A new stable polycrystalline Be2C monolayer: A direct semiconductor with hexa-coordinate carbons

In this paper, by means of the first principles calculations based on density functional theory, a new polycrystalline two-dimensional Be₂C namely Be₂C-III monolayer with orthorhombic atomic configuration is predicted. In this proposed monolayer, Be and C atoms are buckled in four different planes, in which each carbon atom binds to six beryllium atoms, while each beryllium atom is shared by three carbon and its three neighboring beryllium in a quasi-planar structure. First principles calculations confirmed that the new Be₂C-III monolayer is energetically, kinetically, and thermally stable. Through electronic properties investigations, it is found that the proposed monolayer is a direct semiconductor with a medium band gap of 1.75 (2.54 eV) calculated by PBE (HSE06) level of theory which can be effectively modulated by biaxial external strains. As a direct band gap semiconductor with high stabilities this new Be₂C monolayer is a promising candidate for application in electronics and optoelectronics devices.     

Alkali-metal-embedded in monolayer MoS<Subscript>2</Subscript>: optical properties and work functions

Embedding alkali-metal in monolayer MoS₂ has been investigated by using first principles with density functional theory. The calculation of the electronic and optical properties indicates that alkali-metal was embedded in monolayer MoS₂ appearing almost metallic behavior, and the MoS₂ layer shows clear p-type doping behavior. The covalent bonding appears between the alkali-metal atoms and defective MoS₂. More importantly, embedding alkali-metal can increase the work function for monolayer MoS₂. Furthermore, the absorption spectrum of monolayer MoS₂ is red shifted because of alkali metal embedding. Accordingly, this study will provide the theoretical basis for producing the alkali-metal-doped monolayer MoS₂ radiation shielding and photoelectric devices.     

Electronic and optical properties of single-layer MoS<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The electronic structures of a MoS₂ monolayer are investigated with the all-electron first principle calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) and the spin-orbital couplings (SOCs). Our results show that the monolayer MoS₂ is a direct band gap semiconductor with a band gap of 1.8 eV. The SOCs and d-electrons in Mo play a very significant role in deciding its electronic and optical properties. Moreover, electronic elementary excitations are studied theoretically within the diagrammatic self-consistent field theory. Under random phase approximation, it shows that two branches of plasmon modes can be achieved via the conduction-band transitions due to the SOCs, which are different from the plasmons in a two-dimensional electron gas and graphene owing to the quasi-linear energy dispersion in single-layer MoS₂. Moreover, the strong optical absorption up to 10⁵ cm^-1 and two optical absorption edges I and II can be observed. This study is relevant to the applications of monolayer MoS₂ as an advanced photoelectronic device.     

A theoretical study on tuning band gaps of monolayer and bilayer SnS2 and SnSe2 under external stimuli

Based on density functional theory, we systematically study the mechanical and electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂. The electronic properties of these layers can be significantly tuned by applying in-plane strains and electric fields perpendicular to the sheets. The band gaps of monolayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ slightly increase with the in-plane tensile strains, and they start to decrease after critical strains (5% for monolayer SnS₂ and 7% for monolayer SnSe₂). The band gaps of bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ have a similar tendency to the monolayers with smaller critical strains (1% for bilayer SnS₂ and 2% for bilayer SnSe₂), which enables a semiconductor-to-metal transition at 10% strain for bilayer SnSe₂. We also find that an external electric field perpendicular to bilayer SnS₂ and SnSe₂ modulates their electronic band gaps. Semiconductor-to-metal transitions are achieved at the electric fields of 0.27 V/Å for bilayer SnS₂ and 0.13 V/Å for bilayer SnSe₂.     

Stable monolayer of the RuO2 structure by the Peierls distortion

In this paper, we presented a stable two-dimensional ruthenium dioxide monolayer by using first-principles calculations within density functional theory. In contrast to ordinary hexagonal and octahedral structures of metal dichalcogenides, RuO₂ is stable in the distorted phase of the structure as a result of occurring charge density wave. A comprehensive analysis including the calculation of vibration frequencies, mechanical properties, and ab initio molecular dynamics at 300?K affirms that RuO₂ monolayer structure is stable dynamically and thermally and convenient for applications at room temperature. We also investigated the electronic and optical properties of RuO₂ and it is found that RuO₂ has of 0.74?eV band gap which is in the infrared region and very suitable for infrared detectors.     

