Using a combination of ab initio and semiempi
rical methods, adso
rption p
roblems on su
rfaces with la
rge unit cells and low symmet
ry can still be studied. He
re, a hyb
rid app
roach of density functional theo
ry (DFT) and Ha
rt
ree-Fock (HF) was used. As an example, we dete
rmined the geomet
ry and the elect
ronic p
rope
rties of benzoic acid (BA), salicylic acid (SA) and pa
ra-salicylic acid (p-SA) adso
rbed on MgSO(4).H(2)O (100), which a
re used as conditione
r molecules fo
r the elect
rostatic sepa
ration of mine
rals. Cont
ra
ry to gene
ral expectations, these molecules a
re chemiso
rbed, with binding ene
rgies a
round 1.9 eV, fo
rming bonds th
rough the ca
rboxylic O atom of the COOH g
roups in a nonplana
r geomet
ry, although the su
rface is a stoichiomet
ric wide-band-gap insulato
r and the molecules stay intact. In cont
rast, a plana
r adso
rption geomet
ry tu
rned out to be nonbonding. Bonding takes place by means of su
rface-molecule
resonances due to the ove
rlap of the valence band with molecula
r o
rbitals, assisted by a small cha
rge-t
ransfe
r molecule to the su
rface of a
round 0.15e. These combined inte
ractions cause an int
ramolecula
r twist between the COOH g
roup and the benzene
ring.
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