Role of Dy 4felectrons on magnetic coupling and reorientation in DyFeO3.

Spin reorientation transition is an ubiquitous phenomenon observed in magnetic rare earth orthferrites RFeO3, which has garnered significant attention in recent years due to its potential applications in spintronics or magnetoelectric devices. Although a plenty of experimental works suggest that the magnetic interaction between R3+and Fe3+spins is at the heart of the spin reorientation, but a direct and conclusive theoretical support has been lacking thus far, primarily due to the challenging nature of handling R 4felectrons. In this paper, we explored DyFeO3as an example by means of comprehensive first principles calculations, and compared two different approaches, where the Dy 4felectrons were treated separately as core or valence states, aiming to elucidate the role of Dy 4felectrons, particularly in the context of the spin reorientation transition. The comparison provides a solid piece of evidence for the experimental argument that the Dy3+-Fe3+magnetic interactions play a vital role in triggering spin reorientation of Fe3+moments at low temperatures. The findings revealed here not only extend our understanding on the underlying mechanism for spin reorientation transition in RFeO3, but also highlight the importance of explicit description of R 4felectrons in rationally reproducing their structural, electronic and magnetic properties.

Pressure-induced structural and magnetic ordering transitions in the J1-J2 square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb).

By means of ab initio density functional theory calculations taking into account electronic correlation and van der Waals force, we conducted comprehensive studies of the electronic and magnetic properties, as well as structural and magnetic ordering evolution under pressure of the square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb) containing Mo5+ ions with , theoretically predicted as the potential candidates for achieving quantum phases, existing in the boundary regimes for square lattice magnets. Our results indicate that the columnar antiferromagnetic ordering, experimentally determined, is the magnetic ground state of the ambient P4/nmm phase, stabilized by the predominant antiferromagnetic next nearest neighbor interaction J2 in the diagonal directions of the square lattice, regardless of the effective Hubbard amendment values. More importantly, the P4/n phase, involving the mutual twisting of the MoO5Cl and PO4 polyhedra, satisfactorily reproduces the experimentally observed structural transition and the subsequent magnetic ordering transition from columnar antiferromagnetic ordering to Néel antiferromagnetic one, identified to be the appropriate high pressure structure. Furthermore, the mechanism underlined responsible for the magnetic ordering transition at high pressure has been disclosed in terms of density of states and spin density isosurface analysis across the transition. The loss of mirror plane symmetry in the P4/n phase activates the P 3s orbitals to participate in the magnetic interaction, giving rise to a competitive ferromagnetic superexchange interaction, in addition to antiferromagnetic direct one, and consequently initiating the magnetic ordering transition. The insights revealed here not only deepen our understanding of the electronic properties and structural and magnetic ordering transitions under high pressure of square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb), but also push the boundaries of knowledge by recognizing the role of nonmagnetic ions P 3s in magnetic exchange coupling.

Role of V-V dimerization on electronic and magnetic properties of ilmenite-type CoVO3.

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of ilmenite-type CoVO3have been explored via the generalized gradient approximation + effective HubbardUeffcorrection, in the framework of density functional theory. Our results indicate that high temperature rhombohedralR3-phase is metallic with oxidation states and electronic configurations Co2+(t2g↑3eg↑2t2g↓2eg↓0), V4+(t2g↑1eg↑0t2g↓0eg↓0), respectively, while low temperature triclinicP1-phase, induced from spin-Peierls transition in the V-V dimerization manner, is insulating, maintaining charge and electronic states unchanged. Furthermore, the A-type antiferromagnetic ordering, where the ferromagnetic honeycomb layers are anti-aligned along the stacking axis, is identified to be the magnetic ground state for the low temperature phase, in nice agreement with experimental findings, analogous to CoTiO3. The unexpected intralayer ferromagnetic couplings can be attributed to the intraorbitalt2g-t2gexchange coupling, which was assumed to be small earlier and ignored, but actually large in honeycomb cobaltates with 3d7electronic configuration. In addition, the computed magnetic moment on Co2+ion ranges from 2.5 to 2.7µB, HubbardUeffdependent, close to idealS= 3/2 state, rather than the anticipatedJeff= 1/2 state. Furthermore, the supplemental calculations, taking spin-orbit coupling (SOC) into account, uncover faint orbital moments of 0.21-0.27µBat the Co site, illustrating the insignificance of SOC. Except for the inevitable trigonal distortions, the excessive structural distortion triggered by the formation V-V dimerization, i.e. the breaking of trigonal symmetry around Co2+, further lifts the degeneracy oft2gorbitals and increases crystal field splitting, driving it away from potential candidates for realizing Kitaev model physics.

Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Spin-Orbit-Entangled Honeycomb Lattice Iridates MIrO3 (M = Cd, Zn, and Mg).

By means of density functional theory calculations with the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling, we present a comprehensive investigation of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the novel series of ilmenite-type honeycomb lattice iridates MIrO3 (M = Cd, Zn, and Mg), the potential candidates for realizing the quantum spin liquid. Our findings are as follows: (i) the structural relaxations could not properly capture the abnormal thin two-dimensional honeycomb IrO6 layers in CdIrO3, making the experimentally proposed crystal structure questionable. Furthermore, the calculations within the experimental structure could not correctly determine the magnetic ground state; however, the results within the optimized one rectify this scenario and provide a precise and reasonable description of its electronic and magnetic properties, which is in good agreement with the experimental observations and that of Zn and Mg analogues. In this regard, we hope that our report will inspire additional studies on this issue and eventually resolve the crystal structure of CdIrO3. (ii) We identified that the magnetic ground state of this series of iridates MIrO3 is the zigzag antiferromagnetic ordering, where ferromagnetic zigzag chains are coupling antiferromagnetically across the bridging bonds within a hexagon. (iii) Though it is widely assumed that all the iridates can be well described based on the spin-orbit-assisted Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulating state model, detailed analysis of electronic band structures indicates that the formation of quasimolecular orbitals (QMOs) within a hexagon plays a non-negligible role in appropriately depicting the electronic and magnetic properties. Finally, (iv) we found that all the antiferromagnetic patterns are insulating with finite band gaps. Clarifying the effect of magnetic ordering on the electronic structures is important because it reminds us of potential erroneous identification/prediction of the ground state. The results suggest that precisely determining the magnetic ground state and adopting it in the simulations are imperative for faithfully rendering the electronic properties of a compound. Our results underline the importance of structural factor, spin-orbit coupling, correlation correction, the formation of the QMOs within the hexagon, as well as magnetic ordering in elucidating the electronic structure of a series of ilmenite-type honeycomb lattice iridates MIrO3.

Emergence of Insulating Ferrimagnetism and Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in 3d-5d Perovskite Oxide Composite Films for Insulator Spintronics.

Magnetic insulators with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) play a key role in exploring pure spin current phenomena and developing ultralow-dissipation spintronic devices, rendering them highly desirable to develop new material platforms. Here, we report the epitaxial growth of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO)-SrIrO3 (SIO) composite oxide films (LSMIO) with different crystalline orientations fabricated by a sequential two-target ablation process by pulsed laser deposition. The LSMIO films exhibit high crystalline quality with a homogeneous mixture of LSMO and SIO at an atomic level. Ferrimagnetic and insulating transport characteristics are observed, with the temperature-dependent electric resistivity well fitted by the Mott variable-range-hopping model. Moreover, the LSMIO films show strong PMA. By further constructing all-perovskite-oxide heterostructures of the ferrimagnetic insulator LSMIO and a strong spin-orbital-coupled SIO layer, pronounced spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) and spin Hall-like anomalous Hall effect (SH-AHE) were observed. These results illustrate the potential application of the ferrimagnetic insulator LSMIO in developing all-oxide ultralow-dissipation spintronic devices.

Electrodeposited Co-W-P ternary catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction.

In order to reduce the overpotential of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the ternary coating Co-W-P was deposited on the surface of the nickel foam by electrochemical deposition to obtain a highly active electrode. Based on the measured double layer capacitance (Cdl) and HER activity, there is volcanic behavior between the intrinsic activity of Co-W-P and the Co:W ratio in the electrolyte. W and P play different roles in the formation of nanoparticles, and work together to achieve the large electrochemical surface area and excellent activity. When applied to the modification of other catalysts (Ni-P and Fe-P), the higher intrinsic activity was obtained after the introduction of W.

Magnetic Interactions in ZnMnO3: Active Role of Zn 3d10 Orbitals, in Comparison with MgMnO3.

