Controllable oxidation of h-BN monolayer on Ir(111) studied by core-level spectroscopies

The effect of atomic oxygen adsorption on the structure and electronic properties of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) grown on Ir(111) has been studied using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). It has been shown that the oxidation of the h-BN monolayer occurs through a gradual substitution of N by O in the h-BN lattice. This process leads to the formation of defect sites corresponding to three different types of the B atom environment (BN_3 ? xO_x with x = 1,2,3). The oxidation of the h-BN monolayer is very different from the case of graphene on Ir(111), where adsorption of atomic oxygen results mainly in the formation of epoxy groups [J. Phys. Chem. C. 115, 9568 (2011)]. A post-annealing of the h-BN monolayer after oxygen exposure results in further destruction of the B–N bonds and formation of a B₂O₃-like structure.     

Neural network approach to diffusion of B and N adatoms on the Pt(111) surface

Artificial neural network boasts an outstanding class in terms of its performance and efficiency and is being spread widely in most fields of physics. We report our investigation of the diffusions of boron and nitrogen adatoms on the Pt(111) surface by performing molecular dynamics simulations equipped with machine-learned potentials. Platinum is commonly used as a substrate for the growth of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) thin films, and the diffusion of B and N atoms on the substrate, which are decomposed from the precursor molecules, plays important roles in the initial stages of h-BN growth. The two-dimensional potential energy surfaces and the trajectories of the B and N adatoms are consistent with the DFT calculation. The Arrhenius plots of the diffusion coefficients produce the diffusion barriers of the B and N adatoms on Pt(111), which agree well with the DFT barriers.     

Magnetism in boron nitride monolayer: Adatom and vacancy defect

Using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method, we have investigated the adatom or vacancy defect induced magnetic properties of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer. It has been observed that the N vacancy defect has no influence on the magnetic property of h-BN, whereas the B vacancy defect caused spin polarization in the nearest three N atoms. The total magnetic moment is about 0.87 μ_B within muffin-tin radius (0.29 μ_B per N atom) and the spin polarized N atoms show metallic feature. In the presence of B adatom defect, we have obtained rather weak spin polarization about 0.1 μ_B. However, the sizable magnetic moment of 0.38 μ_B appears in N adatom defect. Both B and N adatom defect systems preserve very close to semiconducting feature with a finite band gap. We have found that the DOS and the XMCD spectral shapes are strongly dependent on the defect type existing in the h-BN monolayer and this finding may help reveal the origin of magnetism in the h-BN layer if one performs surface sensitive experiment such as spin polarized scanning tunneling microscopy or XMCD measurement in the near future.     

Theoretical study of the magnetic properties of ordered vacancies in 2D hexagonal structures: Graphene, 2D-SiC,and h-BN

The magnetic properties of vacancies in 2D hexagonal structures—graphene and 2D-SiC and h-BN monolayers—have been studied. It has been found that a local magnetic moment exists in all listed systems in the presence of vacancies. However, in 2D hexagonal silicon carbide, the local magnetic moment appears only in the presence of silicon vacancy. In addition, the effect of the distance between vacancies in a monolayer on transitions between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states has been revealed.     

Structural Features of Boron-Doped Si（113） Surfaces Simulated by ab initio Calculations

Based on ab initio calculations, boron-doped Si（113） surfaces have been simulated and atomic structures of the surfaces have been proposed. It has been determined that surface features of empty and filled states that are separately localized at pentamers and adatoms indicates a low surface density of B atoms, while it is attributed to heavy doping of B atoms at the second layer that pentamers and adatoms are both present in an image of scanning tunnelling microscopy. B doping at the second layer should be balanced by adsorbed B or Si atoms beside the adatoms and inserted B interstitials below the adatoms.     

Modeling of Atomic Displacements in the Bombardment of Copper by Ar and Xe Ions with Near-Sputtering-Threshold Energies

Using the molecular dynamics method, collision-induced cascades are modeled, which are generated in the normal bombardment of a copper crystal (100) by Ar and Xe ions with energies 25, 40, and 50 eV as well as by Xe ions at 15 eV and crystal temperature 300 K. Time dependences are derived for the formation of vacancies and interstitial atoms as a function of depth of the crystal and radiation-adsorption atoms (adatoms) on its surface during the cascade development. The adatoms are shown to contribute considerably to the change in r.m.s. atomic displacement in the thermal stage of the cascade. It is proved that Ar ions produce more adatoms on the surface vacancies while Xe ions do so in the bulk of the crystal below the first atomic layer and exhibit more effective mixing in the [100] direction.     

