Improved DFT Adsorption Energies with Semiempirical Dispersion Corrections

Unraveling Propylene Oxide Formation in Alkali Metal Batteries

The increasing need for electrochemical energy storage drives the development of post-lithium battery systems. Among the most promising new battery types are sodium-based battery systems. However, like its lithium predecessor, sodium batteries suffer from various issues like parasitic side reactions, which lead to a loss of active sodium inventory, thus reducing the capacity over time. Some problems in sodium batteries arise from an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) reducing its protective power e. g., due to increased solubility of SEI components in sodium battery systems. While it is known that the electrolyte affects the SEI structure, the exact formation mechanism of the SEI is not yet fully understood. In this study, we follow the initial SEI formation on a piece of sodium metal submerged in propylene carbonate with and without the electrolyte salt sodium perchlorate. We combine X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and density functional theory to unravel the sudden emergence of propylene oxide after adding sodium perchlorate to the electrolyte solvent. We identify the formation of a sodium chloride layer as a crucial step in forming propylene oxide by enabling precursors formed from propylene carbonate on the sodium metal surface to undergo a ring-closing reaction. Based on our combined theoretical and experimental approach, we identify changes in the electrolyte decomposition process, propose a reaction mechanism to form propylene oxide and discuss alternatives based on known synthesis routes.

Prediction of Strong Solvatochromism in a Molecular Photocatalyst

Based on quantum chemical calculations, we predict strong solvatochromism in a light-driven molecular photocatalyst for hydrogen generation, that is we show that the electronic and optical properties of the photocatalyst strongly depend on the solvent it is dissolved in. Our calculations in particular indicate a solvent-dependent relocation of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Ground-state density functional theory and linear response time-dependent density functional theory calculations were applied in order to investigate the influence of implicit solvents on the structural, electronic and optical properties of a molecular photocatalyst. Only at high dielectric constants of the solvent, is the HOMO located at the metal center of the photosensitizer, whereas at low dielectric constants the HOMO is centered at the metal atom of the catalytically active complex. We elucidate the electronic origins of this strong solvatochromic effect and sketch the consequences of these insights for the use of photocatalysts in different environments.

3D Lithiophilic CuZrAg Metallic Glass Based-Current Collector for High-Performance Lithium Metal Anode

Lithium metal anodes face several challenges in practical applications, such as dendrite growth, poor cycle efficiency, and volume variation. 3D hosts with lithiophilic surfaces have emerged as a promising design strategy for anodes. In this study, inspiration from the intrinsic isotropy, chemical heterogeneity, and wide tunability of metallic glass (MG) is drew to develop a 3D mesoporous host with a lithiophilic surface. The CuZrAg MG is prepared using the scalable melt-spinning technique and subsequently treated with a simple one-step chemical dealloying method. This resultes in the creation of a host with a homogeneously distributed abundance of lithium affinity sites on the surface. The excellent lithiophilic property and capability for uniform lithium deposition of the 3D CuZrAg electrode have been confirmed through theoretical calculations. Therefore, the 3D CuZrAg electrode displays excellent cyclic stability for over 400 cycles with 96% coulomb efficiency, and ultra-low overpotentials of 5 mV for over 2000 h at 1.0 mA cm-2 and 1.0 mAh cm-2 . Additionally, the full cells partied with either LiFePO4 or LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 cathode deliver exceptional long-term cyclability and rate capability. This work demonstrates the great potential of metallic glass in lithium metal anode application.

Influence of Dispersion Interactions on the Polymorphic Stability of Crystalline Oxides

The accurate determination of relative phase stabilities using DFT methods is a significant challenge when some of these can vary by only a few kJ/mol. Here, we demonstrate that for a selection of oxides (TiO₂, MnO₂, and ZnO) the inclusion of dispersion interactions, accomplished using the DFT-D3 correction scheme, allows for the correct ordering and an improved calculation of the energy differences between polymorphic phases. The energetic correction provided is of the same order of magnitude as the energy difference between phases. D3-corrected hybrid functionals systematically yield results closest to experiment. We propose that the inclusion of dispersion interactions makes a significant contribution to the relative energetics of polymorphic phases, especially those with different densities, and should therefore be included for calculations of relative energies using DFT methods.

