Ab initio cluster calculations for the absorption energies of F and F+ centers in bulk ZnO

Point defects in ZnO

We have investigated intrinsic point defects in ZnO and extended this study to Li, Cu and Al impurity centres. Atomic and electronic structures as well as defect energies have been obtained for the main oxidation states of all defects using our embedded cluster hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach to the treatment of localised states in ionic solids. With these calculations we were able to explain the nature of a number of experimentally observed phenomena. We show that in zinc excess materials the energetics of zinc interstitial are very similar to those for oxygen vacancy formation. Our results also suggest assignments for a number of bands observed in photoluminescence and other spectroscopic studies of the material.

Ab initio calculations for the Zn 2s and 2p core level binding energies in Zn oxo compounds and ZnO

The Zn 2s and 2p core level binding energies of ZnO and a few Zn oxo compounds containing Zn in its oxidation state +2 were calculated by means of wave function based quantum chemical ab initio methods. The computations were performed at two levels of approximation. First, Hartree-Fock calculations were carried out for the ground state of the neutral systems yielding the "initial state" effects, i.e. the shifts of the core level binding energies due to the changes in the chemical environment of the Zn atom under consideration (Koopmans' theorem level, KT). In the second step, Hartree-Fock calculations were performed for the core ionized states in order to account for the relaxation effects after ionization, i.e. for the "final state" effects (DeltaSCF level). Scalar relativistic corrections and spin-orbit coupling were included in a "spin-orbit-coupling configuration interaction" (SOC-CI) treatment both at the KT and DeltaSCF levels. In all Zn oxo compounds (Zn(4)O(formate)(6), Zn(4)O(acetate)(6) and several ZnO cubanes) small negative initial state shifts between -1.0 and 0.0 eV (relative to the free Zn atom) were found which are caused by the negative charges at the surrounding O atoms. The relaxation effects vary between -1.0 and -0.5 eV, such that the calculated total shifts are moderately negative (-1.5 to -0.5 eV). Embedded ZnO clusters of increasing size, ranging from Zn(13)O(4) to Zn(69)O(38), were used as models for bulk ZnO, the Zn 2s and 2p core level shifts calculated for these clusters being extrapolated to infinite cluster size. The calculations show that bulk ZnO has a rather large negative initial state shift of -2.1 +/- 0.1 eV, due to the Madelung potential at the Zn atom, and a comparatively small relaxation contribution of -1.0 +/- 0.1 eV. This yields a total shift of -3.1 +/- 0.2 eV (both for 2s and 2p, relative to atomic Zn), which is in very good agreement with experiment, -2.9 +/- 0.2 eV. The surprising experimental observation that the Zn 2s and 2p XPS peak positions are nearly identical in Zn metal and ZnO is explained by the fact that the sum of initial and final state effects is accidentally the same for the two systems though the individual contributions differ quite significantly: the initial and final state shifts amount to +2.4 and -5.1 eV for Zn metal vs.-2.1 and -1.0 eV for ZnO.

Ab initio calculations of the O1s XPS spectra of ZnO and Zn oxo compounds

O1s core level binding energies of oxygen atoms in bulk ZnO, at different ZnO surfaces, and in some Zn oxo compounds were calculated by means of wave function based quantum chemical ab initio methods. Initial and final state effects were obtained by Koopmans' theorem and at the DeltaSCF level, respectively. After correction for scalar relativistic effects and electron correlation, the calculated XPS peak positions are in excellent agreement with the available experimental data for all systems included in the present study. The O1s core level shifts between an isolated H2O molecule and the Zn oxo compounds or ZnO, as well as between oxygen atoms in bulk ZnO and at various ZnO surfaces, can be understood by means of Madelung potentials and electronic relaxation or screening. XPS spectra were calculated for various cluster models which are designed to describe different possibilities of stabilizing the polar O-terminated ZnO(0001) surface by the adsorption of H atoms. The experimental spectra are only compatible with the theoretical results for the fully hydroxylated H-ZnO(0001) surface exhibiting a (1x1) surface structure.

Ab initio cluster calculations on the electronic structure of oxygen vacancies at the polar ZnO(0001̄) surface and on the adsorption of H2, CO, and CO2 at these sites

Oxygen vacancies at the polar O terminated (0001) surface of ZnO are of particular interest, because they are discussed as active sites in the methanol synthesis. In general, the polar ZnO surfaces are stabilized by OH groups, therefore O vacancies can be generated by removing either O atoms or OH or H2O groups from the surface. These defects differ in the number of electrons in the vacancy and the number of OH groups in the neighborhood. In the present study, the electronic structure and the adsorption properties of four different types of oxygen vacancies have been investigated by means of embedded cluster calculations. We performed ab initio calculations on F+ like surface excitations for the different defect types and found that the transition energies are above the optical band-gap, while F+ centers in bulk ZnO show a characteristic optical excitation at 3.19 eV. Furthermore, we studied the adsorption of CO2 and CO at the different defect sites by DFT calculations. We found that CO2 dissociates at electron rich vacancies into CO and an O atom which remains in the vacancy. At the OH vacancy which contains an unpaired electron CO2 adsorbed in the form of CO2-, while it adsorbed as a linear neutral molecule at the H2O defect. CO adsorbed preferentially at the H2O defect and the OH defect, both with a binding energy of 0.3 eV.