The ilmenite-type MgMnO3 and ZnMnO3 with honeycomb Mn layers exhibit distinctive magnetic ground states. In experiments, MgMnO3 exhibits a Néel antiferromagnetic alignment, in which both nearest-neighbor (NN) J1 and next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) J2 exchange interactions are antiferromagnetic, while ZnMnO3 has zigzag antiferromagnetic ordering with NN ferromagnetic and NNN antiferromagnetic coupling. On the basis of ab initio band structure calculations, we explain the deviation of NN J1 exchange coupling from antiferromagnetic (MgMnO3) to ferromagnetic (ZnMnO3) as originating from the intensive hybridization between the occupied Zn 3d10 orbitals with those of the bridging O 2p states, strongly depending on the position of the orbitals. In addition, our results indicate that, in combination with the NN J1 coupling, the considerably large third-nearest-neighbor (TNN) J3 exchange interaction plays an important role in erecting the magnetic ground states, rather than the experimentally proposed NNN J2. Furthermore, our findings highlight the important role of not only the electronic configurations but also the positions of the nonmagnetic cations in determining the essence of the magnetic exchange interactions. Therefore, the hybridization effect of nonmagnetic cations should not be dismissed in an analysis of the magnetic properties of transition-metal oxides.

Optimized electronic structure and p-band centre control engineering to enhance surface absorption and inherent conductivity for accelerated hydrogen evolution over a wide pH range.

Numerous experiments have demonstrated that an appropriate electronic configuration can effectively activate the electrocatalytic activity. However, systematic studies on the effects of non-metallic elemental doping and its p-orbital center (εp) on electrocatalysis have not yet been carried out. Combining theoretical and experimental methods, we demonstrate an electronic configuration and p-orbital center control engineering for promoting the HER course in both acid and alkaline solutions over group VA elements doped into the inert basal plane of nanoMoS2. In acidic solutions, As-doped MoS2 has the best electrocatalytic activity. Theoretically, the calculated ΔGH of the As atom is only -0.07 eV, indicating that it has excellent catalytic performance. Furthermore, the p-orbital center under and near the Fermi level plays a significant role in the H adsorption course, and the closer the εp value is to the Fermi level, the weaker the H- non-metallic atom bond is. An appropriate εp can insure a proper strength of bond with H and further influence the catalytic activity of the HER. In alkaline solutions, P-doped MoS2 has the best electrocatalytic activity, which is due to the engineering of water dissociation sites by doping P atoms into MoS2 nanosheets. These findings pave the path to develop a rational strategy to trigger the activity of the inert basal plane of MoS2, to enhance the conductivity of inherent MoS2 towards the HER and provide a new idea that can be extended to other layered dichalcogenides.

Optimizing Electron Densities of Ni-N-C Complexes by Hybrid Coordination for Efficient Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

Metal-N-C is a type of attractive electrocatalyst for efficient CO2 reduction to CO. Because of the ambiguity in their atomic structures, the active sites and catalytic mechanisms of the catalysts have remained under debate. Here, the effects of N and C hybrid coordination on the activity of Ni-N-C catalysts were investigated, combining theoretical and experimental methods. The theoretical calculations revealed that N and C hybrid coordination greatly enhanced the capability of single-atom Ni active sites to provide electrons to reactant molecules and strengthens the bonding of Ni to N and C in the Ni-N-C complexes. During the reaction process, the C and N coordination synergistically optimized the reaction energies in the conversion of CO2 to CO. A good agreement between theoretical calculations and electrochemical experiments was achieved based on the newly developed Ni-N-C electrocatalysts. The activity of hybrid-coordination NiN2 C2 was more than double that of single-coordination NiN4 .

Environmentally-Friendly Exfoliate and Active Site Self-Assembly: Thin 2D/2D Heterostructure Amorphous Nickel-Iron Alloy on 2D Materials for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

A class of 2D layered materials exhibits substantial potential for high-performance electrocatalysts due to high specific surface area, tunable electronic properties, and open 2D channels for fast ion transport. However, liquid-phase exfoliation always utilizes organic solvents that are harmful to the environment, and the active sites are limited to edge sites. Here, an environmentally friendly exfoliator in aqueous solution is presented without utilizing any toxic or hazardous substance and active site self-assembly on the inert base of 2D materials. Benefiting from thin 2D/2D heterostructure and strong interfacial coupling, the resultant highly disordered amorphous NiFe/2D materials (Ti3C2 MXene, graphene and MoS2 ) thin nanosheets exhibit extraordinary electrocatalytic performance toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. DFT results further verify the experimental results. The study emphasizes a viable idea to probe efficient electrocatalysts by means of the synergistic effect of environmentally friendly exfoliator in aqueous solution and active site self-assembly on the inert base of 2D materials which forms the unique thin 2D/2D heterostructure in-suit. This new type of heterostructure opens up a novel avenue for the rational design of highly efficient 2D materials for electrocatalysis.

