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Kowalska K, Skwarek E, Demianenko E, Paientko V. Composites with Immobilized Bioactive Spirulina on an Inorganic Substrate (Yellow Clay, Hydroxyapatite, SiO 2, TiO 2, ZnO). Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202400251. [PMID: 38679578 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202400251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
In order to improve the structural properties of clays and composites of powdered spirulina, clay, nanosilica, hydroxyapatite, TiO2 and ZnO were used as an additive for mechanical processing. As a result, composites with natural nanostructured materials (NNM) are prepared with improved structural properties and bioactivity. The mixtures based on NNM with crystalline kaolinite, clays and admixtures were processed in a knife mill. The materials were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption and desorption, SEM release of bioactive components (anthocyanin 0,004-0,07 mg/g; chlorophyll 20-29 mg/g), composite toxicity level (below 25%), particle size measurement and surface charge density, zeta potential. Adsorption enthalpies during the formation of an intermolecular complex during the interactions of an anthocyanin molecule with the appropriate component of the composite were also calculated. There are regularities in the characteristics depending on the type of NNM, particle morphology and textural features of solids. The morphological and structural properties of the components changed slighty in the blends because the processing was conducted under relatively low mechanical stress. The morphological, textural and structural characteristics of the composites as well as the transformation to a nanostructured state, assume great bioactive activity of the composites, interesting for practical applications in medicine and cosmetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaudia Kowalska
- Department of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 3 Maria Curie-Skłodowska Sq., 20-031, Lublin, Poland
| | - Ewa Skwarek
- Department of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 3 Maria Curie-Skłodowska Sq., 20-031, Lublin, Poland
| | - Evgeny Demianenko
- Chuiko Institute of Surface Chemistry, 17 General Naumov Street, 03164, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Victoria Paientko
- Department of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 3 Maria Curie-Skłodowska Sq., 20-031, Lublin, Poland
- Chuiko Institute of Surface Chemistry, 17 General Naumov Street, 03164, Kyiv, Ukraine
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2
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Peraça CST, Bittencourt AFB, Bezerra RC, Da Silva JLF. Atomistic insights from DFT calculations into the catalytic properties on ceria-lanthanum clusters for methane activation. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:244108. [PMID: 38920399 DOI: 10.1063/5.0198986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Improving the catalytic performance of materials based on cerium oxide (CeO2) for the activation of methane (CH4) can be achieved through the following strategies: mixture of CeO2 with different oxides (e.g., CeO2-La2O3) and the use of particles with different sizes. In this study, we present a theoretical investigation of the initial CH4 dehydrogenation on (La2Ce2O7)n clusters, where n = 2, 4, and 6. Our framework relies on density functional theory calculations combined with the unity bond index-quadratic exponential potential approximation. Our results indicate that chemical species arising from the first dehydrogenation of CH4, that is, CH3 and H, bind through the formation of C-O and H-O bonds with the clusters, respectively. The coordination of the adsorption site and the chemical environment plays a crucial role in the magnitude of the adsorption energy; for example, species adsorb more strongly in the low-coordinated topO sites located close to the La atoms. Thus, it affects the activation energy barrier, which tends to be lower in configurations where the adsorption of the chemical species is stronger. During CH4 dehydrogenation, the CH3 radical can be present in a planar or tetrahedral configuration. Its conformation changes as a function of the charge transference between the molecule and the cluster, which depends on the CH3-cluster distance. Finally, we analyze the effects of the Hubbard effective parameter (Ueff) on adsorption properties, as the magnitude of localization of Ce f-states affects the hybridization of the interaction between the molecule and the clusters and hence the magnitude of the adsorption energies. We obtained a linear decrease in the adsorption energies by increasing the Ueff parameter; however, the activation energy is only slightly affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina S T Peraça
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, P.O. Box 780, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Albert F B Bittencourt
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, P.O. Box 780, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Raquel C Bezerra
- Secretaria de Estado de Educação e Qualidade do Ensino (SEDUC) do Estado do Amazonas, Escola Áurea Pinheiro Braga Av. Perimentral, s/n, Lot. Cidade do Leste, Gilberto Mestrinho, 69089-340 Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Juarez L F Da Silva
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, P.O. Box 780, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
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3