表面吸附对单层黑磷砷结构、电子性质和磁性调控的第一性原理研究

基于第一性原理,系统研究了11种不同原子吸附在单层AsP上的几何结构、吸附能、磁矩和电子结构性质. 使用的吸附原子包括轻质非金属(C、N、O)原子,第三周期金属原子(Na、Mg、Al)和过渡金属原子(Ti、V、Cr、Mn和Fe). 研究结果表明,吸附原子引起了AsP多样的结构、磁性和电子性质改变. AsP与所研究的吸附原子都能紧密结合,并且所有系统的吸附能都比吸附原子在石墨烯、SiC、BN以及MoS₂上的吸附能强得多. AsP的半导体特性受到吸附原子的影响,其可以诱导产生中间能隙态或引起n型掺杂. 此外,表面吸附产生了不同的自旋电子特性,具体而言,吸附N、Ti和Fe的AsP成为双极半导体;Mn修饰的AsP成为双极自旋无间隙半导体.     

Theoretical study of Ti and Fe surface alloys on Al(0 0 1) substrate

Accurate density-functional calculations are performed to investigate the formation of Ti and Fe ultrathin alloys on Al(0 0 1) surface. It is demonstrated that a deposition of Ti monolayer on Al(0 0 1) substrate leads to the formation of Al₃Ti surface alloy with Ti atoms arranged according to the L1₂ stacking, distinct from the D0₂₂ structure characteristic of a bulk Al₃Ti compound. A quest for the reason of this distinct atomic arrangement led us to the study of the surface structure of Al₃Ti(0 0 1) compound. It is concluded that even the Al₃Ti(0 0 1) surface is terminated with three layers assuming a L1₂ stacking and hence this stacking fault can be classified as a surface-induced stacking fault. Several possibilities of Fe atoms distributed in the surface region of Al(0 0 1) have been examined. The most stable configuration is the one with the compact Fe monolayer on Al(0 0 1) and covered by one Al monolayer. Lastly, our calculations show that there is no barrier for the penetration of Fe adatoms below the Al(0 0 1) surface; however, such a barrier is present for a Ti-alloyed Al(0 0 1) surface.     

基于密度泛函理论下O和Na掺杂单层h-BN的电子结构性质和光学效应的分析

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法研究了O、Na单掺杂及O和Na共掺杂单层h-BN的形成能、电子结构和光学性质.结果表明:单掺杂体系中,O掺杂N位置、Na掺杂B位置时,掺杂形成能最低;共掺杂体系中,O和Na邻位掺杂,掺杂形成能最低.与单层h-BN相比,引入杂质原子后的体系禁带宽度均减小,其中O掺杂为n型掺杂,Na掺杂为p型掺杂,而O和Na共掺h-BN体系为直接带隙材料,有利于提高载流子的迁移率.在光学性质方面,Na掺杂h-BN体系与O和Na共掺h-BN的静介电常数均增大,在低能区介电虚部和光吸收峰均发生红移,其中Na掺杂体系红移最为显著,极化能力最强.因此Na单掺和O和Na共掺有望增强单层h-BN的光催化能力,可扩展其在催化材料、光电器件等领域的应用.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale surface diffusion of heterogeneous adatoms clusters

Molecular dynamics simulation employing the embedded atom method potential is utilized to investigate nanoscale surface diffusion mechanisms of binary heterogeneous adatoms clusters at 300 K, 500 K, and 700 K. Surface diffusion of heterogeneous adatoms clusters can be vital for the binary island growth on the surface and can be useful for the formation of alloy-based thin film surface through atomic exchange process. The results of the diffusion process show that at 300 K, the diffusion of small adatoms clusters shows hopping, sliding, and shear motion; whereas for large adatoms clusters(hexamer and above), the diffusion is negligible. At 500 K, small adatoms clusters, i.e., dimer, show almost all possible diffusion mechanisms including the atomic exchange process; however no such exchange is observed for adatoms clusters greater than dimer. At 700 K, the exchange mechanism dominates for all types of clusters, where Zr adatoms show maximum tendency and Ag adatoms show minimum or no tendency toward the exchange process. Separation and recombination of one or more adatoms are also observed at 500 K and 700 K. The Ag adatoms also occupy pop-up positions over the adatoms clusters for short intervals. At 700 K, the vacancies are also generated in the vicinity of the adatoms cluster,vacancy formation, filling, and shifting can be observed from the results.     

