Date of Award

5-27-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Jerry Darsey

Abstract

Until recently, the only pathway for H2 adsorption onto conventional magnesium thin films was the [001] surface. With the discovery of Mg nanoblade/nanotree fabrication, there are now multiple surfaces for adsorption. A keen understanding of each surface's hydrogen adsorption kinetics is a key part of deciding if these surfaces present a more attractive hydrogen storage material than conventional thin films. This study focused on the use of ab-initio methods to compare the adsorption of H2 molecules onto the [001], [100], and [110] surfaces as well as an analysis of hybrid functionals and their advantages over traditional functionals for minimum energy pathway calculations.

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