The development of science and technology have provided a lifestyle completely dependent on energy consumption. Devices such as computers and mobile phones are good examples of how our daily life depends on electric energy. In this scenario, energy storage technologies emerge with strategic importance providing efficient ways to transport and commercialize the produced energy. Rechargeable batteries come as the most suitable alternative to fulfill the market demand due to their higher energy- and power- density when compared with other electrochemical energy storage systems. In this context, during the production of this thesis, promising compounds for advanced batteries application were investigated from the theoretical viewpoint. The framework of the density functional theory has been employed together with others theoretical tools to study properties such as ionic diffusion, redox potential, electronic structure and crystal structure prediction. Different organic materials were theoretically characterized with quite distinct objectives. For instance, a protocol able to predict the redox potential in solution of long oligomers were developed and tested against experimental measurements. Strategies such as anchoring of small active molecules on polymers backbone have also been investigated through a screening process that determined the most promising candidates. Methods such as evolutionary simulation and basin-hopping algorithm were employed to search for global minimum crystal structures of small molecules and inorganic compounds working as a cathode of advanced sodium batteries. The crystal structure evolution of C6Cl4O2 upon Na insertion was unveiled and the main reasons behind the lower specific capacity obtained in the experiment were clarified. Ab initio molecular dynamics and the nudged elastic band method were employed to understand the underlying ionic diffusion mechanisms in the recently proposed Alluaudite and Eldfellite cathode materials. Moreover, it was demonstrated that electronic conduction in Na2O2, a byproduct of the Na-O2 battery, occurs via hole polarons hopping. Important physical and chemical insights were obtained during the production of this thesis. It finally supports the development of low production cost, environmental friendliness and efficient electrode compounds for advanced secondary batteries.

Computational chemistry has led to the greater understanding of the molecular world, from the interaction of molecules, to the composition of molecular species and materials. Of the families of computational chemistry approaches available, the main families of electronic structure methods that are capable of accurate and/or reliable predictions of energetic, structural, and spectroscopic properties are ab initio methods and density functional theory (DFT). The focus of this dissertation is to improve the accuracy of predictions and computational efficiency (with respect to memory, disk space, and computer processing time) of some computational chemistry methods, which, in turn, can extend the size of molecule that can be addressed, and, for other methods, DFT, in particular, gain greater insight into which DFT methods are more reliable than others. Much, though not all, of the focus of this dissertation is upon transition metal species – species for which much less method development has been targeted or insight about method performance has been well established. The ab initio approach that has been targeted in this work is the correlation consistent composite approach (ccCA), which has proven to be a robust, ab initio computational method for main group and first row transition metal-containing molecules yielding, on average, accurate thermodynamic properties, i.e., within 1 kcal/mol of experiment for main group species and within 3 kcal/mol of experiment for first row transition metal molecules. In order to make ccCA applicable to systems containing any element from the periodic table, development of the method for second row transition metals and heavier elements, including lower p-block (5p and 6p) elements was pursued. The resulting method, the relativistic pseudopotential variant of ccCA (rp-ccCA), and its application are detailed for second row transition metals and lower p-block elements. Because of the computational cost of ab initio methods, DFT is a popular choice for the study of transition metals. Despite this, the most reliable density functionals for the prediction of energetic properties (e.g. enthalpy of formation, ionization potential, electron affinity, dissociation energy) of transition metal species, have not been clearly identified. The examination of DFT performance for first and second row transition metal thermochemistry (i.e., enthalpies of formation) was conducted and density functionals for the study of these species were identified. And, finally, to address the accuracy of spectroscopic and energetic properties, improvements for a series of density functionals have been established. In both DFT and ab initio methods, the harmonic approximation is typically employed. This neglect of anharmonic effects, such as those related to vibrational properties (e.g. zero-point vibrational energies, thermal contributions to enthalpy and entropy) of molecules, generally results in computational predictions that are not in agreement with experiment. To correct for the neglect of anharmonicity, scale factors can be applied to these vibrational properties, resulting in better alignment with experimental observations. Scale factors for DFT in conjunction with both the correlation and polarization consistent basis sets have been developed in this work.

