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Graphene is thought to be a promising material for many applications. However, pristine graphene is not suitable for most electrochemical devices, where defect engineering is crucial for its performance. We demonstrate how the boron doping of graphene can alter its reactivity, electrical conductivity and potential application for sodium and aluminum storage, with an emphasis on novel metal-ion batteries. Using Density Functional Theory calculations, we investigate both the influence of boron concentration and the oxidation of the material on the mentioned properties. It is demonstrated that the presence of boron in graphene increases its reactivity towards atomic hydrogen and oxygen-containing species; in other words, it makes B-doped graphene more prone to oxidation. Additionally, the presence of these surface functional groups significantly alters the type and strength of the interaction of Na and Al with the given materials. Boron-doping and the oxidation of graphene is found to increase the Na storage capacity of graphene by a factor of up to four, and the calculated sodiation potentials indicate the possibility of using these materials as electrode materials in high-voltage Na-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the observation of a peculiar polarization behavior of BaFe12O19 in electric field where the linear polarization is detected at temperatures below 150 K whereas at higher temperatures a hysteresis-like polarization response is observed. At the same time, the performed neutron diffraction analysis shows no variations in crystal or magnetic structures with temperature. Based on the results of ab initio calculations we suggest the mechanism able to explain the experimentally observed behavior. We show that specific Fe atoms do not occupy the positions formally assigned to them by the conventional centrosymmetric P63/mmc (#194) space group (z = 0.25; 0.75) as these positions correspond to local energy maxima. Instead, these Fe atoms are shifted along the z-axis to positions z = 0.259 (0.241) and z = 0.759 (0.741), which correspond to local energy minima. To an inversion center move between these minima Fe atoms need to overcome an energy barrier. This barrier is rather insignificant for smaller volumes but it becomes larger for expanded volumes due to coupling between the displacements of these Fe atoms. Additionally, our analysis suggests that the non-centrosymmetric and polar P63mc (#186) space group could be appropriate for the description of the BaFe12O19 structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly effective yet affordable non-noble metal catalysts are a key component for advances in hydrogen generation via electrolysis. The synthesis of catalytic heterostructures containing established Ni in combination with surface NiO, Ni(OH)2, and NiOOH domains gives rise to a synergistic effect between the surface components and is highly beneficial for water splitting and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the intrinsic catalytic activity of pure Ni and the effect of partial electrochemical oxidation of ultra-smooth magnetron sputter-deposited Ni surfaces are analyzed by combining electrochemical measurements with transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The experimental investigations are supplemented by Density Functional Theory and Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Kinetic parameters for the HER are evaluated while surface roughening is carefully monitored during different Ni film treatment and operation stages. Surface oxidation results in the dominant formation of Ni(OH)2, practically negligible surface roughening, and 3–5 times increased HER exchange current densities. Higher levels of surface roughening are observed during prolonged cycling to deep negative potentials, while surface oxidation slows down the HER activity losses compared to as-deposited films. Thus, surface oxidation increases the intrinsic HER activity of nickel and is also a viable strategy to improve catalyst durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new electrochromic materials and devices, like smart windows, has an enormous impact on the energy efficiency of modern society. One of the crucial materials in this technology is nickel oxide. Ni-deficient NiO shows anodic electrochromism, whose mechanism is still under debate. We use DFT+U calculations to show that Ni vacancy generation results in the formation of hole polarons localized at the two oxygens next to the vacancy. In the case of NiO bulk, upon Li insertion or injection of an extra electron into Ni-deficient NiO, one hole gets filled, and the hole bipolaron is converted into a hole polaron well-localized at one O atom, resulting from the transition between oxidized (colored) to reduced (bleached) state. In the case of the Ni-deficient NiO(001) surface, the qualitatively same picture is obtained upon embedding Li, Na, and K into the Ni surface vacancy, reinforcing the conclusion that the electron injection, resulting in the filling of the hole states, is responsible for the modulation of the optical properties of NiO. Hence, our results suggest a new mechanism of Ni-deficient NiO electrochromism not related to the change of the Ni oxidation states, i.e., the Ni2+/Ni3+ transition, but based on the formation and annihilation of hole polarons in oxygen p-states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of reliable energy storage technologies is the key for the consistent energy supply based on alternate energy sources. Among energy storage systems, the electrochemical storage devices are the most robust. Consistent energy storage systems such as lithium ion (Li ion) based energy storage has become an ultimate system utilized for both domestic and industrial scales due to its advantages over the other energy