Wurtzite-to-Rocksalt Structural Transformation in Nanocrystalline CoO

Band alignment of CoO(100)-water and CoO(111)-water interfaces accelerated by machine learning potentials

Cobalt monoxide (CoO) nanomaterials have drawn attention for their remarkable photocatalytic water splitting without an externally applied potential or co-catalyst. The success of overall water splitting is due to the appropriate band edge positions of the catalyst, which span the redox potentials of water splitting. Typically, CoO nanomaterials possess complex morphologies, which consist of multiple active surfaces. As a result, the precise roles of the surfaces in the overall water-splitting process remain to be elucidated. In this work, we have undertaken a thorough investigation into the band alignments at the CoO(100)-water and CoO(111)-water interfaces using ab initio molecular dynamics and machine learning accelerated molecular dynamics simulations. The results of band alignment reveal that CoO(100) supports both the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction, whereas CoO(111) only facilitates the HER. Moreover, the variance in band positions between CoO(100) and CoO(111) results in an intrinsic potential difference, facilitating the migration of electrons toward CoO(100), while holes accumulate on CoO(111). The separation of photoexcited carriers effectively promotes water splitting in CoO.

Multivariate Bayesian Optimization of CoO Nanoparticles for CO2 Hydrogenation Catalysis

The hydrogenation of CO2 holds promise for transforming the production of renewable fuels and chemicals. However, the challenge lies in developing robust and selective catalysts for this process. Transition metal oxide catalysts, particularly cobalt oxide, have shown potential for CO2 hydrogenation, with performance heavily reliant on crystal phase and morphology. Achieving precise control over these catalyst attributes through colloidal nanoparticle synthesis could pave the way for catalyst and process advancement. Yet, navigating the complexities of colloidal nanoparticle syntheses, governed by numerous input variables, poses a significant challenge in systematically controlling resultant catalyst features. We present a multivariate Bayesian optimization, coupled with a data-driven classifier, to map the synthetic design space for colloidal CoO nanoparticles and simultaneously optimize them for multiple catalytically relevant features within a target crystalline phase. The optimized experimental conditions yielded small, phase-pure rock salt CoO nanoparticles of uniform size and shape. These optimized nanoparticles were then supported on SiO2 and assessed for thermocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation against larger, polydisperse CoO nanoparticles on SiO2 and a conventionally prepared catalyst. The optimized CoO/SiO2 catalyst consistently exhibited higher activity and CH4 selectivity (ca. 98%) across various pretreatment reduction temperatures as compared to the other catalysts. This remarkable performance was attributed to particle stability and consistent H* surface coverage, even after undergoing the highest temperature reduction, achieving a more stable catalytic species that resists sintering and carbon occlusion.

Nano-Bricks Assembly Toward 1D Metal Oxide Nanorods

The rational design of hybrid nanocrystals structures facilitates electronic and energetic communication between different component, which can optimize their specific performance. In this study, an efficient approach for building intricate ZnO@h-CoO nanocomposites and their derivatives is presented, based on a lattice-match/mismatch mechanism. Due to the ultra-low lattice mismatch between ZnO and hexagonal CoO (as low as 0.18%), the h-CoO layer enables epitaxial growth on the ZnO templates, and ZnO can also grow epitaxially outside the CoO layer with ease. Similarly, the thickness of the epitaxial layer and the number of alternating layers can be adjusted arbitrarily. In contrast to h-CoO, the growth of cubic crystalline oxides (such as MnO) on ZnO results in the formation of nanoparticles due to a large mismatch index (following the Volmer-Weber models). Interestingly, when h-CoO is introduced as a further component into the MnO/ZnO composite, the cubic crystalline particles on the surface of the ZnO do not disturb the epitaxial growth of the h-CoO, allowing for the formation of nanocomposites with more components. Furthermore, additional units can be added to the nanocomposite further based on the lattice-match/mismatch mechanism, which is analogous to the building nano-bricks.

