The Zn Vacancy-Mediated De-Accumulation Based Process for Hydrogen Production Performance Promotion of 1D Zn─Cd─S Nanorods.

Due to their anisotropy, 1D semiconductor nanorod-based materials have attracted much attention in the process of hydrogen production by solar energy. Nevertheless, the rational design of 1D heterojunction materials and the modulation of photo-generated electron-hole transfer paths remain a challenge. Herein, a ZnxCd1-xS@ZnS/MoS2 core-shell nanorod heterojunction is precisely constructed via in situ growth of discontinuous ZnS shell and MoS2 NCs on the Zn─Cd─S nanorods. Among them, the Zn vacancy in the ZnS shell builds the defect level, and the nanoroelded MoS2 builds the electron transport site. The optimized photocatalyst shows significant photocatalytic activity without Platinum as an auxiliary catalyst, mainly due to the new interfacial charge transfer channel constructed by the shell vacancy level, the vertical separation and the de-accumulation process of photo-generated electrons and photo-generated holes. At the same time, spectral analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations fully prove that shortening difference of speed between the photogenerated electron and hole movement process is another key factor to enhance the photocatalytic performance. This study provides a new path for the kinetic design of enhanced carrier density by shortening the carrier retention time of 1D heterojunction photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic performance.

The dependence of the boson peak on the thickness of Cu50Zr50 film metallic glasses.

In this study, intensive calculations were performed to investigate the behavior of the low-temperature excess heat capacity of Cu50Zr50 ultrathin film metallic glasses. Our results show that there is a well-defined boson peak in the film metallic glasses and that the boson peak height exhibits an obvious size-dependent feature. Furthermore, there is a critical thickness dc in the curves between the boson peak height and the thickness, where the boson peak height changes abruptly. Through structural analysis, we found that the low-temperature excess heat capacity of the film metallic glasses is correlated with the density layering structure near the surface. The structural parameter S is defined by atomic density and it was found that the boson peak height is highly correlated with S. Our investigation of ultrathin film metallic glasses provides a deeper understanding about the structural origin of the boson peak in metallic glasses.

A comprehensive study of the red persistent luminescence mechanism of Y2O2S:Eu,Ti,Mg.

Y2O2S:Eu,Ti,Mg, a persistent luminescence (PersL) material that exhibits eye-sensitive red emission for longer than 4-5 h, has attracted much attention and has been intensively researched over the past decade. If it is figured out how to prolong its decay time for longer than 8 h, the amazing candle-like red PersL performance, once lit, can illuminate a room all night without electricity. However, the PersL mechanism is still confusing, since different investigators have their own unique understanding about it based on their personal experimental observations. In this work, a more comprehensive and detailed investigation of the PersL mechanism is carried out, based on the defect levels induced by Eu, Ti, and Mg impurities and anion vacancies, using first-principles calculations. Our calculated results suggest that the empty spin-down 4f levels of Eu3+ appear in the band gap, while the occupied spin-up 4f levels are just below the valence band maximum (VBM). The 3d levels of Ti4+ are located in the band gap, with the highest levels around 1.4 eV below the conduction band minimum (CBM). Positively charged anion vacancies were found to induce empty defect levels just below the CBM and so could serve as electron trap centers, which prolong the lifetimes of excited electrons and lead to the PersL of the Ti4+ ion. When Eu3+ is co-doped with Ti4+, the energy of the excited Ti4+ ions is transferred to Eu3+. This mechanism can explain well most of the experimental observations that have appeared in the literature over the past decade. The obtained PersL mechanism is very clear in terms of the roles played by most types of defect, so we hope it can provide physical understanding and create intrigue around the idea of practical guidelines for the design of new red PersL materials in the future.

Reaction mechanism between small-sized Ce clusters and water molecules II: an ab initio investigation on Cen (n = 1-3) + mH2O (m = 2-6).

Possible reactions between the products of the three independent reactions involving a small Ce cluster and a single water molecule, Cen + H2O (n = 1-3), and an additional H2O molecule are systematically investigated. The ground-state isomers of the final products and the reaction pathways involving multiple water molecules are predicted. We find that under either ambient or UV-irradiation conditions, all the reactions can entail low energy barriers. In addition, the final products of the reaction between Cen and more than two H2O molecules are also predicted through an extensive structural search. The calculated reaction energies suggest that although small-sized Ce clusters can react with more than two water molecules, the reactions with one or two water molecules are dominant. The electronic structures of all the ground-state isomers and the corresponding oxidation states of Ce atoms in these isomers are computed and determined via the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. The results indicate that a single Ce atom and a Ce2 cluster can react with a maximum of four and six water molecules, respectively, while a Ce3 cluster can react with more than six water molecules. This comprehensive study offers an improved understanding of the mechanism underlying the reactions between a single Ce atom or a small Ce cluster and two or more H2O molecules. Knowledge obtained from this study can be helpful for the development of high-performance Ce-doped or Ce-based catalysts.

