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Author Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Overcoming Old Scaling Relations and Establishing New Correlations in Catalytic Surface Chemistry: Combined Effect of Charging and Doping Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 123 Issue 10 Pages 6141-6147  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Optimization of catalytic materials for a given application is greatly constrained by linear scaling relations. Recently, however, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to reversibly modulate the chemisorption of molecules on nanomaterials by charging (i.e., injection or removal of electrons) and hence reversibly and selectively modify catalytic activity beyond structure−activity correlations. The fundamental physical relation between the properties of the material, the charging process, and the chemisorption energy, however, remains unclear, and a systematic exploration and optimization of charge-switchable sorbent materials is not yet possible. Using hybrid DFT calculations of CO2 chemisorption on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets with several types of defects and dopants, we here reveal the existence of fundamental correlations between the electron affinity of a material and charge-induced chemisorption, show how defect engineering can be used to modulate the strength and efficiency of the adsorption process, and demonstrate that excess electrons stabilize many topological defects. We then show how these insights could be exploited in the development of new electrocatalytic materials and the synthesis of doped nanomaterials. Moreover, we demonstrate that calculated chemical properties of charged materials are highly sensitive to the employed computational methodology because of the self-interaction error, which underlines the theoretical challenge posed by such systems.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000461537400035 Publication Date 2019-03-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 5 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 21.02.2020  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 11V8915N ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @UA @ admin @ c:irua:158117 Serial 5160  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Jafarzadeh, A.; Bal, K.M.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title CO2 activation on TiO2-supported Cu5 and Ni5 nanoclusters : effect of plasma-induced surface charging Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 123 Issue 11 Pages 6516-6525  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Surface charging is an often overlooked factor in many plasma-surface interactions and in particular in plasma catalysis. In this study, we investigate the effect of excess electrons induced by a plasma on the adsorption properties of CO2 on titania-supported Cu-5 and Ni-5 clusters using spin-polarized and dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations. The effect of excess electrons on the adsorption of Ni and Cu pentamers as well as on CO2 adsorption on a pristine anatase TiO2(101) slab is studied. Our results indicate that adding plasma-induced excess electrons to the system leads to further stabilization of the bent CO2 structure. Also, dissociation of CO2 on charged clusters is energetically more favorable than on neutral clusters. We hypothesize that surface charge is a plausible cause for the synergistic effects sometimes observed in plasma catalysis.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000462260700024 Publication Date 2019-02-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 4 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:159422 Serial 5281  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Huygh, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title High Coke Resistance of a TiO2Anatase (001) Catalyst Surface during Dry Reforming of Methane Type A1 Journal Article
  Year 2018 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 122 Issue 17 Pages 9389-9396  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract The resistance of a TiO2 anatase (001) surface to coke formation was studied in the context of dry reforming of methane using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As carbon atoms act as precursors for coke formation, the resistance to coke formation can be measured by the carbon coverage of the surface. This is related to the stability of different CHx (x = 0−3) species and their rate of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation on the TiO2 surface. Therefore, we studied the reaction mechanisms and their corresponding rates as a function of the temperature for the dehydrogenation of the species on the surface. We found that the stabilities of C and CH are significantly lower than those of CH3 and CH2. The hydrogenation rates of the different species are significantly higher than the dehydrogenation rates in a temperature range of 300−1000 K. Furthermore, we found that dehydrogenation of CH3, CH2, and CH will only occur at appreciable rates starting from 600, 900, and 900 K, respectively. On the basis of these results, it is clear that the anatase (001) surface has a high coke resistance, and it is thus not likely that the surface will become poisoned by coke during dry reforming of methane. As the rate limiting step in dry reforming is the dissociative adsorption of CH4, we studied an alternative approach to thermal catalysis. We found that the temperature threshold for dry reforming is at least 700 K. This threshold temperature may be lowered by the use of plasma-catalysis, where the appreciable rates of adsorption of plasma-generated CHx radicals result in bypassing the rate limiting step of the reaction.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000431723700014 Publication Date 2018-05-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, IAP/7 ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, G.0217.14N ; Onderzoeksfonds, Universiteit Antwerpen, 32249 ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:151529c:irua:152816 Serial 5000  
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Author Verlackt, C.C.W.; Van Boxem, W.; Dewaele, D.; Lemière, F.; Sobott, F.; Benedikt, J.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Mechanisms of Peptide Oxidation by Hydroxyl Radicals: Insight at the Molecular Scale Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 121 Issue 121 Pages 5787-5799  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to provide atomic scale insight in the initial interaction between hydroxyl radicals (OH) and peptide systems in solution. These OH radicals are representative reactive oxygen species produced by cold atmospheric plasmas. The use of plasma for biomedical applications is gaining increasing interest, but the fundamental mechanisms behind the plasma modifications still remain largely elusive. This study helps to gain more insight in the underlying mechanisms of plasma medicine but is also more generally applicable to peptide oxidation, of interest for other applications. Combining both reactive and nonreactive MD simulations, we are able to elucidate the reactivity of the amino acids inside the peptide systems and their effect on their structure up to 1 μs. Additionally, experiments were performed, treating the simulated peptides with a plasma jet. The computational results presented here correlate well with the obtained experimental data and highlight the importance of the chemical environment for the reactivity of the individual amino acids, so that specific amino acids are attacked in higher numbers than expected. Furthermore, the long time scale simulations suggest that a single oxidation has an effect on the 3D conformation due to an increase in hydrophilicity and intra- and intermolecular interactions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000396969900037 Publication Date 2017-03-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 5 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, G012413N ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:142202 Serial 4537  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhang, Y.