On the electronic structure of ferromagnetic transition metal surfaces

The electronic structure at the surface of ferromagnetic Ni and Fe is studied within a rigid exchange splitting model, in the tight-binding approximation. The surface resonances existing in the paramagnetic state are split. The magnetic moment is found to be the same at the surface and in the bulk in agreement with recent experiments. It is shown to be distributed almost spherically, except for (100)Ni where it points towards nearest neighbours.     

Cluster calculations of the electronic structure of transition metal surfaces

The electronic structure and charge distributions for 13-atom clusters of 3d transition metals (Fe, Ni. Cu) have been calculated using a scattered wave technique. The cluster geometry is chosen to display features of stepped and flat surfaces. Many states in the band show pronounced charge lobes in the neighbourhood of edge and corner atoms, suggesting that these are active sites in these metals. These lobes are more extensive for lighter elements in the series and, for a given element, more diffuse at lower energies in the d-band. Charge expansion from the centre of the cluster to the edge atoms is a general feature, and the stepped surfaces show a variety of bonding orbitals not present on the flat surface.     

A general green function method for calculating electronic structure and vibrational modes at surfaces

We extend the (single-particle) Green function method for treating surface problems by (1) giving a simple analytical expression for the bulk Green function G₀⁺(ω) which is completely general, and (2) giving a new procedure for achieving self-consistency in electronic problems.     

On the influence of size and roughness on the electronic structure of transition metal surfaces

The dependence of surface electronic structure on local and farther environment for transition metals is investigated in the tight binding approximation associated with the moment method. Local densities of states (LDS) on fcc cubooctahedral and on icosahedral clusters of increasing size, from 13 up to 2057 atoms, are studied for corner sites and central sites on differently oriented faces. The general LDS features are determined by the nearest neighbour shell but outstanding details, such as the occurrence of a strong central peak, are dependent on each particular cluster site and dimension. Only for particles larger than one thousand atoms the LDS at the center of (100) and (111) faces look like those of the corresponding infinite surfaces. The importance of symmetry is pointed out by the comparison of LDS at equivalent sites on cubo-octahedra (cubic symmetry) and icosahedra (five-fold symmetry). These results might explain the variation of activity with the catalyser dispersion, as the adsorption energy depends on the relative position of the adatom atomic level and the substrate LDS peaks and Fermi level.     

The electronic structure of some transition metal alloys

Thermal neutron scattering experiments have provided detailed information on the distributions of magnetic moment in a number of disordered ferromagnet binary alloys. The general features of these distributions together with saturation magnetization data are discussed and compared with various simple theories. Attention is focused on dilute alloy systems. After an introduction the paper is divided into four sections, the first of which deals with alloys which tend to follow the Slater-Pauling curve. Here a simple Thomas-Fermi treatment due to Friedel suggests that magnetic moment changes, largely confined to the minor constituent (solute) sites, should occur with a sign dependent on the nature of the density of states at the Fermi level in the pure major constituent (solvent). Comparison with experiment shows qualitative agreement except in the case of Fe-based alloys containing transition element solutes from the right of Fe in the periodic table. This discrepancy is examined and an explanation put forward. The next section outlines a discussion of the electronic structure of alloys of transition elements with non-transition metal solutes. The view is taken that the electronic configuration of a solute atom is roughly similar to the configuration found in the pure non-transition metal: it follows that no partially filled d orbitals are expected at solute sites. Use of a simple Thomas-Fermi model based on this assumption indicates that some of the electric screening associated with a non-transition metal solute takes place in the surrounding transition metal slovent. Additional electrons introduced in this way into the solvent occupy mainly d states and cause a reduction in magnetic properties. This reduction together with the total loss of d-state effects from the solute sites themselves can account qualitatively for the changes observed in Ni, Pd and Fe-based alloys with non-transition elements. The fourth section deals with the transition metal alloys which show marked departures from Slater-Pauling behaviour, e.g. NiCr. An explanation for these alloys has been provided by Friedel's bound impurity state model and the mechanism suggested by Comly, Holden and Low to account for the similarity in shape of the magnetic disturbances observed in different systems. The final section discusses ferromagnetic alloys of PdFe and PdCo. The giant moments associated with the Fe and Co solutes result from a widespread polarization of the Pd solvent contiguous to the solute atoms. This polarization can be interpreted with the use of a non-local exchange-enhanced susceptibility function for the Pd host. With increasing solute content this function becomes modified to an extent dependent on the shift of d holes from one spin direction to the other, i.e. on the mean polarization of the Pd.     

Reconstruction behaviour of fcc(110) transition metal surfaces and their vicinals

The fcc(110) surfaces are well known for their strong tendency to missing-row (MR) type reconstructions either in the clean state (Au, Pt) or driven by adsorbates (Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag). The present knowledge on the different reconstruction behaviour of flat (110) surfaces is reviewed. The survey focuses on recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies, which for the first time also elucidate the dynamics of the reconstruction process for the various systems. An overview of our recent STM and low energy electron diffraction studies on vicinal Au(110) and Ni(110) surfaces is given, aiming for a deeper understanding of the influence of steps on reconstruction behaviour of fcc(110) surfaces on the one hand, and on the stability of reconstructing vicinal surfaces on the other. Finally, we report on the reconstruction behaviour of Ir(110), which stabilizes in the clean state by formation of mesoscopic (331) facets and dereconstructs to the (1×1) phase upon oxygen adsorption at 700–900 K.     