Designing 3d metal oxides: selecting optimal density functionals for strongly correlated materials

Transition metal oxides (TMOs) have remarkable physicochemical properties, are non-toxic, and have low cost and high annual production, thus they are commonly studied for various technological applications. Density functional theory (DFT) can help to optimize TMO materials by providing insights into their electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties, and hence into their structure-performance relationships, over a wide range of solid-state structures and compositions. However, this is underpinned by the choice of the exchange-correlation (XC) functional, which is critical to accurately describe the highly localized and correlated 3d-electrons of the transition metals in TMOs. This tutorial review presents a benchmark study of density functionals (DFs), ranging from generalized gradient approximation (GGA) to range-separated hybrids (RSH), with the all-electron def2-TZVP basis set, comparing magneto-electro-optical properties of 3d TMOs against experimental observations. The performance of the DFs is assessed by analyzing the band structure, density of states, magnetic moment, structural static and dynamic parameters, optical properties, spin contamination and computational cost. The results disclose the strengths and weaknesses of the XC functionals, in terms of accuracy, and computational efficiency, suggesting the unprecedented PBE0-1/5 as the best candidate. The findings of this work contribute to necessary developments of XC functionals for periodic systems, and materials science modelling studies, particularly informing how to select the optimal XC functional to obtain the most trustworthy description of the ground-state electron structure of 3d TMOs.

Phosphorus and Sulfur Co-Doped Cobaltous Oxide Synthesized by an Inorganic-Salt-Assisted Method: Reaction Mechanism and Electrocatalytic Application

An inorganic-salt-assisted synthesis of non-metallic heteroatom (phosphorus and sulfur) co-doped cobaltous oxide (P/S-CoO) has been reported. Potassium sulphate (K₂ SO₄ ) was used as inorganic source of sulfur (S), while triphenyl phosphine (PPh₃ ) was used as phosphorus (P) source. A stepwise mechanistic investigation into the doping process revealed that the decomposition of PPh₃ triggered the release of both the elemental sulfur and phosphorus because of the reducing reaction environment. The transformation of cobalt-PPh₃ complex into cubic cobalt (II) oxide along with the successful co-doping (P and S) was achieved by high temperature calcination at 800 °C but preserved the bulk CoO crystalline structure. The as synthesized P/S-CoO demonstrated an unprecedented enhancement on the oxygen evolution activity compare to that of pristine CoO with the current density of 10 mA/cm² at the overpotential of 293 mV in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte and profound stability at different current densities.

Exploring the direct synthesis of exchange-spring nanocomposites by reduction of CoFe2O4 spinel nanoparticles using in situ neutron diffraction

In situ neutron powder diffraction (NPD) was employed for investigating gram-scale reduction of hard magnetic CoFe2O4 (spinel) nanoparticles into CoFe2O4/CoFe2 exchange-spring nanocomposites via H2 partial reduction. Time-resolved structural information was extracted from Rietveld refinements of the NPD data, revealing significant changes in the reduction kinetics based on the applied temperature and H2 available. The nanocomposite formation was found to take place via the following two-step reduction process: CoxFe3-xO4 → CoyFe1-yO → CozFe2-z. The refined lattice parameters and site occupation fractions indicate that the reduced phases, i.e. CoyFe1-yO and CozFe2-z, initially form as Co-rich compounds (i.e. y > 0.33 and z > 1), which gradually incorporate more Fe as the reduction proceeds. The reduction depletes the Co-content in the parent spinel, which may end up becoming magnetically soft Fe3O4 at high temperature (T = 542 °C), while at lower temperatures there may be a co-existence of Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3 or CoxFe3-xO4. The macroscopic magnetic properties of the products were measured by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and revealed the hard and soft magnetic domains in the nanocomposites to be effectively exchange-coupled. An increase of approximately 70% in specific saturation magnetisation, remanence magnetisation, and coercivity compared to the parent CoFe2O4 material was achieved for the best sample.

