DFT study of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> (001) surface with O and O<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorption

Progress of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) allowed to handle various molecules adsorbed on a given surface. New concepts emerged with molecules on surfaces considered as nano machines by themselves. In this context, a thorough knowledge of surfaces and adsorbed molecules at an atomic scale is thus particularly invaluable. In this work, within the framework of density functional theory (DFT), we present an electronic and structural ab initio study of a BaTiO₃ (001) surface (perovskite structure) in its paraelectric phase. As far as we know the atomic and molecular adsorption of oxygen at surface is then analyzed for the first time in the literature. Relaxation is taken into account for several layers. Its analysis for a depth of at least four layers enables us to conclude that a reasonable approximation for a BaTiO₃ (001) surface is provided with a slab made up of nine plans. The relative stability of two possible terminations is considered. By using a kinetic energy cut off of 400 eV, we found that a surface with BaO termination is more stable than with TiO₂ termination. Consequently, a surface with BaO termination was chosen to adsorb either O atom or O₂ molecule and the corresponding calculations were performed with a coverage 1 on a (1×1) cell. A series of cases with O₂ molecule adsorbed in various geometrical configurations are also analyzed. For O₂, the most favorable adsorption is obtained when the molecule is placed horizontally, with its axis, directed along the Ba-Ba axis and with its centre of gravity located above a Ba atom. The corresponding value of the adsorption energy is -9.70 eV per molecule (-4.85 eV per O atom). The molecule is then rather extended since the O–O distance measures 1.829 ?. By comparison, the adsorption energy of an O atom directly located above a Ba atom is only -3.50 eV. Therefore we are allowed to conclude that the O–O interaction stabilizes atomic adsorption. Also the local densities of states (LDOS) corresponding to various situations are discussed in the present paper. Up to now, we are not aware of experimental data to be compared to our calculated results.     

Mechanism of oxygen adsorption on surfaces of γ-TiAl

We studied the adsorption behavior of oxygen on low index surfaces of γ-TiAl via first principles to investigate the mechanism that drives the adsorption behavior. The (100) surface is the most stable surface energetically followed by the (111), (110) and (001) surfaces. A study of the adsorption of a single oxygen atom on surfaces of TiAl showed that the O atom prefers the Ti-rich environment that has a high potential of generating TiO₂. Competition between O-Al bonding and O-Ti bonding was observed in the O adsorbed surface regions. However, the O-Ti interaction dominates the adsorption behavior in all considered systems except when O is adsorbed on an Al-terminated (001) surface as the O–Al bond is stronger than O–Ti bond. A linear relationship between adsorption energy and integration of orbital overlaps between the O atom and the metals is obtained, which indicates that the electronic structure controls the adsorption behavior of an O atom on a γ-TiAl surface — an opportunity to improve the oxidation resistance of γ-TiAl based alloys.     

Enhanced gas-sensing behaviour of Ru-doped SnO2 surface: A periodic density functional approach

A theoretical study on Ru-doped rutile SnO₂(1 1 0) surface has been carried out by means of periodic density functional theory (DFT) at generalized gradient approximation (GGA-RPBE) level with a periodic supercell approach. Electronic structure analysis was performed based on the band structure and partial density of states. The results provide evidence that the electronic structures of SnO₂(1 1 0) surface are modified by the surface Ru dopant, in which Ru 4d orbital are located at the edge of the band gap region. It is demonstrated that molecular oxygen adsorption characteristics on stoichiometric SnO₂(1 1 0) surface are changed from endothermic to exothermic due to the existence of surface Ru dopant. The dissociative adsorption of molecular oxygen on the Ru_5c/SnO₂(1 1 0) surface is exothermic, which indicates that Ru could act as an active site to increase the oxygen atom species on SnO₂(1 1 0) surface. Our present study reveals that the Ru dopant on surface is playing both electronic and chemical role in promoting the SnO₂ gas-sensing property.     

Oxygen adatoms at SrTiO3(0 0 1): A density-functional theory study

We present a density-functional theory study addressing the energetics and electronic structure properties of isolated oxygen adatoms at the SrTiO₃(0 0 1) surface. Together with a surface lattice oxygen atom, the adsorbate is found to form a peroxide-type molecular species. This gives rise to a non-trivial topology of the potential energy surface for lateral adatom motion, with the most stable adsorption site not corresponding to the one expected from a continuation of the perovskite lattice. With computed modest diffusion barriers below 1 eV, it is rather the overall too weak binding at both regular SrTiO₃(0 0 1) terminations that could be a critical factor for oxide film growth applications.     

