The configuration and electronic state of SO3 adsorbed on Au surface

We evaluated the adsorption of SO₃ molecule on Au (1 1 1) surface using first principles calculation by a slab model with a periodic boundary condition. We find that there are six stable adsorption configurations on an Au surface, where the SO₃ molecule is adsorbed above the three-fold fcc and hcp hollow sites and on the atop site. In two of these configurations, S and two O atoms are bound to the Au atoms, the next two configurations have all the three O atoms bound to the Au surface atoms, and the last two configurations have the S atom bound to an Au surface atom on the atop site and O atoms situated above the hollow sites. In these configurations, the electronic structures of SO₃ on the Au surface show that molecular orbitals of SO₃ and those of the Au surface are hybridized in the active metal d-band region, that the localized molecular orbitals in SO₃ are stabilized, and that charge is transferred from Au to S 3p by SO₃ adsorption on the Au surface though there is little other interaction of the S and O (bound to Au) component with Au. Moreover, the bond between the S and O atoms bound to Au is weakened due to SO₃ adsorption on the Au surface due to the charge polarization of the O-Au bond. This interaction is likely to encourage the S-O bond to break.     

Theoretical study of interaction between atoms of Au, Ag, Cu and clean Si(1 1 1) surface

To evaluate the interactions between the atoms of Au, Ag and Cu and clean Si(1 1 1) surface, two types of silicon clusters Si₄H₇ and Si₁₆H₂₀ together with their metal complexes were studied by using hybrid (U)B3LYP density functional theory method. Optimized geometries and energies on different adsorption sites indicate that: (1) the binding energies at different adsorption sites are large (ranging from 1.2 to 2.6 eV depend on the metal atoms and adsorption sites), suggesting a strong interaction between metal atom and silicon surface; (2) the most favorable adsorption site is the on top (T) site. Mulliken population analysis indicated that in the system of on top (T) site, a covalent bond is formed between metal atom and dangling bond of surface Si atom.     

Theoretical study on adsorption of thiophenethiolate molecule on Au(1 1 1) surface

We have theoretically studied the adsorption of a thiophenethiolate (C₄H₃S-S) molecule on the Au(1 1 1) surface by first-principles calculations. It is found that the bridge site is the most stable adsorption site with the adsorption energy of 1.02 eV. In the optimized adsorption geometry, the bond between the head S atom and the connected C atom in the tail thiophene molecule is tilted by 57.2° from the surface normal. In addition, the adsorption of thiophenethiolate induces large relaxations of the surface Au atoms around it. Furthermore, weak interactions between the S atom in the tail thiophene ring and the Au atoms also contribute to the adsorption on the Au surface.     

DFT calculations for Au adsorption onto a reduced TiO2 (110) surface with the coexistence of Cl

Residual chlorines, which originate from HAuCl₄, enhance the aggregation of gold (Au) nanoparticles and clusters, preventing the generation of highly active supported Au catalysts. However, the detailed mechanism of residual-chlorine-promoted aggregation of Au is unknown. Herein to investigate this mechanism, density functional theory (DFT) calculations of Au and Cl adsorption onto a reduced rutile TiO₂ (110) surface were performed using a generalised gradient approximation Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof formula (GGA–PBE) functional and plane-wave basis. Although both Au and Cl atoms prefer to mono-absorb onto oxygen defect sites, Cl atoms have a stronger absorption onto a reduced TiO₂ (110) surface, abbreviated as rTiO₂ (110) in the following, than Au atoms. Additionally, co-adsorption of a Cl atom and a Au atom or Au nanorod onto a rTiO₂ surface was investigated; Cl adsorption onto an oxygen defect site weakens the interaction between a Au atom or Au nanorod and rTiO₂ (110) surface. The calculation results suggest that the depletion of interaction between Au and rTiO₂ surface is due to strong interaction between Cl atoms at oxygen defect sites and neighbouring bridging oxygen (O^B) atoms.     

Adsorption properties of chalcogen atoms on a golden buckyball Au16(-) from first principles

Using first-principles density functional theory, we investigate the adsorption properties of chalcogen elements (oxygen and sulfur) on an anionic golden nanocage Au(16)(-) and its effects on the structural and electronic properties of the golden cage. In particular, we find that when a sulfur atom is encapsulated inside Au(16)(-), its bonding character with Au atoms appears ionic due to electron transfer from sulfur to the gold nanocage. In contrast, the exohedrally adsorbed S atom tends to have strong orbital hybridization with the golden nanocage. For an oxygen adsorption case, electrons from the golden cage tend to be shared with the adsorbed O atom exhibiting strong orbital hybridization, regardless of its adsorption sites. To investigate the transition behaviors between the most stable exohedral and endohedral adsorption configurations, we calculate the activation and reaction energies in the transition. The oxygen atom experiences a lower energy barrier than the sulfur atom due to its smaller atomic radius. Finally, we explore the vibrational properties of S- or O-adsorbed Au(16)(-) buckyballs by calculating their infrared spectra.     