-R.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Influence of the Material Dielectric Constant on Plasma Generation inside Catalyst Pores Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 25923-25934  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for various environmental applications, but the crucial question is whether plasma can be created inside catalyst pores and under which conditions. In practice, various catalytic support materials are used, with various dielectric constants. We investigate here the influence of the dielectric constant on the plasma properties inside catalyst pores and in the sheath in front of the pores, for various pore sizes. The calculations are performed by a two-dimensional fluid model for an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in helium. The electron impact ionization rate, electron temperature, electron and ion density, as well as the potential distribution and surface charge density, are analyzed for a better understanding of the discharge behavior inside catalyst pores. The results indicate that, in a 100 μm pore, the electron impact ionization in the pore, which is characteristic for the plasma generation inside the pore, is greatly enhanced for dielectric constants below 300. Smaller pore sizes only yield enhanced ionization for smaller dielectric constants, i.e., up to εr = 200, 150, and 50 for pore sizes of 50, 30, and 10 μm. Thus, the most common catalyst supports, i.e., Al2O3 and SiO2, which have dielectric constants around εr = 8−11 and 4.2, respectively, should allow more easily that microdischarges can be formed inside catalyst pores, even for smaller pore sizes. On the other hand, ferroelectric materials with dielectric constants above 300 never seem to yield plasma enhancement inside catalyst pores, not even for 100 μm pore sizes. Furthermore, it is clear that the dielectric constant of the material has a large effect on the extent of plasma enhancement inside the catalyst pores, especially in the range between εr = 4 and εr = 200. The obtained results are explained in detail based on the surface charge density at the pore walls,

and the potential distribution and electron temperature inside and above the pores. The results obtained with this model are

important for plasma catalysis, as the production plasma species in catalyst pores might affect the catalyst properties, and thus

improve the applications of plasma catalysis.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000388429100029 Publication Date 2016-11-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 34 Open Access  
  Notes This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) (Grant G.0217.14N), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 11405019), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant 2015T80244). This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI), and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:138602 Serial 4319  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Huygh, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title How Oxygen Vacancies Activate CO2 Dissociation on TiO2 Anatase (001) Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 21659-21669  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The adsorption, dissociation, and diffusion of CO2 on the anatase (001) surface was studied using DFT by means of the generalized gradient approximation using the Perdew−Burcke−Ernzerhof (PBE)-functional and applying corrections for long-range dispersion interactions. Different stable adsorption configurations were identified for the fully oxidized surface. The most stable adsorption configuration is the monodentated carbonate-like structure. Small energy barriers were identified for the conversion of a physisorbed to a chemisorbed configuration.

CO2 dissociation is found to be unfeasible on the stoichiometric surface. The introduction of oxygen vacancy defects gives rise to new highly stable adsorption configurations with a stronger activation of the C−O bonds. This leads to the possibility of exothermic dissociation of CO2 with barriers up to 22.2 kcal/mol,

corresponding to chemical lifetimes of less than 4 s at 300 K. These reactions cause a CO molecule to be formed, which will easily desorb, and the reduced surface to become oxidized. It is clear that oxygen vacancy defects play a key role in the catalytic activity of an anatase (001) surface. Oxygen vacancies play an important role in the dissociation of CO2 on the anatase (001) surface, and will play a significant role in complex problems, such as the catalytic conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000384626800055 Publication Date 2016-09-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 49 Open Access  
  Notes Stijn Huygh is funded as an aspirant of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, project number 11C0115N). This work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI), and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:136164 Serial 4291  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Khalilov, U.; Yusupov, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Selective Plasma Oxidation of Ultrasmall Si Nanowires Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 472-477  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Device performance of Si|SiOx core-shell based nanowires critically depends on the exact control over the oxide thickness. Low-temperature plasma oxidation is a highly promising alternative to thermal oxidation allowing for improved control over the oxidation process, in particular for ultrasmall Si nanowires. We here elucidate the room temperature plasma oxidation mechanisms of ultrasmall Si nanowires using hybrid molecular dynamics / force-bias Monte Carlo simulations. We demonstrate how the oxidation and concurrent water formation mechanisms are a function of the oxidizing plasma species and we demonstrate how the resulting core-shell oxide thickness can be controlled through these species. A new mechanism of water formation is discussed in detail. The results provide a detailed atomic level explanation of the oxidation process of highly curved Si surfaces. These results point out a route toward plasma-based formation of ultrathin core-shell Si|SiOx nanowires at room temperature.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000368562200057 Publication Date 2015-12-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 3 Open Access  
  Notes U.K. and M.Y. gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Grants 12M1315N and 1200216N. This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UA. We thank Prof. A. C. T. van Duin for sharing the ReaxFF code. Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number c:irua:130677 Serial 4002  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kato, T.; Neyts, E.C.; Abiko, Y.; Akama, T.; Hatakeyama, R.; Kaneko, T. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Kinetics of energy selective Cs encapsulation in single-walled carbon nanotubes for damage-free and position-selective doping Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 119 Issue 119 Pages 11903-11908  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A method has been developed for damage-free cesium (Cs) encapsulation within single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with fine position selectivity. Precise energy tuning of Cs-ion irradiation revealed that there is a clear energy window (2060 eV) for the efficient encapsulation of Cs through the hexagonal network of SWNT sidewalls without causing significant damage. This minimum energy threshold of Cs-ion encapsulation (∼20 eV) matches well with the value obtained by ab initio simulation (∼22 eV). Furthermore, position-selective Cs encapsulation was carried out, resulting in the successful formation of pn-junction SWNT thin films with excellent environmental stability.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Washington, D.C. Editor  