Theoretical studies on the structures and absorption spectra of–C n R2n+1(R = H,F; n = 1, 2) substituted 5-(2-pyridyl) pyrazolate boron complexes

The molecular structures, electronic structures and absorption characters of–CH₃,–C₂H₅,–CF₃,–C₂F₅ substituted 5-(2-pyridyl) pyrazolate boron complexes were presented by density functional theory (DFT). The ground state structures of the title complexes were optimised at B3LYP/6-31G* level. In addition, a time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) method is applied to investigate the properties of absorption spectra and electronic transition mechanism which were based on the ground state geometries. The results show that the chemical bond formed between nitrogen in the pyridyl ring and boron can be attributed to coordination effect. The boron centre has a typical tetrahedral geometry with the adjacent atoms. The calculated absorption wavelengths for–CF₃,–C₂F₅ substituted 5-(2-pyridyl) pyrazolate boron complexes are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Surface interactions of Au(I) cyclo-trimer with Au(111) and Al(111) surfaces: A computational study

A plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) study on surface interactions of a cyclo-[Au(μ-Pz)]₃ monolayer (denoted as T), Pz = pyrazolate, with Au(111) and Al(111) surfaces (denoted as M′) has been performed. Structural and electronic properties at the M′–T interfaces are determined from individually optimized structures of M′, T and M′–T. Results show that the gold pyrazolate trimer (T) binds more strongly on the Au(111) surface than on Al(111). Charge redistribution has been observed at both M′–T interfaces, where charge is “pushed” back towards the Au(111) surface from the trimer monolayer in Au(111)–T system, while the opposite happens in the Al(111)–T system where the charge is being pushed toward the trimer monolayer from the Al(111) surface. Considerable changes to the work function of Au(111) and Al(111) surfaces upon the trimer adsorption which arise from monolayer vacuum level shifts and dipole formation at the interfaces are calculated. The interaction between cyclo-[Au(μ-Pz)]₃ with metal surfaces causes band broadening of the gold pyrazolate trimer in M′–T systems. The present study aids better understanding of the role of intermolecular interactions, bond dipoles, energy-level alignment and electronic coupling at the interface of metal electrodes and organometallic semiconductor to help design metal–organic field effect transistors (MOFETs) and other organometallic electronic devices.     

Effect of strain on electronic and magnetic properties of n-type Cr-doped WSe2 monolayer

Using first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory, we study the effect of strain on the electronic and magnetic properties of Cr-doped WSe₂ monolayer. The results show that no magnetic moment is induced in the Cr-doped WSe₂ monolayer without strain. For the Cr substitutions, the impurity states are close to the conduction bands, which indicate n-type doping occurs in this case. Then we applied strain (from −10% to 10%) to the doped system, and find that a little magnetic moment is induced with tensile strain from 6% to 9% and negligible. We find that the influence of strain on the magnetic properties is inappreciable in Cr-doped WSe₂. Moreover, the tensile strain appears to be more effective in reducing the band gap of Cr-doped WSe₂ monolayer than the compressive strain.     

First-principles calculations of the structural,electronic, optical and thermal properties of the BNxAs1–x alloys

The present paper aims to study the structural, electronic, optical and thermal properties of the boron nitride (BN) and BAs bulk materials as well as the BN_xAs_1–x ternary alloys by employing the full-potential-linearised augmented plane wave method within the density functional theory. The structural properties are determined using the Wu–Cohen generalised gradient approximation that is based on the optimisation of the total energy. For band structure calculations, both the Wu–Cohen generalised gradient approximation and the modified Becke–Johnson of the exchange-correlation energy and potential, respectively, are used. We investigated the effect of composition on the lattice constants, bulk modulus and band gap. Deviations of the lattice constants and the bulk modulus from the Vegard’s law and the linear concentration dependence, respectively, were observed for the alloys where this result allows us to explain some specific behaviours in the electronic properties of the alloys. For the optical properties, the calculated refractive indices and the optical dielectric constants were found to vary nonlinearly with the N composition. Finally, the thermal effect on some of the macroscopic properties was predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model in which the lattice vibrations are taken into account.     

Theoretical investigations of the structural,electronic and optical properties of Hg1−xCdxTe alloys

The structural, electronic and optical properties of mercury cadmium telluride (Hg_1?xCd_xTe; x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) alloys are studied using density functional theory within full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. We used the local density approximation (LDA), generalized gradient approximation (GGA), hybrid potentials, the modified Becke–Johnson (LDA/GGA)-mjb and Hubbard-corrected functionals (GGA/LDA + U), for the exchange-correlation potential (E_ex). We found that LDA functional predicts better lattice constants than GGA functional, whereas, both functionals fail to predict the correct electronic structure. However, the hybrid functionals were more successful. For the case of HgTe binary alloy, the GGA + U functional predicted a semi-metallic behaviour with an inverted band gap of ?0.539 eV, which is closest to the experimental value (?0.30 eV). Ternary alloys, however, are found to be semiconductors with direct band gaps. For the x = 0.25 and 0.50, the best band gaps are found to be 0.39 and 0.81 eV using LDA-mbj functional, whereas, the GGA-mbj functional predicted the best band gap of 1.09 eV for Hg_0.25Cd_0.75Te alloy, which is in a very good agreement with the experimental value (1.061 eV). The optical properties of the alloys are obtained by calculating the dielectric function ?(ω). The peaks of the optical dielectric functions are consistent with the electronic gap energies of the alloys.     

