Half-metallic ferromagnetism in Cu-doped zinc-blende ZnO from first principles study

Electronic structures and magnetism of Cu-doped zinc-blende ZnO have been investigated by the first-principle method based on density functional theory (DFT). The results show that Cu can induce stable ferromagnetic ground state. The magnetic moment of supercell including single Cu atom is 1.0 μ_B. Electronic structure shows that Cu-doped zinc-blende ZnO is a p-type half-metallic ferromagnet. The half-metal property is mainly attribute to the crystal field splitting of Cu 3d orbital, and the ferromagnetism is dominated by the hole-mediated double exchange mechanism. Therefore, Cu-doped zinc-blende ZnO should be useful in semiconductor spintronics and other applications.     

Pd对O吸附在ZnO（0001）面上的影响的第一性原理研究

本文用第一性原理方法计算了Pd 在ZnO(0001)面上的吸附、Pd对O吸附的影响及Pd替代表面Zn原子能量的变化.结果表明：(1) Pd的吸附位置不随覆盖度变化,Pd稳定吸附位为H3位;(2)Pd在1/4单层吸附时比1个单层吸附时稳定;(3)Pd的存在增强了氧在ZnO(0001)面上的吸附,O原子可以扩散到Pd吸附层的下,Pd处于最上面, 具有催化作用.     

石墨烯基PtCu二元金属催化剂对甲醇吸附性能的理论研究

直接甲醇燃料电池作为最有潜力的能源越来越受到人们的关注。本文主要采用密度泛函理论（DFT),对石墨烯基PtCu催化剂吸附甲醇的结构进行了理论研究。通过分析甲醇吸附前后前线分子轨道、电荷和吸附能的变化,发现PtCu二元金属催化剂与甲醇相互作用中,甲醇容易吸附于Pt位点上。对于PtCu二元金属的Cu位点的吸附能力与纯Cu相比变化不大,但是PtCu二元金属的Pt位点相对于纯Pt催化剂对甲醇的吸附能力却有明显的提高。因此Cu的掺杂对于提高Pt位点的活性起到促进作用     

Experimental and theoretical studies of reaction pathways of direct propylene epoxidation on model catalyst surfaces

The direct epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide (PO) using molecular oxygen is an attractive alternative to current production methods using chlorohydrin or hydroperoxide-mediated processes, which are environmentally harmful and expensive. Although direct ethylene epoxidation using Ag-based catalysts has been practiced industrially for decades, due to the presence of allylic hydrogen in propylene the selectivity toward epoxide is generally much lower for propylene than for ethylene. Mechanistic understanding on well-characterized surfaces of model catalysts can potentially provide guidance to effectively alter the electronic properties of the catalyst in order to increase PO selectivity. This review summarizes both experimental and theoretical studies on model catalysts for propylene epoxidation and their contributions to elucidating the reaction mechanism, intermediates, and active sites. We first show examples of experimental studies on Cu, Ag, and Au surfaces, and compare the reaction pathways and intermediates on these surfaces. Novel approaches including plasmon-mediated catalysis and utilization of shape-controlled crystal facets that open new opportunities for improving PO selectivity will also be discussed. We then describe how density functional theory (DFT) calculations have provided important insights into the reaction mechanism and active sites on Cu, Ag, and Au surfaces and clusters. Propylene oxidation pathways on other relevant metal surfaces will also be discussed. The combined experimental and computational studies elucidate the nature of surface oxygen species and the role of the oxametallacycle intermediate. We conclude by highlighting design principles and insights for guiding further development of active and selective propylene epoxidation catalysts.     

First-principles studies on the Au surfactant on polar ZnO surfaces

The surfactant effect of Au in ZnO nanostructures growth is studied using first-principles slab calculations based on density functional theory. The atomic structure and electronic properties of one monolayer of Au atoms on polar ZnO surfaces are examined. It is found that (1) one monolayer (ML) of Au capping layer on the ZnO polar surfaces may modify the growing properties of ZnO nanostructures by enhancing the binding energy by 0.41 eV/atom for Zn adsorption on the polar surfaces; (2) the Au adlayer on the polar ZnO surfaces seems more active for the adsorption of Zn atoms, which may be at the very heart of the effect that Au acts as catalyst for the growth of the ZnO nanostructures; and (3) total energy calculations show that the gold on-top geometry is energetically favorable than the gold diffused geometry, which may be useful to understand the phenomenon that Au particles are only found at the end of ZnO nanostructures during the growth process.     

