Junho
Lee
ab,
Dongchul
Sung
c,
You Kyoung
Chung
a,
Seon Bin
Song
a and
Joonsuk
Huh
*abd
aDepartment of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
bSKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea
cDepartment of Physics, Graphene Research Institute, GRI-TPC International Research Center, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea
dInstitute of Quantum Biophysics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea. E-mail: joonsukhuh@gmail.com
First published on 8th April 2022
This study used an artificial intelligence (AI)-based crystal inverse-design approach to investigate the new phase of two-dimensional (2D) pristine magnesium hydride (MgxHy) sheets and verify their availability as a hydrogen storage medium. A 2D binary phase diagram for the generated crystal images was constructed, which was used to identify significant 2D crystal structures. Then, the electronic and dynamic properties of the MgxHy sheets in low-energy periodic phases were identified via density functional theory (DFT) calculations; this revealed a previously unknown phase of 2D MgH2 with a Pm2 space group. In the proposed structure, the adsorption behaviors of the Li-decorated system were investigated for multiple hydrogen molecules. It was confirmed that Li-decorated MgH2 has an expected theoretical gravimetric density of 6 wt%, with an average H2 adsorption energy of −0.105 eV. Therefore, it is anticipated that Pm2 MgH2 sheets can be employed effectively as a medium for hydrogen storage. Additionally, this finding indicates that a deep learning-based approach is beneficial for exploring unrevealed 2D materials.
Another promising approach is the use of lightweight physical adsorbents with high surface areas, reversible H2 charging (and discharging), and facile kinetics, such as carbon-based nanostructures (e.g. nanotubes9,10), metal–organic frameworks,11,12 and covalent organic frameworks.13,14 Unlike chemical storage, generally, these physical adsorbents are limited by weak van der Waals interactions between adsorbed hydrogen molecules and substrates, which significantly reduces the H2 storage capacity of these substances due to the desorption of H2 at very low temperatures. Consequently, metal ions,15,16 including alkali metals, alkali earth metals, and transition metals, have been extensively used as dopants to produce ideal H2 binding strengths (∼−15 kJ mol−1) and increase H2 storage capacities.17 In this regard, much research has been conducted on the use of two-dimensional (2D) materials with a lightweight alkali metal or alkali earth metals for storing hydrogen. For example, many potential hydrogen storage systems have been proposed using Li-, Na-, or Ca-decorated graphene,18–22 boron–nitride layers,23–25 and carbon–nitride compounds.26
Recently, much research has been conducted on the structure of 2D groups of MHs, and over 100 stable MH monolayers have been reported. These 2D MHs were explored using substitution-based systematic structural investigations. They generate known layered lattice structures by combining hydrogen with all the metals in the periodic table and offer a rich array of electronic properties for use in materials ranging from metals to wide-gap semiconductors.27 However, despite their high gravimetric hydrogen capacity in the bulk state and their large surface area for the attachment of additional hydrogen molecules, the use of MH sheets as a hydrogen storage material has not been proposed. To date, the identification of novel 2D MHs has been via substitution-based methods, although depending on the combination of crystal structural motifs and atomic elements, these approaches could omit a structure from the search area.
Considerable efforts have been made to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict new material structures. Compared with existing well-known structure-prediction techniques, such as evolutionary algorithms or substitution-based methods, deep learning-based approaches allow the computational cost to be reduced by exploring scoped target chemical spaces, which are represented as a continuous latent vector. In chemistry, two of the most popular generative models are the variational autoencoder and the generative adversarial network (GAN); these are used with various chemical representations, such as graph-based encoding for crystal structures, three-dimensional (3D) grid images, and point cloud images. Recently, Xie et al. developed a CDVAE model to design the periodic structure of stable materials.28 Long et al. developed a GAN-based inverse design framework for crystal structure prediction in the binary Bi–Se system.29 Fung et al. proposed an inverse design framework MatDesINNe and applied it to MoS2 for band gap engineering.30 A compositional conditional GAN (CCCGAN) model for designing Mg–Mn–O ternary materials was devised that successfully predicted 23 new crystal structures.31 We utilized this model in our study, noting that it can generate the structural motifs of materials using point-cloud-based structural image representation without any elemental consideration.This study used a deep learning-based generative model and a systematic theoretical study using the density functional theory (DFT) to propose a new crystal structure for a 2D MgxHy sheet. In terms of hydrogen storage, 2D MgH2 with a Pm2 space group was identified as a promising medium, and pristine and Li-doped 2D MgH2 were investigated as potential materials for storing hydrogen. Additionally, the adsorption energy and configuration of gas molecules were analyzed, and the adsorption conditions of multiple hydrogen molecules on Li-decorated MgH2 were investigated.