  Language Wos 000355495600072 Publication Date 2015-05-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447;1932-7455; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 3 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536; 2015 IF: 4.772  
  Call Number c:irua:125928 Serial 1760  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Nematollahi, P.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Identification of a unique pyridinic FeN4Cx electrocatalyst for N₂ reduction : tailoring the coordination and carbon topologies Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 126 Issue 34 Pages 14460-14469  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Although the heterogeneity of pyrolyzed Fe???N???C materials is known and has been reported previously, the atomic structure of the active sites and their detailed reaction mechanisms are still unknown. Here, we identified two pyridinic Fe???N4-like centers with different local C coordinates, i.e., FeN4C8 and FeN4C10, and studied their electrocatalytic activity for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We also discovered the influence of the adsorption of NH2 as a functional ligand on catalyst performance on the NRR. We confirmed that the NRR selectivity of the studied catalysts is essentially governed either by the local C coordination or by the dynamic structure associated with the FeII/FeIII. Our investigations indicate that the proposed traditional pyridinic FeN4C10 has higher catalytic activity and selectivity for the NRR than the robust FeN4C8 catalyst, while it may have outstanding activity for promoting other (electro)catalytic reactions. <comment>Superscript/Subscript Available</comment  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000859545200001 Publication Date 2022-08-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 3.7 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.7  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:191469 Serial 7268  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Nematollahi, P.; Ma, H.; Schneider, W.F.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title DFT and microkinetic comparison of ru-doped porphyrin-like graphene and nanotubes toward catalytic formic acid decomposition and formation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 125 Issue 34 Pages 18673-18683  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Immobilization of single metal atoms on a solid host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst designs. If that host is a two-dimensional sheet, sheet curvature becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to host and metal composition. Here, we use a combination of density functional theory calculations and microkinetic modeling to compare the mechanisms and kinetics of formic acid decomposition and formation, chosen for their relevance as a potential hydrogen storage medium, over single Ru atoms anchored to pyridinic nitrogen in a planar graphene flake (RuN4-G) and curved carbon nanotube (RuN4-CNT). Activation barriers are lowered and the predicted turnover frequencies are increased over RuN4-CNT relative to RuN4-CNT. The results highlight the potential of curvature control as a means to achieve high performance and robust catalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000693413400013 Publication Date 2021-08-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181538 Serial 7805  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van de Sompel, P.; Khalilov, U.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Contrasting H-etching to OH-etching in plasma-assisted nucleation of carbon nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 125 Issue 14 Pages 7849-7855  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract To gain full control over the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), a thorough understanding of the underlying plasma-catalyst mechanisms is required. Oxygen-containing species are often used as or added to the growth precursor gas, but these species also yield various radicals and ions, which may simultaneously etch the CNT during the growth. At present, the effect of these reactive species on the growth onset has not yet been thoroughly investigated. We here report on the etching mechanism of incipient CNT structures from OH and O radicals as derived from combined (reactive) molecular dynamics (MD) and force-bias Monte Carlo (tfMC) simulations. Our results indicate that the oxygen-containing radicals initiate a dissociation process. In particular, we show how the oxygen species weaken the interaction between the CNT and the nanocluster. As a result of this weakened interaction, the CNT closes off and dissociates from the cluster in the form of a fullerene. Beyond the specific systems studied in this work, these results are generically important in the context of PECVD-based growth of CNTs using oxygen-containing precursors.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000641307100032 Publication Date 2021-04-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:178393 Serial 7729  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Jafarzadeh, A.; Bal, K.M.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Activation of CO2on Copper Surfaces: The Synergy between Electric Field, Surface Morphology, and Excess Electrons Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 124 Issue 12 Pages 6747-6755  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In this work, we use density functional theory calculations to study the combined effect of external electric fields, surface morphology, and surface charge on CO2 activation over Cu(111), Cu(211), Cu(110), and Cu(001) surfaces. We observe that the binding energy of the CO2 molecule on Cu surfaces increases significantly upon increasing the applied electric field strength. In addition, rougher surfaces respond more effectively to the presence of the external electric field toward facilitating the formation of a carbonate-like CO2 structure and the transformation of the most stable adsorption mode from physisorption to chemisorption. The presence of surface charges further strengthens the electric field effect and consequently causes an improved bending of the CO2 molecule and C−O bond length elongation. On the other hand, a net charge in the absence of an externally applied electric field shows only a marginal effect on CO2 binding. The chemisorbed CO2 is more stable and further activated when the effects of an external electric field, rough surface, and surface charge are combined. These results can help to elucidate the underlying factors that control CO2 activation in heterogeneous and plasma catalysis, as well as in electrochemical processes.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000526396900030 Publication Date 2020-03-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.7 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds, 32249 ; The financial support from the TOP research project of the Research Fund of the University of Antwerp (grant ID: 32249) is highly acknowledged by the authors. The computational resources used in this study were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Governmentdepartment EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 3.7; 2020 IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:168606 Serial 6361  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Nematollahi, P.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Distribution pattern of metal atoms in bimetal-doped pyridinic-N₄ pores determines their potential for electrocatalytic N₂ reduction Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry A Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem A  
