Tunable activity of electrocatalytic CO dimerization on strained Cu surfaces:Insights from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

Controlling catalytic activities through surface strain engineering remains a hot topic in electrocatalysis studies.Herein,ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)simulation associated with free energy sampling technology were performed to study the energetics of the key step of producing C2 products in electrocatalytic reduction of CO or CO_(2),i.e.CO dimerization,on strained Cu(100)with an explicit aqueous solvent model.It is worth mentioning that when compressive strain reaches a certain extent,the surface of Cu(100)will undergo reconstruction.We showed that,from tensile to compressive strain,the free energy barrier of CO dimerization decreased,suggesting that the activity of CO dimerization increases.It was also found that some of the reconstructed surfaces showing the lowest free energy barriers but might be less stable can be stabilized in the presence of adsorbed O or CO.Upon detailed quantitative analysis on the charges of surface Cu atoms,we found that the free energy barriers were strongly correlated with the charge of Cu atoms where the OCCO intermediate adsorbs.When the surfaces structures of Cu(100)were altered under compressive strain,the electronic structure of surface Cu atoms was monitored and thus the activity of electrocatalytic CO dimerization can be tuned.

Hydrogen Diffusion in Aluminum Melts: An ab initio Molecular Dynamics Study

The diffusion process of hydrogen in aluminum melts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The pair correlation function, first peak position, and coordination number was calculated and differences in the structural properties among Al-H, Cl-H, and Al-Cl pair were examined. The mechanism of chlorine on improving hydrogen diffusion was discussed. From an ab initio molecular dynamics calculations, the diffusivity of hydrogen in liquid aluminum as D（T）=（0.118×10-4 m2/s）exp（-0.316 eV/kT） is obtained, which is in good agreement with the experimental data. Correspondingly the diffusivity with presence of chlorine is promoted as D（T）=（0.09×10-4 m2/s）exp（-0.251 eV/kT）. It can be concluded that the diffusion of hydrogen in aluminum melts can be enhanced in the presence of chlorine.

Ab initio Molecular Dynamics Study of Adsorption of Hydroxyl Groups on Graphene Surface

Reduced graphene oxide is the precursor to produce graphene in a large scale;however,to date,there has been no consensus on the electronic structure of reduced graphene oxide.In this study,we carried out an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the adsorption process of hydroxyl groups on graphene surface.During the adsorption process,the OH group needs to firstly pass through a physical adsorption complex with the OH above the bridge site of two carbon atoms,next to surmount a transition state,then to be adsorbed at the atop site of a carbon atom.With a 5×5 graphene surface,up to 6 hydroxyl groups can be adsorbed on the graphene surface,indicating the concentration coverage of the hydroxyl groups on graphene surface is about 12%.The simulation results show that the negative adsorption energy increases linearly as the number of adsorbed hydroxyl groups increases,and the band gap also increases linearly with the number of adsorbed hydroxyl groups.

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of nano-crystallization of Fe-based amorphous alloys with early transition metals

The addition of early transition metals(ETMs)into Fe-based amorphous alloys is practically found to be effective in reducing theα-Fe grain size in crystallization process.In this paper,by using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations,the mechanism of the effect of two typical ETMs(Nb and W)on nano-crystallization is studied.It is found that the diffusion ability in amorphous alloy is mainly determined by the bonding energy of the atom rather than the size or weight of the atom.The alloying of B dramatically reduces the diffusion ability of the ETM atoms,which prevents the supply of Fe near the grain surface and consequently suppresses the growth ofα-Fe grains.Moreover,the difference in grain refining effectiveness between Nb and W could be attributed to the larger bonding energy between Nb and B than that between W and B.

Dehydroxylation of Glycerol on Pt Surfaces:Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study

Glycerol is an important raw material in the chemical industry,and dehydroxylation of glycerol would produce 1,2-propanediol and 1,3-propanediol.Here we studied glycerol dehydroxylation with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations on Pt(111)and Pt(211)surfaces at 453 K.The free energies obtained on Pt show that dehydroxylation is more likely to occur at the terminal carbon than the central carbon,and 1,2-propanediol would be produced preferentially,which is consistent with the selectivity observed experimentally.We found a linear relationship between the free energy barrier and the difference of average distances between O atoms at the initial state and transition state.Although a high correlation between the stability of gaseous glycerol and the number of formed hydrogen bonds is determined from density functional theory calculations,the hydrogen bonds formed within surface structures play a negligible role in determining the free energy barriers of dehydroxylation.

