Insight into the interface between Fe3O4 (001) surface and water overlayers through multiscale molecular dynamics simulations

Study of Ammonia Adsorption on Magnetite Surfaces with Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The present study proposes an atomistic molecular dynamics model system of a magnetite (Fe3O4) {111} surface. The effect of temperature on the adsorption process of ammonia (NH3) at low concentrations in the aqueous phase has been considered. The molecular dynamics simulations were carried out using the Clay force field (Clay FF) with a modification for the iron atoms in the NPT ensemble at a pressure of 90 bar. The considered system was heated in a temperature range from 293 to 473 K, and additional relaxations were performed at temperatures of interest. Within the scope of this study, the basic parameters of the magnetite surface were calculated and the distances between the ammonia molecules and the surface were determined. A general idea of the degree and rate of adsorption at specific temperatures was obtained. The calculation results were compared to the experimental data where possible and to other available simulations of adsorption processes on metal oxides.

Dissolution mechanism of Fe3O4 scale by 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid: an ab initio molecular metadynamics study

Using the ab initio molecular metadynamics method, the adsorption of the structure of 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) on the Fe3O4 surface and subsequent detachment of Fe atoms from the surface were simulated, and the dissolution mechanism by which HEDP dissolves Fe3O4 scale at room temperature while other organic acids cannot was elucidated. The adsorbed hydroxyl groups, water and HEDP on the Fe3O4 surface play a synergistic role in detaching the Fe ions, which increases the coordination number of the Fe atoms and weakens the original Fe-O bond strength. In addition, the strong coordination ability and flexible molecular structure of HEDP also facilitate dissolution of Fe3O4 scale by breaking down the chemical bonds and forming Fe-HEDP complexes. The free energy surface for the dissolution reaction shows a low barrier, and the descaling reaction is easily accomplished.

Chemistry of the Interaction and Retention of TcVII and TcIV Species at the Fe3O4(001) Surface

The pertechnetate ion Tc^VIIO₄ ^- is a nuclear fission product whose major issue is the high mobility in the environment. Experimentally, it is well known that Fe₃O₄ can reduce Tc^VIIO₄ ^- to Tc^IV species and retain such products quickly and completely, but the exact nature of the redox process and products is not completely understood. Therefore, we investigated the chemistry of Tc^VIIO₄ ^- and Tc^IV species at the Fe₃O₄(001) surface through a hybrid DFT functional (HSE06) method. We studied a possible initiation step of the Tc^VII reduction process. The interaction of the Tc^VIIO₄ ^- ion with the magnetite surface leads to the formation of a reduced Tc^VI species without any change in the Tc coordination sphere through an electron transfer that is favored by the magnetite surfaces with a higher Fe^II content. Furthermore, we explored various model structures for the immobilized Tc^IV final products. Tc^IV can be incorporated into a subsurface octahedral site or adsorbed on the surface in the form of Tc^IVO₂·xH₂O chains. We propose and discuss three model structures for the adsorbed Tc^IVO₂·2H₂O chains in terms of relative energies and simulated EXAFS spectra. Our results suggest that the periodicity of the Fe₃O₄(001) surface matches that of the TcO₂·2H₂O chains. The EXAFS analysis suggests that, in experiments, TcO₂·xH₂O chains were probably not formed as an inner-shell adsorption complex with the Fe₃O₄(001) surface.

Improving the Oxygen Evolution Reaction on Fe3O4(001) with Single-Atom Catalysts

Doping magnetite surfaces with transition-metal atoms is a promising strategy to improve the catalytic performance toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which governs the overall efficiency of water electrolysis and hydrogen production. In this work, we investigated the Fe₃O₄(001) surface as a support material for single-atom catalysts of the OER. First, we prepared and optimized models of inexpensive and abundant transition-metal atoms, such as Ti, Co, Ni, and Cu, trapped in various configurations on the Fe₃O₄(001) surface. Then, we studied their structural, electronic, and magnetic properties through HSE06 hybrid functional calculations. As a further step, we investigated the performance of these model electrocatalysts toward the OER, considering different possible mechanisms, in comparison with the pristine magnetite surface, on the basis of the computational hydrogen electrode model developed by Nørskov and co-workers. Cobalt-doped systems were found to be the most promising electrocatalytic systems among those considered in this work. Overpotential values (∼0.35 V) were in the range of those experimentally reported for mixed Co/Fe oxide (0.2-0.5 V).

