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DOE OSTI2019

Modeling C–H Bond Activation and Oxidations of Alkanes over Cu–MOR Using First-Principles Methods

Direct conversion of methane to methanol can significantly boost the economic value of shale gas utilization. However, the stable C–H bond makes methane partial oxidation a challenging catalysis task. At low temperatures, C–H bond activation is kinetically sluggish. On the other hand, methane is likely oxidized fully into CO2 at high temperatures, which will lower methanol selectivity. Several Cu–oxo complexes such as mono(μ-oxo)dicopper, bis(μ-oxo)dicopper, and copper trioxo anchored in the mordenite (MOR) zeolite framework are shown to balance catalytic activity and product selectivity for the methane-to-methanol conversion. In this work, the thermodynamic stability of Cu–oxo complexes was evaluated as active centers for C–H bond activation using the BEEF-vdW functional within the density functional theory (DFT) framework, and the bis(μ-oxo)dicopper moiety was identified as the most stable configuration. The catalytic reactivity of these complexes was then tested with the activation of the first C–H bond of light hydrocarbons (i.e., methane, ethane, and propane), as well as subsequent oxidation steps to corresponding alcohols. Site II of the Cu–trioxo cluster with highest spin density remains as the most potent active site by enabling the lowest energy barrier for initial methane activation when electronic spin crossing was considered. Energy barriers for the first C–H activation step follow a decreasing order of methane, ethane, and propane.

Xu, Jiayi↗

DOE OSTI2017

First-Principles Fe L 2,3 -Edge and O K-Edge XANES and XMCD Spectra for Iron Oxides

X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopies are tools in widespread use for providing detailed local atomic structure, oxidation state, and magnetic structure information for materials and organometallic complexes. The analysis of these spectra for transition-metal L-edges is routinely performed on the basis of ligand-field multiplet theory because one- and two-particle mean-field ab initio methods typically cannot describe the multiplet structure. Here we show that multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations can satisfactorily reproduce measured XANES spectra for a range of complex iron oxide materials including hematite and magnetite. MRCI Fe L2,3-edge XANES and XMCD spectra of Fe(II)O6, Fe(III)O6, and Fe(III)O4 in magnetite are found to be in very good qualitative agreement with experiment and multiplet calculations. Point-charge embedding and small distortions of the first-shell oxygen ligands have only small effects. Oxygen K-edge XANES/XMCD spectra for magnetite investigated by a real-space Green’s function approach complete the very good qualitative agreement with experiment. Material-specific differences in local coordination and site symmetry are well reproduced, making the approach useful for assigning spectral features to specific oxidation states and coordination environments.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2015

First-principles energy band calculation of Ruddlesden–Popper compound Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} using modified Becke–Johnson exchange potential

The electronic structure of Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} is evaluated by the scalar-relativistic full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW+lo) method using the modified Becke–Johnson potential (Tran–Blaha potential) combined with the local density approximation correlation (MBJ–LDA). The fundamental gap between the valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB) is estimated to be 3.96 eV, which is close to the experimental value. Sn 5s states and Sr 4d states are predominant in the lower and upper CB, respectively. On the other hand, the lower VB is mainly composed of Sn 5s, 5p, and O 2p states, while the upper VB mainly consists of O 2p states. These features of the DOS are well reflected by the optical transition between the upper VB and lower CB, as seen in the energy dependence of the dielectric function. Furthermore, the absorption coefficient estimated from the MBJ–LDA is similar to the experimental result. - Graphical abstract: Calculated energy band structure along the symmetry lines of the first BZ of Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} crystal obtained using the MBJ potential. - Highlights: • Electronic structure of Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} is calculated on the basis of MBJ–LDA method for the first time. • Band gap of Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} is determined accurately on the basis of MBJ–LDA method. • The experimental absorption spectrum of Sr{sub 3}Sn{sub 2}O{sub 7} produced by MBJ–LDA is more accurate than that obtained by GGA method.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Equilibrium solute segregation to matrix- θ' precipitate interfaces in Al-Cu alloys from first principles

