Atomic and electronic structures of divacancy in graphene nanoribbons

First principles calculations have been performed to investigate the electronic structures and transport properties of defective graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) in the presence of pentagon-octagon-pentagon (5-8-5) defects. Electronic band structure results reveal that 5-8-5 defects in the defective zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) is unfavorable for electronic transport. However, such defects in the defective armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) give rise to smaller band gap than that in the pristine AGNR, and eventually results in semiconductor to metal-like transition. The distinct roles of 5-8-5 defects in two kinds of edged-GNR are attributed to the different coupling between π^? and π subbands influenced by the defects. Our findings indicate the possibility of a new route to improve the electronic transport properties of graphene nanoribbons via tailoring the atomic structures by ion irradiation.     

Atomistic simulations of divacancy defects in armchair graphene nanoribbons: Stability,electronic structure,and electron transport properties

Using the first principles calculations associated with nonequilibrium Green?s function, we have studied the electronic structures and quantum transport properties of defective armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) in the presence of divacancy defects. The triple pentagon–triple heptagon (555–777) defect in the defective AGNR is energetically more favorable than the pentagon–octagon–pentagon (5–8–5) defect. Our calculated results reveal that both 5–8–5-like defect and 555–777-like defect in AGNR could improve the electron transport. It is anticipated that defective AGNRs can exhibit large range variations in transport behaviors, which are strongly dependent on the distributions of the divacancy defect.     

Electrical switching effect in a photochromic molecule between two graphene electrodes

We propose a single-molecule electrical switches consisting of a photochromic dimethyldihydropyrene/cyclophanediene molecule sandwiched between two graphene electrodes and investigate the electronic transport by using density-functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function methods. The “open” and “closed” isomers of the photochromic molecule are shown to have electrical switching behavior and negative differential resistance effect. Moreover, it is also found that the switching ratio between two different conductive states depends on the ambient temperature, and the device behaves as a stable electrical switch around room temperature, which is in agreement with a recent experimental study of another photochromic molecule diarylethene reported by Jia et al. (2016) [17].     

Energy exchange between vibration modes of a graphene nanoflake oscillator: Molecular dynamics study

We investigated the oscillatory behaviors of a square graphene-nanoflake (GNF) on a rectangular GNF via classical molecular dynamics simulations, and analyzed the energy exchange and the oscillation frequencies for three different modes. The simulation results using a model structure show that the GNF oscillator can be considered as a high frequency oscillator. As its initial velocity increases, its telescoping region increases, then its structural asymmetry along the axis due to own small rotation exerted asymmetric van der Waals (vdW) force on it, and finally, this asymmetric vdW force enhances its rotational motions during its axial translational motions. So the initial kinetic energy of the axial translational motion is changed into the energy of the orthogonal vibrational and the rotational motions. Its resonance frequencies are dependent on the aspect ratio of the bottom rectangular GNF, the difference between the lengths of the GNF oscillator and the bottom rectangular GNF, and the initial velocity.     

Rb吸附石墨烯纳米带电子性质和光学性质的研究

本文基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法了计算了Rb、O和H吸附石墨烯纳米带的差分电荷密度、能带结构、分波态密度和介电函数,调制了石墨烯纳米带的电子性质和光学性质,给出了不同杂质影响材料光学特性的规律.结果表明本征石墨烯纳米带为n型直接带隙半导体且带隙值为0.639 eV;Rb原子吸附石墨烯纳米带之后变为n型简并直接带隙半导体,带隙值为0.494eV;Rb和O吸附石墨烯纳米带变为p型简并直接带隙半导体,带隙值增加为0.996eV;增加H吸附石墨烯纳米带后,半导体类型变为n型直接带隙半导体,且带隙变为0.299eV,带隙值相对减小,更有利于半导体发光器件制备.吸附Rb、O和H原子后,石墨烯纳米带中电荷密度发生转移,导致C、Rb、O和H之间成键作用显著.吸附Rb之后,在费米能级附近由C-2p、Rb-5s贡献;增加O原子吸附之后,O-2p在费米能级附近贡献非常活跃,杂化效应使费米能级分裂出一条能带;再增加H原子吸附之后,Rb-4p贡献发生蓝移,O-2p在费米能级附近贡献非常强,费米能级分裂出两条能带.Rb、O和H的吸附后,明显调制了石墨烯纳米带的光学性质.     