Structural origin of the high glass-forming ability of Ce70Ga10Cu20 alloys.

The CeGaCu amorphous alloy has a good glass-forming ability and many special properties. However, its structure at the atomic scale is unclear. We systematically investigated the structure evolution of Ce70GaxCu30-x (x = 6, 10, 13) glass formation melts by ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. Based on the trajectories from the simulations, the pair-correlation function, coordination numbers, chemical short-range order, Voronoi polyhedra and electronic structures were discussed. Our results show that the concentration of Ga- and Cu-centered icosahedral (-like) clusters in Ce70Ga10Cu20 melts are larger than those in Ce70Ga6Cu24 and Ce70Ga13Cu17 melts. Furthermore, electronic analysis showed that the hybridization between Ga 4p and Cu 3d (Ce 5d) orbitals is strong and that of Cu 3d orbitals and Ga 4p orbitals was strengthened in Ce70Ga10Cu20 melts, which means that the interactions between Ga and Cu atoms nearby were enhanced in the Ce70Ga10Cu20 melts. The stability of the Ga- or Cu-centered icosahedral clusters increased accordingly, which favored their glass-forming ability. Our investigation helps people obtain an increased understanding of the glass-forming ability from the viewpoint of chemical interactions for metallic glasses.

Reaction mechanism between small-sized Ce clusters and water molecules: an ab initio investigation on Cen + H2O.

Reactions of small-sized cerium clusters Cen (n = 1-3) with a single water molecule are systematically investigated theoretically. The ground state structures of the Cen/H2O complex and the reaction pathways between Cen + H2O are predicted. Our results show the size-dependent reactivity of small-sized Ce clusters. The calculated reaction energies and reaction barriers indicate that the reactivity between Cen and water becomes higher with increasing cluster size. The predicted reaction pathways show that the single Ce atom and the Ce2 and Ce3 clusters can all easily react with H2O and dissociate the water molecule. Under UV-irradiation, the reaction of a Ce atom with a single H2O molecule may even release an H2 molecule. The reaction of either Ce2 or Ce3 with a single H2O molecule can fully dissociate the H2O into H and O atoms while it is bonded with the Ce cluster. The electronic configuration and oxidation states of the Ce atoms in the products and the higher occupied molecular orbitals are analyzed by using the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis method, from which the high reactivity between the reaction products of Cen + H2O and an additional H2O molecule is predicted. Our results offer deeper molecular insights into the chemical reactivity of Ce, which could be helpful for developing more efficient Ce-doped or Ce-based catalysts.

Understanding the quenching nature of Mn4+ in wide band gap inorganic compounds: design principles for Mn4+ phosphors with higher efficiency.

Mn4+ doped phosphors, as an alternative to rare-earth element doped phosphors, have attracted immense attention owing to their ultrahigh quantum efficiency of red emission for potential applications in high rendering white LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Their performance can be largely affected by quenching phenomena such as thermal quenching, concentration quenching and the quenching induced by some intrinsic/extrinsic defects. However, the quenching mechanisms due to the defect levels and host band are still incompletely understood. In this work, we carry out a comprehensive first-principles study on the underlying quenching mechanisms due to the defect levels of Mn4+ and other extrinsic/intrinsic defects, using the prototype oxide Y3Al5O12 (YAG), fluorides K2TiF6 (KTF) and ZnTiF6·6H2O (ZTF) as examples. From the comparison of the defect levels of Mn4+ with the host bands, we find that it is the very small energy difference between the defect levels of Mn4+ and the valence bands maximum (VBM) of YAG that causes the lower luminescence thermal stability of YAG:Mn4+, which we name as the hole-type thermal quenching mechanism. For the concentration quenching, it is nearly impossible for the Mn4+-Mn4+ pairs, previously considered as the main quenching centers, to appear in phosphors. A new quenching nature has been discussed. For the impurity ionic effects, the hole-type defects can largely stabilize the Mn ions in +4 states, thereby enhancing the emission intensity. These proposed mechanisms can offer deeper insights into the luminescence behavior of Mn4+ and a better practical understanding of the high photoluminescence quantum yield red phosphors by adjusting their chemical components.

Correlation between the electronic structure, topologic structure and dynamic properties of liquid cerium.