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Voccia M, Kapse S, Sayago-Carro R, Gómez-Cerezo N, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A, Viñes F, Illas F. Atomic and Electronic Structures of Co-Doped In 2O 3 from Experiment and Theory. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:30157-30165. [PMID: 38808921 PMCID: PMC11181267 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c05727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The synthesis and properties of stoichiometric, reduced, and Co-doped In2O3 are described in the light of several experimental techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, porosimetry, and density functional theory (DFT) methods on appropriate models. DFT-based calculations provide an accurate prediction of the atomic and electronic structure of these systems. The computed lattice parameter is linearly correlated with the experimental result in the Co concentration ranging from 1.0 to 5.0%. For higher Co concentrations, the theoretical-experimental analysis of the results indicates that the dopant is likely to be preferentially present at surface sites. The analysis of the electronic structure supports the experimental assignment of Co2+ for the doped material. Experiments and theory find that the presence of Co has a limited effect on the material band gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Voccia
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Samadhan Kapse
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rocío Sayago-Carro
- Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroloquímica, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Natividad Gómez-Cerezo
- Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroloquímica, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Marcos Fernández-García
- Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroloquímica, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Anna Kubacka
- Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroloquímica, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Francesc Viñes
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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4
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Samanta B, Morales-García Á, Illas F, Goga N, Anta JA, Calero S, Bieberle-Hütter A, Libisch F, Muñoz-García AB, Pavone M, Caspary Toroker M. Challenges of modeling nanostructured materials for photocatalytic water splitting. Chem Soc Rev 2022; 51:3794-3818. [PMID: 35439803 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs00648g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the water splitting mechanism in photocatalysis is a rewarding goal as it will allow producing clean fuel for a sustainable life in the future. However, identifying the photocatalytic mechanisms by modeling photoactive nanoparticles requires sophisticated computational techniques based on multiscale modeling. In this review, we will survey the strengths and drawbacks of currently available theoretical methods at different length and accuracy scales. Understanding the surface-active site through Density Functional Theory (DFT) using new, more accurate exchange-correlation functionals plays a key role for surface engineering. Larger scale dynamics of the catalyst/electrolyte interface can be treated with Molecular Dynamics albeit there is a need for more generalizations of force fields. Monte Carlo and Continuum Modeling techniques are so far not the prominent path for modeling water splitting but interest is growing due to the lower computational cost and the feasibility to compare the modeling outcome directly to experimental data. The future challenges in modeling complex nano-photocatalysts involve combining different methods in a hierarchical way so that resources are spent wisely at each length scale, as well as accounting for excited states chemistry that is important for photocatalysis, a path that will bring devices closer to the theoretical limit of photocatalytic efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bipasa Samanta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3600003, Israel
| | - Ángel Morales-García
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Nicolae Goga
- Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages, Universitatea Politehnica din Bucuresti, Bucuresti, Romania.
| | - Juan Antonio Anta
- Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Crta. De Utrera km. 1, 41089 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Sofia Calero
- Materials Simulation & Modeling, Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Anja Bieberle-Hütter
- Electrochemical Materials and Interfaces, Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER), 5600 HH Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
| | - Florian Libisch
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Ana B Muñoz-García
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Ettore Pancini", Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia 21, Napoli 80126, Italy.
| | - Michele Pavone
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Cintia 21, Napoli 80126, Italy.
| | - Maytal Caspary Toroker
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3600003, Israel.,The Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3600003, Israel.
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5
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Unravelling Morphological and Topological Energy Contributions of Metal Nanoparticles. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 12:nano12010017. [PMID: 35009967 PMCID: PMC8746323 DOI: 10.3390/nano12010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Metal nanoparticles (NPs) are ubiquitous in many fields, from nanotechnology to heterogeneous catalysis, with properties differing from those of single-crystal surfaces and bulks. A key aspect is the size-dependent evolution of NP properties toward the bulk limit, including the adoption of different NP shapes, which may bias the NP stability based on the NP size. Herein, the stability of different Pdn NPs (n = 10–1504 atoms) considering a myriad of shapes is investigated by first-principles energy optimisation, leading to the determination that icosahedron shapes are the most stable up to a size of ca. 4 nm. In NPs larger than that size, truncated octahedron shapes become more stable, yet a presence of larger {001} facets than the Wulff construction is forecasted due to their increased stability, compared with (001) single-crystal surfaces, and the lower stability of {111} facets, compared with (111) single-crystal surfaces. The NP cohesive energy breakdown in terms of coordination numbers is found to be an excellent quantitative tool of the stability assessment, with mean absolute errors of solely 0.01 eV·atom−1, while a geometry breakdown allows only for a qualitative stability screening.
