A SCF Xα MO study of the optical and Ti2p core photoemission spectra of TiCl4

SCF Xα MO calculations on the ground state and optical excitation transition states of TiCl₄ accurately predict the energies of its UV absorption peaks. Calculations on the Ti2p core ion state and associated transition states indicate that the recently observed low energy (4.0 eV) Ti2p satellite arises from ligand to metal charge transfer excitations while the satellite at high energy (9.4 eV), similar to those previously observed in Ti(IV) compounds, can be attributed to transitions from the highest filled orbitals to empty orbitals with Cl3pTi4s. 4p antibonding character.     

An approach to control of band gap energy and photoluminescence upon band gap excitation in Pr(3+)-doped perovskites La(1/3)MO3 (M=Nb, Ta):Pr3+

We synthesized polycrystalline pristine and Pr(3+)-doped perovskites La(1/3)MO(3) (M = Nb, Ta):Pr(3+) and investigated their crystal structure, optical absorption, and luminescence properties. The optical band gap of La(1/3)NbO(3) (3.2 eV) is smaller than that of La(1/3)TaO(3) (3.9 eV), which is primarily due to the difference in electronegativity between Nb and Ta. In La(1/3)NbO(3):Pr(3+), the red emission assigned to the f-f transition of Pr(3+) from the excited (1)D(2) level to the ground (3)H(4) state upon band gap photoexcitation (near-UV) was observed, whereas the f-f transition of Pr(3+) with blue-green emission from the excited (3)P(0) level to the ground (3)H(4) state was quenched. On the other hand, in La(1/3)TaO(3):Pr(3+), the blue-green emission upon band gap photoexcitation was observed. Their differences in emission behavior are attributed to the energy level of the ground and excited states of 4f(2) for Pr(3+), relative to the energy levels of the conduction and valence bands, and the trapped electron state, which mediates the relaxation of electron from the conduction band to the excited state of Pr(3+). La(1/3)NbO(3):Pr(3+) is a candidate red phosphor utilizing near-UV LED chips (e.g., λ = 375 nm) as an excitation source.     

Characterization of Zr-doped TiO2 nanocrystals prepared by a nonhydrolytic sol-gel method at high temperatures

Highly crystalline and surface-modified Zr-doped TiO(2) nanorods were successfully prepared using a nonhydrolytic sol-gel method that involves the condensation of metal halides with alkoxides in anhydrous trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) at either 320 or 400 degrees C. In addition, the interaction of the cross-condensation between the Ti and Zr species was studied by characterizing the morphologies, crystalline structures, chemical compositions, surface properties, and band gaps of the nanocrystals obtained at different reaction temperatures and Zr-to-Ti stoichiometric ratios. Increases in the concentration of Zr(4+) and in the reaction temperature led to large nanorods and regular shapes, respectively. In addition, only the anatase form was observed in the Zr-doped TiO(2) nanorods. The Zr-to-Ti ratios obtained ranged from 0.01 to 2.05, all of which were far below the stoichiometric ratios used during the preparation of the samples (0.25-4). Moreover, the Zr(4+) units accumulated mainly at the surface of the TiO(2) nanocrystals. The band gaps of the Zr-doped TiO(2) nanorods ranged from 2.8 to 3.8 eV, which are smaller than those of pure TiO(2) (3.7 eV) or ZrO(2) (5.2 eV). The Zr-doped anatase TiO(2) nanorods prepared at 400 degrees C at an initial stoichiometric Zr-to-Ti ratio of 2:3 exhibited the highest photoactivities for the decomposition of rhodamine B because of the presence of trace amounts of Zr(4+) (Zr/Ti = 0.03) in the TiO(2) and the regular shapes of these particles. DSC analysis indicated that the temperatures for forming nanocrystalline TiO(2) and ZrO(2) were 207 and 340 degrees C, respectively. Moreover, the reactivities of condensation between the Ti species were reduced when Zr species were involved in the NHSG reactions. The results obtained in this study clearly demonstrate that the faster kinetics for the generation of TiO(2) controls the material properties as well as the photoactivities of the nonhydrolytic sol-gel-derived nanocrystals.     

