Simultaneously Utilizing Excited Holes and Electrons for Piezoelectric-Enhanced Photoproduction of H2O2 from S-Scheme 2D S-Doped VOx/g-C3N4 Nanostructures

2D/2D step-scheme (S-scheme) piezo-photocatalysts for the production of fine chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), have attracted significant attention of global scientists owing to the efficiency in utilizing surface piezoelectric effects from 2D materials to overcome rapid charge recombination in photocatalytic processes. In this research, we reported the fabrication of 2D S-doped VOx deposited on 2D g-C3N4 to produce H2O2 via the piezo-photocatalytic process with high production yields at 20.19 mmol g-1 h-1, which was 1.75 and 4.87 times higher than that from solely piezo-catalytic and photocatalytic H2O2 generation. The finding pointed out that adding sulfur (S) to VOx can help to improve the catalytic outcomes by modifying the electronic properties of pristine VOx. In addition, when coupled with g-C3N4, the presence of S limits the formation of graphene in the VOx/g-C3N4 composites, causing shielding effects and pushing the cascade reactions toward water generation in the materials. Besides, the research also sheds light on the charge transport between g-C3N4 and S-VOx under irradiation and how the composites work to trigger the formation of H2O2. The presence of S in the composite systems enhances charge transfer between two semiconductors by strengthening the internal electric fields (IEF) to drive electrons moving in one direction, as demonstrated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the formation of H2O2 significantly relies on the reduction of oxygen to generate oxygenic radical species at the g-C3N4 sites. Meanwhile, S-VOx provides oxidative sites in the composites to oxidize water molecules to directly or indirectly generate H2O2 or O2, which will further participate in the reactions to produce the final products. This study confirms the validation of S-scheme piezo-photocatalysts, thus encouraging further research on developing heterojunction materials with high catalytic efficiency, which can be used in practical conditions.

2D Co-Directed Metal-Organic Networks Featuring Strong Antiferromagnetism and Perpendicular Anisotropy

Antiferromagnetic spintronics is a rapidly emerging field with the potential to revolutionize the way information is stored and processed. One of the key challenges in this field is the development of novel 2D antiferromagnetic materials. In this paper, the first on-surface synthesis of a Co-directed metal-organic network is reported in which the Co atoms are strongly antiferromagnetically coupled, while featuring a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. This material is a promising candidate for future antiferromagnetic spintronic devices, as it combines the advantages of 2D and metal-organic chemistry with strong antiferromagnetic order and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

Implantation of Gallium into Layered WS2 Nanostructures is Facilitated by Hydrogenation

Bombarding WS2 multilayered nanoparticles and nanotubes with focused ion beams of Ga+ ions at high doses, larger than 1016 cm-2 , leads to drastic structural changes and melting of the material. At lower doses, when the damage is negligible or significantly smaller, the amount of implanted Ga is very small. A substantial increase in the amount of implanted Ga, and not appreciable structural damage, are observed in nanoparticles previously hydrogenated by a radio-frequency activated hydrogen plasma. Density functional calculations reveal that the implantation of Ga in the spaces between adjacent layers of pristine WS2 nanoparticles is difficult due to the presence of activation barriers. In contrast, in hydrogenated WS2 , the hydrogen molecules are able to intercalate in between adjacent layers of the WS2 nanoparticles, giving rise to the expansion of the interlayer distances, that in practice leads to the vanishing of the activation barrier for Ga implantation. This facilitates the implantation of Ga atoms in the irradiation experiments.

Pure and Sc-doped diopside (CaMgSi2O6) vibrational spectra: modelling and experiments

We investigated the structure of pure and Sc-doped synthetic diopside (a monoclinic single-chain silicate nominally CaMgSi2O6); in Sc-doped diopside, Sc3+ substitutes Mg2+ in the structure and, to achieve charge balance, vacancies form at the expense of Ca2+. We compared the structure obtained from ab initio modelling techniques at the density functional theory (DFT) level with the structure solved by employing single crystal X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, we compared IR and Raman spectroscopy experiments with vibrational density of states (VDOS) calculated from the Fourier transform of the velocity autocorrelation function obtained using ab initio (DFT) molecular dynamics simulations. In this framework, we developed a computational tool to assign the vibrational mode associated with a specific frequency. This method consists of projecting velocities along a specific set of internal coordinates such as stretching or bending, in cases involving defects or vacancies, to calculate a partial VDOS (pVDOS) that takes into account only the vibrations associated with selected internal modes, aiding the interpretation of the total VDOS and the experimental spectra in a relevant way. The computed data were validated with the experiments and we observed that doping the diopside structure with Sc produces peak broadening and the occurrence of new peaks in the Raman spectra and that site vacancies are associated with the nearby Sc site. The present work constitutes an interesting starting point to exploit the calculated VDOS/pVDOS to characterize experimental vibrational spectra of complex systems containing local vacancies, substitutions or defects as the Sc-doped diopside.