  Volume 126 Issue 20 Pages 3080-3089  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Doping two single transition-metal (TM) atoms on a substrate host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst design. However, what if the substrate contains more than one vacancy site? Then, the combination of two TMs along with their distribution patterns becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to the substrate itself and the bimetal composition. In this study, we investigate ammonia synthesis under mild electrocatalytic conditions on a transition-metal-doped porous C24N24 catalyst using density functional theory (DFT). The TMs studied include Ti, Mn, and Cu in a 2:4 dopant ratio (Ti2Mn4@C24N24 and Ti2Cu4@N-24(24)). Our computations show that a single Ti atom in both catalysts exhibits the highest selectivity for N-2 fixation at ambient conditions. This work is a good theoretical model to establish the structure-activity relationship, and the knowledge earned from the metal-N-4 moieties may help studies of related nanomaterials, especially those with curved structures.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000804119800003 Publication Date 2022-05-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1089-5639; 1520-5215 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 2.9 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.9  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:189023 Serial 7146  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Merging Metadynamics into Hyperdynamics: Accelerated Molecular Simulations Reaching Time Scales from Microseconds to Seconds Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of chemical theory and computation Abbreviated Journal J Chem Theory Comput  
  Volume 11 Issue 11 Pages 4545-4554  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The hyperdynamics method is a powerful tool to simulate slow processes at the atomic level. However, the construction of an optimal hyperdynamics potential is a task that is far from trivial. Here, we propose a generally applicable implementation of the hyperdynamics algorithm, borrowing two concepts from metadynamics. First, the use of a collective variable (CV) to represent the accelerated dynamics gives the method a very large flexibility and simplicity. Second, a metadynamics procedure can be used to construct a suitable history-dependent bias potential on-the-fly, effectively turning the algorithm into a self-learning accelerated molecular dynamics method. This collective variable-driven hyperdynamics (CVHD) method has a modular design: both the local system properties on which the bias is based, as well as the characteristics of the biasing method itself, can be chosen to match the needs of the considered system. As a result, system-specific details are abstracted from the biasing algorithm itself, making it extremely versatile and transparent. The method is tested on three model systems: diffusion on the Cu(001) surface and nickel-catalyzed methane decomposition, as examples of reactive processes with a bond-length-based CV, and the folding of a long polymer-like chain, using a set of dihedral angles as a CV. Boost factors up to 109, corresponding to a time scale of seconds, could be obtained while still accurately reproducing correct dynamics.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000362921700004 Publication Date 2015-09-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1549-9618 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.245 Times cited 41 Open Access  
  Notes K.M.B. is funded as Ph.D. fellow (aspirant) of the FWOFlanders (Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders), Grant No. 11 V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) and the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp (CalcUA), funded by the Hercules Foundation and the Flemish Government−Department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 5.245; 2015 IF: 5.498  
  Call Number c:irua:128183 Serial 3991  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Neyts, E.C.; Ostrikov, K.K.; Sunkara, M.K.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Plasma Catalysis: Synergistic Effects at the Nanoscale Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Chemical reviews Abbreviated Journal Chem Rev  
  Volume 115 Issue 115 Pages 13408-13446  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Thermal-catalytic gas processing is integral to many current industrial processes. Ever-increasing demands on conversion and energy efficiencies are a strong driving force for the development of alternative approaches. Similarly, synthesis of several functional materials (such as nanowires and nanotubes) demands special processing conditions. Plasma catalysis provides such an alternative, where the catalytic process is complemented by the use of plasmas that activate the source gas. This combination is often observed to result in a synergy between plasma and catalyst. This Review introduces the current state-of-the-art in plasma catalysis, including numerous examples where plasma catalysis has demonstrated its benefits or shows future potential, including CO2 conversion, hydrocarbon reforming, synthesis of nanomaterials, ammonia production, and abatement of toxic waste gases. The underlying mechanisms governing these applications, as resulting from the interaction between the plasma and the catalyst, render the process highly complex, and little is known about the factors leading to the often-observed synergy. This Review critically examines the catalytic mechanisms relevant to each specific application.  
  Address Department of Chemistry, Research Group PLASMANT, Universiteit Antwerpen , Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk-Antwerp, Belgium  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Wos 000367563000006 Publication Date 2015-11-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0009-2665 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 47.928 Times cited 204 Open Access  
  Notes ECN and AB gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fund of Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Belgium, Grant Number G.0217.14N. KO acknowledges partial support by the Australian Research Council and CSIRO’s OCE Science Leaders Program. MKS acknowledges partial support from US National Science Foundation through grants DMS 1125909 and EPSCoR 1355448 and also PhD students Babajide Ajayi, Apolo Nambo and Maria Carreon for their help. Approved Most recent IF: 47.928; 2015 IF: 46.568  
  Call Number c:irua:130001 Serial 3993  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Khalilov, U.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Toward the Understanding of Selective Si Nano-Oxidation by Atomic Scale Simulations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Accounts of chemical research Abbreviated Journal Accounts Chem Res  
  Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 796-804  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The continuous miniaturization of nanodevices, such as transistors, solar cells, and optical fibers, requires the controlled synthesis of (ultra)thin gate oxides (<10 nm), including Si gate-oxide (SiO2) with high quality at the atomic scale. Traditional thermal growth of SiO2 on planar Si surfaces, however, does not allow one to obtain such ultrathin oxide due to either the high oxygen diffusivity at high temperature or the very low sticking ability of incident oxygen at low temperature. Two recent techniques, both operative at low (room) temperature, have been put forward to overcome these obstacles: (i) hyperthermal oxidation of planar Si surfaces and (ii) thermal or plasma-assisted oxidation of nonplanar Si surfaces, including Si nanowires (SiNWs). These nanooxidation processes are, however, often difficult to study experimentally, due to the key intermediate processes taking place on the nanosecond time scale.

