled platforms for plasmon-driven chemistry is of great importance in catalytic reactions at the nanoscale. We report anion radical formation for five bipyridyl complexes of varying degrees of electron affinity utilizing optically fo-cused intraband (594 nm) and interband (532 nm) pump excitation of single gold nanoparticles. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of anion radicals for the five non-resonant adsorbed molecules 2,2’-bipyridine (22BPY), 4,4’-bipyridine (44BPY), trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (BPE), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)acetylene (BPA), and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (BPEt) were detected using localized surface-plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation with 785 nm. The electron affinity of the five bipyridyl complexes were determined using electrochemistry. Molecules with low electron affinity experienced high-er instances of radical anion formation under a plasmon-coupled intraband electron transfer excitation (594 nm) whereas molecules with high electron affinity showed a preference for anion radical formation under direct interband electron trans-fer excitation (532 nm). The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels for low electron affinity surface-bound molecules (22BPY, BPEt) are on average ~0.43 eV higher for high electron affinity surface-bound molecules (BPA, BPE, 44BPY) as calculated using time-dependent density functional theory, elucidating the importance of plasmon coupling to energy levels that facilitate charge transfer pathways. We also show the ability to ‘activate’ high vs low electron affinity single nanoparticles with the choice of pump excitation wavelength. The findings show the complex interplay between molecular electron affinity, orbital overlap with the density of states of the plasmonic metal, and excitation energetics of the pump laser wavelength. Potential applications of this work include enhanced control over molecular scale catalysis, biosensor design, and solar energy capture.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Fifth-degree elastic energy for predictive continuum stress–strain relations and elastic instabilities under large strain and complex loading in silicon

Materials under complex loading develop large strains and often phase transformation via an elastic instability, as observed in both simple and complex systems. Here, we represent a material (exemplified for Si I) under large Lagrangian strains within a continuum description by a 5th-order elastic energy found by minimizing error relative to density functional theory (DFT) results. The Cauchy stress—Lagrangian strain curves for arbitrary complex loadings are in excellent correspondence with DFT results, including the elastic instability driving the Si I → II phase transformation (PT) and the shear instabilities. PT conditions for Si I → II under action of cubic axial stresses are linear in Cauchy stresses in agreement with DFT predictions. Such continuum elastic energy permits study of elastic instabilities and orientational dependence leading to different PTs, slip, twinning, or fracture, providing a fundamental basis for continuum physics simulations of crystal behavior under extreme loading.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fifth-degree elastic energy for predictive continuum stress-strain relations and elastic instabilities under large strain and complex loading in silicon

Materials under complex loading develop large strains and often phase transformation via an elastic instability, as observed in both simple and complex systems. Here, we represent a material (exemplified for Si I) under large Lagrangian strains within a continuum description by a 5th-order elastic energy found by minimizing error relative to density functional theory (DFT) results. The Cauchy stress—Lagrangian strain curves for arbitrary complex loadings are in excellent correspondence with DFT results, including the elastic instability driving the Si I → II phase transformation (PT) and the shear instabilities. PT conditions for Si I → II under action of cubic axial stresses are linear in Cauchy stresses in agreement with DFT predictions. Such continuum elastic energy permits study of elastic instabilities and orientational dependence leading to different PTs, slip, twinning, or fracture, providing a fundamental basis for continuum physics simulations of crystal behavior under extreme loading.

Levitas, Valery↗

First-Principles-Based Machine Learning Models for Phase Behavior and Transport Properties of CO 2

In this work, we construct distinct first-principles-based machine-learning models of CO 2 , reproducing the potential energy surface of the PBE-D3, BLYP-D3, SCAN and SCAN-rvv10 approximations of density functional theory. Here we employ the Deep Potential methodology to develop the models and consequently achieve a significant computational efficiency over ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) that allows for larger system sizes and time scales to be explored. Although our models are trained only with liquid phase configurations, they are able to simulate a stable interfacial system and predict vapor-liquid equilibrium properties, in good agreement with results from the literature. Because of the computational efficiency of the models, we are also able to obtain transport properties, such as viscosity and diffusion coefficients. We find that the SCAN-based model presents a temperature shift in the position of the critical point, while the SCAN-rvv10-based model shows improvement but still exhibits a temperature shift that remains approximately constant for all properties investigated in this work. We find that the BLYP-D3-based model generally performs better for liquid phase and vapor-liquid equilibrium properties, but the PBE-D3-based model is better suited for predicting transport properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