Phase transitions and spectral shifts: a quantum mechanical exploration of vibrational frequency in magnesium ferrite

Spinel ferrites represent an integral subset of magnetic materials, with their inherent properties largely influenced by cation occupancy and spin interaction. In this study, we present an in-depth theoretical exploration of the phase transition landscape of pure magnesium-ferrite, deploying hybrid functionals and a local Gaussian basis set to scrutinize the relaxed lattice structure, relative energy, magnetic properties, electronic characteristics, and vibrational frequencies. Our investigation reveals that the ground state of magnesium-ferrite is an open-shell system with an inverse structure. This is characterized by the complete occupancy of octahedral sites by magnesium atoms, with Iron atoms dispersed between both tetrahedral and octahedral sites. We found a relative energy difference of 0.41 eV between the antiferromagnetic ground configuration and the ferro arrangement within the inverse structure. Furthermore, our research also delved into the impact of spin rearrangement and inversion (X = 0.0, 0.5 and 1) on Raman and infrared spectra. Notably, the lattice distortion from the cubic form, apparent in the optimized structure, resonates in the IR and Raman spectra, resulting in significant splitting. The frequencies calculated in this study align well with experimental values, suggesting that the literature's current assignments warrant reevaluation in light of this new data. The results presented herein can be instrumental in detecting the phase of Mg ferrites from experimental spectra, thereby paving the way for a more profound comprehension of their properties and possible uses.

Adsorption of HCN on cosmic silicates: a periodic quantum mechanical study

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) represents a small but widely distributed fraction of the interstellar molecules, and it has been observed in all the environments characterizing the formation of a new planetary system. HCN can polymerize to form biomolecules, including adenine (H5C5N5), and it has drawn attention as a possible precursor of several building blocks of life due to the presence of its polymerization products in meteorites, comets and other asteroidal bodies. To elucidate the potential catalytic role that cosmic silicates have played in these processes, we have investigated, at DFT-PBE level inclusive of a posteriori dispersion correction, the energetic and spectroscopic features of the adsorption of HCN molecules on the most relevant crystalline surfaces of the mineral forsterite (Mg2SiO4), a common silicate constituent of the interstellar core grains and planetary rocky bodies. The results reveal that HCN adsorbs both in molecular and dissociative ways, within a wide range of adsorption energies (-29.4 to -466.4 kJ mol-1). Thermodynamic and kinetic results show that dissociative adsorption is dominant already at low temperatures, a fact particularly relevant at the protoplanetary conditions (i.e., the latest stages in the star system formation process). The simulated spectroscopic features of the studied adducts show a wide range of different degrees of perturbation of C-H and CN bonds. This finding agrees with previous experimental works, and our results confirm that a complex chemistry is observed when this astrochemically-relevant molecule interacts with Mg2SiO4, which may be associated with a considerable potential reactivity towards the formation of relevant prebiotic compounds.

Exchange-correlation functional's impact on structural, electronic, and optical properties of (N2H5)PbI3 perovskite

One of the most popular multifunctional materials in optoelectronic research domains is organometallic perovskites. In this research, DFT calculation on Hydrazinium Lead Iodide (N₂H₅PbI_3, HAPI) perovskite with orthorhombic phase has been studied with distinct exchange-correlation functionals. HAPI showed a slight structural deformation using the LDA CAPZ functionals, revealing the minimum total energy. A very slight change in Mulliken and Hirshfeld charges of each element was observed due to the variation of functionals. The GGA calculations resulted in a perfect orthorhombic phase of HAPI, whereas LDA functional showed slight deformation from the orthorhombic phase. The band gaps of 1.644, 1.633, 1.618, and 1.650 eV were obtained using GGA (PBE, PBEsol, PW91) and LDA (CAPZ) functionals, respectively. HAPI showed a high absorption coefficient of 10⁴ cm^-1 order with strong absorption of high energy visible wavelength. A maximum refractive index of 2.8 was observed in the visible wavelength region and a high optical conductivity of over 10¹⁵ s^-1 suggests that HAPI can be a potential material for numerous optoelectronic research.