First, 2D structural data were obtained from the Material Clouds 2D structure database,38 which is a data subset of approximately 1000 easily exfoliable 2D monolayers containing less than 8 atoms per unit cell. There were 134 binary and 105 ternary system nanosheets whose stability had been confirmed previously via DFT computational exfoliation calculations. As the aim was to generate binary MHs, the initial training set contained 134 unique structures. The problems of data shortage and invariance were addressed by augmenting the data using transitional and rotational transformations for each initial original structure of about 1000 structures.31 Following data preprocessing, 134000 training data sets were available for the training of this study's model. Fig. 1 shows the complete configuration of the model.
The model was trained for approximately 200 epochs, and following the training with the 2D binary system data, it was confirmed from the model's losses that its learning had progressed satisfactorily. A total of 500 crystal images of binary Mg–H 2D nanosheets were generated via the trained generator. To evaluate the performance of the generative model, we calculated the validity and reproduction ratio. Validity is a relatively weak criterion based on simple physical rules and was proposed by Court et al.39 According to this criterion, a structure is valid as long as the shortest distance between any pair of atoms is larger than 0.5 Å. In our model, 96.8% of structures were observed as valid structures. The reproduction ratio means how much percent of the training data was reproduced during the generation. We use StructureMatcher from pymatgen,40 which finds the best match between two structures considering all invariances of materials. The matching criterion parameter is set as stol = 0.5, angle_tol = 10, and ltol = 0.3. Totally, 87.3% of the structural motifs in the training data were reproduced in our model. Then, the structural optimization was performed using the loose convergence criterion (while fulfilling the preset material project relaxation option) for the generated material candidates, and the formation energy of each was determined (Fig. 2). The formation energies are defined as follows:
Ef,MgH = (nMg × EMg(solid) − nH × (EH2(gas)/2))/ntot | (1) |
Fig. 2 Phase diagram of the 2D MgxH1−x among the generated structures. The triangles colored red are the structures with negative formation energies. |
Fig. 2 shows the phase diagram of the generated MgxH1−x (the same as that of MgxHy but with a representation as a proportion of the elements in Mg), which plots the formation energies of all generated structures. In Fig. 2, the red triangles located below the level of zero formation energy indicate the selected structures that primarily satisfy thermodynamic stability. For these selected materials, additional strict criteria for the structural optimization and phonon calculations were included. Consequently, three structures of 2D magnesium hydride monolayers were filtered out: two MgH2 with Pm1 (164) and Pm2 (115) space groups and one Mg2H2 with a P1 (2) space group. For brevity, MgH2 with Pm1 and Pm2 space groups and Mg2H2 with a P1 space group are referred to as I-phase MgH2, II-phase MgH2, and III-phase Mg2H2, respectively.
Fig. 3(a)–(c) present the top and side views of the optimized geometries of the discovered structures, and their structural details are summarized in Table 1. The lattice parameters of I-phase MgH2 are a = b = 3.001 Å, α = 89.9°, β = 89.6°, and γ = 119.9°, whereas the parameters of II-phase MgH2 are a = b = 3.198 Å and α = β = γ = 90°. I-phase Mg2H2 has parameters of a = b = 3.083 Å, α = 87.4°, β = 101.3°, and γ = 120°. In Fig. 3(d)–(f), the electronic band structures of each nanosheet are plotted with the edges of the valence and conduction bands marked in green and red dots, respectively. I-phase MgH2 has an indirect bandgap of 4.88 eV (Fig. 3(d)), II-phase MgH2 has an indirect bandgap of 4.74 eV (Fig. 3(e)), and I-phase Mg2H2 has an indirect bandgap of 0.50 eV (Fig. 3(f)). As can be seen in Fig. 3(g)–(i), these MgxHy structures are stable depending on their phonon band structures with a nonimaginary frequency.
