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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 145 records · Page 8

The partial reduction of clean and doped alpha-Fe2O3(0001) from first principles

Fe surfaces have a wide range of applications due to the ability of Fe to be present in a number of different oxidation states, which can be further influenced by the presence of dopants that change the energetic and electronic surface properties. Thus, having an understanding of the elementary reduction processes of clean Fe oxide surfaces, and how dopants affect the energetics and electronics of such processes, is crucial to the science-guided design and optimization of said surfaces. In this work, we use density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the partial reduction of a-Fe2O3(0001) in the absence and presence of Pd and Pt dopants. In order to account for the strong on-site Coulombic interactions present in transition metal oxides, we used both the DFT?+?U method and 2006 Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof functional and compare the results obtained from the different methods. We find that oxygen vacancies created in the clean a-Fe2O3(0001) surface prefer to diffuse into a subsurface layer, with the charge left behind from the first surface oxygen vacancy distributing between all of the near surface Fe atoms. The addition of Pd or Pt to the a-Fe2O3(0001) surface significantly decreases the energy required to create the first surface oxygen vacancy, suggesting the dopants intrinsically promote the reduction of a-Fe2O3(0001). Additionally, the presence of the dopants caused the charge left behind by the creation of the first surface oxygen vacancy to be localized on the dopant itself as well as the highest Fe atom. Overall, this work provides insight into the elementary energetic and electronic properties of the fully oxidized and partially reduced a-Fe2O3(0001) surface in the absence and presence of Pd and Pt dopants, which has potential implications for the design and optimization of doped Fe oxide surfaces.

Hensley, Alyssa↗

Modeling the adsorbate coverage distribution over a multi-faceted catalytic grain in the presence of an electric field: O/Fe from first principles

The impact of an external electric field on the concerted behavior of oxygen over a multi-faceted catalytic Fe grain is determined via the interpolation of ab initio models of oxygen adsorption on Fe(100), Fe(110), and Fe(111) in the presence of an external electric field. The application of both negative and positive electric fields weaken the adsorption strength for oxygen on all three surface facets, with Fe(110) experiencing the greatest effect. Kinetic models of a multi-faceted catalytic Fe grain show that the average oxygen coverage over the grain surface is reduced under the influence of both a negative and positive electric field, which are consistent with phase diagram results at comparable pressures. Furthermore, we show that there is a weak synergistic effect between a Pd promoter and a positive electric field on the oxygen adsorption energy, i.e. the Pd promoter and electric field combination weaken the oxygen adsorption energy to a greater degree than the simple addition of both components separately. Overall, the work shows that the application of an applied external electric field may be a useful tool in fine-tuning chemical properties of Fe-based catalysts in hydrodeoxygenation applications.

Bray, Jacob E.↗

Impact of solutes on the lattice parameters and elastic stiffness coefficients of hcp Fe from first-principles calculations

The hexagonal close-packed (hcp) -martensite phase in steels nucleates from the -austenite parent phase and can undergo further transformation to the -martensite phase or exist as a metastable phase depending on temperature, mechanical loading, and alloy chemistry. The solute-dependent lattice parameters and elastic stiffness coefficients of hcp Fe influence the mechanical properties of steels containing the -martensite phase, as well as the martensitic transformations between the phases. We use density functional theory to calculate the lattice parameters and of single-crystal hcp Fe as functions of solute concentration in the dilute limit for the substitutional solutes Al, B, Cu, Mn, and Si, and the octahedral interstitial solutes C and N. Our computationally efficient methodology separates the solute dependence of the into lattice strain and chemical bonding contributions. The computed data can be used to estimate the effect of solutes on polycrystalline elastic moduli and the strain energy associated with martensitic transformations. The data can also serve as inputs to microstructure-based models of multiphase steels containing the -martensite phase.

Fellinger, Michael R.↗

Magic Numbers in Small Iron Clusters: A First-Principles Study

We perform ab initio spin-polarized density functional calculations of Fen aggregates with n ≤ 17 atoms to reveal the origin of the observed magic numbers, which indicate particularly high stability of clusters with 7, 13 and 15 atoms. Our results clarify the controversy regarding the ground state geometry of clusters such as Fe5and indicate that magnetism plays an important role in determining the stability and magic numbers in small iron clusters.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