First principle study of the cation vacancy in anatase TiO2

Based on first principle FP‐LAPW calculations, we have studied the electronic and magnetic properties of anatase TiO₂ with Ti cation vacancy. We find that the Ti cation vacancy defect can induce a magnetic moment of about 4μ_B/supercell. The magnetic moment mainly comes from p‐orbitals of O atoms which surround the Ti vacancy. We also find that the two Ti vacancies in anatase always coupled ferromagnetically. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Dimers on a Simple-Quartic Net with a Vacancy

A seminal milestone in lattice statistics is the exact solution of the enumeration of dimers on a simple-quartic net obtained by Fisher, Kasteleyn, and Temperley (FKT) in 1961. An outstanding related and yet unsolved problem is the enumeration of dimers on a net with vacant sites. Here we consider this vacant-site problem with a single vacancy occurring at certain specific sites on the boundary of a simple-quartic net. First, using a bijection between dimer and spanning tree configurations due to Temperley, Kenyon, Propp, and Wilson, we establish that the dimer generating function is independent of the location of the vacancy, and deduce a closed-form expression for the generating function. We next carry out finite-size analyses of this solution as well as that of the FKT solution. Our analyses lead to a logarithmic correction term in the large-size expansion for the vacancy problem with free boundary conditions. A concrete example exhibiting this difference is given. We also find the central charge c=–2 in the language of conformal field theory for the vacancy problem, as versus the value c=1 when there is no vacancy.     

Role of vacancy and metal doping on combustive oxidation of Zr/ZrO2 core-shell particles

We studied self-propagated combustion synthesis of transition-metal-doped tetragonal ZrO₂ (t-ZrO₂) with first principles-based one-dimensional diffusion reaction model. The optimal reaction condition for the combustion process was investigated by calculating energetic stability and surface reactivity of oxygen vacancy defects on (101) surface termination of t-ZrO₂ using first-principles density functional methods. In the first-principles model, the surface was doped with 14 different metal impurities in the 4th and 5th row of the periodic table to examine the role of transition-metal doping on the combustion process. Results indicate that there are clear trends in the defect stability and reactivity depending upon the type of metal impurity and their relative location with respect to the oxygen vacancy. Surface density of states and charge density information also show that there is a trade-off between the vacancy stability and chemical activity of the surface defect states. Based on the thermodynamic information obtained from first principles, we analyze the combustion process of a Zr metal particle by using a one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model. The competition between the vacancy-assisted chemisorption and the vacancy diffusion results in an optimal point for rate of combustion reaction with respect to the vacancy stability. From this, we suggest a plausible screening strategy for metal-doping which can be applied at different temperatures and pressures, as well as with different particle sizes. Our analysis indicates that first-principles calculation provides key information that can be subsequently used for an optimization of the reaction rate for a self-sustained combustion process. An explicit inclusion of rates of defect and ionic transport will be introduced into our model in future work.     

Orbital selection of the double [CuO2] layer compound Ca3Cu2O4Cl2

We present a first-principles investigation on the dynamics and mechanism of the oxidation reaction between water molecules and the reduced PuO_2(110) surface using ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD) simulations in combination with density functional theory(DFT) + U calculations. We find a dominating dissociation preference of water molecules for the vacancy defect sites on the PuO_2(110) surface, irrespective of the water or vacancy coverage. Due to hybridizations between the frontier orbitals of water molecule and the electronic states of the vacancy vicinity, partial water dissociation at the vacancy sites is exothermic and barrierless. The dissociation product, an OH group, further hydrogenates the PuO_2(110) surface by occupying the vacancy site.We also observe surface vacancy diffusion induced by the interactions between the water molecules and the surface oxygen atom in the proximity of the defect sites.     

Electronic energy structure of vacancy and divacancy in SiO2

We investigated electronic energy structure of vacancy and divacancy in SiO₂, and found that oxygen vacancy and divacancy give rise to bound-states near the edge of the conduction band, whereas localized states related to the silicon vacancy occur in the valence band. Our results demonstrate that the doubly occupied oxygen vacancy state yields electrons to silicon in Si-SiO₂ junction and serves as a fixed oxide charge.     

Interplay between external strain and oxygen vacancies on a rutile TiO2(110) Surface

Comprehensive first-principle calculations on strained rutile TiO2(110) indicate that the formation energy of different types of oxygen vacancies depends on the external strain. For the unstrained state, the energetically favorable oxygen vacancy (EFOV) appears on the bridging site of the first layer; when 3% tensile strain along [11[over ]0] is applied, EFOV moves to the in-plane site, while 2% compressive strain along either [001] or [11[over ]0] shifts EFOV to the subbridging site. We therefore suggest that the distribution of oxygen vacancies can be engineered by external strain, which may help to improve the applications of a TiO2 surface where oxygen vacancy plays an important role.     

