Quantitative determination of the local structure of H2O on TiO2(1 1 0) using scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction

O 1s scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction has been used to determine the local structure of molecular water on TiO₂(1 1 0). The adsorption site is found to be atop five-fold coordinated surface Ti atoms, confirming the results of published total energy calculations and STM imaging. The Ti-O_w bondlength is found to be 2.21 ± 0.02 Å, much longer than Ti-O bondlengths in bulk TiO₂ and for the formate (HCOO-) species adsorbed on this surface. This is consistent with relatively weak bonding, and in general agreement with total energy calculations, although all of the published calculations yield bondlengths somewhat longer than the experimental value. Structural optimisation based on the photoelectron diffraction data also provides some information on the associated substrate relaxation. In particular, the bondlength of the five-fold coordinated surface Ti atom to the O atom directly below shows the same contraction (relative to the bulk) as is found for the clean surface, reinforcing the picture of rather weak bonding of the water to this same Ti surface atom.     

First-principles study of electronic structure and ferromagnetism in Ti-doped ZnO

We perform first-principles spin polarized calculations of the electronic structure of Ti-doped in ZnO. Ferromagnetism in Ti-doped ZnO is identified, which is in agreement with recent experimental and calculated results. A net magnetic moment of 0.715μ_B is found per Ti. At a Ti concentration of 12.5%, total energy calculations show that the ferromagnetic state is 68 meV lower than the antiferromagnetic state. The electronic states near Fermi energy are dominated by strong hybridization between O 2p and Ti 3d, which is just the origin of impurity band in Ti-doped ZnO and also implies that the Ti-O bond is quite covalent instead of purely ionic. Since there is no magnetic element in this compound, Ti-doped ZnO appears to be an unambiguous dilute magnetic semiconductor.     

Cu(100)表面c(2×2)-N原子结构与吸附行为研究

用密度泛函理论的总能计算研究了金属铜(100)面的表面原子结构以及氮原子的c(2×2)吸附状态.研究结果表明：在Cu(100) c(2×2)-N表面系统中，氮原子处于四度配位的空洞(FFH)位置，距离最表面铜原子层的垂直距离为0.20?，最短的Cu—N键长度为1.83?.结构优化的计算否定了被吸附物导致的表面再构模型，即c(2×2)元胞的两个铜原子在垂直于表面方向发生相对位移，一个铜原子运动到氮原子之上的模型.该吸附表面的功函数约为4.65eV, 氮原子的平均吸附能为4.92 eV(以孤立氮原子为能量参考点).计算结果还说明，Cu—N杂化形成的表面局域态的位置在费米面以下约1.0 eV附近出现，氮原子和第一层以及第二层铜原子均有不同程度的杂化作用.该结果为最近有关该表面的STM图像的争论提供了判据性的第一性原理计算结果. 关键词： Cu(100) c(2×2)-N 表面吸附态 密度泛函总能计算     

Inverse-Heusler合金Ti_2NiAl/MgO(100)异质结的结构、磁性以及电子性质

本文通过第一原理计算,研究了Ti_2NiAl/MgO(100)异质结Ti Al-O、TiNi-Mg、TiNi-O和Ti AlMg这4种原子端面的界面结构、原子磁性、态密度和自旋极化.在平衡界面结构中,由于原子间相互作用力的存在,Ti-Mg (Ni-Mg)键的长度远大于Ti-O (Ni-O)键的长度.在所有端面中,原来块体出现的半金属间隙都遭受了界面态的不同程度破坏.在Ti_2Ni Al/MgO(100)异质结中,TiNi-O界面检测到具有最大76%左右自旋极化率,根据Julliere模型预测Ti_2NiAl/MgO(100)异质结在低温下的隧道磁电阻值(TMR)可以达到281%.     