Laser Fragmentation-Induced Defect-Rich Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Sub-5 nm cobalt oxide nanoparticles are produced in a flowing water system by pulsed laser fragmentation in liquid (PLFL). Particle fragmentation from 8 nm to 4 nm occurs and is attributed to the oxidation process in water where oxidative species are present and the local temperature is rapidly elevated under laser irradiation. Significantly higher surface area, crystal phase transformation, and formation of structural defects (Co2+ defects and oxygen vacancies) through the PLFL process are evidenced by detailed structural characterizations by nitrogen physisorption, electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. When employed as electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction under alkaline conditions, the fragmented cobalt oxides exhibit superior catalytic activity over pristine and nanocast cobalt oxides, delivering a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at 369 mV and a Tafel slope of 46 mV dec-1 , which is attributed to a larger exposed active surface area, the formation of defects, and an increased charge transfer rate. The study provides an effective approach to engineering cobalt oxide nanostructures in a flowing water system, which shows great potential for sustainable production of active cobalt catalysts.

Approaching Ferrite-Based Exchange-Coupled Nanocomposites as Permanent Magnets

During the past decade, CoFe₂O₄ (hard)/Co-Fe alloy (soft) magnetic nanocomposites have been routinely prepared by partial reduction of CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. Monoxide (i.e., FeO or CoO) has often been detected as a byproduct of the reduction, although it remains unclear whether the formation of this phase occurs during the reduction itself or at a later stage. Here, a novel reaction cell was designed to monitor the reduction in situ using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Sequential Rietveld refinements of the in situ data yielded time-resolved information on the sample composition and confirmed that the monoxide is generated as an intermediate phase. The macroscopic magnetic properties of samples at different reduction stages were measured by means of vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), revealing a magnetic softening with increasing soft phase content, which was too pronounced to be exclusively explained by the introduction of soft material in the system. The elemental compositions of the constituent phases were obtained from joint Rietveld refinements of ex situ high-resolution PXRD and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) data. It was found that the alloy has a tendency to emerge in a Co-rich form, inducing a Co deficiency on the remaining spinel phase, which can explain the early softening of the magnetic material.

Unravelling the Elusive Antiferromagnetic Order in Wurtzite and Zinc Blende CoO Polymorph Nanoparticles

Although cubic rock salt-CoO has been extensively studied, the magnetic properties of the main nanoscale CoO polymorphs (hexagonal wurtzite and cubic zinc blende structures) are rather poorly understood. Here, a detailed magnetic and neutron diffraction study on zinc blende and wurtzite CoO nanoparticles is presented. The zinc blende-CoO phase is antiferromagnetic with a 3rd type structure in a face-centered cubic lattice and a Néel temperature of T_N (zinc-blende) ≈225 K. Wurtzite-CoO also presents an antiferromagnetic order, T_N (wurtzite) ≈109 K, although much more complex, with a 2nd type order along the c-axis but an incommensurate order along the y-axis. Importantly, the overall magnetic properties are overwhelmed by the uncompensated spins, which confer the system a ferromagnetic-like behavior even at room temperature.

Phase-controlled synthesis and magnetic properties of cubic and hexagonal CoO nanocrystals

We report facile solution approaches for the phase-controlled synthesis of rock-salt cubic CoO (c-CoO) and wurtzite-type hexagonal CoO (h-CoO) nanocrystals. In the syntheses, the cobalt precursor cobalt (II) stearate is decomposed in 1-octadecene at 320 °C, and the crystalline phase of synthesized products depend critically on the amounts of H₂O. While the presence of small amounts of H₂O promotes the generation of c-CoO, h-CoO is obtained in the absence of H₂O. The as-prepared c-CoO nanocrystals exhibit a multi-branched morphology with several short rods growing on the 〈100〉 direction interlaced together whereas the h-CoO nanocrystals show a multi-rod structure with several rods growing on the same base facet along the c-axis. The formation mechanisms are discussed on the basis of FTIR spectrometry data and color changes of the reaction mixture. Finally the magnetic properties of as-prepared CoO nanocrystals are measured and the results show that c-CoO nanocrystals are intrinsically antiferromagnetic with a Néel temperature of about 300 K but the antiferromagnetic ordering is not distinct for the h-CoO nanocrystals. Weak ferromagnetic contributions are also observed for both c-CoO and h-CoO nanocrystals with obvious magnetic hysteresis at 5 and 300 K. The uncompensated spins that can be induced by crystalline defects such as cation-vacancy may account for the observed weak ferromagnetism.

