Spiro-Carbon: A Metallic Carbon Allotrope Predicted from First Principles Calculations

A structurally stable microporous metallic carbon allotrope, poly(spiro[2.2]penta-1,4-diyne) or, for short, spiro-carbon, with I4₁/amd (D_4h) symmetry is predicted by first-principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT). The calculations of electronic, vibrational, and structural properties show that spiro-carbon has lower relative energy than other elusive carbon allotropes such as T-Carbon and 1-diamondyne (Y-Carbon). Its structure can be pictured as a set of trans-cisoid-polyacetylene chains tangled and interconnected together by sp³ carbon atoms. Calculations reveal a metallic electronic structure arising from an “intrinsic doping” of trans-cisoid-polyacetylene chains with sp³ carbon atoms. Possible synthetic routes and various simulated spectra (XRD, NMR, and IR absorption) are provided in order to guide future efforts to synthesize this novel material.     

Hyperfine interactions and lattice distortion of the F center in KCl, NaCl and LiCl crystals

Detailed embedded-cluster quantum-chemistry (ROHF, UHF and UMP2) calculations of hyperfine interactions for the F center in KCl, NaCl and LiCl are presented. Our values for the isotropic hyperfine interaction show a good general agreement with experiments. We show that a careful treatment of the lattice environment, local lattice distortion, spin polarization and correlation are important for this good agreement.     

Application of standard DFT theory for nonbonded interactions in soft matter: prototype study of poly-para-phenylene

We present a detailed analysis of the application of density functional theory (DFT) methods to the study of structural properties of molecular and supramolecular systems, using as a paradigmatic example three para-phenylene-based systems: isolated biphenyl, single chain poly-para-phenylene, and crystalline biphenyl. We use different functionals for the exchange correlation potential, the local density (LDA), and generalized gradient approximations (GGA), and also different basis sets expansions, localized, plane waves (PW), and mixed (localized plus PW), within the reciprocal space formulation for the hamiltonian. We find that regardless of the choice of basis functions, the GGA calculations yield larger interring distances and torsion angles than LDA. For the same XC approximation, the agreement between calculations with different basis functions lies within 1% (LDA) or 0.5% (GGA) for distances, and while PW and mixed basis calculations agree within 1 degrees for torsion angles, the localized basis results show larger angles by approximately 8 degrees and a nonmonotonic dependence on basis size, with differences within 6 degrees. The most prominent features, namely the torsion between rings for isolated molecule and infinite chain, and planarity for the molecule in crystalline environment, are well reproduced by all DFT calculations.     

Theory and ab initio calculation of radiative lifetime of excitons in semiconducting carbon nanotubes

We present a theoretical analysis and first-principles calculation of the radiative lifetime of excitons in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. An intrinsic lifetime of the order of 10 ps is computed for the lowest optically active bright excitons. The intrinsic lifetime is, however, a rapid increasing function of the exciton momentum. Moreover, the electronic structure of the nanotubes dictates the existence of dark excitons near in energy to each bright exciton. Both effects strongly influence measured lifetime. Assuming a thermal occupation of bright and dark exciton bands, we find an effective lifetime of the order of 10 ns at room temperature, in good accord with recent experiments.     

Temperature dependence of the band gap of semiconducting carbon nanotubes

The temperature dependence of the band gap of semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is calculated by direct evaluation of electron-phonon couplings within a "frozen-phonon" scheme. An interesting diameter and chirality dependence of E(g)(T) is obtained, including nonmonotonic behavior for certain tubes and distinct "family" behavior. These results are traced to a strong and complex coupling between band-edge states and the lowest-energy optical phonon modes in SWNTs. The E(g)(T) curves are modeled by an analytic function with diameter- and chirality-dependent parameters; these provide a valuable guide for systematic estimates of E(g)(T) for any given SWNT. The magnitudes of the temperature shifts at 300 K are smaller than 12 meV and should not affect (n,m) assignments based on optical measurements.     

Polarons in carbon nanotubes

We use ab initio total-energy calculations to predict the existence of polarons in semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We find that the CNTs' band edge energies vary linearly and the elastic energy increases quadratically with both radial and with axial distortions, leading to the spontaneous formation of polarons. Using a continuum model parametrized by the ab initio calculations, we estimate electron and hole polaron lengths, energies, and effective masses and analyze their complex dependence on CNT geometry. Implications of polaron effects on recently observed electro- and optomechanical behavior of CNTs are discussed.