金红石型TiO_2中四种点缺陷态研究

利用第一性原理计算方法研究了金红石型TiO_2中四种缺陷的电子态.这四种缺陷包括氧空位(O_v)、钛空位(Ti_V)、钛间隙(Ti_S)以及氧空位O_v与钛间隙态Ti_S共存态.氧空位的存在导致禁带内施主缺陷能级较浅,而深施主能级与Ti间隙态有关.预测了氧空位更倾向于与钛间隙结合,主要通过钛间隙态的3d电子部分转移到近邻近氧空位的部分形成O_V-Ti_S对缺陷.具有O_v、Ti_S或O_V-Ti_S缺陷的体系都出现间隙态,促进体系出现红外吸收.     

Vacancy trapping mechanism for multiple hydrogen and helium in beryllium: a first-principles study

The microscopic mechanism for H and He trapping by vacancy defects and bubble formation in a Be host lattice is investigated using first-principles calculations. A single He atom prefers to occupy a vacancy centre while H does not. He can segregate towards the vacancy from the interstitial site much more easily than H. Both H and He exhibit lower diffusion barriers from a remote interstitial to a vacancy with regard to their diffusion barriers inside a perfect Be solid. Up to five H or 12 He atoms can be accommodated into the monovacancy space, and the Be-He interaction is much weaker than Be-H. The physical origin for aggregation of multiple H or He atoms in a vacancy is further discussed. The strong tendency of H and He trapping at vacancies provides an explanation for why H and He bubbles were experimentally observed at vacancy defects in materials. We therefore argue that vacancies provide a primary nucleation site for bubbles of H and He gases inside Be materials.     

Bonding of gold nanoclusters to oxygen vacancies on rutile TiO2(110)

Through an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that bridging oxygen vacancies are the active nucleation sites for Au clusters on the rutile TiO2(110) surface. We find that a direct correlation exists between a decrease in density of vacancies and the amount of Au deposited. From the DFT calculations we find that the oxygen vacancy is indeed the strongest Au binding site. We show both experimentally and theoretically that a single oxygen vacancy can bind 3 Au atoms on average. In view of the presented results, a new growth model for the TiO2(110) system involving vacancy-cluster complex diffusion is presented.     

Vacancy excitation spectrum in solid 4He and longitudinal phonons

The first microscopic ab initio calculation of the excitation spectrum of a vacancy in solid 4He is reported. The energy-wave vector dispersion relation has been obtained at melting density within a development of the shadow wave function variational technique. The calculation of the excitation spectrum of a vacancy gives a bandwidth which ranges from 6 to 10 K in the hcp solid 4He, depending on the particular direction of the wave vector of the excitation. The effective mass of the vacancy turns out to be about 0.35 4He masses. We have also computed the spectrum of longitudinal phonons and we find rather good agreement with recent experimental results.     

Energy levels from lattice defects in AgGaS2

The luminescence of single crystals of AgGaS₂ from shallow centers is studied. As-grown crystals and crystals annealed in S, Ga, or in vacuum, were used. We show that the S vacancy causes a donor level at 50 meV (probably due to a charge state of V_S) and that the cation vacancy (perhaps Ag) introduces an acceptor level at 110 meV. Two other levels are found: a donor level at 30 meV and an acceptor level at 200 meV. Their origin is unknown.     

Effects of oxygen vacancies on the room-temperature ferromagnetism of Co-doped polycrystalline CeO2

Pure and Co-doped single-phase CeO₂ crystals were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method. Samples of different oxygen vacancy concentration were studied, including (1) as-sintered crystals, (2) powders ground from the same crystal, and (3) a cold-pressed pellet from the ground powder that was unannealed and annealed at 800 °C. By analyzing the magnetic behaviors, surface/volume ratio and O vacancy concentration, the effects of oxygen vacancies on the room-temperature ferromagnetism (RT-FM) of Co-doped CeO₂ were systematically investigated. The results confirm that the RT-FM observed in Co-doped CeO₂ has a direct relationship with the oxygen vacancy concentration, and support the oxygen vacancy mediated FM mechanism.     

The silicon vacancy in SiC

The isolated silicon vacancy is one of the basic intrinsic defects in SiC. We present new experimental data as well as new calculations on the silicon vacancy defect levels and a new model that explains the optical transitions and the magnetic resonance signals observed as occurring in the singly negative charge state of the silicon vacancy in 4H and 6H SiC.     

A first-principles study of the effect of oxygen vacancy on rutile Ti1−xCdxO2

A first-principles study has been performed to understand the effect of oxygen vacancy on the electronic properties of cadmium doped rutile TiO₂. We observe that Cd incorporation on rutile TiO₂ induces Cd p-states on the top of the valence band which is consistent with an earlier result of Zhang et al. (2008) [5]. Furthermore, by creating an oxygen vacancy, some new states are induced, which originate from the Ti 3d electrons at the middle of the band gap and spread up to the conduction band. Therefore, the band gap of the material reduces significantly, making it suitable to act as a better photocatalyst.     