Rapid oxygen exchange between hematite and water vapor

Oxygen exchange at oxide/liquid and oxide/gas interfaces is important in technology and environmental studies, as it is closely linked to both catalytic activity and material degradation. The atomic-scale details are mostly unknown, however, and are often ascribed to poorly defined defects in the crystal lattice. Here we show that even thermodynamically stable, well-ordered surfaces can be surprisingly reactive. Specifically, we show that all the 3-fold coordinated lattice oxygen atoms on a defect-free single-crystalline "r-cut" ([Formula: see text]) surface of hematite (α-Fe2O3) are exchanged with oxygen from surrounding water vapor within minutes at temperatures below 70 °C, while the atomic-scale surface structure is unperturbed by the process. A similar behavior is observed after liquid-water exposure, but the experimental data clearly show most of the exchange happens during desorption of the final monolayer, not during immersion. Density functional theory computations show that the exchange can happen during on-surface diffusion, where the cost of the lattice oxygen extraction is compensated by the stability of an HO-HOH-OH complex. Such insights into lattice oxygen stability are highly relevant for many research fields ranging from catalysis and hydrogen production to geochemistry and paleoclimatology.

Multiscale simulations of the hydration shells surrounding spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticles and effect on magnetic properties

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) are excellent systems in catalysis and in nanomedicine, where they are mostly immersed in aqueous media. Even though the NP solvation by water is expected to play an active role, the detailed structural insight at the nanostructure oxide/water interface is still missing. Here, based on our previous efforts to obtain accurate models of dehydrated Fe3O4 NPs and of their magnetic properties and through multiscale molecular dynamics simulations combining the density functional tight binding method and force field, we unravel the atomistic details of the short range (chemical) and long range (physical) interfacial effects when magnetite nanoparticles are immersed in water. The influence of the first hydration shell on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 NPs is revealed by high-level hybrid density functional calculations. Hydrated Fe3O4 NPs possess larger magnetic moment than dehydrated ones. This work bridges the large gap between experimental studies on solvated Fe3O4 NPs and theoretical investigations on flat Fe3O4 surfaces covered with water and paves the way for further study of Fe3O4 NPs in biological environments.

Parametrization of the Fe-Owater cross-interaction for a more accurate Fe3O4/water interface model and its application to a spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticle of realistic size

The accurate description of iron oxides/water interfaces requires reliable force field parameters that can be developed through comparison with sophisticated quantum mechanical calculations. Here, a set of CLASS2 force field parameters is optimized to describe the Fe-O_water cross-interaction through comparison with hybrid density functional theory (HSE06) calculations of the potential energy function for a single water molecule adsorbed on the Fe₃O₄ (001) surface and with density functional tight binding (DFTB+U) molecular dynamics simulations for a water trilayer on the same surface. The performance of the new parameters is assessed through the analysis of the number density profile of a water bulk (12 nm) sandwiched between two magnetite slabs of large surface area. Their transferability is tested for water adsorption on the curved surface of a spherical Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle of realistic size (2.5 nm).

Machine Learning in Computational Surface Science and Catalysis: Case Studies on Water and Metal-Oxide Interfaces

The goal of many computational physicists and chemists is the ability to bridge the gap between atomistic length scales of about a few multiples of an Ångström (Å), i. e., 10⁻¹⁰ m, and meso- or macroscopic length scales by virtue of simulations. The same applies to timescales. Machine learning techniques appear to bring this goal into reach. This work applies the recently published on-the-fly machine-learned force field techniques using a variant of the Gaussian approximation potentials combined with Bayesian regression and molecular dynamics as efficiently implemented in the Vienna ab initio simulation package, VASP. The generation of these force fields follows active-learning schemes. We apply these force fields to simple oxides such as MgO and more complex reducible oxides such as iron oxide, examine their generalizability, and further increase complexity by studying water adsorption on these metal oxide surfaces. We successfully examined surface properties of pristine and reconstructed MgO and Fe₃O₄ surfaces. However, the accurate description of water–oxide interfaces by machine-learned force fields, especially for iron oxides, remains a field offering plenty of research opportunities.