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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

The electronic properties and lattice dynamics of (Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5})TiO{sub 3}: From cubic to tetragonal and rhombohedral phases

The structural, electronic and dynamical properties of the cubic, tetragonal and rhombohedral phases of a lead-free ferroelectrics, (Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5})TiO{sub 3} (NBT), have been studied with a density functional formalism. The direct band gap is determined to be 2∼3 eV for three phases, suggesting them to be good optical material. The equilibrium structures were given, and the importance of Bi atom in the low-symmetry ferroelectric phases were investigated with the electron localization functions analysis. The vibration modes at the Γ point were calculated to provide a basis for analyzing the Raman and IR spectra. Soft modes were found in both the cubic and the tetragonal phases, providing a clue in understanding the ferroelectric phase transition in NBT.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic structure and optical properties of CdS{sub x}Se{sub 1−x} solid solution nanostructures from X-ray absorption near edge structure, X-ray excited optical luminescence, and density functional theory investigations

The electronic structure and optical properties of a series of iso-electronic and iso-structural CdS{sub x}Se{sub 1−x} solid solution nanostructures have been investigated using X-ray absorption near edge structure, extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and X-ray excited optical luminescence at various absorption edges of Cd, S, and Se. It is found that the system exhibits compositions, with variable local structure in-between that of CdS and CdSe accompanied by tunable optical band gap between that of CdS and CdSe. Theoretical calculation using density functional theory has been carried out to elucidate the observations. It is also found that luminescence induced by X-ray excitation shows new optical channels not observed previously with laser excitation. The implications of these observations are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic structures and optical properties of two-dimensional ScN and YN nanosheets

Two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit different electronic properties than their bulk materials. Here, we present a systematic study of 2D tetragonal materials of ScN and YN using density functional theory calculations. Several thermodynamically stable 2D tetragonal structures were determined, and such novel tetragonal structures have good electronic and optical properties. Both bulk ScN and YN are indirect band gap semiconductors while the electronic structures of 2D ScN and YN are indirect gap semiconductors, with band gaps of 0.62–2.21 eV. The calculated optical spectra suggest that 2D tetragonal ScN and YN nanosheets have high visible light absorption efficiency. These electronic properties indicate that 2D ScN and YN have great potential for applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electronic Structure of OR-AgInS{sub 2} and TiO{sub 2} Crystals and Its Differential Characteristics

The electronic structures of orthorhombic silver–indium sulfide and rutile titanium oxide were calculated within the framework of density functional theory using the basis of numerical pseudoatomic orbitals in the LDA and GGA approximations. The features of their electron energy spectra and the character of chemical bonds were considered. The comparative analysis of obtained bandgap widths and effective masses determined for heavy electrons and holes in the Brillouin zone center on the basis of analytical derivatives of one-electron energies was performed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Halogen Passivation of a Surface on Radiative and Nonradiative Transitions in Silicon Nanocrystals

Within the framework of the density functional theory, the electron structure and the rates of radiative electron–hole transitions and Auger recombination were calculated for silicon nanocrystals, up to 2.5 nm in size, on the surface of which dangling bonds were saturated with chlorine or bromine atoms. Both the radiative and Auger processes were found to be very slow compared with the case of hydrogen cover, which is evidence in favor of the effectiveness of the influence of the “surface chemistry” factor on the electronic and optical properties of nanocrystals.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Isolating solvent–solute hydrogen bonding interactions via 2D IR solvation shell spectroscopy

The solvation shell around a solute is a fundamental feature of liquid-phase solutions, determining the behavior and properties of both the solute and the overall solution. Direct experimental measurements of the solvation shell properties are challenging due to the strong signals generated from the bulk solvent, which overwhelm the small contribution of the solvation shell. Here, we use ultrafast two dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy and intermolecular cross-peaks to isolate the IR absorption spectrum of methanol molecules in the solvation shell surrounding the solute N-methylacetamide. We demonstrate that the intermolecular coupling between the solvent and solute vibrations is indirectly mediated by a low-frequency hydrogen-bonding mode, suggesting an important mechanism for anharmonic coupling induced by hydrogen bonds. From the relative frequency shifts and cross-peak anisotropy, we find that methanol molecules surrounding N-methylacetamide form stronger and distinctly oriented hydrogen bonds than those in the bulk solvent. Here, we also compare these results with the solvent spectra of the solute N,N-dimethylacetamide to investigate how solute structural changes alter the solvation shell and the contribution of N–H hydrogen bond donation. Our results are supported by molecular dynamics simulations, which provide detailed insights into the hydrogen-bonding distributions. Through these results, we demonstrate 2D solvation shell spectroscopy to be a valuable method for investigating solvation structures and dynamics without interference from the bulk solvent.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Analytic gradients for the single-reference driven similarity renormalization group second-order perturbation theory

