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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Theoretical study of influencing factors on the dispersion of bulk band-gap edges and the surface states in topological insulators Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3}

The dispersion of the band-gap edge states in bulk topological insulators Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} is considered within density functional theory. The dependences of this dispersion both on the approximation used for an exchange-correlation functional at fixed unit cell parameters and atomic positions and on these parameters and positions that are obtained upon structural relaxation performed using a certain approximated functional are analyzed. The relative position of the Dirac point of topologically protected surface states and the valence band maximum in the surface electronic structure of the topological insulators is discussed.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Charged vanadium-benzene multidecker clusters: DFT and quantum Monte Carlo study

Using explicitly correlated fixed-node quantum Monte Carlo and density functional theory (DFT) methods, we study electronic properties, ground-state multiplets, ionization potentials, electron affinities, and low-energy fragmentation channels of charged half-sandwich and multidecker vanadium-benzene systems with up to 3 vanadium atoms, including both anions and cations. It is shown that, particularly in anions, electronic correlations play a crucial role; these effects are not systematically captured with any commonly used DFT functionals such as gradient corrected, hybrids, and range-separated hybrids. On the other hand, tightly bound cations can be described qualitatively by DFT. A comparison of DFT and quantum Monte Carlo provides an in-depth understanding of the electronic structure and properties of these correlated systems. The calculations also serve as a benchmark study of 3d molecular anions that require a balanced many-body description of correlations at both short- and long-range distances.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Beyond the electric-dipole approximation in simulations of x-ray absorption spectroscopy: Lessons from relativistic theory

Herein we present three schemes to go beyond the electric-dipole approximation in x-ray absorption spectroscopy calculations within a four-component relativistic framework. The first is based on the full semi-classical light–matter interaction operator and the two others on a truncated interaction within the Coulomb gauge (velocity representation) and multipolar gauge (length representation). We generalize the derivation of the multipolar gauge to an arbitrary expansion point and show that the potentials corresponding to different expansion points are related by a gauge transformation, provided that the expansion is not truncated. This suggests that the observed gauge-origin dependence in the multipolar gauge is more than just a finite-basis set effect. The simplicity of the relativistic formalism enables arbitrary-order implementations of the truncated interactions, with and without rotational averaging, allowing us to test their convergence behavior numerically by comparison to the full formulation. We confirm the observation that the oscillator strength of the electric-dipole allowed ligand K -edge transition of TiCl 4 , when calculated to the second order in the wave vector, becomes negative but also show that inclusion of higher-order contributions allows convergence to the result obtained using the full light–matter interaction. However, at higher energies, the slow convergence of such expansions becomes dramatic and renders such approaches at best impractical. When going beyond the electric-dipole approximation, we therefore recommend the use of the full light–matter interaction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of pressure on the band structure of BC{sub 3}

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to study the effect of pressure on the band structure of two dimensional BC{sub 3} sheet. BC{sub 3} is a semiconductor at ambient conditions having a band gap of ~0.3 eV. Electronic structure calculations are carried out on BC{sub 3} at pressures of 5, 20, 50 and 100 GPa. The system shows a semiconductor – metal transition by the application of pressure without any structural transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

First principles study of the structural, electronic, and transport properties of triarylamine-based nanowires

We investigate with state of the art density functional theory the structural, electronic, and transport properties of a class of recently synthesized nanostructures based on triarylamine derivatives. First, we consider the single molecule precursors in the gas phase and calculate their static properties, namely (i) the geometrical structure of the neutral and cationic ions, (ii) the electronic structure of the frontier molecular orbitals, and (iii) the ionization potential, hole extraction potential, and internal reorganization energy. This initial study does not evidence any direct correlation between the properties of the individual molecules and their tendency to self-assembly. Subsequently, we investigate the charge transport characteristics of the triarylamine derivatives nanowires, by using Marcus theory. For one derivative we further construct an effective Hamiltonian including intermolecular vibrations and evaluate the mobility from the Kubo formula implemented with Monte Carlo sampling. These two methods, valid respectively in the sequential hopping and polaronic band limit, give us values for the room-temperature mobility in the range 0.1–12 cm{sup 2}/Vs. Such estimate confirms the superior transport properties of triarylamine-based nanowires, and make them an attracting materials platform for organic electronics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

DGDFT: A massively parallel method for large scale density functional theory calculations

