M. J. López

Enhancement of hydrogen physisorption on graphene and carbon nanotubes by Li doping

Density-functional calculations of the adsorption of molecular hydrogen on a planar graphene layer and on the external surface of a (4,4) carbon nanotube, undoped and doped with lithium, have been carried out. Hydrogen molecules are physisorbed on pure graphene and on the nanotube with binding energies about 80-90 meV/molecule. However, the binding energies increase to 160-180 meV/molecule for many adsorption configurations of the molecule near a Li atom in the doped systems. A charge-density analysis shows that the origin of the increase in binding energy is the electronic charge transfer from the Li atom to graphene and the nanotube. The results support and explain qualitatively the enhancement of the hydrogen storage capacity observed in some experiments of hydrogen adsorption on carbon nanotubes doped with alkali atoms.

Selective propene epoxidation on immobilized au(6-10) clusters: the effect of hydrogen and water on activity and selectivity.

Epoxidation made easy: Subnanometer gold clusters immobilized on amorphous alumina result in a highly active and selective catalyst for propene epoxidation. The highest selectivity is found for gas mixtures involving oxygen and water, thus avoiding the use of hydrogen. Ab initio DFT calculations are used to identify key reaction intermediates and reaction pathways. The results confirm the high catalyst activity owing to the formation of propene oxide metallacycles. Al green, Au yellow, O red, and C gray.

Interaction of molecular and atomic hydrogen with (5,5) and (6,6) single-wall carbon nanotubes

Density functional theory has been used to study the interaction of molecular and atomic hydrogen with (5,5) and (6,6) single-wall carbon nanotubes. Static calculations allowing for different degrees of structural relaxation are performed, in addition to dynamical simulations. Molecular physisorption inside and outside the nanotube walls is predicted to be the most stable state of those systems. The binding energies for physisorption of the H2 molecule outside the nanotube are in the range 0.04–0.07 eV. This means that uptake and release of molecular hydrogen from nanotubes is a relatively easy process, as many experiments have proved. A chemisorption state, with the molecule dissociated and the two hydrogen atoms bonded to neighbor carbon atoms, has also been found. However, reaching this dissociative chemisorption state for an incoming molecule, or starting from the physisorbed molecule, is difficult because of the existence of a substantial activation barrier. The dissociative chemisorption deforms the...

Structural and dynamical properties of Cu–Au bimetallic clusters

The effect of alloying on the structural and thermal properties of Cun−xAux (n=13,14) clusters is investigated by constant energy Molecular Dynamics simulations. The interactions between the atoms in the clusters are mimicked by a many‐body (Gupta‐like) potential based on the second moment approximation to the tight‐binding model. The minimum energy structures and the lowest‐lying isomers of the pure and mixed clusters are obtained by thermal quenching. We find icosahedral‐like ground state structures for the 13‐ and 14‐atom clusters and for all the concentrations, the only exception being Au14 which has C6v symmetry. Mixed structures are preferred over the segregated ones. The lowest‐lying isomers of the binary clusters are the permutational ones, i.e., isomers having the same underlying geometry as the ground state structure and different relative arrangement of the unlike atoms in the atomic positions of the geometry. However, presence of these low lying permutational isomers does not affect the gross ...

Density functional calculations of hydrogen adsorption on boron nanotubes and boron sheets

Hydrogen adsorption on the recently discovered boron nanotubes, BNTs, and on boron sheets is investigated by density functional calculations. Both molecular physisorption and dissociative atomic chemisorption are considered. The geometric and electronic structures of BNTs and boron sheets have been elucidated. These two novel boron structures present buckled surfaces with alternating up and down rows of B atoms, with a large buckling height of about 0.8 A. The buckled structures are about 0.20 eV/atom more stable than the corresponding flat ones. However, the helicity of some BNTs does not allow for the formation of alternating up and down B rows in the surface and, therefore, these nanotubes have flat surfaces. The buckled and flat nanostructures have different geometric and bonding characteristics, but both are metallic. Molecular hydrogen physisorption energies are about 30–60 meV/molecule on boron sheets and nanotubes, actually lower than in graphene and in carbon nanotubes and far from the energies of 300–400 meV/molecule necessary for efficient hydrogen storage at room temperature and moderate pressures for onboard automotive applications. Chemisorption binding energies on BNTs are about 2.4–2.9 eV/H atom, similar to the ones obtained in CNTs. Finally, the energy barrier from molecular physisorption to dissociative chemisorption of hydrogen is about 1.0 eV /molecule. Therefore, the calculations predict physisorption as the leading adsorption mechanism of hydrogen at moderate temperatures and pressures. The expected hydrogen adsorption capacity of these novel B materials is even smaller than that of CNTs.