Vibrational circular dichroism spectra of natural products by means of the nuclear velocity perturbation theory

We present the application of the recently implemented nuclear velocity perturbation theory, using the combined Gaussian and plane waves approach in CP2K, to the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of a set of natural products. Even though the calculations were carried out for isolated molecules in the gas-phase limit, neglecting inter-molecular interactions and anharmonic effects, the match between simulated and experimental spectra is reasonable. We also study the influence of different density functionals on the conformational search and the resulting VCD spectra via group coupling matrices (GCMs). The GCM analysis reveals that the VCD signal can in some cases arise from moieties which are close to each other and in other cases from moieties far from each other. Differences in spectra obtained using different exchange-correlation density functionals can be attributed to interaction terms between different moieties in the molecules changing their sign.

Efficiency of Interstellar Nanodust Heating: Accurate Bottom-up Calculations of Nanosilicate Specific Heat Capacities

Ultrasmall nanosized silicate grains are likely to be highly abundant in the interstellar medium. From sporadically absorbing energy from ultraviolet photons, these nanosilicates are subjected to significant instantaneous temperature fluctuations. These stochastically heated nanograins subsequently emit in the infrared. Previous estimates of the extent of the heating and emission have relied on empirical fits to bulk silicate heat capacities. The heat capacity of a system depends on the range of available vibrational modes, which for nanosized solids is dramatically affected by the constraints of finite size. Although experimental vibrational spectra of nanosilicates is not yet available, we directly take these finite size effects into account by using accurate vibrational spectra of low-energy nanosilicate structures from quantum chemical density functional theory calculations. Our results indicate that the heat capacities of ultrasmall nanosilicates are smaller than previously estimated, which would lead to a higher temperature and more intense infrared emission during stochastic heating. Specifically, we find that stochastically heated grains ultrasmall nanosilicates could be up to 35-80 K hotter than previously predicted. Our results could help to improve the understanding of infrared emission from ultrasmall nanosilicates in the ISM, which could be observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Doping Achieves High Thermoelectric Performance in SnS: A First-Principles Study

Among the thermoelectrics discovered in the past few decades, SnS stands out as a promising candidate for its inexpensive, earth-abundant, and environment-friendly merits. However, with emerging research on optimizing the thermoelectric performance of SnS, there are not many theoretical studies giving explicit analysis about the underlying mechanism of charge and heat transport in the system. In this work, we find an abnormal optical-phonon-dominated κ_L in SnS with heat-carrying optical phonons showing higher group velocity than acoustic phonons. These high-velocity phonon modes are contributed by "antiphase" movements in the adjacent Sn-S sublayers. Meanwhile, we calculate the electrical properties with a nonempirical carrier lifetime and discover that the optical phonon also plays an essential role in the charge transport process, limiting the carrier mobility dominantly. Our calculation results suggest that p-type SnS can achieve a maximal ZT of 1.68 at 850 K and a hole concentration of 5.5 × 10¹⁹ cm^-3 even without band engineering. We further investigate 11 possible dopants and screen out 4 candidates (Na, K, Tl, and Ag) that effectively boost the hole concentration in SnS. Defect calculations reveal that Na is the best dopant for SnS, while we also suggest K and Tl as potential candidates, for they can also help SnS achieve its optimal hole concentration. To ensure that each dopant reaches its best doping effect, we suggest that doped SnS samples be synthesized under sulfur-excess circumstances and the synthesis temperature be higher than 1353 K. Our findings provide insight into the charge and heat transport process of SnS and pave the way for the rational design of high-performance SnS-based thermoelectric materials.