Self-consistent green function approach for calculation of electronic structure in transition metals

We present an approach for self-consistent calculations of the many-body Green function in transition metals. The distinguishing feature of our approach is the use of one-site approximation and the self-consistent quasiparticle wave function basis set obtained from the solution of the Schr?dinger equation with a nonlocal potential. We analyze several sets of skeleton diagrams as generating functionals for the Green function self-energy, including GW and fluctuating exchange sets. Calculations for Fe and Ni revealed stronger energy dependence of the effective interaction and self-energy of the d electrons near the Fermi level compared to s and p electron states.     

Non-local corrections to the electronic structure of metal surfaces

A non-local exchange-correlation term, derived from the static dielectric function of Vashishta and Singwi (VS), is introduced into the density functional for an interacting electron gas. The coefficient is chosen to give the same surface energy for two adjacent jellium metals of nearly equal density as is obtained from the VS dielectric function. This density functional is then used to calculate surface energies and work functions for metal-vacuum interfaces. The results for both surface energies and work functions found in this way are significantly higher than the experimental values. Possible explanations for the discrepancies are discussed.     

Surface green function matching approach to the surface dynamics of ionic crystals: I. Equivalence with the invariant green function method

The surface Green function matching (SGFM) method is shown to be equivalent to the Green function method in its translationally and rotationally invariant formulation (IGF). Such equivalence between matching and invariance conditions makes the SGFM method easily applicable to the surface dynamics of ionic crystals, due to the existing possibility of deriving an effective short-range perturbation from the invariance conditions. An application to the inelastic scattering of He from LiF(001) in the eikonal approximation is presented.     

Theory of electronic structure of non-dilute transition metal alloys : Ni-Cu

The density of states for the Ni-Cu alloy system has been calculated as a function of concentration by the supercell method. This method takes into account inter-site interactions in contrast with current effective medium or single site theories. We show that the method is practical for the study of disordered systems. Comparison is made with previous work as well as with photoemission data.     

Photoexcited processes at metal and alloy surfaces: electronic structure and adsorption site

Photoexcited processes of NO and CO at photon energies ranging from 2.3 to 6.4 eV are investigated on Pt(111), Ni(111) and Pt(111)---Ge surface alloys by reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy and resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The branching between three competitive processes of desorption, recapture and dissociation upon laser irradiation is dramatically changed on the three surfaces. On Pt(111), NO is either photodesorbed or photodissociated depending on the coverage, while NO is exclusively photodissociated on Ni(111). UV-photon irradiation of NO on Pt(111)---Ge, on the other hand, induces only desorption of NO. Desorption of CO bound at the on-top site of Pt(111) is induced by laser irradiation. The electronic mechanism for photodesorption and competitive branching is discussed in terms of the electronic structure of the substrate and the adsorbate.     

Study of the atomic structure of bcc and fcc crystals upon instantaneous plastic deformation

The evolution of the atomic structure of face-centered cubic (fcc) and body-centered cubic (bcc) crystals under the conditions of pulsed external loads and large plastic strains is investigated on the basis of computer experiments. The crystals are strained in steps to 32%. After each deformation step (2%), the system is relaxed by molecular dynamics to a new equilibrium state at 300 K. The results of the computer experiments show that plastic deformation can take place under instantaneous external loads either as a result of the motion of partial dislocations, twinning, or the turning and displacement of atomic planes, depending on the stage of the process. The laws governing the variation of the potential energy of the system and the rotation angle of the atomic planes as functions of the degree of plastic strain of the crystal are found. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 100–102 (December 1997)     

氢化二维过渡金属硫化物的稳定性和电子特性:第一性原理研究

用氢对单层二维过渡金属硫化物(TMDs)进行功能化是调节单层TMDs电子性质的既有效又经济的方法.采用密度泛函理论,对单层TMDs (MX_2 (M=Mo, W; X=S, Se, Te))的稳定性和电子性质进行理论研究,发现在单层MX_2 的层间有一个比其表面更稳定的氢吸附位点.当同阳离子时,随着阴离子原子序数的增加, H原子与MX_2 层的结合越强,氢化单层MX_2 结构越稳定;相反,同阴离子时,随着阳离子原子序数的增加, H原子与MX_2 层的结合越弱.氢原子从MoS_2的表面经层间穿越到另一表面的扩散势垒约为0.9 eV.氢化对单层MX_2 的电子特性也会产生极大的影响,主要表现在氢化实现了MX_2 体系从无磁性到磁性体系的过渡.表面氢化会使MX_2 层的带隙急剧减小,而层间氢化使MX_2 的电子结构从半导体转变为金属能带.     

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of bcc iron surfaces

Trends in atomic multilayer relaxations, surface energy, electronic work function, and magnetic structure of several low-Miller-index surfaces of iron are investigated employing density functional theory total energy calculations. The calculated topmost layer relaxations reproduce well the experimental contractions and their variation with the surface crystallographic orientation, and surface roughness. The multilayer relaxation sequences correlate with the reduced coordination in surface layers and can be explained in terms of a simple electrostatic picture. The surface energies scale almost linearly with the surface roughness. They agree well with the experimental surface tensions and show a small anisotropy in agreement with predictions based on measurements for other metals. The equilibrium shape of a bcc Fe crystal is determined and discussed. The work function anisotropy is calculated and rationalized in terms of changes in the valence charge distribution. Significantly increased local magnetic moments of atoms in the surface region are determined. The correlation between the anisotropy of the surface magnetic moments and atomic coordination in the outermost layers is demonstrated to follow a simple rule.     

Theory of electronic structure of non-dilute transition metal alloys : NiCu

The density of states for the NiCu alloys system has been calculated as a function of concentration by the supercell method. This method takes into account inter-site interactions in contrast with current effective medium or single site theories. We show that the method is practical for the study of disordered systems. Comparison is made with previous work as well as with photoemission data.