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We present a computational screening study of ternary metal borohydrides for reversible hydrogen storage based on density functional theory. We investigate the stability and decomposition of alloys containing 1 alkali metal atom, Li, Na, or K M1; and 1 alkali, alkaline earth or 3d / 4d transition metal atom M2 plus two to five BH4  groups, i.e., M1M2BH42‐5, using a number of model structures with trigonal, tetrahedral, octahedral, and free coordination of the metal borohydride complexes. Of the over 700 investigated structures, about 20 were predicted to form potentially stable alloys with promising decomposition energies. The M1Al/ Mn/ FeBH44, Li/ NaZnBH43, and Na/ KNi/ CoBH43 alloys are found to be the most promising, followed by selected M1Nb/ RhBH44 alloys. © 2009 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.3148892

In this work, we present an overview on how density functional theory calculations can be used to design novel electrocatalytic materials for fuel cells. In particular, we focus the attention on non-metal doped graphene systems, which were reported to present excellent performances as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathodic electrode of fuel cells and are, thus, considered promising substitutes of platinum or platinum alloys electrodes. The methodology, originally proposed by Nørskov et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 17886) for electrochemical processes at metal electrodes, is revisited and applied specifically to doped graphene. Finite molecular models of graphene are found to perform as well as periodic models for localized properties or reactions. Therefore, the sophisticated molecular quantum mechanics methodologies can be safely used to compute reliable Gibbs free energies of reaction in an aqueous environment for the various steps of reduction (at the cathode) or of oxidation (at the anode). Details of the reaction mechanisms and accurate cell onset- or over-potentials can be derived from the Gibbs free energy diagrams. The latter are computational quantities which can be directly compared to experimentally obtained cell overpotentials. Modeling electrocatalysis at fuel cells is, thus, an extremely powerful and convenient tool to improve our understanding of how fuel cells work and to design novel potentially active electrocatalytic materials. In this work, we present two specific applications of B-doped graphene, as electrocatalysts for the ORR at a half-cell cathode and for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) at a half-cell anode.

The structure and electronic properties of carbon-based nanostructures obtained by metal surface assisted synthesis is highly dependent on the nature of the precursor molecule. Here, we report on a combined scanning tunneling microscopy, soft X-ray spectroscopy and density functional theory investigation on the surface assisted polymerization of Br-corannulene at Ag(110) and on the possibility of building a mesh of ?-conjugated polymers starting from buckyball shaped molecules. Indeed, the corannulene units form one-molecule-wide ribbons in which the natural concavity of the precursor molecule is maintained. These C-based nanostructures are corrugated and merge into a covalent network on the surface.

The electronic properties of free-standing and Cu-supported pristine and boron-doped, nitrogen-doped, and codoped graphene have been studied by means of density functional theory (DFT) with the vdW-DF2-C09x functional. The effects of substitutional chemical doping, metal support, lattice parameter strain, and their eventual interplay have been investigated. We find that only boron-doped graphene strongly interacts with the copper substrate, due to chemical bonds between the boron atom and the underlying metal. The binding energy and charge transfer from Cu are also highly enhanced compared to both pristine and nitrogen-doped supported graphene. The BN codoped system behaves similarly to pristine graphene with a weakly physisorbed state and a small charge transfer from Cu. However, the presence of the nonmetal dopants makes the codoped sheet extremely tunable for redox purposes, with the boron site acting as an electron acceptor and the nitrogen site as an electron donor.

