Functionalization and precise modulation of the electronic properties of graphene are key processes in the development of new applications of this promising material. This study examines the potential of using organic polycations as p-dopants and/or anchoring motifs for non-covalent functionalization. A library of hybrid materials was prepared through wet-chemical non-covalent functionalization. Both chemical vapor deposition graphene and reduced graphene oxide were functionalized with a series of neutral and polycationic benzimidazole-based systems. We report on how both the number of anions and the size, shape, and magnitude of the positive charge of the benzimidazole-based systems cooperatively affect the redox properties as well as the affinity for and the nature of bonding to graphene. The redox properties of the benzimidazole-based systems were studied by cyclic voltammetry. The functionalized graphene materials were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Density functional theory calculations were performed to make contact between the experimental results obtained for molecular samples and hybrid materials. No universal dependence of the binding affinity on a single parameter, such as the amount of positive charge or the size of the system, was found. Instead, the cooperative effect of the three-dimensional structure of the benzimidazole-based systems and the number of anions was found to play a pivotal role. Together, these parameters determine the degree of partial electron sharing and magnitude of dispersion forces involved in the binding of members of this family of benzimidazole-based systems to graphene.

The effect of alloying Cr-rich Cr-Si alloys with Pt was investigated by a combination of complementary experimental methods and atomic scale modelling. The investigated Cr-Si and Cr-Si-Pt (Cr ⩾86 at.%) alloys developed a two-phase microstructure consisting of Cr solid solution (Crss) matrix and strengthened by A15 precipitates during annealing at 1200°C. It was found that additions of 2 at.% Pt increase the coarsening rate by almost five times considering annealing times up to 522 h. Pt was found to change the precipitate matrix orientation relationship, despite its low influence on the Crss matrix/A15 precipitate misfit. Through this experimental and modelling approach new insight has been gained into mechanisms of enhanced coarsening by Pt addition. The increased coarsening is principally attributed to a change in interface composition and structure resulting in different thermodynamic stabilities: Pt-containing A15 phase was found to have a broader compositional range if both elements, Pt and Si, are present compared to only Si. Additionally, the Crss phase was found to have a higher solubility of Pt and Si over just Si. Both factors additionally facilitated Ostwald ripening.

An entry from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database, the world’s repository for inorganic crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the joint CCDC and FIZ Karlsruhe Access Structures service and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

In Swedish Light Water Reactors (LWR), stress corrosion cracking of reactor components and welds occurs from time to time. As the nuclear power plants are ageing, it is essential to study and further understand the mechanism for environmentally induced sensitization. Natural cracking is a phenomenon that is difcult to predict and very hard to study since it occurs suddenly and often unexpectedly. In order to study the crack initiation and growth, the crack is traditionally experimentally provoked and it is not known to what degree these experimental cracks correspond to those that occur naturally. The environment in an LWR contributes to material ageing through chemical reactions with the environment. An in-depth examination has shown that the microstructures of oxide flms changes along the crack path and the oxide flm in the crack tip is signifcantly diferent from what one detects at the crack opening. In this study, 1st principles modelling is used to articulate an environment induced sensitization mechanism for stress corrosion cracking of Ni(Fe,Cr) alloys in LWR conditions.

Hybridizing graphene and molecules possess a high potential for developing materials for new applications. However, new methods to characterize such hybrids must be developed. Herein, the wet-chemical non-covalent functionalization of graphene with cationic pi-systems is presented and the interaction between graphene and the molecules is characterized in detail. A series of tricationic benzimidazolium salts with various steric demand and counterions was synthesized, characterized and used for the fabrication of graphene hybrids. Subsequently, the doping effects were studied. The molecules are adsorbed onto graphene and studied by Raman spectroscopy, XPS as well as ToF-SIMS. The charged pi-systems show a p-doping effect on the underlying graphene. Consequently, the tricationic molecules are reduced through a partial electron transfer process from graphene, a process which is accompanied by the loss of counterions. DFT calculations support this hypothesis and the strong p-doping could be confirmed in fabricated monolayer graphene/hybrid FET devices. The results are the basis to develop sensor applications, which are based on analyte/molecule interactions and effects on doping.

The beneficial effect of zinc to mitigate radio-cobalt uptake on stainless steel piping surfaces under BWR conditions is revisited by means of 1st principles modelling. A viable generic hydroxylated grain boundary interface (HGBI) model for magnetite, i.e., an inverse spinel, is formulated and interrogated in order to unravel how Zn may cause exclusion of Co by competing for the same sites. While Co2+ as well as Ni2+ reside preferentially in the octahedral lattice sites of the inverse spinel lattice, Zn2+ prefers to reside at the HGBI. The difference is consolidated for M(II), M being Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, or Zn. Similar affinities as well as mobilities of Co2+ and Zn2+ in the HGBI are taken to explain how, upon Fe2+ dissolution, Zn2+ may compete with Co2+ for the Fe2+ sites in the inner layer of the duplex oxide film. Impacts of Zn2+ and Ni2+ on Co2+ uptake in the outer oxide layer is also addressed. Zn2+ guided precipitation is found to be less effective than the Ni2+ guided process. Reported beneficial effects on radio-cobalt uptake upon sealing off the stainless steel acting Ni2+ source by coating with magnetite as well as hematite are discussed.