In this Account, these Si nano-oxidation techniques are discussed from a computational point of view and compared to both hyperthermal and thermal oxidation experiments, as well as to well-known models of thermal oxidation, including the Deal−Grove, Cabrera−Mott, and Kao models and several alternative mechanisms. In our studies, we use reactive molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid MD/Monte Carlo simulation techniques, applying the Reax force field. The incident energy of oxygen species is chosen in the range of 1−5 eV in hyperthermal oxidation of planar Si surfaces in order to prevent energy-induced damage. It turns out that hyperthermal growth allows for two growth modes, where the ultrathin oxide thickness depends on either (1) only the kinetic energy of the incident oxygen species at a growth temperature below Ttrans = 600 K, or (2) both the incident energy and the growth temperature at a growth temperature above Ttrans. These modes are specific to such ultrathin oxides, and are not observed in traditional thermal oxidation, nor theoretically considered by already existing models. In the case of thermal or plasma-assisted oxidation of small Si nanowires, on the other hand, the thickness of the ultrathin oxide is a function of the growth temperature and the nanowire diameter. Below Ttrans, which varies with the nanowire diameter, partially oxidized SiNW are formed, whereas complete oxidation to a SiO2 nanowire occurs only above Ttrans. In both nano-oxidation processes at lower temperature (T < Ttrans), final sandwich c-Si|SiOx|a-SiO2 structures are obtained due to a competition between overcoming the energy barrier to penetrate into Si subsurface layers and the compressive stress (∼2−3 GPa) at the Si crystal/oxide interface. The overall atomic-simulation results strongly indicate that the thickness of the intermediate SiOx (x < 2) region is very limited (∼0.5 nm) and constant irrespective of oxidation parameters. Thus, control over the ultrathin SiO2 thickness with good quality is indeed possible by accurately tuning the oxidant energy, oxidation temperature and surface curvature.

In general, we discuss and put in perspective these two oxidation mechanisms for obtaining controllable ultrathin gate-oxide films, offering a new route toward the fabrication of nanodevices via selective nano-oxidation.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000399859800016 Publication Date 2017-04-18  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0001-4842 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 20.268 Times cited 5 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 12M1315N ; Approved Most recent IF: 20.268  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:142638 Serial 4561  
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Author Nematollahi, P.; Esrafili, M.D.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The role of healed N-vacancy defective BC2N sheet and nanotube by NO molecule in oxidation of NO and CO gas molecules Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Surface science : a journal devoted to the physics and chemistry of interfaces Abbreviated Journal Surf Sci  
  Volume 672-673 Issue 672-673 Pages 39-46  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In this study, the healing of N-vacancy boron carbonitride nanosheet (NV-BC2NNS) and nanotube (NV-BC2NNT) by NO molecule is studied by means of density functional theory calculations. Two different N-vacancies are considered in each of these structures in which the vacancy site is surrounded by either three B-atoms (NB) or by two B- and one C-atom (NBC). By means of the healed BC2NNS and BC2NNT as a support, the removal of two toxic gas molecules (NO and CO) are applicable. It should be noted that the obtained energy barriers of both healing and oxidizing processes are significantly lower than those of graphene, carbon nanotubes or boron nitride nanostructures. Also, at the end of the oxidation process, the pure BC2NNS or BC2NNT is obtained without any additional defects. Therefore, by using this method, we can considerably purify the defective BC2NNS/BC2NNT. Moreover, according to the thermochemistry calculations we can further confirm that the healing process of the NV-BC2NNS and NV-BC2NNT by NO are feasible at room temperature. So, we can claim that this study could be very helpful in both purifying the defective BC2NNS/BC2NNT while in the same effort removing toxic NO and CO gases.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000432614700007 Publication Date 2018-03-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0039-6028 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.062 Times cited 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.062  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:151478 Serial 5044  
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Author Surmenev, R.A.; Grubova, I.Y.; Neyts, E.; Teresov, A.D.; Koval, N.N.; Epple, M.; Tyurin, A.I.; Pichugin, V.F.; Chaikina, M.V.; Surmeneva, M.A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Ab initio calculations and a scratch test study of RF-magnetron sputter deposited hydroxyapatite and silicon-containing hydroxyapatite coatings Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Surfaces and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 21 Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A crucial property for implants is their biocompatibility. To ensure biocompatibility, thin coatings of hydroxyapatite (HA) are deposited on the actual implant. In this study, we investigate the effects of the addition of silicate anions to the structure of hydroxyapatite coatings on their adhesion strength via a scratch test and ab initio calculations. We find that both the grain size and adhesion strength decrease with the increase in the silicon content in the HA coating (SiHA). The increase in the silicon content to 1.2 % in the HA coating leads to a decrease in the average crystallite size from 28 to 21 nm, and in the case of 4.6 %, it leads to the formation of an amorphous or nanocrystalline film. The decreases in the grain and crystallite sizes lead to peeling and destruction of the coating from the titanium substrate at lower loads. Further, our ab initio simulations demonstrate an increased number of molecular bonds at the amorphous SiHA-TiO2 interface. However, the experimental results revealed that the structure and grain size have more pronounced effects on the adhesion strength of the coatings. In conclusion, based on the results of the ab initio simulations and the experimental results, we suggest that the presence of Si in the form of silicate ions in the HA coating has a significant impact on the structure, grain size, and number of molecular bonds at the interface and on the adhesion strength of the SiHA coating to the titanium substrate.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000697616300009 Publication Date 2020-10-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2468-0230 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.2 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 6.2; 2020 IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181685 Serial 7400  
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Author Dabaghmanesh, S.; Neek-Amal, M.; Partoens, B.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The formation of Cr2O3 nanoclusters over graphene sheet and carbon nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Chemical physics letters Abbreviated Journal Chem Phys Lett  
  Volume 687 Issue Pages 188-193  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000412453700030 Publication Date 2017-09-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0009-2614 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.815 Times cited 2 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 01.11.2019  
  Notes ; This work was supported by SIM vzw, Technologiepark 935, BE-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium, within the InterPoCo project of the H-INT-S horizontal program. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the Vlaams Supercomputer Centrum (VSC) and the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp. ; Approved Most recent IF: 1.815  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:146646 Serial 4795  
