First principle study of unzipped boron nitride nanotubes

Systematic first principle calculations have been used to explain the dangling bonds behaviour in the rolling up of a boron nitride nanoribbon (BNNR) to construct a single-walled boron nitride nanotube (BNNT). We found in armchair BNNR two degenerate dangling bonds split and move up to higher energies due to symmetry breaking of system. While in zigzag BNNR changing the topology of system does not affect on metallic features of the band structure, but in unzipped BNNT case a metallic-semimetallic phase transition occurs. Considering the width dependent electronic properties of hydrogen passivated armchair BNNRs, exhibit zigzag behaviour of energy gap in agreement with previous results.     

First principles study of structural and electronic properties of different phases of boron nitride

A theoretical study of structural and electronic properties of the four phases of BN (zincblende, wurtzite, hexagonal and rhombohedral) is presented. The calculations are done by full potential (linear) augmented plane wave plus local orbitals (APW+lo) method based on the density functional theory (DFT) as employed in WIEN2k code. Using the local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA-PBE) for the exchange correlation energy functional, we have calculated lattice parameters, bulk modulus, its pressure derivative and cohesive energy. In order to calculate electronic band structure, another form of the generalized gradient approximation proposed by Engel and Vosko (GGA-EV) has been employed along with LDA and GGA-PBE. It is found that all the three approximations exhibit similar band structure qualitatively. However, GGA-EV gives energy band gap values closer to the measured data. Our results for structural and electronic properties are compared with the experimental and other theoretical results wherever these are available.     

First principle study of unzipped zinc oxide nanotubes

First principle calculations have been employed in order to explain the dangling bonds behavior in the rolling up of a zinc oxide nanoribbon (ZnONR) to construct a single-walled zinc oxide nanotube (SWZnONT). Our results show in armchair ZnONR two degenerative dangling bonds split and moved up to higher energies due to symmetry breaking of the system. By more rolling up (increasing the curvature), the energy gap is increased by increasing of curvature.     

5d过渡金属原子吸附氮化硼纳米管的第一性原理计算

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算方法, 研究了氮化硼纳米管六元环中心吸附5d过渡金属原子后体系的几何结构, 电子结构和磁性性质. 研究发现, 吸附原子向一个氮原子或硼原子偏移; 吸附体系在费米能级附近出现明显的杂质能级; 各个体系的总磁矩随原子序数出现规律性变化, 局域磁矩主要分布在吸附原子上.     

Ni原子链填充碳纳米管的能量、电子结构和磁性的第一性原理计算

在广义梯度近似(GGA)下,利用密度泛函理论(DFT)框架下的第一性原理投影缀加波(PAW)赝势方法,研究了单根Ni原子链填充扶手椅型(n,n)(5≤n≤9)单壁碳纳米管的能量、电子结构和磁性.结果表明(5,5)碳纳米管直径过小排斥Ni原子链的插入,(6,6)碳纳米管是容纳Ni原子链的最小碳纳米管,特别是Ni原子链位于其中心轴线上时的形成能最低.以Ni@(6,6)和Ni@(7,7)系统为例,计算并分析了其自旋极化能带结构,电子总态密度,分波态密度和磁性,发现Ni原子的3d态电子 关键词： Ni原子链 碳纳米管 电子结构 磁性能     

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of the 3d transition metal-doped GaN nanotubes

We have performed first-principles calculations on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of seven different 3d transition-metal (TM) impurity (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) doped armchair (5,0) and zigzag (8,0) gallium nitride nanotubes (GaNNTs). The results show that there is distortion around 3d TM impurities with respect to the pristine GaNNTs for 3d TM-doped (5,5) and (8,0) GaNNTs. The change of total magnetic moment follows Hund’s rule for 3d TM-doped (5,5) and (8,0) GaNNTs, respectively. The total density of states (DOS) indicates that Cr-, Mn-, Fe- and Ni-doped (5,5) GaNNTs as well as Cr-, Mn-, Ni- and Cu-doped (8,0) GaNNTs are all half-metals with 100% spin polarization. The study suggests that such TM-doped nanotubes may be useful in spintronics and nanomagnets.     

