A quantum-mechanical study of CO adsorbed on TiO2: A comparison of the Lewis acidity of the rutile (110) and the anatase (101) surfaces

Paramagnetic States in Oxygen-Doped Boron Nitride Extend Light Harvesting and Photochemistry to the Deep Visible Region

A family of boron nitride (BN)-based photocatalysts for solar fuel syntheses have recently emerged. Studies have shown that oxygen doping, leading to boron oxynitride (BNO), can extend light absorption to the visible range. However, the fundamental question surrounding the origin of enhanced light harvesting and the role of specific chemical states of oxygen in BNO photochemistry remains unanswered. Here, using an integrated experimental and first-principles-based computational approach, we demonstrate that paramagnetic isolated OB₃ states are paramount to inducing prominent red-shifted light absorption. Conversely, we highlight the diamagnetic nature of O-B-O states, which are shown to cause undesired larger band gaps and impaired photochemistry. This study elucidates the importance of paramagnetism in BNO semiconductors and provides fundamental insight into its photophysics. The work herein paves the way for tailoring of its optoelectronic and photochemical properties for solar fuel synthesis.

Polymorphism and optical, magnetic and thermal properties of the either phyllo- or inosilicate-analogous borosulfate Cu[B2(SO4)4]

Two polymorphs of the borosulfate Cu[B₂(SO₄)₄] can be selectively prepared by solvothermal syntheses. The crystal structures of inosilicate-analogous α-Cu[B₂(SO₄)₄] (P1̄, no. 2, a = 5.2636(2), b = 7.1449(2), c = 7.9352(2) Å, α = 73.698(2)°, β = 70.737(2)°, γ = 86.677(2)°, 65 parameters, R_Bragg = 0.0052) and the new phyllosilicate-analogous polymorph β-Cu[B₂(SO₄)₄] (P2₁/n, no. 14, a = 7.712(3), b = 8.149(3), c = 9.092(3) Å, β = 111.22(1)°, 3829 independent reflections, 106 parameters, wR₂ = 0.054) are discussed. Further, the optical, magnetic and thermal properties of both polymorphs are investigated with focus on the role of the Cu²⁺ cation and its Jahn-Teller effect. The findings are confirmed by DFT calculations yielding insights in the stability of the synthesised polymorphs as well as a predicted γ-modification. Additionally, the crystal structures of two polymorphs of copper hydrogensulfate Cu(HSO₄)₂-I (P2₁/n, no. 14, a = 4.7530(2), b = 8.5325(4), c = 7.3719(3) Å, β = 100.063(1)°, 1063 independent reflections, 55 parameters, wR₂ = 0.052) and Cu(HSO₄)₂-II (P1̄, no. 2, a = 4.79.88(8), b = 7.857(1), c = 8.057(1) Å, α = 77.86(1)°, β = 87.02(1)°, γ = 89.82(1)°, 1044 independent reflections, 109 parameters, wR₂ = 0.132) as well as that of Cu[S₂O₇] (C2/c, no. 15, a = 6.6341(4), b = 8.7302(5), c = 9.0555(8) Å, β = 104.763(3)°, 1117 independent reflections, 48 parameters, wR₂ = 0.049) are presented and the cyclosilicate-analogous borosulfate Cu[B(SO₄)₂(HSO₄)] is fully characterised with respect to its optical and thermal properties.

Computational modelling of ammonia addition on partially reduced graphene oxide flakes

Density functional theory is employed to model the chemisorption of ammonia on epoxy-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and understand the reaction mechanism of ammonia addition on partially reduced graphene oxide flakes. Coronene (C₂₄H₁₂) and ovalene (C₃₂H₁₄) based four-epoxy group containing molecules are used to mimic the RGO surface properties. The reaction mechanism changing effect of a second ammonia molecule as well as explicit water molecules is considered. The proposed reaction mechanism consists of two steps: the migration of one epoxy group out of the modelled four-epoxy group formation to a thermodynamically less stable one and the nucleophilic addition of the ammonia molecule. The second step involves forming an amine group and reducing an epoxy group to a hydroxyl one. Interestingly, the forming amine group bonds to the carbon atom with the smallest bond order among the available ones and not necessarily to the carbon atom of the opening epoxy ring. Incorporating a second ammonia molecule has a negligible effect on the overall reaction mechanism, while in the presence of one water molecule, the reaction goes through a different pathway involving a trimolecular state during the nucleophilic addition. Including more than one water molecule or applying an implicit solvent model does not cause further changes in the reaction.