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Author Fukuhara, S.; Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C.; Shibuta, Y. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Accelerated molecular dynamics simulation of large systems with parallel collective variable-driven hyperdynamics Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Computational Materials Science Abbreviated Journal Comp Mater Sci  
  Volume 177 Issue Pages 109581  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The limitation in time and length scale is a major issue of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Although several methods have been developed to extend the MD time scale, their performance usually deteriorates with increasing system size. Therefore, an acceleration method which is applicable to large systems is required to bridge the gap between the MD simulations and target phenomena. In this study, an accelerated MD method for large system is developed based on the collective variable-driven hyperdynamics (CVHD) method [K.M. Bal and E.C. Neyts, 2015]. The key idea is to run CVHD in parallel with rate control and accelerate multiple possible events simultaneously. Using this novel method, carbon diffusion in bcc-iron bicrystal with grain boundary is examined as an application for practical materials. Carbon atoms reaching at the grain boundary are trapped whereas carbon atoms in the bulk region diffuse randomly, and both dynamic regimes can be simultaneously accelerated with the parallel CVHD technique.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000519576300001 Publication Date 2020-02-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0927-0256 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.3 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes JSPS, J22727 ; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No.19H02415) and Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow (No.18J22727) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan. S.F. was supported by JSPS through the Program for Leading Graduate Schools (MERIT). Data availability The data required to reproduce these findings are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request. Approved Most recent IF: 3.3; 2020 IF: 2.292  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:166773 Serial 6333  
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Author Huygh, S.; Bogaerts, A.; van Duin, A.C.T.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Development of a ReaxFF reactive force field for intrinsic point defects in titanium dioxide Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication Computational materials science Abbreviated Journal Comp Mater Sci  
  Volume 95 Issue Pages 579-591  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A reactive ReaxFF force field is developed for studying the influence of intrinsic point defects on the chemistry with TiO2 condensed phases. The force field parameters are optimized to ab initio data for the equations of state, relative phase stabilities for titanium and titanium dioxide, potential energy differences for (TiO2)n-clusters (n = 116). Also data for intrinsic point defects in anatase were added. These data contain formation energies for interstitial titanium and oxygen vacancies, diffusion barriers of the oxygen vacancies and molecular oxygen adsorption on a reduced anatase (101) surface. Employing the resulting force field, we study the influence of concentration of oxygen vacancies and expansion or compression of an anatase surface on the diffusion of the oxygen vacancies. Also the barrier for oxygen diffusion in the subsurface region is evaluated using this force field. This diffusion barrier of 27.7 kcal/mol indicates that the lateral redistribution of oxygen vacancies on the surface and in the subsurface will be dominated by their diffusion in the subsurface, since both this barrier as well as the barriers for diffusion from the surface to the subsurface and vice versa (17.07 kcal/mol and 21.91 kcal/mol, respectively, as calculated with DFT), are significantly lower than for diffusion on the surface (61.12 kcal/mol as calculated with DFT).  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000343781700077 Publication Date 2014-09-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0927-0256; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.292 Times cited 15 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.292; 2014 IF: 2.131  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:119409 Serial 682  
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Author Neyts, E.C.; Ostrikov, K.(K.) pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Nanoscale thermodynamic aspects of plasma catalysis Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Catalysis today Abbreviated Journal Catal Today  
  Volume 256 Issue 256 Pages 23-28  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma catalysis continues to gain increasing scientific interest, both in established fields like toxic waste abatement and emerging fields like greenhouse gas conversion into value-added chemicals. Attention is typically focused on the obtained conversion process selectivity, rates and energy efficiency. Much less attention is usually paid to the underlying mechanistic aspects of the processes that occur. In this contribution, we critically examine a number of fundamentally important nanoscale thermodynamic aspects of plasma catalysis, which are very relevant to these processes but so far have been overlooked or insufficiently covered in the plasma catalysis literature.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000360085300004 Publication Date 2015-03-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0920-5861; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.636 Times cited 14 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.636; 2015 IF: 3.893  
  Call Number c:irua:127409 Serial 2274  
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Author Brault, P.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Molecular dynamics simulations of supported metal nanocatalyst formation by plasma sputtering Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Catalysis today Abbreviated Journal Catal Today  
  Volume 256 Issue 256 Pages 3-12  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Magnetron sputtering is a widely used physical vapor deposition technique for deposition and formation of nanocatalyst thin films and clusters. Nevertheless, so far only few studies investigated this formation process at the fundamental level. We here review atomic scale molecular dynamics simulations aimed at elucidating the nanocatalyst growth process through magnetron sputtering. We first introduce the basic magnetron sputtering background and machinery of molecular dynamics simulations, and then describe the studies conducted in this field so far. We also present a perspective view on how the field may be developed further.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000360085300002 Publication Date 2015-02-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0920-5861; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.636 Times cited 18 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.636; 2015 IF: 3.893  
  Call Number c:irua:127408 Serial 2174  
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Author Fukuhara, S.; Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C.; Shibuta, Y. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Entropic and enthalpic factors determining the thermodynamics and kinetics of carbon segregation from transition metal nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 171 Issue Pages 806-813  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The free energy surface (FES) for carbon segregation from nickel nanoparticles is obtained from advanced molecular dynamics simulations. A suitable reaction coordinate is developed that can distinguish dissolved carbon atoms from segregated dimers, chains and junctions on the nanoparticle surface. Because of the typically long segregation time scale (up to ms), metadynamics simulations along the developed reaction coordinate are used to construct FES over a wide range of temperatures and carbon concentrations. The FES revealed the relative stability of different stages in the segregation process, and free energy barriers and rates of the individual steps could then be calculated and decomposed into enthalpic and entropic contributions. As the carbon concentration in the nickel nanoparticle increases, segregated carbon becomes more stable in terms of both enthalpy and entropy. The activation free energy of the reaction also decreases with the increase of carbon concentration, which can be mainly attributed to entropic effects. These insights and the methodology developed to obtain them improve our understanding of carbon segregation process across materials science in general, and the nucleation and growth of carbon nanotube in particular.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000598371500084 Publication Date 2020-09-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.337 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Scientific Research, 19H02415 ; JSPS, 18J22727 ; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; JSPS; JSPS; FWO; Research Foundation; Flanders, 12ZI420N ; This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No.19H02415) and Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow (No.18J22727) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan. S.F. was supported by JSPS through the Program for 812 Approved Most recent IF: 6.337  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:172452 Serial 6421  