The superexchange mechanism in crystalline compounds. The case of KMF3(M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) perovskites

The ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic wavefunctions of four KMF₃(M = Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) perovskites have been obtained quantum-mechanically with the CRYSTAL code, by using the Hartree-Fock (HF) Hamiltonian and three flavours of DFT (PBE, B3LYP and PBE0) and anall-electronGaussian type basis set. In the Fe and Co cases, with d⁶and d⁷occupation, the Jahn-Teller distortion of the cubic cell is as large as 0.12 Å. Various features of the superexchange interaction energies (SIE), namely additivity, dependence on the M-M distance, on theMFM̂angle, and on the adopted functional, are explored. The contribution to SIE by the Coulomb, exchange and kinetic energy terms is analyzed. It is shown that, when using density functionals, SIE clearly correlates with the amount of exact (Hartree-Fock) exchange in the functional. The effect of SIE on the equilibrium geometry and volume of the unit cell is discussed, and it is shown that the key quantity is the spin polarization of the (closed shell) F ions along the M-F-M path. The effect of thismagneticpressureis evaluated quantitatively for the first time. The superexchange coupling constantJ, evaluated at the HF level and through the Ising model, underestimates the experimental values by about 60%-70%. The more sophisticated Yamaguchi model (that takes into account the contamination of the FM and AFM spin states) does not reduce the discrepancy. The B3LYP hybrid functional overestimates the experiments. These last are bracketed by HF and PBE0. For PBE, the overestimation is huge. Finally, Mulliken population data, charge and spin density maps and density of states are used to illustrate the electronic structure.

A critical assessment of interatomic potentials for modelling lattice defects in forsterite Mg 2 SiO 4 from 0 to 12 GPa

Five different interatomic potentials designed for modelling forsterite Mg2 SiO4 are compared to ab initio and experimental data. The set of tested properties include lattice constants, material density, elastic wave velocity, elastic stiffness tensor, free surface energies, generalized stacking faults, neutral Frenkel and Schottky defects, in the pressure range 0 - 12  GPa relevant to the Earth's upper mantle. We conclude that all interatomic potentials are reliable and applicable to the study of point defects. Stacking faults are correctly described by the THB1 potential, and qualitatively by the Pedone2006 potential. Other rigid-ion potentials give a poor account of stacking fault energies, and should not be used to model planar defects or dislocations. These results constitute a database on the transferability of rigid-ion potentials, and provide strong physical ground for simulating diffusion, dislocations, or grain boundaries.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00269-021-01170-6.

Modeling the ternary chalcogenide Na2MoSe4 from first-principles

In the ongoing pursuit of inorganic compounds suitable for solid-state devices, transition metal chalcogenides have received heightened attention due to their physical and chemical properties. Recently, alkali-ion transition metal chalcogenides have been explored as promising candidates to be applied in optoelectronics, photovoltaics and energy storage devices. In this work, we present a theoretical study of sodium molybdenum selenide (Na₂MoSe₄). First-principles computations were performed on a set of hypothetical crystal structures to determine the ground state and electronic properties of Na₂MoSe₄. We find that the equilibrium structure of Na₂MoSe₄ is a simple orthorhombic (oP) lattice, with space group Pnma, as evidenced by thermodynamics. Finally, meta-GGA computations were performed to model the band structure of oP Na₂MoSe₄ at a predictive level. We employ the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential to demonstrate that oP Na₂MoSe₄ has a direct bandgap at the Γ point that is suitable for optoelectronics. Our results provide a foundation for future studies concerned with the modeling of inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic materials chemically analogous to Na₂MoSe₄.

Probing the Nanostructure of Neutron-Irradiated Diamond Using Raman Spectroscopy

Disordering of crystal lattice induced by irradiation with fast neutrons and other high-energy particles is used for the deep modification of electrical and optical properties of diamonds via significant nanoscale restructuring and defects engineering. Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate the nature of radiation damage below the critical graphitization level created when chemical vapor deposition and natural diamonds are irradiated by fast neutrons with fluencies from 1 × 10¹⁸ to 3 × 10²⁰ cm⁻² and annealed at the 100–1700 °C range. The significant changes in the diamond Raman spectra versus the neutron-irradiated conditions are associated with the formation of intrinsic irradiation-induced defects that do not completely destroy the crystalline feature but decrease the phonon coherence length as the neutron dose increases. It was shown that the Raman spectrum of radiation-damaged diamonds is determined by the phonon confinement effect and that the boson peak is present in the Raman spectra up to annealing at 800–1000 °C. Three groups of defect-induced bands (first group = 260, 495, and 730 cm⁻¹; second group = 230, 500, 530, 685, and 760 cm^–1; and third group = 335, 1390, 1415, and 1740 cm⁻¹) were observed in Raman spectra of fast-neutron-irradiated diamonds.