Anatase-rutile phase transformation of titanium dioxide bulk material: a DFT?+?U approach

The anatase-rutile phase transformation of TiO(2) bulk material is investigated using a density functional theory (DFT) approach in this study. According to the calculations employing the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange-correlation functional with the Vanderbilt ultrasoft pseudopotential, it is suggested that the anatase phase is more energetically stable than rutile, which is in variance with the experimental observations. Consequently, the DFT?+?U method is employed in order to predict the correct structural stability in titania from electronic-structure-based total energy calculations. The Hubbard U term is determined by examining the band structure of rutile with various values of U from 3 to 10?eV. At U?=?5?eV, a theoretical bandgap for rutile is obtained as 3.12?eV, which is in very good agreement with the reported experimental bandgap. Hence, we choose the DFT?+?U method (with U?=?5?eV) to investigate the transformation pathway using the newly-developed solid-state nudged elastic band (ss-NEB) method, and consequently obtain an intermediate transition structure that is 9.794?eV per four-TiO(2) above the anatase phase. When the Ti-O bonds in the transition state are examined using charge density analysis, seven Ti-O bonds (out of 24 bonds in the anatase unit cell) are broken, and this result is in excellent agreement with a previous experimental study (Penn and Banfield 1999 Am. Miner. 84 871-6).     

Effect of In-Doping on Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Sr2TiO4

The effect of In doping on the electronic structure and optical properties of Sr2 TiO4 is investigated by a firstprinciples calculation of plane wave ultrasoft pseudopotentials based on density functional theory. The calculated results reveal that corner-shared TiO6 octahedra dominate the main electronic properties of Sr2TiO4 and the covalency of the Ti-O（1） bond in the ab plane is stronger than that of the Ti-O（2） bond along the c-axis. After In doping, there is a little lattice expansion in Sr2In0.125 Ti0.875 O4 and the interaction between the Ti-O bond near the impurity In atom is weakened. The binding energies of Sr2TiO4 and Sr2In0.125Ti0.875O4 estimated from the electronic structure calculations indicate that the crystal structure of Sr2In0.125 Ti0.875 O4 is still stable after doping, but its stability is lower than that of undoped Sr2TiO4. Moreover, the valence bands （VBs） of the Sr2In0.125Ti0.875O4 system consist of O 2p and In 4d states, and the mixing of O 2p and In 4d states makes the top VBs shift significantly to high energies, resulting in visible light absorption. The adsorption of visible light is of practical importance for the application of St2 TiO4 as a photocatalyst.     

A density functional study of atomic oxygen and water molecule adsorption on Ni(1 1 1) and chromium-substituted Ni(1 1 1) surfaces

Density functional theory (DFT) for generalized gradient approximation calculations has been used to study the adsorption of atomic oxygen and water molecules on Ni(1 1 1) and different kind of Ni-Cr(1 1 1) surfaces. The fcc hollow site is energetically the most favorable for atomic oxygen adsorption and on top site is favorable for water adsorption. The Ni-Cr surface has the highest absorption energy for oxygen at 6.86 eV, followed by the hcp site, whereas the absorption energy is 5.56 eV for the Ni surface. The Ni-O bond distance is 1.85 Å for the Ni surface. On the other hand, the result concerning the Ni-Cr surface implies that the bond distances are 1.93-1.95 Å and 1.75 Å for Ni-O and Cr-O, respectively. The surface adsorption energy for water on top site for two Cr atom substituted Ni-Cr surface is 0.85 eV. Oxygen atoms prefer to bond with Cr rather than Ni atoms. Atomic charge analysis demonstrates that charge transfer increases due to the addition of Cr. Moreover, a local density of states (LDOS) study examines the hybridization occurring between the metal d orbital and the oxygen p orbital; the bonding is mainly ionic, and water bonds weakly in both cases.     

