The adsorption and dissociation of O$_{2}$ molecules at the Be(0001) surface is studied by using density-functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation and a supercell approach. The physi- and chemisorbed molecular precursor states a
re identified to be along the parallel and vertical channels, respectively. It is shown that the HH-Z (see the text for definition) channel is the most stable channel for the molecular chemisorption of O$_{2}$. The electronic and magnetic properties of this most stable chemisorbed molecular state are studied, which shows that the electrons transfer forth and back between the spin-resolved antibonding $pi^{ast}$ molecular orbitals and the surface Be $sp$ states. A distinct covalent weight in the molecule-metal bond is also shown. The dissociation of O$_{2}$ is determined by calculating the adiabatic potential energy surfaces, wherein the T-Y channel is found to be the most stable and favorable for the dissociative adsorption of O$_{2}$. Remarkably, we predict that unlike the other simple $sp$ metal surfaces such as Al(111) and Mg(0001), the textit{adiabatic} dissociation process of O$_{2}$ at Be(0001) is an activated type with a sizeable energy barrier.
The electronic structure and properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$ have been studied from first principles by the all-electron projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. The local density approximation (LDA)+$U$ and the generalized gradient approxi
mation (GGA)+$U$ formalism have been used to account for the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized Pu $5f$ electrons. We discuss how the properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$ are affected by the choice of $U$ as well as the choice of exchange-correlation potential. Also, oxidation reaction of Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$, leading to formation of PuO$_{2}$, and its dependence on $U$ and exchange-correlation potential have been studied. Our results show that by choosing an appropriate $U$ it is promising to correctly and consistently describe structural, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$, which enables it possible the modeling of redox process involving Pu-based materials.
The Hugoniot curves for shock-compressed molybdenum with initial porosities of 1.0, 1.26, 1.83, and 2.31 are theoretically investigated. The method of calculations combines the first-principles treatment for zero- and finite-temperature electronic co
ntribution and the mean-field-potential approach for the ion-thermal contribution to the total free energy. Our calculated results reproduce the Hugoniot properties of porous molybdenum quite well. At low porosity, in particular, the calculations show a complete agreement with the experimental measurements over the full range of data. For the two large porosity values of 1.83 and 2.31, our results are well in accord with the experimental data points up to the particle velocity of 3.5 km/s, and tend to overestimate the shock-wave velocity and Hugoniot pressure when further increasing the particle velocity. In addition, the temperature along the principal Hugoniot is also extensively investigated for porous molybdenum.
We study the atomic oxygen adsorption on Pb(111) surface by using density-functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation and a supercell approach. The atomic and energetic properties of purely on-surface and subsurface oxygen structu
res at the Pb(111) surface are systematically investigated for a wide range of coverages and adsorption sites. The fcc and tetra-II sites (see the text for definition) are found to be energetically preferred for the on-surface and subsurface adsorption, respectively, in the whole range of coverage considered. The on-surface and subsurface oxygen binding energies monotonically increase with the coverage, and the latter is always higher than the former, thus indicating the tendency to the formation of oxygen islands (clusters) and the higher stability of subsurface adsorption. The on-surface and subsurface diffusion-path energetics of atomic oxygen, and the activation barriers for the O penetration from the on-surface to the subsurface sites are presented at low and high coverages. In particular, it is shown that the penetration barrier from the on-surface hcp to the subsurface tetra-I site is as small as 65 meV at low coverage ($Theta $=0.25). The other properties of the O/Pb(111) system, including the charge distribution, the lattice relaxation, the work function, and the electronic density of states, are also studied and discussed in detail, which consistently show the gradually stabilizing ionic O-Pb bond with increase of the oxygen coverage.
We study the intrinsic orbital magnetization (OM) in antiferromagnets on the distorted face-centered-cubic lattice. The combined lattice distortion and spin frustration induce nontrivial $k$-space Chern invariant, which turns to result in profound ef
fects on the OM properties. We derive a specific relation between the OM and the Hall conductivity, according to which it is found that the intrinsic OM vanishes when the electron chemical potential lies in the Mott gap. The distinct behavior of the intrinsic OM in the metallic and insulating regions is shown. The Berry phase effects on the thermoelectric transport is also discussed.