Particular combinations of solute atoms segregated to the interface of the Al and θ ' - Al 2 Cu in Al-Cu alloys can help stabilize θ ' precipitates at high temperatures. Stabilization of such precipitates is determined by a combination of thermodynamics (including driving forces for coarsening and transformation and solute segregation tendencies) and kinetic effects (including solute diffusion and interfacial mobility in the presence of interfacial solute segregation). For some alloys such as recent Al-Cu-based alloys, multiple solutes segregate in significant quantities to interfaces, and solute-solute interactions at the interface are important, with multiple types of solutes competing for similar interfacial sites. To treat this situation, we develop and apply a statistical mechanics approach to calculate the temperature-dependent equilibrium solute atoms distribution near the coherent and semicoherent interfaces between the Al matrix and the θ ' - Al 2 Cu precipitates. The developed approach is applied to the investigation of Si, Mn, and Zr segregation at the interface, as particular combinations of these elements affect the thermal stability of the θ ' precipitates. We demonstrate that because Si and Mn atoms segregate on the same semicoherent interface, the presence of Si reduces the concentration of Mn solutes at the interface. Si atoms preferably occupy the first layer of the interface and compete with Mn atoms for one type of particular sites in the layer. Mn atoms preferably occupy the second layer of the semicoherent interface, and the Mn-Mn interaction plays an important role in their distribution. Zr atoms mostly segregate on one of the two nonequivalent sites of the second layer of the coherent interface. Due to symmetry properties of the coherent interface, the calculations show that the segregation Zr of atoms to this interface will likely lead to the formation of L 1 2 ordered Al 3 Zr layer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2024

First-principles investigation of the thermophysical properties of NaCl, PuCl 3 , and NaCl-PuCl 3 Molten salts

Molten salts have a variety of applications that span the nuclear and solar industries, and which involve thermal storage and heat transfer. There is a present knowledge gap in the thermophysical properties of molten salts, which limits the readiness level of molten salt applications. This is especially pertinent for molten salt reactors where the fissile material is dissolved within the molten salt. Ab initio molecular dynamics is a common method employed to investigate the structural and thermophysical properties at elevated temperatures. NaCl-PuCl 3 is a candidate fuel salt in molten salt reactors. The scope of this study is to investigate the seven unique compositions and a range of temperatures of NaCl-PuCl 3 and calculate the density, heat capacity, compressibility, enthalpy of mixing, and coefficient of thermal expansion. Within this work, the van der Waals (vdW) interactions are primarily handled with the vdW-DF2 functional but spot-checked with both the dDsC and DFT-D3 methods. The calculated densities are in good agreement with the NaCl and the eutectic compositions, and no experimental values exist for PuCl 3 at these temperatures. The densities are fit to a first-order Redlich-Kister expansion as a function of both composition and temperature. The heat capacity in the literature is scattered but the calculated values agree well with one of the experimental results. Here, the heat capacity increases as a linear function with respect to concentration at a rate of about 7.5 J/mol-K per 10 mol% PuCl 3 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

First-principles investigation of lanthanides diffusion in HCP zirconium via vacancy-mediated transport

The diffusion of lanthanide fission products plays an important role in the growth of the fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) region in metallic fuels. The use of a Zr interdiffusion barrier may mitigate the transport of lanthanides from the fuel to the cladding, but the efficacy of such a liner is not yet known. In this paper, the stability and vacancy-mediated diffusion of La, Ce, Pr, and Nd in hexagonal close-packed (HCP) Zr is investigated via density functional theory (DFT) calculations and self-consistent mean field (SCMF) analysis. DFT is used to calculate the formation, binding, and migration energies of vacancies and vacancy-solute pairs. The DFT energetics are used in the KineCluE code to calculate the Onsager transport coefficients. La is found to be the fastest diffusing species in HCP Zr and experiences an almost isotropic diffusion behavior. The other three species (Ce, Pr, and Nd) demonstrate anisotropic diffusion where the diffusion in the basal planes is significantly faster than that along the c-axis. Further, the calculated lanthanide diffusivities in HCP Zr are fitted to an Arrhenius relation and the activation energies and prefactors are reported for the first time. Furthermore, the vacancy drag and the segregation tendencies were analyzed using the calculated off-diagonal transport coefficients. According to our vacancy-mediated diffusion model, lanthanides are expected to be enriched at vacancy sinks at low temperatures, while at high temperatures, lanthanides are depleted at sinks and will preferably diffuse into the bulk. The enrichment/depletion transition temperature depends on the diffusion direction (basal or axial) and hence will be controlled by the grain texture and orientation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2018