Modification of the structural and electronic properties of graphene by the benzene molecule adsorption

A survey of the literature data on the adsorption of benzene on graphene or carbon nanotubes indicates that the distance between the graphene sheet and benzene molecule is determined from weak van der Waals forces (∼3.40 Å). In our theoretical study, it was found that the benzene/graphene structure (in a specific configuration with carbon atoms located at the atop positions, stacked directly on the top of each other) forms strong covalent bonds, if the distance between the graphene and benzene is about 1.60 Å. Such a short distance corresponds to about a half of the usual separation between the graphite layers. It was also shown that at such a short distance the carbon atoms of the benzene molecule move towards the graphene sheet, whereas the hydrogen atoms move in a different direction, thus breaking the benzene planar structure.     

Tuning the electronic transport properties for a trigonal graphene flake

By applying nonequilibrium Green?s functions in combination with density-functional theory, we have investigated the effects of two side groups, NH₂ and NO₂, on the electronic transport properties of the trigonal graphene flake. It has been found that the rectifying ratios (RR) and direction can be significantly tuned by the type and the attached positions of side groups. The NH₂ group shows an obvious electron-donating characteristic, whereas NO₂ group demonstrates a poorly electron-accepting behavior in these systems. The analysis on the spatial distribution and the energy level of frontier orbitals, transmission spectra, and electrostatic potential distribution give an inside view of the observed results.     

基于石墨烯电极的Co-Salophene分子器件的自旋输运

采用基于非平衡格林函数结合第一性原理的密度泛函理论的计算方法,研究了基于锯齿型石墨纳米带电极的Co-Salophene分子器件的自旋极化输运性质.计算结果表明,当左右电极为平行自旋结构时,自旋向上的电流明显大于自旋向下的电流,自旋向下的电流在[-1V,1V]偏压下接近零,分子器件表现出优异的自旋过滤效应.与此同时,在自旋向上电流中发现负微分电阻效应.当左右电极为反平行自旋结构时,器件表现出双自旋过滤和双自旋分子整流效应.除此之外,整个分子器件还表现出较高的巨磁阻效应.通过分析器件的自旋极化透射谱、局域态密度、电极的能带结构和分子自洽投影哈密顿量,详细解释该分子器件表现出众多特性的内在机理.研究结果对设计多功能分子器件具有重要的借鉴意义.     

Electronic structure and trajectory control of Dirac fermions in graphene ribbons under the competition between electric and magnetic fields

We investigate the electronic structure of graphene ribbons under the competition between lateral electric and normal magnetic fields. The squeezing of quantum level spacings caused by either field is studied. Based on the knowledge of the dispersion under both fields, we analyze the electronic trajectories near the junctions of different electric and magnetic fields configurations. The junctions can split and join electron beams, and the conductance is quite robust against disorder near the junction interfaces. These junction devices can be used as bricks for building more complicated interference devices.     

Investigation of the interface between polyethylene and functionalized graphene: A computer simulation study