Iso-valent doping of reducible oxides: a comparison of rutile (110) and anatase (101) TiO2surfaces

We studied the role of iso-valent heteroatoms replacing Ti⁴⁺cations in the lattice of two titania polymorphs, rutile (r-) and anatase (a-) by means of first principles calculations. The r-TiO₂(110) and the a-TiO₂(101) surfaces have been considered and Ti ions in the bulk, sub-surface, and surface sites have been replaced with Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Zr, Hf, and Ce ions: surface or sub-surface sites are clearly preferred. Since the dopants have the same number of valence electrons as the replaced Ti atom, they can have only two effects: one is steric, related to the different size of the dopant compared to Ti⁴⁺; the other is an orbital effect, due to the energy levels associated to the dopant not present on the pristine surface. Both these effects can modify locally the geometric and electronic structure of the surface, in particular by introducing new states in the band gap. To check the effect of the dopants on the surface reactivity we studied as an example the decomposition of HCOOH which can follow four different paths with desorption of (a) H_2,(b) CO, (c) H₂O, or (d) CO₂. The results show the very different behavior of the two titania polymorphs considered, rutile and anatase: rutile is more reactive and more easily reduced than anatase. For specular reasons, the presence of the dopants has in general more pronounced effects on anatase, as they can deeply modify the surface reactivity and the HCOOH decomposition path.

Synthesis-Controlled Polymorphism and Optical Properties of Phyllosilicate-Analogous Borosulfates M[B2 (SO4 )4 ] (M=Mg, Co)

Increased synthetic control in borosulfate chemistry leads to the access of various new compounds. Herein, the polymorphism of phyllosilicate-analogous borosulfates is unraveled by adjusting the oleum (65 % SO3 ) content. The new polymorphs β-Mg[B2 (SO4 )4 ] and α-Co[B2 (SO4 )4 ] both consist of similar layers of alternating borate and sulfate tetrahedra, but differ in the position of octahedrally coordinated cations. The α-modification comprises cations between the layers, whereas in the β-modification cations are embedded within the layers. With this new synthetic approach, phase-pure compounds of the respective polymorphs α-Mg[B2 (SO4 )4 ] and β-Co[B2 (SO4 )4 ] were also achieved. Tanabe-Sugano analysis of the Co2+ polymorphs reveal weak ligand field splitting and give insights into the coordination behavior of the two-dimensional borosulfate anions for the first time. DFT calculations confirmed previous in silico experiments and enabled an assignment of the polymorphs by comparing the total electronic energies. The compounds are characterized by single-crystal XRD, PXRD, FTIR, and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

From S-O-S to B-O-S to B-O-B Bridges: Ba[B(S2O7)2]2 as a Model System for the Structural Diversity in Borosulfate Chemistry

Various different possible connection patterns of sulfate and borate tetrahedra enable a vast structural diversity in borosulfates, a rather new class of silicate-analogous compounds. Here we unravel a direct relationship from S-O-S to B-O-S to B-O-B bridges for the first time in borosulfate chemistry. Solvothermal synthesis in pure oleum (65% SO₃) yielded the first alkaline earth metal borosulfate comprising S-O-S bridges: Ba[B(S₂O₇)₂]₂ (I2/a, Z = 4, a = 1160.77(9) pm, b = 891.44(7) pm, c = 2130.26(19) pm, β = 104.0341(17)°) contains molecular [B(S₂O₇)₂]^- anions of a central boron atom and two chelating disulfate groups. By using equal amounts of sulfuric acid and oleum solely B-O-S bridges were obtained in Ba[B₂(SO₄)₄] (Pnna, Z = 4, a = 1279.08(18) pm, b = 1280.0(2) pm, c = 731.70(11) pm) featuring one-dimensional _∞¹[B(SO₄)_4/2]^- chains. The thermal analysis on Ba[B(S₂O₇)₂]₂ revealed the conversion from S-O-S bridges to B-O-S bridges in Ba[B₂(SO₄)₄] and to B-O-B bridges in Ba[B₂O(SO₄)₃] by a successive release of SO₃. Thus, BaO-B₂O₃-SO₃ is the first quaternary system for borosulfates uniting all three possible connection patterns enabling us to understand the fascinating but systematic chemistry in such systems. Both new compounds were also characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction, electrostatic calculations, and infrared spectroscopy assisted by density functional theory (DFT).