storage systems. Considering the factors related to Li ion-based energy storage system, in the present review, we discuss various electrode fabrication techniques including electrodeposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), stereolithography, pressing, roll to roll, dip coating, doctor blade, drop casting, nanorod growing, brush coating, stamping, inkjet printing (IJP), fused deposition modelling (FDM) and direct ink writing (DIW). Additionally, we analyze the statistics of publications on these fabrication techniques and outline challenges and future prospects for the Li ion battery market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global energy crisis continues, efficient hydrogen production is one of the hottest topics these days. In this sense, establishing catalytic trends for hydrogen production is essential for choosing proper H2 generation technology and catalytic material. Volcano plots for hydrogen evolution in acidic media are well-known, while a volcano plot in alkaline media was constructed ten years ago using theoretically calculated hydrogen binding energies. Here, for the first time, we show that the volcano-type relationships are largely maintained in a wide range of pH values, from acidic to neutral and alkaline solutions. We do this using theoretically calculated hydrogen binding energies on clean metallic surfaces and experimentally measured hydrogen evolution overpotentials. When metallic surfaces are exposed to high anodic potentials, hydrogen evolution can be boosted or significantly impeded, depending on the type of metal and the electrolyte in which the reaction occurs. Such effects are discussed here and can be used to properly tailor catalytic materials for hydrogen production via different water electrolysis technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the catalytic performance of different materials is of crucial importance for achieving further technological advancements. This especially relates to the behaviors of different classes of catalysts under operating conditions. Here, we analyzed the effects of local coordination of metal centers (Mn, Fe, Co) in graphene-embedded single-atom catalysts (SACs). We started with well-known M@N4-graphene catalysts and systematically replaced nitrogen atoms with oxygen or sulfur atoms to obtain M@OxNy-graphene and M@SxNy-graphene SACs (x + y = 4). We show that local coordination strongly affects the electronic structure and reactivity towards hydrogen and oxygen species. However, stability is even more affected. Using the concept of Pourbaix plots, we show that the replacement of nitrogen atoms in metal coordinating centers with O or S destabilized the SACs towards dissolution, while the metal centers were easily covered by O and OH, acting as additional ligands at high anodic potentials and high pH values. Thus, not only should local coordination be considered in terms of the activity of SACs, but it is also necessary to consider its effects on the speciation of SAC active centers under different potentials and pH conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of carbon in the Earth makes the search for high-pressure carbon-containing phases essential for our understanding of mineral compositions of the Earth's mantle. In a recent study Isshiki et al. (2004) demonstrated that magnesite transforms into a new phase at lower mantle pressures. However, the structure of the emerging phase remained unknown. Here we show, by means of first principles calculations, that MgC[O.sub.3] magnesite can transform into a pyroxene structure at 113 GPa, which further transforms into a CaTi[O.sub.3]-type structure at about 200 GPa.

Single layer low-dimensional materials are presently of emerging interest, including in the context of magnetism. In the present report, on-surface supramolecular architecturing was further developed and employed to create surface supported two-dimensional binary spin arrays on atomically clean non-magnetic Au(111). By chemical programming of the modules, different checkerboards were produced combining phthalocyanines containing metals of different oxidation and spin states, diamagnetic zinc, and a metal-free 'spacer'. In an in-depth, spectro-microscopy and theoretical account, we correlate the structure and the magnetic properties of these tunable systems and discuss the emergence of 2D Kondo magnetism from the spin-bearing components and via the physico-chemical bonding to the underlying substrate. The contributions of the individual elements, as well as the role of the electronic surface state in the bottom substrate, are discussed, also looking towards further in-depth investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single atom catalysts (SACs) present the ultimate level of catalyst utilization, which puts them in the focus of current research. Using density functional theory calculations, model SACs consisting of nine metals (Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt, and Au) on four different supports (pristine graphene, N‐ and B‐doped graphene and graphene with single vacancy) are analyzed. Only graphene with a single vacancy enables the formation of SACs, which are stable in terms of aggregation and dissolution under electrochemical conditions. Reactivity of models SACs is probed using atomic (hydrogen and A = C, N, O, and S) and molecular adsorbates (AHx, x = 1, 2, 3, or 4, depending on A). Scaling relations between adsorption energies of A and AHx on model SACs are confirmed. However, the scaling is broken for CH3. There is also an evident scaling between adsorption energies of atomic and molecular adsorbates on metals SAs supported by pristine, N‐doped and B‐doped graphene, which originates from similar electronic structures of SAs on these supports. Using the obtained data, the authors analyze the hydrogen evolution on the model SACs. Only