Unsaturated bi-heterometal clusters in metal-vacancy sites of 2D MoS2 for efficient hydrogen evolution

The valence states and coordination structures of doped heterometal atoms in two-dimensional(2D)nanomaterials lack predictable regulation strategies.Hence,a robust method is proposed to form unsaturated heteroatom clusters via the metal-vacancy restraint mechanism,which can precisely regulate the bonding and valence state of heterometal atoms doped in 2D molybdenum disulfide.The unsaturated valence state of heterometal Pt and Ru cluster atoms form a spatial coordination structure with Pt–S and Ru–O–S as catalytically active sites.Among them,the strong binding energy of negatively charged suspended S and O sites for H+,as well as the weak adsorption of positively charged unsaturated heterometal atoms for H*,reduces the energy barrier of the hydrogen evolution reaction proved by theoretical calculation.Whereupon,the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance is markedly improved by the ensemble effect of unsaturated heterometal atoms and highlighted with an overpotential of 84 mV and Tafel slope of 68.5 mV dec^(−1).In brief,this metal vacancy-induced valence state regulation of heterometal can manipulate the coordination structure and catalytic activity of heterometal atoms doped in the 2D atomic lattice but not limited to 2D nanomaterials.

Synchrotron-Radiation Photoemission Study of Growth and Stability of Au Clusters on Rutile TiO2（110）-1×1

The growth and thermal stability of Au clusters on a partially-reduced rutile TiO2 （110）-1 × 1 surface were investigated by high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron- radiation-light. The valence-band photoelectron spectroscopy results demonstrate that the Ti^3＋3d feature attenuates quickly with the initial deposition of Au clusters, implying that Au clusters nucleate at the oxygen vacancy sites. The Au4f core-level photoelectron spectroscopy results directly prove the existence of charge transfer from oxygen vacancies to Au clusters. The thermal stability of Au clusters on the partially-reduced and stoichiometric TiO2（110） surfaces was also comparatively investigated by the annealing experiments. With the same film thickness, Au clusters are more thermally stable on the partially-reduced TiO2（110） surface than on the stoichiometric TiO2（110） surface. Meanwhile, large Au nanoparticles are more thermally stable than fine Au nanoparticles.

Engineering of oxygen vacancy and bismuth cluster assisted ultrathin Bi_(12)O_(17)Cl_(2)nanosheets with efficient and selective photoreduction of CO_(2)to CO

The photocatalytic conversion of CO_(2)into solar‐powered fuels is viewed as a forward‐looking strategy to address energy scarcity and global warming.This work demonstrated the selective photoreduction of CO_(2)to CO using ultrathin Bi_(12)O_(17)Cl_(2)nanosheets decorated with hydrothermally synthesized bismuth clusters and oxygen vacancies(OVs).The characterizations revealed that the coexistences of OVs and Bi clusters generated in situ contributed to the high efficiency of CO_(2)–CO conversion(64.3μmol g^(−1)h^(−1))and perfect selectivity.The OVs on the facet(001)of the ultrathin Bi_(12)O_(17)Cl_(2)nanosheets serve as sites for CO_(2)adsorption and activation sites,capturing photoexcited electrons and prolonging light absorption due to defect states.In addition,the Bi‐cluster generated in situ offers the ability to trap holes and the surface plasmonic resonance effect.This study offers great potential for the construction of semiconductor hybrids as multiphotocatalysts,capable of being used for the elimination and conversion of CO_(2)in terms of energy and environment.

Molybdenum carbide clusters for thermal conversion of CO2 to CO via reverse water-gas shift reaction

Molybdenum carbides are highly active for CO2 conversion to CO via the reverse water-gas shift(RWGS)reaction, however the large grain size up to micrometers renders its relatively lower active sites utilization efficiency while generating CH4 as a by-product. In this work, a homogeneously dispersed molybdenum carbide hybrid catalyst with sub-nanosized cluster(the average size as small as 0.5 nm) is prepared via a facile carbothermal treatment for highly selective CO2-CO reduction. The partially disordered Mo2C clusters are characterized by synchrotron high-resolution XRD and atomic resolution HAADF-STEM analysis, for which the source cause of the disorder is pinpointed by XAFS analysis to be the nitrogen intercalants from the carbonaceous precursor. The partially disordered Mo2C clusters show a RWGS rate as high as 184.4 μmol gMo2C-1s-1 at 400 ℃ with a superior selectivity toward CO(> 99.5%). This work 2 highlights a facile strategy for fabricating highly dispersed and partially disordered Mo2C clusters at a sub-nano size with beneficial N-doping for delivering high catalytic activity and operational stability.

