Band Structure Engineering and Optical Properties of Pristine and Doped Monoclinic Zirconia (m-ZrO2): Density Functional Theory Theoretical Prospective
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Khattab E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8582270 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Monoclinic ZrO2 has recently emerged as a new highly efficient material for the photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications. Herein, first-principles calculations were carried out to understand how Hydrogen doping can affect the electronic structure and optical properties of the material. The effects of Hydrogen interstitial and substitutional doping at different sites and concentrations in m-ZrO2 were examined by an extensive model study to predict the best structure with the optimal properties for use in solar energy conversion devices. Hydrogen interstitials (Hi) in pristine m-ZrO2 were found to lower the formation energy but without useful effects on the electronic or optical properties. Hydrogen mono- and co-occupying oxygen vacancy (Ov) were also investigated. At low concentration of Hydrogen mono-occupying oxygen vacancy (HOv), Hydrogen atoms introduced shallow states below the conduction band minimum (CBM) and increase the dielectric constant, which could be very useful for gate dielectric application. The number and position of such defect states strongly depend on the doping sites and concentration. At high oxygen vacancy concentration, the modeled HOv-Ov structure shows the formation of shallow and localized states that are only 1.1?eV below the CBM with significantly high dielectric constant and extended optical absorption to the infrared region. This strong absorption with the high permittivity and low exciton binding energies make the material an ideal candidate for use in solar energy harvesting devices. Finally, the band edge positions of pristine and doped structures with respect to the redox potentials of water splitting indicated that Hydrogen occupying oxygen vacancies can increase the photocatalytic activity of the material for hydrogen generation due the extremely improved optical absorption and the band gap states.
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Project description:Carbon deposition following thermal methane decomposition under dry and steam reforming conditions has been studied on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Y2O3, and ZrO2 by a range of different chemical, structural, and spectroscopic characterization techniques, including aberration-corrected electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electric impedance spectroscopy, and volumetric adsorption techniques. Concordantly, all experimental techniques reveal the formation of a conducting layer of disordered nanocrystalline graphite covering the individual grains of the respective pure oxides after treatment in dry methane at temperatures T ? 1000 K. In addition, treatment under moist methane conditions causes additional formation of carbon-nanotube-like architectures by partial detachment of the graphite layers. All experiments show that during carbon growth, no substantial reduction of any of the oxides takes place. Our results, therefore, indicate that these pure oxides can act as efficient nonmetallic substrates for methane-induced growth of different carbon species with potentially important implications regarding their use in solid oxide fuel cells. Moreover, by comparing the three oxides, we could elucidate differences in the methane reactivities of the respective SOFC-relevant purely oxidic surfaces under typical SOFC operation conditions without the presence of metallic constituents.
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Project description:Bulk ZrO2 is both nonreducible and nonmagnetic. Recent experimental results show that dopant-free, oxygen-deficient ZrO2-x nanostructures exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature (RT). Here, we provide a comprehensive theoretical foundation for the observed RT ferromagnetism of zirconia nanostructures. ZrO2 nanoparticles containing up to 700 atoms (3 nm) have been studied with the help of density functional theory. Oxygen vacancies in ZrO2 nanoparticles form more easily than in bulk zirconia and result in electrons trapped in 4d levels of low-coordinated Zr ions. Provided the number of these sites exceeds that of excess electrons, the resulting ground state is high spin and the ordering is ferromagnetic. The work provides a general basis to explain magnetism in intrinsically nonmagnetic oxides without the help of dopants.
| S-EPMC6641900 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Electromagnetic responses in superconductors provide valuable information on the pairing symmetry as well as physical quantities such as the superfluid density. However, at the superconducting gap energy scale, optical excitations of the Bogoliugov quasiparticles are forbidden in conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductors when momentum is conserved. Accordingly, far-infrared optical responses have been understood in the framework of a dirty-limit theory by Mattis and Bardeen for over 60 years. Here we show, by investigating the selection rules imposed by particle-hole symmetry and unitary symmetries, that intrinsic momentum-conserving optical excitations can occur in clean multi-band superconductors when one of the following three conditions is satisfied: (i) inversion symmetry breaking, (ii) symmetry protection of the Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces, or (iii) simply finite spin-orbit coupling with unbroken time reversal and inversion symmetries. This result indicates that clean-limit optical responses are common beyond the straightforward case of broken inversion symmetry. We apply our theory to optical responses in FeSe, a clean multi-band superconductor with inversion symmetry and significant spin-orbit coupling. This result paves the way for studying clean-limit superconductors through optical measurements.