Effects of O2 and H2O plasma immersion ion implantation on surface chemical composition and surface energy of poly vinyl chloride

Oxygen and water plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) was used to modify poly vinyl chloride (PVC) to enhance oxygen-containing surface functional groups for more effective grafting. The modified surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and contact angle measurements. Our experimental results show that both oxygen and water PIII can greatly improve the O to C ratios on the surface. The optimal plasma processing conditions differ for the two treatments. The hydrophilicity and surface energy of the plasma-implanted PVC are also improved significantly. Our results indicate that O₂ and H₂O PIII increase both the polar and dispersion interactions and consequently the surface energy. It can be explained by the large amount of oxygen introduced to the surface and that many CC bonds are transformed into more polar oxygen containing functional groups.     

Preparation of Titanium Oxide-containing Organic Film by Dipping Ti(OR)4 and Cold Plasma oxidizing on PET

Low temperature process to prepare titanium oxide film on the surface of PET was investigated in this study. The substrates were pre-treated by oxygen plasma activated procedure, and then spin coating of Ti(OR)₄ precursor solution was carried out to prepare Ti-containing organic films. Finally, O₂ plasma was employed to decompose organic compounds and oxidize Ti to form oxides. Oxygen plasma post treatment can oxidize the organic compounds to form titanium oxide carbon subsequently. From the IR and ESCA analysis could be observed that -CH bond decreases and Ti-O, C-O bonds increase after O₂ plasma treatment. Their surface hydrophilicity was enhanced by UV-irradiation, the degree of water contact angle decreased from 60° to 10°.     

A cluster study of aluminum adsorption on Ga-rich GaAs(100)(2 × 1) and β (4 × 2) surfaces

Ab initio self-consistent total energy calculations using second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory and Hay-Wadt effective core potentials with associated basis sets (HWECP’s) for gallium and arsenic have been used to investigate the chemisorption properties of atomic aluminum on the Ga-rich GaAs(100)-(2 × 1) and β(4 × 2) surfaces. Finite sized hydrogen saturated clusters with the experimental zinc-blende lattice constant of 5.654 Å and the energy optimized Ga dimer bond length of 2.758 Å have been used to model the semiconductor surface. To investigate the effects of the core electrons of aluminum in the adsorption process, we have represented the Al adatom with both HWECP’s and an all electron 6-311++G** basis set. Detailed energetics of chemisorption on the (100) surface, including chemisorption energies, nearest surface neighbor bond lengths, and Mulliken population analysis, have been reported for all considered sites of chemisorption.     

Mg2+、Al3+离子增强SrTiO3:Pr3+荧光体发光性能的研究

采用溶胶凝胶法成功制备了SrTiO3:Pr3+、SrTiO3:Pr3+, Mg2+及SrTiO3:Pr3+,Al3+荧光粉.通过XRD、PL谱及第一性原理计算对样品的晶体结构、光谱特性及发光增强机制进行了研究.研究结果表明:共掺杂后,SrTiO3:Pr3+荧光粉为单一组成的SrTiO3立方相,主发射锋位于617 nm,对应于Pr3+离子的1D2→3H4跃迁发射.SrTiO3:Pr3+,Mg2+ 及SrTiO3:Pr3+, Al3+荧光粉的发光强度分别是SrTiO3:Pr3+荧光粉发光强度的7倍和2倍,但主要发光机制没有改变.Mulliken布局分析表明,Mg2+、Al3+离子的掺入使SrTiO3:Pr3+荧光粉中Ti-O及Pr-O键的化学键增强、键长变短,SrTiO3:Pr3+基质向Pr3+离子发光中心的能量传递效率提高,导致SrTiO3:Pr3+,Mg2+ 及SrTiO3:Pr3+,Al3+荧光粉的发光效率提高.     

Synthesis,tautomeric stability,spectroscopy and computational study of a potential molecular switch of (Z)-4-(phenylamino)pent-3-en-2-one

The (Z)-4-(phenylamino) pent-3-en-2-one (PAPO) was synthesised applying carbon-based solid acid and described by experimental techniques. Calculated results reveal that its keto-amine form is more stable than its enol-imine form. A relaxed potential energy surface scan has been accomplished based on the optimised geometry of NH tautomeric form to depict the potential energy barrier related to intramolecular proton transfer. The spectroscopic results and theoretical calculations demonstrate that the intramolecular hydrogen bonding strength of PAPO is stronger than that in 4-amino-3-penten-2-one)APO(. In addition, molecular electrostatic potential, total and partial density of stats (TDOS, PDOS) and non-linear optical properties of the compound were studied using same theoretical calculations. Our calculations show that the title molecule has the potential to be used as molecular switch.     