Au钝化Si(100)表面的电子特性

用TB-LMTO方法研究单层的Au原子在理想的Si(100)表面的化学吸附.计算了Au原子在不同位置的吸附能,吸附体系与清洁Si(100)表面的层投影态密度, 以及电子转移情况.结果表明, Au原子在吸附面上方的A位(顶位)吸附最稳定, Au钝化Si(100)表面可以取得明显的钝化效果, 这一结论与实验事实相符合.     

Counting electrons transferred through a thin alumina film into Au chains

Low-temperature STM measurements combined with density functional theory calculations are employed to study the adsorption of gold on alumina/NiAl(110). The binding of Au monomers involves breaking of an oxide Al-O bond below the adatom and stabilizing the hence undercoordinated O ion by forming a new bond to an Al atom in the NiAl. The adsorption implies negative charging of the adatom. The linear arrangement of favorable binding sites induces the self-organization of Au atoms into chains. For every ad-chain, the number of transfer electrons from the support is determined by analyzing the node structure of the corresponding highest occupied molecular orbital.     

An effective Hamiltonian for sulfur adsorption at Au(1 0 0) surface

Adsorption of sulfur at the (1 0 0) surface of gold is analyzed with the help of the density functional theory (DFT). Potential energy surface for a single S atom at the Au(1 0 0) surface is computed and a simple analytical formula was found to reproduce the ab initio results to a good accuracy. Vibration frequencies of the adsorbed S atom are computed using the harmonic approximation and the contribution of zero-point motion to the adsorption energy is evaluated. The effects of surface Au atoms relaxation in the sulfur adsorption is analyzed. The interactions between S atoms adsorbed at the nearest and the next nearest equivalent adsorption sites are computed and used to define the effective Hamiltonian describing the interactions between the adsorbed sulfur atoms.     

Chemisorption of Au on Si（001） surface

The chemisorption of one monolayer of Au atoms on an ideal Si(001) surface is studied by using the self-consistent tight binding linear muffin-tin orbital method. Energies of the adsorption system of a Au atom on different sites are calculated. It is found that the most stable position is A site (top site) for the adsorbed Au atoms above the Si(001) surface. It is possible for the adsorbed Au atoms to sit below the Si(001) surface at the B_1 site(bridge site), resulting in a Au－Si mixed layer. This is in agreement with the experiment results. The layer projected density of states is calculated and compared with that of the clean surface. The charge transfer is also investigated.     

Adsorption of Ag on Si(1 0 0) surface

The chemisorption of one monolayer Ag atoms on an ideal Si(1 0 0) surface is studied by using the self-consistent tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital method. The adsorption energies (E_ad) of different sites are calculated. It is found that the adsorbed Ag atoms are more favorable on C site (fourfold site) than on any other sites on Si(1 0 0) surface, the polar covalent bond is formed between Ag atom and surface Si atom, a Ag and Si mixed layer does not exist and does form an abrupt interface at the Ag–Si(1 0 0) interface. This is in agreement with the experiment results. The layer-projected density of states is calculated and compared with that of the clean surface. The charge transfer is also investigated. Comparing with the Au/Si(1 0 0) system, the interaction is weaker between Ag and Si than between Au and Si.     

水分子在Yn (n=2-8)团簇表面的分子吸附与解离吸附

运用密度泛函理论,对H2O在Yn (n=2-8) 团簇表面的分子吸附与解离吸附两种模式进行了结构优化,电子性质分析。结果表明：分子吸附中H2O倾向于O端吸附于Y-Y原子桥位,而解离吸附中H2O解离的H, O原子倾向于吸附于Yn团簇的面位。两种吸附模式都导致了（解离吸附n=4, 5除外）主团簇Y原子平均键长增大。分子吸附和解离吸附的吸附强度和化学活性都随尺寸增加而增大。解离吸附中体系的稳定性明显高于分子吸附,且与体系的电子壳层效应密切相关。     

水分子在Yn (n=2-8)团簇表面的分子吸附与解离吸附

运用密度泛函理论,对H2O在Yn (n=2-8) 团簇表面的分子吸附与解离吸附两种模式进行了结构优化,电子性质分析。结果表明：分子吸附中H2O倾向于O端吸附于Y-Y原子桥位,而解离吸附中H2O解离的H, O原子倾向于吸附于Yn团簇的面位。两种吸附模式都导致了（解离吸附n=4, 5除外）主团簇Y原子平均键长增大。分子吸附和解离吸附的吸附强度和化学活性都随尺寸增加而增大。解离吸附中体系的稳定性明显高于分子吸附,且与体系的电子壳层效应密切相关。     