The presence of defects in the graphenic layers deposited on metal surfaces modifies the nature of the interaction. Unsaturated carbon atoms, due to vacancies in the lattice, form strong organometallic bonds with surface metal atoms that highly enhance the binding energy between the two materials. We investigate by means of a wide set of dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations how such strong chemical bonds affect both the electronic properties of these hybrid interfaces and the chemical reactivity with water, which is commonly present in the working conditions. We compare different metal substrates (Cu vs Pt) that present a different type of interaction with graphene and with defective graphene. This comparative analysis allows us to unravel the controlling factors of water reactivity, the role played by the carbon vacancies and by the confinement or "graphene cover effect". Water is capable of breaking the C-Cu bond by dissociating at the undercoordinated carbon atom of the vacancy, restoring the weak van der Waals type of interaction between the two materials that allows for an easy detachment of graphene from the metal, but the same is not true in the case of Pt, where C-Pt bonds are much stronger. These conclusions can be used to rationalize water reactivity at other defective graphene/metal interfaces.

Nanoparticles of very small size (below 10 nm) of TiO 2 material are nowadays the functional building blocks of many developing technological applications. Nano is clearly different from bulk or extended systems as regards surface area, molecular binding properties, charge separation efficiency, electron/hole transport, photochemical conversion properties, etc. In this work, we investigate the life path of energy (excitons) and charge (electrons and holes) carriers in anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles of different size (2–3 nm) and shape (faceted vs spherical), by means of a wide set of hybrid density functional theory calculations. The attention is focused on the exciton/charge carriers formation, separation, recombination, self-trapping processes, which are analyzed in terms of structural deformations, energy gain or cost, charge localization/delocalization and electronic transitions involved. The computational models are corroborated by an extensive comparison with available experimental data based on photoluminescence measurements, electron paramagnetic resonance and transient absorption spectroscopies. Peculiar differences are observed for spherical nanoparticles with respect to faceted ones because of the higher disorder and larger diversity of coordination sites present on the surface. For example, charge delocalization on several lattice sites is more competitive with self-trapping processes in faceted than in spherical nanoparticles. This relates to the fact that selective compression or elongation of Ti-O bonds play a key role in determining the effectiveness of trapping sites, with spherical nanoparticles being more flexible. Moreover, hydroxyl groups on surface five-fold coordinated Ti sites are also found to be good hole trapping sites.

On-surface synthesis of thin organic and organometallic films in a bottom-up fashion has become a promising approach for the development of new nanotechnologies. In this work we studied 5,11-dibromotetracene (C18H10Br2) as a prototypical case of rodlike polyaromatic molecules functionalized with two bromine atoms on the sides. The adsorption and temperature-stimulated transformations of dibromotetracene assemblies on Ag(110) have been investigated by a combination of synchrotron radiation X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), near-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Upon the contact with the Ag substrate, the Br-C bonds are promptly cleaved at room temperature, and Ag-coordinated protopolymers are formed along the [001] substrate direction. The organometallic diners and trimers remain on the surface up to 523 K. The stabilization of the protopolymers is driven by the substrate anisotropy and weak interactions with nearby Br atoms. The short oligomers formed at elevated temperatures are weakly bounded to the substrate and desorb before covalent structures can be formed.

By a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy, X-ray spectroscopic techniques and density functional theory calculations, we prove the formation of extended patterns of parallel, graphene nanoribbons with alternate zig-zag and armchair edges and selected width by surface-assisted Ullmann coupling polymerization and dehydrogenation of 1,6-dibromopyrene (C16H8Br2). Besides the relevance of these nanostructures for their possible application in nanodevices, we demonstrate the peculiarity of halogenated pyrene derivatives for the formation of nanoribbons, in particular on Ag(110). These results open the possibility of tuning the shape and dimension of nanoribbons (and hence the correlated electronic properties) by choosing suitably tailored or on-purpose designed molecular precursors.

