Despite the many successful syntheses and applications of dopamine-functionalized TiO 2 nanohybrids, there has not yet been an atomistic understanding of the interaction of this 1,2-dihydroxybenzene derivative ligand with the titanium dioxide surfaces. In this work, on the basis of a wide set of dispersion-corrected hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations and density functional tight binding (DFTB) molecular dynamics simulations, we present a detailed study of the adsorption modes, patterns of growth, and configurations of dopamine on the anatase (101) TiO 2 surface, with reference to the archetype of 1,2-dihydroxybenzene ligands, i.e., catechol. At low coverage, the isolated dopamine molecule prefers to bend toward the surface, coordinating the NH 2 group to a Ti 5c ion. At high coverage, the packed molecules succeed in bending toward the surface only in some monolayer configurations. When they do, we observe a proton transfer from the surface to the ethyl-amino group, forming terminal NH 3 + species, which highly interact with the O atoms of a neighboring dopamine molecule. This strong Coulombic interaction largely stabilizes the self-assembled monolayer. On the basis of these results, we predict that improving the probability of dopamine molecules being free to bend toward the surface through thermodynamic versus kinetic growth conditions will lead to a monolayer of fully protonated dopamine molecules.

Functionalizing nanoparticles (NPs) with biological molecules is a promising modern strategy in bionanotechnology to build up smart bioinorganic devices for medical applications. Bifunctional linkers provide an interesting and ductile bioconjugation approach especially because they behave not only as anchoring and tethering agents but also as spacers between the NP and the biomolecules, which helps in maintaining their 3D structural and functional properties. In this work, by means of a wide set of density functional theory (DFT) electronic structure calculations and density functional tight binding (DFTB) molecular dynamics simulations, we provide an all-round investigation of the functionalization of realistic curved TiO2 NPs (2–3 nm size with ∼800 atoms) with a catechol derivative, such as dopamine and DOPAC. We span from single-molecule adsorption to the full coverage regime. For the low coverage, we achieve a detailed description of the mechanisms of molecular adsorption, of the interfacial electronic charge-transfer effects, and of the processes following visible light irradiation (exciton formation, trapping, charge carrier diffusion, or recombination). We then consider a growing molecular layer on the NP and analyze the self-assembling mechanism and the effects on the electronic properties of the complex. Finally, for the maximum coverage (46 molecules per NP) we perform molecular dynamics runs at 300 K to compare the molecular configuration and electronic properties of the NP/linker complex interface before and after thermal treatment to better account for the competition between molecule/surface and molecule/molecule interactions. The use of curved NP surfaces combined with dopamine, with respect to a flat one and DOPAC, respectively, is found to be more effective for bioconjugation.

Understanding magnetism in defective graphene is paramount to improve and broaden its technological applications. A single vacancy in graphene is expected to lead to a magnetic moment with both a σ (1 μB) and a π (1 μB) component. Theoretical calculations based on standard LDA or GGA functional on periodic systems report a partial quenching of the π magnetization (0.5 μB) due to the crossing of two spin split bands at the Fermi level. In contrast, STS experiments (Phys. Rev. Lett.2016117166801) have recently proved the existence of two defect spin states that are separated in energy by 20–60 meV. In this work, we show that self-interaction corrected hybrid functional methods (B3LYP-D*) are capable of correctly reproducing this finite energy gap and, consequently, provide a π magnetization of 1 μB. The crucial role played by the exact exchange is highlighted by comparison with PBE-D2 results and by the magnetic moment dependence with the exact exchange portion in the functional used. The ground state ferromagnetic planar solution is compared to the antiferromagnetic and to the diamagnetic ones, which present an out-of-plane distortion. Periodic models are then compared to graphene nanoflakes of increasing size (up to C383H48). For large models, the triplet spin configuration (total magnetization 2 μB) is the most stable, independently of the functional used, which further corroborates the conclusions of this work and puts an end to the long-debated issue of the magnetic properties of an isolated C monovacancy in graphene.

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