First-Principles Investigation of Ferromagnetic, Thermodynamic, Elastic, and Half-Metallic Behavior of ReCrTe and RuCrTe Half-Heusler Alloys

Calculations are realized within the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) computational approach with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation potential. In this work, we present investigation of structural, electronic, ferromagnetic, elastic, and thermodynamic properties and half-metallic behavior of ReCrTe and RuCrTe compounds. Analysis of band structures and densities of states show the half-metallic ferromagnetic behavior of these compounds. The values of total magnetic moments µ{sub tot} are 1 µ{sub B} per unit cell for ReCrTe and 3 µ{sub B} per unit cell for RuCrTe. The contribution of Cr is the most important. The calculated values of a total magnetic moment nicely follow the rule µ{sub tot} = Z{sub t}− 18. The study of the impacts of strains on the magnetic moment reveals that the two compounds are stable ferromagnetic compounds. RuCrTe compound preserves the half-metallic behavior when the unit cell volume is changed in the range of [ − 4%, 4%], whereas, weak strain destroys the half metallic nature for ReCrTe compound. Using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the effects of pressure P and temperature T on thermal expansion coefficient, Debye temperature, heat capacity and Grüneisen parameter for these two compounds are investigated for the first time. The study of the elastic constants shows that ReCrTe and RuCrTe are mechanically stable. RuCrTe is stiffer than ReCrTe compounds. The obtained values of Pugh’s ratio B/G and Cauchy pressure (C{sub 12} − C{sub 44}) reveal that ReCrTe and RuCrTe are brittle. The study of the electron charge density and Poisson’s ratio proves that the ionic character dominates the atomic bonding for the two compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2026

First-Principles Evaluation of Proton Hopping in Tetrahedral Oxide Motifs

Proton-conducting oxides (PCOs) are important materials used as ionic conductors for energy conversion technologies. Existing research efforts on PCO optimization and discovery generally focus on complex perovskite-based oxides that require doping and alloying to engineer oxygen deficiency and high proton conductivity. However, the variety of chemical compositions and coordination environments in oxides poses challenges for efficient materials design. In this computational study, we construct a database of simplified motifs to elucidate the relationship between fundamental materials chemistry and proton kinetics. Specifically, we focus on the zincblende crystal structure as a proxy for tetrahedral metal–oxide (M–O) coordination environments. We systematically quantified the effects of cation type, oxidation states, and M–O bond lengths on the proton hopping barrier, and found that strong M–O bonds and metal cations with large and variable oxidation states (e.g., Mo 6+ , V 5+ ) lead to smaller proton hopping barriers. By mapping the candidate cations and their preferred bond geometries onto materials databases such as the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and Materials Project, we identified real materials containing the corresponding metal–oxide units. In general, we observed good agreement between the calculated proton hopping barriers obtained in real crystal structures and those predicted by our motif database. We also discuss the limitations of our model and possible future extensions to improve its predictive capabilities. Overall, our model provides a first step for the rational design and quick screening of energy-efficient PCOs.

organic↗

DOE OSTI2017

Orientation-dependent properties of epitaxially strained perovskite oxide thin films: Insights from first-principles calculations