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6
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The influence of transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co, Cu) doping on the electronic and vibrational properties of indium nitride nanocage: A DFT study. COMPUT THEOR CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.comptc.2021.113447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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7
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Diez-Cabanes V, Morales-García Á, Illas F, Pastore M. Understanding the Structural and Electronic Properties of Photoactive Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticles from Density Functional Theory and GW Approaches. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:3462-3470. [PMID: 33966374 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Tungsten trioxide (WO3)-derived nanostructures have emerged recently as feasible semiconductors for photocatalytic purposes due to their visible-light harvesting that overcomes the drawbacks presented by TiO2-derived nanoparticles (NPs). However, applications are still limited by the lack of fundamental knowledge at the nanoscale due to poor understanding of the physical processes that affect their photoactivity. To fill this gap, we report here a detailed computational study using a combined density functional theory (DFT)-GW scheme to investigate the electronic structure of realistic WO3 NPs containing up to 1680 atoms. Different phases and morphologies are considered to provide reliable structure-property relationships. Upon proper benchmark of our DFT-GW methodology, we use this highly accurate approach to establish relevant rules for the design of photoactive WO3 nanostructures by pointing out the most stable morphologies at the nanoscale and the appropriate size regime at which the photoactive efficiency is enhanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Diez-Cabanes
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), Université de Lorraine & CNRS, UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
| | - Ángel Morales-García
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franqués 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franqués 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mariachiara Pastore
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Théoriques (LPCT), Université de Lorraine & CNRS, UMR 7019, F-54000 Nancy, France
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8
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Romero M, Mombrú D, Pignanelli F, Faccio R, Mombrú ÁW. From Chain- to Graphene-like Hydroxyl-terminated (ZnO) n Clusters with n≤6 Obtained via Zinc Dimethoxide Hydrolysis and Condensation: Ab initio Structural, Electronic, Vibrational and Optical Properties Calculations. Chemphyschem 2021; 22:849-863. [PMID: 33646619 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202100054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent reports are focusing on the structural evolution from the atomic-scale and also at the expenses of alkyl zinc alkoxide precursors towards (ZnO)n clusters and nanostructures with different interesting motifs, but still not much is known about their electronic properties. In this manuscript, we present a theoretical study using DFT and TD-DFT methodologies on the hydrolysis and condensation of zinc dimethoxide precursor in its monomeric, dimeric and trimeric forms towards thermodynamically stable hydroxyl-terminated (ZnO)n clusters with novel chain- and graphene-like fashions. For all cases, distinct vibrational and optical spectra features were assigned evidencing a global monotonic decrease in the opto-electronic gap with increasing oligomerization and cyclization stages. In addition, the electron-affinity of all clusters was also observed to be enhanced with increasing oligomerization and cyclization stages and the electronic charge localization in -e charged clusters was observed to be strongly related to the presence of zinc-oxo subunits and other particular structural features. Our calculations also indicate that the stabilization through hydroxyl termination of both chain- and graphene-like ZnO clusters not only could be a promising driving force to obtain larger atomic-scale 1D and 2D nanostructures but also envisage interesting properties, particularly as electronic acceptor materials for energy applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano Romero
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Dominique Mombrú
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Fernando Pignanelli
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ricardo Faccio
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Álvaro W Mombrú
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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9
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Morales‐García Á, Viñes F, Gomes JRB, Illas F. Concepts, models, and methods in computational heterogeneous catalysis illustrated through
CO
2
conversion. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Morales‐García
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB) Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Francesc Viñes
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB) Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - José R. B. Gomes
- CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry University of Aveiro Aveiro Portugal
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB) Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
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10
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Computational Surface Modelling of Ices and Minerals of Interstellar Interest—Insights and Perspectives. MINERALS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/min11010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The universe is molecularly rich, comprising from the simplest molecule (H2) to complex organic molecules (e.g., CH3CHO and NH2CHO), some of which of biological relevance (e.g., amino acids). This chemical richness is intimately linked to the different physical phases forming Solar-like planetary systems, in which at each phase, molecules of increasing complexity form. Interestingly, synthesis of some of these compounds only takes place in the presence of interstellar (IS) grains, i.e., solid-state sub-micron sized particles consisting of naked dust of silicates or carbonaceous materials that can be covered by water-dominated ice mantles. Surfaces of IS grains exhibit particular characteristics that allow the occurrence of pivotal chemical reactions, such