Machine Learning Assisted Simulations of Electrochemical Interfaces: Recent Progress and Challenges

The electrochemical interface, where the adsorption of reactants and electrocatalytic reactions take place, has long been a focus of attention. Some of the important processes on it tend to possess relatively slow kinetic characteristics, which are usually beyond the scope of ab initio molecular dynamics. The newly emerging technique, machine learning methods, provides an alternative approach to achieve thousands of atoms and nanosecond time scale while ensuring precision and efficiency. In this Perspective, we summarize in detail the recent progress and achievements made by the introduction of machine learning to simulate electrochemical interfaces, and focus on the limitations of current machine learning models, such as accurate descriptions of long-range electrostatic interactions and the kinetics of the electrochemical reactions occurring at the interface. Finally, we further point out the future directions for machine learning to expand in the field of electrochemical interfaces.

Combining Machine Learning and Many-Body Calculations: Coverage-Dependent Adsorption of CO on Rh(111)

Adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) on transition-metal surfaces is a prototypical process in surface sciences and catalysis. Despite its simplicity, it has posed great challenges to theoretical modeling. Pretty much all existing density functionals fail to accurately describe surface energies and CO adsorption site preference as well as adsorption energies simultaneously. Although the random phase approximation (RPA) cures these density functional theory failures, its large computational cost makes it prohibitive to study the CO adsorption for any but the simplest ordered cases. Here, we address these challenges by developing a machine-learned force field (MLFF) with near RPA accuracy for the prediction of coverage-dependent adsorption of CO on the Rh(111) surface through an efficient on-the-fly active learning procedure and a Δ-machine learning approach. We show that the RPA-derived MLFF is capable to accurately predict the Rh(111) surface energy and CO adsorption site preference as well as adsorption energies at different coverages that are all in good agreement with experiments. Moreover, the coverage-dependent ground-state adsorption patterns and adsorption saturation coverage are identified.

The effect of dissolved chlorides on the photocatalytic degradation properties of titania in wastewater treatment

We investigate the effect of chlorides on the photocatalytic degradation of phenol by titania polymorphs (anatase and rutile). We demonstrate how solubilised chlorides can affect the hydroxyl radical formation on both polymorphs with an overall effect on their photodegradative activity. Initially, the photocatalytic activity of anatase and rutile for phenol degradation is investigated in both standard water and brines. With anatase, a significant reduction of the phenol conversion rate is observed (from a pseudo-first-order rate constant k = 5.3 × 10^-3 min^-1 to k = 3.5 × 10^-3 min^-1). In contrast, the presence of solubilised chlorides results in enhancement of rutile activity under the same reaction conditions (from 2.3 × 10^-3 min^-1 to 4.8 × 10^-3 min^-1). Periodic DFT methods are extensively employed and we show that after the generation of charge separation in the modelled titania systems, adsorbed chlorides are the preferential site for partial hole localisation, although small energy differences are computed between partially localised hole densities over adsorbed chloride or hydroxyl. Moreover, chlorides can reduce or inhibit the ability of r-TiO₂ (110) and a-TiO₂ (101) systems to localise polarons in the slab structure. These results indicate that both mechanisms - hole scavenging and the inhibition of hole localisation - can be the origin of the effect of chlorides on photocatalytic activity of both titania polymorphs. These results provide fundamental insight into the photocatalytic properties of titania polymorphs and elucidate the effect of adsorbed anions over radical formation and oxidative decomposition of organic pollutants.

Binding Energy and Diffusion Barrier of Formic Acid on Pd(111)

Velocity-resolved kinetics is used to measure the thermal rate of formic acid desorption from Pd(111) between 228 and 273 K for four isotopologues: HCOOH, HCOOD, DCOOH, DCOOD. Upon molecular adsorption, formic acid undergoes decomposition to CO₂ and H₂ and thermal desorption. To disentangle the contributions of individual processes, we implement a mass-balance-based calibration procedure from which the branching ratio between desorption and decomposition for formic acid is determined. From experimentally derived elementary desorption rate constants, we obtain the binding energy 639 ± 8 meV and the diffusion barrier 370 ± 130 meV using the detailed balance rate model (DBRM). The DBRM explains the observed kinetic isotope effects.