The structural properties, energetics, and polarizations of perovskite-based thin-film oxide systems are computed as a function of biaxial strain state and epitaxial orientation, employing an automated computational workflow based on density functional theory. In this work, a total of 14 compositions are considered, of the form ABO 3 , with A = Ba, K, Na, Pb, and Sr and B = Hf, Sn, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, and V site cations chosen to yield tolerance factors with values ranging between 0.95 and 1.1. Three biaxial strain states corresponding to epitaxial growth of (100)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented films are considered, with misfit strains ranging between -4% to 4%. Results are presented for the series of perovskite-derived phases, and their corresponding symmetries, which are energetically favorable as a function of misfit strain, along with their corresponding equilibrium atomic positions, lattice parameters, and electric polarizations. The results demonstrate robust trends of in-plane polarization enhancement under tensile strain for all epitaxial orientations, and out-of-plane polarization enhancementwith compression for the (100)- and (110)-oriented films. Strains corresponding to the (111)-growth orientation lead to a wider variety of out-of-plane polarization behavior, with BaTiO 3 showing anomalous diminishing polarization with compression. Epitaxial orientation is shown to have a strong effect on the nature of strain-induced phase transitions, with (100)-oriented systems tending to have smooth, second-order transitions and (110)- and (111)-oriented systems more commonly exhibiting first-order transitions. The significance of this effect for device applications is discussed, and a number of systems are identified as potentially interesting for ferroelectric thin-film applications based on energetic stability and polarization behavior. Analysis of polarization behavior across different orientations reveals distinct groups into which compositions can be organized, some of which have polarization dependencies on misfit strain that have not been reported previously.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2021

First principles calculations in support of Pu aging: calculating the effects of lattice imperfections on thermodynamics

Plutonium (Pu) has, in theory, well defined crystal structures: its atoms are arranged in regular spatial patterns. But Pu is radioactive, and as its nuclei decay those regular spatial patterns are interrupted. The interruptions are lattice imperfections, which are known to affect how materials respond to their environment. To adequately model Pu, we need to know which lattice imperfections are present, how they interact with each other, and how they affect the material’s response to its environment. The work presented here aims to use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to begin to answer the latter, in particular, how individual lattice imperfections affect measurable effects including thermal expansion (the change in volume in response to a change in temperature), heat capacity (the amount of thermal energy needed to change a material’s temperature), and elastic moduli (a material’s resistance to applied stresses). Pu poses many computational challenges. The $\textit{f}$ electrons require special attention. Of all the elements, Pu has the largest number of electrons that must be included in the calculations. Thermal effects require calculating the phonons (the lattice vibrations), which for systems containing lattice imperfections demand large, complex computational cells - but computational resources limit the size and complexity. With careful restructuring of how the calculations are performed, all these challenges have been met to enable calculations that provide insight into how lattice imperfections affect Pu’s response to its environment. Reported here are the computational challenges and the advances developed to meet them, along with the first results showing the strong effect that one prototype lattice imperfection (an interstitial Pu atom in a delta-phase Pu lattice) has on Pu’s response to its environment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Determining the Adsorption Energetics of 2,3-Butanediol on RuO 2 (110): Coupling First-Principles Calculations With Global Optimizers

As climate change continues to pose a threat to the Earth due to the disrupted carbon cycles and fossil fuel resources remain finite, new sources of sustainable hydrocarbons must be explored. 2,3-butanediol is a potential source to produce butene because of its sustainability as a biomass-derived sugar. Butene is an attractive product because it can be used as a precursor to jet fuel, categorizing this work in the alcohol-to-jet pathway. While studies have explored the conversion of 2,3-butanediol to butene, little is understood about the fundamental reaction itself. We quantify the energetics for three pathways that were reported in the literature in the absence of a catalyst. One of these pathways forms a 1,3-butadiene intermediate, which is a highly exothermic process and thus is unlikely to occur since 2,3-butanediol likely gets thermodynamically trapped at this intermediate. We further determined the corresponding energetics of 2,3-butanediol adsorption on an ensemble of predetermined binding sites when it interacts with a defect-free stoichiometric RuO 2 (110) surface. Within this ensemble of adsorption sites, the most favorable site has 2,3-butanediol covering a Ru 5–coordinated cation. This approach is compared to that obtained using the global optimization algorithm as implemented in the Northwest Potential Energy Surface Search Engine. When using such a global optimization algorithm, we determined a more favorable ground-state structure that was missed during the manual adsorption site testing, with an adsorption energy of -2.61 eV as compared to -2.34 eV when using the ensemble-based approach. We hypothesize that the dehydration reaction requires a stronger chemical bond, which could necessitate the formation of oxygen vacancies. As such, this study has taken the first step toward the utilization of a global optimization algorithm for the rational design of Ru-based catalysts toward the formation of butene from sustainable resources.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2018