Zero-point fluctuation of hydrogen bond in water dimer from ab initio molecular dynamics

Dynamic nature of hydrogen bond (H-bond) is central in molecular science of substance transportation, energy transfer, and phase transition in H-bonding networks diversely expressed as solution, crystal, and interfacial systems, thus attracting the state-of-the-art revealing of its phenomenological edges and sophisticated causes. However, the current understanding of the ground-state fluctuation from zero-point vibration (ZPV) lacks a firm quasi-classical base, concerning three basic dimensions as geometry, electronic structure, and interaction energy. Here, based on the ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of a ground-state water dimer, temporally separated fluctuation features in the elementary H-bond as the long-time weakening and the minor short-time strengthening are respectively assigned to two low-frequency intermolecular ZPV modes and two O–H stretching ones. Geometrically, the former modes instantaneously lengthen H-bond up to 0.2 Å whose time-averaged effect coverages to about 0.03 Å over 1-picosecond. Electronic-structure fluctuation crosses criteria' borders, dividing into partially covalent and noncovalent H-bonding established for equilibrium models, with a 370% amplitude and the district trend in interaction energy fluctuation compared with conventional dragging models using frozen monomers. Extended physical picture within the normal-mode disclosure further approaches to the dynamic nature of H-bond and better supports the upper-building explorations towards ultrafast and mode-specific manipulation.

Hydrogen Promoted Decomposition of Ammonium Dinitramide:an ab initio Molecular Dynamics Study

Thermal decomposition of a famous high oxidizer arnrnoniurn dinitrarnide （ADN） under high temperatures （2000 and 3000 K） was studied by using the ab initio molecular dynamics method. Two different ternperature-dependent initial decomposition mechanisms were observed in the unirnolecular decomposition of ADN, which were the intrarnolecular hydrogen transfer and N-NO2 cleavage in N（NO2） . They were competitive at 2000 K, whereas the forrner one was predominant at 3000 K. As for the rnultimolecular decomposition of ADN, four different initial decomposition reactions that were also ternperature-dependent were observed. Apart from the aforernentioned rnechanisrns, another two new reactions were the interrnolecular hydrogen transfer and direct N-H cleavage in NH4＋. At the temperature of 2000 K, the N-NO2 cleavage competed with the rest three hydrogen-related decomposition reactions, while the direct N-H cleavage in NH4＋ was predominant at 3000 K. After the initial decomposition, it was found that the temperature increase could facilitate the decomposition of ADN, and would not change the key decomposition events. ADN decomposed into small molecules by hydrogen-prornoted simple, fast and direct chemical bonds cleavage without forrning any large intermediates that rnay impede the decomposition. The main decomposition products at 2000 and 3000 K were the same, which were NH3, NO2, NO, N2O, N2, H2O, and HNO2.

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation reveals the influence of entropy effect on Co@BEA zeolite-catalyzed dehydrogenation of ethane

The C–H bond activation in alkane dehydrogenation reactions is a key step in determining the reaction rate.To understand the impact of entropy,we performed ab initio static and molecular dynamics free energy simulations of ethane dehydrogenation over Co@BEA zeolite at different temperatures.AIMD simulations showed that a sharp decrease in free energy barrier as temperature increased.Our analysis of the temperature dependence of activation free energies uncovered an unusual entropic effect accompanying the reaction.The unique spatial structures around the Co active site at different temperatures influenced both the extent of charge transfer in the transition state and the arrangement of 3d orbital energy levels.We provided explanations consistent with the principles of thermodynamics and statistical physics.The insights gained at the atomic level have offered a fresh interpretation of the intricate long-range interplay between local chemical reactions and extensive chemical environments.