SBH17: Benchmark Database of Barrier Heights for Dissociative Chemisorption on Transition Metal Surfaces

Accurate barriers for rate controlling elementary reactions on metal surfaces are key to understanding, controlling, and predicting the rate of heterogeneously catalyzed processes. While barrier heights for gas phase reactions have been extensively benchmarked, dissociative chemisorption barriers for the reactions of molecules on metal surfaces have received much less attention. The first database called SBH10 and containing 10 entries was recently constructed based on the specific reaction parameter approach to density functional theory (SRP-DFT) and experimental results. We have now constructed a new and improved database (SBH17) containing 17 entries based on SRP-DFT and experiments. For this new SBH17 benchmark study, we have tested three algorithms (high, medium, and light) for calculating barrier heights for dissociative chemisorption on metals, which we have named for the amount of computational effort involved in their use. We test the performance of 14 density functionals at the GGA, GGA+vdW-DF, and meta-GGA rungs. Our results show that, in contrast with the previous SBH10 study where the BEEF-vdW-DF2 functional seemed to be most accurate, the workhorse functional PBE and the MS2 density functional are the most accurate of the GGA and meta-GGA functionals tested. Of the GGA+vdW functionals tested, the SRP32-vdW-DF1 functional is the most accurate. Additionally, we found that the medium algorithm is accurate enough for assessing the performance of the density functionals tested, while it avoids geometry optimizations of minimum barrier geometries for each density functional tested. The medium algorithm does require metal lattice constants and interlayer distances that are optimized separately for each functional. While these are avoided in the light algorithm, this algorithm is found not to give a reliable description of functional performance. The combination of relative ease of use and demonstrated reliability of the medium algorithm will likely pave the way for incorporation of the SBH17 database in larger databases used for testing new density functionals and electronic structure methods.

Adsorption energies on transition metal surfaces: towards an accurate and balanced description

Density functional theory predictions of binding energies and reaction barriers provide invaluable data for analyzing chemical transformations in heterogeneous catalysis. For high accuracy, effects of band structure and coverage, as well as the local bond strength in both covalent and non-covalent interactions, must be reliably described and much focus has been put on improving functionals to this end. Here, we show that a correction from higher-level calculations on small metal clusters can be applied to improve periodic band structure adsorption energies and barriers. We benchmark against 38 reliable experimental covalent and non-covalent adsorption energies and five activation barriers with mean absolute errors of 2.2 kcal mol^-1, 2.7 kcal mol^-1, and 1.1 kcal mol^-1, respectively, which are lower than for functionals widely used and tested for surface science evaluations, such as BEEF-vdW and RPBE.

Improving the Accuracy of Atomistic Simulations of the Electrochemical Interface

Atomistic simulation of the electrochemical double layer is an ambitious undertaking, requiring quantum mechanical description of electrons, phase space sampling of liquid electrolytes, and equilibration of electrolytes over nanosecond time scales. All models of electrochemistry make different trade-offs in the approximation of electrons and atomic configurations, from the extremes of classical molecular dynamics of a complete interface with point-charge atoms to correlated electronic structure methods of a single electrode configuration with no dynamics or electrolyte. Here, we review the spectrum of simulation techniques suitable for electrochemistry, focusing on the key approximations and accuracy considerations for each technique. We discuss promising approaches, such as enhanced sampling techniques for atomic configurations and computationally efficient beyond density functional theory (DFT) electronic methods, that will push electrochemical simulations beyond the present frontier.

Ab Initio Simulations of Water/Metal Interfaces

Structures and processes at water/metal interfaces play an important technological role in electrochemical energy conversion and storage, photoconversion, sensors, and corrosion, just to name a few. However, they are also of fundamental significance as a model system for the study of solid-liquid interfaces, which requires combining concepts from the chemistry and physics of crystalline materials and liquids. Particularly interesting is the fact that the water-water and water-metal interactions are of similar strength so that the structures at water/metal interfaces result from a competition between these comparable interactions. Because water is a polar molecule and water and metal surfaces are both polarizable, explicit consideration of the electronic degrees of freedom at water/metal interfaces is mandatory. In principle, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are thus the method of choice to model water/metal interfaces, but they are computationally still rather demanding. Here, ab initio simulations of water/metal interfaces will be reviewed, starting from static systems such as the adsorption of single water molecules, water clusters, and icelike layers, followed by the properties of liquid water layers at metal surfaces. Technical issues such as the appropriate first-principles description of the water-water and water-metal interactions will be discussed, and electrochemical aspects will be addressed. Finally, more approximate but numerically less demanding approaches to treat water at metal surfaces from first-principles will be briefly discussed.

