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Zojer E. Electrostatically Designing Materials and Interfaces. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024:e2406178. [PMID: 39194368 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202406178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Collective electrostatic effects arise from the superposition of electrostatic potentials of periodically arranged (di)polar entities and are known to crucially impact the electronic structures of hybrid interfaces. Here, it is discussed, how they can be used outside the beaten paths of materials design for realizing systems with advanced and sometimes unprecedented properties. The versatility of the approach is demonstrated by applying electrostatic design not only to metal-organic interfaces and adsorbed (complex) monolayers, but also to inter-layer interfaces in van der Waals heterostructures, to polar metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and to the cylindrical pores of covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The presented design ideas are straightforward to simulate and especially for metal-organic interfaces also their experimental implementation has been amply demonstrated. For van der Waals heterostructures, the needed building blocks are available, while the required assembly approaches are just being developed. Conversely, for MOFs the necessary growth techniques exist, but more work on advanced linker molecules is required. Finally, COF structures exist that contain pores decorated with polar groups, but the electrostatic impact of these groups has been largely ignored so far. All this suggest that the dawn of the age of electrostatic design is currently experienced with potential breakthroughs lying ahead.
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Affiliation(s)
- Egbert Zojer
- Institute of Solid State Physics, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 16, Graz, A-8010, Austria
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Jana S, Herbert JM. Fractional-Electron and Transition-Potential Methods for Core-to-Valence Excitation Energies Using Density Functional Theory. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:4100-4113. [PMID: 37312236 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Methods for computing X-ray absorption spectra based on a constrained core hole (possibly containing a fractional electron) are examined. These methods are based on Slater's transition concept and its generalizations, wherein core-to-valence excitation energies are determined using Kohn-Sham orbital energies. Methods examined here avoid promoting electrons beyond the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, facilitating robust convergence. Variants of these ideas are systematically tested, revealing a best-case accuracy of 0.3-0.4 eV (with respect to experiment) for K-edge transition energies. Absolute errors are much larger for higher-lying near-edge transitions but can be reduced below 1 eV by introducing an empirical shift based on a charge-neutral transition-potential method, in conjunction with functionals such as SCAN, SCAN0, or B3LYP. This procedure affords an entire excitation spectrum from a single fractional-electron calculation, at the cost of ground-state density functional theory and without the need for state-by-state calculations. This shifted transition-potential approach may be especially useful for simulating transient spectroscopies or in complex systems where excited-state Kohn-Sham calculations are challenging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subrata Jana
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - John M Herbert
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
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Zhang JR, Wang SY, Ge G, Wei M, Hua W, Ma Y. On the choice of shape and size for truncated cluster-based X-ray spectral simulations of 2D materials. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:094704. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0100175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Truncated cluster models represent an effective way for simulating X-ray spectra of 2D materials. Here we systematically assessed the influence of two key parameters, the cluster shape (honeycomb, rectangle, or parallelogram) and size, in X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and absorption (XAS) spectra simulations of three 2D materials at five K-edges (graphene, C 1s; C3N, C/N 1s; h-BN, B/N 1s) to pursue the accuracy limit of binding energy (BE) and spectral profile predictions. Several recent XPS experiments reported BEs with differences spanning 0.3, 1.5, 0.7, 0.3, and 0.3 eV, respectively. Our calculations favor the honeycomb model for stable accuracy and fast size convergence, and a honeycomb with ~10 nm side length (120 atoms) is enough to predict accurate 1s BEs for all 2D sheets. Compared to all these experiments, predicted BEs show absolute deviations as follows: 0.4-0.7, 0.0-1.0, 0.4-1.1, 0.6-0.9, and 0.1-0.4 eV. A mean absolute deviation of 0.3 eV was achieved if we compare only to the closest experiment. We found that the sensitivity of computed BEs to different model shapes depends on systems: graphene, sensitive; C3N, weak; h-BN, very weak. This can be attributed to their more or less delocalized π electrons in this series. For this reason, a larger cluster size is required for graphene than the other two to reproduce fine structures in XAS. The general profile of XAS shows weak dependence to model shape. Our calculations provide optimal parameters and accuracy estimations that are useful for X-ray spectral simulations of general graphene-like 2D materials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Guoyan Ge
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Minrui Wei
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Weijie Hua
- MIIT Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Microstructure and Quantum Sensing, Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China
| | - Yong Ma
- School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, China
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Hofmann OT, Zojer E, Hörmann L, Jeindl A, Maurer RJ. First-principles calculations of hybrid inorganic-organic interfaces: from state-of-the-art to best practice. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:8132-8180. [PMID: 33875987 PMCID: PMC8237233 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp06605b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The computational characterization of inorganic-organic hybrid interfaces is arguably one of the technically most challenging applications of density functional theory. Due to the fundamentally different electronic properties of the inorganic and the organic components of a hybrid interface, the proper choice of the electronic structure method, of the algorithms to solve these methods, and of the parameters that enter these algorithms is highly non-trivial. In fact, computational choices that work well for one of the components often perform poorly for the other. As a consequence, default settings for one materials class are typically inadequate for the hybrid system, which makes calculations employing such settings inefficient and sometimes even prone to erroneous results. To address this issue, we discuss how to choose appropriate atomistic representations for the system under investigation, we highlight the role of the exchange-correlation functional and the van der Waals correction employed in the calculation and we provide tips and tricks how to efficiently converge the self-consistent field cycle and to obtain accurate geometries. We particularly focus on potentially unexpected pitfalls and the errors they incur. As a summary, we provide a list of best practice rules for interface simulations that should especially serve as a useful starting point for less experienced users and newcomers to the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver T Hofmann
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 16/II, 8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Egbert Zojer
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 16/II, 8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Lukas Hörmann
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 16/II, 8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Andreas Jeindl
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 16/II, 8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Reinhard J Maurer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
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Klein BP, Hall SJ, Maurer RJ. The nuts and bolts of core-hole constrained ab initiosimulation for K-shell x-ray photoemission and absorption spectra. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2021; 33. [PMID: 33682682 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/abdf00] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
X-ray photoemission (XPS) and near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy play an important role in investigating the structure and electronic structure of materials and surfaces.Ab initiosimulations provide crucial support for the interpretation of complex spectra containing overlapping signatures. Approximate core-hole simulation methods based on density functional theory (DFT) such as the delta-self-consistent-field (ΔSCF) method or the transition potential (TP) method are widely used to predictK-shell XPS and NEXAFS signatures of organic molecules, inorganic materials and metal-organic interfaces at reliable accuracy and affordable computational cost. We present the numerical and technical details of our variants of the ΔSCF and TP method (coined ΔIP-TP) to simulate XPS and NEXAFS transitions. Using exemplary molecules in gas-phase, in bulk crystals, and at metal-organic interfaces, we systematically assess how practical simulation choices affect the stability and accuracy of simulations. These include the choice of exchange-correlation functional, basis set, the method of core-hole localization, and the use of periodic boundary conditions (PBC). We particularly focus on the choice of aperiodic or periodic description of systems and how spurious charge effects in periodic calculations affect the simulation outcomes. For the benefit of practitioners in the field, we discuss sensible default choices, limitations of the methods, and future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt P Klein
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Rd, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Samuel J Hall
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Rd, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
- MAS CDT, Senate House, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Rd, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Reinhard J Maurer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Rd, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
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