Initial steps in methanol steam reforming on PdZn and ZnO surfaces: Density functional theory studies

Recent experiments suggested that PdZn alloy on ZnO support is a very active and selective catalyst for methanol steam reforming (MSR). To gain insight into MSR mechanism on this catalyst, plane-wave density functional theory calculations were carried out on the initial steps of MSR on both PdZn and ZnO surfaces. Our calculations indicate that the dissociation of both methanol and water is highly activated on flat surfaces of PdZn such as (111) and (100), while the dissociation barriers can be lowered significantly by surface defects, represented here by the (221), (110), and (321) faces of PdZn. The corresponding processes on the polar Zn-terminated ZnO(0001) surfaces are found to have low or null barriers. Implications of these results for both MSR and low temperature mechanisms are discussed.     

A theoretical study of the reactivity of Cu2O(111) surfaces: the case of NO dissociation

We compare the electronic properties of Cu(111) and Cu(2)O(111) surfaces in relation to the dissociation of NO using first principles calculations within density functional theory. We note a well-defined three-fold site on both O- and Cu-terminated Cu(2)O surfaces which is verified as the active site for the adsorption and dissociation of NO. The interaction of Cu with O atoms results in the forward shifting of the local density of states and formation of unoccupied states above the Fermi level, compared to the fully occupied d band of pure Cu. These results give valuable insights in the realization of a catalyst without precious metal for the dissociation of NO.     

A DFT+U study of the catalytic activity of lanthanum nickelate

A density functional theory + Hubbard U (DFT+U) method is implemented to investigate the catalytic activity of lanthanum nickelate (LaNiO₃) for oxygen reduction reaction. Comparison of the surface energies of different LaNiO₃ surfaces shows that {001} surface has the lowest surface energy and hence maximum stability. Two possible terminations of the {001} surface namely LaO and NiO₂ are considered to carry out all our DFT calculations. Calculation of bond lengths of the atoms near the surface and adsorption energies for the reaction intermediates revealed that LaO terminated {001} surface is unstable for the process of OOH adsorption and hence not preferred for the oxygen reduction reaction. However, NiO₂ terminated {001} surface shows excellent catalytic activity for adsorption of all the reaction intermediates and hence is a favourable surface for reactions to occur. Superiority of the NiO₂ terminated {001} surface as catalyst over the LaO terminated one, is also confirmed from the total and partial density of states of the surfaces in presence of the adsorbates, which also shows that the desorption rate of the reaction intermediates is low in case of LaO terminated {001} surface compared to the NiO₂ terminated one.     

Theoretical investigation of the structures of unsupported 38-atom CuPt clusters

A genetic algorithm has been used to perform a global sampling of the potential energy surface in the search for the lowest-energy structures of unsupported 38-atom Cu–Pt clusters. Structural details of bimetallic Cu–Pt nanoparticles are analyzed as a function of their chemical composition and the parameters of the Gupta potential, which is used to mimic the interatomic interactions. The symmetrical weighting of all parameters used in this work strongly influences the chemical ordering patterns and, consequently, cluster morphologies. The most stable structures are those corresponding to potentials weighted toward Pt characteristics, leading to Cu–Pt mixing for a weighting factor of 0.7. This reproduces density functional theory (DFT) results for Cu–Pt clusters of this size. For several weighting factor values, the Cu₃₀Pt₈ cluster exhibits slightly higher relative stability. The copper-rich Cu₃₂Pt₆ cluster was reoptimized at the DFT level to validate the reliability of the empirical approach, which predicts a Pt@Cu core-shell segregated cluster. A general increase of interatomic distances is observed in the DFT calculations, which is greater in the Pt core. After cluster relaxation, structural changes are identified through the pair distribution function. For the majority of weighting factors and compositions, the truncated octahedron geometry is energetically preferred at the Gupta potential level of theory.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of Ag-Pt interactions for supported Ag-Pt bimetallic catalysts

