Single layer of graphite (graphene) was predicted and later experimentally confirmed to undergo metal-semiconductor transition when fully hydrogenated (graphane). Using density functional theory we show that when half of the hydrogen in this graphane sheet is removed, the resulting semihydrogenated graphene (which we refer to as graphone) becomes a ferromagnetic semiconductor with a small indirect gap. Half-hydrogenation breaks the delocalized pi bonding network of graphene, leaving the electrons in the unhydrogenated carbon atoms localized and unpaired. The magnetic moments at these sites couple ferromagnetically with an estimated Curie temperature between 278 and 417 K, giving rise to an infinite magnetic sheet with structural integrity and magnetic homogeneity. This is very different from the widely studied finite graphene nanostrucures such as one-dimensional nanoribbons and two-dimensional nanoholes, where zigzag edges are necessary for magnetism. From graphene to graphane and to graphone, the system evolves from metallic to semiconducting and from nonmagnetic to magnetic. Hydrogenation provides a novel way to tune the properties with unprecedented potentials for applications.

Enabling all-solid-state Li-ion batteries requires solid electrolytes with high Li ionic conductivity and good electrochemical stability.F ollowing recent experimental reports of Li 3 YCl 6 and Li 3 YBr 6 as promising new solid electrolytes,weused first principles computation to investigate the Li-ion diffusion, electrochemical stability,a nd interface stability of chloride and bromide materials and elucidated the origin of their high ionic conductivities and good electrochemical stabilities.Chloride and bromide chemistries intrinsically exhibit lowmigration energy barriers,wide electrochemical windows,a nd are not constrained to previous design principles for sulfide and oxide Li-ion conductors,allowing for muchg reater freedom in structure,c hemistry,c omposition, and Li sublattice for developing fast Li-ion conductors.O ur study highlights chloride and bromide chemistries as apromising new researchdirection for solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and good stability.All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASBs) with inorganic lithium solid electrolytes (SEs) are regarded as promising next-generation energy storage devices.ASBs solve the safety issue caused by the flammability of organic liquid electrolyte and potentially provide higher energy density with Li metal anode and high-voltage cathode materials. [1] However,i th as been ag reat challenge to develop solid-state Li-ion conductors with high Li + conductivity at room temperature comparable to that of liquid electrolytes and with good electrochemical stability for Li-ion batteries with avoltage of > 4V .C urrent research efforts on solid-state Li-ion conductors focus mostly on oxides and sulfides. [1a,b,2] Unfortunately, oxide and sulfide chemistries have an undesirable trade-off between ionic conductivity and stability.S ulfide-based solidstate Li-ion conductors such as Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS) andSupportinginformation and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under: https://doi.Figure 3. Calculated thermodynamics intrinsic electrochemical windows of Li-M-X ternary fluorides, chlorides, bromides, iodides, oxides, and sulfides. Mi sametal cation at its highest commonv alence state.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is back in the spotlight because of the indirect-to-direct bandgap tunability and valley related physics emerging in the monolayer regime. However, rigorous control of the monolayer thickness is still a huge challenge for commonly utilized physical exfoliation and chemical synthesis methods. Herein, we have successfully grown predominantly monolayer MoS2 on an inert and nearly lattice-matching mica substrate by using a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The growth is proposed to be mediated by an epitaxial mechanism, and the epitaxial monolayer MoS2 is intrinsically strained on mica due to a small adlayer-substrate lattice mismatch (~2.7%). Photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicate strong single-exciton emission in as-grown MoS2 and room-temperature PL helicity (circular polarization ~0.35) on transferred samples, providing straightforward proof of the high quality of the prepared monolayer crystals. The homogeneously strained high-quality monolayer MoS2 prepared in this study could competitively be exploited for a variety of future applications.

Recent efforts in finding materials suitable for storing hydrogen with large gravimetric density have focused attention on carbon-based nanostructures. Unfortunately, pure carbon nanotubes and fullerenes are unsuitable as hydrogen storage materials because of the weak bonding of the hydrogen molecules to the carbon frame. It has been shown very recently that coating of carbon nanostructures with isolated transition metal atoms such as Sc and Ti can increase the binding energy of hydrogen and lead to high storage capacity (up to 8 wt % hydrogen, which is 1.6 times the U.S. Department of Energy target set for 2005). This prediction has led to a great deal of excitement in the fuel cell community [see The Fuel Cell Review, http://fcr.iop.org/articles/features/2/7/4]. However, this prediction depends on the assumption that the metal atoms coated on the fullerene surface will remain isolated. Using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we show that Ti atoms would prefer to cluster on the C60 surface, which can significantly alter the nature of hydrogen bonding, thus affecting not only the amount of stored hydrogen but also their thermodynamics and kinetics.