Visible light photo-oxidation of model pollutants using CaCu3Ti4O12: an experimental and theoretical study of optical properties, electronic structure, and selectivity

Charge transfer between metal ions occupying distinct crystallographic sublattices in an ordered material is a strategy to confer visible light absorption on complex oxides to generate potentially catalytically active electron and hole charge carriers. CaCu3Ti4O12 has distinct octahedral Ti4+ and square planar Cu2+ sites and is thus a candidate material for this approach. The sol?gel synthesis of high surface area CaCu3Ti4O12 and investigation of its optical absorption and photocatalytic reactivity with model pollutants are reported. Two gaps of 2.21 and 1.39 eV are observed in the visible region. These absorptions are explained by LSDA+U electronic structure calculations, including electron correlation on the Cu sites, as arising from transitions from a Cu-hybridized O 2p-derived valence band to localized empty states on Cu (attributed to the isolation of CuO4 units within the structure of CaCu3Ti4O12) and to a Ti-based conduction band. The resulting charge carriers produce selective visible light photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol (monitored by mass spectrometry) by Pt-loaded CaCu3Ti4O12 which is attributed to the chemical nature of the photogenerated charge carriers and has a quantum yield comparable with commercial visible light photocatalysts.     

DFT+U study of defects in bulk rutile TiO(2)

We present a systematic study of electronic gap states in defected titania using our implementation of the Hubbard-U approximation in the grid-based projector-augmented wave density functional theory code, GPAW. The defects considered are Ti interstitials, O vacancies, and H dopants in the rutile phase of bulk titanium dioxide. We find that by applying a sufficiently large value for the Hubbard-U parameter of the Ti 3d states, the excess electrons localize spatially at the Ti sites and appear as states in the band gap. At U=2.5?eV, the position in energy of these gap states are in fair agreement with the experimental observations. In calculations with several excess electrons and U=2.5?eV, all of these end up in gap states that are spatially localized around specific Ti atoms, thus effectively creating one Ti(3+) ion per excess electron. An important result of this investigation is that regardless of which structural defect is the origin of the gap states, at U=2.5?eV, these states are found to have their mean energies within a few hundredths of an eV from 0.94 eV below the conduction band minimum.     

On the Origin of the Visible‐Light Activity of Titanium Dioxide Doped with Carbonate Species

Plane‐wave‐based pseudopotential density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to elucidate the origin of the high photocatalytic efficiency of carbonate‐doped TiO₂. Two geometrically possible doping positions are considered, including interstitial and substitutional carbon atoms on Ti sites. From the optical absorption properties calculations, we believe that the formation of carbonates after doping with interstitial carbon atoms is crucial, whereas the contribution from the cationic doping on Ti sites is negligible. The carbonate species doped TiO₂ exhibits excellent absorption in the visible‐light region of 400–800 nm, in good agreement with experimental observations. Electronic structure analysis shows that the carbonate species introduce an impurity state from Ti 3d below the conduction band. Excitations from the impurity state to the conduction band may be responsible for the high visible‐light activity of the carbon doped TiO₂ materials.     

Efficient fabrication of ZrO2-doped TiO2 hollow nanospheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity of rhodamine B degradation

ZrO(2)-doped TiO(2) hollow nanospheres with anatase phase are efficiently fabricated via functionalized negatively charged polystyrene (PS) spheres without any surfactant or polyelectrolyte. The resulting Ti(1-)(x)Zr(x)O(2) (hereafter denoted as TZ) hollow nanospheres are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), nitrogen sorption, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis). The Zr(4+) incorporation decreases the anatase crystallite size, increases the specific surface area, and changes the pore size distribution. Furthermore, it induces enrichment of electron charge density around Ti(4+) ions and blueshift of absorption edges. The TZ hollow nanospheres doped with moderate ZrO(2) (molar ratio, Ti:Zr=10:1) exhibit better photocatalytic activity than the other samples for the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution, which is correlated with the effect of Zr(4+) doping on the physicochemical properties in terms of surface structures, phase structures, and the electronic structures.     