Nb‐based MXenes for Li‐ion battery applications

Li‐ion batteries depend critically on the stability and capacity of the electrodes. In this respect the recently synthesized two‐dimensional MXenes are promising materials, as they combine an excellent Li‐ion capacity with very high charging rates. We employ density functional theory to investigate the impact of Li adsorption on the structural and electronic properties of monolayer Nb₂C and Nb₂CX₂. The Li ions are predicted to migrate easily on the pristine MXene due to a diffusion barrier of only 36 meV, whereas larger diffusion barriers are obtained for the functionalized MXenes. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Thermoelectric performance of monolayer Bi2Te2Se of ultra low lattice thermal conductivity

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se were studied by density functional theory and semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation. The band gap with TB-mBJ can be improved for monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se. Monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se have ultra-low thermal conductivity comparing with other well-known two-dimensional materials. The monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se can improve electrical conductivities. ZT increases with increasing temperature for monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se. Comparing to GGA, TB-mBJ has larger ZT value in p-type doping. Monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se have larger ZT comparing with other well-known two-dimensional materials. Our calculated results show that our calculation greatly underestimates ZT value, therefore, monolayer Bi₂Te₂Se should have a higher ZT value.     

Comparative study of structural,electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of GaS bulk and monolayer

The structural, electronic, optical properties of GaS in bulk and monolayer forms have been studied by means of full-potential linearised augmented plane wave calculations within framework of the density functional theory. Generalised gradient approximation and Tran–Blaha modified Becke–Johnson exchange potential (mBJ) were employed for the treatment of exchange-correlation effect in calculations. Our calculated lattice parameters are in good agreement with previous theoretical results and available experimental data. The negative formation enthalpy and cohesive energy indicate that both bulk and monolayer GaS can be synthesised and stabilised experimentally. Our electronic results show that the band gap of GaS monolayer is higher than that of bulk counterpart and strong hybridisation between electronic states of constituent atoms is observed in both cases. The optical properties such as reflectivity, absorption coefficient, refractive index and optical conductivity were derived from calculated complex dielectric function for wide energy range up to 35?eV. Finally, the thermoelectric properties of GaS bulk and monolayer also were calculated using semi-classical Boltzmann theory within the constant relaxation time approximation for investigating their applicability in thermoelectric devices.     

DFT investigation on A4B4 (A=Cu,Ag; B=As,Sn) metal–semiconductor alloy clusters for potential nanomaterials

A detail investigation on the stability and electronic properties for A₄B₄ (A=Cu, Ag; B=As, Sn) metal–semiconductor alloy clusters, is performed in search for the stable and potential motifs. A very popular hybrid exchange–correlation functional, B3LYP as proposed by Becke is employed for this purpose, under the density functional formalism. To understand the possible potential of the predicted A₄B₄ systems, frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) are also analyzed along with the DFT based electronic parameters. The ground state structure for each of the A₄B₄ systems is predicted. Also, a couple of nearly simple-cubic unit cells are identified for respective cluster-assembled/ bulk materials.     

Structural,elastic, electronic,optical and thermoelectric properties of the Zintl-phase Ae3AlAs3 (Ae = Sr,Ba)

First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the structural, elastic, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of the Zintl-phase Ae₃AlAs₃ (Ae = Sr, Ba) using two complementary approaches based on density functional theory. The pseudopotential plane-wave method was used to explore the structural and elastic properties whereas the full-potential linearised augmented plane wave approach was used to study the structural, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties. The calculated structural parameters are in good consistency with the corresponding measured ones. The single-crystal and polycrystalline elastic constants and related properties were examined in details. The electronic properties, including energy band dispersions, density of states and charge-carrier effective masses, were computed using Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson functional for the exchange-correlation potential. It is found that both studied compounds are direct band gap semiconductors. Frequency-dependence of the linear optical functions were predicted for a wide photon energy range up to 15 eV. Charge carrier concentration and temperature dependences of the basic parameters of the thermoelectric properties were explored using the semi-classical Boltzmann transport model. Our calculations unveil that the studied compounds are characterised by a high thermopower for both carriers, especially the p-type conduction is more favourable.     