The dry reforming of methane (DRM) has received critical attention because it converts two major greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, into molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide, known as synthesis gas (syngas). Syngas is an important feedstock to produce various chemicals. A major drawback of the DRM process is the high deactivation rates of conventional nickel and cobalt catalysts. Experimental findings indicate that treating nickel and cobalt catalysts with boron reduces deactivation rates and enhances the catalytic activity. This study investigates the mechanism through which boron promotes catalytic stability using density functional theory calculations. First, the location of boron in nickel and cobalt catalysts is explored. Boron is found to be more stable occupying on-surface and substitutional sites in the catalysts. However, during DRM operation, carbon dioxide is able to oxidize on-surface and substitutional boron. The formed boron oxide units may react with each other and form diboron trioxide or react with hydrogen to form boric acid, and eventually leave the catalyst, which means they cannot have an effect on deactivation rates. This study argues that interstitial boron plays the major role since it is protected from getting oxidized by carbon dioxide. Geometric optimization indicates that interstitial boron leads to spontaneous surface reconstruction in both extended surfaces and nanoparticles. The effect of interstitial boron on the binding energies of methyl, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxygen on extended surfaces and nanoparticles is studied and utilized using the Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi principle to give an insight about how boron reduces deactivation rates. Our analysis indicates that interstitial boron lowers the activation energies of methane and carbon dioxide. On (100) surfaces, boron lowers C–H activation energies in methane more than it lowers C=O activation energies in carbon dioxide, which means catalytic deactivation rates due to metal oxidation are lowered. On (111) surfaces, boron lowers carbon dioxide activation energies more than it lowers methane activation energies, which means catalytic deactivation rates due to coke formation are lowered. The computational study is consistent with experimental findings and gives an atomistic understanding of the beneficial role of boron on the DRM process catalyzed by nickel and cobalt.

For more than seventy years, semiconductor devices have functioned as the cornerstone for technological advancement, and as the defining transition into the information age. The III-Nitride family of semiconductors, in particular, underwent an impressive maturation over the past thirty years, which allowed for efficient light- emitting devices, photo-detectors, and power electronic devices. As researchers try to push the limits of semiconductor devices, and in particular, as they aim to design ultraviolet light emitters and high threshold power devices, the search for new materials with high band gaps, high breakdown voltages, unique optical properties, and variable lattice parameters is becoming a priority. Two interesting candidates that can help in achieving the aforementioned goals are the wurtzite BAlN and BGaN alloy systems, which are currently understudied due to difficulties associated with their growth in epitaxial settings. In our research, we will investigate the band alignment between BAlN and BGaN alloys, and other wurtzite III-Nitride semiconductors from first principle simulations. Through an understanding of band alignment types and a quantification of the band offset values, researchers will be able to foresee the applicability of a particular interface. As an example, a type-I band alignment with a high conduction band offset and a low valence band offset is a potential electron blocking layer to be implemented in standard LED designs. This first principle investigation will be aided by simulations using Density Functional Theory (DFT) as implemented in the Vienna Ab Initio Simulation Package (VASP) environment. In addition, we will detail an experiment from the literature that uses X- ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy on multiple samples to infer and quantify the band alignment between different materials of interest to us. We aim in this study to anticipate the band alignment in interfaces involving materials at the cutting edge of research. Our hope is to set a theoretical ground for future experimental studies on this same matter in parallel to the current efforts to improve the quality and stability of wurtzite BAlN and BGaN alloy crystals.

Complexes with pincer ligand moieties have garnered much attention in the past few decades. They have been shown to be highly active catalysts in several known transition metal-catalyzed organic reactions as well as some unprecedented organic transformations. At the same time, the use of computational organometallic chemistry to aid in the understanding of the mechanisms in organometallic catalysis for the development of improved catalysts is on the rise. While it was common in earlier studies to reduce computational cost by truncating donor group substituents on complexes such as tertbutyl or isopropyl groups to hydrogen or methyl groups, recent advancements in the processing capabilities of computer clusters and codes have streamlined the time required for calculations. As the full modeling of complexes become increasingly popular, a commonly overlooked aspect, especially in the case of complexes bearing isopropyl substituents, is the conformational analysis of complexes. Isopropyl groups generate a different conformer with each 120 ° rotation (rotamer), and it has been found that each rotamer typically resides in its own potential energy well in density functional theory studies. As a result, it can be challenging to select the most appropriate structure for a theoretical study, as the adjustment of isopropyl substituents from a higher-energy rotamer to the lowest-energy rotamer usually does not occur during structure optimization. In this report, the influence of the arrangement of isopropyl substituents in pincer complexes on calculated complex structure energies as well as a case study on the mechanism of the isomerization of an iPrPCP-Fe complex is covered. It was found that as many as 324 rotamers can be generated for a single complex, as in the case of an iPrPCP-Ni formato complex, with the energy difference between the global minimum and the highest local minimum being as large as 16.5 kcalmol-1. In the isomerization of a iPrPCP-Fe complex, it was found that the isopropyl substituents not only influence the calculated structure energies, but they dictate the mechanism of isomerization with the rotation of isopropyl substituents from the arrangement in the starting material complex to the arrangement in the product complex being the rate-determining step.