Herein we derive and implement analytic energy gradients for the single-reference driven similarity renormalization group second-order perturbation theory (DSRG-PT2). The resulting equations possess an asymptotic scaling that is identical to that of the second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), indicating that the exponential regularizer in the DSRG equations does not introduce formal difficulties in the gradient theory. We apply the DSRG-PT2 method to optimizing the geometries of 15 small molecules. The equilibrium bond lengths computed with DSRG-PT2 are found similar to those of MP2, yielding a mean absolute error of 0.0033 Å and a standard deviation of 0.0045 Å when compared with coupled cluster with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples.

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

Synthesis, crystal and electronic structures and magnetic properties of Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8}: A novel reduced molybdenum oxide containing Mo{sub 3}O{sub 13} cluster units

Powder samples and single crystals of the quaternary oxide Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8} were obtained by solid state reaction. The structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8} crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P6{sub 3}mc with unit-cell parameters a=5.7720 (2) Å, c=10.3941 (3) Å and Z=2. Full-matrix least-squares refinement on F{sup 2} using 930 independent reflections for 31 refinable parameters results in R{sub 1}=0.0354 and wR{sub 2}=0.0643. The crystal structure consists of distorted hexagonal-close-packed oxygen layers with stacking sequence abac along [0 0 1] and that are held together by alternating lithium-tin and molybdenum layers. The Li{sup +} and Sn{sup 4+} ions occupy, respectively, tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the ratio 2:1. The Mo atoms occupy octahedral sites and form strongly bonded triangular clusters involving three MoO{sub 6} octahedra that are each shared along two edges, constituting a Mo{sub 3}O{sub 13} unit. Magnetic susceptibility measurements are in agreement with a spin-pairing of the eight d electrons per Mo{sub 3} cluster. The electronic structure of Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8} is analyzed using periodic density functional calculations. - Graphical abstract: We present here the synthesis, the crystal and electronic structures, and the magnetic properties of the new quaternary compound containing Mo{sub 3}O{sub 13} units, Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8}. - Highlights: • The new quaternary reduced molybdenum oxide containing Mo{sub 3} clusters, Li{sub 2}SnMo{sub 3}O{sub 8}, was synthesized by solid state reaction. • Eight electrons per Mo{sub 3} cluster. • Single-crystal X-ray study. • Magnetic susceptibility measurements. • Periodic density functional calculations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Magnetic interactions in praseodymium ruthenate Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} with fluorite-related structure