A systematic investigation of the geometries,electronic and magnetic properties of AlnAsq (q = −1, 0, +1; n = 1–16) clusters: a DFT calculation

The geometries, electronic and magnetic properties of Al_nAs^q (q = ?1, 0, +1; n = 1–16) clusters have been investigated systematically by using an unbiased CALYPSO structure searching method and density functional theory. The lowest energy structures show that the As atom prefers to occupy the peripheral position of Al_n+1 clusters instead of the endohedral position. For cationic and neutral clusters, the structural transition from bilayer-like structure to cage-like structure is observed at cluster size n = 12, while it occurs at n = 13 for anionic clusters. The calculated detachment energies (DEs), ionisation potentials (IPs) and electronic affinities (EAs) are consistent with the available experimental and theoretical results for small clusters, indicating that the calculated lowest energy structures are reliable. Furthermore, the DE, EA and IP values for cluster size n ≥ 6 are successfully predicted. A stability analysis shows that Al₅As and Al₁₂As⁺ clusters have relatively large HOMO–LUMO energy gaps, corresponding to the magic numbers of 20 and 40 valence electrons, respectively.     

Theoretical investigation of the thermoelectric transport properties of BaSi2

The full-potential linear augmented plane wave method based on density functional theory is employed to investigate the electronic structure of BaSi 2 . With the constant relaxation time and rigid band approximation,the electrical conductivity,Seebeck coefficient and figure of merit are calculated by using Boltzmann transport theory,further evaluated as a function of carrier concentration. We find that the Seebeck coefficient is more anisotropic than electrical conductivity. The figure of merit of BaSi 2 is predicted to be quite high at room temperature,implying that optimal doping may be an effective way to improve thermoelectric properties.     

Formation,structure, and properties of “welded” <Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis>-BN/graphene compounds

Structures of h-BN/graphene with holes where atoms at the edges are bonded to each other by sp² hybridized C–B and C–N bonds and form continuous junctions from layer to layer with topological defects inside holes have been considered. Their formation, as well as the moiré-type stable atomic structure of such compounds (with different rotation angles of graphene with respect to the hexagonal boron nitride monolayer) with closed hexagonal holes in the AA centers of packing of the moiré superlattice, has been studied. The stability, as well as the electronic and mechanical properties, of such bilayer BN/graphene nanomeshes has been analyzed within electron density functional theory. It has been shown that they have semiconducting properties. Their electronic band structures and mechanical characteristics differ from the respective properties of separate monolayer nanomeshes with the same geometry and arrangement of holes.     

二维BC2 N薄片的结构稳定性和电子性质

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法,对二维BC₂N薄片的结构稳定性和电子性质进行了系统的研究.计算了BC₂N化合物16种可能的二维单层结构.对它们的能带结构分析发现,对称性最高的构型与石墨烯一样是一种半金属,而其他二维结构则为有不同带隙的半导体,其中最稳定的构型是带隙值为1.63 eV的直接带隙半导体.对最稳定构型的差分电荷密度分析和Bader分析发现:在最稳定的构型中,C–C键、C–N键、C–B键和B–N键主要以共价键的形式呈现,也具有比较明显的离子性.在应力作用下最稳定构型的单层BC₂N的带隙宽度会发生变化,压缩时带隙变宽,而拉伸时带隙变窄,但仍然为直接带隙半导体. 关键词： 2N')" href="#">BC₂N 单层原子薄片 电子结构 从头计算     

Specific features of the electronic,spin, and atomic structures of a topological insulator Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>2.4</Subscript>Se<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>

The specific features of the electronic and spin structures of a triple topological insulator Bi₂Te_2.4Se_0.6, which is characterized by high-efficiency thermoelectric properties, have been studied with the use of angular- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and compared with theoretical calculations in the framework of the density functional theory. It has been shown that the Fermi level for Bi₂Te_2.4Se_0.6 falls outside the band gap and traverses the topological surface state (the Dirac cone). Theoretical calculations of the electronic structure of the surface have demonstrated that the character of distribution of Se atoms on the Te–Se sublattice practically does not influence the dispersion of the surface topological electronic state. The spin structure of this state is characterized by helical spin polarization. Analysis of the Bi₂Te_2.4Se_0.6 surface by scanning tunnel microscopy has revealed atomic smoothness of the surface of a sample cleaved in an ultrahigh vacuum, with a lattice constant of ~4.23 Å. Stability of the Dirac cone of the Bi₂Te_2.4Se_0.6 compound to deposition of a Pt monolayer on the surface is shown.