The electronic structure and chemical properties of catalysts prepared by the electroless deposition (ED) of Ag onto Pt/SiO₂ were studied using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. XPS studies revealed a negative shift (up to −0.75 eV) in the Ag 3d binding energy (BE) relative to bulk Ag. Both the magnitude and direction of the shift are consistent with DFT calculations of model Ag/Pt(1 1 1) surfaces. DFT calculations have also been employed to study the adsorption of two probe molecules, carbon monoxide and 1-epoxy-3-butene (EpB), on the model surfaces. Combined with previously published reports, the results presented here suggest that (1) the AgPt/SiO₂ catalysts that are most active for hydrogenation of the EpB olefin function consist of an adlayer of Ag on Pt rather than a surface or bulk alloy and that (2) the higher activity and selectivity of ED-prepared Ag-Pt/SiO₂ catalysts for CC hydrogenation of EpB to 1-epoxybutane are consistent with computed electronic (ligand) and bifunctional effects.     

Investigation of n-type donor defects in Co-doped ZnO

We investigate using density functional theory (DFT) the electronic structure of (∼3%) Co-doped ZnO in the presence of native n-type donor defects such as V_O and Zn_I. In particular, we apply a pseudopotential-based self-interaction correction (pseudo-SIC) scheme as an improvement to the local spin-density approximation (LSDA). This overcomes major short comings of the LSDA in describing Co-doped ZnO. Donor+dopant pair complexes such as Co–V_O and Co–Zn_I are studied as relevant magnetic centres for long-range magnetic interactions at low-dopant concentrations. We find that complex formation is energetically favourable but the inter-complex magnetic coupling is too weak to account for room temperature ferromagnetism in ZnO:Co     

用于乙烯环氧化反应的CuCs掺杂银基催化剂设计

最近的理论研究筛选出CuCs掺杂Ag基催化剂是一种高效的乙烯环氧化催化剂[ACS Catal. 11,3371 (2021)]. 然而,该工作是基于研究表面建模预测Ag基催化剂的性能,在实际反应过程中,Ag基催化剂是颗粒状的. 本文结合密度函数理论、Wulff构造理论和微观动力学分析来研究Ag基催化剂在颗粒模型上的催化性能. 研究表明,CuCs掺杂Ag基催化剂在选择性和活性方面都优于纯Ag基催化剂,这一点通过实验得到了证明. 进一步地表征分析发现,CuCs掺杂能促进颗粒的生长以及颗粒的分散,从而形成富含晶界的Ag颗粒. 此外,CuCs促进了催化剂表面亲电氧的形成,这均有利于环氧乙烷的形成和解吸. 本工作为理论与实验相结合的催化剂设计提供了一个案例研究.     

Effects of bimetallic modification on the decomposition of CH3OH and H2O on Pt/W(110) bimetallic surfaces

The decomposition pathways of methanol and water on Pt-modified W(110) bimetallic surfaces have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The reaction of methanol on submonolayer and monolayer Pt-modified W(110) surfaces is compared to that on clean Pt(111) and W(110). Similar to clean W(110), the Pt/W(110) bimetallic surfaces remain active toward the dissociation of methanol, although the reaction pathway leading to the production of CH₄ is reduced on the bimetallic surfaces. The Pt/W(110) surfaces are also active toward the decomposition of water. These results are compared with previous studies of the reactions of H₂ and ethylene on Pt/W(110) bimetallic surfaces to reveal the different Pt-modification effects for the dissociation of oxygen-containing molecules.     

Prediction of thermodynamic properties from pure compound information: Characterization of fullerenes

Fullerenes are widely studied not only in material, but also in life science due to their special properties. Their surface properties determine their interaction with the environment and influence adsorption as well as biodistribution. In this work, the surfaces of a series of fullerenes and polyhydroxylated C₆₀-fullerenes were investigated using density functional theory (DFT)/conductor-like screening model (COSMO)-calculations. The dependence of the screening charge density from the curvature of a carbon hexagon and its effect on the adsorption behavior was studied. The estimation of thermodynamic properties of multiply functionalized C₆₀-molecules gives promising qualitative results using only properties of the pure compounds.     