Adsorption of water on (0 0 1) surface of SrTiO3 and SrZrO3 cubic perovskites: Hybrid HF-DFT LCAO calculations

Hybrid HF-DFT LCAO simulations of (0 0 1) surface properties and water adsorption on cubic SrZrO₃ and SrTiO₃ perovskites are performed using a single slab model framework. Three slab models with the different surface termination including 6-11 atomic planes were used for calculations. The effect of the symmetry reduction and the role of an extra atomic layer basis set have been considered for the bare surface slabs. The optimized structures and water adsorption energies have been calculated for the various types of surface coverage. It is shown that the formation of H-bonds between the water hydrogens and surface oxygens, as well as between the water molecules themselves, controls the structure of the water adsorption layers on the perovskite surfaces. Obtained results indicate that the dissociative type of water adsorption is the energetically more favourable for SrO-terminated zirconate surface than for similar titanate surface giving evidence to the more basic nature of oxygen atoms on SrO-terminated SrZrO₃ surface.     

DFT-GGA study of NO adsorption on the LaO (001) surface of LaFeO3

In order to demonstrate the adsorption of the nitrogen monoxide molecule (NO) on the LaO (001) surface of LaFeO₃, we perform simulations based on density functional theory. The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation energy functional indicates that the electronic state of the LaFeO₃ bulk is an anti-ferromagnetic insulator with a local magnetic moment of 4.1 μ_B at each Fe atom. Using the ultrasoft pseudo-potential method with spin-polarized GGA, fully optimized internal parameters as well as charge and spin density are determined for the NO-adsorbed structure prepared in a slab model. The calculated adsorption energy of NO is around ? 1.4 eV on the LaO (001) surface of LaFeO₃. This value decreases down to ? 4.46 eV at an oxygen vacancy site, where the nitrogen atom of NO is embedded in the 1st LaO layer forming a bond with Fe in the 2nd FeO layer.     

Density functional theory study of the NO2-sensing mechanism on a WO3 (0 0 1) surface: the role of surface oxygen vacancies in the formation of NO and NO3

The trapping and detection of nitrogen oxide with tungsten trioxide has become a popular research topic in recent years. Knowledge of the complete reaction mechanism for nitrogen oxide adsorption is necessary to improve detector performance. In this work, we used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to study the adsorption characteristics and electron transfer of nitrogen dioxide on an oxygen-deficient monoclinic WO₃ (0 0 1) surface. We observed different reactions of NO₂ on slabs with different O- and WO-terminated WO₃ (0 0 1) surfaces with oxygen vacancies. Our calculations show that the bridging oxygen atom on an oxygen defect on an O-terminated WO₃ (0 0 1) surface is the active site where an NO₂ molecule is oxidised into nitrate and is adsorbed onto the surface. On a WO-terminated (0 0 1) surface, one of the oxygen atoms from the NO₂ molecule fills the oxygen vacancy, and the resulting NO fragment is adsorbed onto a W atom. Both of these adsorption models can cause an increase in the electrical resistance of WO₃. We also calculated the adsorption energies of NO₂ on slabs with different oxygen-deficient WO₃ surfaces.     

Density functional theory study of Ir atom deposited on γ-Al2O3 (001) surface

Iridium adsorption on γ-Al₂O₃ (001) surface has been studied using the ab initio calculation method and the electronic structures of the bare and the Ir adsorbed γ-Al₂O₃ (001) surfaces have been analyzed. By modeling different adsorption sites, one can conclude that the energetically most favorable sites for the Ir are the top sites of the O atoms at the γ-Al₂O₃ (001) surface terminated with octahedral Al. Charge redistribution around the Ir atom adsorbed on the surface improves the activity of the Ir atom as a catalyst.     

Adsorption of oxygen on low-index surfaces of the TiAl<Subscript>3</Subscript> alloy

Method of the projector augmented waves in the plane-wave basis within the generalized-gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation functional has been used to study oxygen adsorption on (001), (100), and (110) low-index surfaces of the TiAl₃ alloy. It has been established that the sites that are most energetically preferred for the adsorption of oxygen are hollow (H) positions on the (001) surface and bridge (B) positions on the (110) and (100) surfaces. Structural and electronic factors that define their energy preference have been discussed. Changes in the atomic and electronic structure of subsurface layers that occur as the oxygen concentration increases to three monolayers have been analyzed. It has been shown that the formation of chemical bonds of oxygen with both components of the alloy leads to the appearance of states that are split-off from the bottoms of their valence bands, which is accompanied by the formation of a forbidden gap at the Fermi level and by a weakening of the Ti–Al metallic bonds in the alloy. On the Al-terminated (001) and (110) surfaces, the oxidation of aluminum dominates over that of titanium. On the whole, the binding energy of oxygen on the low-index surfaces with a mixed termination is higher than that at the aluminum-terminated surface. The calculation of the diffusion of oxygen in the TiAl₃ alloy has shown that the lowest barriers correspond to the diffusion between tetrahedral positions in the (001) plane; the diffusion of oxygen in the [001] direction occurs through octahedral and tetrahedral positions. An increase in the concentration of aluminum in the alloy favors a reduction in the height of the energy barriers as compared to the corresponding barriers in the γ-TiAl alloy.     