Neural network representation of electronic structure from ab initio molecular dynamics

Despite their rich information content,electronic structure data amassed at high volumes in ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are generally under-utilized.We introduce a transferable high-fidelity neural network representation of such data in the form of tight-binding Hamiltonians for crystalline materials.This predictive representation of ab initio electronic structure,combined with machinelearning boosted molecular dynamics,enables efficient and accurate electronic evolution and sampling.When it is applied to a one-dimension charge-density wave material,carbyne,we are able to compute the spectral function and optical conductivity in the canonical ensemble.The spectral functions evaluated during soliton-antisoliton pair annihilation process reveal significant renormalization of low-energy edge modes due to retarded electron-lattice coupling beyond the Born-Oppenheimer limit.The availability of an efficient and reusable surrogate model for the electronic structure dynamical system will enable calculating many interesting physical properties,paving the way to previously inaccessible or challenging avenues in materials modeling.

Dissociation of liquid water on defective rutile TiO2 （110） surfaces using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of both thermodynamics and kinetics of water dissociation on TiO2, the reactions between liquid water and perfect and defective rutile TiO2 （110） surfaces were investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that the free-energy barrier （-4.4 kcal/mol） is too high for a spontaneous dissociation of water on the perfect rutile （110） surface at a low temperature. The most stable oxygen vacancy （VOl） on the rutile （110） surface cannot promote the dissociation of water, while other unstable oxygen vacancies can significantly enhance the water dissociation rate. This is opposite to the general understanding that Vol defects are active sites for water dissociation. Furthermore, we reveal that water dissociation is an exothermic reaction, which demonstrates that the dissociated state of the adsorbed water is thermodynamically favorable for both perfect and defective futile （110） surfaces. The dissociation adsorption of water can also increase the hydrophilicity of TiO2.

Study of structural and magnetic properties of Fe(80)P-9B(11) amorphous alloy by ab initio molecular dynamic simulation

The structural and magnetic properties of Fe80P9B11 amorphous alloy are investigated through ab initio molecular dynamic simulation. The structure evolution of Fe（80）P9B（11） amorphous alloy can be described in the framework of topological fluctuation theory, and the fluctuation of atomic hydrostatic stress gradually decreases upon cooling. The left sub peak of the second peak of Fe–B partial pair distribution functions（PDFs） becomes pronounced below the glass transition temperature, which may be the major reason why B promotes the glass formation ability significantly. The magnetization mainly originates from Fe 3d states, while small contribution results from metalloid elements P and B. This work may be helpful for developing Fe-based metallic glasses with both high saturation flux density and glass formation ability.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Liquid Phosphorus at High Temperature and Pressure

By performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we have investigated the microstructure, dynamical and electronic properties of liquid phosphorus （P） under high temperature and pressure. In our simulations, the calculated coordination number （CN） changes discontinuously with density, and seems to increase rapidly after liquid P is compressed to 2.5 g/cm3. Under compression, liquid P shows the first-order liquid-liquid phase transition from the molecular liquid composed of the tetrahedral P4 molecules to complex polymeric form with three-dimensional network structure, accompanied by the nonmetal to metal transition of the electronic structure. The order parameters Q6 and Q4 are sensitive to the microstructural change of liquid P. By calculating diffusion coefficients, we show the dynamical anomaly of liquid P by compression. At lower temperatures, a maximum exists at the diffusion coefficients as a function of density; at higher temperatures, the anomalous behavior is weakened. The excess entropy shows the same phenomena as the diffusion coefficients. By analysis of the angle distribution functions and angular limited triplet correlation functions, we can clearly find that the Peierls distortion in polymeric form of liquid P is reduced by further compression.