Graphene inertness towards chemical reactivity can be considered as an accepted postulate by the research community. This limit has been recently overcome by chemically and physically modifying graphene through non-metal doping or interfacing with acceptor/donor materials (metals or semiconductors). As a result, outstanding performances as catalytic, electrocatalytic, and photocatalytic material have been observed. In this critical Review we report computational work performed, by our group, on the reactivity of free-standing, metal- and semiconductor-supported B-doped graphene towards oxygen, which is at the basis of extremely important energy-related chemical processes, such as the oxygen reduction reaction. It appears that a combination of doping and interfacing approaches for the activation of graphene can open unconventional and unprecedented reaction paths, thus boosting the potential of modified graphene in many chemical applications. Boron found to matter: Advanced density functional studies on the enhancement of oxygen reactivity through non-metal doping and/or interfacing graphene with metal (copper) and semiconductor (TiO2) surfaces are reviewed. Oxidized boron species are formed in the graphene sheets. These are bound to the underlying support through direct covalent bonds, which enhances the intimate connection between materials with different chemical and physical properties, thus creating an interactive hybrid interface.

Molecular oxygen reactivity on pristine and B-doped graphene over crystalline Cu(111) surface has been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the periodic supercell approach. Results obtained for the supported undoped and doped systems have been compared to establish the effect of B-doping on the reactivity and on the interface adhesion, which are found to be both highly boosted. Additionally, results obtained for free standing pristine and B-doped graphene have been compared to those obtained for the metal supported counterparts in order to determine how the reactivity is affected by the presence of the metal substrate. Cu is found to be an n-type donor which enhances the reactivity of pristine graphene. However, in the case of B-doped graphene, the n-type doping by the metal surpasses the p-type doping by boron causing a reduction in the reactivity. Finally, the possibility that the oxygen could dissociate at the graphene/metal interface is investigated. Some of the reaction products are found to be more stable than those obtained with oxygen dissociating on the top side of the graphene sheet. This provides some significant insight into the confinement effect on the surface chemistry of molecules underneath which is currently a hot topic in the field.

Singly and multiply doped graphene oxide quantum dots have been synthesized by a simple electrochemical method using water as solvent. The obtained materials have been characterized by photoemission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, in order to get a detailed picture of their chemical and structural properties. The electrochemical activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction of the doped graphene oxide quantum dots has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk electrode measurements, showing a clear decrease of the overpotential as a function of the dopant according to the sequence: N ∼ B > B,N. Moreover, assisted by density functional calculations of the Gibbs free energy associated with every electron transfer, we demonstrate that the selectivity of the reaction is controlled by the oxidation states of the dopants: as-prepared graphene oxide quantum dots follow a two-electron reduction path that leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, whereas after the reduction with NaBH4, the same materials favor a four-electron reduction of oxygen to water. (Chemical Equation Presented).

Graphene inertness towards chemical reactivity can be considered as an accepted postulate by the research community. This limit has been recently overcome by chemically and physically modifying graphene through non-metal doping or interfacing with acceptor/donor materials (metals or semiconductors). As a result, outstanding performances as catalytic, electrocatalytic, and photocatalytic material have been observed. In this critical Review we report computational work performed, by our group, on the reactivity of free-standing, metal- and semiconductor-supported B-doped graphene towards oxygen, which is at the basis of extremely important energy-related chemical processes, such as the oxygen reduction reaction. It appears that a combination of doping and interfacing approaches for the activation of graphene can open unconventional and unprecedented reaction paths, thus boosting the potential of modified graphene in many chemical applications.

We present a theory for the analytic calculation of frequency-dependent polarizability gradients, and apply the methodology to the calculation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS). The formalism used is based on an open-ended theory for the calculation of frequency-dependent molecular response properties of arbitrary order, also including contributions from perturbation-dependent basis sets. An important feature of our approach is the close connection between the formalism--which is fully matrix-based in an atomic orbital basis--and the implementation, allowing for the rapid implementation of higher-order molecular properties. Care is taken to allow the formalism to be utilized with linearly-scaling Hartree-Fock and density-functional theory codes. By avoiding the evaluation of responses due to geometry distortions, only 9 response equations need to be solved for the calculation of the CARS intensities, independent of the size of the molecular system. The theory is illustrated by calculations on a set of polyaromatic hydrocarbons using a DFT/B3LYP force field and Hartree-Fock polarizability gradients. Good agreement with the experimental CARS spectra of these compounds is obtained.