1,4-丁二硫醇分子器件电输运性质的力敏特性研究

基于杂化密度泛函理论,研究了1,4-丁二硫醇分子体系的结构随电极作用力的变化及拉断过程;并利用弹性散射格林函数方法进一步计算了不同电极作用力下分子体系的电输运特性.结果显示,界面结构不同,拉断分子体系所用的拉力也不同:分子末端硫原子处于Au(111)面的空位上方时,拉断分子体系需约1.75 nN的拉力;若金电极表面存在孤立金原子与1,4-丁二硫醇分子末端的硫原子相连,拉断分子体系只需约1.0 nN的力,且伴有孤立金原子被拉出.两种情况分别与不同实验测量相符合.分子在压缩过程中发生扭曲并引起表面金原子滑移,然而压缩扭曲过程与拉伸回复过程不可逆.电极拉力约为0.7—0.8 nN时,分子体系在不同界面构型下以及在不同扭转状态下,电导都出现极小值,这与实验结论一致.分子的末端原子与电极间耦合强度随电极作用力的变化是引起分子体系电导变化的主要因素.实验在0.8 nN附近同时测得较小概率的高电导值与双分子导电有关.     

氢原子吸附对金表面金属酞菁分子的吸附位置、自旋和手征性的调控

实现单个功能有机分子构型、电子结构和自旋态的可逆调控, 是未来分子电子学和分子自旋电子学应用的关键. 近年来, 我们利用极低温强磁场超高真空扫描隧道显微镜系统, 结合第一性原理计算, 系统研究了氢原子吸附对金表面吸附的金属酞菁分子的自旋、手性和吸附位置的调控. 通过将金表面吸附的酞菁锰分子暴露于氢气或氢原子环境, 使得分子中心的磁性离子吸附单个氢原子, 从而实现了体系近藤效应由“开”到“关”的转变. 基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算表明, 氢原子吸附使得锰离子3d轨道内的电荷重排导致了分子的自旋由3/2降为1; 同时分子与金基底的间距增大, 使得近藤效应消失. 通过施加局域电压脉冲或者给样品加热, 可以实现单个或所有分子脱氢, 从而恢复体系的自旋态和近藤效应. 氢原子吸附还导致分子的优先吸附位置从金表面的面心立方堆垛区域变成了六角密排堆垛区域. 三个氢原子吸附于同一酞菁锰分子上, 可导致分子对称性的降低及分子镜面对称轴与金基底镜面对称轴的偏离, 从而导致手征性的出现. 这种分子吸附结构的手征性, 导致分子轨道也呈现出手征性. 这项工作为金属酞菁未来在分子电子学、自旋电子学、气体传感器等方面的应用提供了新思路.     

Defect-induced conductance oscillations in short atomic chains

Electronic transport through a junction made of two gold electrodes connected with a gold chain containing a silver impurity is analyzed with a tight binding model and the density-functional theory. It is shown that the conductance depends in a simple way on the position of the impurity in the chain and the parity of the total number of atoms of the chain. For an odd chain the conductance takes on a higher value when the Ag impurity substitutes an even Au atom in the chain, and a lower one for an odd position of the Ag atom. In the case of an even chain the conductance hardly depends on the position of the Ag atom. This new kind of a defect-induced parity oscillation of the conductance is significantly more prominent than the well-known even-odd effect related to the dependence of the conductance on the parity of number of atoms in perfect chains.     

Stability of gold nanostructures on rutile TiO2(110) surface

The adsorption of gold atoms and formation of nanostructures on the rutile TiO₂(110) surface with different degree of oxygen reduction was studied from first principles. The Au atoms adsorb strongest at oxygen vacancy sites. Starting from a very low coverage limit the potential energy profiles or diffusion paths of the adsorbed Au monomers and dimers were calculated. Stable structures of two to nine Au atoms arranged in finite and infinite rows and in the shape of finite-size clusters were determined. All these structures are found to bind to the reduced surface stronger than 2 eV/atom. The elongated Au row-like structures bind by about 0.1 eV stronger than 3D clusters, suggesting a preference for the 1D-like Au growth mode on the missing-row reconstructed TiO₂(110).     

Au(111)表面甲基联二苯丙硫醇盐单层膜的原子结构

利用第一性原理研究了甲基联二苯丙硫醇盐(BP3S)单体、虚拟Au表面BP3S的分子链和单层膜及BP3S/Au(111)吸附系统的原子结构.计算表明BP3S单体呈对称结构,两苯环夹角为35°±10°.首先BP3S单体在虚拟Au(111)表面自组装成稳定的单一分子链.然后在虚拟Au(111)表面,分子链错位排列自组装成两种稳定的单层膜.在虚拟Au(111)-(3~(1/2)×7~(1/2))和Au(111)-(3~(1/2)×13~(1/2))表面,分子链与虚拟表面夹角分别为60°和30°.最后把两种稳定的单层膜吸附在Au(111)表面的四个吸附位,计算表明只有桥位和顶位稳定,且桥位的吸附能比顶位的吸附能低.比较吸附前后BP3S单层膜的结构变化,可知其变化不大,这说明吸附系统的结构参数主要取决于单层膜内的相互作用,衬底对其的影响不大.     