Solid solutions Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7} (0≤x≤1.0) and (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7} (0≤x≤0.7) were obtained as a single phase compound. They crystallize in an orthorhombic superstructure derived from that of the cubic fluorite with space group Cmcm. The results of the Rietveld analysis for X-ray diffraction profiles of Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7} showed that Ru and Ta atoms are randomly situated at the six-coordinate 4b site. For (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7}, with increasing the concentration of Y ions (x value), the smaller Y ions occupy selectively the seven-coordinate 8g site rather than the eight-coordinate 4a site. Through magnetic susceptibility measurements for Pr{sub 3}(Ru{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x})O{sub 7}, the antiferromagnetic transition temperatures decrease linearly with increasing x value, and at x=0.75 no magnetic ordering was found down to 1.8 K, indicating the magnetic interaction is not one-dimensional, but three-dimensional. On the other hand, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature for (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7} decreases with increasing x value, but above x≥0.50 it becomes constant (~12 K). This result indicates that Pr{sup 3+} ions at the seven-coordinate site greatly contribute to the antiferromagnetic interactions observed in (Pr{sub 1-x}Y{sub x}){sub 3}RuO{sub 7}. Density functional calculations of Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} demonstrate that the electronic structure gives insulating character and that oxygen 2p orbitals hybridize strongly with Ru 4d orbitals in the valence band (VB). Near the top of VB, the Pr 4 f orbitals at the seven-coordinated site also show a weak hybridization with the O(1) 2p orbitals. The Ru-O(1)-Pr superexchange pathway take part in three-dimensional magnetic interaction and play an important role in an enhancement of long-range magnetic ordering. - Graphical abstract: The spin densities and the spin polarization of Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} are shown. Significant spin polarization is seen on the magnetic Pr and Ru ions, but there is also some on the O(1), (3) ligands of Ru. - Highlights: • New fluorite-related quaternary praseodymium ruthenates were prepared. • Pr{sub 3}RuO{sub 7} shows an antiferromagnetic transition at 55 K. • The Ru-O-Pr superexchange interactions are three-dimensional.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Phase stability in the Hf-N and Zr-N systems

Hf and Zr nitrides are promising compounds for many technologically important areas, including high-temperature structural applications, quantum computing, and solar and optical applications. Here, this article reports on a comprehensive first-principles statistical mechanics study of phase stability in the Hf-N and Zr-N binary systems. A high solubility of nitrogen in the hcp forms of Hf and Zr is predicted. The rocksalt forms of HfN and ZrN can also tolerate a high degree of off-stoichiometry through the introduction of nitrogen and metal vacancies. The Hf-N binary favors a family of stacking faulted parent crystal structures at intermediate nitrogen concentrations that host a unique form of short-range order among nitrogen interstitials and vacancies. These phases can accommodate some degree of configurational entropy and remain ordered to temperatures as high as 1200 K.

Monte Carlo methods↗
DOE OSTI2018

Chemical Shift of the K{sub α1} and K{sub α2} Lines of the X-ray Emission Spectrum of Yb(II)/Yb(III) Fluorides: a Quantum-Chemical Investigation

Chemical shifts of the K{sub α1} and K{sub α2} lines (the 2p{sub 3/2} → 1s{sub 1/2} and 2p{sub 1/2} → 1s{sub 1/2} transitions, respectively) of the X-ray emission spectrum of the Yb atom in fluorides have been calculated by ab initio modeling the electronic structure. The valence transition Yb(II) → Yb(III) has been analyzed by examples of YbF{sub 2}, YbF{sub 3}, and Yb{sub 2}F{sub 4} molecules and YbF{sub 2}{sup +} cation. The relativistic pseudopotential and basis sets corresponding to it have been constructed for the ytterbium atom. They were used in calculations by the two-component noncollinear version of the density functional theory (DFT) with the PBE0 exchange-correlation functional. Results for the three-coordinated Yb(II) in the FYbF{sub 2}YbF dimer demonstrated a very weak dependence of the chemical shift on the coordination number of the Yb atom and on the molecular association of ytterbium difluoride. Chemical shifts of the X-ray emission spectrum for the ytterbium compound are related mainly to the change in the occupation of the 4 f shell.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Phonons of metallic hydrogen with quantum Monte Carlo

Here, we describe a simple scheme to perform phonon calculations with quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods and demonstrate it on metallic hydrogen. Because of the energy and length scales of metallic hydrogen and the statistical noise inherent to QMC methods, the conventional manner of calculating force constants is prohibitively expensive. We show that our alternate approach is nearly 100 times more efficient in resolving the force constants needed to calculate the phonon spectrum in the harmonic approximation. This requires only the calculation of atomic forces, as in the conventional approach, and otherwise little or no programmatic modification.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

A nearsighted force-training approach to systematically generate training data for the machine learning of large atomic structures

