The goals of the research were to understand the structural, dynamic, and chemical properties of solid electrolyte surfaces and the cathode/electrolyte interface at an atomistic and nanometer level using both computational and experimental techniques.

This grant supported the exploratory synthesis of new actinide materials with all of the actinides from thorium to californium with the exceptions of protactinium and berkelium. We developed detailed structure-property relationships that allowed for the identification of novel materials with selective ion-exchange, selective oxidation, and long-range magnetic ordering. We found novel bonding motifs and identified periodic trends across the actinide series. We identified structural building units that would lead to desired structural features and novel topologies. We also characterized many different spectroscopic trends across the actinide series. The grant support the preparation of approximately 1200 new compounds all of which were structurally characterized.

Funded by the DOE grant (i) we continued to study and analyze the atomistic detail of the electron transfer (ET) across the chromophore-TiO2 interface in Gratzel cell systems for solar hydrogen production. (ii) We extensively investigated the nature of photoexcited states and excited state dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots (QD) designed for photovoltaic applications. (iii) We continued a newly initiated research direction focusing on excited state properties and electron-phonon interactions in nanoscale carbon materials. Over the past year, the results of the DOE funded research were summarized in 3 review articles. 12 original manuscripts were written. The research results were reported in 28 invited talks at conferences and university seminars. 20 invitations were accepted for talks in the near future. 2 symposia at national and international meetings have being organized this year on topics closely related to the DOE funded project, and 2 more symposia have been planned for the near future. We summarized the insights into photoinduced dynamics of semiconductor QDs, obtained from our time-domain ab initio studies. QDs exhibit both molecular and bulk properties. Unlike either bulk or molecular materials, QD properties can be modified continuously by changing QD shape and size. However, the chemical and physical properties …

Theoretical calculations were carried out to search for lightweight alloys that can be used to reversibly store hydrogen in mobile applications, such as automobiles. Our primary focus was on magnesium based alloys. While MgH{sub 2} is in many respects a promising hydrogen storage material, there are two serious problems which need to be solved in order to make it useful: (i) the binding energy of the hydrogen atoms in the hydride is too large, causing the release temperature to be too high, and (ii) the diffusion of hydrogen through the hydride is so slow that loading of hydrogen into the metal takes much too long. In the first year of the project, we found that the addition of ca. 15% of aluminum decreases the binding energy to the hydrogen to the target value of 0.25 eV which corresponds to release of 1 bar hydrogen gas at 100 degrees C. Also, the addition of ca. 15% of transition metal atoms, such as Ti or V, reduces the formation energy of interstitial H-atoms making the diffusion of H-atoms through the hydride more than ten orders of magnitude faster at room temperature. In the second year of the project, several calculations of alloys …