Atomic and electronic properties of tert-butanol on the Si(001)-(2×1) surface

The atomic and electronic properties of the adsorption of tert-butanol [(CH₃)₃OH] molecule on the Si(001)-(2×1) surface have been studied by using the ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) based on pseudopotential approach. We have found that tert-butanol bonded the Si(001) surface by oxygen atom, cleaving a O–H bond and producing a Si-H bond and tert-butoxy surface species. We have also investigated the influence of chemisorption of tert-butanol on the electronic structure of the clean Si(001)-(2×1) surface. Two occupied surface states situated entirely below the bulk valence band maximum have been identified, which means that the clean Si(001)-(2×1)surface was passivated by the chemisorption of tert-butanol. In order to explain the nature of the surface components we have also plotted the total and partial charge densities at the [`(K)]\bar{K} point of the surface Brillouin zone (SBZ).     

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.     

Periodic density functional theory studies of the VOx/TiO2 (anatase) catalysts: Structure and stability of monomeric species

Periodic density functional theory has been utilized to investigate the structure and stability of monomeric HVO_x species on anatase support. The three most stable surfaces of anatase were investigated, namely the (001), (100) and (101) surfaces. Unlike previous theoretical studies it was found that on the (001) surface vanadia species with five-coordinated vanadium atom are more stable than those with tetrahedrally coordinated vanadium atom. On the other hand, on the (100) and (101) surfaces, the vanadium atom in the vanadia species is still tetrahedrally coordinated. The stability of different VO_x/TiO₂ structures which are not fully dehydrated has been systematically studied and the results show that the vanadia species on the three surfaces follow an order of TiO₂ (001) > TiO₂ (100) > TiO₂ (101). This can be understood from the acidity and basicity of the three anatase surfaces. The results suggest that monomeric VO_x species may be better stabilized if the support exposes more (001) surfaces. Our analyses on electronic structure of the most stable VO_x/TiO₂ structure (D₀₀₁) suggest that its bridging V–O–Ti oxygen atoms may have higher reactivity than the terminal vanadyl oxygen atoms.     

First-principles study of structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of SrMO3 (M=Ti and Sn)

We present structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of the perovskites SrMO₃ (M=Ti, and Sn) for different pressure. The computational method is based on the pseudo-potential plane wave method (PP-PW). The exchange-correlation energy is described in the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The calculated equilibrium lattice parameters are in reasonable agreement with the available experimental data. This work shows that the perovskites SrTiO₃, and SrSnO₃ are mechanically stable and present an indirect band gaps at the Fermi level. Applied pressure does not change the shape of the total valence electronic charge density and most of the electronic charge density is shifted toward O atom. Furthermore, in order to understand the optical properties of SrMO₃, the dielectric function, absorption coefficient, optical reflectivity, refractive index, extinction coefficient and electron energy-loss are calculated for radiation up to 80 eV. The enhancement of pressure decreases the dielectric function and refractive indices of SrTiO₃ and SrSnO₃.     

First-principles studies of the oxygen adsorption on unreconstructed and reconstructed Ni(1 1 0) surfaces

First-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the adsorption of oxygen on unreconstructed and reconstructed Ni(1 1 0) surfaces. The energetics, structural, electronic and magnetic properties are given in detail. For oxygen adsorption on unreconstructed surface, (n×1)(n=2,3) substrate with oxygen atom on short-bridge site is found to be the most stable adsorption configuration. Whereas energetically most favorable adsorption phase of reconstructed surface is p(n×1) substrate with oxygen atom located at long-bridge site. Our calculations suggest that the surface reconstruction is induced by the oxygen adsorption. We also find there are redistributions of electronic structure and electron transfer from the substrate to adsorbate. Our calculations also indicate surface magnetic moment is enhanced on clean surfaces and oxygen atoms are magnetized weakly after oxygen adsorption. Interestingly, adsorption on unreconstructed surface does not change surface magnetic moment. However, adsorbate leads to reduction of surface magnetic moment in reconstructed system remarkably.     