as the presence of binding/catalytic sites and the capability to dissipate energy excesses through the grain phonons. The present know-how on the physicochemical features of IS grains has been obtained by the fruitful synergy of astronomical observational with astrochemical modelling and laboratory experiments. However, current limitations of these disciplines prevent us from having a full understanding of the IS grain surface chemistry as they cannot provide fundamental atomic-scale of grain surface elementary steps (i.e., adsorption, diffusion, reaction and desorption). This essential information can be obtained by means of simulations based on computational chemistry methods. One capability of these simulations deals with the construction of atom-based structural models mimicking the surfaces of IS grains, the very first step to investigate on the grain surface chemistry. This perspective aims to present the current state-of-the-art methods, techniques and strategies available in computational chemistry to model (i.e., construct and simulate) surfaces present in IS grains. Although we focus on water ice mantles and olivinic silicates as IS test case materials to exemplify the modelling procedures, a final discussion on the applicability of these approaches to simulate surfaces of other cosmic grain materials (e.g., cometary and meteoritic) is given.
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11
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Woodley SM, Day GM, Catlow R. Structure prediction of crystals, surfaces and nanoparticles. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2020; 378:20190600. [PMID: 33100162 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
We review the current techniques used in the prediction of crystal structures and their surfaces and of the structures of nanoparticles. The main classes of search algorithm and energy function are summarized, and we discuss the growing role of methods based on machine learning. We illustrate the current status of the field with examples taken from metallic, inorganic and organic systems. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Dynamic in situ microscopy relating structure and function'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott M Woodley
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
| | - Graeme M Day
- Computational Systems Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - R Catlow
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, UK
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
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12
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Amodeo J, Pietrucci F, Lam J. Out-of-Equilibrium Polymorph Selection in Nanoparticle Freezing. J Phys Chem Lett 2020; 11:8060-8066. [PMID: 32880462 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The ability to design synthesis processes that are out of equilibrium has opened the possibility of creating nanomaterials with remarkable physicochemical properties, choosing from a much richer palette of possible atomic architectures compared to equilibrium processes in extended systems. In this work, we employ atomistic simulations to demonstrate how to control polymorph selection via the cooling rate during nanoparticle freezing in the case of Ni3Al, a material with a rich structural landscape. State-of-the-art free-energy calculations allow us to rationalize the complex nucleation process, discovering a switch between two kinetic pathways, yielding the equilibrium structure at room temperature and an alternative metastable one at higher temperature. Our findings address the key challenge in the synthesis of nanoalloys for technological applications, i.e., rationally exploiting the competition between kinetics and thermodynamics by designing a treatment history that forces the system into desirable metastable states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Amodeo
- Université de Lyon, INSA-Lyon, MATEIS, UMR 5510 CNRS, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Fabio Pietrucci
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7590, IMPMC, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Julien Lam
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Code Postal 231, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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13
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Escatllar AM, Lazaukas T, Woodley SM, Bromley ST. Structure and Properties of Nanosilicates with Olivine (Mg 2SiO 4) N and Pyroxene (MgSiO 3) N Compositions. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2019; 3:2390-2403. [PMID: 32055761 PMCID: PMC7009040 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Magnesium-rich silicates are ubiquitous both terrestrially and astronomically, where they are often present as small particles. Nanosized Mg-rich silicate particles are likely to be particularly important for understanding the formation, processing, and properties of cosmic dust grains. Although astronomical observations and laboratory studies have revealed much about such silicate dust, our knowledge of this hugely important class of nanosolids largely rests on top-down comparisons with the properties of bulk silicates. Herein, we provide a foundational bottom-up study of the structure and properties of Mg-rich nanosilicates based on carefully procured atomistic models. Specifically, we employ state-of-the-art global optimization methods to search for the most stable structures of silicate nanoclusters with olivine (Mg2SiO4) N and pyroxene (MgSiO3) N compositions with N = 1-10. To ensure the reliability of our searches, we develop a new interatomic potential that has been especially tuned for nanosilicates. Subsequently, we refine these searches and calculate a range of physicochemical properties of the most stable nanoclusters using accurate density functional theory based electronic structure calculations. We report a detailed analysis of structural and energy properties, charge distributions, and infrared vibrational spectra, where in all cases we compare our finding for nanosilicates with those of the corresponding bulk silicate crystals. For most properties considered, we find large differences with respect to the bulk limit, underlining the limitations of a top-down approach for describing these species. Overall, our work provides a new platform for an accurate and detailed understanding of nanoscale silicates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoni Macià Escatllar
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tomas Lazaukas
- Department
of Chemistry, University College, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K.