In literature, two different kinds of cerium atoms, namely Ce atoms with a localized 4f-electron and an iterant 4f-electron, have been suggested to coexist in low-density liquid cerium (A. Cadien et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2013, 110, 125503). However, direct evidence of this phenomenon is hard to be detected in the laboratory or classical MD simulations. Thus, the amazing properties of liquid cerium cannot be revealed. Herein, we have shown an ab initio MD simulation evidence that both kinds of cerium atoms can be detected in low-density liquid cerium at 13 GPa and 1900 K. Ce atoms with a similar degree of 4f-electron locality tend to aggregate with each other. An icosahedral short-range order (ISRO) appears for the local structures around the Ce atoms with an iterant 4f electron, whereas it does not appear around the Ce atoms with highly localized 4f electrons. Our study also offers a new perspective and approach to deeply understand liquid Ce and related amorphous Ce-based alloys.

Structural, electronic and mechanical properties of sp3-hybridized BN phases.

Motivated by the discovery of new phases of carbon under cold high-pressure compression, we performed a global structure search of high-pressure phases of boron nitride (BN). Ten new bulk phases were identified, each energetically more stable than the graphite-like hexagonal BN (h-BN) under high pressures. All ten high-pressure phases could be viewed as involving a stacking of buckled h-BN layers. Some of these solid structures can be fabricated through the cold high-pressure compression of h-BN films. According to the buckling of the h-BN layers, the new BN phases could be classified into three groups. The atomic structures, relative stabilities, electronic structures, and mechanical properties were studied in detail. A strong dependence of the relative stability, band structure, and mechanical properties on the buckling of h-BN was observed. The computed electronic band structures suggested that most of the high-pressure BN phases were insulators with wide and indirect band gaps. The calculated elastic constants and hardness suggested that several of the BN structures were superhard materials with potential applications in materials science and engineering. The computed transition paths indicated that the direct transition from h-BN to four of the new sp3-hybridized BN structures, or specifically to w-BN or bct-BN, were likely to occur through cold compression. For the other five of the new BN structures, although deeper local minima existed in the transition path, their formation through cold compression of h-BN was still plausible due to the low transition barrier from the deeper local minima to the targeted structure.

The influence of liquid Pb-Bi on the anti-corrosion behavior of Fe3O4: a first-principles study.

In this work, the influence of Pb and Bi atoms on the anti-corrosion behavior of the oxide film (Fe3O4) formed on steel surface is investigated based on first-principles calculations. Through calculations of the formation energies, we find that Pb and Bi atoms can promote the formation of point defects, such as interstitial atoms and vacancies in Fe3O4. Besides, the effects of the concentration of Pb (or Bi) and pressure on the formation of these defects are also studied. Our results depict that a high density of Pb (or Bi) and compression pressure can promote the formation of defects in Fe3O4 significantly. Furthermore, the energy barriers for Pb and Bi atom migration in Fe3O4 are also estimated using the climbing image nudge elastic band (CI-NEB) method, which implies that Pb and Bi can diffuse more easily in Fe3O4 compared to Fe. Our results reveal the underlying mechanism of how Pb and Bi influence the anti-corrosion ability of oxide films in an accelerate driven system (ADS). It is instructive for improving the corrosion resistance of the oxide films in the ADS.

Structural and magnetic evolution of bimetallic MnAu clusters driven by asymmetric atomic migration.

The nanoscale structural, compositional, and magnetic properties are examined for annealed MnAu nanoclusters. The MnAu clusters order into the L1(0) structure, and monotonic size-dependences develop for the composition and lattice parameters, which are well reproduced by our density functional theory calculations. Simultaneously, Mn diffusion forms 5 Å nanoshells on larger clusters inducing significant magnetization in an otherwise antiferromagnetic system. The differing atomic mobilities yield new cluster nanostructures that can be employed generally to create novel physical properties.

Polymorphic phases of sp3-hybridized carbon under cold compression.