Fig. 3 The 2 × 2 supercell of the explored structures: (a) I-phase MgH2, (b) II-phase MgH2, and (c) III-phase Mg2H2. The electronic band structures of (d) I-phase MgH2, (e) II-phase MgH2, and (f) III-phase Mg2H2. The phonon band structures of (g) I-phase MgH2, (h) II-phase MgH2, and (i) III-phase Mg2H2. All band structures were plotted using the Sumo package.41 |
Name | Space group | a (Å) | α (°) | β (°) | γ (°) | E f (eV) | ΔHd (eV) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I-phase MgH2 | Pm1 | 3.001 | 89.9 | 89.6 | 119.9 | −0.130 | 0.41 |
II-phase MgH2 | Pm2 | 3.198 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | −0.01 | 0.05 |
III-phase Mg2H2 | P1 | 3.083 | 87.4 | 101.3 | 120 | −0.03 | 0.13 |
The dehydrogenation enthalpy for each compound (ΔHd in Table 1) was also calculated. All dehydrogenation enthalpies were calculated with a zero-point energy correction. The lowest value is shown by the II-phase MgH2 at 0.05 eV, whereas the values for the I-phase MgH2 and III-phase Mg2H2 are 0.41 and 0.13 eV, respectively. These values are relatively lower than the value of α-phase bulk MgH2 (0.80 eV).42 The lower dehydrogenation enthalpy facilitates easier removal of hydrogen atoms from Mg–H MHs. Therefore, 2D Mg–H MHs were expected to release H2 gas at a lower temperature than the α-phase bulk MgH2.
The I-phase MgH2 structure was discovered previously using a substitution-based crystal-prediction model,27 whereas III-phase Mg2H2 possesses an asymmetric structure in which one side is covered with a metal (a polymorph of Mg-decorated I-phase MgH2). However, II-phase MgH2 has a previously unproposed symmetrical structure with hydrogen covering both of its sides.27 So, this paper focuses on the analysis of II-phase MgH2. According to the available data from the Materials Project webpage (https://www.materialsproject.org), the most stable structure for MgH2 at 0 K is a tetragonal phase MgH2 (ID: mp-23710) with 6 atoms in the unit cell and with the symmetry of P42/mnm (136) (named α-phase MgH2), Fig. S1(a).† On the other hand, the layered bulk structure of the 2D II-phase of MgH2 with a tetragonal symmetry of P42/nmc (137), is only 0.038 eV per atom less stable than the α-phase, Fig. S1(b).† So the slight energy difference of 0.038 eV per atom could be readily compensated for by the energetic fluctuation in a thermally excited statistical system.
To investigate the thermal stability of MgH2, (note: MgH2 used without a phase modifier essentially means 2D II-phase MgH2) AIMD simulations were performed at 300 K up to 6 ps. Top- and side-view photographs of the structures at 0, 3, and 6 ps, respectively, are provided in Fig. S2(a), (b), and (c).† No distortions or defects were identified in the initial pristine structure, which indicates the thermodynamic stability of MgH2 under room temperature conditions.
Therefore, it is confirmed that the approach presented herein, which combines a deep learning-based crystal generative model with DFT calculations, can identify unrevealed 2D MgH2. Solid crystals can be defined by unit cells, atomic coordinates (structural motifs), and types of elements, although the crystal representation used in this study did not contain information about the latter. Although this model did not generate a new structural motif that was absent in the training data, it was successful in generating the unrevealed structures that were omitted from the classical substitution-based method. With the future development of AI technology in the field of materials, the crystal representation containing information about types of elements and structural motifs will facilitate more effective explorations of new materials.