We describe a massively parallel implementation of the recently developed discontinuous Galerkin density functional theory (DGDFT) method, for efficient large-scale Kohn-Sham DFT based electronic structure calculations. The DGDFT method uses adaptive local basis (ALB) functions generated on-the-fly during the self-consistent field iteration to represent the solution to the Kohn-Sham equations. The use of the ALB set provides a systematic way to improve the accuracy of the approximation. By using the pole expansion and selected inversion technique to compute electron density, energy, and atomic forces, we can make the computational complexity of DGDFT scale at most quadratically with respect to the number of electrons for both insulating and metallic systems. We show that for the two-dimensional (2D) phosphorene systems studied here, using 37 basis functions per atom allows us to reach an accuracy level of 1.3 × 10{sup −4} Hartree/atom in terms of the error of energy and 6.2 × 10{sup −4} Hartree/bohr in terms of the error of atomic force, respectively. DGDFT can achieve 80% parallel efficiency on 128,000 high performance computing cores when it is used to study the electronic structure of 2D phosphorene systems with 3500-14 000 atoms. This high parallel efficiency results from a two-level parallelization scheme that we will describe in detail.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Concerted cycloaddition reactions: a study using the parabolic model and quantum chemical modeling

Concerted cycloaddition reactions were studied by the method of intersecting parabolas (M3IP) and quantum chemical calculations. Experimental data were processed within the framework of the M3IP method and an algorithm for calculating the activation energies (E) and rate constants (k) for reactions from the enthalpies of reactions was developed. The parameters E and k for twelve cycloaddition reactions not studied previously were calculated. Factors affecting the activation energies were established and evaluated; these include the enthalpy of reaction, substituents, and the molecular structure of reactants. Quantum chemical modeling and topological analysis of transition states (TS) of six concerted cycloaddition reactions were performed. Depending on structure of the starting olefins, the TS of reactions can have either a symmetric or asymmetric geometry. This influences their electronic structures, the energies of chemical bonds, and the activation energies of reactions. A comparison of the activation energy values obtained from the M3IP and DFT(B3lyp/6-311++G** ) calculations revealed good agreement between them.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Comparative Study on the Charge-Ordered and Mixed-Valence Phases of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} via First-Principles Calculations

The first-principles density functional theory calculations have been used to investigate the relation between magnetic and structural properties of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} for both the charge-ordered (CO) and the mixed-valence (MV) phases and also to compare the electronic properties for both phases. The computed structural parameters of rhombohedral and monoclinic systems are found to be in good agreement with experimental findings. An analysis of the magnetic properties is provided considering nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and ferrimagnetic model orderings. In agreement with experimental results, CO modification of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is predicted to be ferrimagnetic. The GGA + U electronic structures show a semiconducting behavior of CO phase while a metallic character for MV LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

A beginner's guide to the modern theory of polarization

The so-called Modern Theory of Polarization, which rigorously defines the spontaneous polarization of a periodic solid and provides a route for its computation in electronic structure codes through the Berry phase, is introduced in a simple qualitative discussion. - Graphical abstract: Cartoon of Wannier functions in a covalent solid shifting to contribute to the ferroelectric polarization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Theoretical investigation of spin-filtering in CrAs/GaAs heterostructures

The electronic structure of bulk zinc-blende GaAs, zinc-blende and tetragonal CrAs, and CrAs/GaAs supercells, computed within linear muffin-tin orbital (LMTO) local spin-density functional theory, is used to extract the band alignment for the [1,0,0] GaAs/CrAs interface in dependence of the spin orientation. With the lateral lattice constant fixed to the experimental bulk GaAs value, a local energy minimum is found for a tetragonal CrAs unit cell with a longitudinal ([1,0,0]) lattice constant reduced by ≈2%. Due to the identified spin-dependent band alignment, half-metallicity of CrAs no longer is a key requirement for spin-filtering. Based on these findings, we study the spin-dependent tunneling current in [1,0,0] GaAs/CrAs/GaAs heterostructures within the non-equilibrium Green's function approach for an effective tight-binding Hamiltonian derived from the LMTO electronic structure. Results indicate that these heterostructures are promising candidates for efficient room-temperature all-semiconductor spin-filtering devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Fe adsorption on hematite (α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) (0001) and magnetite (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) (111) surfaces

The structure and electronic properties of different terminations of hematite (0001) and magnetite (111) surfaces upon submonolayer Fe adsorption were studied using the spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) including the Hubbard correction term U (DFT+U). On both oxides the Fe atoms were adsorbed on the most stable iron and oxygen terminated surfaces. The results show that Fe atoms bind strongly both to hematite and magnetite surfaces, however, the binding is distinctly stronger at the oxygen than at the iron terminated surfaces. For both oxides and surface terminations the binding energy of the Fe decreases with increasing coverage, which indicates substantial repulsive interactions between Fe adatoms. On the hematite surface, the most stable sites for Fe adsorption are bulk continuation sites which result in formation of the Fe-rich terminations. On the magnetite surface, the bulk continuation site is favored only for Fe adsorption on the oxygen terminated surface while on the iron terminated one Fe adsorbs in a position closer to the surface iron layer. Submonolayer coverages of Fe modify substantially the surface electronic structure of the oxides and, depending on the termination, can change its character from half-metallic to insulating one, and vice versa.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Geometry Optimization and Charge Density Distribution of Single Layer of ZN-Based Metal-Organic Framework