A first principles study of energetics and electronic structural responses of uranium-based coordination polymers to Np incorporation

Abstract Recently developed coordination polymers (CPs) and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) may find applications in areas such as catalysis, hydrogen storage, and heavy metal immobilization. Research on the potential application of actinide-based CPs (An-CP/MOFs) is not as advanced as transition metal-based MOFs. In order to modify their structures necessary for optimizing thermodynamic and electronic properties, here, we described how a specific topology of a particular actinide-based CP or MOF responds to the incorporation of other actinides considering their diverse coordination chemistry associated with the multiple valence states and charge-balancing mechanisms. In this study, we apply a recently developed DFT-based method to determine the relative stability of transuranium incorporated CPs in comparison to their uranium counterpart considering both solid and aqueous state sources and sinks to understand the mechanism and energetics of charge-balanced Np 5+ incorporation into three uranium-based CPs. The calculated Np 5+ +H + incorporation energies for these CPs range from 0.33 to 0.52 eV, depending on the organic linker, when using the solid oxide Np source Np 2 O 5 and U sink UO 3 . Incorporation energies of these CPs using aqueous sources and sinks increase to 2.85–3.14 eV. The thermodynamic and structural analysis in this study aides in determining, why certain MOF topologies and ligands are selective for some actinides and not for others. This means that once this method is extended across a variety of CPs with their respective linker molecules and different actinides, it can be used to identify certain CPs with certain organic ligands being specific for certain actinides. This information can be used to construct CPs for actinide separation. This is the first determination of the electronic structure (band structure, density of states) of these uranium- and transuranium-based CPs which may eventually lead to design CPs with certain optical or catalytic properties. While the reduction of the DFT-determined-bandgap goes from 3.1 eV to 2.4 eV when going from CP1 to CP3, showing the influence of the linker, Np 6+ incorporation reduces the bandgap for CP1 and CP3, while increasing it for CP2. The coupled substitution of U 6+ →Np 5+ +H + reduces the bandgap significantly, but only for CP3.

Chemistry↗

DOE OSTI2025

First-Principles Insights into the Thermocatalytic Cracking of Ammonia-Hydrogen Blends on Fe(110). 2. Kinetics

Ammonia (NH 3 ) is an energy-rich molecule that is routinely synthesized from nitrogen (N 2 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ). NH 3 ’s more favorable physical properties compared to H 2 suggests it may offer a way to more conveniently store, transport, and, when needed, extract H 2 via thermal decomposition. However, the high kinetic barrier and endoergicity to decompose to H 2 and N 2 require high temperatures. The standard reaction free energy indicates nearly 100% thermodynamic conversion to the diatomic molecules only at ~673 K and higher. However, even at these temperatures, a catalyst, e.g., iron (Fe), is needed for favorable kinetic conversion. Here, in this study, we explore via density functional theory the kinetics of NH 3 decomposition on the most stable facet of body-centered cubic Fe, namely, (110), under typical high-temperature and finite-pressure operando conditions. We predict coverage-dependent energetics of elementary surface reactions, often neglected in atomic-scale modeling. From these models, we find the recombinative desorption of adsorbed N as N 2 is rate-determining at 573.15–773.15 K and even at an extreme case of 1173.15 K. From microkinetic modeling, we find that the steady-state turnover frequencies (TOFs) for N 2 and H 2 generation rates (r$_{H_2}$) depend exponentially on temperature. The catalyst achieves a steady-state TOF of 36.4 s –1 and an r$_{H_2}$ of 0.107 μmol cm –2 s –1 for a feed of 1.8 bar NH 3 with 0.2 bar H 2 at 1173.15 K. However, at 773.15 K, with the same feed composition and velocity, the steady-state TOF and r$_{H_2}$ decrease to 0.14 s –1 and 4.10 × 10 –4 μmol cm –2 s –1 , respectively, as the process is significantly hindered by slow N 2 desorption. Although at first glance counterintuitive, our simulations suggest that surface modifications that reduce Fe’s reactivity toward NH x species should enhance its overall NH 3 decomposition activity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Nuclear Theory from First Principles to Forefront Experiments (Final Report for DE-SC0018638)