Molecular Dynamics Insights into Electron-Catalyzed Dissociation Repair of Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimer

Excess electrons are not only an important source of radiation damage,but also participate in the repair process of radiation damage such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer(CPD).Using ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)simulations,we reproduce the single excess electron stepwise catalytic CPD dissociation process in detail with an emphasis on the energy levels and molecular structure details associated with excess electrons.On the basis of the AIMD simulations on the CPD aqueous solution with two vertically added excess electrons,we exclude the early-proposed[2+2]-like concerted synchronous dissociation mechanism,and analyze the difference between the symmetry of the actual reaction and the symmetry of the frontier molecular orbitals which deeply impact the mechanism.Importantly,we propose a new model of the stepwise electron-catalyzed dissociation mechanism that conforms to the reality.This work not only provides dynamics insights into the excess electron catalyzed dissociation mechanism,but also reveals different roles of two excess electrons in two bond-cleavage steps(promoting versus inhibiting).

Effect of Y element on atomic structure, glass forming ability,and magnetic properties of FeBC alloy

The atomic structure of amorphous alloys plays a crucial role in determining both their glass-forming ability and magnetic properties. In this study, we investigate the influence of adding the Y element on the glass-forming ability and magnetic properties of Fe_(86-x)Y_xB_7C_7(x = 0, 5, 10 at.%) amorphous alloys via both experiments and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, we explore the correlation between local atomic structures and properties. Our results demonstrate that an increased Y content in the alloys leads to a higher proportion of icosahedral clusters, which can potentially enhance both glass-forming ability and thermal stability. These findings have been experimentally validated. The analysis of the electron energy density and magnetic moment of the alloy reveals that the addition of Y leads to hybridization between Y-4d and Fe-3d orbitals, resulting in a reduction in ferromagnetic coupling between Fe atoms. This subsequently reduces the magnetic moment of Fe atoms as well as the total magnetic moment of the system, which is consistent with experimental results. The results could help understand the relationship between atomic structure and magnetic property,and providing valuable insights for enhancing the performance of metallic glasses in industrial applications.

Thermodynamic analysis and dynamics simulation on reaction of Al_2O and AlCl_2 with carbon under vacuum

The feasibility study of the AlCl(g) generated by Al_2O-AlCl_2-C system under vacuum was carried out by thermodynamic analysis and CASTEP package of the Material Studio program which was based on density functional theory(DFT) formalism. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that Al Cl and CO molecules can be formed under conditions of temperature 1760 K and the pressure of 60 Pa. The interaction of Al_2O and AlCl_2 with C shows that the chemical adsorption of Al_2O and AlCl_2 does take place on C(001) crystal plane, and at the same time, new chemical bond is formed between Al atom in Al_2O and Cl atoms from one of the Al—Cl bonds in AlCl_2. The results, after 1.25 ps dynamics simulation, indicate that adsorbed Al Cl molecules are generated and CO molecule will be formed in this system, and they will escape from C(001) surface after a longer period of dynamic simulation time. It means that the reaction of Al_2O and AlCl_2 with C can be carried out under given constraint condition.

Solvation structure and dynamics of Li and LiO_(2)and their transformation in non-aqueous organic electrolyte solvents from first-principles simulations

Density functional theory calculations together with ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)simulations have been used to study the solvation,diffusion and transformation of Li^(+)and LiO_(2)upon O_(2)reduction in three organic electrolytes.These processes are critical for the performance of Li-air batteries.Apart from studying the structure of the solvation shells in detail,AIMD simulations have been used to derive the diffusivity and together with the Blue Moon ensemble approach to explore LiO_(2)formation from Li^(+)and O_(2)−and the subsequent disproportionation of 2LiO_(2)into Li_(2)O_(2)+O_(2).By comparing the results of the simulations to gas phase calculations,the impact of electrolytes on these reactions is assessed which turns out to be more pronounced for the ionic species involved in these reactions.

Ab Initio Two-Phase Molecular Dynamics on the Melting Curve of SiO_2

Ab initio two-phase molecular dynamics simulations were performed on silica at pressures of 20-160 GPa and temperatures of 2 500-6 000 K to examine its solid-liquid phase boundary. Results indicate a melting temperature （Tin） of 5 900 K at 135 GPa. This is 1 100 K higher than the temperature considered for the core-mantle boundary （CMB） of about 3 800 K. The calculated melting temperature is fairly consistent with classical MD （molecular dynamics） simulations. For liquid silica, the O-O coordination number is found to be 12 along the Tm and is almost unchanged with increasing pressure. The self-diffusion coefficients of O and Si atoms are determined to be 1.3×10^-9-3.3×10^-9 m2/s, and the viscosity is 0.02-0.03 Pa＇s along the Tin. We find that these transport properties depend less on pressure in the wide range up of more than 135 GPa. The eutectic temperatures in the MgO-SiO2 systems were evaluated and found to be 700 K higher than the CMB temperature, though they would decrease considerably in more realistic mantle compositions.