| | - Scott M. Woodley
- Department
of Chemistry, University College, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K.
| | - Stefan T. Bromley
- Departament
de Ciència de Materials i Química Física &
Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució
Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), E-08010 Barcelona, Spain
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14
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Morales-García Á, Macià Escatllar A, Illas F, Bromley ST. Understanding the interplay between size, morphology and energy gap in photoactive TiO 2 nanoparticles. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:9032-9041. [PMID: 31021336 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr00812h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) have the potential to photocatalyse water splitting using UV light, to thus provide hydrogen fuel in a clean and sustainable manner. Such NPs have optical gaps covering a small range of relatively high energy solar photons, giving rise to low photo-efficiencies. Although anatase NPs with 10-20 nm diameters thermodynamically prefer crystalline faceted morphologies, application of physico-chemical procedures can produce more rounded NPs with amorphous shells. Such engineered metastable core-shell NPs (so-called black TiO2 NPs) have reduced band gaps due to shell-induced band edge broadening, resulting in higher photoactivities. For <5 nm diameters, TiO2 NPs typically exhibit spherical-like NP morphologies, which also display enhanced photoactivity. For smaller NPs it is difficult to experimentally determine their thermodynamic stability and internal atomic structure, to help rationalise their higher photoactivities. Employing accurate electronic structure calculations, we establish the relative stability of spherical and faceted stoichiometric TiO2 NPs with 1-3.4 nm diameters. Mirroring experimental preparation, simulated thermal annealing is found to significantly stabilise relaxed spherical cut anatase NPs. We find that the smallest spherical NPs become amorphized by annealing, but, for diameters >2 nm, annealing yields NPs with anatase-cores and amorphous-shells. Like larger black TiO2 core-shell NPs, we confirm that our core-shell NPs are metastable relative to faceted anatase NPs and have significantly smaller optical gaps than faceted NPs. Our calculated gaps are in excellent agreement with experimental data, strongly supporting the validity of our NP models. Energy gap narrowing in these core-shell NPs is found to be due to broadening of valence band states induced by the amorphous shell, analogous to the mechanism proposed for black TiO2 NPs. Our stoichiometric NPs also show that this band narrowing effect does not require the disordered shells to be non-stoichiometric or for incorporation of other atom types. Instead, we find that this effect mainly arises from 4-coordinated Ti atoms in the amorphous shell. Our careful and systematic computational investigation, using NP models of unprecedented realism, thus provides direct confirmation that the enhanced photoactivity in small spherical TiO2 NP observed in experiment is due to the formation of metastable core-shell NPs with 4-coordinated Ti centres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Morales-García
- Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
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15
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Yu Y, Yao B, Cao B, Ma W. Morphology-controlled Fabrication of SnO 2 /ZnO Nanocomposites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance. Photochem Photobiol 2019; 95:1131-1141. [PMID: 30900748 DOI: 10.1111/php.13101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In this work, a series of novel SnO2 /ZnO nanocomposites with different morphologies were fabricated via a facile hydrothermal technique followed by calcination in air. The morphological, structural and photocatalytic properties of the SnO2 /ZnO nanocomposites were studied using different methods. The results showed that the synthesized nanocomposites possessed crystal phases of wurtzite hexagonal phase ZnO and tetragonal rutile phase SnO2 . In addition, the morphologies of SnO2 /ZnO nanocomposites strongly depended on the molar ratios of Sn and Zn. Compared with ZnO and SnO2 , the SnO2 /ZnO nanocomposites exhibited considerably higher degradation efficiency for the photodegradation of methylene blue and quinolone antibiotics under mercury lamp irradiation. The SZ-2 nanospheres exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of 95.81%, which was about 2.63 times higher than that of ZnO nanoparticles. Moreover, the trapping experiments confirmed that ˙OH played the dominant role in MB degradation. Finally, the charge carriers potential transfer pathway and photocatalytic degradation mechanism were put forward. This study provides an economical way to prepare hybrid nanocomposites with controlled morphology for practical applications in the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and residual antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China.,College of Chemical Engineering and Modern Materials/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Comprehensive Utilization of Tailings Resources, Shangluo University, Shangluo, China
