Quantum-chemical studies of metal oxides for photoelectrochemical applications

Abstract

A review of recent research, as well as new results, are presented on transition metal oxide clusters, surfaces, and crystals. Quantum-chemical calculations of clusters of first row transition metal oxides have been made to evaluate the accuracy of ab initio and density functional calculations. Adsorbates on metal oxide surfaces have been studied with both ab initio and semi-empirical methods, and results are presented for the bonding and electronic interactions of large organic adsorbates, e.g. aromatic molecules, on Ti02 and ZnO. Defects and intercalation, notably of H, Li, and Na in Ti02 have been investigated theoretically. Comparisons with experiments are made throughout to validate the calculations. Finally, the role of quantum-chemical calculations in the study of metal oxide based photoelectrochemical devices, such as dyesensitized solar cells and electrochromic displays. is discussed.