Network computing for ab initio modeling the chemical storage of alternative energy
Carles Martí · 2018
The aim of the present thesis encompasses different processes related to the storage of energy coming from renewable sources. Concretely, this thesis aims to study, from a theoretical point of view, the processes related to the plasma-assisted Sabatier reaction (CO 2 + 4 H2 → CH4 + 2 H2O), where the heterogeneous catalyst is composed by Ni/Ru elements. The research is consequently split in the topics developed at each partner specialties. In the university of Perugia, the plasma/gas phase processes are considered, concretely the study of the OH + H 2 using the quantum-classical method. The main innovative procedure has been to add a long-range potential tail to the already available. Potential Energy Surface (PES), converting it into a suitable one for non reactive processes, while maintaining the accuracy of the ab initio, necessary for the reactive processes. In this sense we carried out a study of OH + H2 scattering using a quantum-classical method, treating quantally vibrations and classically both translations and rotations. The good agreement between the state specific quantum- classical reactive probabilities and the corresponding full quantum ones prompted the extension of the study to state to state probabilities for non reactive vibrational energy exchange. The study showed that H 2 reactive dynamics depends on the vibrational excitation, while the non reactive one is mainly vibrationally adiabatic. On the contrary, OH reactive dynamics is not affected by its vibrational excitation, whereas the non reactive one might produce some pumping up to higher vibrational states. In the university Paul Sabatier of Toulouse, the Ru clusters and nanoparticles, part of the industrial catalyst are studied using the DFTB approach. The intend was to investigate the ability of DFTB to provide reliable results about electronic structure, structural properties and stability of monometallic ruthenium systems covering the size range from small clusters to larger nanoparticles and the bulk. Due to the fact that the electronic bonding and structural organization of ruthenium cluster are somewhat specific in regard of other metal clusters, it is challenging to examine whether DFTB is able to account for such peculiarities. Parallel-Tempering Molecular Dynamics (PTMD), was used in combination with periodic quenching to achieve global optimization of neutral, cationic and anionic clusters in the range n=3-20.[...]