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Souza TM, Pena LB, Da Silva JLF, Galvão BRL. Data-driven stabilization of Ni mPd n-m nanoalloys: a study using density functional theory and data mining approaches. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:15877-15890. [PMID: 38804680 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00672k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Green hydrogen, generated through the electrolysis of water, is a viable alternative to fossil fuels, although its adoption is hindered by the high costs associated with the catalysts. Among a wide variety of potential materials, binary nickel-palladium (NiPd) systems have garnered significant attention, particularly at the nanoscale, for their efficacious roles in catalyzing hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. However, our atom-level understanding of the descriptors that drive their energetic stability at the nanoscale remains largely incomplete. Here, we investigate by density functional theory calculations the descriptors that drives the stability of the NimPdn-m clusters for different sizes (n = 13, 27, 41) and compositions. To achieve our goals, a large number of trial configurations were generated and selected using data mining algorithms (k-means, t-SNE) and genetic algorithms, while the most important physical-chemical descriptors were identified using Spearman correlation analysis. We have found that core-shell formation, with the smaller Ni atoms lying in the center of the particle, plays a major role in the stabilization of the nanoalloys, and this effect causes the alloys to assume a icosahedral-fragment configuration (as the unary nickel cluster) instead of a fcc fragment (as the unary palladium cluster). However, the core-shell formation in this alloy is unique in that Pd poor compositions exhibit scattered Pd atoms on the surface. As the palladium content increases, this gives rise to the complete Pd shell. This stabilization mechanism is quantitatively supported by the different correlations observed in the number of Ni-Ni and Pd-Pd bonds with energy, in which the latter tends to decrease alloy stability. Furthermore, a notable trend is the correlation between the coordination number of Ni atoms with alloy stabilization, while the coordination of Pd atoms shows an inverse correlation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago M Souza
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, CEFET-MG, Av. Amazonas 5253, 30421-169 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
| | - Lucas B Pena
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, CEFET-MG, Av. Amazonas 5253, 30421-169 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 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
| | - Breno R L Galvão
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, CEFET-MG, Av. Amazonas 5253, 30421-169 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131, New Mexico, USA
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Piotrowski MJ, Palheta JMT, Fournier R. Cage doping of Ti, Zr, and Hf-based 13-atom nanoclusters: two sides of the same coin. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:13172-13181. [PMID: 38630106 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00518j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Transition metal nanoclusters can exhibit unique and tunable properties which result not only from their chemical composition but also from their atomic packing and quantized electronic structures. Here, we introduce a promising family of bimetallic TM@Ti12, TM@Zr12, and TM@Hf12 nanoclusters with icosahedral geometry, where TM represents an atom from groups 3 to 12. Density functional theory calculations show that their stability can be explained with familiar concepts of metal cluster electronic and atomic shell structures. The magnetic properties of these quasispherical clusters are entirely consistent with superatom electronic shells and Hund's rules, and can be tuned by the choice of the TM dopant. The computed cluster atomization energies were analyzed in terms of the elements' cohesive energy, Ecoh, and contributions from geometric distortion, Edis, surface energy, Es, and ionic bonding, Ei. Some clusters have anomalous stability relative to Ecoh + Edis + Es + Ei. We attribute this to superatomic character associated with a favorable atomic and electronic shell structure. This raises the possibility of designing stable superatoms and materials with tailored electronic and magnetic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurício J Piotrowski
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Pelotas, PO Box 354, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
| | - João Marcos T Palheta
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Pelotas, PO Box 354, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
| | - René Fournier
- Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3.