Influence of surface atomic structure demonstrated on oxygen incorporation mechanism at a model perovskite oxide.

Perovskite oxide surfaces catalyze oxygen exchange reactions that are crucial for fuel cells, electrolyzers, and thermochemical fuel synthesis. Here, by bridging the gap between surface analysis with atomic resolution and oxygen exchange kinetics measurements, we demonstrate how the exact surface atomic structure can determine the reactivity for oxygen exchange reactions on a model perovskite oxide. Two precisely controlled surface reconstructions with (4 × 1) and (2 × 5) symmetry on 0.5 wt.% Nb-doped SrTiO3(110) were subjected to isotopically labeled oxygen exchange at 450 °C. The oxygen incorporation rate is three times higher on the (4 × 1) surface phase compared to the (2 × 5). Common models of surface reactivity based on the availability of oxygen vacancies or on the ease of electron transfer cannot account for this difference. We propose a structure-driven oxygen exchange mechanism, relying on the flexibility of the surface coordination polyhedra that transform upon dissociation of oxygen molecules.

Corrigendum: Comparative Description of Magnetic Interactions in Sr2CuTeO6 and Sr2CuWO6 (2017 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 29 105801).

Typographical errors are present in the Table 2 of the paper stated above. The correct table is give below. All numerical results and conclusions of the paper remains unchanged.

Spatially Confined Assembly of Monodisperse Ruthenium Nanoclusters in a Hierarchically Ordered Carbon Electrode for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution.

The redox units of polyaniline (PAni) are used cooperatively, and in situ, to assemble ruthenium (Ru) nanoclusters in a hierarchically ordered carbon electrode. The oxidized quinonoid imine (QI) units in PAni bond Ru complex ions selectively, whereas reduced benzenoid amine (BA) units cannot. By electrochemically tuning the ratio of QI to BA, Ru complexes are spatially confined in the outer layer of hierarchical PAni frameworks. Carbonization of Ru-PAni hybrids induces nucleation on the outer surface of the carbon support, generating nearly monodisperse Ru nanoclusters. The optimized catalyst has a low loading of approximately 2 wt % Ru, but exhibits a mass activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction that is about 6.8 times better than commercial 20 wt % Pt/C catalyst.

Fluorine- and Nitrogen-Codoped MoS2 with a Catalytically Active Basal Plane.

Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (2D MoS2) has drawn persistent interests as one of the most promising alternatives to Pt catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It is generally accepted that the edge sites of 2D MoS2 are catalytically active but the basal planes are inert. Activating the MoS2 basal plane is an obvious strategy to enhance the HER activity of this material. However, few approaches have sought to activate the basal plane. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that the inert basal planes can be activated via the synergistic effects of nitrogen and fluorine codoping. Our first-principles calculations reveal that nitrogen in the basal plane of the fluorine- and nitrogen-codoped MoS2 (NF-MoS2) can act as a new active and further tuneable catalytic site. The as-prepared NF-MoS2 catalyst exhibited an enormously enhanced HER activity compared to that of pure MoS2 and N-doped MoS2 due to the chemical codoping effect. This work will pave a novel pathway for enhancing the HER activity using the synergistic effects of chemical codoping.

Charge ordering and magnetic frustration in CsFe2F6.

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of a charge-ordered iron fluoride material CsFe2+Fe3+F6 have been explored by density functional theory calculations based on the generalized gradient approximation + U approach, which was implemented in the VASP code. The material exhibits a 3D pyrochlore-related structure which consists of corner-shared Fe2+F6 and Fe3+F6 octahedra. Our results confirm that CsFe2F6 is a Mott-Hubbard insulator, and bears a magnetically frustrated ground state in which the localized 3d electrons are antiferromagnetically coupled between the homogeneous Fe ions (Fe3+-Fe3+ along the b axis, and Fe2+-Fe2+ along the a axis), while interactions between the heterogeneous Fe ions (Fe3+-Fe2+ along the c axis) are frustrated, consistent with Goodenough-Kanamori superexchange interactions. Although the disproportionation of the total 3d charge is extremely low, explicit evidence is provided on the charge ordering by an order parameter, which is defined as the difference in minority d yz orbital (in the local coordinates) occupations between the Fe3+ and Fe2+ cations. In addition, spin ordering and the spin-orbit coupling effect play an insignificant role in the charge ordering and the preferential occupation of the d yz orbital scenario in CsFe2F6.

Comparative description of magnetic interactions in Sr2CuTeO6 and Sr2CuWO6.