Reinvestigating oxygen adsorption on Ag(111) by using strongly constrained and appropriately normed semi-local density functional with the revised Vydrov van Voorhis van der Waals force correction

While density functional theory (DFT) at the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) level has made great success in catalysis, it fails in some important systems such as the adsorption of the oxygen molecule on the Ag(111) surface. Previous DFT studies at the GGA level revealed theoretical inconsistencies on the adsorption energies and dissociation barriers of O₂ on Ag(111) in comparison with the experimental conclusion. In this study, the strongly constrained and appropriately normed-revised Vydrov van Voorhis van der Waals correction functional (SCAN-rVV10) method at the meta-GGA level with the nonlocal van der Waals (vdW) force correction was used to reinvestigate the adsorption properties of O₂ on the Ag(111) surface. The SCAN-rVV10 results successfully confirm the experimental observation that both molecular and dissociative adsorptions can exist for oxygen on Ag(111). The calculated adsorption energy for the physisorption state and the relevant dissociation energy barrier are close to the experimental data. It demonstrates that SCAN-rVV10 can outperform functionals at the GGA level for O₂/Ag(111). Therefore, our findings suggest that SCAN-rVV10 can be the desired method for systems where the correct description of intermediate-ranged vdW forces is essential, such as the physisorption of small molecules on the solid surface.

Coupling of photoactive transition metal complexes to a functional polymer matrix*

Conductive polymers represent a promising alternative to semiconducting oxide electrodes typically used in dye-sensitized cathodes as they more easily allow a tuning of the physicochemical properties. This can then also be very beneficial for using them in light-driven catalysis. In this computational study, we address the coupling of Ru-based photosensitizers to a polymer matrix by combining two different first-principles electronic structure approaches. We use a periodic density functional theory code to properly account for the delocalized nature of the electronic states in the polymer. These ground state investigations are complemented by time-dependent density functional theory simulations to assess the Franck-Condon photophysics of the present photoactive hybrid material based on a molecular model system. Our results are consistent with recent experimental observations and allow to elucidate the light-driven redox chemical processes - eventually leading to charge separation - in the present functional hybrid systems with potential application as photocathode materials.

First-Principles Study of the Surfaces and Equilibrium Shape of Discharge Products in Li-Air Batteries

Li-air batteries are a promising alternative to Li-ion batteries as they theoretically provide the highest possible specific energy density. Mainly, Li₂O₂ (lithium peroxide) and to a lesser extent, Li₂O (lithium oxide) are assumed to be the discharge products of these batteries formed with the soluble LiO₂ (lithium superoxide) considered to be an intermediate product. Bulk Li₂O₂ is an electronic insulator, and the precipitation of this compound on the cathode is thought to be the main limiting factor in achieving high capacities in lithium-oxygen cells. For the most promising electrolytes including solvents with high donor numbers, microscopy observations frequently reveal crystallite morphologies of Li₂O₂ compounds, rather than uniform layers covering the electrode surface. The precise morphologies of Li₂O and Li₂O₂ particles, and their effect and their extent of contact with the electrode, which may all affect the capacity and rechargeability, however, remain largely undetermined. Here, we address the stability of various Li₂O and Li₂O₂ surfaces and consequently, their crystallite morphologies using density functional theory calculations and ab initio thermodynamics. In contrast to previous studies, we also consider high-index surface terminations, which exhibit surprisingly low surface energies. We carefully analyze the reasons for the stability of these high-index surfaces, which also prominently influence the equilibrium shape of the particles, at least for Li₂O₂, and discuss the consequences for the observed morphology of the reaction products.

Computational approaches to dissociative chemisorption on metals: towards chemical accuracy