In this comprehensive investigation, it is demonstrated how chloride ions may permeate a crack-free oxide scale, thus providing hitherto missing mechanistic insight as to the impacts of KCl(s) or HCl(g) exposures on the high-temperature corrosion of biomass- and waste-fired boilers. Guided by dedicated experimental analyses, mechanistic understanding is gained by means of density functional theory. Chloride ions, being accommodated in oxygen anion vacancies that are generated at the receding magnetite/alloy interface, are driven through the oxide scale by the oxidation process. Intermediate stabilities of quasi-homogeneous transient iron oxychloride species are found, employing potassium ferrite and goethite as complementary cation sinks for the KCl(s) and HCl(g) reactants, respectively. Spontaneous disproportionation of the supersaturated oxychlorides into two different types of chloride decorated magnetite grain boundaries is demonstrated. These motifs are proposed to explain loss of scale integrity as well as accelerated oxidation by offering short-circuiting transient pathways for ion diffusion.

Gasification in fluidized bed systems is considered to be a highly promising alternative for the thermal conversion of biomass. A major challenge for this process is the formed tars, which represent a loss of energy from the product gas and entail additional costs for their removal. Olivine is considered to be the most effective catalytic bed material in terms of its impact on tar levels in the product gas. Additions and modifications to olivine have revealed the potential to enhance its catalytic activity. In the present study, the effect of the addition of K2CO3 to the gasification process on the tar decomposition capability of olivine were evaluated. The effect of the added K2CO3 on the product gas was assessed in the 30-MWth pilot gasification plant GoBiGas. Once decreases in the tar level were detected, samples of the bed material were extracted from the system and evaluated for morphological and chemical changes related to the observed catalytic effect. SEM-EDX and XPS analyses of the surfaces of the olivine particles indicate that the additive is involved in the formation of mixed oxides of Ca and K within the outermost layer of the olivine particles. DFT modeling showed that the formation of mixed Ca and K oxides changes the oxidation potential of the surface, which may explain the increased activity of ash coated olivine towards tar reduction.

A novel graphene-based glucose sensor-design is formulated and explored in silico. An ad hoc host molecule is tailored to bind to glucose by multiple hydrogen bonds. A pyridinic core is chosen for this receptor in order to allow for "socket-plug" dative bonding to boron sites of boron doped graphene. The modeling employs DFT (Density Functional Theory) together with an effective aqueous environment to take into account the solvation effect. High selectivity is demonstrated for the suggested host molecule towards glucose as compared to other possible competitors in blood such as fructose, biotin and ascorbic acid. A route to achieve improved sensitivity, exploiting the hydrophilic/ hydrophobic properties of the host thorn glucose system for enhanced selective binding to the hydrophobic boron doped graphene support is discussed. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced superconductivity is sought by employing heterostructures composed of boron-doped graphene and iron selenide. Build-up of a composite manifold of near-degenerate noninteracting states formed by coupling top-of-valence-band states of FeSe to bottom-of-conduction-band states of boron-doped graphene is demonstrated. Intra- and intersubsystem excitons are explored by means of density functional theory in order to articulate a normal state from which superconductivity may emerge. The results are discussed in the context of electron correlation in general and multi-band superconductivity in particular.

A route to achieve multi-functional graphene coating is explored. Chemical bonding between copper substrate and coating results if the graphene is a priori boron doped. After pair-wise binding of boron sites to the Cu(111) surface, co-existence of pseudo-gap property in the graphene subsystem and a metallic density of states in the Cu subsystem at the common Fermi energy emerges. Apparently a paradox is that the two subsystems preserve and even recover their individual integrities upon formation of surface chemical bonds. Sensor capabilities are inferred. Employing pyridine as test molecule, conditioned ability of a nucleophile to offer competitive dative bonding, with the sub-strate, for boron sites is demonstrated. It is shown to occur for the case of half coverage and for adsorption to boron atoms originally bound to the on-top site on Cu(111). The ability of complementary boron sites to compensate for loss of binding between on-top site and boron, resulting from said bonding to the incoming nucleophile, is emphasized. Multifunctional substrate-coating system for catalysis as well as enhanced sensitization is inferred.

A number of 2D layered perovskites A2PbI4 and BPbI4, with A and B mono- and divalent ammonium and imidazolium cations, have been modeled with different theoretical methods. The periodic structures have been optimized (both in monoclinic and in triclinic systems, corresponding to eclipsed and staggered arrangements of the inorganic layers) at the DFT level, with hybrid functionals, Gaussian-type orbitals and dispersion energy corrections. With the same methods, the various contributions to the solid stabilization energy have been discussed, separating electrostatic and dispersion energies, organic-organic intralayer interactions and H-bonding effects, when applicable. Then the electronic band gaps have been computed with plane waves, at the DFT level with scalar and full relativistic potentials, and including the correlation energy through the GW approximation. Spin orbit coupling and GW effects have been combined in an additive scheme, validated by comparing the computed gap with well known experimental and theoretical results for a model system. Finally, various contributions to the computed band gaps have been discussed on some of the studied systems, by varying some geometrical parameters and by substituting one cation in another's place.

