Strain engineering of H/transition metal systems

The effects of both compressive and tensile surface strain on the hydrogenated low-index faces of Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Pt and Au has been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). Changes in the preferred H binding site have been observed on the Pd, Ir and Pt surfaces when the surface lattice constant is strained by up to 2%, and on Fe, Rh, Ag and Os surfaces for larger strains of up to 5%. A complete discussion of the variance of the hydrogen binding energy, charge, density of states and local geometry with strain is presented. The exchange-correlation, electrostatic and kinetic contributions to the binding energy are delineated and their respective contributions are discussed. The mechanism which determines the preferred binding site for each system under strain is shown to be complex. [Display omitted] •The structure of hydrogenated Pd(100), Ir(111) and Pt(111) changes under strain.•The on-top binding mechanism is distinct from that other higher-coordination sites.•The partitioned hydrogen binding energies are presented and discussed.