Perovskite oxides have the general chemical formula ABO3, where A is a rare-earth or alkali-metal cation and B is a transition metal cation. Perovskite oxides can be formed with a variety of constituent elements and exhibit a wide range of properties ranging from insulators, metals to even superconductors. With the development of growth and characterization techniques, more information on their physical and chemical properties has been revealed, which diversified their technological applications. Perovskite manganites are widely investigated compounds due to the discovery of the colossal magnetoresistance effect in 1994. They have a broad range of structural, electronic, magnetic properties and potential device applications in sensors and spintronics. There is not only the technological importance but also the need to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the unusual magnetic and transport properties that drive enormous attention. Manganites combined with other perovskite oxides are gaining interest due to novel properties especially at the interface, such as interfacial ferromagnetism, exchange bias, interfacial conductivity. Doped manganites exhibit diverse electrical properties as compared to the parent compounds. For instance, hole doped La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 is a ferromagnetic metal, whereas LaMnO3 is an antiferromagnetic insulator. Since manganites are strongly correlated systems, heterojunctions composed of manganites and other perovskite oxides are sunject to complex coupling of the spin, orbit, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom and exhibit unique electronic, magnetic, and transport properties. Electronic reconstructions, O defects, doping, intersite disorder, magnetic proximity, magnetic exchange, and polar catastrophe are some effects to explain these interfacial phenomena. In our work we use first-principles calculations to study the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of manganite based superlattices. Firstly, we investigate the electronic structure of bulk CaMnO3 and LaNiO3. An onsite Coulomn interaction term U is tested for both the Mn and Ni atoms. G-type antiferromagnetism and insulating properties of CaMnO3 are reproduced with U = 3 eV and ferromagnetic ordering is favorable when CaMnO3 is strained to the substrate lattice constant. This implies that the CaMnO3 magnetism is sensitive to both strain and the U parameter. Antiparallel orientation of the Mn and Ti moments has been found experimentally in the BiMnO3/SrTiO3 superlattice. By introducing O defects at different layers, we find similar patterns when the defect is located in the BiO layer. The structural, electronic and magnetic properties are analysed. Strong hybridization between the d3z2−r2 orbitals of the Mn and Ti atoms near the O defect is found. The effect of uniaxial strain for the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas and the interfacial Ti magnetic moments of the (LaMnO3)2/(SrTiO3)2 superlattice are investigated. By tuning the strain state from compressive to tensile, we predict under which conditions the spin-polarization of the electron gas is enhanced. Since the thickness ratio of the superlattice correlates with the strain state, we also study the structural, electronic and magnetism trends of (LaMnO3)n/(SrTiO3)m superlattices with varying layer thicknesses. The main finding is that half-metallicity will vanish for n, m > 8. Reduction of the minority band gaps with increasing n and m originates mainly from an energetic downshift of the Ti dxy states. Along with these, the interrelation between the interface geometry and the electronic properties of the antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic superlattice BiFeO3/ La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 is investigated. The magnetic and optical properties are also analysed by first principles calculations. The half-metallic character of bulk La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 is maintained in the superlattice, which implies potential applications on spintronics and memory devices.