We review the state-of-the-art in the theory of dissociative chemisorption (DC) of small gas phase molecules on metal surfaces, which is important to modeling heterogeneous catalysis for practical reasons, and for achieving an understanding of the wealth of experimental information that exists for this topic, for fundamental reasons. We first give a quick overview of the experimental state of the field. Turning to the theory, we address the challenge that barrier heights (E_b, which are not observables) for DC on metals cannot yet be calculated with chemical accuracy, although embedded correlated wave function theory and diffusion Monte-Carlo are moving in this direction. For benchmarking, at present chemically accurate E_b can only be derived from dynamics calculations based on a semi-empirically derived density functional (DF), by computing a sticking curve and demonstrating that it is shifted from the curve measured in a supersonic beam experiment by no more than 1 kcal mol^-1. The approach capable of delivering this accuracy is called the specific reaction parameter (SRP) approach to density functional theory (DFT). SRP-DFT relies on DFT and on dynamics calculations, which are most efficiently performed if a potential energy surface (PES) is available. We therefore present a brief review of the DFs that now exist, also considering their performance on databases for E_b for gas phase reactions and DC on metals, and for adsorption to metals. We also consider expressions for SRP-DFs and briefly discuss other electronic structure methods that have addressed the interaction of molecules with metal surfaces. An overview is presented of dynamical models, which make a distinction as to whether or not, and which dissipative channels are modeled, the dissipative channels being surface phonons and electronically non-adiabatic channels such as electron-hole pair excitation. We also discuss the dynamical methods that have been used, such as the quasi-classical trajectory method and quantum dynamical methods like the time-dependent wave packet method and the reaction path Hamiltonian method. Limits on the accuracy of these methods are discussed for DC of diatomic and polyatomic molecules on metal surfaces, paying particular attention to reduced dimensionality approximations that still have to be invoked in wave packet calculations on polyatomic molecules like CH₄. We also address the accuracy of fitting methods, such as recent machine learning methods (like neural network methods) and the corrugation reducing procedure. In discussing the calculation of observables we emphasize the importance of modeling the properties of the supersonic beams in simulating the sticking probability curves measured in the associated experiments. We show that chemically accurate barrier heights have now been extracted for DC in 11 molecule-metal surface systems, some of which form the most accurate core of the only existing database of E_b for DC reactions on metal surfaces (SBH10). The SRP-DFs (or candidate SRP-DFs) that have been derived show transferability in many cases, i.e., they have been shown also to yield chemically accurate E_b for chemically related systems. This can in principle be exploited in simulating rates of catalyzed reactions on nano-particles containing facets and edges, as SRP-DFs may be transferable among systems in which a molecule dissociates on low index and stepped surfaces of the same metal. In many instances SRP-DFs have allowed important conclusions regarding the mechanisms underlying observed experimental trends. An important recent observation is that SRP-DFT based on semi-local exchange DFs has so far only been successful for systems for which the difference of the metal work function and the molecule's electron affinity exceeds 7 eV. A main challenge to SRP-DFT is to extend its applicability to the other systems, which involve a range of important DC reactions of e.g. O₂, H₂O, NH₃, CO₂, and CH₃OH. Recent calculations employing a PES based on a screened hybrid exchange functional suggest that the road to success may be based on using exchange functionals of this category.

Model Studies on the Formation of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase: Reaction of Li with Ultrathin Adsorbed Ionic-Liquid Films and Co3 O4 (111) Thin Films

In this work we aim towards the molecular understanding of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation at the electrode electrolyte interface (EEI). Herein, we investigated the interaction between the battery‐relevant ionic liquid (IL) 1‐butyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BMP‐TFSI), Li and a Co₃O₄(111) thin film model anode grown on Ir(100) as a model study of the SEI formation in Li‐ion batteries (LIBs). We employed mostly X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in combination with dispersion‐corrected density functional theory calculations (DFT‐D3). If the surface is pre‐covered by BMP‐TFSI species (model electrolyte), post‐deposition of Li (Li⁺ ion shuttle) reveals thermodynamically favorable TFSI decomposition products such as LiCN, Li₂NSO₂CF₃, LiF, Li₂S, Li₂O₂, Li₂O, but also kinetic products like Li₂NCH₃C₄H₉ or LiNCH₃C₄H₉ of BMP. Simultaneously, Li adsorption and/or lithiation of Co₃O₄(111) to Li_nCo₃O₄ takes place due to insertion via step edges or defects; a partial transformation to CoO cannot be excluded. Formation of Co⁰ could not be observed in the experiment indicating that surface reaction products and inserted/adsorbed Li at the step edges may inhibit or slow down further Li diffusion into the bulk. This study provides detailed insights of the SEI formation at the EEI, which might be crucial for the improvement of future batteries.