The set of theoretical approaches were used to obtain the optimized geometries, electronic structure and charge density of single layer of metal-organic framework based on Zn [Zn{sub 2}(TBAP{sub y})(H{sub 2}O){sub 2} · 3.5DEF]{sub n} (MOF-Zn). Infinite monolayer composed of the unit cell of the MOF-Zn was considered. Ground state properties were researched using density functional theory with BLYP and PBE exchange-correlation functionals. The influence of the type of these approaches on the spatial structure and charge density was discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer to a Molybdenum Ethylene Complex Yields a β-Agostic Ethyl: Structure, Dynamics and Mechanism

In this paper, the interconversion of molybdenum ethylene and ethyl complexes by proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is described, an unusual transformation in organometallic chemistry. The cationic molybdenum ethylene complex [( Ph Tpy)(PPh 2 Me) 2 Mo(C 2 H 4 )][BArF 24 ] ([1-C 2 H 4 ] + ; Ph Tpy = 4'-Ph-2,2',6',2"-terpyridine, ArF 24 = [C 6 H 3 -3,5-(CF 3 ) 2 ] 4 ) was synthesized, structurally characterized, and its electronic structure established by a combination of spectroscopic and computational methods. The overall electronic structure is best described as a molybdenum(III) complex with a metallacyclopropane and a redox neutral terpyridine ligand. Addition of the nonclassical ammine complex [( Ph Tpy)(PPh 2 Me) 2 Mo(NH 3 )][BArF 24 ] ([1-NH 3 ] + ) to [1-C 2 H 4 ] + resulted in a net C–H bond-forming PCET reaction to yield the molybdenum ethyl [( Ph Tpy)(PPh 2 Me) 2 Mo(CH 2 CH 3 )][BArF 24 ] ([1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + ) and amido [( Ph Tpy)(PPh 2 Me) 2 Mo(NH 2 )][BArF 24 ] ([1-NH 2 ] + ) compounds. The reaction was reversed by addition of 2,4,6-tritert-butylphenoxyl radical to [1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + . The solid-state structure of [1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + established a β-agostic ethyl ligand that is maintained in solution as judged by variable temperature 1 H and 13 C NMR experiments. A combination of variable-temperature NMR experiments and isotopic labeling studies were used to probe the dynamics of [1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + and established restricted β-agostic -CH 3 rotation at low temperature (ΔG ‡ = 9.8 kcal mol –1 at -86 °C) as well as ethyl isomerization by β-hydride elimination-olefin rotation-reinsertion (ΔH ‡ = 19.3 ± 0.6 kcal mol –1 ; ΔS ‡ = 3.4 ± 1.7 cal mol –1 K –1 ). The β-(C–H) bond-dissociation free energy (BDFE) in [1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + was determined experimentally as 57 kcal mol –1 (THF) supported by a DFT-computed value of 52 kcal/mol –1 (gas phase). Comparison of pK a and electrochemical data for the complexes [1-C 2 H 4 ] + and [1-NH 3 ] + in combination with a deuterium kinetic isotope effect (k H /k D ) of 3.5(2) at 23 °C support a PCET process involving initial electron transfer followed by protonation leading to the formation of [1-CH 2 CH 3 ] + and [1-NH 2 ] + or a concerted pathway. Lastly, the data presented herein provides a structural, thermochemical and mechanistic foundation for understanding the PCET reactivity of organometallic complexes with alkene and alkyl ligands.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Use of density functional theory method to calculate structures of neutral carbon clusters C{sub n} (3 ≤ n ≤ 24) and study their variability of structural forms