Electronic and magnetic properties of single-wall GeC nanotubes filled with iron nanowires

Under GGA, the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of single-wall (8, 8) GeC nanotubes filled with iron Fe_n nanowires (n = 5, 9, 13 and 21) have been investigated systematically using the first-principles PAW potential within DFT. We find that the initial shapes of the Fe₅@(8, 8), Fe₉@(8, 8) and Fe₁₃@(8, 8) systems are preserved without any visible changes after optimization. But for the Fe₂₁@(8, 8) system, the initial shapes are distorted largely for both nanowire and nanotube. The binding processes of Fe_n@(8, 8) systems are exothermic, and Fe₅@(8, 8) system is the most stable structure. The pristine (8, 8) GeCNT is nonmagnetic and direct semiconductor with a wide band gap of about 2.65 eV. Projected densities of states onto different shell Fe atoms show that the separation between the bonding and antibonding d states is reduced as going from the core Fe atom to the outermost shell Fe atom. The spin polarization of the Fe_n@(8, 8) systems and free-standing nanowires are higher than that in bulk Fe. And the spin polarization generally decreases with the number n of the Fe atoms increasing for both the Fe_n@(8, 8) systems and free-standing nanowires. Both the largest spin polarization value itself and not more decrease with respect to value of free-standing Fe₅ nanowire suggest the Fe₅@(8, 8) system could be of interest for the use in electron spin injection. The magnetism is mainly confined within the inner Fe nanowire for these combined systems. More importantly, the Fe₅ nanowire encapsulated inside (8, 8) GeCNT is under the protection of the GeCNT to prevent from oxidation, thus may stably exist in atmosphere for long time and can be expected to have potential applications in building nanodevices.     

Variation of the electronic properties of zigzag boron nitride nanotubes by Al-doping: a DFT study

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are semiconductors with a wide band gap. In comparison with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), BNNTs have higher chemical stability, excellent mechanical properties and higher thermal conductivity. In this paper, we study the effect of diameters and substituting B and N atoms of various zigzag BNNTs with Al, on structural and electronic properties of BNNTs in solid state using the density functional theory method. The results of calculations of density of states and band structure (band) showed that the band gap between the valence and conduction level increases as a result of the enhancement of tube diameter of BNNTs. Finally, the results showed that the electronic properties of the pristine BNNTs can be improved by doping Al atom in the zigzag configuration of tubes.     

Effects of various defects on the electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes: A first principle study

The geometries,formationenergies and electronic band structures of （8, 0） and （14, 0） singlewailed carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs） with various defects, inehlding vaeaney, Stone-Wales defect, and octagon pentagon pair defect, have been investigated within the framework of the density- huictional theory （DFT）, and the influence of the concentration within the same style of deflect on the physical and chenfical properties of SWCNTs is also studied. The results suggest that the existeilcc of vacancy and octagon-pentagon pair deflect both reduce the band gap, whereas the SW- defect induces a band gap opening in CNTs. More int, erestingly, the band gaps of （8, 0） and （14, 0） SWCNTs eonfigurations with two octagon pentagon pair defect presents 0.517 eV and 0.163/eV, which arc a little smaller than the perfectt CNTs. Furthermore, with the concentration of defects increasing, there is a decreasing of band ga.p making the two types of SWCNTs change from a semiconductor to a metallic conductor.     

First-principles study on the structural and electronic properties of AlNCx nanosheet

The structural and electronic properties of a hydrogen terminated hexagonally AlN nanoribbon with 6 zigzag Al-N chains across the ribbon width (6-ZAlNNR) and the hexagonally bonded hetero-sheets AlNC_x (x=2,4,6) consisting of AlN and graphite strips with zigzag shaped borders have been investigated systemically by using the first-principles. The results show that in 6-ZAlNNR, the states of the lowest unoccupied conduction band (LUCB) and the highest occupied valence band (HOVB) at zone boundary Z are edge states whose charges are localized at edge Al and N atoms, respectively. Introducing the graphite strip C_x and increasing its width lead to the LUCB and HOVB getting closer with each other especially in flat dispersion region around the zone boundary J_y, thus decreasing in the energy gap of the hetero-sheets AlNC₂, AlNC₄ and AlNC₆ successively. Similar to the edge states existing in zigzag edged AlNNR, the flat dispersion border states also exist in the zigzag borders of hexagonally networked hetero-sheets AlNC_x. Unlike the edge states whose charges are localized at one of the edge atoms, the border states are localized at two atoms of the borders with either bonding or antibonding character.     