Electronic structure differences in ZrO2 vs HfO2

Although ZrO2 and HfO2 are, for the most part, quite similar chemically, subtle differences in their electronic structures appear to be responsible for differing MO2/Si (M = Zr, Hf) interface stabilities. To shed light on the electronic structure differences between ZrO2 and HfO2, we have conducted joint experimental and theoretical studies. Because molecular electron affinities are a sensitive probe of electronic structure, we have measured them by conducting photoelectron spectroscopic experiments on ZrO2(-) and HfO2(-). The adiabatic electron affinity of HfO2 was determined to be 2.14 +/- 0.03 eV, and that of ZrO2 was determined to be 1.64 +/- 0.03 eV. Concurrently, advanced electronic structure calculations were conducted to determine electron affinities, vibrational frequencies, and geometries of these systems. The calculated CCSD(T) electron affinities of HfO2 and ZrO2 were found to be 2.05 and 1.62 eV, respectively. The molecular results confirm earlier predictions from solid state calculations that HfO2 is more ionic than ZrO2. The excess electron in MO2(-) occupies an sd-type hybrid orbital localized on the M atom (M = Zr, Hf). The structural parameters of ZrO2 and HfO2 and their vibrational frequencies were found to be very similar. Upon the excess electron attachment, the M-O bond length increases by ca. 0.04 A, the OMO angle increases by 2-4 degrees, and frequencies of all vibrational modes become smaller, with the stretching modes being shifted by 30-50 cm(-1) and the bending mode by 15-25 cm(-1). Together, these studies unveil significant differences in the electronic structures of ZrO2 and HfO2 but not in their structural or vibrational characteristics.     

Antiferromagnetic ground state of quantum spins in the synthetic imanite, Ca3Ti2Si3O12: the lost child of the garnet family

Large single crystals of the garnet imanite, Ca(3)Ti(2)Si(3)O(12), were synthesized by a floating zone technique. Near-infrared to visible spectroscopy presents an optical gap of 1.65 eV at 4 K, proving the insulating character of this garnet compound. Electron paramagnetic resonance data indicate that the d(1) electron of Ti(3+) exhibits an orbital contribution to the spin moment (g = 1.859(1)). An antiferromagnetic state is observed below T(N) = 7 K, confirmed by magnetic susceptibility and specific heat data. X-ray diffraction investigations on powders and single crystals of imanite reveal that the crystal structure agrees well with expectations: the cubic symmetry Ia3d describes all obtained single crystal and powder diffraction data.     

Mechanism of linear and nonlinear optical properties of the urea crystal family

First-principles calculations of the second-order optical response functions and the dielectric functions of urea [CO(NH(2))(2)] and some of its derivatives such as monomethylurea (H(2)NCONHCH(3), MMU), and N,N'-dimethylurea (H(3)CHNCONHCH(3), DMU) crystals are performed. On the basis of the density functional theory (DFT) in the local-density approximation (LDA), the highly accurate full-potential projected augmented wave (FP-PAW) method was used to obtain the electronic structure. Over a wide frequency range (0.0-10.0 eV), the dielectric constants and second-harmonic generation (SHG) susceptibilities of the urea crystal family have been obtained, and the results are in good agreement with the experimental values. The origin of the linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the urea crystal family has been analyzed by coupling the calculated electronic structure and optical spectrum. The prominent spectra of χ((2)) are successfully correlated with the dielectric function ε(ω) in terms of single-photon and double-photon resonances. The virtual electron (VE) and virtual hole (VH) processes have also been performed for the urea crystal family. From the research into the electron deformation density, crystal configuration, substitutional group, and so forth, it is found that the origin of the SHG of the urea crystal family is the charge transfer due to the strong "(?)push-pull" effect along the hydrogen bond, which favors a head-to-tail arrangement of the molecules and enhances the SHG response. The electron-donating substitutional group supplies more electrons to the electron-accepting group, and helps to form large dipoles in molecules. The influence on the NLO properties of the local symmetry of the substitutional group is also discussed in detail.     