Analysis of the bonding and reactivity of H and the Al13 cluster using density functional concepts

The bonding of hydrogen in the Al13H aggregate is analyzed in the framework of density functional theory using the local density approximation. The interaction between the H-1s orbital and only certain molecular orbitals of Al13 is responsible for the binding. Different measures of the charge transfer give consistent results and predict the stabilization of a sizable amount of electronic charge, about two electrons, around the proton site. The state of the H atom can be described as a negatively charged impurity screened by the surrounding electron gas, similarly to a H impurity embedded in a vacancy in metallic aluminum. Friedel-type oscillations can be appreciated in the screening charge. Local Fukui functions and condensed Fukui indexes associated to the ground state of the cluster Al13 are used as indicators of molecular reactivity. Those indices allow to predict and understand the equilibrium location of H found in the total energy calculations for Al13H.

Hydrogen storage in pure and Li-doped carbon nanopores: Combined effects of concavity and doping

Density functional calculations are reported for the adsorption of molecular hydrogen on carbon nanopores. Two models for the pores have been considered: (i) The inner walls of (7,7) carbon nanotubes and (ii) the highly curved inner surface of nanotubes capped on one end. The effect of Li doping is investigated in all cases. The hydrogen physisorption energies increase due to the concavity effect inside the clean nanotubes and on the bottom of the capped nanotubes. Li doping also enhances the physisorption energies. The sum of those two effects leads to an increase by a factor of almost 3 with respect to the physisorption in the outer wall of undoped nanotubes and in flat graphene. Application of a quantum-thermodynamical model to clean cylindrical pores of diameter 9.5 A, the diameter of the (7,7) tube, indicates that cylindrical pores of this size can store enough hydrogen to reach the volumetric and gravimetric goals of the Department of Energy at 77 K and low pressures, although not at 300 K. The results are useful to explain the experiments on porous carbons. Optimizations of the pore size, concavity, and doping appear as promising alternatives for achieving the goals at room temperature.

Structural and thermal properties of silicon-doped fullerenes

Extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the structural and thermal properties of Si-doped fullerenes containing one and two silicon atoms. Both, a many-body potential and ab initio Density Functional Theory (DFT) have been used to investigate the structural features of the heterofullerenes. The competition between the exohedral and the substitutional types of doping, as a function of fullerene size (both even and odd heterofullerenes have been considered) and Si concentration, is analyzed. The DFT calculations confirm the main structural trends obtained with the many-body potential. The thermal stability and the structural transformations of the heterofullerenes have been also studied as a function of temperature (T=0–5000 K). The structural transformations include, local rearrangement of atoms, isomerization transitions, diffusion of atoms, eventual destruction of the cage, and sublimation of atoms. The isomerization transition between exohedral and substitutional isom...

Simulating the thermal behavior and fragmentation mechanisms of exohedral and substitutional silicon-doped C60

Structures, thermal behavior, and fragmentation mechanisms of exohedral and substitutional silicon-doped C(60) containing 1-12 Si atoms are investigated by extensive molecular-dynamics simulations. A nonorthogonal tight-binding model is used to mimic the interatomic interactions in the doped fullerenes. Beginning from the minimum-energy structures, the temperature of the doped fullerenes is slowly increased until fragmentation takes place. A correlation can be established between the exohedral and substitutional structures and the corresponding fragmentation mechanisms and fragmentation temperatures. Exohedral C(60)Si(m) fullerenes fragment into two homonuclear pieces, the Si(m) cluster and the C(60) fullerene that remains intact. In contrast, the substitutional C(60-m)Si(m) heterofullerenes undergo structural transformations, including the partial unraveling of the cage, prior to fragmentation. Then, ejection of atoms or small molecules takes place from the distorted structures. The slow heating rate used, combined with long simulation runs, allows us to determine the fragmentation temperature of exohedral and substitutional Si-doped fullerenes as a function of the number of silicon atoms. Substitutional Si-doped fullerenes exhibit much higher fragmentation temperatures (1000-1500 K higher) than the exohedral fullerenes. This can be understood from the different bonding of the Si atoms in both structures.

Interaction of molecular and atomic hydrogen with single-wall carbon nanotubes

Density functional calculations are performed to study the interaction of molecular and atomic hydrogen with (5,5) and (6,6) single-wall carbon nanotubes. Molecular physisorption is predicted to be the most stable adsorption state, with the molecule at equilibrium at a distance of 5-6 a.u. from the nanotube wall. The physisorption energies outside the nanotubes are approximately 0.07 eV, and larger inside, reaching a value of 0.17 eV inside the (5,5) nanotube. Although these binding energies appear to be lower than the values required for an efficient adsorption/desorption operation at room temperature and normal pressures, the expectations are better for operation at lower temperatures and higher pressures, as found in many experimental studies. A chemisorption state with the molecule dissociated has also been found, with the H atoms much closer to the nanotube wall. However, this state is separated from the physisorption state by an activation barrier of 2 eV or more. The dissociative chemisorption weakens carbon-carbon bonds, and the concerted effect of many incoming molecules with sufficient kinetic energies can lead to the scission of the nanotube.