Metal-silicane: Stability and properties

The decoration of silicane using 16 different metal adatoms and the adsorption of small molecules are studied using first-principles calculations. Of the 16 metal adatoms, Li, Na, K, Ca, In, and Sc show a larger binding energy with silicane than their corresponding cohesive energy in the bulk, which suggests they can form 2D layers on the surface of silicane. The band analysis indicates that decoration with metal atoms can effectively tailor the electronic properties of silicane. The adsorption for hydrogen and carbon monoxide on Li-silicane system demonstrates that each Li atom can adsorb a maximum of five H2 or four CO molecules with the average adsorption energy of 0.18 and 0.23 eV/atom, respectively. The calculated results suggest that metal-silicane systems can provide more information for applications as hydrogen-storage or environment-protection materials