First-principles electronic structure study of the monoclinic crystal bismuth triborate BiB3O6

Monoclinic BiB(3)O(6) is an excellent nonlinear optical material with many advantages compared to other borate crystals. The origins of the optical effects and the chemical stability of BiB(3)O(6) are studied with gradient-corrected hybrid B3PW density functional theory within the Gaussian-orbital-based CO-LCAO scheme. Including spin-orbit coupling, the B3PW hybrid functional provides an estimate of the indirect band gap of 4.29-4.99 eV closer to the experimental value of 4.3 eV than HF, LDA, or GGA. The crystal orbital overlap population to give a detailed first-principles analysis of chemical bonding and the density of optical absorptions by convoluting the occupied density of states and the virtual density of states have been calculated. Obvious Bi-O covalent bonds have been found with different energy ranges for 6s-2p and 6p-2p interactions. The reason that [BiO(4)](5-) units are mainly responsible for the optics of BiB(3)O(6) in the long-wavelength region is due to the electronic transfer from occupied O 2p to empty Bi 6p orbitals favored by the Bi-O covalent bonds. The relativistic and correlation effects lead to fundamental differences of the band structure, chemical bonds, and optical effects for BiB(3)O(6) compared with nonrelativistic and uncorrelated calculations.     

Theoretical study of N-doped TiO2 rutile crystals

The N-doping effects on the electronic and optical properties of TiO2 rutile crystal have been studied using density functional theory (DFT). The calculations of several possible N-doped structures show that band gaps have little reduction but some N 2p states lie within the band gap in the substitutional N to O structure and interstitial N-doped rutile supercell, which results in the reduction of the photon-transition energy and absorption of visible light. In contrast, substitutional N to Ti doped model has a significant band-gap narrowing. The results maybe clarify confusions in nitrogen-doped TiO2 rutile crystal.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy of the molecular anions, ZrO-, HfO-, HfHO-, and HfO2H-

Negative ion photoelectron spectra of ZrO(-), HfO(-), HfHO(-), and HfO(2)H(-) are reported. Even though zirconium- and hafnium-containing molecules typically exhibit similar chemistries, the negative ion photoelectron spectral profiles of ZrO(-) and HfO(-) are dramatically different from one another. By comparing these data with relevant theoretical and experimental studies, as well as by using insights drawn from atomic spectra, spin-orbit interactions, and relativistic effects, the photodetachment transitions in the spectra of ZrO(-) and HfO(-) were assigned. As a result, the electron affinities of ZrO and HfO were determined to be 1.26 ± 0.05 eV and 0.60 ± 0.05 eV, respectively. The anion photoelectron spectra of HfHO(-) and HfO(2)H(-) are similar to one another and their structural connectivities are likely to be H-Hf-O(-) and O-Hf-OH(-), respectively. The electron affinities of HfHO and HfO(2)H are 1.70 ± 0.05 eV and 1.73 ± 0.05 eV, respectively.     

The Electronic and Optical Properties of Au Doped Single-Layer Phosphorene

The electronic properties and optical properties of single and double Au-doped phosphorene have been comparatively investigated using the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential method based on density functional theory. The decrease from direct band gap 0.78 eV to indirect band gap 0.22 and 0.11 eV are observed in the single and double Au-doped phosphorene, respectively. The red shifts of absorbing edge occur in both doped systems, which consequently enhance the absorbing of infrared light in phosphorene. Band gap engineering can, therefore, be used to directly tune the optical absorption of phosphorene system by substitutional Au doping.     

Probing the 4f states of ceria by tunneling spectroscopy

Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy have been employed to analyze the local electronic structure of the (111) surface of a ceria thin film grown on Ru(0001). On pristine, defect-free oxide terraces, the empty 4f states of Ce(4+) ions appear as the only spectral feature inside the 6 eV oxide band gap. In contrast, occupied states are detected between -1.0 and -1.5 eV below E(Fermi) in conductance spectra of different point and line defects, such as surface oxygen vacancies, grain boundaries and step edges. They are assigned to partially filled 4f states localized at the Ce(3+) ions. The presence of excess electrons indicates the oxygen-deficient nature of the direct oxide environment. The f state spectroscopy with the STM allows us to probe the spatial distribution of Ce(3+) ions in the ceria surface, providing unique insight into the local reduction state of this chemically important material system.     