Density-functional study of Mo4S6 on Au(111)

The adsorption site and energetics of Mo₄S₆ on the unreconstructed (111) gold surface was determined by density-functional band-structure calculations. Mo₄S₆ adsorbs preferably via three S atoms at Au–Au bridging sites and three Mo atoms at adjacent threefold hollow sites of the Au(111) surface. The perfectly tetrahedral free cluster becomes trigonally distorted upon adsorption, which indicates the presence of attractive Au–S and Au–Mo interactions. The work of separation amounts to 4.2 eV including gradient corrections. Small peak shifts in the density of electronic states indicate electron transfer from Au to S states and from Mo to Au states, such that a Bader analysis yields a neutral cluster. Electron density difference maps, which visualize the electron redistribution between cluster and substrate in the interface region, show that the electron redistribution is confined to the cluster-surface contact region. PACS 61.46.+w; 73.22.-f; 72.20.-v     

Adsorption of NO on Au atoms and dimers supported on MgO(1 0 0): DFT studies

The adsorption of NO on single gold atoms and Au₂ dimers deposited on regular O²⁻ sites and neutral oxygen vacancies (F_s sites) of the MgO(1 0 0) surface have been studied by means of DFT calculations. For Au₁/MgO the adsorption of NO is stronger when the Au atom is supported on an anionic site than when it is on a F_s site, with adsorption binding energies of 1.1 and 0.5 eV, respectively. In the first case the spin density is mainly concentrated on the metal atom and protruding from the surface. In such a way, an active site against radicals such as NO is generated. On the F_s site, the presence of the vacancy delocalizes the spin into the substrate, weakening its coupling with NO. For Au₂/MgO, as this system has a closed-shell configuration, the NO molecules bonds weakly with Au₂. Regarding the N–O stretching frequencies, a very strong shift of 340–400 cm⁻¹ to lower frequencies is observed for Au₁/MgO in comparison with free NO.     

Tailoring oxide properties: An impact on adsorption characteristics of molecules and metals

Both density functional theory calculations and numerous experimental studies demonstrate a variety of unique features in metal supported oxide films and transition metal doped simple oxides, which are markedly different from their unmodified counterparts. This review highlights, from the computational perspective, recent literature on the properties of the above mentioned surfaces and how they adsorb and activate different species, support metal aggregates, and even catalyse reactions. The adsorption of Au atoms and clusters on metal-supported MgO films are reviewed together with the cluster׳s theoretically predicted ability to activate and dissociate O₂ at the Au–MgO(100)/Ag(100) interface, as well as the impact of an interface vacancy to the binding of an Au atom. In contrast to a bulk MgO surface, an Au atom binds strongly on a metal-supported ultra-thin MgO film and becomes negatively charged. Similarly, Au clusters bind strongly on a supported MgO(100) film and are negatively charged favouring 2D planar structures. The adsorption of other metal atoms is briefly considered and compared to that of Au. Existing computational literature of adsorption and reactivity of simple molecules including O₂, CO, NO₂, and H₂O on mainly metal-supported MgO(100) films is discussed. Chemical reactions such as CO oxidation and O₂ dissociation are discussed on the bare thin MgO film and on selected Au clusters supported on MgO(100)/metal surfaces. The Au atoms at the perimeter of the cluster are responsible for catalytic activity and calculations predict that they facilitate dissociative adsorption of oxygen even at ambient conditions. The interaction of H₂O with a flat and stepped Ag-supported MgO film is summarized and compared to bulk MgO. The computational results highlight spontaneous dissociation on MgO steps. Furthermore, the impact of water coverage on adsorption and dissociation is addressed. The modifications, such as oxygen vacancies and dopants, at the oxide–metal interface and their effect on the adsorption characteristics of water and Au are summarized. Finally, more limited computational literature on transition metal (TM) doped CaO(100) and MgO(100) surfaces is presented. Again, Au is used as a probe species. Similar to metal-supported MgO films, Au binds more strongly than on undoped CaO(100) and becomes negatively charged. The discussion focuses on rationalization of Au adsorption with the help of Born–Haber cycle, which reveals that the so-called redox energy including the electron transfer from the dopant to the Au atom together with the simultaneous structural relaxation of lattice atoms is responsible for enhanced binding. In addition, adsorption energy dependence on the position and type of the dopant is summarized.