Theoretical study of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on isolated small Pdx clusters

CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on small size Pdxclusters(x = 7, 9 and 13) has been studied using density functional theory calculations. It has been found that in contrast to metallic Pd system, these small Pdxclusters can interact well with CO2 molecule. CO2 molecule can be adsorbed with a bidendate configuration on the Pdxclusters. The formation of CO2 bidendate adsorption configuration facilitates the first step of CO2 hydrogenation reaction on the clusters. The energy profiles for formate pathway and reverse water gas shift + CO hydrogenation pathways on Pdxclusters are quite similar with Cu(111) surface, except for the first and last hydrogenation steps where the Pdxclusters have lower activation energies. This improvement causing the Pdxclusters to have a tolerable turn over frequencies values. In general, the usage of Pd in the form of small size cluster can improve the catalytic performance of metallic Pd for the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol because small size Pd cluster can act not only as an H2 dissociation center but also as a CO2 hydrogenation center.

Growth mechanism of palladium clusters on rutile TiO_2 (110) surface

Oxide-supported transition metal systems have been the subject of enormous interest due to the improvement of catalytic properties relative to the separate metal.Thus in this paper,we embark on a systematic study for Pd n （n=1-5） clusters adsorbed on TiO2 （110） surface based on DFT-GGA calculations utilizing periodic supercell models.A single Pd adatom on the defect-free surface prefers to adsorb at a hollow site bridging a protruded oxygen and a five-fold titanium atom along the [110] direction,while Pd dimer is located on the channels with the Pd-Pd bond parallel to the surface.According to the transition states （TSs） search,the adsorbed Pd trimer tends to triangular growth mode,rather than linear mode,while the Pd4 and Pd5 clusters prefer three-dimensional （3D） models.However,the oxygen vacancy has almost no influence on the promotion of Pd n cluster nucleation.Additionally,of particular significance is that the Pd-TiO2 interaction is the main driving force at the beginning of Pd nucleation,whereas the Pd-Pd interaction gets down to control the growth process of Pd cluster as the cluster gets larger.It is hoped that our theoretical study would shed light on further designing high-performance TiO2 supported Pd-based catalysts.

Density functional theory study of Mg_nNi_2(n=1-6) clusters

The geometries of MgnNi2（n = 1 6） clusters are studied by using the hybrid density functional theory （B3LYP） with LANL2DZ basis sets. For the ground-state structures of MgnNi2 clusters, the stabilities and the electronic properties are investigated. The results show that the groundstate structures and symmetries of Mg clusters change greatly due to the Ni atoms. The average binding energies have a growing tendency while the energy gaps have a declining tendency. In addition, the ionization energies exhibit an odd-even oscillation feature. We also conclude that n = 3, 5 are the magic numbers of the MgnNi2 clusters. The Mg3Ni2 and Mg5Ni2 clusters are more stable than neighbouring clusters, and the MgaNi2 cluster exhibits a higher chemical activity.

Adsorption Behavior of CH2 and CH3 on Metal Clusters CUn （n=1-6）

Using density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation and hybrid functional, we studied the properties of energy, charge population, and vibration of CH2 and CH3 adsorbed on Cun （n=1-6） clusters. The results show that the DFT calculation with the hybrid functional matches the experimental results better in both cases. The calculation results indicate that the adsorption of CH2 is stronger than that of CH3. During adsorption, the charges transfer from Cu to CH2 or CH3. The obtained vibrational frequencies for different modes of CH2 and CH3 adsorbed on Cun agree well with the experimental results for the adsorption on Cu（111） surface.