Magnetic quantum dots: synthesis, spectroscopy, and magnetism of Co2+ - and Ni2+-doped ZnO nanocrystals

We report a method for the preparation of colloidal ZnO-diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dots (DMS-QDs) by alkaline-activated hydrolysis and condensation of zinc acetate solutions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Mechanistic studies reveal that Co(2+) and Ni(2+) dopants inhibit nucleation and growth of ZnO nanocrystals. In particular, dopants are quantitatively excluded from the critical nuclei but are incorporated nearly isotropically during subsequent growth of the nanocrystals. The smaller nanocrystal diameters that result upon doping are explained by the Gibbs-Thompson relationship between lattice strain and crystal solubility. We describe methods for cleaning the nanocrystal surfaces of exposed dopants and for redispersion of the final DMS-QDs. Homogeneous substitutional doping is verified by high-resolution low-temperature electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopies. A "giant Zeeman effect" is observed in the band gap transition of Co(2+):ZnO DMS-QDs. MCD and Zeeman spectroscopies are used to quantify the magnitude of the p-d exchange interaction (N(0)beta) that gives rise to this effect. N(0)beta values of -2.3 +/- 0.3 eV (-18 500 cm(-1)) for Co(2+):ZnO and -4.5 +/- 0.6 eV (-36 300 cm(-1)) for Ni(2+):ZnO have been determined. Ligand-to-metal charge-transfer transitions are observed in the MCD spectra of both Co(2+):ZnO and Ni(2+):ZnO DMS-QDs and are analyzed in the context of an optical electronegativity model. The importance of these charge-transfer states in determining N(0)beta is discussed. Ferromagnetism with T(C) > 350 K is observed in aggregated nanocrystals of Co(2+):ZnO that unambiguously demonstrates the existence of intrinsic high-T(C) ferromagnetism in this class of DMSs.     

First-principles investigation of structural,electronic, and optical properties of transition metal-doped C40 CrSi2

Although CrSi₂ silicide is an attractive advanced functional material, the improvement of electronic and optical properties is still a challenge for its applications. Here, we apply the first-principles calculations to investigate the influence of transition metals (TMs) on the electronic and optical properties of C40 CrSi₂ silicide. Five possible TMs, Ti, V, Pd, Ag, and Pt, are considered in detail. The calculated results show that the additive metals Ti, V, Pd, and Pt are thermodynamically stable in C40 CrSi₂ because the calculated impurity formation energy of TM-doped C40 CrSi₂ is lower than zero. In particular, the V dopant is more thermodynamically stable than that of the other TMs. The calculated electronic structure shows that the band gap of C40 CrSi₂ is 0.391 eV, which is in good agreement with the other results. In particular, the additive TMs improve the electronic properties of C40 CrSi₂ due to the role of the d-state of TMs. Naturally, the additive TMs result in band migration (Cr-3d state and Si-3p state) from the valence band to the conduction band. Interestingly, the additive TMs lead to a red shift for optical adsorption of C40 CrSi₂ silicide.     

Theoretical study of CeO2 and Ce2O3 using a screened hybrid density functional

The predicted structures and electronic properties of CeO(2) and Ce(2)O(3) have been studied using conventional and hybrid density functional theory. The lattice constant and bulk modulus for CeO(2) from local (LSDA) functionals are in good agreement with experiment, while the lattice parameter from a generalized gradient approximation (GGA) is too long. This situation is reversed for Ce(2)O(3), where the LSDA lattice constant is much too short, while the GGA result is in reasonable agreement with experiment. Significantly, the screened hybrid HSE functional gives excellent agreement with experimental lattice constants for both CeO(2) and Ce(2)O(3). All methods give insulating ground states for CeO(2) with gaps for the 4f band lying between 1.7 eV (LSDA) and 3.3 eV (HSE) and 6-8 eV for the conduction band. For Ce(2)O(3) the local and GGA functionals predict a semimetallic ground state with small (0-0.3 eV) band gap but weak ferromagnetic coupling between the Ce(+3) centers. By contrast, the HSE functional gives an insulating ground state with a band gap of 3.2 eV and antiferromagnetic coupling. Overall, the hybrid HSE functional gives a consistent picture of both the structural and electronic properties of CeO(2) and Ce(2)O(3) while treating the 4f band consistently in both oxides.     