| | - Binghua Yao
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Baoyue Cao
- College of Chemical Engineering and Modern Materials/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Comprehensive Utilization of Tailings Resources, Shangluo University, Shangluo, China
| | - Wei Ma
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China
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16
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Barcaro G, Monti S, Sementa L, Carravetta V. Modeling Nucleation and Growth of ZnO Nanoparticles in a Low Temperature Plasma by Reactive Dynamics. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:2010-2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b01222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Barcaro
- CNR-IPCF, Institute of Chemical and Physical Processes, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Susanna Monti
- CNR-ICCOM, Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Sementa
- CNR-IPCF, Institute of Chemical and Physical Processes, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Carravetta
- CNR-IPCF, Institute of Chemical and Physical Processes, via G. Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
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17
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Zhao RN, Han JG, Duan Y. A Density Functional Prediction of the Geometries, Stabilities, and Electronic Properties of Nanosize Cage-Like (InN)2
n
(n
= 6-27, 45, 54) Semiconductor Materials. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.201800001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Run-Ning Zhao
- Institute of Applied Mathematics and Physics; Shanghai DianJi University; Shanghai 201306 People's Republic of China
| | - Ju-Guang Han
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory; University of Science and Technology of China; Hefei 230029 People's Republic of China
| | - Yuhua Duan
- U.S. Department of Energy; National Energy Technology Laboratory; Pittsburgh PA 15236 USA
- Parsons Project Services Inc.; South Park PA 15129 USA
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18
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Jørgensen MS, Larsen UF, Jacobsen KW, Hammer B. Exploration versus Exploitation in Global Atomistic Structure Optimization. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:1504-1509. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b00160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathias S. Jørgensen
- Interdisciplinary
Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Uffe F. Larsen
- Interdisciplinary
Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karsten W. Jacobsen
- Center
for Atomic-Scale
Materials Design (CAMD), Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bjørk Hammer
- Interdisciplinary
Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark
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19
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Woodley S, Lazauskas T, Illingworth M, Carter AC, Sokol AA. What is the best or most relevant global minimum for nanoclusters? Predicting, comparing and recycling cluster structures with WASP@N. Faraday Discuss 2018; 211:593-611. [DOI: 10.1039/c8fd00060c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Our WASP@N project is an open-access database of cluster structures with a web-assisted interface and toolkit for structure prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott M. Woodley
- University College London
- Department of Chemistry
- London WC1H 0AJ
- UK
| | - Tomas Lazauskas
- University College London
- Department of Chemistry
- London WC1H 0AJ
- UK
| | | | | | - Alexey A. Sokol
- University College London
- Department of Chemistry
- London WC1H 0AJ
- UK
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20
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Vega L, Ruvireta J, Viñes F, Illas F. Jacob’s Ladder as Sketched by Escher: Assessing the Performance of Broadly Used Density Functionals on Transition Metal Surface Properties. J Chem Theory Comput 2017; 14:395-403. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b01047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Vega
- Departament de Ciència de Materials
i Química Física and Institut de Química Teòrica
i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí
i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Judit Ruvireta
- Departament de Ciència de Materials
i Química Física and Institut de Química Teòrica
i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí
i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Francesc Viñes
- Departament de Ciència de Materials
i Química Física and Institut de Química Teòrica
i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí
i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Francesc Illas
- Departament de Ciència de Materials
i Química Física and Institut de Química Teòrica
i Computacional (IQTCUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí
i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain
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