Odd-membered cyclic hetero-polyoxotitanate nanoclusters with high stability and photocatalytic H_(2) evolution activity

We investigated the hydrolysis of TiⅣ along with naturally abundant AlⅢ ions and reported the formation of a stable and semiconducting nanocluster. Interestingly, this compound exhibits an unusual odd-membered ring structure and also represents the largest Al-containing polyoxotitanium cluster(PTC) observed thus far. The presence of a shell of organic ligands as well as the incorporation of hetero-AlⅢ ions endowed the nanocluster with high air, thermal, and pH stabilities. The present compound exhibited a record photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of 402.88 μmol g–1 h–1 among PTC materials. This work not only paves the way towards stable PTC materials but also provides new insights into the design of novel photocatalysts.

Gas-phase CO_(2)activation with single electrons,metal atoms,clusters,and molecules

In this review,the history and outlook of gas-phase CO_(2)activation using single electrons,metal atoms,clusters(mainly metal hydride clusters),and molecules are discussed on both of the experimental and theoretical fronts.Although the development of bulk solid-state materials for the activation and conversion of CO_(2)into value-added products have enjoyed great success in the past several decades,this review focuses only on gas-phase studies,because isolated,well-defined gas-phase systems are ideally suited for high-resolution experiments using state-of-the-art spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques,and for simulations employing modern quantum theoretical methods.The unmatched high complementarity and comparability of experiment and theory in the case of gas-phase investigations bear an enormous potential in providing insights in the reactions of CO_(2)activation at the atomic level.In all of these examples,the reduction and bending of the inert neutral CO_(2)molecule is the critical step determined by the frontier orbitals of reaction participants.Based on the results and outlook summarized in this review,we anticipate that studies of gas-phase CO_(2)activations will be an avenue rich with opportunities for the rational design of novel catalysts based on the knowledge obtained on the atomic level.

Ni Single Atoms and Ni Phosphate Clusters Synergistically Triggered Surface-Functionalized MoS_(2)Nanosheets for High-performance Freshwater and Seawater Electrolysis

Two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides have been evidenced as potential electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER);however,their application is limited by a poor oxygen evolution reaction(OER)activity due to insufficient number/types of multi-integrated active sites.In this study,we report a novel bifunctional catalyst developed by simultaneous engineering of single nickel atoms(Ni_(SA)) and nickel phosphate clusters(Ni_(Pi)) to synergistically trigger surface-functionalized MoS_(2) nanosheets(NSs)resulting in high reactivities for both HER and OER.The Ni_(SA)-Ni_(Pi)/MoS_(2)NSs material exhibits a fairly Pt-like HER behavior with an overpotential of 94.0 mV and a small OER overpotential of 314.0 mV to reach 10 mA cm^(-2) in freshwater containing 1.0 M KOH.Experimental results of the catalyst are well supported by theoretical study,which reveals the significant modulation of electronic structure and enrichment of electroactive site number/types with their reasonably adjusted free adsorption energy.For evaluating practicability,the Ni_(SA)-Ni_(Pi)/MoS_(2)NSs-based electrolyzer delivers effective operation voltage of 1.62,1.52,and 1.66 V at 10 mA cm^(-2) and superior long-term stability as compared to Pt/C//RuO_(2) system in freshwater,mimic seawater,and natural seawater,respectively.The present study indicates that the catalyst is a promising candidate for the practical production of green hydrogen via water electrolysis.

Tuning precise numbers of supported nickel clusters on graphdiyne for efficient CO_(2)electroreduction toward various multi-carbon products