In this work, we present modifications to the well-known basin hopping (BH) optimization algorithm [D. J. Wales and J. P. Doye, J. Phys. Chem. A 101, 5111 (1997)] by incorporating in it the unique and specific nature of interactions among valence electrons and ions in carbon atoms through calculating the cluster’s total energy by the density functional tight-binding (DFTB) theory, using it to find the lowest energy structures of carbon clusters and, from these optimized atomic and electronic structures, studying their varied forms of topological transitions, which include a linear chain, a monocyclic to a polycyclic ring, and a fullerene/cage-like geometry. In this modified BH (MBH) algorithm, we define a spatial volume within which the cluster’s lowest energy structure is to be searched, and introduce in addition a cut-and-splice genetic operator to increase the searching performance of the energy minimum than the original BH technique. The present MBH/DFTB algorithm is, therefore, characteristically distinguishable from the original BH technique commonly applied to nonmetallic and metallic clusters, technically more thorough and natural in describing the intricate couplings between valence electrons and ions in a carbon cluster, and thus theoretically sound in putting these two charged components on an equal footing. The proposed modified minimization algorithm should be more appropriate, accurate, and precise in the description of a carbon cluster. We evaluate the present algorithm, its energy-minimum searching in particular, by its optimization robustness. Specifically, we first check the MBH/DFTB technique for two representative carbon clusters of larger size, i.e., C{sub 60} and C{sub 72} against the popular cut-and-splice approach [D. M. Deaven and K. M. Ho, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 288 (1995)] that normally is combined with the genetic algorithm method for finding the cluster’s energy minimum, before employing it to investigate carbon clusters in the size range C{sub 3}-C{sub 24} studying their topological transitions. An effort was also made to compare our MBH/DFTB and its re-optimized results carried out by full density functional theory (DFT) calculations with some early DFT-based studies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Probing the electronic and vibrational structure of Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}{sup −} and Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2} using photoelectron spectroscopy and high resolution photoelectron imaging

The electronic and vibrational structures of Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}{sup −} and Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2} have been investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), high-resolution photoelectron imaging, and theoretical calculations. Photoelectron spectra taken at high photon energies with a magnetic-bottle apparatus reveal numerous detachment transitions and a large energy gap for the neutral Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}. Vibrationally resolved PE spectra are obtained using high-resolution photoelectron imaging for the ground state detachment transition of Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}{sup −} at various photon energies (670.55−843.03 nm). An accurate electron affinity of 1.4438(8) eV is obtained for the Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2} neutral cluster, as well as two vibrational frequencies at 57 ± 8 and 305 ± 13 cm{sup −1}. Hot bands transitions yield two vibrational frequencies for Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}{sup −} at 57 ± 10 and 144 ± 12 cm{sup −1}. The obtained vibrational and electronic structure information is compared with density functional calculations, unequivocally confirming that both Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2}{sup −} and Au{sub 2}Al{sub 2} possess C{sub 2v} tetrahedral structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ab-initio study of structural, mechanical and electronic properties of functionalized carbon nanotubes

We present exemplary results of extensive studies of structural, mechanical and electronic properties of covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We report new results for metallic (9,0), and semiconducting (10,0) single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT) functionalized with -COOH, -OH, and both groups with concentration up to 12.5%. Our studies are performed in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). We discuss here the stability, local and global changes in structure, elastic moduli (Young's, Shear, and Bulk), electronic structure and resulting band gaps, as a function of the density of the adsorbed molecules.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

From lows to highs: using low-resolution models to phase X-ray data

An unusual example of how virus structure determination pushes the limits of the molecular replacement method is presented. The study of virus structures has contributed to methodological advances in structural biology that are generally applicable (molecular replacement and noncrystallographic symmetry are just two of the best known examples). Moreover, structural virology has been instrumental in forging the more general concept of exploiting phase information derived from multiple structural techniques. This hybridization of structural methods, primarily electron microscopy (EM) and X-ray crystallography, but also small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, is central to integrative structural biology. Here, the interplay of X-ray crystallography and EM is illustrated through the example of the structural determination of the marine lipid-containing bacteriophage PM2. Molecular replacement starting from an ∼13 Å cryo-EM reconstruction, followed by cycling density averaging, phase extension and solvent flattening, gave the X-ray structure of the intact virus at 7 Å resolution This in turn served as a bridge to phase, to 2.5 Å resolution, data from twinned crystals of the major coat protein (P2), ultimately yielding a quasi-atomic model of the particle, which provided significant insights into virus evolution and viral membrane biogenesis.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1988

Scanning tunneling microscopy characterization of the geometric and electronic structure of hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) methods are used to characterize hydrogen-terminated Si surfaces prepared by a novel method. The surface preparation method is used to expose the Si-SiO2 interface. STM images directly reveal the topographic structure of the Si-SiO2 interface. The dependence of interface topography on oxide preparation conditions observed by STM is compared to the results of conventional surface characterization methods. Also, the electronic structure of the hydrogen-terminated surface is studied by STM spectroscopy. The near-ideal electronic structure of this surface enables direct tunnel spectroscopy measurements of Schottky barrier phenomena. In addition, this method enables probing of semiconductor subsurface properties by STM.

Kaiser, W. J.↗