Implementing reactivity in molecular dynamics simulations with harmonic force fields
Not provided.
Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
Engineering topics
Pandey, Ravindra
Publications and source records attributed to Pandey, Ravindra.
Microwave growth and tunable photoluminescence of nitrogen-doped graphene and carbon nitride quantum dots
Tunable photoluminescent nitrogen-doped graphene and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) quantum dots are synthesized via a facile solid-phase microwave-assisted (SPMA) technique utilizing the pyrolysis of citric acid and urea precursors. The atomic ratio, surface functionalization, and atomic structure of as-prepared quantum dots strongly depend on the ratio of citric acid to urea. The quantum dots have a homogeneous particle size and tend to form a circle and/or ellipse shape to minimize the edge free energy. The atomic ratio of surface nitrogen to carbon (N/C) in the quantum dots can reach as high as 1.74, among the highest values reported in the literature. The SPMA technique is capable of producing high-quality quantum dots with photoluminescence (PL) emission at various wavelengths on a pilot scale. The atomic structures of the N-doped graphene and g-C 3 N 4 quantum dots are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Increasing the urea concentration increases the tendency of in-plane N ( i.e. , quaternary N) substitution over that of other amino functionalizations, such as pyrrolic and pyridinic N. The PL emission can be precisely tuned via a one-step SPMA method by adjusting the precursor composition. A high quantum yield of 38.7% is achieved with N-doped graphene quantum dots, indicating the substantial influence of the N- and O-rich edge groups on the enhancement of PL efficiency. A bandgap structure is introduced to describe the interstate (π*–π) transition of quantum dots. This work presents a novel approach for engineering the chemical composition and atomic structure of graphene and g-C 3 N 4 quantum dots, facilitating their research and applications in optical, electronic, and biomedical devices.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Degradation of Alkali-Based Photocathodes from Exposure to Residual Gases: A First-Principles Study
Photocathodes are a key component in the production of electron beams in systems such as X-ray free-electron lasers and X-ray energy-recovery linacs. Alkali-based materials display high quantum efficiency (QE), however, their QE undergoes degradation faster than metal photocathodes even in the high vacuum conditions where they operate. The high reactivity of alkali-based surfaces points to surface reactions with residual gases as one of the most important factors for the degradation of QE. In order to advance the understanding on the degradation of the QE, we investigated the surface reactivity of common residual gas molecules (e.g., O 2 , CO 2 , CO, H 2 O, N 2 , and H 2 ) on one of the best-known alkali-based photocathode materials, cesium antimonide (Cs 3 Sb), using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Furthermore, the reaction sites, adsorption energy, and effect in the local electronic structure upon reaction of these molecules on (001), (110), and (111) surfaces of Cs 3 Sb were computed and analyzed. The adsorption energy of these molecules on Cs3Sb follows the trend of O 2 (-4.5 eV) > CO 2 (-1.9 eV) > H 2 O (-1.0 eV) > CO (-0.8 eV) > N 2 (-0.3 eV) ≈ H 2 (-0.2 eV), which agrees with experimental data on the effect of these gases on the degradation of QE. The interaction strength is determined by the charge transfer from the surfaces to the molecules. The adsorption and dissociation of O containing molecules modify the surface chemistry such as the composition, structure, charge distribution, surface dipole, and work function of Cs 3 Sb, resulting in the degradation of QE with exposure to O 2 , CO 2 , H 2 O, and CO.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Energetics and electronic properties of Pt wires of different topologies on monolayer MoSe{sub 2}
The energetics and electronic properties of different topology of Pt wires including linear, zigzag and ladder structures on MoSe{sub 2} monolayer have been investigated in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The predicted order of stability of Pt wire on MoSe{sub 2} monolayer is found to be: linear > ladder > zigzag. Pt wires induce states near the Fermi level of MoSe{sub 2} that results into metallic characteristics of Pt-wire/MoSe{sub 2} assembled system. Valence band charge density signifies most of the contribution from Pt atoms near the Fermi energy of assembled wire/MoSe{sub 2} system. These findings are expected to be important for the fabrication of devices based on MoSe{sub 2} layers for flexible nanoelectronics.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Topological insulator behavior of WS{sub 2} monolayer with square-octagon ring structure
We report electronic behavior of an allotrope of monolayer WS{sub 2} with a square octagon ring structure, refereed to as (so-WS{sub 2}) within state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The WS{sub 2} monolayer shows semi-metallic characteristics with Dirac-cone like features around Γ. Unlike p-orbital’s Dirac-cone in graphene, the Dirac-cone in the so-WS{sub 2} monolayer originates from the d-electrons of the W atom in the lattice. Most interestingly, the spin-orbit interaction associated with d-electrons induce a finite band-gap that results into the metal-semiconductor transition and topological insulator-like behavior in the so-WS{sub 2} monolayer. These characteristics suggest the so-WS{sub 2} monolayer to be a promising candidate for the next-generation electronic and spintronics devices.
