1
|
Weal GR, Guðmundsson KI, Mackenzie FD, Whiting JR, Smith NB, Skúlason E, Garden AL. Calculations of the effect of catalyst size and structure on the electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 on Cu nanoclusters. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:5242-5256. [PMID: 38362911 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr04956f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
The structure and catalytic properties of Cu nanoclusters of sizes between 55 and 147 atoms were examined to understand if small Cu clusters could provide enhancement over traditional catalysts for the electrocatalysis of CO2 to CO and carbon-based fuels, such as CH4 and CH3OH, compared to bulk Cu surfaces and large Cu nanoparticles. Clusters studied included Cu55, Cu78, Cu101, Cu124, and Cu147, the structures of which were determined using global optimisation. The majority of Cu clusters examined were icosahedral, including the perfect closed-shell, partial-shell, elongated and distorted icosahedral clusters. Free energy diagrams for the reduction of CO2 showed the potential required for the formation of CO is notably smaller for all cluster sizes considered, relative to Cu(111). Less variation is observed for the limiting potential for the formation of CH4 and CH3OH. However, it was found that clusters that are either a distorted motif or contain vacancy defects yielded the best activity and provide an interesting synthesis target for future experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey R Weal
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Kristinn Ingi Guðmundsson
- Science Institute and Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Frank D Mackenzie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - John R Whiting
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Nicholas B Smith
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Egill Skúlason
- Science Institute and Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Iceland, VR-III, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Anna L Garden
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
- The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Schön JC. Structure prediction in low dimensions: concepts, issues and examples. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2023; 381:20220246. [PMID: 37211034 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Structure prediction of stable and metastable polymorphs of chemical systems in low dimensions has become an important field, since materials that are patterned on the nano-scale are of increasing importance in modern technological applications. While many techniques for the prediction of crystalline structures in three dimensions or of small clusters of atoms have been developed over the past three decades, dealing with low-dimensional systems-ideal one-dimensional and two-dimensional systems, quasi-one-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional systems, as well as low-dimensional composite systems-poses its own challenges that need to be addressed when developing a systematic methodology for the determination of low-dimensional polymorphs that are suitable for practical applications. Quite generally, the search algorithms that had been developed for three-dimensional systems need to be adjusted when being applied to low-dimensional systems with their own specific constraints; in particular, the embedding of the (quasi-)one-dimensional/two-dimensional system in three dimensions and the influence of stabilizing substrates need to be taken into account, both on a technical and a conceptual level. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Supercomputing simulations of advanced materials'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Christian Schön
- Department of Nanoscience, Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstr. 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Oña OB, Ferraro MB, Facelli JC. Transition from exo- to endo- Cu absorption in CuSi(n) clusters: A Genetic Algorithms Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study. MOLECULAR SIMULATION 2011; 37:678-688. [PMID: 21785526 PMCID: PMC3139224 DOI: 10.1080/08927020903583830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The characterization and prediction of the structures of metal silicon clusters is important for nanotechnology research because these clusters can be used as building blocks for nano devices, integrated circuits and solar cells. Several authors have postulated that there is a transition between exo to endo absorption of Cu in Si(n) clusters and showed that for n larger than 9 it is possible to find endohedral clusters. Unfortunately, no global searchers have confirmed this observation, which is based on local optimizations of plausible structures. Here we use parallel Genetic Algorithms (GA), as implemented in our MGAC software, directly coupled with DFT energy calculations to show that the global search of CuSi(n) cluster structures does not find endohedral clusters for n < 8 but finds them for n ≥ 10.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ofelia B. Oña
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, ;
| | - Marta B. Ferraro
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, ;
| | - Julio C. Facelli
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, 155 South 1452 East, Rm 405, Salt Lake City, US,
- Center for High Performance Computing, University of Utah, 155 South 1452 East, Rm 405, Salt Lake City, US,
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Caputo MC, Oña O, Ferraro MB. Theoretical prediction of atomic and electronic structure of neutral Si6Om (m=1–11) clusters. J Chem Phys 2009; 130:134115. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3080549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
|
5
|
Tiznado W, Oña OB, Bazterra VE, Caputo MC, Facelli JC, Ferraro MB, Fuentealba P. Theoretical study of the adsorption of H on Sin clusters, (n=3–10). J Chem Phys 2005; 123:214302. [PMID: 16356043 DOI: 10.1063/1.2128675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A recently proposed local Fukui function is used to predict the binding site of atomic hydrogen on silicon clusters. To validate the predictions, an extensive search for the more stable SinH (n=3-10) clusters has been done using a modified genetic algorithm. In all cases, the isomer predicted by the Fukui function is found by the search, but it is not always the most stable one. It is discussed that in the cases where the geometrical structure of the bare silicon cluster suffers a considerable change due to the addition of one hydrogen atom, the situation is more complicated and the relaxation effects should be considered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William Tiznado
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|