The effect of surface chemical functionalization of a single graphene layer on its thermodynamic work of adhesion (WA) with polyethylene (PE) chains has been investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. For this purpose, amine (NH₂), carboxyl (COOH), hydroxyl (OH), and methyl (CH₃) functional groups were distributed randomly throughout the graphene surface using a Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm to achieve graphene functionalized structures with minimized potential energies. The MD simulation results showed that the thermodynamic WA between the PE and the functionalized graphene was larger than that between the PE and the pristine graphene. In fact, the electronegativity of functional groups and Van der Waals forces play influential roles in the thermodynamic WA between the PE and the functionalized graphene. In addition, the amount of thermodynamic WA was increased with increasing the functional group surface density, except for the graphene functionalized with the methyl groups. The segmental density of the PE chains near the single sheet surface was determined based on the density profile calculation. The polymer segments exhibited strong ordering and sharp density variations near the PE/graphene interface. The dynamic of chains was quantitatively characterized by calculating mean square displacement (MSD). Furthermore, the influence of functionality on the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the PE at the PE/graphene interface region was investigated. The results showed that the T_g at the PE/graphene interface was much higher than that of the bulk polymer. In fact, the functionalization of the graphene surface seems to considerably enhance the T_g of the polymer due to lowering the chains mobility.     

A molecular dynamics study of the mechanical properties of h-BCN monolayer using a modified Tersoff interatomic potential

Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we investigate the mechanical properties of hexagonal BCN monolayer, a newly synthesized two-dimensional material with an atom ratio of B/C/N = 1:1:1. The Tersoff potential is modified to get good agreement between predicted and measured fracture strengths of graphene. With this modified Tersoff potential, we perform extensive MD simulations to study the effect of temperature, strain rate and vacancy defect on the mechanical properties of h-BCN. It is found that h-BCN is a strong material with fracture strength of 81.4–93.5 GPa, albeit ∼35% lower than that of graphene. Similar to graphene, temperature has strong effect on the mechanical properties of h-BCN. As the temperature increases from 10 K to 1300 K, the fracture strength and strain of h-BCN drops by 55% and 62%, respectively. The strain rate is found to have a moderate effect. When the strain rate increases from 0.00002 to 0.0125 ps⁻¹, the fracture strength and strain of h-BCN increases 6.1% and 12%, respectively. As for the atomic defect, a very small concentration (0.028%) of vacancy in h-BCN is able to cause a 28% reduction in fracture strength and a 35.5% reduction in fracture strain. These findings have significance for its future applications in nanodevices.     

Effect of the ac field on a single-molecule magnet bridged between conducting leads

We study quantum spin-rotation effects for a single-molecule magnet bridged between two conducting leads in the ac and dc magnetic fields. The Landau-Zener dynamics induced by the magnetic field generates mechanical torque, making the molecule to oscillate. This mechanical motion of the molecule exhibits unique features that can be detected by measuring the electronic tunneling current through the molecule.     

Modeling the dissociation and ionization of a sputtered organic molecule

The evolution of an organic molecule after sputtering from a gold surface has been analyzed by classical molecular dynamics and ab initio calculations to gain insight into the ionization and fragmentation processes occurring in SIMS. The calculated ionization potential (6.2 eV) of the tetraphenylnaphthalene (TPN) molecule has been found to be close to the unimolecular dissociation energy (5.4 eV) of the most favorable reaction channel involving the loss of a phenyl ring. On the other hand, our calculations show that the internal energies of sputtered TPN molecules can be significantly larger than 5-6 eV. Therefore, it appears energetically possible to relax such excited molecules via both fragmentation and ionization.We propose to virtually decompose the TPN molecule into its basic fragments. The rationale is that, if the molecule is very excited, then separate parts (e.g. pendant phenyl rings) can interact with each other almost independently. The analysis of the molecular motion after emission shows that the oscillations along the phenyl-naphthalene bond direction, expected to induce the molecule fragmentation by the loss of a phenyl ring, are relatively small (they store only about 0.2 eV). On the other hand, the relative energy stored in the inter-phenyl interactions, modulated by their bending and responsible for ionization according to our hypothesis, oscillates over a range of 6-7 eV and favors ionization.     