过渡金属与氮共掺杂ZnO电子结构和光学性质的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论框架下的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,结合广义梯度近似(GGA)研究了过渡族金属(Mn,Fe,Co,Cu)与N共掺杂ZnO的能带结构、电子态密度分布、差分电荷密度和光学性质.计算表明Mn，Fe，Co与N共掺ZnO的光学性质与Mn，Fe，Co单掺杂相近，但是过渡族金属与N共掺杂有利于获得p型ZnO. 关键词： ZnO 第一性原理 电子结构 光学性质     

Density functional theory simulation of the L<Subscript>2,3</Subscript> XANES spectra

A method for the theoretical simulation of X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra at the Ru L_2,3 edges has been developed using relativistic density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The effect of the parameters of DFT calculations on the shape of theoretical curves has been comparatively analyzed for XANES spectra of a water oxidation catalyst and hexaammineruthenium complexes. Recommendations for the choice of the best parameters ensuring good agreement with the experimental data, including the most correct exchange-correlation potential, have been made.     

A TDDFT study on the hydrogen-bonding effect on ESIPT mechanism for [2,2′-bipyridyl]-3,3′-diol-(H2O) n (n = 0, 1, 2) clusters: single or double?

The excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanisms of [2,2′-bipyridyl]-3,3′-diol (BP(OH)₂) in gas are studied by using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods. The intramolecular hydrogen bond (H-bond) is strengthened in the first excited-state in view of the structural parameters and infrared (IR) vibrational frequencies. The enhanced intramolecular H-bond is favourable for ESIPT process. The effect of the extra intermolecular H-bond between BP(OH)₂ and water on ESIPT is considered. The potential energy surfaces, molecular electrostatic potential, topological analysis, frontier molecular orbitals, absorption and fluorescence spectra are investigated. Our calculated results show that the intermolecular H-bond enhances the intramolecular H-bond, changes the mechanism and decreases the barrier height of ESIPT process.     

Prediction of band gap reduction and magnetism in (Cu,S)-codoped ZnO

By employing a density functional theory plane-wave pseudopotential method, we investigated band gap reduction and magnetism as well as electronic structures of (Cu, S)-codoped ZnO. Our calculations indicated that Cu and/or S-doped ZnO can reduce the band gap of ZnO. The (Cu, S)-codoped ZnO has a large band gap reduction of 0.37 eV, two times larger than that in Cu-doped ZnO. S atom has no contribution for the total magnetic moment of (Cu, S)-codoped ZnO, whereas it plays a central role in spin-polarizing of both Cu and S dopants due to strong coupling between Cu 3d and S 3p states. This would offer a new strategy for designing narrow band gap devices with magnetism.     

Atomic displacements due to interstitial hydrogen in Cu and Pd

The density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the atomic interactions in transition metal-based interstitial alloys. The strain field is calculated in the discrete lattice model using Kanzaki method. The total energy and hence atomic forces between interstitial hydrogen and transition metal hosts are calculated using DFT. The norm-conserving pseudopotentials for H, Cu and Pd are generated self-consistently. The dynamical matrices are evaluated considering interaction up to first nearest neighbors whereas impurity-induced forces are calculated with M₃₂H shell (where M = Cu and Pd). The atomic displacements produced by interstitial hydrogen at the octahedral site in Cu and Pd show displacements of 7.36% and 4.3% of the first nearest neighbors respectively. Both Cu and Pd lattices show lattice expansion due to the presence of hydrogen and the obtained average lattice expansion ΔV/V = 0.177 for Cu and 0.145 for Pd.      

Density functional theory investigation of the structure of SO2 and SO3 on Cu(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1)

Density functional theory (DFT) slab calculations, mainly using the generalised gradient approximation, have been used to investigate the minimum energy structures of molecular SO₂ and SO₃ on Cu(1 1 1) and Ni(1 1 1) surfaces. On Ni(1 1 1) the optimal local adsorption structures are in close agreement with experimental results for both molecular species obtained using the X-ray standing wavefield technique, although for adsorbed SO₂ the energetic difference between two alternative lateral positions of the lying-down molecule on the surface is marginally significant. On Cu(1 1 1) the results for adsorbed SO₂, in particular, were sensitive to the DFT functional used in the calculations, but in all cases failed to reproduce the experimentally-established preference for adsorption with the molecular plane perpendicular to the surface. This result is discussed in the context of previously published DFT results for these species adsorbed on Cu(1 0 0). The optimal geometry found for SO₃ on Cu(1 1 1) is similar to that on Ni(1 1 1), providing agreement with experiment regarding the molecular orientation but not the adsorption site.