M@graphene vacancy systems (excluding Ag and Au) are stable under hydrogen evolution conditions in highly acidic solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combined the hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments in the study of the local atomic structure around Ir ions in ZnO thin films with different iridium content. This was then used in the first principles analysis of the thermoelectric properties of material. The emphasis has been put on the conditions for a positive Seebeck coefficient and p-type electrical conductivity as the functions of the Fermi level. We studied both computationally and experimentally several possible IrOx polyhedra (complexes) with a different number of surrounding oxygens and Ir oxidation states, including those with the formation of peroxide ions (O22−). In particular, octahedral coordination of iridium ions was identified by reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulations of the Ir L3-edge EXAFS spectra of ZnO:Ir thin films as the predominant complex, which is supported by the calculated lowest interstitial oxygen incorporation energies. All the calculated IrOx (x = 4, 5, 6) complexes, regardless of Ir the oxidation state, demonstrate potential for p-type conduction if the Fermi level (μF) falls in the range of 0–0.8 eV from the valence band maximum (VBM) and the Ir concentration is high enough (12.5% in the present DFT calculations). Even though the corresponding calculated Seebeck coefficient (S) around 80–89 μV K−1 slightly exceeds the experimental values, we emphasise the presence of an important plateau in the dependence of S on μF in this range for two complexes with the formation of peroxide ions (O22−). We predicted also that peroxide ions O22− are characterized by the calculated phonon frequencies of 810–942 cm−1 in agreement with our previous Raman experimental results. In this light, we discuss the high sensitivity of calculated S(μF) dependences to the atomic and electronic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an ab initio density functional theory study of the binding behavior of CO and O2 molecules to two- and three-dimensional isomers of Au13 in order to investigate the potential catalytic activity of this cluster towards low-temperature CO oxidation. First, we scanned the potential energy surface of Au13 and studied the effect of spin-orbit coupling on the relative stabilities of the 21 isomers we identified. While spin-orbit coupling increases the stability of the three-dimensional more than the two-dimensional isomers, the ground state structure at 0 K remains planar. Second, we systematically studied the binding of CO and O2 molecules onto the planar and three-dimensional structures lowest in energy. We find that the isomer dimensionality has little effect on the binding of CO to Au13. O2, on the other hand, binds significantly to the three-dimensional isomer only. The simultaneous binding of multiple CO molecules decreases the binding energy per molecule. Still, the CO binding remains stronger than the O2 binding. We did not find a synergetic effect due to the co-adsorption of both molecular species. On the three-dimensional isomer, we find O2 dissociation to be exothermic with an dissociation barrier of 1.44 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melting curve of hydrogen was computed for pressures up to 200 GPa, using molecular dynamics. The inter- and intramolecular interactions were described by the reactive force field (ReaxFF) model. The model describes the pressure-volume equation of state solid hydrogen in good agreement with experiment up to pressures over 150 GPa, however the corresponding equation of state for liquid deviates considerably from density functional theory calculations. Due to this, the computed melting curve, although shares most of the known features, yields considerably lower melting temperatures compared to extrapolations of the available diamond anvil cell data. This failure of the ReaxFF model, which can reproduce many physical and chemical properties (including chemical reactions in hydrocarbons) of solid hydrogen, hints at an important change in the mechanism of interaction of hydrogen molecules in the liquid state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the phase diagram of Ce1−xGdxO2−x/2 (CGO), calculated by means of a combined Density Functional Theory (DFT), cluster expansion and lattice Monte Carlo approach. We show that this methodology gives reliable results for the whole range of concentrations (x≡xGd≤ 1). In the thermodynamic equilibrium, we observe two transitions: the onset of oxygen-vacancy (O–Va) ordering at ca. 1200–3300 K for concentrations xGd = 0.3–1, and a phase separation into CeO2 and C-type Gd2O3 occurring below ca. 1000 K for all concentrations. We also model ‘quenched’ systems, with cations immobile below 1500 K, and observe that the presence of random-like cation configurations does not prevent C-type vacancy ordering. The obtained transition temperatures for Va ordering agree rather well with existing experimental data. We analyse the effect of vacancy ordering and composition on the lattice parameters and relaxation pattern of cations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of novel materials may often require a rational use of high price components, like noble metals, in combination with the possibility to tune their properties in a desirable way. Here we present a theoretical DFT study of Au and Pd single atoms supported by doped MgO(001). By introducing B, C and N impurities into the MgO(001) surface, the interaction between the surface and the supported metal adatoms can be adjusted. Impurity atoms act as strong binding sites for Au and Pd adatoms and can help to produce highly dispersed metal particles. The reactivity of metal atoms supported by doped MgO(001), as probed by CO, is altered