The effect of electric field on Ti-decorated graphyne for hydrogen storage

Graphynes and Graphdiynes for Energy Storage and Catalytic Utilization: Theoretical Insights into Recent Advances

Carbon allotropes have contributed to all aspects of people's lives throughout human history. As emerging carbon-based low-dimensional materials, graphyne family members (GYF), represented by graphdiyne, have a wide range potential applications due to their superior physical and chemical properties. In particular, graphdiyne (GDY), as the leader of the graphyne family, has been practically applied to various research fields since it was first successfully synthesized. GYF have a large surface area, both sp and sp² hybridization, and a certain band gap, which was considered to originate from the overlap of carbon 2p_z orbitals and the inhomogeneous π-bonds of carbon atoms in different hybridization forms. These properties mean GYF-based materials still have many potential applications to be developed, especially in energy storage and catalytic utilization. Since most of the GYF have yet to be synthesized and applications of successfully synthesized GYF have not been developed for a long time, theoretical results in various application fields should be shared to experimentalists to attract more intentions. In this Review, we summarized and discussed the synthesis, structural properties, and applications of GYF-based materials from the theoretical insights, hoping to provide different viewpoints and comments.

Anab initiostudy of catechol sensing in pristine and transition metal decoratedγ-graphyne

Catechol is a toxic biomolecule due to its low degradability to the ecosystem and unpredictable impact on human health. In this work, we have investigated the catechol sensing properties of pristine and transition metal (Ag, Au, Pd, and Ti) decoratedγ-graphyne (GY) systems by employing the density functional theory and first-principles molecular dynamics approach. Simulation results revealed that Pd and Ti atom is more suitable than Ag and Au atom for the decoration of the GY structure with a large charge transfer of 0.29e and 1.54e from valence d-orbitals of the Pd/Ti atom to the carbon-2p orbitals of GY. The GY + Ti system offers excellent electrochemical sensing towards catechol with charge donation of 0.14e from catechol O-p orbitals to Ti-d orbitals, while the catechol molecule is physisorbed to pristine GY with only 0.04e of charge transfer. There exists an energy barrier of 5.19 eV for the diffusion of the Ti atom, which prevents the system from metal-metal clustering. To verify the thermal stability of the sensing material, we have conducted the molecular dynamics simulations at 300 K. We have reported feasible recovery times of 2.05 × 10^-5s and 4.7 × 10²s for sensing substrate GY + Pd and GY + Ti, respectively, at 500 K of UV light.

First-principles investigation on the bonding mechanisms of two-dimensional carbon materials on the transition metals surfaces

Understanding the bonding mechanisms between carbon and metal atoms are crucial for experimental preparations of low-dimensional carbon materials and metal/low-dimensional carbon composites. In this work, various bonding modes are summarized through a systematical study on the adsorptions of graphene and graphyne on surfaces of typical transition metals. If a carbon atom is adjacent to a transition metal atom, the C-p_z electron may form a covalent bond with a s or a d electron of the transition metal atom. When a metal atom lies below two carbon atoms of graphene or graphyne, two new covalent bonds may be formed between the metal atom and the two carbon atoms by two C-p_z electrons with two d or two sd-hybridized orbital electrons of the transition metal atom. Specially, the two covalent bonds are almost identical by two sd-hybridized orbital electrons, but the two bonds should show significant differences by two d-orbital electrons. Three covalent bonds formed between three carbon atoms and one sd²-hybridized Ti atom are observed on the graphyne/Ti (0001) interface. In addition to the existing sp and sp² hybridizations, the carbon atom may show the sp³ hybridization after graphyne adsorbs on some metals. These research results are obtained through a comprehensive analysis of the adsorption configuration, the differential charge density, and the projected of states from the first-principles calculations in the present study.

Except for the existing sp and sp² hybridizations, the carbon shows the sp³ hybridization after graphyne adsorbs on Ti surface.

Graphynes: indispensable nanoporous architectures in carbon flatland

Theoretical design and experimental realization of novel nanoporous architectures in carbon membranes has been a success story in recent times. Research on graphynes, an interesting class of materials in carbon flatland, has contributed immensely to this success story. Graphyne frameworks possessing sp and sp2 hybridized carbon atoms offer a variety of uniformly distributed nanoporous architectures for applications ranging from water desalination, gas separation, and energy storage to catalysis. Theory has played a pivotal role in research on graphynes, starting from the prediction of various structural forms to the emergence of their remarkable applications. Herein, we attempt to provide an up-to-date account of research on graphynes, highlighting contributions from numerous theoretical investigations that have led to the current status of graphynes as indispensable materials in carbon flatland. Despite unsolved challenges in large-scale synthesis, the future appears bright for graphynes in present theoretical and experimental research scenarios.

On the Catalytic Activity of Pt Supported by Graphyne in the Oxidation of Ethanol

The adsorption of Pt clusters on β- and γ-graphyne (β-GY, γ-GY), graphdiyne (GDY), and graphene (GP) was extensively investigated with density functional theory. Ethanol adsorption and its partial oxidation on the Pt supported by the GY and GP were then explored to address the influence of the supporting materials on the activity of Pt nanoclusters to ethanol oxidation. Among the examined adsorption sites such as the hollow, Csp-Csp, and Csp-Csp2 bonds, the hollow site consisting of multiple triple bonds is the most attractive one to adsorb Pt and Pt4 regardless of β-GY, γ-GY, and GDY. The binding of Pt4 to the GDY is slightly stronger than those of β-GY and γ-GY (binding energy: -3.64, -3.73, and -4.08eV). It is remarkable that the adsorption of Pt4 on GY is 2-3 times stronger than that on GP (-3.6-4.1 vs -1.3 eV), showing that the GY and GDY are better substracts than the GP for the stability of Pt clusters. Furthermore, the potential energy profiles for the oxidation of ethanol show that in spite of the higher energy barrier for the adsorbed ethanol on Pt4 supported by γ-GY than by GP (1.54 vs 1.19eV), the dehydrogenation product and of ethanol on Pt-graphyne is much stabler than that on Pt-graphene, suggesting that graphyne is thermodynamically more favorable than graphene as a subtract for the Pt catalyst.