Objective
The making and breaking of bonds involving hydrogen atoms at the surfaces of materials plays a major role in nature. For example, the formation and activation of C-H, N-H, and O-H bonds lies at the heart of heterogeneous catalysis and is no less important to other disciplines such as electrochemistry and astrophysics, not to mention the widely discussed “hydrogen economy” of the future. When dealing with hydrogen, quantum nuclear effects - tunnelling and quantum delocalization - can be significant at room temperature and below. Despite this fact, and despite growing economic and environmental incentives to carry out hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions at lower temperatures most theoretical studies neglect the role quantum nuclear effects play in such processes. Here, we will address this by developing and applying ab initio path integral techniques for the rigorous treatment of quantum nuclear effects in elementary diffusion and reaction events at solid surfaces. The path integral formalism of quantum mechanics provides a powerful approach for treating quantum nuclear effects and when done with an ab initio determination of the underlying potential energy surface highly accurate predictions can be achieved. This project will begin with ab initio path integral simulations of time independent quantum properties such as addressing the extent of quantum delocalisation of adsorbed hydrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms incorporated in molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces. Following this ab initio centroid molecular dynamics techniques specifically designed for the determination of quantum transition state theory rate constants and mechanisms of elementary reaction and diffusion processes at solid surfaces will be developed. This highly ambitious project will culminate in the fully quantum treatment of several elementary reactions at metal surfaces and in so doing open up a new research frontier: the fully quantum path integral treatment of surface chemistry.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry
- natural sciences physical sciences quantum physics
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy hydrogen energy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2007-StG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
WC1E 6BT LONDON
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.