The CRYSTAL code, 1976-2020 and beyond, a long story

CRYSTAL is a periodic ab initio code that uses a Gaussian-type basis set to express crystalline orbitals (i.e., Bloch functions). The use of atom-centered basis functions allows treating 3D (crystals), 2D (slabs), 1D (polymers), and 0D (molecules) systems on the same grounds. In turn, all-electron calculations are inherently permitted along with pseudopotential strategies. A variety of density functionals are implemented, including global and range-separated hybrids of various natures and, as an extreme case, Hartree-Fock (HF). The cost for HF or hybrids is only about 3-5 times higher than when using the local density approximation or the generalized gradient approximation. Symmetry is fully exploited at all steps of the calculation. Many tools are available to modify the structure as given in input and simplify the construction of complicated objects, such as slabs, nanotubes, molecules, and clusters. Many tensorial properties can be evaluated by using a single input keyword: elastic, piezoelectric, photoelastic, dielectric, first and second hyperpolarizabilities, etc. The calculation of infrared and Raman spectra is available, and the intensities are computed analytically. Automated tools are available for the generation of the relevant configurations of solid solutions and/or disordered systems. Three versions of the code exist: serial, parallel, and massive-parallel. In the second one, the most relevant matrices are duplicated on each core, whereas in the third one, the Fock matrix is distributed for diagonalization. All the relevant vectors are dynamically allocated and deallocated after use, making the code very agile. CRYSTAL can be used efficiently on high performance computing machines up to thousands of cores.

Modified Density Functional Dispersion Correction for Inorganic Layered MFX Compounds (M = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb and X = Cl, Br, I)

MFX (M = Ca, Ba, Sr, Pb and X = Cl, Br, I) compounds have received considerable attention due to their technological application as X-ray detectors, pressure sensors, and optical data storage materials, when doped with rare-earth ions. MFX compounds belong to the class of layered materials with a tetragonal Matlockite crystal structure, characterized by weakly stacked double-halide layers along the crystallographic c-axis. These layers predominantly determine phase transitions, elastic, and mechanical properties. However, the correct description of the lattice parameter c is a challenge for most standard DFT functionals, which tend to overestimate the lattice parameter c. Because of the weak interactions between the halide layers, dispersion-corrected functionals seem to be a better choice. We investigated 11 different inorganic layered MFX compounds for which experimental data are available, with standard and dispersion-corrected functionals to assess their performance in reproducing the lattice parameter c, structural, and vibrational properties of the MFX compounds. Our results revealed that these functionals do not describe the weak interactions between the halide layers in a balanced way. Therefore, we modified Grimme's popular DFT-D2 dispersion correction scheme in two different ways by (i) replacing the dispersion coefficients and van der Waals radii with those of noble gas atoms or (ii) increasing the van der Waals radii of the MFX atoms up to 40%. Comparison with the available experimental data revealed that the latter approach applied to the PBE (Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof)-D2 functional with 30% increased van der Waals radii, which we coined PBE-D2* (S_rvdw 1.30) is best suited to fine-tune the description of the weak interlayer interactions in MFX compounds, thus significantly improving the description of their structural, vibrational, and mechanical properties. Work is in progress applying this new, computationally inexpensive scheme to other inorganic layered compounds and periodic systems with weakly stacked layers.

Structure and Properties of Nanosilicates with Olivine (Mg2SiO4) N and Pyroxene (MgSiO3) N Compositions

Magnesium-rich silicates are ubiquitous both terrestrially and astronomically, where they are often present as small particles. Nanosized Mg-rich silicate particles are likely to be particularly important for understanding the formation, processing, and properties of cosmic dust grains. Although astronomical observations and laboratory studies have revealed much about such silicate dust, our knowledge of this hugely important class of nanosolids largely rests on top-down comparisons with the properties of bulk silicates. Herein, we provide a foundational bottom-up study of the structure and properties of Mg-rich nanosilicates based on carefully procured atomistic models. Specifically, we employ state-of-the-art global optimization methods to search for the most stable structures of silicate nanoclusters with olivine (Mg₂SiO₄) _N and pyroxene (MgSiO₃) _N compositions with N = 1-10. To ensure the reliability of our searches, we develop a new interatomic potential that has been especially tuned for nanosilicates. Subsequently, we refine these searches and calculate a range of physicochemical properties of the most stable nanoclusters using accurate density functional theory based electronic structure calculations. We report a detailed analysis of structural and energy properties, charge distributions, and infrared vibrational spectra, where in all cases we compare our finding for nanosilicates with those of the corresponding bulk silicate crystals. For most properties considered, we find large differences with respect to the bulk limit, underlining the limitations of a top-down approach for describing these species. Overall, our work provides a new platform for an accurate and detailed understanding of nanoscale silicates.