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Project description:We investigated the chemical pressure effects on structural and electronic properties of SnTe-based material using partial substitution of Sn by Ag0.5Bi0.5, which results in lattice shrinkage. For Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained with a wide range of x. On the basis of band calculations, we confirmed that the Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe system is basically possessing band inversion and topologically preserved electronic states. To explore new superconducting phases related to the topological electronic states, we investigated the In-doping effects on structural and superconducting properties for x = 0.33 (AgSnBiTe3). For (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained for y = 0-0.5 by high-pressure synthesis. Superconductivity was observed for y = 0.2-0.5. For y = 0.4, the transition temperature estimated from zero-resistivity state was 2.4 K, and the specific heat investigation confirmed the emergence of bulk superconductivity. Because the presence of band inversion was theoretically predicted, and the parameters obtained from specific heat analyses were comparable to In-doped SnTe, we expect that the (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe and other (Ag, In, Sn, Bi)Te phases are candidate systems for studying topological superconductivity.
| S-EPMC8613227 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Among the different strategies that are being developed to solve the current energy challenge, harvesting energy directly from sunlight through a tandem photoelectrochemical cell (water splitting) is most attractive. Its implementation requires the development of stable and efficient photocathodes, NdFeO3 being a suitable candidate among ternary oxides. In this study, transparent NdFeO3 thin-film photocathodes have been successfully prepared by a citric acid-based sol-gel procedure, followed by thermal treatment in air at 640 °C. These electrodes show photocurrents for both the hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions. Doping with Mg2+ and Zn2+ has been observed to significantly enhance the photoelectrocatalytic performance of NdFeO3 toward oxygen reduction. Magnesium is slightly more efficient as a dopant than Zn, leading to a multiplication of the photocurrent by a factor of 4-5 for a doping level of 5 at % (with respect to iron atoms). This same trend is observed for hydrogen evolution. The beneficial effect of doping is primarily attributed to an increase in the density and a change in the nature of the majority charge carriers. DFT calculations help to rationalize the behavior of NdFeO3 by pointing to the importance of nanostructuring and doping. All in all, NdFeO3 has the potential to be used as a photocathode in photoelectrochemical applications, although efforts should be directed to limit surface recombination.
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Project description:In the present work, the activity of Ce and Er-doped ZrO2 nanopowders for sun-driven photocatalytic water oxidation has been investigated. ZrO2 powders with tunable amounts of tetragonal, monoclinic and cubic polymorphs have been synthesized by introducing Ce and Er (from 0.5 to 10 mol % on an oxide basis) through hydrothermal method. The aim of this work is to investigate the role of rare earth (RE) ions rich of electrons (Er3+) and with entirely empty levels (Ce4+) in the ZrO2 matrix for the sun-driven photocatalytic water oxidation reaction. The samples have been characterized by means of UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectrophotometry (XPS) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). With respect to the bare ZrO2 mainly containing monoclinic (m-) phase, an increasing amount of rare-earth (RE) dopant was found to improve the specific BET surface area and to stabilize the tetragonal (t-) or cubic (c-) polymorphs of ZrO2 at room temperature. XRD data confirmed that dopants were mainly inserted in the t-ZrO2 phase. The photocatalytic O2 evolution from water under AM 1.5 G simulated sunlight illumination of the prepared samples have been correlated with their optical, structural and chemical properties. The effect of the dopant concentration on the chemical-physical and photocatalytic properties of the Er- and Ce-doped ZrO2 materials was elucidated. The samples with 5% of RE oxide were the most active, i.e., three times more than pure zirconia. Their superior photocatalytic activity was found to be mainly correlated to two factors: (i) an optimal surface concentration of RE ions of about 3.7%, which increased charge carriers separation in the photocatalysts surface due more superficial defects of the t-ZrO2 and a higher surface area, thus enhancing the reaction kinetics, (ii) a controlled amount of monoclinic vs. tetragonal (or cubic) polymorphs of zirconia with an optimum ratio of about 70/30 of t-ZrO2/m-ZrO2. Instead, the increased ability of the RE-doped ZrO2 to harvest visible light was found to have a secondary role on the photocatalytic activity of the Ce-doped ZrO2 material.
