Energetics and kinetics of Ti clustering on neutral and charged C60 surfaces

The design of d-character Dirac cones based on graphene

We introduce a new framework for designing a transition metal (TM) d-electrons dominant Dirac cone spectrum based on the hybridization between graphene and a modulated TM d impurity band. The obtained Dirac cone behaves like a 'copy' from graphene, insensitive to the TM coverage and order. First-principles calculations reveal such a system of Mn intercalated epitaxial graphene on SiC(0 0 0 1), dubbed manganosine. The robustness of the Dirac cone is discussed in terms of the possible imperfection of Mn atoms. The mechanism at work is expected to be rather general and may open the door to designing new d- or f-character Dirac systems.

Insight into the vertical detachment energy oscillation of Na(n)C60(-) clusters

We have performed a detailed density functional theory study on the structural and electronic properties of Na(n)C(60)(-) (n = 1-12) clusters. The calculated vertical detachment energies show good agreement with the experimental data, which confirms the 3p (n = 3p) oscillation rule. The oscillation can be attributed to the combination of the charge depletion distribution induced by removing electrons and the number of the sodium atoms in direct contact with the fullerene. Based on the structural and electronic properties, the Na atoms can be categorized into two groups, one is for the metal atoms directly bonded to the fullerene surface, and the other one is for those without bonding to the fullerene. The Na atoms in group one would donate electrons to both the fullerene and the Na atoms in group two. As the total number of the sodium atoms increases, the number of Na atoms in group one would continue increasing till the size n = 3p - 1 to meet a shoulder from n = 3p - 1 to n = 3p, which accounts for the maximum vertical detachment energy at the size of n = 3p as drawn from the detailed electronic property studies.

Interaction between hydrogen molecules and metallofullerenes

Within first-principles density functional theory, we explore the feasibility of using metallofullerenes as efficient hydrogen storage media. In particular, we systematically investigate the interaction between hydrogen molecules and La encapsulated all-carbon fullerenes, C(n) (20 < or = n < or = 82), focusing on the role of transferred charges between the metal atoms and fullerenes on the affinity of hydrogen molecules to the metallofullerenes. Our calculations show that three electrons are transferred from La atom to fullerene cages, while the induced charges are mostly screened by the fullerene cages. We find the local enhancement of molecular hydrogen affinity to the fullerenes to be sensitively dependent on the local bonding properties, rather than on the global charging effects.

Ca-coated boron fullerenes and nanotubes as superior hydrogen storage materials

A comprehensive study was performed on hydrogen adsorption and storage in Ca-coated boron fullerenes and nanotubes by means of density functional computations. Ca strongly binds to boron fullerene and nanotube surfaces due to charge transfer between Ca and the B substrate. Accordingly, Ca atoms do not cluster on the surface of the boron substrate, while transition metals (such as Ti and Sc) persist in clustering on the B(80) surface. B(80) fullerene coated with 12 Ca atoms can store up to 60 H(2) molecules with a binding energy of 0.12-0.40 eV/H(2), corresponding to a gravimetric density of 8.2 wt %, while the hydrogen storage capacity in a (9,0) B nanotube is 7.6 wt % with a binding energy of 0.10-0.30 eV/H(2). The Ca-coated boron fullerenes and nanotubes proposed in this work are favorable for reversible adsorption and desorption of hydrogen at ambient conditions.