First-principles study on electronic and magnetic properties of Cu-doped CdS

Based on the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method, the electronic structures and magnetic properties in Cu-doped CdS diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) have been investigated. The results indicate that Cu-doped CdS systems show half-metallic character with a total magnetic moment of 1.0 μ_B per supercell. In the case of two Cu atoms substituting for Cd atoms, the long-range ferromagnetism is observed, which results from Cu(3d)-S(3p)-Cd-S(3p)-Cu(3d) coupling chain. The estimated Curie temperature of Cu-doped CdS is predicted to be 400 K, higher than room temperature. These results suggest that Cu-doped CdS may be a promising half-metallic ferromagnetic material for practical applications in electronics and spintronics.     

First principle study of the structural,electronic and magnetic properties of Fe,Co, Ni atomic nanochains encapsulated in single walled and double walled beryllium oxygen nanotubes

By using first-principles calculations within the density function theory, the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of transition metals TM (TM=Fe, Co and Ni) atomic chains wrapped in the single walled and double walled BeO nanotubes are investigated. It is found that all these TM chains @ BeONTs systems are ferromagnetic (FM) and a spin splitting between spin up and down is observed. The high magnetic moment and spin polarization of the TM @ BeONTs systems imply that it can be used as magnetic nanostructure and future applications in permanent magnetism, magnetic recording, and spintronics.     

Effects of an electric field on the electronic and optical properties of zigzag boron nitride nanotubes

We have investigated the electro-optical properties of zigzag BNNTs, under an external electric field, using the tight binding approximation. It is found that an electric field modifies the band structure and splits the band degeneracy. Also the large electric strength leads to coupling the neighbor subbands which these effects reflect in the DOS and JDOS spectrum. It has been shown that, unlike CNTs, the band gap of BNNTs can be reduced linearly by applying a transverse external electric field. Also we show that the larger diameter tubes are more sensitive than small ones. The semiconducting metallic transition can be achieved through increasing the applied fields. The number and position of peaks in the JDOS spectrum are dependent on electric field strength. It is found that at a high electric field, the two lowest subbands are oscillatory with multiple nodes at the Fermi level.     

Adsorption of HCN molecules on Ni,Pd and Pt-doped (7, 0) boron nitride nanotube: a DFT study

We studied affinity of pure and Ni, Pd and Pt-doped (7, 0) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) to toxic HCN molecules using density functional theory calculations. The results indicated that the pure (7, 0) BNNTs can weakly adsorb HCN molecules with adsorption energy of ?0.2474 eV. Upon adsorption of HCN molecules on this nanotube, the band gap energy was decreased from 3.320 to 2.960 eV. The more negative adsorption energy between these transition metal-doped (7, 0) BNNTs and HCN molecules indicated that doping of (7, 0) BNNTs with Ni, Pd and Pt elements can significantly improve the affinity of BNNTs toward this gas. Additionally, it was found that the interaction energy between HCN molecules and Pt-doped BNNTs is more negative than those of the Ni and Pd-doped BNNTs. These observations suggested that the Pt-doped (7, 0) BNNTs are strongly sensitive to HCN molecules and therefore it may be used in gas sensor devices for detecting this toxic gas.     