Diffusion of N adatoms on the Fe(100) surface

The diffusion of individual N adatoms on Fe(100) has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The measured diffusion barrier for isolated N adatoms is E(d) = (0.92+/-0.04) eV, with a prefactor of nu(0) = 4.3x10(12) s(-1), which is in quantitative agreement with the DFT calculations. The diffusion is strongly coupled to lattice distortions, and, as a consequence, the presence of other N adatoms introduces an anisotropy in the diffusion. Based on experimentally determined values of the diffusion barriers and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, the potential energy surface experienced by a N adatom is determined.     

Diffusion-induced growth and morphological stability of a two-dimensional cavity in an adatomic monolayer on the crystal surface

Diffusion-induced growth of a two-dimensional cavity (a pore) in a monolayer of adsorbed atoms (adatoms) on the crystal surface is considered in the case of the vacancy mechanism for diffusion in the monolayer. In the case in which the cavity radius is smaller than the typical diffusion length of vacancies, the stability of the growing cavity against arbitrary small perturbations of its shape is analyzed with the boundary kinetics of vacancies at the cavity boundary taken into account. Threshold cavity radii are found. Exceeding these radii leads to an increase in both the amplitude of the shape distortion and the amplitude of the relative deformation of the cavity shape.     

Inverse growth kinetics on InSb(110)

Using He atom scattering, layer-by-layer erosion of InSb(110) by low energy ion bombardment has been observed to proceed via nucleation of vacancy islands, island growth and coalescence. The mechanism is in full agreement with theoretical models developed for crystal growth, with diffusing adatoms substituted by diffusing vacancies. In particular it has been observed that coalescence of the vacancy islands sets in after the removal of small fractions of a monolayer and that the average terrace width increases with increasing number of sputtered monolayers.     

Corner hole adatom stacking fault structure of Bi on Au(1 1 1)

The surface atomic structure of Bi on Au(1 1 1) is studied with scanning tunneling microscopy. At about 0.5 monolayer of Bi, a well-ordered 6 × 6 atomic structure is observed. The structure has three notable features: corner holes, Bi adatoms, and stacking faults, very similar to a semiconductor surface of Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7. Out of 18 Bi surface atoms in a unit cell, six atoms are at hollow sites and are adatoms, and another six atoms are near-bridge sites. The last six atoms surround corner holes and are lower than other surface atoms by about 0.2 Å. A possible atomic model is proposed based on our observation.     

Relaxation of the (1 1 1) surface of δ-Pu and effects on atomic adsorption: An ab initio study

The computational formalism of the full-potential all-electron linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbitals (FP-LAPW+lo) method has been employed to study the relaxation of the δ-Pu(1 1 1) surface and the consequent effects for atomic adsorption of C, N, and O atoms on this surface. The underlying theoretical principle is the generalized gradient approximation to density functional theory (GGA-DFT) and the surface was modeled by a five-layer slab with a (2×2) surface unit cell. Upon relaxation of the slab, the interlayer separation between the surface and the subsurface layers expanded by 7.1% with respect to the bulk interlayer separation, while the separation between the subsurface and central layers expanded by 0.4%. To study adsorption on the surface, the adatoms were allowed to approach the surface at four high symmetry adsorption sites, namely, the top, bridge, hollow FCC, and hollow HCP sites, the adlayer structure corresponding to a coverage of 0.25 of a monolayer in all cases. The hollow FCC adsorption site was found to be the most stable site for C and N with chemisorption energies of 6.420 and 6.549 eV, respectively, while the hollow HCP adsorption site was found to be the most stable site for O with a chemisorption energy of 7.858 eV. The respective distances of the C, N, and O adatoms from the surface were found to be 1.22, 1.09, and 1.22 Å. The work function and net magnetic moments, respectively, increased and decreased in all cases upon chemisorption compared with the bare δ-Pu(1 1 1) surface. The electronic structure of the interactions between the adsorbates and the substrate is discussed in detail.     