Highly Efficient Production of DMF from Biomass-Derived HMF on Recyclable Ni-Fe/TiO2 Catalysts

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural, which can be derived from lignocellulosic biomass, can be transformed via the hydrodeoxygenation process to potential biofuels, such as 2,5 dimethylfuran or other chemicals of industrial importance. Non-noble metal catalysts constitute a robust and cheap solution for this process. In this work, the modification of the Ni/TiO2 catalyst by the addition of iron and support modification was evaluated. It was shown that bimetallic Ni-Fe catalysts are more selective and stable than their monometallic counterparts. This improvement in properties depends on the Ni:Fe ratio, but the support plays an equally important role—namely the high surface area anatase titania support improves the metal dispersion, resulting in a higher catalytic activity, and the formation of NiFe alloy facilitates the C=O bond cleavage. Such catalysts are active and stable and can be easily separated from the reaction mixture thanks to their magnetic properties.

On tungstates of divalent cations (III) – Pb5O2[WO6]

Pb 5 O 2 [ WO 6 ] ${\text{Pb}}_{5}{\text{O}}_{2}\left[{\text{WO}}_{6}\right]$ was discovered as a frequently observed side phase during our investigation on lead tungstates. Its crystal structure was solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction ( P 2 1 / n $P{2}_{1}/n$ , a = 7.4379 ( 2 ) $a=7.4379\left(2\right)$ Å, b = 12.1115 ( 4 ) $b=12.1115\left(4\right)$ Å, c = 10.6171 ( 3 ) $c=10.6171\left(3\right)$ Å, β = 90.6847 ( 8 ) $\beta =90.6847\left(8\right)$ °, Z = 4 $Z=4$ , R int = 0.038 ${R}_{\text{int}}=0.038$ , R 1 = 0.020 ${R}_{1}=0.020$ , ω R 2 = 0.029 $\omega {R}_{2}=0.029$ , 4188 data, 128 param.) and is isotypic with Pb 5 O 2 [ Te 6 ] ${\text{Pb}}_{5}{\text{O}}_{2}\left[{\text{Te}}_{6}\right]$ . Pb 5 O 2 [ WO 6 ] ${\text{Pb}}_{5}{\text{O}}_{2}\left[{\text{WO}}_{6}\right]$ comprises a layered structure built up by non-condensed [WO6] 6 − ${}^{6-}$ octahedra and [ O 4 Pb 10 ] 12 + ${\left[{\text{O}}_{4}{\text{Pb}}_{10}\right]}^{12+}$ oligomers. The compound was characterised by spectroscopic measurements (Infrared (IR), Raman and Ultraviolet–visible (UV/Vis) spectra) as well as quantum chemical and electrostatic calculations (density functional theory (DFT), MAPLE) yielding a band gap of 2.9 eV fitting well with the optical one of 2.8 eV. An estimation of the refractive index based on the Gladstone-Dale relationship yielded n ≈ 2.31 $n\approx 2.31$ . Furthermore first results of the thermal analysis are presented.

The very first normal-pressure tin borate Sn3B4O9, and the intermediate Sn2[B7O12]F

The first crystalline ternary tin borate was obtained under ambient pressure using anin situformed flux.

Ti-Based Catalysts and Photocatalysts: Characterization and Modeling

This perspective article aims to underline how cutting-edge synchrotron radiation spectroscopies such as extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), high resolution fluorescence detected (HRFD) XANES, X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) have played a key role in the structural and electronic characterization of Ti-based catalysts and photocatalysts, representing an important additional value to the outcomes of conventional laboratory spectroscopies (UV-Vis, IR, Raman, EPR, NMR etc.). Selected examples are taken from the authors research activity in the last two decades, covering both band-gap and shape engineered TiO₂ materials and microporous titanosilicates (ETS-10, TS-1 and Ti-AlPO-5). The relevance of the state of the art simulation techniques as a support for experiments interpretation is underlined for all the reported examples.

Synthesis and Characterization of the First Tin Fluoride Borate Sn3 [B3 O7 ]F with Second Harmonic Generation Response

The new non-centrosymmetric tin fluoride borate Sn3 [B3 O7 ]F was synthesized hydrothermally, and was characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, DFT calculations, second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements, thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry. Its SHG response is about 12 times that of quartz. The compound crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic space group Pna21 with lattice parameters a=922.4(2), b=769.8(4), and c=1221.9(6) pm (Z=4). Characteristic for the structure are isolated B3 O7 moieties, consisting of two corner-sharing BO3 units and one BO4 tetrahedron. These occupy half of the octahedral voids of a slightly distorted hexagonal closest packing of Sn2+ atoms, with [SnF]+ units in the other half of the octahedral voids. Sn3 [B3 O7 ]F is transparent over a wide spectral range with a UV cut-off edge at about 263 nm.

