No Arabic abstract
Nano-materials, such as metal-organic frameworks, have been considered to capture CO$_2$. However, their application has been limited largely because they exhibit poor selectivity for flue gases and low capture capacity under low pressures. We perform a high-throughput screening for selective CO$_2$ capture from flue gases by using first principles thermodynamics. We find that elements with empty d orbitals selectively attract CO$_2$ from gaseous mixtures under low CO$_2$ pressures at 300 K and release it at ~450 K. CO$_2$ binding to elements involves hybridization of the metal d orbitals with the CO$_2$ $pi$ orbitals and CO$_2$-transition metal complexes were observed in experiments. This result allows us to perform high-throughput screening to discover novel promising CO$_2$ capture materials with empty d orbitals and predict their capture performance under various conditions. Moreover, these findings provide physical insights into selective CO$_2$ capture and open a new path to explore CO$_2$ capture materials.
Great enthusiasm in single atom catalysts (SACs) for the N2 reduction reaction (NRR) has been aroused by the discovery of Metal (M)-Nx as a promising catalytic center. However,the performance of available SACs,including poor activity and selectivity,is far away from the industrial requirement because of the inappropriate adsorption behaviors of the catalytic centers. Through the first principles high throughput screening, we find that the rational construction of Fe-Fe dual atom centered site distributed on graphite carbon nitride (Fe2/gCN) compromises the ability to adsorb N2H and NH2, achieving the best NRR performance among 23 different transition metal (TM) centers. Our results show that Fe2/gCN can achieve a Faradic efficiency of 100% for NH3 production. Impressively, the limiting potential of Fe2/gCN is estimated as low as -0.13 V, which is hitherto the lowest value among the reported theoretical results. Multiple level descriptors (excess electrons on the adsorbed N2 and integrated crystal orbital Hamilton population) shed light on the origin of NRR activity from the view of energy, electronic structure, and basic characteristics. As a ubiquitous issue during electrocatalytic NRR, ammonia contamination originating from the substrate decomposition can be surmounted. Our predictions offer a new platform for electrocatalytic synthesis of NH3, contributing to further elucidate the structure-performance correlations.
Computational screening methods have been accelerating discovery of new materials and deployment of technologies based on them in many areas from batteries and alloys to photovoltaics and separation processes. In this review, we focus on post-combustion carbon capture using adsorption in porous materials. Prompted by unprecedented developments in material science, researchers in material engineering, molecular simulations, and process modelling have been interested in finding the best materials for carbon capture using energy efficient pressure-swing adsorption processes. Recent efforts have been directed towards development of new multiscale and performance-based screening workflows where we are able to go from the atomistic structure of an adsorbent to its equilibrium and transport properties for gas adsorption, and eventually to its separation performance in the actual process. The objective of this article is to review the current status of these emerging approaches, explain their significance for materials screening, while at the same time highlighting the existing pitfalls and challenges that limit their application in practice and industry. It is also the intention of this review to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations for the development of more advanced screening methodologies. For this specific reason, we undertake an additional task of compiling and introducing all the elements that are needed for the development and operation of the performance-based screening workflows, including information about available materials databases, state-of-the-art molecular simulation and process modelling tools and methods, and the full list of data and parameters required for each stage.
Intrinsic polar metals are rare, especially in oxides, because free electrons screen electric fields in a metal and eliminate the internal dipoles that are needed to break inversion symmetry. Here we use first-principles high-throughput structure screening to predict a new polar metal in bulk and thin film forms. After screening more than 1000 different crystal structures, we find that ordered BiPbTi2O6 can crystallize in three polar and metallic structures, which can be transformed between via pressure or strain. In a heterostructure of layered BiPbTi2O6 and PbTiO3, multiple states with different relative orientations of BiPbTi2O6 polar displacements, and PbTiO3 polarization, can be stabilized. At room temperature, the interfacial coupling enables electric fields to first switch PbTiO3 polarization and subsequently drive 180{deg} change of BiPbTi2O6 polar displacements. At low temperatures, the heterostructure provides a tunable tunnelling barrier and might be used in multi-state memory devices.
Based on irreducible representations (or symmetry eigenvalues) and compatibility relations, a material can be predicted to be a topological/trivial insulator [satisfying compatibility relations] or a topological semimetal [violating compatibility relations]. However, Weyl semimetals usually go beyond this symmetry-based strategy. In other words, Weyl nodes could emerge in a material, no matter if its occupied bands satisfy compatibility relations, or if the symmetry indicators are zero. In this work, we propose a new topological invariant $chi$ for the systems with S$_4$ symmetry [i.e., the improper rotation S$_4$ ($equiv$ IC$_{4z}$) is a proper four-fold rotation (C$_{4z}$) followed by inversion (I)], which can be used to diagnose the Weyl semimetal phase. Moreover, $chi$ can be easily computed through the one-dimensional Wilson-loop technique. By applying this method to the high-throughput screening in first-principles calculations, we predict a lot of Weyl semimetals in both nonmagnetic and magnetic compounds. Various interesting properties (e.g. magnetic frustration effects, superconductivity and spin-glass order, etc.) are found in predicted Weyl semimetals, which provide realistic platforms for future experimental study of the interplay between Weyl fermions and other exotic states.
We study numerically the adsorption of a mixture of CO$_2$ and CH$_4$ on a graphite substrate covered by graphene nanoribbons (NRs). The NRs are flat and parallel to the graphite surface, at a variable distance ranging from 6 r{A} to 14 r{A}. We show that the NRs-graphite substrate acts as an effective filter for CO$_2$. Our study is based on Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Methane is considered a spherical molecule, and carbon dioxide is represented as a linear rigid body. Graphite is modeled as a continuous material, while the NRs are approached atomistically. We observe that when the NRs are placed 6 r{A} above the graphite surface, methane is blocked out, while CO$_2$ molecules can diffuse and be collected in between the NRs and the graphite surface. Consequently, the selectivity of CO$_2$ is extremely high. We also observe that the initial rate of adsorption of CO$_2$ is much higher than CH$_4$. Overall we show that the filter can be optimized by controlling the gap between NRs and the NRs-graphite separation.