Theoretical study of magnetic ordering and electronic properties of AgxAl1−x N compounds

Ferromagnetic ordering of silver impurities in the AlN semiconductor is predicted by plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential and spin-polarized calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). It was found that an Ag impurity atom led to a ferromagnetic ground state in Ag_0.0625Al_0.9375N, with a net magnetic moment of 1.95 μ_B per supercell. The nitrogen neighbors at the basal plane in the AgN₄ tetrahedron are found to be the main contributors to the magnetization. This magnetic behavior is different from the ones previously reported on transition metal (TM) based dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS), where the magnetic moment of the TM atom impurity is higher than those of the anions bonded to it. The calculated electronic structure band reveals that the Ag-doped AlN is p-type ferromagnetic semiconductor with a spin-polarized impurity band in the AlN band gap. In addition, the calculated density of states reveals that the ferromagnetic ground state originates from the strong hybridization between 4d-Ag and 2p-N states. This study shows that 4d transition metals such as silver may also be considered as candidates for ferromagnetic dopants in semiconductors.     

The influence of NH3 -attaching on the NMR parameters in the zigzag BN nanotube

Two models of (10, 0) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), perfect and Ammonia-attached, were studied in order to evaluate the influence of NH₃-attaching on the B-11 and N-15 nuclear magnetic resonance in the (10, 0) boron-nitride nanotube (BNNT) for the first time. At first, based on density functional theory (DFT) each of the structures was optimized using B3LYP/6-31G (d) model chemistry. At the next step, the chemical-shielding (CS) tensors were calculated using the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory in both of the relaxed forms and were converted to experimentally measurable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters, i.e. chemical-shielding isotropic (CSI) and chemical-shielding anisotropic (CSA). Our calculation revealed that in the NH₃-attached BNNT (the most stable model) the B atom chemically bonded to the NH₃ molecule has the largest chemical-shielding isotropic (CSI) and the smallest chemical-shielding anisotropic (CSA) values among the other boron nuclei. Additionally, the NMR parameters of those nuclei directly bonded to the boron dramatically change while those of the other B nuclei remain almost unchanged.     

Structural,electronic and magnetic properties of hydrogenated BC2N

Density functional theory has been used to study the electronic and magnetic properties as well as the stability on the hydrogenated BC₂N sheets. It is found that two different structures (BC₂NH-I and BC₂NH-II) with the ferromagnetic ground states can be formed when removing the H atoms from one side of semi-hydrogenated BC₂N sheet. By applying tensile strain, both of their magnetisms are robust to 2.0 μ_B. However, the magnetisms are sensitively changed by compressive strain larger than ?6%. The BC₂NH-I system can be transitioned from semiconductor to half-metal and then to metal when the compressive strain is changed from ?6% to ?8%. And the BC₂NH-II system can be changed into half-metal by applying the compressive strain between ?6% and ?7.5%. Our calculation results suggest a possible way to tune the electronic and magnetic properties by choosing the appropriate structural type and the external strain, which would have potential applications in spintronics and nanodevices.     

[C2MIM]+在碳纳米管中结构和性质的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论方法,系统研究了1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑离子 ( [C2MIM]+ ) 在三种不同管径的碳纳米管中的稳定结构、相互作用能和分子轨道性质. 研究表明,随着碳纳米管管径的增加,[C2MIM]+在碳纳米管内的稳定结构从居中的位置越发靠近碳纳米管的管壁,其与碳纳米管的结合能也从-45.52 kcal/mol降低到-39.45 kcal/mol. 通过分析[C2MIM]+在不同尺寸碳纳米管中的分子轨道排布,发现研究体系的HOMO轨道和LUMO轨道主要是局域在碳纳米管上,电子跃迁表现为π→π*,表明[C2MIM]+与碳纳米管之间为弱的范德华作用. 本研究为理解离子液体与碳纳米管之间的相互作用提供了重要的理论基础.     

Synthesis of iron-filled carbon nanotubes with a great excess of ferrocene and their magnetic properties

Iron-filled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition method with a great excess of ferrocene (more than 30 mg/min of vaporization rate) at 800 C. The amount of ferrocene is more than that in previous reports. The ferrocene was employed as both catalyst precursor and an iron source. Our observations indicate that the CNTs were more than 10 micrometer in length, with an outer diameter of 20–100 nm and inner diameter of 10–30 nm. The inner cavity of the CNTs was partial filled with iron nanowires. Magnetic property measurements reveal that the iron-filled CNTs exhibit an average coercivity of about 257.05 G.