Interface effects in two-dimensional (2D) materials play a critical role for the electronic properties and device characteristics. Here we use first-principles calculations to investigate interface effects in 2D materials enabling new applications. We first show that graphene in contact with monolayer and bilayer PtSe2 experiences weak van der Waals interaction. Analysis of the work functions and band bending at the interface reveals that graphene forms an n-type Schottky contact with monolayer PtSe2 and a p-type Schottky contact with bilayer PtSe2, whereas a small biaxial tensile strain makes the contact Ohmic in the latter case as required for transistor operation. For silicene, which is a 2D Dirac relative of graphene, structural buckling complicates the experimental synthesis and strong interaction with the substrate perturbs the characteristic linear dispersion. To remove this obstacle, we propose solid argon as a possible substrate for realizing quasi-freestanding silicene and argue that a weak van der Waals interaction and small binding energy indicate the possibility to separate silicene from the substrate. For the silicene-PtSe2 interface, we demonstrate much stronger interlayer interaction than previously reported for silicene on other semiconducting substrates. Due to the inversion symmetry breaking and proximity to PtSe2, a band gap opening and spin splittings in the valence and conduction bands of silicene are observed. It is also shown that the strong interlayer interaction can be effectively reduced by intercalating NH3 molecules between silicene and PtSe2, and a small NH3 discussion barrier makes intercalation a viable experimental approach. Silicene/germanene are categorized as key materials for the field of valleytronics due to stronger spin-orbit coupling as compared to graphene. However, no viable route exists so far to experimental realization. We propose F-doped WS2 as substrate that avoids detrimental effects and at the same time induces the required valley polarization. The behavior is explained by proximity effects on silicene/germanene due to the underlying substrate. Broken inversion symmetry in the presence of WS2 opens a substantial band gap in silicene/germanene. F doping of WS2 results in spin polarization, which, in conjunction with proximity-enhanced spin orbit coupling, creates sizable spin-valley polarization. For heterostructures of silicene and hexagonal boron nitride, we show that the stacking is fundamental for the details of the dispersion relation in the vicinity of the Fermi energy (gapped, non-gapped, linear, parabolic) despite small differences in the total energy. We also demonstrate that the tightbinding model of bilayer graphene is able to capture most of these features and we identify the limitations of the model.

Methane is an abundant resource existing in the form of natural and shale gas, and molybdenum-based catalysts, including molybdenum oxides and carbides, are the commonly used components in catalysts for converting methane to value-added chemicals. Therefore, understanding the catalytic mechanism underlying the methane conversion over molybdenum-based catalysts is key to designing highly efficient catalysts and optimizing the operating conditions. In this dissertation, I focus on the structural evolution from oxide to carbides and catalytic reactivity of the molybdenum-based catalysts for methane conversion based on the result from density functional theory (DFT) computational studies.First, the surface chemistry and reactivity of α-MoO3 toward C-H bond activation of methane by breaking the first C-H bond on the MoO3 (010) surface were used to evaluate various functionals of the DFT method. Our results indicate that surface reduction of α-MoO3 (010) occurs preferably through releasing the terminal oxygen atoms, generating oxygen vacancies while exposing the reduced Mo centers. These oxygen vacancies tend to be separated from each other at a higher density due to the repulsive interactions. Furthermore, the reduced α-MoO3 (010) surface promotes methane activation kinetically and thermodynamically by reducing the activation barrier for the first C-H bond breaking and stabilizing the product state as compared with those on the stoichiometric surface. There is a synergy between the reduced Mo active site and surface lattice oxygen for C-H bond cleavage. In addition, the performance of different functionals, including the pure-GGA PBE functional with the semi-empirical vdW correction and the meta-GGA SCAN functional, has been investigated. With the meta-GGA functional, we can predict the bulk structure of α-MoO3 more accurately while reproducing the thermal chemistry of MoO3. On the other hand, the reactivity based on the PBE functional is qualitatively consistent with that from the SCAN functional.We then conducted a systematic study of methane activation and conversion over the Mo-terminated surfaces derived from different phases of Mo2C carbides, i.e. the (001) surface of α-Mo2C and the (100) surface of β-Mo2C. The results show that Mo-terminated Mo2C with lower carburization in its subsurface (β-Mo2C) possesses a superior reactivity toward methane activation, resulting in a complete dissociation of methane to carbon adatom on the surface. This carbon adatom causes further carburization of the surface, lowering the reactivity toward methane activation. Moreover, the carburization occurs more easily in the near surface layers of Mo2C than in the bulk. Although carburization lowers the activities for methane activation, it promotes C-C coupling for dimerization of the (CH)ad species, resulting in (C2H2)ad on the Mo-terminated surfaces. On the deep carburized molybdenum carbide (MoC) surfaces, we mapped out the elementary steps of CH4 dissociation and possible mechanisms for forming the C2 species. The results indicate that the Mo-terminated MoC surfaces derived from different bulk phases (α- and δ-) of MoC possess a similar mechanism to that on the noble-metal surfaces for methane dissociation, i.e., CH4 dissociates sequentially to (CH)ad with both kinetic and thermodynamic feasibilities while breaking the last C-H bond in (CH)ad is highly activated. As such, C-C coupling through dimerization of the (CH)ad species occurs more readily, resulting in (C2H2)ad on the Mo-terminated surfaces. Such (C2H2)ad species can dehydrogenate easily to other C2 adsorbates such as (C2H)ad and (C2)ad. Consequently, these C2 species from CH4 dissociation will likely be the precursors for producing long chain hydrocarbons and/or aromatics on molybdenum carbide based catalysts.