Sulfate, Bisulfate, and Hydrogen Co-adsorption on Pt(111) and Au(111) in an Electrochemical Environment

The co-adsorption of sulfate, bisulfate and hydrogen on Pt(111) and Au(111) electrodes was studied based on periodic density functional calculations with the aqueous electrolyte represented by both explicit and implicit solvent models. The influence of the electrochemical control parameters such as the electrode potential and pH was taken into account in a grand-canonical approach. Thus, phase diagrams of the stable coadsorption phases as a function of the electrochemical potential and Pourbaix diagrams have been derived which well reproduce experimental findings. We demonstrate that it is necessary to include explicit water molecules in order to determine the stable adsorbate phases as the (bi)sulfate adsorbates rows become significantly stabilized by bridging water molecules.

Vacancy dynamics on CO-covered Pt(111) electrodes

In situ video-STM studies of Pt(111) electrodes in CO-saturated 0.1 M H2SO4 solution are presented, which reveal the presence of defined point defects in the CO pre-oxidation regime, where the surface is covered by a highly dynamic apparent (1 × 1)-CO adlayer. These defects are generated at the Pt steps and can switch between a mobile and an immobile state. They are assigned to diffusing vacancies in the Pt surface layer, induced by interaction of the highly mobile CO adsorbates with Pt surface atoms at potentials as low as 0.30 VAg/AgCl.

Modelling the bulk properties of ambient pressure polymorphs of zirconia

We report a detailed survey of the calculated bulk properties of zirconia using GGA and meta-GGA functionals (PBE, PBEsol, RPBE, and TPSS), dispersion (Grimme's D2 and D3 approach), and on-site Coulomb repulsion correction (U = 2-8 eV). Structural, elastic, mechanical, and dielectric properties, as well as energetics, electronic structure, and phonon dispersion curves were computed and compared to previous investigations to identify the best DFT approach for a consistent in silico description of zirconia polymorphs. In general, inclusion of dispersion corrections led to only small changes in the calculated properties, whereas DFT+U (U = 2 or 4 eV) reduced the deviations of calculated properties from the experimental results, although deterioration of the structure and relative stabilities may be observed in some cases. Standard PBEsol, RPBE+U, and PBE+U were the best methodologies for a simultaneous description of the three polymorphs of ZrO2. RPBE+U, however, was the only functional to conserve the distinct structures and stabilities of c-, t-, and m-ZrO2 when U = 4 eV was used, resulting in the best in silico replication of the band gaps of ZrO2, whilst outperforming the other methodologies in the description of elastic, mechanical, and dielectric properties of this material. Overall, these results provide insight into the most appropriate DFT methodology for in silico investigations of ZrO2, and show that simultaneous description of all three ambient pressure zirconia polymorphs by DFT techniques with acceptable levels of accuracy can be achieved only when the correct choice of methodology is applied.

Water structures on a Pt(111) electrode from ab initio molecular dynamic simulations for a variety of electrochemical conditions

A structural analysis of solvating water layers on a Pt(111) electrode has been performed based on extensive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. We have emulated different electrochemical conditions by varying the concentration of hydrogen ions in the water layers, which effectively corresponds to a variation in the electrode potential. We present a detailed analysis of the arrangement and orientation of the water molecules and also address their mobility in the solvation layer.

Stable Surfaces That Bind Too Tightly: Can Range-Separated Hybrids or DFT+U Improve Paradoxical Descriptions of Surface Chemistry?

Approximate, semilocal density functional theory (DFT) suffers from delocalization error that can lead to a paradoxical model of catalytic surfaces that both overbind adsorbates yet are also too stable. We investigate the effect of two widely applied approaches for delocalization error correction, (i) affordable DFT+U (i.e., semilocal DFT augmented with a Hubbard U) and (ii) hybrid functionals with an admixture of Hartree-Fock (HF) exchange, on surface and adsorbate energies across a range of rutile transition metal oxides widely studied for their promise as water-splitting catalysts. We observe strongly row- and period-dependent trends with DFT+U, which increases surface formation energies only in early transition metals (e.g., Ti and V) and decreases adsorbate energies only in later transition metals (e.g., Ir and Pt). Both global and local hybrids destabilize surfaces and reduce adsorbate binding across the periodic table, in agreement with higher-level reference calculations. Density analysis reveals why hybrid functionals correct both quantities, whereas DFT+U does not. We recommend local, range-separated hybrids for the accurate modeling of catalysis in transition metal oxides at only a modest increase in computational cost over semilocal DFT.