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Jeff Greeley

Publications and source records attributed to Jeff Greeley.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Computational high-throughput screening of electrocatalytic materials for hydrogen evolution.

The pace of materials discovery for heterogeneous catalysts and electrocatalysts could, in principle, be accelerated by the development of efficient computational screening methods. This would require an integrated approach, where the catalytic activity and stability of new materials are evaluated and where predictions are benchmarked by careful synthesis and experimental tests. In this contribution, we present a density functional theory-based, high-throughput screening scheme that successfully uses these strategies to identify a new electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The activity of over 700 binary surface alloys is evaluated theoretically; the stability of each alloy in electrochemical environments is also estimated. BiPt is found to have a predicted activity comparable to, or even better than, pure Pt, the archetypical HER catalyst. This alloy is synthesized and tested experimentally and shows improved HER performance compared with pure Pt, in agreement with the computational screening results.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Effect of subsurface oxygen on the reactivity of the Ag(111) surface.

Periodic, self-consistent, density functional theory calculations have been performed to demonstrate that subsurface oxygen (O(sb)) dramatically increases the reactivity of the Ag(111) surface. O(sb) greatly facilitates the dissociation of H2, O2, and NO and enhances the binding of H, C, N, O, O2, CO, NO, C2H2, and C2H4 on the Ag(111) surface. This effect originates from an O(sb)-induced upshift of the d-band center of the Ag surface and becomes more pronounced at higher O(sb) coverage. Our findings point to the important role that near-surface impurities, such as O(sb), can play in determining the thermochemistry and kinetics of elementary steps catalyzed by transition metal surfaces.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2005

Surface and subsurface hydrogen: adsorption properties on transition metals and near-surface alloys.

Periodic, self-consistent DFT-GGA calculations are used to study the thermochemical properties of both surface and subsurface atomic hydrogen on a variety of pure metals and near-surface alloys (NSAs). For surface hydrogen on pure metals, calculated site preferences, adsorption geometries, vibrational frequencies, and binding energies are reported and are found to be in good agreement with available experimental data. On NSAs, defined as alloys wherein a solute is present near the surface of a host metal in a composition different from the bulk composition, surface hydrogen generally binds more weakly than it binds to the pure-metal components composing the alloys. Some of the NSAs even possess the unusual property of binding hydrogen as weakly as the noble metals while, at the same time, dissociating H(2) much more easily. On both NSAs and pure metals, formation of surface hydrogen is generally exothermic with respect to H(2)(g). In contrast, formation of subsurface hydrogen is typically endothermic with respect to gas-phase H(2) (the only exception to this general statement is found for pure Pd). As with surface H, subsurface H typically binds more weakly to NSAs than to the corresponding pure-metal components of the alloys. The diffusion barrier for hydrogen from surface to subsurface sites, however, is usually lower on NSAs compared to the pure-metal components, suggesting that population of subsurface sites may occur more rapidly on NSAs.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2004

Alloy catalysts designed from first principles.

The rational design of pure and alloy metal catalysts from fundamental principles has the potential to yield catalysts of greatly improved activity and selectivity. A promising area of research concerns the role that near-surface alloys (NSAs) can play in endowing surfaces with novel catalytic properties. NSAs are defined as alloys wherein a solute metal is present near the surface of a host metal in concentrations different from the bulk; here we use density functional theory calculations to introduce a new class of these alloys that can yield superior catalytic behaviour for hydrogen-related reactions. Some of these NSAs bind atomic hydrogen (H) as weakly as the noble metals (Cu, Au) while, at the same time, dissociating H(2) much more easily. This unique set of properties may permit these alloys to serve as low-temperature, highly selective catalysts for pharmaceuticals production and as robust fuel-cell anodes.

Alloys↗
PubMed2004

Competitive paths for methanol decomposition on Pt(111).

Periodic, self-consistent, Density Functional Theory (PW91-GGA) calculations are used to study competitive paths for the decomposition of methanol on Pt(111). Pathways proceeding through initial C-H and C-O bond scission events in methanol are considered, and the results are compared to data for a pathway proceeding through an initial O-H scission event [Greeley et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 7193]. The DFT results suggest that methanol decomposition via CH(2)OH and either formaldehyde or HCOH intermediates is an energetically feasible pathway; O-H scission to CH(3)O, followed by sequential dehydrogenation, may be another realistic route. Microkinetic modeling based on the first-principles results shows that, under realistic reaction conditions, C-H scission in methanol is the initial decomposition step with the highest net rate. The elementary steps of all reaction pathways (with the exception of C-O scission) follow a linear correlation between the transition state and final state energies. Simulated HREELS spectra of the intermediates show good agreement with available experimental data, and HREELS spectra of experimentally elusive reaction intermediates are predicted.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

A first-principles study of methanol decomposition on Pt(111).

A periodic, self-consistent, Density Functional Theory study of methanol decomposition on Pt(111) is presented. The thermochemistry and activation energy barriers for all the elementary steps, starting with O[bond]H scission and proceeding via sequential hydrogen abstraction from the resulting methoxy intermediate, are presented here. The minimum energy path is represented by a one-dimensional potential energy surface connecting methanol with its final decomposition products, CO and hydrogen gas. It is found that the rate-limiting step for this decomposition pathway is the abstraction of hydroxyl hydrogen from methanol. CO is clearly identified as a strong thermodynamic sink in the reaction pathway while the methoxy, formaldehyde, and formyl intermediates are found to have low barriers to decomposition, leading to very short lifetimes for these intermediates. Stable intermediates and transition states are found to obey gas-phase coordination and bond order rules on the Pt(111) surface.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Electronic structure and catalysis on metal surfaces.

The powerful computational resources available to scientists today, together with recent improvements in electronic structure calculation algorithms, are providing important new tools for researchers in the fields of surface science and catalysis. In this review, we discuss first principles calculations that are now capable of providing qualitative and, in many cases, quantitative insights into surface chemistry. The calculations can aid in the establishment of chemisorption trends across the transition metals, in the characterization of reaction pathways on individual metals, and in the design of novel catalysts. First principles studies provide an excellent fundamental complement to experimental investigations of the above phenomena and can often allow the elucidation of important mechanistic details that would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine from experiments alone.

Journal Article↗