The structure of water on metal electrodes is addressed based on first-principles calculations. Special emphasis is paid on the competition between water-metal and water-water interaction as the structure determining factors. Thus the question will be discussed whether water at metal surfaces is ice-or rather liquid-like. The proper description of liquid phases requires to perform thermal averages. This has been done by combining first-principles electronic structure calculations with molecular dynamics simulations. After reviewing recent studies about water on flat, stepped and pre-covered metal electrodes, some new results will be presented.

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Comprehensive research of the chemosynthesis, electrochemical behavior and DFT calculations of a multidimensional Ni–Fe–P electrode for all-solid-state supercapacitors.

We performed first-principles calculations to study the energetics, geometric and electronic properties of zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanostructures. ZnS nanowires (ZnSNWs), nanotubes (ZnSNTs) and nanosheets (ZnSNSs) were considered. Both ZnSNWs and ZnSNTs modeled using hexagonal prisms with the atomic arrangement displaying the characters of wurtzite crystal are more stable than the single-walled ZnS nanotubes presented in previous literature. The energy evolution of ZnSNWs and ZnSNTs as a function of tube diameter and wall thickness was calculated and explained using a simple model. The comparison between the energetics and electronic structures of these ZnS nanostructures was also addressed.

SummaryOn the basis of perodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have addressed the geometric structures and electronic properties of water layers on flat and stepped Pb surfaces. In contrast to late d-band metals, on Pb(111) the energy minimum structure does not correspond to an ice-like hexagonal arrangement at a coverage of 2/3, but rather to a distorted structure at a coverage of 1 due to the larger lattice constant of Pb. At stepped Pb surfaces, the water layers are pinned at the step edge and form a complex network consisting of rectangles, pentagons and hexagons. The thermal stability of the water layers has been studied by using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) at a temperature of 140 K. Whereas the water layer on Pb(111) is already unstable at this temperature, the water layers on Pb(100), Pb(311), Pb(511) and Pb(711) exhibit a higher stability because of stronger water–water interactions. The vibrational spectra of the water layers at the stepped surfaces show a characteristic splitting into three modes in the O–H stretch region.