Probing the electronic structures of ternary perovskite and pyrochlore oxides containing Sn(4+) or Sb(5+)

Experimental and computational studies were performed to understand the electronic structure of ternary perovskites (ASnO(3), A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Cd), pyrochlores (RE(2)Sn(2)O(7), RE = Y, La, Lu; Cd(2)Sb(2)O(7)), and defect pyrochlore oxides (Ag(2)Sb(2)O(6)) containing the main group ions Sn(4+) and Sb(5+). In all compounds, the lowest energy states in the conduction band arise primarily from the antibonding Sn/Sb 5s-O 2p interaction. In the alkaline-earth stannate perovskites (BaSnO(3), SrSnO(3), and CaSnO(3)) the conduction bandwidth decreases strongly in response to the octahedral tilting distortion triggered by the decreasing size of the alkaline-earth cation. This in turn leads to a corresponding increase in the band gap from 3.1 eV in BaSnO(3) to 4.4 eV in CaSnO(3). The band gap of CdSnO(3) is relatively small (3.0 eV) considering the large octahedral tilting distortion. The origin of this apparent anomaly is the mixing between the empty Cd 5s orbitals and the antibonding Sn 5s-O 2p states. This mixing leads to a widening of the conduction band and a corresponding decrease in the band gap. The participation of the normally inert A-site cation in the electronic structure near the Fermi level can be considered an inductive effect, as it utilizes substitution on the A-site to directly modify the electronic structure of the SnO(3)(2)(-) framework. While the pyrochlore structure is more complicated, the energy level and width of the lowest energy conduction band can be analyzed in a manner similar to that utilized on the perovskite structure. The Sn-O-Sn and Sb-O-Sb bonds are highly distorted from linear geometry in pyrochlore, leading to a relatively narrow conduction band and a wide band gap. In Cd(2)Sb(2)O(7) and Ag(2)Sb(2)O(6) the Cd(2+) and Ag(+) ions exhibit a strong inductive effect that widens the conduction band and lowers the band gap significantly, very similar to the effect observed in the perovskite form of CdSnO(3).     

Synergistic effects in La/N codoped TiO2 anatase (101) surface correlated with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

The interaction between implanted La, substitutional N, and an oxygen vacancy at TiO(2) anatase (101) surface has been investigated by means of first-principles density function theory calculations to investigate the origin of enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of La/N-codoped anatase observed in experiments. Our calculations suggest that both the adsorptive and substitutional La-doped TiO(2) anatase (101) surfaces are probably defective configurations in experiments. The h-Cave-adsorbed La doping decreases the formation energy for the substitutional N implantation and vice versa, while the charge compensation effects do not take effect between the adsorptive La and substitutional N dopants, resulting in some partially occupied states in the band gap acting as traps of the photoexcited electrons. The Ti(5c)-substituted La doping decreases the energy required for the substitutional N implantation, and the substitutional La and N codoping promotes the formation of an oxygen vacancy, which migrates from the O(sb-3c) site at the inner layer toward the surface O(b) site. For the substitutional La/N-codoped (Ti(5c)_O(3c-down)) surface, the charge compensation between the substitutional La and substitutional N leads to the formation of two isolated occupied N(s)-O π* impurity levels in the gap, while the excitation energy from the higher impurity level to the CBM decreases by about 0.89 eV. After further considering an oxygen vacancy on the Ti(5c)_O(3c-down) surface, the two electrons on the double donor levels (O(b) vacancy) passivate the same amount of holes on the acceptor levels (substitutional La and N), forming the acceptor-donor-acceptor compensation pair, which provides a reasonable mechanism for the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of La/N codoped TiO(2) anatase. This knowledge may aid the further design and construction of new effective visible-light photocatalysts.