相变及空位缺陷对高压下GeO_2光学性质的影响

本文采用第一性原理方法,在100 GPa的压力范围内,计算了GeO_2理想晶体和含锗、氧空位点缺陷晶体的光学性质.吸收谱数据表明,压力诱导的三个结构相变对GeO_2晶体的吸收谱均有影响:第一个相变将导致其吸收边蓝移,而第二和第三相变将使得其吸收边红移.锗和氧空位点缺陷的存在将导致GeO_2的吸收边红移,但氧空位点缺陷引起的红移更明显.尽管如此,分析发现,在100 GPa的压力范围内,压力、相变以及空位点缺陷等因素都不会导致GeO_2晶体在可见光区出现光吸收现象(是透明的).波长在532 nm处的折射率数据显示,在GeO_2的四个相区,其折射率均随压力增加而降低;而且,GeO_2的三个结构相变以及锗、氧空位点缺陷都会导致其折射率有所增大.本文预测,GeO_2有成为冲击光学窗口材料的可能.     

Ce和O空位共掺杂TiO_2的电子结构与光学性质

采用基于密度泛函理论加U的计算方法,研究了Ce和O空位单(共)掺杂锐钛矿相TiO_2的电子结构和光吸收性质.计算结果表明,Ce和O空位共掺杂TiO_2的带隙中出现了杂质能级,且带隙窄化为2.67 eV,明显比纯TiO_2和Ce,O空位单掺杂TiO_2的要小,因而可提高TiO_2对可见光的响应能力,使TiO_2的光吸收范围增加.光吸收谱显示,掺杂后TiO_2的光吸收边发生了显著红移;在400.0—677.1 nm的可见光区,共掺杂体系的光吸收强度显著高于纯TiO_2和Ce单掺杂TiO_2,而略低于O空位单掺杂TiO_2.此外,Ce掺杂TiO_2中引入O空位后,TiO_2的导带边从-0.27 eV变化为-0.32 eV,这表明TiO_2的导带边的还原能力得到了加强.计算结果为Ce和O空位共掺杂TiO_2在可见光光解水方面的进一步研究提供了有力的理论依据.     

高压下LiYF4晶体光学性质的第一性原理研究

本文采用第一性原理方法,在100 GPa的压力范围内, 计算了LiYF4理想晶体和含空位点缺陷晶体的光学性质.吸收谱数据表明,在100 GPa范围内,压力和相变因素的存在不会改变LiYF4晶体在250-1000 nm的波段内没有光吸收的事实. 氟、钇空位点缺陷的出现会使得LiYF4的吸收边蓝移,而锂空位点缺陷将导致它的吸收边微弱红移(但在250-1000 nm的波段内它仍不具有光吸收行为).波长在532 nm处的折射率数据显示, 在LiYF4的三个结构相区,其折射率均随压力的增加而增大. LiYF4从白钨矿结构到褐钇铌矿结构的相变会使得其折射率略微增加,但从褐钇铌矿结构到类黑钨矿结构的相变将导致其折射率显著降低. 同时,空位缺陷的存在将引起LiYF4的折射率明显增大. 分析指明,LiYF4有成为冲击窗口材料的可能. 本文所获得的信息对未来的实验研究有参考作用.     

Atomic processes in vacancy island motion on Ag(111)

We present results of molecular dynamics simulations of the motion of monatomic-deep vacancy islands on Ag(111), using interaction potentials from the embedded atom method. The individual processes appearing in a large set of runs, at three different temperatures, are identified. From the statistics thus collected, we find that the predominant mechanism underlying the diffusion of vacancy islands on Ag(111) is the diffusion of atoms along the periphery of the vacancy islands.     

Vacancies effect on the mechanical properties in B2 FeAl intermetallic by the first-principles study

ABSTRACT

The geometric structures, electronic and mechanical properties of the high vacancy concentration intermetallic FeAl (experimental value: 3.3 at.% at 1451?K) were investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The FeAl structures of different vacancy concentration with minimum energy were addressed, which shows that vacancies of iron (V_Fe) are more favourable and tend to gather together. For mechanical properties, both Young's modulus and elastic constants show an overall downward trend as vacancy concentration increases, but increase abnormally with the vacancy concentration ranging from 3.7 at.% to 5.6 at.%. All can be explained by the strength of Al–Fe bond, in other words, the Al–Fe interaction. Interestingly enough, intermetallic FeAl shows a transfer from the brittle manner to ductile manner, which also behaves as an important feature of FeAl in experiments. All the mechanical properties agree well with experimental data, indicating the reasonable vacancy model of FeAl intermetallic.     

Brownian motion of 2D vacancy islands by adatom terrace diffusion.

We have studied the Brownian motion of two-dimensional (2D) vacancy islands on Ag(110) at temperatures between 175 and 215 K. While the detachment of adatoms from the island and their diffusion on the terrace are permitted in this temperature range, the periphery diffusion of single adatoms is prohibited. The present scanning tunneling microscopy results provide the first direct experimental proof that the Brownian motion of the islands follows a simple scaling law with terrace diffusion being the rate limiting process. The activation energy of the vacancy island motion is determined to 0.41 eV.