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Chen D, Lai Z, Zhang J, Chen J, Hu P, Wang H. Gold Segregation Improves Electrocatalytic Activity of Icosahedron Au@Pt Nanocluster: Insights from Machine Learning
†. CHINESE J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.202100352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dingming Chen
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Zhuangzhuang Lai
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Jiawei Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Jianfu Chen
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Peijun Hu
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Haifeng Wang
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai 200237 China
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Xu H, Liu P, Zhang W, Wang Q, Yang Y. Structure, stability, electronic and magnetic properties of monometallic Pd, Pt, and bimetallic Pd-Pt core–shell nanoparticles. Chem Phys 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2020.110953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Gupta SS, van Huis MA. Intermetallic Differences at CdS-Metal (Ni, Pd, Pt, and Au) Interfaces: From Single-Atom to Subnanometer Metal Clusters. THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, NANOMATERIALS AND INTERFACES 2019; 123:9298-9310. [PMID: 31001370 PMCID: PMC6463539 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b02319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Metal co-catalysts tipped at a photocatalyst surface form a crucial component in the nanoheterostructures designed for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. To examine the intermetallic differences and size effects at these interfaces, we use spin-polarized density functional theory to study single-atom, 13-atom, and 55-atom cluster depositions of Ni, Pd, Pt, and Au on the CdS(101̅0) surface. For the single metal atoms, the ground-state configuration was the same site for all of the elements. Analysis of the metal-CdS bonding and of the charge transfers revealed a Ni-Cd bonding complex leading to depletion of electronic charge at the Ni single atom and at deposited Ni clusters, in contrast to charge accumulation observed for the other three metals Pd, Pt, and Au. For scaling up sizes of the metal deposition, six subnanometer cluster types were selected over a wide range of cluster's effective coordination number, and their interfaces were differentiated by charge redistributions, structure and adhesion energies, highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gaps, and Schottky barrier heights. Although all considered clusters are semiconducting in the gas phase, 9 out of 28 clusters became (semi)metallic after deposition on the CdS semiconductor surface. Intermetallic differences and common trends are discussed.
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Guedes-Sobrinho D, Chaves AS, Piotrowski MJ, Da Silva JLF. Density functional investigation of the adsorption effects of PH 3 and SH 2 on the structure stability of the Au 55 and Pt 55 nanoclusters. J Chem Phys 2017; 146:164304. [PMID: 28456198 DOI: 10.1063/1.4981791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Although several studies have been reported for Pt55 and Au55 nanoclusters, our atomistic understanding of the interplay between the adsorbate-surface interactions and the mechanisms that lead to the formation of the distorted reduced core (DRC) structures, instead of the icosahedron (ICO) structure in gas phase, is still far from satisfactory. Here, we report a density functional theory (DFT) investigation of the role of the adsorption effects of PH3 (one lone pair of electrons) and SH2 (two lone pairs) on the relative stability of the Pt55 and Au55 nanoclusters. In gas phase, we found that the DRC structures with 7 and 9 atoms in the core region are about 5.34 eV (Pt55) and 2.20 eV (Au55) lower in energy than the ICO model with Ih symmetry and 13 atoms in the core region. However, the stability of the ICO structure increases by increasing the number of adsorbed molecules from 1 to 18, in which both DRC and ICO structures are nearly degenerate in energy at the limit of 18 ligands, which can be explained as follows. In gas phase, there is a strong compression of the cationic core region by the anionic surface atoms induced by the attractive Coulomb interactions (core+-surface-), and hence, the strain release is obtained by reducing the number of atoms in the cationic core region, which leads to the 55 atoms distorted reduced core structures. Thus, the Coulomb interactions between the core+ and surface- contribute to break the symmetry in the ICO55 structure. On the other hand, the addition of ligands on the anionic surface reduces the charge transfer between the core and surface, which contributes to decrease the Coulomb interactions and the strain on the core region of the ICO structure, and hence, it stabilizes a compact ICO structure. The same conclusion is obtained by adding van der Waals corrections to the plain DFT calculations. Similar results are obtained by the addition of steric effects, which are considered through the adsorption of triphenylphosphine (PPh3) molecules on Au55, in which the relative stability between ICO and DRC is the same as for PH3 and SH2. However, for Pt55, we found an inversion of stability due to the PPh3 ligand effects, where ICO has higher stability than DRC by 2.40 eV. Our insights are supported by several structural, electronic, and energetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Guedes-Sobrinho
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, P.O. Box 780, 13560-970 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Anderson S Chaves
- Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics, University of Campinas, P.O. Box 6165, 13083-859 Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Maurício J Piotrowski
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box 354, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, 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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Chaves AS, Piotrowski MJ, Da Silva JLF. Evolution of the structural, energetic, and electronic properties of the 3d, 4d, and 5d transition-metal clusters (30 TMn systems for n = 2–15): a density functional theory investigation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:15484-15502. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp02240a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Subnanometric transition-metal (TM) clusters have attracted great attention due to their unexpected physical and chemical properties, leastwise compared to their bulk counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson S. Chaves
- Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics
- University of Campinas
- Campinas
- Brazil
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry
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