Eb = Etot − EMgH2 − ELi | (2) |
Binding site | E bind,Li (eV) |
---|---|
Mg top | −0.412 |
Mg bridge | −0.924 |
H top | −0.293 |
Hollow | −0.731 |
To clarify the mechanism for H2–host interactions, this section considers the adsorption behavior of H2 molecules on a single Li-atom-decorated MgH2 surface. The adsorption energies are defined as follows:
Ead = (Etot − ELi−MgH2 − nH2 × EH2)/nH2 | (3) |
H2 molecules were adsorbed on the surface of Li–MgH2. The average adsorption energies, distances between the Li atoms and hydrogen molecules (dLi–H), and bond length of the adsorbed H2 molecules (dH–H) as a function of the number of adsorbed H2 molecules are summarized in Table 3. The H2 bond length is elongated as the number of adsorbed H2 molecules increases due to the weakening of the interior H–H bond in the H2 molecules resulting from the polarization caused by Li atoms. Multiple potential configurations were considered for the first H2 molecule with H2 at different angles to the MgH2 plane. The optimized ground state structure with an Ead of −0.104 eV and a corresponding dH–H of 0.754 Å is shown in Fig. 4(a). In this figure, the electrons can be seen to accumulate in H2 close to the Li side, whereas the other side demonstrates the contribution to adsorption by the polarization mechanism. This polarization weakens the H–H bond with an elongated dH–H of 0.754 Å and aids in subsequent H2 adsorption via an induction force. To image the process of H2 adsorption, additional H2 was added in a stepwise manner. As shown in Fig. 4(b), when the second H2 approaches the host, H2–H2 repulsive interactions cause the first one to move to Mg. Here the binding energy per H2 molecule is −0.105 eV, and the average H2 bond length (dH–H) is increased from 0.755 to 0.763 Å, as indicated in Table 3. The optimized structure of three H2 molecules adsorbed onto Li–MgH2 is illustrated in Fig. 4(c). When the third H2 is added, the Ead increases to −0.111 eV and the average H2 bond length increases to 0.763 Å. Then, as shown in Fig. 4(d), the fourth H2 is added with an Ead of −0.082 eV and a preference to be located opposite to the third one. However, the adsorption behavior of the fourth H2 does not follow the same trend; its Ead decreases further to −0.082 eV, and the dH–H value is reduced further from 0.763 to 0.754 Å. As shown in Fig. 4(c) and (d), in accordance with the adsorption results, there are significantly lower charge-density differences on the third (fourth) H2 molecule than on the first and second ones. Thus, up to four hydrogen molecules can exist on one Li-decorated MgH2 structure with an adequate adsorption energy (Ead) of −0.082 eV. The theoretical gravimetric hydrogen density (Gtheor) can be estimated using Gtheor = MH2/(Mhost + MH2), where Mhost and MH2 indicate the quality of the host material and the H2 molecules, respectively. Consequently, the Li–MgH2 (4H2) system can be expected to produce a remarkable Gtheor of 6 wt%.
Number of H2 molecules | E ad,H2 (eV) | d Li–H2 (Å) | d H–H (Å) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | −0.104 | 2.113 | 0.754 |
2 | −0.105 | 2.244 | 0.755 |
3 | −0.111 | 2.556 | 0.763 |
4 | −0.082 | 2.911 | 0.754 |
Next, the hydrogen-binding mechanism was clarified by investigating the electronic properties of the surface of the H2/Li–MgH2 structure. Fig. 4(e) and (f) show the PDOS of Li–MgH2 with one and two H2 molecules. With a single H2 molecule, the states of H and Li are hybridized around the peaks at −9.4 and −0.4 eV in Fig. 4(e). As shown in Fig. 4(f), for two H2 molecules, the hybridized peak at −9.4 eV divides into two at −9.6 and −8.6 eV, respectively. With the addition of the third and fourth H2 molecules, the hybridization peak at −9.4 eV splits into three and four peaks according to the number of H2 molecules, as shown in Fig. 4(g) and (h). In the system with three adsorbed H2 molecules (Fig. 4(g)), the split hybridized peaks are located at −9.6, −8.6, and −8.0 eV, respectively. As shown in Fig. 4(g), (four H2 molecules), the split hybridized peaks are located at −9.5, −8.5, −8.1, and −7.8 eV, respectively. The division of the hybridization peaks reduces the intensity of the individual peaks, which indicates a reduced bond strength between the H2 molecule and host material in accordance with the previous analysis.
Consequently, four additional H2 molecules could be stored by Li-decorated 2D MgH2 with an Ead of −0.105 eV and a Gtheor of 6 wt%. Considering that the host material in this study is 2D MH, which contains a chemisorbed hydrogen source, it can be said to possess additional hydrogen storage capacity, which makes it competitive against other Li-decorated 2D hydrogen host materials, including h-BN (∼6 wt%)23 and borophene (6.80–11.49 wt%).44,45 Therefore, the Li-decorated system of a 2D MgH2 sheet with a Pm2 space group is anticipated to be a viable medium for substantial hydrogen storage.
This study's findings indicate that the combined approach of AI and DFT calculations can be used to predict 2D crystal structures efficiently; consequently, 2D Pm2 MgH2 is proposed as a novel hydrogen storage medium. It is anticipated that this study's findings will accelerate the development of hydrogen storage materials and other desired functional materials both theoretically and experimentally.
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See https://doi.org/10.1039/d1na00862e |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022 |