This work discusses the C-H bond activation by transition metal complexes using various computational methods. First, we performed a DFT study of oxidative addition of methane to Ta(OC2H4)3A (where A may act as an ancillary ligand) to understand how A may affect the propensity of the complex to undergo oxidative addition. Among the A groups studied, they can be a Lewis acid (B or Al), a saturated, electron-precise moiety (CH or SiH), a σ-donor (N), or a σ-donor/π-acid (P). By varying A, we seek to understand how changing the electronic properties of A can affect the kinetics and thermodynamics of methane C–H activation by these complexes. For all A, the TS with H trans to A is favored kinetically over TS with CH3 trans to A. Upon moving from electron-deficient to electron-rich moieties (P and N), the computed C–H activation barrier for the kinetic product decreases significantly. Thus, changing A greatly influences the barrier for methane C–H oxidative addition by these complexes. Secondly, a computational study of oxidative addition (OA) of methane to M(OC2H4)3A (M = Ta, Re and A = ancillary ligand) was carried out using various computational methods. The purpose of this study was to understand how variation in A and M affects the kinetics and thermodynamics of OA. Results obtained from MP2 calculations revealed that for OA of CH4 to Re(OC2H4)3A, the order of ΔG‡ for a choice of ancillary ligand is B > Al > SiH > CH > N > P. Single point calculations for ΔG‡ obtained with CCSD(T) showed excellent agreement with those computed with MP2 methods. MCSCF calculations indicated that oxidative addition transition states are well described by a single electronic configuration, giving further confidence in the MP2 approach used for geometry optimization and ΔG‡ determination, and that the transition states are more electronically similar to the reactant than the product. Thirdly, a computational study of olefin polymerization has been performed on 51 zirconocene catalysts. The catalysts can be categorized into three classes according to the supporting ligand framework: Class I - Cp2ZrCl2 (ten catalysts), Class II - CpIndZrCl2 (thirty-eight catalysts), and Class III - Ind2ZrCl2 (three catalysts), Cp = η5-cyclopentaidenyl, Ind = η5-indenyl. Detailed reaction pathways, including chain propagation and chain termination steps, are modeled for ethylene polymerization using Class II catalysts. Optimized structures for reaction coordinates indicated the presence of α-agostic interactions in the transition states (TSs) for both the 1st and 2nd ethylene insertions as well as in the ethylene π-complex of the Zr-nPr cation. However, β-agostic interactions predominate in the cationic n-propyl and n-pentyl intermediates. The calculated relative Gibbs free energies show that the TS for insertion of ethylene into the Zr-CH3+ bond is the highest point on the computed reaction coordinates. This study, in concert with previous work, suggests that the type of ring attached to Zr (Cp vs. Ind) affects the reaction kinetics and thermodynamics less significantly than the type of substituents attached to the Cp and indenyl rings, and that substituent effects are even greater than those arising from changing the metal (Zr vs. Hf)

Becke's three-parameter hybrid density functional method in conjunction with Lee-Yang-Parr's correlation functional (B3LYP) was used to investigate the pyrolysis mechanisms of indole yielding benzyl cyanide and o- and m- tolunitriles. All equilibrium and transition state structures of the proposed reaction channels were fully optimized by B3LYP using the 6-31G** basis set. Single point energies were evaluated by B3LYP with the 6-311 + + G(2d,2p) basis set. Two hydrogen migration tautomers of indole, seemingly playing no important roles in the pyrolysis due to destruction of aromaticity of the benzene ring, were predicted to be easily accessible under the experimental conditions and may be important intermediates in the reactions. Two other transition states suggested to play important roles in the experimental study were not found and may not exist. Instead stepwise processes via hydrogen migration tautomers arriving at the same products are shown likely to be responsible for the observed products. IR spectral features of three hydrogen-migration tautomers are predicted to help future experimental identification.