No Arabic abstract
N{o}rskov and collaborators proposed a simple kinetic model to explain the volcano relation for the hydrogen evolution reaction on transition metal surfaces in such that $ j_0= k_0 f({Delta}G_H)$ where j_0 is the exchange current density, $f({Delta}G_H)$ is a function of the hydrogen adsorption free energy ${Delta}G_H$ as computed from density functional theory, and $k_0$ is a universal rate constant. Herein, focusing on the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic medium, we revisit the original experimental data and find that the fidelity of this kinetic model can be significantly improved by invoking metal-dependence on $k_0$ such that the logarithm of $k_0$ linearly depends on the absolute value of ${Delta}G_H$. We further confirm this relationship using additional experimental data points obtained from a critical review of the available literature. Our analyses show that the new model decreases the discrepancy between calculated and experimental exchange current density values by up to four orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we show the model can be further improved using machine learning and statistical inference methods that integrate additional material properties
Tribology, which studies surfaces in contact and relative motion, includes friction, wear, and lubrication, straddling across different fields: mechanical engineering, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience, physics. This short review restricts to the last two disciplines, with a qualitative survey of a small number of recent progress areas in the physics of nanofriction.
Excited configurations of hydrogen in the oxyhydride BaTiO$_{3-x}$H$_x$ ($x=0.1-0.5$), which are considered to be involved in its hydrogen transport and exchange processes, were investigated by positive muon spin relaxation ($mu^+$SR) spectroscopy using muonium (Mu) as a pseudoisotope of hydrogen. Muons implanted into the BaTiO$_{3-x}$H$_x$ perovskite lattice were mainly found in two qualitatively different metastable states. One was assigned to a highly mobile interstitial protonic state, which is commonly observed in perovskite oxides. The other was found to form an entangled two spin-$frac{1}{2}$ system with the nuclear spin of an H$^-$ ion at the anion site. The structure of the (H,Mu) complex agrees well with that of a neutralized center containing two H$^-$ ions at a doubly charged oxygen vacancy, which was predicted to form in the SrTiO$_{3-delta}$ perovskite lattice by a computational study [Y. Iwazaki $et$ $al$., APL Materials 2, 012103 (2014)]. Above 100 K, interstitial Mu$^+$ diffusion and retrapping to a deep defect were observed, which could be a rate-limiting step of macroscopic Mu/H transport in the BaTiO$_{3-x}$H$_x$ lattice.
The ability to efficiently evolve hydrogen via electrocatalysis at low overpotentials holds tremendous promise for clean energy. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can be easily achieved from water if a voltage above the thermodynamic potential of the HER is applied. Large overpotentials are energetically inefficient but can be lowered with expensive platinum based catalysts. Replacement of Pt with inexpensive, earth abundant electrocatalysts would be significantly beneficial for clean and efficient hydrogen evolution. Towards this end, promising HER characteristics have been reported using 2H (trigonal prismatic) XS2 (where X = Mo or W) nanoparticles with a high concentration of metallic edges as electrocatalysts. The key challenges for HER with XS2 are increasing the number and catalytic activity of active sites. Here we report atomically thin nanosheets of chemically exfoliated WS2 as efficient catalysts for hydrogen evolution with very low overpotentials. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy analyses indicate that enhanced electrocatalytic activity of WS2 is associated with high concentration of strained metallic 1T (octahedral) phase in the as-exfoliated nanosheets. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the presence of strain in the 1T phase leads to an enhancement of the density of states at the Fermi level and increases the catalytic activity of the WS2 nanosheet. Our results suggest that chemically exfoliated WS2 nanosheets could be interesting catalysts for hydrogen evolution.
The observation of extraordinarily high conductivity in delafossite-type PdCoO2 is of great current interest, and there is some evidence that electrons behave like a fluid when flowing in bulk crystals of PdCoO2. Thus, this material is an ideal platform for the study of the electron transfer processes in heterogeneous reactions. Here, we report the use of bulk single crystal PdCoO2 as a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs). An overpotential of only 31 mV results in a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2), accompanied by high long-term stability. We have precisely determined that the crystal surface structure is modified after electrochemical activation with the formation of strained Pd nanoclusters in the surface layer. These nanoclusters exhibit reversible hydrogen sorption and desorption, creating more active sites for hydrogen access. The bulk PdCoO2 single crystal with ultra-high conductivity, which acts as a natural substrate for the Pd nanoclusters, provides a high-speed channel for electron transfer
We investigate the van der Waals interactions in solid molecular hydrogen structures. We calculate enthalpy and the Gibbs free energy to obtain zero and finite temperature phase diagrams, respectively. We employ density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the electronic structure and Density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) with van der Waals (vdW) functionals to obtain phonon spectra. We focus on the solid molecular $C2/c$, $Cmca$-12, $P6_3/m$, $Cmca$, and $Pbcn$ structures within the pressure range of 200 $<$ P $<$ 450 GPa. We propose two structures of the $C2/c$ and $Pbcn$ for phase III which are stabilized within different pressure range above 200 GPa. We find that vdW functionals have a big effect on vibrations and finite-temperature phase stability, however, different vdW functionals have different effects. We conclude that, in addition to the vdW interaction, a correct treatment of the high charge gradient limit is essential. We show that the dependence of molecular bond-lengths on exchange-correlation also has a considerable influence on the calculated metallization pressure, introducing errors of up to 100GPa.