A possible Socket-Plug standard coupling to connect molecular moieties to graphene is proposed whereby the electronic characteristics in the vicinity of the Fermi energy become virtually independent of choice of molecular “antenna”. Proof of concept is offered by means of DFT. A Lewis acid – base coupling is utilized. Thus, the socket property is obtained by boron atoms introduced in the graphene matrix, while the plug property is offered by a lone-pair of the molecular adsorbate. Standard electronic response of boron doped graphene to three different nucleophilic adsorbates is demonstrated. Moreover, conceptual connection is made to hydrogenated pristine graphene and the origins of the similarities in the electronic structures are analyzed. Boron doping introduces holes in the valence band while the dative bonding between electrophilic boron sites and nucleophilic lone-pairs effectively achieves electronic undoping of the boron doped graphene. The Lewis acid – base connection is understood to render the socket-plug functionality robust to adsorption–desorption of the “antenna” molecules. This socket-plug standard may well comprise a necessary prerequisite for making systematic progress in contemporary graphene technology.

We present surface hopping simulations of the photodynamics of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4'-(biphenyl-4-ylazo)-biphenyl-4-thiol (ABPT) on Au(111). We show that trans → cis photoisomerization is suppressed because of steric hindrance in a well-ordered SAM. Photoisomerization is instead viable in the presence of defects. Two particularly important defects are the boundaries between domains of trans-ABPT molecules leaning in different directions (a line defect) and single cis molecules embedded in a SAM of trans (a point defect). Our findings explain the cooperative behavior observed during the photoisomerization of a trans-ABPT SAM, leading to large domains of pure cis and trans isomers. The line and point defects are predicted to produce different patterns of cis-ABPT molecules during the early stages of the photoconversion.

We use density functional theory to describe a novel way for metal free catalytic reduction of nitric oxide NO utilizing borondopedgraphene. The present study is based on the observation that borondopedgraphene and O-N=N-O(-) act as Lewis acid-base pair allowing the graphene surface to act as a catalyst. The process implies electron assisted N=N bond formation prior to N-O dissociation. Two N2 + O2 product channels, one of which favoring N2O formation, are envisaged as outcome of the catalytic process. Besides, we show also that the N2 + O2formation pathways are contrasted by a side reaction that brings to N3O3 (-)formation and decomposition into N2O + NO2 (-).

We present surface hopping simulations of the photodynamics of azobenzene excited in the pi -> pi* band, in vacuo and in two solvents of different viscosity. We apply the overlap based quantum decoherence correction (ODC) previously devised by our group, and we propose a criterium to calibrate the ODC when no experimental or theoretical benchmarks are available. We show that decoherence has an important effect on the excited state decay. Solvation also affects the lifetimes, as well as the quantum yields and important details of the reaction mechanism. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report a computational study of the photo-orientation kinetics in a viscous solution of azobenzene in ethylene glycol, under irradiation with linearly polarized light. The development of anisotropy and its interplay with photoisomerization are simulated by a stochastic model. A distinctive feature of the model is that it takes into account the photo-orientation angular distributions, specific for each isomer, obtained by nonadiabatic dynamics simulations at the molecular level. We find that the anisotropy, as measured by optical absorption dichroism, does not necessarily increase monotonously with time. As expected, the photo-orientation turns out to be strongly coupled with photoisomerization, but the latter is not a mandatory ingredient of this phenomenon: we predict that any chromophore undergoing large amplitude geometry relaxation during its excited state dynamics can develop anisotropy under suitable conditions.

We present a stochastic model for the kinetics of photoinduced anisotropy in a sample of molecular chromophores that may undergo photoisomerization. It is assumed that the chromophores do not interact among them, but are embedded in a medium that slows down the rotational diffusion. The model makes use of data about the photoinduced reorientation of the single chromophore, its photoisomerization and its rotational diffusion, that are made available by molecular dynamics simulations. For the first time such molecular scale processes are computationally connected to the development of anisotropy in a large sample and on a long time scale. A test on azobenzene shows the potentiality of the method and the interplay between photoinduced anisotropy and photoisomerization.

We examine the photo-orientation of molecules in a linearly polarized field and the ensuing optical anisotropy of a sample. We propose a theoretical model that considers both photoinduced reorientation and rotational diffusion, for the case of linear or axial molecules not interacting among them, as in dilute solutions in viscous media. We perform numerical simulations to highlight the dependence on the parameters of the molecular reorientation processes, on the intensity of the exciting light, and on the use of cross polarized pulses. As a realistic example we simulate the photo-orientation of azobenzene in ethylene glycol.