A challenge of atomistic machine-learning (ML) methods is ensuring that the training data are suitable for the system being simulated, which is particularly challenging for systems with large numbers of atoms. Most atomistic ML approaches rely on the nearsightedness principle (“all chemistry is local”), using information about the position of an atom’s neighbors to predict a per-atom energy. Here, in this work, we develop a framework that exploits the nearsighted nature of ML models to systematically produce an appropriate training set for large structures. We use a per-atom uncertainty estimate to identify the most uncertain atoms and extract chunks centered around these atoms. It is crucial that these small chunks are both large enough to satisfy the ML’s nearsighted principle (that is, filling the cutoff radius) and are large enough to be converged with respect to the electronic structure calculation. We present data indicating when the electronic structure calculations are converged with respect to the structure size, which fundamentally limits the accuracy of any nearsighted ML calculator. These new atomic chunks are calculated in electronic structures, and crucially, only a single force—that of the central atom—is added to the growing training set, preventing the noisy and irrelevant information from the piece’s boundary from interfering with ML training. The resulting ML potentials are robust, despite requiring single-point calculations on only small reference structures and never seeing large training structures. We demonstrated our approach via structure optimization of a 260-atom structure and extended the approach to clusters with up to 1415 atoms.

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

Electronic structures and water reactivity of mixed metal sulfide cluster anions

The electronic structures and chemical reactivity of the mixed metal sulfide cluster anion (MoWS{sub 4}{sup −}) have been investigated with density functional theory. Our study reveals the presence of two almost isoenergetic structural isomers, both containing two bridging sulfur atoms in a quartet state. However, the arrangement of the terminal sulfur atoms is different in the two isomers. In one isomer, the two metals are in the same oxidation state (each attached to one terminal S). In the second isomer, the two metals are in different oxidation states (with W in the higher oxidation state attached to both terminal S). The reactivity of water with the two lowest energy isomers has also been studied, with an emphasis on pathways leading to H{sub 2} release. The reactive behavior of the two isomers is different though the overall barriers in both systems are small. The origin of the differences are analyzed and discussed. The reaction pathways and barriers are compared with the corresponding behavior of monometallic sulfides (Mo{sub 2}S{sub 4}{sup −} and W{sub 2}S{sub 4}{sup −}) as well as mixed metal oxides (MoWO{sub 4}{sup −})

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

Molecular reorganization of selected quinoline derivatives in the ground and excited states—Investigations via static DFT

Quinoline derivatives are interesting objects to study internal reorganizations due to the observed excited-state-induced intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). Here, we report on computations for selected 12 quinoline derivatives possessing three kinds of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Density functional theory was employed for the current investigations. The metric and electronic structure simulations were performed for the ground state and first excited singlet and triplet states. The computed potential energy profiles do not show a spontaneous proton transfer in the ground state, whereas excited states exhibit this phenomenon. Atoms in Molecules (AIM) theory was applied to study the nature of hydrogen bonding, whereas Harmonic Oscillator Model of aromaticity index (HOMA) provided data of aromaticity evolution as a derivative of the bridge proton position. The AIM-based topological analysis confirmed the presence of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding. In addition, using the theory, we were able to provide a quantitative illustration of bonding transformation: from covalent to the hydrogen. On the basis of HOMA analysis, we showed that the aromaticity of both rings is dependent on the location of the bridge proton. Further, the computed results were compared with experimental data available. Finally, ESIPT occurrence was compared for the three investigated kinds of hydrogen bridges, and competition between two bridges in one molecule was studied.

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

New ternary tantalum borides containing boron dumbbells: Experimental and theoretical studies of Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB

The new ternary transition metal-rich borides Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB have been successfully synthesized by arc-melting the elements in a water-cooled crucible under an argon atmosphere. The crystal structures of both compounds were solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and their metal compositions were confirmed by EDX analysis. It was found that Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB crystallize in the tetragonal Nb{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} (space group P4/mnc, no. 128) and the orthorhombic NbRuB (space group Pmma, no. 51) structure types with lattice parameters a=5.878(2) Å, c=6.857(2) Å and a=10.806(2) Å, b=3.196(1) Å, c=6.312(2) Å, respectively. Furthermore, crystallographic, electronic and bonding characteristics have been studied by density functional theory (DFT). Electronic structure relaxation has confirmed the crystallographic parameters while COHP bonding analysis indicates that B{sub 2}-dummbells are the strongest bonds in both compounds. Moreover, the formation of osmium dumbbells in Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} through a Peierls distortion along the c-axis, is found to be the origin of superstructure formation. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the two phases are Pauli paramagnets, thus confirming the theoretical DOS prediction of metallic character. Also hints of superconductivity are found in the two phases, however lack of single phase samples has prevented confirmation. Furthermore, the thermodynamic stability of the two modifications of AMB (A=Nb, Ta; M =Ru, Os) are studied using DFT, as new possible phases containing either B{sub 4}- or B{sub 2}-units are predicted, the former being the most thermodynamically stable modification. - Graphical abstract: The two new ternary tantalum borides, Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB, have been discovered. Their crystal structures contain boron dumbbells, which are the strongest bonds. Peirls distortion is found responsible for Os{sub 2}-dumbbells formation in Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2}. Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB are Pauli paramagnet and potential superconductors. - Highlights: • Two new ternary tantalum borides, Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB, discovered. • Boron dumbbells are the strongest bonds in Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB. • Peierls distortion responsible for Os{sub 2}-dumbbells formation in Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2.} • Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB are Pauli paramagnet. • Ta{sub 2}OsB{sub 2} and TaRuB contain pseudogaps and are potential superconductors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of layered REB{sub 2}C compounds (RE=Dy, Tm, Lu)

The crystal structure of LuB{sub 2}C has been determined from single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction data. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbam (a=6.7429(1) A, b=6.7341(1) A, c=3.5890(1) A, Z=4, R1=0.024 (wR2=0.059) for 436 reflections with I{sub o}>2{sigma}(I{sub o})). The compounds REB{sub 2}C (RE=Y, Tb-Lu) are isotypic. The boron and carbon atoms form infinite, planar two-dimensional nets which alternate with sheets of rare-earth metal atoms. Inside the nonmetal atom nets, a coloring with fused B{sub 2}C{sub 2} rhombuses and B{sub 5}C{sub 2} heptagons is proposed, supported by NMR experiments and density functional theory calculations. The calculated density of states of LuB{sub 2}C indicates this compound to be metallic. The magnetic properties of the isotypic compound TmB{sub 2}C, has been measured in the temperature range 2 K 3 T a metamagnetic transition is encountered. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity proves the metallic character of the TmB{sub 2}C compound as well as the AFM ordering. - Graphical abstract: The crystal structure of LuB{sub 2}C has been determined from single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction data. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbam. The compounds REB{sub 2}C (RE=Y, Tb-Lu) are isotypic. The boron and carbon atoms form infinite, planar two-dimensional nets which alternate with sheets of rare-earth metal atoms. Inside the nonmetal atom nets, a coloring with fused B{sub 2}C{sub 2} rhombuses and B{sub 5}C{sub 2} heptagons is proposed, supported by NMR experiments and density functional theory calculations. The magnetic properties of the isotypic compound TmB{sub 2}C, has been measured in the temperature range 2 K 3 T a metamagnetic transition is encountered. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity proves the metallic character of the TmB{sub 2}C compound as well as the AFM ordering. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer LuB{sub 2}C compound crystallizes in orthorhombic symmetry. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In the structure the B{sub 2}C layers are stacked directly on top of each other. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A coloring with fused B{sub 2}C{sub 2} rhombuses and B{sub 5}C{sub 2} heptagons is proposed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The coloring is supported by NMR experiments and theoretical calculations. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer TmB{sub 2}C undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at T{sub N}=12 K at elevated fields.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

A hybrid-exchange density functional study of the bonding and electronic structure in bulk CuFeS{sub 2}

The geometric, electronic, and magnetic properties of bulk chalcopyrite CuFeS{sub 2} have been investigated using hybrid-exchange density functional theory calculations. The results are compared with available theoretical and experimental data. The theoretical description of the bonding and electronic structure in CuFeS{sub 2} is analyzed in detail and compared to those computed for chalcocite (CuS{sub 2}) and greigite (Fe{sub 3}S{sub 4}). In particular, the behavior of the 3d electrons of Fe{sup 3+} is discussed in terms of the Hubbard-Anderson model in the strongly correlated regime and found to be similarly described in both materials by an on-site Coulomb repulsion (U) of ∼8.9 eV and a transfer integral (t) of ∼0.3 eV.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