Thermo-Elasticity of Materials from Quasi-Harmonic Calculations

An effective algorithm for the quasi-harmonic calculation of thermo-elastic stiffness constants of materials is discussed and implemented into the Crystal program for quantum-mechanical simulations of extended systems. Two different approaches of increasing complexity and accuracy are presented. The first one is a quasi-static approximation where the thermal dependence of elastic constants is assumed to be due only to the thermal expansion of the system. The second one is fully quasi-harmonic, takes into account thermal expansion, and explicitly computes Helmholtz free energy derivatives with respect to strain. The conversion of isothermal into adiabatic thermo-elastic constants is also addressed. The algorithm is formally presented and applied to the description of the thermo-elastic response of the forsterite mineral.

Multiscale Computational Simulation of Amorphous Silicates’ Structural, Dielectric, and Vibrational Spectroscopic Properties

Silicates are among the most abundant and important inorganic materials, not only in the Earth’s crust, but also in the interstellar medium in the form of micro/nanoparticles or embedded in the matrices of comets, meteorites, and other asteroidal bodies. Although the crystalline phases of silicates are indeed present in nature, amorphous forms are also highly abundant. Here, we report a theoretical investigation of the structural, dielectric, and vibrational properties of the amorphous bulk for forsterite (Mg2SiO4) as a silicate test case by a combined approach of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for structure evolution and periodic quantum mechanical Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations for electronic structure analysis. Using classical MD based on an empirical partial charge rigid ionic model within a melt-quenching scheme at different temperatures performed with the GULP 4.0 code, amorphous bulk structures for Mg2SiO4 were generated using the crystalline phase as the initial guess. This has been done for bulk structures with three different unit cell sizes, adopting a super-cell approach; that is, 1 × 1 × 2, 2 × 1 × 2, and 2 × 2 × 2. The radial distribution functions indicated a good degree of amorphization of the structures. Periodic B3LYP-geometry optimizations performed with the CRYSTAL14 code on the generated amorphous systems were used to analyze their structure; to calculate their high-frequency dielectric constants (ε∞); and to simulate their IR, Raman, and reflectance spectra, which were compared with the experimental and theoretical crystalline Mg2SiO4. The most significant changes of the physicochemical properties of the amorphous systems compared to the crystalline ones are presented and discussed (e.g., larger deviations in the bond distances and angles, broadening of the IR bands, etc.), which are consistent with their disordered nature. It is also shown that by increasing the unit cell size, the bulk structures present a larger degree of amorphization.

Dynamic quantum crystallography: lattice-dynamical models refined against diffraction data. I. Theory

This study demonstrates and tests the refinement of a lattice-dynamical model derived from periodic ab initio calculations at the Γ point against elastic diffraction data (X-ray or neutron). Refinement of only a handful of parameters is sufficient to obtain a similar agreement with the data as the conventional crystallographic model using anisotropic displacement parameters. By refinement against X-ray data, H displacement parameters are obtained which compare favourably with those from neutron diffraction experiments. The approach opens the door for evaluating thermodynamic properties, and for refinement against multi-temperature data, against inelastic diffraction data, spectroscopic information and thermal diffuse scattering data.

Rational design of inorganic dielectric materials with expected permittivity

Techniques for rapid design of dielectric materials with appropriate permittivity for many important technological applications are urgently needed. It is found that functional structure blocks (FSBs) are helpful in rational design of inorganic dielectrics with expected permittivity. To achieve this, coordination polyhedra are parameterized as FSBs and a simple empirical model to evaluate permittivity based on these FSB parameters is proposed. Using this model, a wide range of examples including ferroelectric, high/low permittivity materials are discussed, resulting in several candidate materials for experimental follow-up.