Density functional study of oxygen adsorption on the Mg3Nd (0 0 1) surface

The adsorption of oxygen atoms on Mg₃Nd (0 0 1) surface was studied based on density function theory (DFT), in which the exchange-correlation potential was chosen as the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in the Perdew and Wang (PW91). The most preferred adsorption position was at the top-hollow site. Upon the optimization on top-hollow site with different coverage, it was found that the adsorption energy decreased with oxygen coverage. The density of states analysis showed that obvious charge transfer took place between O atom and the nearest Nd atom and chemical bond formed between O atom and the nearest Nd atom after O adsorption. The result of surface energy as a function of chemical potential change of oxygen indicated the clean Mg₃Nd (0 0 1) surface was easy to adsorb oxygen and form 1.00 ML surface.     

Theoretical study on photoelectric properties of lead-free mixed inorganic perovskite RbGe1-xSnxI3

The recent discoveries of lead-free halide perovskites have come into notice as promising photovoltaic materials due to their high solar-to-electrical efficiency conversion. However, these perovskites suffer from large effective masses, wide band gap and affected photovoltaic performance. It is well known that it is an effective means to overcome the above shortcomings by changing the metallic ion concentration and position for the inorganic perovskite. Herein, we study the geometrical, electronic, and optical properties of RbGe_1-xSn_xI₃ with various compositions of metal atoms by performing the Density Functional Theory (DFT). Besides, we systematically investigate how the doping positions of stannum (Sn) atoms affect the electronic structure by taking mixed metal RbGe_0.50Sn_0.50I₃ compound as an example. The results show that RbGe_1-xSn_xI₃ exhibits the semiconducting property with the tunable direct band gaps by changing its proportions. Compared to other two doping positions in the perovskite RbGe_0.50Sn_0.50I₃, the configuration with Sn atom at equator plane has better mobility of electron and optical absorption properties. Our works demonstrate that the modification of metal concentration and position will modulate the optoelectronic performance and photovoltaic properties of mixed metal perovskites.     

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.     

硅铝酸银分子筛吸附氖原子的第一性原理计算

采用基于第一性原理的密度泛函理论(DFT)和局域密度近似(LDA)方法,优化计算硅铝酸银分子筛吸附Ne原子体系的几何结构,能量,电子能带和电荷密度分布。结果表明,硅铝酸银为层状的周期结构,具有直径为a=5.390 Å的孔道。在分子晶体孔道的轴线上,桥O原子附近(I)和表面Ag+离子附近(II)的能量均有利于对Ne原子的吸附。尽管Ne(I)的能量最低,但是SiO4四面体排斥产生的能垒在动力学上不利于Ne原子的吸附。电子能带和电荷分布显示,Ne(II)原子主要受库仑极化的影响,其电子能带的能量较高,Ne(I)原子与桥O原子之间的共价作用能够降低对应的电子能带能量。     

First-principles study on the catalytic role of Ag in the oxygen adsorption of LaMnO3(0 0 1) surface

In the present paper, the catalytic role of Ag in the oxygen adsorption of LaMnO₃(0 0 1) surface has been theoretically investigated using first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) and pseudopotential method. The O₂ adsorption energy is larger for the vertical adsorption and the covalent bond was formed between O₂ molecule and surface Mn. The calculation of electronic properties of interaction between Ag atom and LaMnO₃(0 0 1) surface demonstrates that the most stable position for Ag adsorption is hollow site. The O₂ adsorption energy dramatically increased from 0.298 eV to 1.108 eV due to Ag pre-adsorbed. It is Ag pre-adsorbed that facilitates O₂ adsorption on surface. The bond length and bond population of O₂ molecule indicate that Ag atom facilitates O₂ molecule dissociative adsorption. The Ag atom strengthens LaMnO₃(0 0 1) substrate activity and activity center was formed on surface, which enhances the electrocatalytic activity of LaMnO₃ as solid oxide fuel cells cathode material at low temperature.     

硅铝酸银分子筛吸附氖原子的第一性原理计算

采用基于第一性原理的密度泛函理论(DFT)和局域密度近似(LDA)方法,优化计算硅铝酸银分子筛吸附Ne原子体系的几何结构,能量,电子能带和电荷密度分布。结果表明,硅铝酸银为层状的周期结构,具有直径为a=5.390 Å的孔道。在分子晶体孔道的轴线上,桥O原子附近(I)和表面Ag+离子附近(II)的能量均有利于对Ne原子的吸附。尽管Ne(I)的能量最低,但是SiO4四面体排斥产生的能垒在动力学上不利于Ne原子的吸附。电子能带和电荷分布显示,Ne(II)原子主要受库仑极化的影响,其电子能带的能量较高,Ne(I)原子与桥O原子之间的共价作用能够降低对应的电子能带能量。