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Kinetic rate constants are evaluated computationally for the spin-forbidden thermal relaxations of SCO complexes, unveiling their mechanism, and retrieving accurate TLIESST predictions.

MXenes compounds, a recently discovered family of 2D materials, have been found to become semiconductors and photoactive when their pristine surfaces are functionalized with an electronegative termination. MXenes may present...

The influence of electron correlation into the decomposition of core level binding energy shifts, measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), into initial and final effects is analysed for a series of molecules where these effects are noticeable. Moreover, the series of molecules is chosen in such a way that electron delocalization and increasing number of electrons may provide a large screening of the core hole. A detailed analysis shows that the Hartree-Fock decomposition is biased whereas a physically meaningful decomposition is obtained when electron correlation effects are taken into account. The results show that in this case, trends in core level binding energy shifts are driven by initial state effects thus providing further support to the use of these observable quantities to interpret changes in the chemical bond in the neutral molecule rather than on the core ionized cation. Consequences for the theoretical interpretation of XPS data in materials and surface science are discussed.

The ab initio two-state model for electron transfer induced by an external electric field has been applied to the chloride oxidation on Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Pt and Au (001) surface models. The two electronic states involved in the model represent physical situations where the electron transferred from the chloride anion to the metal surface lies either on the halide or on the metal substrate. The model assumes that electron transfer takes place when these two states become degenerate and this is achieved by applying an external electric field. Two different situations representing either ultrahigh vacuum or electrochemical conditions have been considered. For the former the present study shows that electric field necessary to achieve degeneracy of the two electronic states is directly related to the metal surface work function whereas for the latter, it is found to be rather insensitive to the metal surface.