In this work, we comparatively explored the electronic structure and the low-dimensional magnetic interactions of double-perovskite compounds Sr2CuTeO6 and Sr2CuWO6 through first-principles calculations. The electronic structure calculations indicate that the Cu2+ (3d 9) site is the only magnetic active one, whereas Te6+ and W6+ remain in nonmagnetic states with d 10 and d 0 electronic configurations, respectively. The magnetic exchange interactions have been evaluated on the basis of the classical Heisenberg model. Both Sr2CuTeO6 and Sr2CuWO6 should be strong frustrated 2D magnetism, in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. Nevertheless, the nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic interaction J 1 plays a determined role in constructing the Néel antiferromagnetic ordering within the square Cu2+ framework of Sr2CuTeO6. While, the next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic interaction J 2 transcends the nearest-neighbor interaction J 1, establishes the collinear antiferromagnetic ordering in Sr2CuWO6. The discrimination has been explored and analyzed in detail using density of states, charge density as well as spin density analysis.

Microscopic mechanistic study on the multiferroic of R2CoMnO6/La2CoMnO6 (R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) by chemical and hydrostatic pressures: a first-principles calculation.

A specific class of multiferroic superlattices R2CoMnO6/La2CoMnO6 (R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm), which displayed observable electric polarizations and considerable magnetization, were investigated based on density functional theory. The multiferroic behavior was induced by both of the a(-)a(-)c(+) Glazer rotation patterns of BO6 (CoO6 and MnO6) octahedra and ferromagnetic coupling in the magnetic ordered superlattices. In addition, the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of R2CoMnO6/La2CoMnO6 superlattices can be tuned by chemical pressure and hydrostatic pressure, with the former being more effective in tuning magnetoelectric properties than the latter. For chemical pressure, the incorporation of lanthanide ions promoted an increase of BO6 octahedral tilting, reflected by the sharp decrease of Co-O3-Mn bond angles in the R-layer along the c axis. By contrast, the hydrostatic pressure acts on all three directions of the superlattice so that the change in Co-O-Mn bond angles is relatively small, therefore the octahedral distortion is much smaller than that caused by chemical pressure. Consequently, the electric polarization and magnetization changed more slowly. Our first-principles simulations proposed a series of rational multiferroic superlattices with tunable ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity by chemical and hydrostatic pressures, with expectation to be applied as novel spintronic materials.

C and N Hybrid Coordination Derived Co-C-N Complex as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Development of an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst composed of earth-abundant elements is scientifically and technologically important for the water splitting associated with the conversion and storage of renewable energy. Herein we report a new class of Co-C-N complex bonded carbon (only 0.22 at% Co) for HER with a self-supported and three-dimensional porous structure that shows an unexpected catalytic activity with low overpotential (212 mV at 100 mA cm(-2)) and long-term stability, better than that of most traditional-metal catalysts. Experimental observations in combination with density functional theory calculations reveal that C and N hybrid coordination optimizes the charge distribution and enhances the electron transfer, which synergistically promotes the proton adsorption and reduction kinetics.

Direct view at excess electrons in TiO2 rutile and anatase.

A combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and density functional theory is used to characterize excess electrons in TiO2 rutile and anatase, two prototypical materials with identical chemical composition but different crystal lattices. In rutile, excess electrons can localize at any lattice Ti atom, forming a small polaron, which can easily hop to neighboring sites. In contrast, electrons in anatase prefer a free-carrier state, and can only be trapped near oxygen vacancies or form shallow donor states bound to Nb dopants. The present study conclusively explains the differences between the two polymorphs and indicates that even small structural variations in the crystal lattice can lead to a very different behavior.

Stabilizing Single Ni Adatoms on a Two-Dimensional Porous Titania Overlayer at the SrTiO3(110) Surface.

Nickel vapor-deposited on the SrTiO3(110) surface was studied using scanning tunneling microscopy, photoemission spectroscopy (PES), and density functional theory calculations. This surface forms a (4 × 1) reconstruction, composed of a 2-D titania structure with periodic six- and ten-membered nanopores. Anchored at these nanopores, Ni single adatoms are stabilized at room temperature. PES measurements show that the Ni adatoms create an in-gap state located at 1.9 eV below the conduction band minimum and induce an upward band bending. Both experimental and theoretical results suggest that Ni adatoms are positively charged. Our study produces well-dispersed single-adatom arrays on a well-characterized oxide support, providing a model system to investigate single-adatom catalytic and magnetic properties.