First-principle modelling of forsterite surface properties: Accuracy of methods and basis sets

The seven main crystal surfaces of forsterite (Mg2 SiO4 ) were modeled using various Gaussian-type basis sets, and several formulations for the exchange-correlation functional within the density functional theory (DFT). The recently developed pob-TZVP basis set provides the best results for all properties that are strongly dependent on the accuracy of the wavefunction. Convergence on the structure and on the basis set superposition error-corrected surface energy can be reached also with poorer basis sets. The effect of adopting different DFT functionals was assessed. All functionals give the same stability order for the various surfaces. Surfaces do not exhibit any major structural differences when optimized with different functionals, except for higher energy orientations where major rearrangements occur around the Mg sites at the surface or subsurface. When dispersions are not accounted for, all functionals provide similar surface energies. The inclusion of empirical dispersions raises the energy of all surfaces by a nearly systematic value proportional to the scaling factor s of the dispersion formulation. An estimation for the surface energy is provided through adopting C6 coefficients that are more suitable than the standard ones to describe O-O interactions in minerals. A 2 × 2 supercell of the most stable surface (010) was optimized. No surface reconstruction was observed. The resulting structure and surface energy show no difference with respect to those obtained when using the primitive cell. This result validates the (010) surface model here adopted, that will serve as a reference for future studies on adsorption and reactivity of water and carbon dioxide at this interface.

Transferable Force Field for Metal-Organic Frameworks from First-Principles: BTW-FF

We present an ab-initio derived force field to describe the structural and mechanical properties of metal-organic frameworks (or coordination polymers). The aim is a transferable interatomic potential that can be applied to MOFs regardless of metal or ligand identity. The initial parametrization set includes MOF-5, IRMOF-10, IRMOF-14, UiO-66, UiO-67, and HKUST-1. The force field describes the periodic crystal and considers effective atomic charges based on topological analysis of the Bloch states of the extended materials. Transferable potentials were developed for the four organic ligands comprising the test set and for the associated Cu, Zn, and Zr metal nodes. The predicted materials properties, including bulk moduli and vibrational frequencies, are in agreement with explicit density functional theory calculations. The modal heat capacity and lattice thermal expansion are also predicted.

Vibrational dynamics of the salicylideneaniline molecule in the solid phase and the confined state

The salicylideneaniline (SA) molecule, both in the solid phase and sorbed in silicalite-1 zeolite, was studied by a large palette of vibrational spectroscopic methods (INS, Raman, and infrared) and by computational techniques. The comparison of the experimental and calculated spectra unambiguously indicates that the molecule is present in the cis-enol form in both phases. The results of the study allowed the proposal of a complete assignment of the vibrational spectrum of the SA molecule. The analysis of peak positions in the Raman and INS spectra of the molecule in the solid and sorbed states, and of the corresponding vibrational modes, shows that the confinement by the zeolite mostly affects those modes whose vibrational amplitude is localized on atoms of the phenol ring. This finding suggests that the molecule sits in the zeolite void such that the phenol ring is affected by the sorption to a greater extent than the benzene one. This assumption is corroborated by results of molecular modeling that shows the most energetically preferred position of the molecule in the straight channel of the zeolite framework with the phenol ring lying between two channel intersections, whereas the benzene ring is situated in the intersection.

B3LYP periodic study of the physicochemical properties of the nonpolar (010) Mg-pure and fe-containing olivine surfaces

B3LYP periodic simulations have been carried out to study some physicochemical properties of the bulk structures and the corresponding nonpolar (010) surfaces of Mg-pure and Fe-containing olivine systems; i.e., Mg2SiO4 (Fo) and Mg1.5Fe0.5SiO4 (Fo75). A detailed structural analysis of the (010) Fo and Fo75 surface models shows the presence of coordinatively unsaturated metal cations (Mg(2+) and Fe(2+), respectively) with shorter metal-O distances compared to the bulk ones. Energetic analysis devoted to the Fe(2+) electronic spin configuration and to the ion position in the surfaces reveals that Fe(2+) in its quintet state and placed at the outermost positions of the slab constitutes the most stable Fe-containing surface, which is related to the higher stability of high spin states when Fe(2+) is coordinatively unsaturated. Comparison of the simulated IR and the corresponding reflectance spectra indicates that Fe(2+) substitution induces an overall bathochromic shift of the spectra due to the larger mass of Fe compared to Mg cation. In contrast, the IR spectra of the surfaces are shifted to upper values and exhibit more bands compared to the corresponding bulk systems due to the shorter metal-O distances given in the coordinatively unsaturated metals and to symmetry reduction which brings nonequivalent motions between the outermost and the internal modes, respectively.

Magnetic exchange in {GdIII–radical} complexes: method assessment, mechanism of coupling and magneto-structural correlations

Which functional is best suit to calculate Js in lanthanide–radical pairs?