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Project description:The unfolded band structure and optical properties of Cu-doped KCl crystals were computed by first principles within the framework of density functional theory, implemented in the ABINIT software program, utilizing pseudopotential approximation and a plane-wave basis set. From a theoretical point of view, Cu substitution into pristine KCl crystals requires calculation by the supercell (SC) method. This procedure shrinks the Brillouin zone, resulting in a folded band structure that is difficult to interpret. To solve this problem and gain insight into the effect of copper ions (Cu+) on electronic properties, the band structure of SC KCl:Cu was unfolded to make a direct comparison with the band structure of the primitive cell (PC) of pristine KCl. To understand the effect of Cu substitution on optical absorption, we calculated the imaginary part of the dielectric function of KCl:Cu through a sum-over-states formalism and broke it down into different band contributions by partially making an iterated cumulative sum (ICS) of selected valence and conduction bands. Consequently, we identified those interband transitions that give rise to the absorption peaks due to the Cu+ ion. These transitions involve valence and conduction bands formed by the Cu-3d and Cu-4s electronic states.
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Project description:We investigate the relationships between open-shell character and longitudinal static second hyperpolarizabilities γ for one-hole-doped diradicaloids using the strong-correlated ab initio molecular orbital methods and simple one-dimensional (1D) three-site two-electron (3s-2e) models. As examples of one-hole-doped diradicaloids, we examine H3 +, methyl radical trimer cation ((CH3)3 +), silyl radical trimer cation ((SiH3)3 +), and 1,2,3,5-dithiadizolyl trimer cation (DTDA3 +). For H3 +, the static γ exhibits negative values and shows a monotonic increase in amplitude with an increase in the open-shell character defined by a neighbor-site interaction (y S). On the other hand, it is found for (CH3)3 +, (SiH3)3 +, and DTDA3 + that the static γ value exhibits similar behavior to that for H3 + up to an intermediate y S value, while it takes the negative maximum at a large y S value, followed by a decrease in γ amplitude, and subsequently, γ changes to positive values with a drastic increase for larger y S values. For example, in DTDA3 +, the negative/positive γ values, -69 × 105/700 × 105 au at y S = 0.75/0.87, exhibit significant enhancements in amplitude, 2.4/24 times as large as that (-29 × 105 au) at intermediate y S = 0.59 as is often the case in DTDA2. Using the 1D 3s-2e valence-bond configuration interaction model, these sign inversions and drastic increase in the amplitude of γ are found to originate in the differences in Coulomb interactions between valence electrons, between valence and core electrons, and between valence electrons and nuclei. These results contribute to pave the way for the construction of novel control guidelines for the amplitude and sign of γ for one-hole-doped diradicaloids.
| S-EPMC7860065 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Taking inspiration from natural photonic crystal architectures, we report herein the successful fabrication of zirconia inverse opal (ZrO2 IO) thin-film photonic crystals possessing striking iridescence at visible wavelengths. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) colloidal crystal thin films (synthetic opals) were first deposited on glass microscope slides, after which the interstitial voids in the films were filled with a Zr(IV) sol. Controlled calcination of the resulting composite films yielded iridescent ZrO2 IO thin films with pseudo photonic band gaps (PBGs) along the surface normal at visible wavelengths. The PBG position was dependent on the macropore diameter (D) in the inverse opals (and thus proportional to the diameter of the PMMA colloids in the sacrificial templates), the incident angle of light with respect to the surface normal (θ), and also the refractive index of the medium filling the macropores, all of which were accurately described by a modified Bragg's law expression. Au/ZrO2 IO catalysts prepared using the ZrO2 IO films demonstrated outstanding performance for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in the presence of NaBH4, which can be attributed to the interconnected macroporosity in the films, which afforded a high Au nanoparticle dispersion and also facile diffusion of 4-nitrophenol to the catalytically active Au sites.
| S-EPMC6645476 | biostudies-literature