It is well established that graphite can be transformed into superhard carbons under cold compression (Mao et al. Science 2003, 302, 425). However, structure of the superhard carbon is yet to be determined experimentally. We have performed an extensive structural search for the high-pressure crystalline phases of carbon using the evolutionary algorithm. Nine low-energy polymorphic structures of sp(3)-hybridized carbon result from the unbiased search. These new polymorphic carbon structures together with previously reported low-energy sp(3)-hybridized carbon structures (e.g., M-carbon, W-carbon, and Cco-C(8) or Z-carbon) can be classified into three groups on the basis of different ways of stacking two (or more) out of five (A-E) types of buckled graphene layers. Such a classification scheme points out a simple way to construct a variety of sp(3)-hybridized carbon allotropes via stacking buckled graphene layers in different combinations of the A-E types by design. Density-functional theory calculations indicate that, among the nine low-energy crystalline structures, seven are energetically more favorable than the previously reported most stable crystalline structure (i.e., Cco-C(8) or Z-carbon) in the pressure range 0-25 GPa. Moreover, several newly predicted polymorphic sp(3)-hybridized carbon structures possess elastic moduli and hardness close to those of the cubic diamond. In particular, Z-carbon-4 possesses the highest hardness (93.4) among all the low-energy sp(3)-hybridized carbon structures predicted today. The calculated electronic structures suggest that most polymorphic carbon structures are optically transparent. The simulated X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of a few polymorphic structures are in good agreement with the experimental spectrum, suggesting that samples from the cold-compressed graphite experiments may consist of multiple polymorphic phases of sp(3)-hybridized carbon.

Rutile TiO2(011)-2 × 1 Reconstructed Surfaces with Optical Absorption over the Visible Light Spectrum.

The stable structures of the reconstructed rutile TiO2(011) surface are explored based on an evolutionary method. In addition to the well-known "brookite(001)-like" 2 × 1 reconstruction model, three 2 × 1 reconstruction structures are revealed for the first time, all being more stable in the high Ti-rich condition. Importantly, the predicted Ti4O4-2 × 1 surface model not only is in excellent agreement with the reconstructed metastable surface detected by Tao et al. [Nat. Chem. 3, 296 (2011)] from their STM experiment but also gives a consistent formation mechanism and electronic structures with the measured surface. The computed imaginary part of the dielectric function suggests that the newly predicted reconstructed surfaces are capable of optical absorption over the entire visible light spectrum, thereby offering high potential for photocatalytic applications.

Persistent Luminescence Hole-Type Materials by Design: Transition-Metal-Doped Carbon Allotrope and Carbides.

Electron traps play a crucial role in a wide variety of compounds of persistent luminescence (PL) materials. However, little attention has been placed on the hole-trap-type PL materials. In this study, a novel hole-dominated persistent luminescence (PL) mechanism is predicted. The mechanism is validated in the night pearl diamond (NPD) composed of lonsdaleite with ultralong persistent luminescence (PL) (more than 72 h). The computed band structures suggest that the Fe ion dopant in lonsdaleite is responsible for the luminescence of NPD due to the desired defect levels within the band gap for electronic transition. Other possible impurity defects in lonsdaleite, such as K, Ca, Mg, Zn, or Tl dopants, or C vacancy can also serve as the hole-trap centers to enhance the PL. Among other 3d transition-metal-ion dopants considered, Cr and Mn ions are predicted to give rise to PL property. The predicted PL mechanism via transition-metal doping of lonsdaleite offers an exciting opportunity for engineering new PL materials by design.

New structures of bilayer germanium nanosheets predicted by a particle swarm optimization method.

A global search for the stable structures of bilayer Ge (BLG) is performed, and the most stable and meta-stable BLG structures are predicted for the first time. Phonon-spectrum calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations confirm their dynamical and thermal stability. The computed electronic structures suggest that the most stable structure is metal while the meta-stable structure of BLG is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap (0.32 eV at the level of PBE functional and 0.81 eV at the level of HSE06). By straining the layer plane of the meta-stable BLG, we observe a phase transition from semiconductor to metal. Furthermore, the adsorption of gas molecules of CO, CO2, NH3, NO and NO2 on the meta-stable structure is also studied. Our results show that the predicted meta-stable BLG also possesses a good feature in gas sensors.

Computational analysis of stable hard structures in the Ti-B system.

The lowest energy crystalline structures of various stoichiometric titanium boride (Ti-B) intermetallic compounds are sought based on density functional theory combined with the particle-swarm optimization (PSO) technique. Besides three established experimental structures, i.e., FeB-type TiB, AlB2-type, and Ta3B4-type Ti3B4, we predict additional six metastable phases at these stoichiometric ratios, namely, α- and ß-phases for TiB, TiB2, and Ti3B4, respectively. Moreover, we predict the most stable crystalline structures of four new titanium boride compounds with different stoichiometric ratios: Ti2B-PSA, Ti2B3-PSB, TiB3-PSC, and TiB4-PSD. Notably, Ti2B-PSA is shown to have lower formation energy (thus higher stability) than the previously proposed Al2Cu-type Ti2B. The computed convex-hull and phonon dispersion relations confirm that all the newly predicted Ti-B intermetallic crystals are thermodynamically and dynamically stable. Remarkably, the predicted α-TiB2 and ß-TiB2 show semi-metal-like electronic properties and possess high Vickers hardnesses (39.4 and 39.6 GPa), very close to the lower limit of superhard materials (40 GPa). Analyses of band structure, density of states, electronic localization function, and various elastic moduli provide further understanding of the electronic and mechanical properties of the intermetallic titanium borides. We hope the newly predicted hard intermetallic titanium borides coupled with desirable electronic properties and high elastic modulus will motivate future experimental synthesis for applications such as high-temperature structural materials.