The Lee research group is a part of the Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory Collaboration, which has developed and performed ab initio lattice simulations of nuclear structure, scattering, reactions, and many-body systems. The other senior members of the collaboration include Ulf-G. Meißner at Bonn/Julich, Evgeny Epelbaum and Hermann Krebs at Bochum, Timo Lahde and Thomas Luu at Julich, and Gautam Rupak at Mississippi State. Our letter “Ab initio alpha-alpha scattering” was featured in a Nature News and Views article. Another letter “Nuclear binding near a quantum phase transition” was highlighted in a Viewpoint article in the online APS journal Physics as well as a news article in the IOP publication Physics World (September 21, 2016). Our letter “Eigenvector continuation with subspace learning” was also highlighted a Synopsis article in Physics. There are many promising ab initio approaches being used to calculate the properties of few-and many-nucleon systems. This includes the no-core shell model, symmetry-adapted no-core shell model quantum Monte Carlo, auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo, self-consistent Green’s functions, many-body perturbation theory, in-medium similarity renormalization group, and coupled cluster methods. Lattice effective field theory is another ab initio approach which combines the framework of effective field theory with lattice Monte Carlo methods to allow favorable scaling from few- to many-body systems. Perhaps the most important aspect of lattice effective field theory is that its strengths and weaknesses are orthogonal to that of other ab initio methods. For example, lattice effective field theory has little difficulty in probing cluster structures and collectivity, while such features are much more difficult using other methods. Furthermore it can be used to compute superfluid condensate fractions as well as the phase diagram of strongly matter and the density and temperature dependence of clustering. Lattice effective field theory was first used in simulations of infinite nuclear matter and infinite neutron matter with pions and without pions. In addition to the efforts by our collaboration, there have been recent efforts by other groups as well.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

First principles investigation of dopants and defect complexes in CdSe$_x$Te$_{1-x}$

Se alloying is a common approach to improve the performance of CdTe solar cells by tuning the bandgap, defect levels, and carrier density. A fundamental understanding of these improvements, specifically the effect of Se alloying on the behavior of defects and dopants in CdTe, remains unclear. Here, in this work, we present a density functional theory (DFT) study of point defect energetics in CdTe and CdSe x Te 1-x with x = 0.25, leading to a comparison of how native defects, dopants (As and Cu), impurities (Cl and O), and related defect complexes behave in CdTe vs CdSe x Te 1-x . Our calculations, performed by combining semi-local and nonlocal hybrid functionals, show a general lowering of the formation energies of native defects as well as substitutional defects formed by As and Cl upon Se addition. For successful p-type doping with As, destabilizing Cl-based defects in the CdSeTe lattice would be essential. We find evidence for some low-energy defect complexes of As, Cl, and O in CdSe 0.25 Te 0.75 . The computed defect formation energies further enable estimates of temperature-dependent defect concentrations and self-consistent Fermi levels. A comparison of defect energetics with the energies of impurity phases reveals that As, Cu, Cl, and O overwhelmingly prefer being segregated to unwanted As 2 O 5 , AsCl 3 , Cd 2 AsCl 2 , and CuO x phases rather than remain at defect sites, but such segregation is less likely to happen in CdSe 0.25 Te 0.75 than in CdTe. Overall, our work presents a list of likely defects and complexes in CdTe and Se-incorporated CdTe, paving the way to explain and mitigate limited dopant activation in experimental observations.