含空位二维六角氮化硼电子和磁性质的密度泛函研究

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算, 研究了含B原子空位(V_B), N原子空位(V_N), 以及含B–N键空位 (V_B+N)缺陷的二维氮化硼(h-BN)的电子和磁性质. 在微观结构上, V_B体系表现为在空位附近的N原子重构成等腰三角形, V_N体系靠近空穴的B 原子形成等边三角形, V_B+N体系靠近空穴处的B和N原子在h-BN平面上重构为梯形. 三种空位缺陷都使h-BN的带隙类型从直接带隙转变为间接带隙. V_B体系的总磁矩为1.0 μ_B, 磁矩全部由N原子贡献. 其中空穴周围的三个N原子磁矩方向不完全一致, 存在着铁磁性和反铁磁性两种耦合方式. 对于V_N 体系, 整个晶胞内的总磁矩也为1.0 μ_B, 磁矩在空穴周围区域呈现一定的分布. 关键词： 二维h-BN 空位 电子结构 磁性     

Oxygen reduction reactions in the SOFC cathode of Ag/CeO2

The interactions between oxygen molecules and a silver surface or a CeO₂(111) supported atomic layer of silver are predicted using first-principles calculations based on spin polarized DFT with PAW method. The juncture between the CeO₂(111), the atomic layer of silver, and O₂ represents a triple-phase boundary (TPB) whereas the interface between silver surfaces and O₂ corresponds to a 2-phase boundary (2PB) in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Results suggest that the O₂ dissociation process on a monolayer of silver supported by CeO₂(111) surfaces (or TPB) with oxygen vacancies has lower reaction barrier than on silver surfaces (or 2PB), and the dissociated oxygen ions can quickly bond with subsurface Ce atom via a barrierless and highly exothermic reaction. The oxygen vacancies at TPB are found to be responsible for the lower energy barrier and high exothermicity because of the strong interaction between subsurface Ce and adspecies, implying that oxygen molecules prefer being reduced at TPB than on silver surfaces (2PB). The results suggest that, for a silver-based cathode in a SOFC, the adsorption and dissociation of oxygen occur rapidly and the most stable surface oxygen species would be the dissociated oxygen ion with − 0.78|e| Bader charges; the rate of oxygen reduction is most likely limited by subsequent processes such as diffusion or incorporation of the oxygen ions into the electrolyte.     

Pits and adatoms at the interface of 1-ML C84/Ag （111）

We prepare a well-defined C84 monolayer on the surface of Ag （111） and study the geometric structure by scanning tunneling microscopy （STM）. The C84 molecules form a nearly close-packed incommensurate R30° lattice. The lattice is long-distance ordered with numerous local disorders. The monolayer exhibits complex bright/dim contrast; the largest height difference between the molecules can be greater than 0.4 nm. Annealing the monolayer at 380 ℃ can desorb part of the molecules, but more than sixty percent molecules stay on the Ag （111） surface even after the sample has been annealed at 650 ℃. Our analyses reveal that the 7-atom pits form beneath many molecules. Some other molecules sit at the 1-atom pits. Ag adatoms （those removed substrate atoms, accompanying the pit formation） play a very important role in this system. The adatoms can either stabilize or destabilize the monolayer, depending on the distribution manner of the adatoms at the interface. The distribution manner is determined by the co-play of the following factors： the dimension of the interstitial regions of the C84 overlayer, the number of the adatoms, and the long-distance migration of part adatoms.     

Effects of KOH etching on the properties of Ga-polar n-GaN surfaces

The effects of a KOH treatment on the properties of n-type GaN surfaces and associated Au/n-GaN contacts have been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, reflection high-energy-electron diffraction, current–voltage and electron-beam-induced current characterization. Ga-polar surfaces grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metal–organic chemical vapour deposition were compared. A decrease in electron barrier height and an increase in non-radiative recombination properties of Au/n-GaN contacts were found with KOH treatment, correlated with an increase of surface Ga vacancies, an increase in surface N–H₂ content and a decrease in surface C contamination. A 0.3-eV shift in the Ga3d peak position towards the valence band and a reduction in the dislocation contrast were observed for the case of molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown GaN only, demonstrating that surface Ga vacancies and threading dislocations play only a limited role in defining the resultant metal/GaN contact properties. Accordingly, the surface atomic content and the resulting surface states, following KOH treatment, should be taken into consideration when appraising the electrical properties of n-GaN surfaces and the performance of associated metallic contacts.