56 research outputs found
Joint Density-Functional Theory of the Electrode-Electrolyte Interface: Application to Fixed Electrode Potentials, Interfacial Capacitances, and Potentials of Zero Charge
This work explores the use of joint density-functional theory, a new form of
density-functional theory for the ab initio description of electronic systems
in thermodynamic equilibrium with a liquid environment, to describe
electrochemical systems. After reviewing the physics of the underlying
fundamental electrochemical concepts, we identify the mapping between commonly
measured electrochemical observables and microscopically computable quantities
within an, in principle, exact theoretical framework. We then introduce a
simple, computationally efficient approximate functional which we find to be
quite successful in capturing a priori basic electrochemical phenomena,
including the capacitive Stern and diffusive Gouy-Chapman regions in the
electrochemical double layer, quantitative values for interfacial capacitance,
and electrochemical potentials of zero charge for a series of metals. We
explore surface charging with applied potential and are able to place our ab
initio results directly on the scale associated with the Standard Hydrogen
Electrode (SHE). Finally, we provide explicit details for implementation within
standard density-functional theory software packages at negligible
computational cost over standard calculations carried out within vacuum
environments.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. Initially presented at APS March Meeting 2010.
Accepted for publication in Physical Review B on Jul. 27, 201
A computationally efficacious free-energy functional for studies of inhomogeneous liquid water
We present an accurate equation of state for water based on a simple
microscopic Hamiltonian, with only four parameters that are well-constrained by
bulk experimental data. With one additional parameter for the range of
interaction, this model yields a computationally efficient free-energy
functional for inhomogeneous water which captures short-ranged correlations,
cavitation energies and, with suitable long-range corrections, the non-linear
dielectric response of water, making it an excellent candidate for studies of
mesoscale water and for use in ab initio solvation methods.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
JDFTx: software for joint density-functional theory
Density-functional theory (DFT) has revolutionized computational prediction
of atomic-scale properties from first principles in physics, chemistry and
materials science. Continuing development of new methods is necessary for
accurate predictions of new classes of materials and properties, and for
connecting to nano- and mesoscale properties using coarse-grained theories.
JDFTx is a fully-featured open-source electronic DFT software designed
specifically to facilitate rapid development of new theories, models and
algorithms. Using an algebraic formulation as an abstraction layer, compact
C++11 code automatically performs well on diverse hardware including GPUs. This
code hosts the development of joint density-functional theory (JDFT) that
combines electronic DFT with classical DFT and continuum models of liquids for
first-principles calculations of solvated and electrochemical systems. In
addition, the modular nature of the code makes it easy to extend and interface
with, facilitating the development of multi-scale toolkits that connect to ab
initio calculations, e.g. photo-excited carrier dynamics combining electron and
phonon calculations with electromagnetic simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 code listing
Framework for solvation in quantum Monte Carlo
Employing a classical density-functional description of liquid environments,
we introduce a rigorous method for the diffusion quantum Monte Carlo
calculation of free energies and thermodynamic averages of solvated systems
that requires neither thermodynamic sampling nor explicit solvent electrons. We
find that this method yields promising results and small convergence errors for
a set of test molecules. It is implemented readily and is applicable to a range
of challenges in condensed matter, including the study of transition states of
molecular and surface reactions in liquid environments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review B
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