CdTe↗

DOE OSTI2016

First Principle Estimation of Geochemically Important Transition Metal Oxide Properties: Structure and Dynamics of the Bulk, Surface and Mineral/Aqueous Fluid Interface

Reactions in the mineral surface/reservoir fluid interface control many geochemical processes such as the dissolution and growth of minerals (Yanina and Rosso 2008), heterogeneous oxidation/reduction (Hochella 1990, Brown 2001, Hochella, Lower et al. 2008, Navrotsky, Mazeina et al. 2008), and inorganic respiration (Newman 2010). Key minerals involved in these processes are the transition metal oxides and oxyhydroxides (e.g., hematite, Fe2O3, and goethite, FeOOH)(Brown, Henrich et al. 1999, Brown 2001, Hochella, Lower et al. 2008, Navrotsky, Mazeina et al. 2008). To interpret and predict these processes, it is necessary to have a high level of understanding of the interactions between the formations containing these minerals and their reservoir fluids. However, these are complicated chemical events occurring under a wide range of T, P, and X conditions and the interpretation is complicated by the highly heterogeneous nature of natural environments (Hochella 1990, Hochella, Lower et al. 2008, Navrotsky, Mazeina et al. 2008) and the electronic and structural complexity of the oxide materials involved(Cox 1992, Kotliar and Vollhardt 2004, Navrotsky, Mazeina et al. 2008). In addition, also because of the complexity of the minerals involved and the heterogeneous nature of natural systems, the direct observation of these reactions at the atomic level is experimentally extremely difficult. Theoretical simulations will provide important support for analysis of the geochemistry of the mineral surface/fluid region as well as provide essential tools to extrapolate laboratory measurements to the field environment.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2019

Operando Observations and First-Principles Calculations of Reduced Lithium Insertion in Au-Coated LiMn 2 O 4

The deposition of protective coatings on the spinel LiMn 2 O 4 (LMO) lithium–ion battery cathode is effective in reducing Mn dissolution from the electrode surface. Although protective coatings positively affect LMO cycle life, much remains to be understood regarding the interface formed between these coatings and LMO. Using operando powder X–ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, it is shown that, in comparison to bare LMO, the lattice parameter of a model Au–coated LMO cathode is significantly reduced upon relithiation. Less charge passes through Au–coated LMO in comparison to bare LMO, suggesting that the reduced lattice parameter is associated with decreased Li + solubility in the Au–coated LMO. Density functional theory calculations show that a more Li + –deficient near–surface is thermodynamically favorable in the presence of the Au coating, which may further stabilize these cathodes through suppressing formation of the Jahn–Teller distorted Li 2 Mn 2 O 4 phase at the surface. Electronic structure and chemical bonding analyses show enhanced hybridization between Au and LMO for delithiated surfaces leading to partial oxidation of Au upon delithiation. Furthermore, this study suggests that, in addition to transition metal dissolution from electrode surfaces, protective coating design must also balance potential energy effects induced by charge transfer at the electrode–coating interface.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2017

First‐Principles Calculations of Quantum Efficiency for Point Defects in Semiconductors: The Example of Yellow Luminance by GaN: C N +O N and GaN:C N

Abstract Point defects play an important role in the photoelectrical properties of semiconductor materials, and they can be luminescence centers. However, the relationships among the observed luminescence wavelengths, intensities, and the microscopic processes are in most cases unknown, or depend heavily on parameter fitting. In this work, the light‐emitting quantum efficiencies for point defects using ab initio density functional theory are calculated. The study of radiation recombination for electrons and nonradiation recombination for holes is reported here. The results show that the defect C N transition between “−” and “0” charged levels and the defect C N +O N transition between “0” and “+” charged levels both may be responsible for the yellow luminescence (YL) which is observed in experiment. Moreover, the calculation shows significant thermal quenching of the YL starting at 480 K due to re‐excitation of hole into the valence band from the point defects, which is in relatively good agreement with the experimentally observed value. This work shows that it is possible to use ab initio calculations to understand the microscopic mechanisms and the competitions among different channels for the light emissions caused by defects.

Zhang, Hai‐Shan↗