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
Ice-nucleating bacteria control the order and dynamics of interfacial water
Ice-nucleating organisms play important roles in the environment. With their ability to induce ice formation at temperatures just below the ice melting point, bacteria such as Pseudomonas syringae attack plants through frost damage using specialized ice-nucleating proteins. Besides the impact on agriculture and microbial ecology, airborne P. syringae can affect atmospheric glaciation processes, with consequences for cloud evolution, precipitation, and climate. Biogenic ice nucleation is also relevant for artificial snow production and for biomimetic materials for controlled interfacial freezing. We use interface-specific sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy to show that hydrogen bonding at the water-bacteria contact imposes structural ordering on the adjacent water network. Experimental SFG data and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that ice active sites within P. syringae feature unique hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterns to enhance ice nucleation. Finally, the freezing transition is further facilitated by the highly effective removal of latent heat from the nucleation site, as apparent from time-resolved SFG spectroscopy.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Switching behaviors of graphene-boron nitride nanotube heterojunctions
High electron mobility of graphene has enabled their application in high-frequency analogue devices but their gapless nature has hindered their use in digital switches. In contrast, the structural analogous, h-BN sheets and BN nanotubes (BNNTs) are wide band gap insulators. Here we show that the growth of electrically insulating BNNTs on graphene can enable the use of graphene as effective digital switches. These graphene-BNNT heterojunctions were characterized at room temperature by four-probe scanning tunneling microscopy (4-probe STM) under real-time monitoring of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A switching ratio as high as 105 at a turn-on voltage as low as 0.5 V were recorded. Simulation by density functional theory (DFT) suggests that mismatch of the density of states (DOS) is responsible for these novel switching behaviors.
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
Semiconductor-to-metal phase transition in monolayer ZrS{sub 2}: GGA+U study
We report structural and electronic properties of ZrS{sub 2} monolayer within density functional theory (DFT) by inclusion of Hubbard on-site Coulomb and exchange interactions. The importance of on-site interactions for both ZrS{sub 2} bulk and monolayer has been highlighted that significantly improves the electronic band-gap. It is demonstrated that mechanical strain induces structural phase transition that results in semiconductor-to-metal transition in monolayer ZrS{sub 2}. This phenomenon has important implications in technological applications such as flexible, low power and transparent electronic devices.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Effects of extrinsic point defects in phosphorene: B, C, N, O, and F adatoms
Phosphorene is emerging as a promising 2D semiconducting material with a direct band gap and high carrier mobility. In this paper, we examine the role of the extrinsic point defects including surface adatoms in modifying the electronic properties of phosphorene using density functional theory. The surface adatoms considered are B, C, N, O, and F with a [He] core electronic configuration. Our calculations show that B and C, with electronegativity close to P, prefer to break the sp{sup 3} bonds of phosphorene and reside at the interstitial sites in the 2D lattice by forming sp{sup 2} like bonds with the native atoms. On the other hand, N, O, and F, which are more electronegative than P, prefer the surface sites by attracting the lone pairs of phosphorene. B, N, and F adsorption will also introduce local magnetic moment to the lattice. Moreover, B, C, N, and F adatoms will modify the band gap of phosphorene, yielding metallic transverse tunneling characters. Oxygen does not modify the band gap of phosphorene, and a diode like tunneling behavior is observed. Our results therefore offer a possible route to tailor the electronic and magnetic properties of phosphorene by the adatom functionalization and provide the physical insights of the environmental sensitivity of phosphorene, which will be helpful to experimentalists in evaluating the performance and aging effects of phosphorene-based electronic devices.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Strain and electric field induced electronic properties of two-dimensional hybrid bilayers of transition-metal dichalcogenides
Tunability of the electronic properties of two-dimensional bilayer hetero structures of transition-metal dichalcogenides (i.e., MX{sub 2}-M′X′{sub 2} with (M, M′ = Mo, W; X, X′ = S, Se) is investigated. Application of both strain and electric field is found to modify the band gap and carrier effective mass in the hybrid bilayers considered. The calculated results based on density functional theory suggest that the tensile strain considerably changes the band gap of semiconducting bilayers; it makes the band gap to be indirect, and later initiates the semiconductor-to-metal transition. Application of the external electric fields, on the other hand, shows asymmetric variation in the band gap leading to the closure of the gap at about 0.5–1.0 V/Å. Tuning of the band gap and carrier effective mass in such a controlled manner makes the hybrid bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides to be promising candidates for application in electronic devices at nanoscale.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Strain engineering of Dirac cones in graphyne
6,6,12-graphyne, one of the two-dimensional carbon allotropes with the rectangular lattice structure, has two kinds of non-equivalent anisotropic Dirac cones in the first Brillouin zone. We show that Dirac cones can be tuned independently by the uniaxial compressive strain applied to graphyne, which induces n-type and p-type self-doping effect, by shifting the energy of the Dirac cones in the opposite directions. On the other hand, application of the tensile strain results into a transition from gapless to finite gap system for the monolayer. For the AB-stacked bilayer, the results predict tunability of Dirac-cones by in-plane strains as well as the strain applied perpendicular to the plane. The group velocities of the Dirac cones show enhancement in the resistance anisotropy for bilayer relative to the case of monolayer. Such tunable and direction-dependent electronic properties predicted for 6,6,12-graphyne make it to be competitive for the next-generation electronic devices at nanoscale.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
High Current Rectification on Graphene-Boron Nitride Nanotube Heterojunctions.
Abstract not provided.
Liu, Yang↗