Excited electron and spin dynamics in topological insulator: A perspective from ab initio non-adiabatic molecular dynamics

We perform an ab initio non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the non-equilibrium spin and electron dynamics in a prototypical topological insulator(TI)Bi,Ses.Different from the ground state,we reveal that backscattering can happen in an oscillating manner between time-reversal pair topological surface states(TSSs)in the non-equilibrium dynamics.Analysis shows the phonon excitation induces orbital composition change by electron-phonon interaction,which further stimulates spin canting through spin-orbit coupling.The spin canting of time-reversal pair TSSs leads to the non-zero non-adiabatic coupling between them and then issues in backscattering.Both the spin canting and backscattering result in ultrafast spin relaxation with a timescale around 10o fs.This study provides critical insights into the non-equilibrium electron and spin dynamics in TI at the ab initio level and paves a way for the design of ultrafast spintronic materials.

Metal-N_(4) model single‐atom catalyst with electroneutral quadri‐pyridine macrocyclic ligand for CO_(2) electroreduction

Metal–N–C single‐atom catalysts,mostly prepared from pyrolysis of metalorganic precursors,are widely used in heterogeneous electrocatalysis.Since metal sites with diverse local structures coexist in this type of material and it is challenging to characterize the local structure,a reliable structure–property relationship is difficult to establish.Conjugated macrocyclic complexes adsorbed on carbon support are well‐defined models to mimic the singleatom catalysts.Metal–N_(4) site with four electroneutral pyridine‐type ligands embedded in a graphene layer is the most commonly proposed structure of the active site of single‐atom catalysts,but its molecular counterpart has not been reported.In this work,we synthesized the conjugated macrocyclic complexes with a metal center(Co,Fe,or Ni)coordinated with four electroneutral pyridinic ligands as model catalysts for CO_(2) electroreduction.For comparison,the complexes with anionic quadri‐pyridine macrocyclic ligand were also prepared.The Co complex with the electroneutral ligand expressed a turnover frequency of CO formation more than an order of magnitude higher than that of the Co complex with the anionic ligand.Constrained ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on the well‐defined structures of the model catalysts indicate that the Co complex with the electroneutral ligand possesses a stronger ability to mediate electron transfer from carbon to CO_(2).

Identifying the crystal structure of T 1 precipitates in Al-Li-Cu alloys by ab initio calculations and HAADF-STEM imaging

Controversial experimental reports on the crystal structure of T 1 precipitates in Al-Li-Cu alloys have ex-isted for a long time,and all of them can be classified into five models.To clarify its ground-state atomic structure,herein,we have combined high-throughput first-principles calculations and CALPHAD,as well as aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM experiments.Employing the special quasi-random structure(SQS)and supercell approximation(SPA)methods to simulate the local disorder on Al-Cu sub-lattices,we find that none of the present models can satisfy the phase stability in Al-Li-Cu ternary system based on temperature-dependent convex hull analysis.Using the cluster expansion(CE)formulas,structural predic-tions derived from the five-frame models were performed.Subsequently,by introducing the vibrational contribution to the free energy at aging temperatures,we proposed a novel ground-state T 1 structure that maintains a coherent relationship with Al-matrix at the<112>Al orientation.The underlying phase transition between the variants of T 1 precipitates was further discussed.By means of ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)simulations,we resolved the controversy regarding the number of atomic layers con-stituting the T 1 phase and acknowledged the existence of Al-Li corrugated layers.The root cause of this structural distortion is triggered by atomic forces and bondings.Our work can have an positive impact on the novel fourth generation of Al-Cu-Li alloy designs by engineering the T 1 strengthening phase.