Compared to single-atom catalysts,supported metal clusters can exhibit enhanced activity and designated selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis due to their unique geometric and electronic features.Herein,by means of comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) computations,we systematically investigated the potential of several Ni clusters supported on graphdiyne (Ni_(x)/GDY,x=1–6) for CO_(2) reduction reaction (CO_(2)RR).Our results revealed that,due to the strong interaction between Ni atoms and sp-hybridized C atoms,these supported Ni clusters on GDY exhibit high stabilities and excellent electronic properties.In particular,according to the computed free energy profiles for CO_(2)RR on these Ni_(x)/GDY systems,the anchored Ni_(4) cluster was revealed to exhibit high CO_(2)RR catalytic activity with a small limiting potential and moderate kinetic barrier for C–C coupling,and CH_(4),C_(2)H_(5)OH,and C_(3)H_(7)OH were identified as the main products,which can be attributed to its strong capacity for CO_(2) activation due to its unique configuration and excellent electronic properties.Thus,by carefully controlling the precise numbers of atoms in sub-nano clusters,the spatially confined Ni clusters can perform as promising CO_(2)RR catalysts with high-efficiency and high-selectivity,which may provide a useful guidance to further develop novel and low-cost metal clusters-based catalysts for sustain CO_(2)conversion to valuable chemicals and fuels.

Theoretical Studies on the Stabilities and Hydrogen Bond Actions of (H_2O)_n Clusters

The stable configurations and hydrogen bond nature of （H2O）n clusters （n = 3-6） have been investigated by the B3LYP method at the 6-31＋＋g^＊＊ level. Upon calculation, four conclusions have been drawn： （1） In the （H2O）3-5 clusters, cyclic configurations were confirmed to be the most stable. But in the （H2O）3-4 ones, only cyclic configurations could be observed. From n = 5 （（H2O）5 clusters）, three-dimensional configuration could be found： （2） In the （H2O）6 clusters, all configurations are inclined to be three-dimensional except the most stable configuration which is cyclic; （3） The stable order of （H2O）6 clusters indicates that it is the arrangement of hydrogen bond that plays a decisive role in the cluster stabilities, the zero-point energy is also important, and cluster stabilities are independent on the number of hydrogen bonds; （4） There exist strong cooperativity and superadditivity in the （H2O）n clusters.

Probing structural and electronic properties of divalent metal Mg_(n+1) and SrMgn (n=2–12) clusters and their anions

Divalent metal clusters have received great attention due to the interesting size-induced nonmetal-to-metal transition and fascinating properties dependent on cluster size,shape,and doping.In this work,the combination of the CALYPSO code and density functional theory(DFT)optimization is employed to explore the structural properties of neutral and anionic Mg_(n+1) and SrMgn(n=2-12)clusters.The results exhibit that as the atomic number of Mg increases,Sr atoms are more likely to replace Mg atoms located in the skeleton convex cap.By analyzing the binding energy,second-order energy difference and the charge transfer,it can be found the SrMg9 cluster with tower framework presents outstanding stability in a studied size range.Further,bonding characteristic analysis reveals that the stability of SrMg9 can be improved due to the strong s-p interaction among the atomic orbitals of Sr and Mg atoms.

Density functional investigation on structural and electronic properties of small bimetallic Pb_(n)Ag_(n)(n=2–12)clusters

Structural and electronic properties of PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters were investigated by density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation at BLYP level in DMol3 program package.The optimized bimetallic PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters were viewed as the initial structures,then,those were calculated by ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)to search possible global minimum energy structures of PbnAgn clusters,finally,the ground state structures of PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters were achieved.According to the structural evolution of lowest energy structures,Ag atoms prefer gather in the central sites while Pb atoms prefer external positions in PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters,which is in excellent agreement with experimental results from literature and the application in metallurgy.The average binding energies,HOMO-LUMO gaps,vertical ionization potentials,vertical electron affinities,chemical hardnessη,HOMO orbits,LUMO orbits and density of states of PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters were calculated.The results indicate that the values of HOMO-LUMO gaps,vertical ionization potentials,vertical electron affinities and chemical hardnessηshow obvious odd-even oscillations when n≤5,PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters become less chemically stable and show insulator-to-metal transition with the variation of cluster size n,PbnAgn(n≥9)cluster are good candidates to study the properties of PbAg alloys.Those can be well explained by the density of states(DOS)distributions of Pb atoms and Ag atoms between–0.5 Ha and 0.25 Ha in PbnAgn(n=2–12)clusters.