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Author Khalilov, U.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Mechanisms of selective nanocarbon synthesis inside carbon nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 171 Issue Pages 72-78  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The possibility of confinement effects inside a carbon nanotube provides new application opportunities, e.g., growth of novel carbon nanostructures. However, the understanding the precise role of catalystfeedstock in the nanostructure synthesis is still elusive. In our simulation-based study, we investigate the Ni-catalyzed growth mechanism of encapsulated carbon nanostructures, viz. double-wall carbon nanotube and graphene nanoribbon, from carbon and hydrocarbon growth precursors, respectively. Specifically, we find that the tube and ribbon growth is determined by a catalyst-vs-feedstock competition effect. We compare our results, i.e., growth mechanism and structure morphology with all available theoretical and experimental data. Our calculations show that all encapsulated nanostructures contain metal (catalyst) atoms and such structures are less stable than their pure counterparts. Therefore, we study the purification mechanism of these structures. In general, this study opens a possible route to the controllable synthesis of tubular and planar carbon nanostructures for today’s nanotechnology.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000598371500009 Publication Date 2020-09-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 6.337 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fund of Scientific Research Flanders, 12M1318N ; Universiteit Antwerpen; Flemish Supercomputer Centre; Hercules Foundation; Flemish Government; The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Fund of Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Belgium, Grant number 12M1318N. The work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre (VSC), funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UA, Belgium. Approved Most recent IF: 6.337  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:172459 Serial 6414  
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Author Aussems, D.U.B.; Bal, K.M.; Morgan, T.W.; van de Sanden, M.C.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Mechanisms of elementary hydrogen ion-surface interactions during multilayer graphene etching at high surface temperature as a function of flux Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 137 Issue Pages 527-532  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In order to optimize the plasma-synthesis and modification process of carbon nanomaterials for applications such as nanoelectronics and energy storage, a deeper understanding of fundamental hydrogengraphite/graphene interactions is required. Atomistic simulations by Molecular Dynamics have proven to be indispensable to illuminate these phenomena. However, severe time-scale limitations restrict them to very fast processes such as reflection, while slow thermal processes such as surface diffusion and molecular desorption are commonly inaccessible. In this work, we could however reach these thermal processes for the first time at time-scales and surface temperatures (1000 K) similar to high-flux plasma exposure experiments during the simulation of multilayer graphene etching by 5 eV H ions. This was achieved by applying the Collective Variable-Driven Hyperdynamics biasing technique, which extended the inter-impact time over a range of six orders of magnitude, down to a more realistic ion-flux of 1023m2s1. The results show that this not only causes a strong shift from predominant ion-to thermally induced interactions, but also significantly affects the hydrogen uptake and surface evolution. This study thus elucidates H ion-graphite/graphene interaction mechanisms and stresses the importance of including long time-scales in atomistic simulations at high surface temperatures to understand the dynamics of the ion-surface system.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000440661700056 Publication Date 2018-05-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.337 Times cited 4 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 25.05.2020  
  Notes DIFFER is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). K.M.B. is funded as PhD fellow (aspirant) of the FWO-Flanders (Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders), Grant 11V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government e department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 6.337  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:152172 Serial 4993  
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Author Khalilov, U.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Atomic-scale mechanisms of plasma-assisted elimination of nascent base-grown carbon nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 118 Issue 118 Pages 452-457  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Selective etching allows for obtaining carbon nanotubes with a specific chirality. While plasma-assisted etching has already been used to separate metallic tubes from their semiconducting counterparts, little is known about the nanoscale mechanisms of the etching process. We combine (reactive) molecular dynamics (MD) and force-bias Monte Carlo (tfMC) simulations to study H-etching of CNTs. In particular, during the hydrogenation and subsequent etching of both the carbon cap and the tube, they sequentially transform to different carbon nanostructures, including carbon nanosheet, nanowall, and polyyne chains, before they are completely removed from the surface of a substrate-bound Ni-nanocluster.We also found that onset of the etching process is different in the cases of the cap and the tube, although the overall etching scenario is similar in both cases. The entire hydrogenation/etching process for both cases is analysed in detail, comparing with available theoretical and experimental evidences.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000401120800053 Publication Date 2017-03-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.337 Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes U. K. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Belgium (Grant No. 12M1315N). The work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. The authors also thank Prof. A. C. T. van Duin for sharing the ReaxFF code. Approved Most recent IF: 6.337  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:141915 Serial 4531  
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Author Yusupov, M.; Van der Paal, J.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Synergistic effect of electric field and lipid oxidation on the permeability of cell membranes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Biochimica et biophysica acta : G : general subjects Abbreviated Journal Bba-Gen Subjects  
  Volume 1861 Issue 1861 Pages 839-847  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Background: Strong electric fields are knownto affect cell membrane permeability,which can be applied for therapeutic purposes, e.g., in cancer therapy. A synergistic enhancement of this effect may be accomplished by the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as generated in cold atmospheric plasmas. Little is known about the synergy between lipid oxidation by ROS and the electric field, nor on howthis affects the cell membrane permeability.