Bifunctional application of sodium cobaltate as a catalyst and captor through CO oxidation and subsequent CO2 chemisorption processes

Sodium cobaltate works as a bifunctional material, in the catalysis of CO oxidation and subsequent CO₂ chemisorption.

Effects of Ar/H2 annealing on the microstructure and magnetic properties of CoO nanoparticles

Hysteresis loops and ZFC/FC curves of the Co/CoO composite nanoparticles.

Shape-related optical and catalytic properties of wurtzite-type CoO nanoplates and nanorods

In this paper, we report the anisotropic optical and catalytic properties of wurtzite-type hexagonal CoO (h-CoO) nanocrystals, an unusual nanosized indirect semiconductor material. h-CoO nanoplates and nanorods with a divided morphology have been synthesized via facile solution methods. The employment of flash-heating and surfactant tri-n-octylphosphine favors the formation of plate-like morphology, whereas the utilization of cobalt stearate as a precursor is critical for the synthesis of nanorods. Structural analyses indicate that the basal plane of the nanoplates is (001) face and the growth direction of the nanorods is along the c axis. Moreover, the UV–vis absorption spectra, the corresponding energy gap and the catalytic properties are found to vary with the crystal shape and the dimensions of the as-prepared h-CoO nanocrystals. Furthermore, remarkable catalytic activities for H2 generation from the hydrolysis of alkaline NaBH4 solutions have been observed for the as-prepared h-CoO nanocrystals. The calculated Arrhenius activation energies show a decreasing trend with increasing extension degree along the <001> direction, which is in agreement with the variation of the charge-transfer energy gap. Finally the maximum hydrogen generation rate of the h-CoO nanoplates exceeds most of the reported values of transition metal or noble metal containing catalysts performing in the same reaction system, which makes them a low-cost alternative to commonly used noble metal catalysts in H2 generation from the hydrolysis of borohydrides, and might find potential applications in the field of green energy.

STRUCTURES AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF A Co2P CLUSTER DEPOSITED ON THE RUTILE TiO2(110) SURFACE BY FIRST–PRINCIPLES CALCULATIONS

The structures and electronic properties of different Co2P -supporting configurations on the rutile TiO2 (110) surface have been investigated by first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A number of possible structural candidates and adsorption sites have been considered, while the calculations are executed on periodic systems using slab model. Our results indicate that the O atoms on TiO2 (110) turn out to be preferable for the cluster to adsorb by Co atoms, with the largest adsorption energy of 211.50 kJ/mol in the most favorable model. According to the Mulliken charge analysis, the Co2P cluster carries a significant positive charge after adsorption, due to the charge transfer occurring from the adsorbate to the substrate. Moreover, the frontier molecular orbital analysis shows that the cluster-surface binding occurs mostly through the interplay of filled Co 3d orbital with unoccupied eigenstates of surface localized on O 2p orbital, which can be also corroborated by the projected density of states investigations, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital is mostly contributed by Ti 3d orbital of the surface. In addition, of particular significance is that deposition of Co2P on the rutile TiO2 (110) surface results in a small band gap narrowing vis-à-vis the pure surface, yielding a positive effect on catalytic activity.