Parity Alternation of Silicon-doped Ternary Cationic Clusters HC_nSi_2^+(n=1～9)

Systematic study on the electronic/geometrical structures and the parity alternation effect of silicon-doped ternary cationic clusters HCnSi2＋（n = 1 ~9） have been carried out at the coupled cluster level. The ground-state （G-S） isomers of the clusters have been defined. The C, chains of the G-S isomers display polyacetylene-like structures. The even-n cations are more stable than the odd-n ones. Such a trend of even/odd alternation has been elaborated based on concepts of the bond character, atomic charge, incremental binding energy, ionization potential, proton affinity and fragmentation energies of the systems. The findings accord with the relative intensities of HC,,Si2＋ species recorded in the related mass spectrometric experiments.

Geometric,stable and electronic properties of Au_(n-2)Y_2(n=3-8) clusters

Employing first-principles methods, based on the density function theory, and using the LANL2DZ basis sets, the ground-state geometric, the stable and the electronic properties of Aun-2Y2 clusters are investigated in this paper. Meanwhile, the differences in property among pure gold clusters, pure yttrium clusters, gold clusters doped with one yttrium atom, and gold clusters doped with two yttrium atoms are studied. We find that when gold clusters are doped by two yttrium atoms, the odd-even oscillatory behaviours of Aun-1Y and Aun disappear. The properties of Aun-2Y2 clusters are close to those of pure yttrium clusters.

Low-Lying Isomers of(TiO_(2))_(n)(n=2-8)Clusters

Although there are diverse bond features of Ti and O atoms,so far only several isomers have been reported for each(TiO_(2))n cluster.Instead of the widely used global optimization,in this work,we search for the low-lying isomers of(TiO_(2))_(n)(n=2-8)clusters with up to 10000 random sampling initial structures.These structures were optimized by the PM6 method,followed by density functional theory calculations.With this strategy,we have located many more low-lying isomers than thosereported previously.The number of isomers increases dramatically with the size of the cluster,and about 50 isomers were found for(TiO_(2))_(7) and(TiO_(2))_(8) with the energy within 30 kcal/mol.Furthermore,new lowest isomers have been located for(TiO_(2))_(5) and(TiO_(2))_(8),and isomers with three terminal oxygen atoms,five coordinated oxygen atoms as well as six coordinated titanium atoms have been located.Our work highlights the diverse structural features and a large number of isomers of small TiO_(2) clusters.

Computational Study on Interactions between CO2 and （TiO2）n Clusters at Specific Sites

The energetic pathways of adsorption and activation of carbon dioxide (CO2) on low-lying compact (TiO2)n clusters are systematically investigated by using electronic structure calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT). Our calculated results show that CO2 is adsorbed preferably on the bridge O atom of the clusters, forming a "chemisorption" carbonate complex, while the CO is adsorbed preferably to the Ti atom of terminal Ti-O.The computed carbonate vibrational frequency values are in good agreement with the results obtained experimentally, which suggests that CO2 in the complex is distorted slightly from its undeviating linear configuration. In addition, the analyses of electronic parameters, electronic density, ionization potential, HOMO-LUMO gap, and density of states(DOS) confirm the charge transfer and interaction between CO2 and the cluster. From the predicted energy profiles, CO2 can be easily adsorbed and activated, while the activation of CO2 on (TiO2)n clusters are structure-dependent and energetically more favorable than that on the bulk TiO2. Overall, this study critically highlights how the small (TiO2)n clusters can influence the CO2 adsorption and activation which are the critical steps for CO2 reduction the surface of a catalyst and subsequent conversion into industrially relevant chemicals and fuels.

Preparation of I_2 Clusters and Their Absorption Spectra

Samples have been prepared at different temperatures by loading I2 molecules into the cages of zeolite 5A, and the measurements of the absorption spectra have been carried out for the prepared samples. It is shown that I2 molecular clusters are formed in the cages of zeolite 5A,and it is also found that moIecuIar clusters which are bonded with intermoIecuIar forces have an important feature, namely, the intermolecular distance in molecular clusters can be changed on different preparing conditions and the blue shift of absorption edges can not be as the criterion of forming molecular clusters.