Method: We here conduct molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the dynamics of the permeation process under the influence of combined lipid oxidation and electroporation. A phospholipid bilayer (PLB), consisting of di-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine molecules covered with water layers, is used as a model system for the plasma membrane.

Results and conclusions:Weshow howoxidation of the lipids in the PLB leads to an increase of the permeability of the bilayer to ROS, although the permeation free energy barriers still remain relatively high. More importantly, oxidation of the lipids results in a drop of the electric field threshold needed for pore formation (i.e., electroporation) in the PLB. The created pores in the membrane facilitate the penetration of reactive plasma species deep into the cell interior, eventually causing oxidative damage.

General significance: This study is of particular interest for plasma medicine, as plasma generates both ROS and electric fields, but it is also of more general interest for applications where strong electric fields and ROS both come into play.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000397366200012 Publication Date 2017-01-27  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0304-4165 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.702 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work is financially supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; grant numbers: 1200216N and 11U5416N). The work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flem Approved Most recent IF: 4.702  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140095 Serial 4413  
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Author Shirazi, M.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title DFT study of Ni-catalyzed plasma dry reforming of methane Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Applied catalysis : B : environmental Abbreviated Journal Appl Catal B-Environ  
  Volume 205 Issue 205 Pages 605-614  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract tWe investigated the plasma-assisted catalytic reactions for the production of value-added chemicalsfrom Ni-catalyzed plasma dry reforming of methane by means of density functional theory (DFT). Weinspected many activation barriers, from the early stage of adsorption of the major chemical fragmentsderived fromCH4andCO2molecules up to the formation of value-added chemicals at the surface, focusingon the formation of methanol, as well as the hydrogenation of C1and C2hydrocarbon fragments. Theactivation barrier calculations show that the presence of surface-bound H atoms and in some cases alsoremaining chemical fragments at the surface facilitates the formation of products. This implies that thehydrogenation of a chemical fragment on the hydrogenated crystalline surface is energetically favouredcompared to the simple hydrogenation of the chemical fragment at the bare Ni(111) surface. Indeed, thepresence of hydrogen modifies the electronic structure of the surface and the course of the reactions.We therefore conclude that surface-bound H atoms, and to some extent also the remaining chemicalfragments at the crystalline surface, induce the following effects: they facilitate associative desorption ofmethanol and ethane by increasing the rate of H-transfer to the adsorbed fragments while they impedehydrogenation of ethylene to ethane, thus promoting again the desorption of ethylene. Overall, they thusfacilitate the catalytic conversion of the formed fragments from CH4and CO2, into value-added chemicals.Finally, we believe that the retention of methane fragments, especially CH3, in the presence of surface-boundHatoms (as observed here for Ni) can be regarded as an identifier for the proper choice of a catalystfor the production of value-added chemicals.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000393931000063 Publication Date 2017-01-05  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0926-3373 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.446 Times cited 26 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Financial support from the Reactive Atmospheric Plasmaprocessing –eDucation network (RAPID), through the EU 7thFramework Programme (grant agreement no. 606889) is grate-fully acknowledged. The calculations were performed using theTuring HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Univer-siteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer CenterVSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Approved Most recent IF: 9.446  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:139514 Serial 4343  
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Author Zhang, Y.-R.; Van Laer, K.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Can plasma be formed in catalyst pores? A modeling investigation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Applied catalysis : B : environmental Abbreviated Journal Appl Catal B-Environ  
  Volume 185 Issue 185 Pages 56-67  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract tWe investigate microdischarge formation inside catalyst pores by a two-dimensional fluid model forvarious pore sizes in the m-range and for various applied voltages. Indeed, this is a poorly understoodphenomenon in plasma catalysis. The calculations are performed for a dielectric barrier discharge inhelium, at atmospheric pressure. The electron and ion densities, electron temperature, electric field andpotential, as well as the electron impact ionization and excitation rate and the densities of excited plasmaspecies, are examined for a better understanding of the characteristics of the plasma inside a pore. Theresults indicate that the pore size and the applied voltage are critical parameters for the formation of amicrodischarge inside a pore. At an applied voltage of 20 kV, our calculations reveal that the ionizationmainly takes place inside the pore, and the electron density shows a significant increase near and inthe pore for pore sizes larger than 200m, whereas the effect of the pore on the total ion density isevident even for 10m pores. When the pore size is fixed at 30m, the presence of the pore has nosignificant influence on the plasma properties at an applied voltage of 2 kV. Upon increasing the voltage,the ionization process is enhanced due to the strong electric field and high electron temperature, andthe ion density shows a remarkable increase near and in the pore for voltages above 10 kV. These resultsindicate that the plasma species can be formed inside pores of structured catalysts (in the m range),and they may interact with the catalyst surface, and affect the plasma catalytic process.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000369452000006 Publication Date 2015-12-11  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0926-3373 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.446 Times cited 75 Open Access  
  Notes This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific ResearchFlanders (FWO) (Grant no. G.0217.14N), the National Natural Sci-ence Foundation of China (Grant no. 11405019), and the ChinaPostdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant no. 2015T80244). Theauthors are very grateful to V. Meynen for the useful discussions oncatalysts. This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPCinfrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwer-pen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, fundedby the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (departmentEWI) and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 9.446  
  Call Number c:irua:129808 Serial 3984  
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