compared to their counterparts on pristine MgO(001). We find that Pd atoms on doped MgO(001) are less reactive than on perfect MgO(001). In contrast, Au adatoms bind CO much more strongly when placed on doped MgO(001). In the case of Au on N-doped MgO(001) we find that charge redistribution between the metal atom and impurity takes place even when not in direct contact, which enhances the interaction of Au with CO. The presented results suggest possible ways for optimizing the reactivity of oxide supported metal catalysts through impurity engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of the theoretical description of materials properties in the framework of density functional theory (DFT) inherently depends on the exchange‐correlation (XC) functional used in the calculations. Here we investigate the influence of the choice of a XC functional (PBE, RPBE, PW91, and PBE0) on the kinetics of the adsorption, diffusion and dissociation of water on the rutile TiO2(110) surface using a combined Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) – DFT approach, where the KMC simulations are based on the barriers for the aforementioned processes calculated with DFT. We also test how the adsorption energy of intact and dissociated water molecules changes when dispersion interactions are included into the calculations. We consider the beginning of the water layer formation varying coverage up to 0.2 monolayer (ML) at temperatures up to 180 K. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the simulated water–titania system is extremely sensitive to the choice of the XC functional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand and high prices of advanced catalysts motivate a constant search for novel active materials with reduced contents of noble metals. The development of thin films and core–shell catalysts seems to be a promising strategy along this path. Using density functional theory we have analyzed a number of surface properties of supported bimetallic thin films with the composition A3B (where A = Pt and Pd, and B = Cu, Ag and Au). We focus on the surface segregation, dissolution stability and surface electronic structure. We also address the chemisorption properties of Pd3Au thin films supported by different substrates, by probing the surface reactivity with CO. We find a strong influence of the support in the case of mono- and bilayers, while the surface strain seems to be the predominant factor in determining the surface properties of supported trilayers and thicker films. In particular, we show that the studied properties of the supported trilayers can be predicted from the lattice mismatch between the overlayer and the support. Namely, if the strain dependence of the corresponding quantities for pure strained surfaces is known, the properties of strained supported trilayers can be reliably estimated. The obtained results can be used in the design of novel catalysts and predictions of the surface properties of supported ultrathin catalyst layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacancies in graphene present sites of altered chemical reactivity and open possibilities to tune graphene properties by defect engineering. The understanding of chemical reactivity of such defects is essential for successful implementation of carbon materials in advanced technologies. We report the results of a systematic DFT study of atomic adsorption on graphene with a single vacancy for the elements of rows 1–6 of the periodic table of elements (PTE), excluding lanthanides. The calculations have been performed using the PBE, long-range dispersion interaction-corrected PBE (PBE+D2 and PBE+D3) and non-local vdW-DF2 functionals. We find that most elements strongly bind to the vacancy, except for the elements of groups 11 and 12, and noble gases, for which the contribution of dispersion interaction to bonding is most significant. The strength of the interaction with the vacancy correlates with the cohesive energy of the elements in their stable phases: the higher the cohesive energy is, the stronger bonding to the vacancy can be expected. As most atoms can be trapped at the SV site we have calculated the potentials of dissolution and found that in most cases the metals adsorbed at the vacancy are more “noble” than they are in their corresponding stable phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordering of dopants and oxygen vacancies is studied for Gd-doped ceria (xGd≤ 0.25) by means of a combined density functional theory (DFT) and cluster expansion approach, where the cluster interactions derived from DFT calculations are further used in Monte Carlo simulations. The methodology is meticulously tested and the stability of the obtained solutions with respect to the volume change, applied exchange–correlation approximation and other modelling parameters is carefully analysed. We study Gd and vacancy ordering in the case of thermodynamic equilibrium and vacancy ordering for quenched Gd configurations. We find that at the thermodynamic equilibrium there exists a transition temperature (TC) below which phase separation into C-type Gd2O3 and pure CeO2 occurs. The phase separation is observed in the whole studied concentration range and the transition temperature increases with concentration from ca. 600 (xGd = 0.03) to 1000 K (xGd = 0.25). Above TC the distribution of Gd is random, oxygen vacancies tend to cluster in the coordination shells along 〈1, 1/2, 0〉 and 〈1, 1, 1〉, and the nearest neighbour position is preferred for Gd-vacancy. In the quenched Gd case, where Gd atoms are immobilised below 1500 K, the vacancy ordering is significantly frustrated. In fact, we observe an oxygen freezing transition below temperature TF≈TC− 350 K, which is close to temperatures at which a change in the conductivity slope is observed experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]