Density functional slab model studies of water adsorption on flat and stepped Cu surfaces

Density functional and periodic slab model calculations are performed to study adsorption of water on various Cu surfaces, focusing on monomers and dimers at the planar Cu surfaces and monomers at stepped ones. Single water molecules tend to weakly bind to atop positions with the molecular plane basically parallel to the substrate surface on the planar surfaces or the step plane on the stepped surfaces with negligible structural deformation of water. The experimental adsorption energies of water on the (1 1 1) and (1 0 0) surfaces are about twice as large as the theoretical values of monomerically adsorbed water. This phenomenon is demonstrated to be due to formation of water clusters and/or existence of surface defects. It is revealed that the most favorable hexagonal ring superstructure on Cu(1 1 0) is a four-layer structure, not the commonly accepted bi-layer configuration. We found that the adsorption energy of monomeric water correlates linearly with following quantities, respectively: the bond length and the stretching frequency of the Cu-O bond, the coordination number of the surface Cu atom, the surface work function of the clean surface and the 1b₁ MO energy shift with respect to the value in the gas phase.     

Anomalous Optical and Electronic Properties of CaTiO3 Perovskites

With the help of the first-principles full potential linearized augmented plane wave method, absorption coefficients, reflectivity, dielectric behavior and electronic properties, including electronic energy bands, density of states and charge density distributions, are studied for the tetragonal and cubic CaTiO3. By considering the thermal expansion effects, an approximate method is proposed for the study of the stability of ground state and a tendency of phase transition, based on the minimum free energy principle. Subsequently, numerical calculations are carried out by using the first-principles perturbation method. We demonstrate that the high-temperature phase is cubic. It is shown that optical spectra in tetragonal phase exhibit single-peak feature and differ from multi-peak character in cubic. We find that strong orbital hybridization results in the co-valent bonds between Ti 3d and O 2p electrons and forms two-type dipoles (Ti-O1 and Ti-O2) in tetragonal, while the Ti-O dipoles are identical in cubic. It is argued that crystal structure determines the dipole distributions and leads to some electron states among which the dipole-dipole transition forbidden is a key, causing such anomalous optical phenomena with the insulator characteristics. The predicted charge density distribution and the tendency of phase transition from tetragonal to cubic are in good agreement with experimental observations.     

In vitro corrosion behavior of Ti-O film deposited on fluoride-treated Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy

In this paper, a new composite coating was fabricated on magnesium alloy by a two-step approach, to improve the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy. First, fluoride conversion layer was synthesized on magnesium alloy surface by immersion treatment in hydrofluoric acid and then, Ti-O film was deposited on the preceding fluoride layer by magnetron sputtering. FE-SEM images revealed a smooth and uniform surface consisting of aggregated nano-particles with average size of 100 nm, and a total coating thickness of ∼1.5 μm, including an outer Ti-O film of ∼250 nm. The surface EDS and XRD data indicated that the composite coating was mainly composed of crystalline magnesium fluoride (MgF₂), and non-crystalline Ti-O. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the composite coated sample have a corrosion potential (E_corr) of −1.60 V and a corrosion current density (I_corr) of 0.17 μA/cm², which improved by 100 mV and reduced by two orders of magnitude, compared with the sample only coated by Ti-O. EIS results showed a polarization resistance of 3.98 kΩ cm² for the Ti-O coated sample and 0.42 kΩ cm² for the composite coated sample, giving an improvement of about 100 times. After 72 h immersion in SBF, widespread damage and deep corrosion holes were observed on the Ti-O coated sample surface, while the integrity of composite coating remained well after 7 d. In brief, the data suggested that single Ti-O film on degradable magnesium alloys was apt to become failure prematurely in corrosion environment. Ti-O film deposited on fluoride-treated magnesium alloys might potentially meet the requirements for future clinical magnesium alloy stent application.     