Solid state materials capable of storing hydrogen with high gravimetric (9 wt %) and volumetric density (70 g/L) are critical for the success of a new hydrogen economy. In addition, an ideal storage system should be able to operate under ambient thermodynamic conditions and exhibit fast hydrogen sorption kinetics. No materials are known that meet all these requirements. While recent theoretical efforts showed some promise for transition-metal-coated carbon fullerenes, later studies demonstrated that these metal atoms prefer to cluster on the fullerene surface, thus reducing greatly the weight percentage of stored hydrogen. Using density functional theory we show that Li-coated fullerenes do not suffer from this constraint. In particular, we find that an isolated Li(12)C(60) cluster where Li atoms are capped onto the pentagonal faces of the fullerene not only is very stable but also can store up to 120 hydrogen atoms in molecular form with a binding energy of 0.075 eV/H(2). In addition, the structural integrity of Li(12)C(60) clusters is maintained when they are allowed to interact with each other. The lowest energy structure of the dimer is one where the Li atom capped on the five-member ring of one fullerene binds to the six-member ring of the other. The binding of hydrogen to the linking Li atom and the potential of materials composed of Li(12)C(60) building blocks for hydrogen storage are discussed.

As an inorganic cousin of graphene, MoS2 monolayer has attracted considerable attention. However, a full understanding of its structure and stability is still lacking due to its dependence on experimental synthesis conditions. Using first-principle calculations combined with Boltzmann transport equation, we have extensively studied the geometry, energetics, electronic structure, optical absorption, and carrier mobility of various phases of MoS2. We have not only identified the stable phases of a MoS2 monolayer, but also clarified the specific conditions under which different phases are formed. The possible pathways for transitions among different phases are also discussed.

A two-dimensional (2D) periodic Fe phthalocyanine (FePc) single-layer sheet has very recently been synthesized experimentally (Abel, M.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2011, 133, 1203), providing a novel pathway for achieving 2D atomic sheets with regularly and separately distributed transition-metal atoms for unprecedented applications. Here we present first-principles calculations based on density functional theory to investigate systematically the electronic and magnetic properties of such novel organometallics (labeled as TMPc, TM = Cr-Zn) as free-standing sheets. Among them, we found that only the 2D MnPc framework is ferromagnetic, while 2D CrPc, FePc, CoPc, and CuPc are antiferromagnetic and 2D NiPc and ZnPc are nonmagnetic. The difference in magnetic couplings for the studied systems is related to the different orbital interactions. Only MnPc displays metallic d(xz) and d(yz) orbitals that can hybridize with p electrons of Pc, which mediates the long-range ferromagnetic coupling. Monte Carlo simulations based on the Ising model suggest that the Curie temperature (T(C)) of the 2D MnPc framework is ∼150 K, which is comparable to the highest T(C) achieved experimentally, that of Mn-doped GaAs. The present study provides theoretical insight leading to a better understanding of novel phthalocyanine-based 2D structures beyond graphene and BN sheets.

Atomic clusters, consisting of a few to a few thousand atoms, have emerged over the past 40 years as the ultimate nanoparticles, whose structure and properties can be controlled one atom at a time. One of the early motivations in studying clusters was to understand how the properties of matter evolve as a function of size, shape, and composition. Over the past few decades, more than 200 000 papers have been published in this field. These studies have not only led to a considerable understanding of this evolution from clusters to crystals, but also have revealed many unusual size-specific properties that make cluster science an interdisciplinary field on its own, bridging physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, and medicine. More importantly, the possibility of creating a new class of materials, composed of clusters instead of atoms as building blocks, has fueled the hope that one can synthesize materials from the bottom-up with unique and tailored properties. This Review focuses on the properties that set clusters apart from their corresponding bulk. Furthermore, this Review describes how different electron-counting rules can lead to the design of stable clusters, mimicking the chemistry of atoms. We highlight the potential of these "superatoms" as building blocks of cluster-assembled materials. Specifically, we emphasize cluster-inspired materials for energy applications. The concluding section includes a summary of the salient features of clusters, potential challenges that remain, and an outlook for the future of cluster science.