Stable organic-inorganic hybrid of polyaniline/α-zirconium phosphate for efficient removal of organic pollutants in water environment

In this article, organic-inorganic hybrid materials of polyaniline/α-zirconium phosphate (PANI/α-ZrP) was synthesized by in situ oxidative polymerization reaction and characterized by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopic (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that polyaniline (PANI) was successfully grown on the surface of α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) nanoplates. The PANI/α-ZrP nanocomposites were further applied to remove methyl orange (MO), which was used as a model of organic pollutants in aqueous solution. A synergistic effect of PANI and α-ZrP on promoting the adsorption removal of MO was observed. The PANI/α-ZrP nanocomposites exhibited excellent maximum adsorption capacity toward MO (377.46 mg g(-1)), which is superior to that of PANI nanotubes (254.15 mg g(-1)) and much higher than that of many other adsorbents. The adsorption isotherms of MO can be well-fitted with the Langmuir model and the adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo-second-order model. MO adsorption decreased with increasing solution pH at pH > 4.0 implying that MO adsorption on PANI/α-ZrP may via electrostatic interactions between amine and imine groups on the surface of PANI/α-ZrP and MO molecules. This study implies that the hybrid materials of PANI/α-ZrP can be suggested as potential adsorbents to remove organic dyes from large volumes of aqueous solutions.

All-electron CI calculations of 3d transition-metal L(2,3) XANES using zeroth-order regular approximation for relativistic effects

X-ray-absorption near-edge structures (XANES) at 3d transition-metal (TM) L(2,3) edges are computed using the all-electron configuration interaction (CI) method. Slater determinants for the CI calculations are composed of molecular orbitals obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations of model clusters. Relativistic effects are taken into account by the zeroth-order regular approximation (ZORA) using two-component wavefunctions. The theoretical spectra are found to be strongly dependent on the quality of the one-electron basis functions. On the other hand, a different choice of the exchange-correlation functionals for the DFT calculations does not exhibit visible changes in the spectral shape. Fine details of multiplet structures in the experimental TM L(2,3) XANES of MnO, FeO and CoO are well reproduced by the present calculations when the one-electron basis functions are properly selected. This is consistent with our previous report showing good agreement between theoretical and experimental TM L(2,3) XANES when four-component relativistic wavefunctions were used.

Capping ligand effects on the amorphous-to-crystalline transition of CdSe nanoparticles

Amorphous CdSe nanoparticles were prepared by a base-catalyzed room-temperature reaction between cadmium nitrate and selenourea, with dodecanethiol as a capping ligand. The nanoparticle size could be controlled from 1.9 to 3.6 nm by increasing the water concentration in the reaction. When the nanoparticles were heated in a pyridine suspension, excitonic peaks appeared in the initially featureless optical absorption spectra. By changing the suspension solvent and the capping ligand and its concentration, it was shown that the dynamic surface exchange between the ligand and pyridine controls the crystallization process. This phenomenon was interpreted as a surface rigidity effect imposed by the ligand, whose importance was separately evidenced on the dried nanoparticles by the evolution of X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectra. In particular, both techniques showed that a threshold temperature is needed before crystallization occurs, and such a threshold was related to ligand desorption. The surface effect was directly visualized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations of the amorphous particles, where crystallization under the electron beam was observed to start by the formation of a crystalline nucleus in the nanoparticle interior and then to extend to the whole structure.

Walking the path from B4- to B1-type structures in GaN

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed on the wurtzite-type structure (B4) to the rocksalt-type structure (B1) pressure-induced phase transition in GaN. From this, a nucleation and growth mechanism through a tetragonal metastable configuration is found. An intermediate of h-MgO type structure suggested from static calculations is ruled out. However, the pathway through the tetragonal intermediate may be altered by defect incorporation. While the overall transformation mechanism is preserved for both vacancies and Ga substitution by indium, already a 5% aluminum substitution establishes a transition route which avoids the tetragonal structure. Changes in the transformation mechanism and the resulting stabilization of the previously metastable high-pressure modification is elaborated by tracing the interplay of phase nucleation and growth and defect incorporation.