First-principles study of MgB2 film on the MgO(111) polar surface

First-principles density functional calculations are applied to study the growth behavior of MgB₂(0001) film on MgO(111) polar surface. The surface energy calculations show that under Mg-rich conditions, Mg-terminated MgO(111) is favored, while the O-terminated is more favorable under O-rich conditions. By exploring three typical models, we calculate the interface energy that is examined as a function of the chemical potentials of Mg. It is found that the most stable structure is preferred to be Mg-terminated MgO(111)-(1×1)-BMgB-structure, where B atom is bonded to Mg atom at a hollow (top) site in interface.     

Optimized semiempirical potential energy surface for H<Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>16</Superscript>O up to 26000 cm<Superscript>−1</Superscript>

A semiempirical potential energy surface is obtained for the major isotopologue of the water molecule H₂ ¹⁶O that allows the vibration-rotation energy levels in the range of 0–26000 cm⁻¹ to be calculated with an accuracy almost equal to the average experimental accuracy of measurements in the infrared and visible ranges. Variational calculations using this potential energy surface reproduce the experimental energy values of more than 1500 vibration-rotation levels of H₂ ¹⁶O with the total angular momentum quantum number J = 0, 2, and 5 in the indicated range with a standard deviation of 0.022 cm⁻¹. The potential was obtained by optimizing a starting ab initio surface using a combination of two approaches, i.e., (1) the multiplication of the starting ab initio surface by a morphing function whose parameters were optimized and (2) the optimization of parameters of the ab initio surface using both the experimental values of energy levels and the results of quantum-chemical electronic structure calculations.     

Adsorption of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of MgH2

First principle calculations have been performed to explore the adsorption characteristics of water molecule on (001) and (110) surfaces of magnesium hydride. The stable adsorption configurations of water molecule on the surfaces of MgH₂ were identified by comparing the total energies of different adsorption states. The (110) surface shows a higher reactivity with H₂O molecule owing to the larger adsorption energy than the (001) surface, and the adsorption mechanisms of water molecule on the two surfaces were clarified from electronic structures. For both (001) and (110) surface adsorptions, the O p orbitals overlapped with the Mg s and p orbitals leading to interactions between O and Mg atoms and weakening the O–H bonds in water molecule. Due to the difference of the bonding strength between O and Mg atoms in the (001) and (110) surfaces, the adsorption energies and configurations of water molecule on the two surfaces are significantly different.     

The chemisorption of hydrogen on silicon and silicon carbide (1 0 0) surfaces

The chemisorption of hydrogen onto semiconductor surfaces is examined. The hydrogen bonds to the dangling bond of a surface atom. These dangling bonds also dictate the reconstruction of the crystal surface. The chemisorbed hydrogen therefore modifies the reconstructed surface topology. In this work theoretical calculations of the surface structures of both covalent elemental silicon and polar silicon carbide are presented. The periodic MINDO method is employed to determine the topologies for the 2 × 1 reconstructed (1 0 0) surfaces. These topologies are obtained from the minimisation of the total energy, for silicon and silicon carbide films of 14 layer thickness, with respect to the atomic co-ordinates of the hydrogen adsorbate and the first four layers of the substrate. The results show that the formation of the hydrogen bond to the substrate leads to a general lengthening of the surface dimer bond. In addition, the buckling of the silicon dimer determined for silicon terminated SiC is removed by hydrogen chemisorption.     

Resonating valence bond mechanism of the H2 dissociation on Pd surface

Resonating valence bond theory combined with DFT calculations permit to build a simple model for the dissociation of H₂ on palladium surface. Based on analysis of the electron transfer and total energy for different geometries of the Pd₂–H₂ and Pd₅–H₂ systems it is found that the predissociative state corresponds to a tilted molecule adsorbed on the surface.