Probing vibrational coupling via a grid-based quantum approach-an efficient strategy for accurate calculations of localized normal modes in solid-state systems

In this work an approach to investigate the properties of strongly localized vibrational modes of functional groups in bulk material and on solid-state surfaces is presented. The associated normal mode vectors are approximated solely on the basis of structural information and obtained via diagonalization of a reduced Hessian. The grid-based Numerov procedure in one and two dimensions is then applied to an adequate scan of the respective potential surface yielding the associated vibrational wave functions and energy eigenvalues. This not only provides a detailed description of anharmonic effects but also an accurate inclusion of the coupling between the investigated vibrational states on a quantum mechanical level. All results obtained for the constructed normal modes are benchmarked against their analytical counterparts obtained from the diagonalization of the total Hessian of the entire system. Three increasingly complex systems treated at quantum chemical level of theory have been considered, namely the symmetric and asymmetric stretch vibrations of an isolated water molecule, hydroxyl groups bound to the surface of GeO2 (001), α-quartz(001) and Rutil (001) as well as crystalline Li2 NH serving as an example for a bulk material. While the data obtained for the individual systems verify the applicability of the proposed methodology, comparison to experimental data demonstrates the accuracy of this methodology despite the restriction to limit this methodology to a few selected vibrational modes. The possibility to investigate vibrational phenomena of localized normal modes without the requirement of executing costly harmonic frequency calculations of the entire system enables the application of this method to cases in which the determination of normal modes is prohibitively expensive or not available for a particular level of theory. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Function of 4- tert-Butyl Pyridine for Interface Energy Level Adjustment in Efficient Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

4- tert-Butylpyridine ( t-BP) is commonly used in solid state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSCs) to increase the photovoltaic performance. In this report, the mechanism how t-BP functions as a favorable additive is investigated comprehensively. ssDSSCs were prepared with different concentrations of t-BP, and a clear increase in efficiency was observed up to a maximum concentration and for higher concentrations the efficiency thereafter decreases. The energy level alignment in the complete devices was measured using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). The results show that the energy levels of titanium dioxide are shifted further away from the energy levels of spiro-OMeTAD as the t-BP concentration is increased. This explains the higher photovoltage obtained in the devices with higher t-BP concentration. In addition, the electron lifetime was measured for the devices and the electron lifetime was increased when adding t-BP, which can be explained by the recombination blocking effect at the surface of TiO₂. The results from the HAXPES measurements agree with those obtained from density functional theory calculations and give an understanding of the mechanism for the improvement, which is an important step for the future development of solar cells including t-BP.

Self-Ordered Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Arrays: Anodic Synthesis and Their Photo/Electro-Catalytic Applications

Metal oxide nanotubes have become a widely investigated material, more specifically, self-organized titania nanotube arrays synthesized by electrochemical anodization. As a highly investigated material with a wide gamut of applications, the majority of published literature focuses on the solar-based applications of this material. The scope of this review summarizes some of the recent advances made using metal oxide nanotube arrays formed via anodization in solar-based applications. A general methodology for theoretical modeling of titania surfaces in solar applications is also presented.

Effect of methanol on the Lewis acidity of rutile TiO2 nanoparticles probed through vibrational spectroscopy of coadsorbed CO

Infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO has been used to characterize the effect of adsorbed methanol on the Lewis acidity of 4 nm rutile TiO(2) nanoparticles. Measurements of CO absorbance and vibrational frequency have revealed that CO adsorbs primarily at one class of Lewis acid sites on clean TiO(2) particles, where evidence for lateral interactions between neighboring molecules suggests dense coverage occurs near saturation. The response of the CO infrared intensities and frequencies to methanol exposure has shown that methanol uptake occurs primarily at the Lewis acid sites and through hydrogen bonding to surface OH groups. These surface sites appear to be responsible for driving both molecular and dissociative adsorption of methanol on the titania. Most importantly, these studies have revealed that the parent methanol and associated methoxy products lower the Lewis acidity of neighboring sites on TiO(2) nanoparticles.

Ground-state properties of crystalline ice from periodic hartree-fock calculations and a coupled-cluster-based many-body decomposition of the correlation energy

Ground state properties of crystalline ice Ih are investigated by combining periodic Hartree-Fock calculations with a many-body expansion for the electron correlation energy using second-order many-body perturbation theory and coupled-cluster techniques. Very good agreement with experimental data can already be achieved by considering two-body correlation contributions up to the third coordination shell in crystalline ice. This hints at the possibility to accurately simulate ab initio water by using periodic Hartree-Fock calculations together with a parametrized two-body correlation potential.