The search for the most stable structures of silicon-carbon monolayer compounds.

The most stable structures of two-dimensional (2D) silicon-carbon monolayer compounds with different stoichiometric compositions (i.e., Si : C ratio = 2 : 3, 1 : 3 and 1 : 4) are predicted for the first time based on the particle-swarm optimization (PSO) technique combined with density functional theory optimization. Although the 2D Si-C monolayer compounds considered here are rich in carbon, many of the low-energy metastable and the lowest-energy silicon-carbon structures are not graphene (carbon monolayer) like. Phonon-spectrum calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations were also performed to confirm the dynamical stability of the predicted most stable 2D silicon-carbon structures as well their thermal stability at elevated temperature. The computed electronic band structures show that all three predicted silicon-carbon compounds are semiconductors with direct or indirect bandgaps. Importantly, their bandgaps are predicted to be close to those of bulk silicon or bulk germanium. If confirmed in the laboratory, these 2D silicon-carbon compounds with different stoichiometric compositions may be exploited for future applications in nanoelectronic devices.

Efficient electron and hole doping in compositionally abrupt Si/Ge nanowires.

Efficient doping in semiconductor nanowires can be a challenging task in materials science. In this study, we explore effects of various dopant elements (P, N, Al, B, and O) on the electronic properties of three types of compositionally abrupt SiGe nanowires (NWs), namely, the core-shell Ge(core)/Si(shell) and Si(core)/Ge(shell) NWs, and the fused triangular-prism SiGe NW. Based on the density-functional theory calculations, we find that the substitution of Ge by the pentavalent P at the interfacial region between the core and shell of Ge/Si NWs leads to an easy injection of high-density free-electron-like carriers, whereas the substitution of Si by trivalent Al or B at the interfacial region leads to an easy injection of high-density free-hole-like carriers. However, the introduction of the pentavalent N has little effect on the conductivity of the three types of SiGe NWs. For the divalent O dopant, only the substitution of Si by O in the fused triangular-prism SiGe NW can result in high-density free-hole-like carriers at low temperature. This comprehensive study demonstrates, for the first time, that the doping efficiency not only depends on the type of dopant element (which is well-known) but also on the interfacial geometry of the Si/Ge domains within the compositionally abrupt NWs. The study can offer guidance to the synthesis of novel compositionally abrupt SiGe NWs through a tailored interfacial geometry and controlled interfacial doping.

[CTi7(2+)]: Heptacoordinate Carbon Motif?

A heptacoordinate carbon motif [CTi7(2+)] is predicted to be a highly stable structure (with D5h point group symmetry) based on ab initio computation. This motif possesses a sizable HOMO-LUMO gap along with the lowest vibrational frequency greater than 95 cm(-1). An investigation of the motif-containing neutral species [CTi7(2+)][BH4(-)]2 further confirms the chemical stability of the heptacoordinate carbon motif. In view of its structural stability, a quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) nanowire [CTi7]n[C16H8]n is built from the carbon motifs. This organometallic nanowire is predicted to be metallic based on density functional theory computation.

Experimental and theoretical studies of hydroxyl-induced magnetism in TiO nanoclusters.

A main challenge in understanding the defect ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic oxides is the direct experimental verification of the presence of a particular kind of defect and distinguishing its magnetic contributions from other defects. The magnetic effect of hydroxyls on TiO nanoclusters has been studied by measuring the evolution of the magnetic moment as a function of moisture exposure time, which increases the hydroxyl concentration. Our combined experiment and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show that as dissociative water adsorption transforms oxygen vacancies into hydroxyls, the magnetic moment shows a significant increase. DFT calculations show that the magnetic moment created by hydroxyls arises from 3d orbitals of neighboring Ti sites predominantly from the top and second monolayers. The two nonequivalent hydroxyls contribute differently to the magnetic moment, which decreases as the separation of hydroxyls increases. This work illustrates the essential interplay among defect structure, local structural relaxation, charge redistribution, and magnetism. The microscopic differentiation and clarification of the specific roles of each kind of intrinsic defect is critical for the future applications of dilute magnetic oxides in spintronic or other multifunctional materials.