Density functional study of the reaction of O2 with a single site on the zigzag edge of graphene

The reaction between molecular oxygen and an isolated zigzag graphene edge has been studied using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The initial reaction forms a peroxide, ΔH = −135 kJ mol⁻¹. If the graphene edge is pre-oxidised, the dangling peroxy atom can (E_a = 91 kJ mol⁻¹) migrate across contiguous ketone groups until finding another vacant site and stabilizing as a ketone. However, if no further vacant sites are available, the peroxy oxygen has a number of other possibilities open to it, including desorption of an oxygen atom (E_a = 140 kJ mol⁻¹), migration via the basal plane to form a lactone (E_a = 147 kJ mol⁻¹), and direct interaction with an adjacent oxide to form the lactone or a carbonate (E_a = 146 kJ mol⁻¹). The combination of thermal energy and the heat released in the initial formation of the peroxy adduct is likely to be sufficient to overcome these secondary barriers at modest temperatures.Transfer of the dangling peroxy O to the basal plane produces an epoxide that is mobile on the basal surface (E_a = 40–80 kJ mol⁻¹) but that is transferred back to the edge upon coming into proximity of either a vacant edge site or ketone. The instability of the edge epoxide structure implies that it cannot play a significant role in carbon gasification through promoting the reactivity of ketones, contrary to earlier suggestions.The desorption of an oxygen atom creates a very active species capable of reacting with basal or edge sites as well as with oxygen complexes. The reaction of ketone + O has been reported to yield a five-membered ring + CO₂, leading to an overall stoichiometry which is consistent with the observed oxyreactivity of carbon surface oxides identified in isotopic labelling studies in which one O atom is gasified and the other forms a new surface oxide.     

Composition dependence of the optical properties and band structure of the zinc-blende ZnS1-xOx: a first principles study

We present first principles calculations of structural, electronic and optical properties of ZnS_1?xO_x in the zinc-blende phase. We employ the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method within the density functional theory in the generalized gradient approximation and Engel–Vosko generalized gradient approximation. Features such as the lattice constant, the bulk modulus and its pressure derivative are reported. The agreement between our calculated results and available experimental and theoretical data is generally good. Direct and indirect energy band gaps as a function of the oxygen composition in the material of interest are presented and discussed. The material under investigation is found to remain a direct band gap semiconductor over all the alloy composition range (0–1). Furthermore, the optical properties such as the dielectric function, the refractive index, the reflectivity and the electron loss energy have also been reported and analysed.     

Ab initio potential energy surface for the nitrogen molecule pair and thermophysical properties of nitrogen gas

A four-dimensional potential energy hypersurface (PES) for the interaction of two rigid nitrogen molecules was determined from high-level quantum-chemical ab initio computations. A total of 408 points for 26 distinct angular configurations were calculated utilizing the counterpoise-corrected supermolecular approach at the CCSD(T) level of theory and basis sets up to aug-cc-pV5Z supplemented with bond functions. The calculated interaction energies were extrapolated to the complete basis set limit and complemented by corrections for core–core and core–valence correlations, relativistic effects and higher coupled-cluster levels up to CCSDT(Q). An analytical site–site potential function with five sites per nitrogen molecule was fitted to the interaction energies. The PES was validated by computing second and third pressure virial coefficients as well as shear viscosity and thermal conductivity in the dilute-gas limit. An improved PES was obtained by scaling the CCSDT(Q) corrections for all 408 points by a constant factor, leading to quantitative agreement with the most accurate experimental values of the second virial coefficient over a wide temperature range. The comparison with the best experimental data for shear viscosity shows that the values computed with the improved PES are too low by about 0.3% between 300 and 700?K. For thermal conductivity large systematic deviations are found above 500?K between the calculated values and most of the experimental data.     

Special solutions of the Fokker-Planck transport equation for arbitrary band structures; Mobility and diffusivity in a uniform field of force

A Fokker-Planck equation can be derived from a transition-type transport equation if the transition rates are nearly local in momentum space compared with the inhomogeneity length of the distribution. It is a second-order differential equation, whose coefficients depend on the band structureE(k), the viscosity tensor (k), and the temperatureT. Classical solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation deal with the parabolic band structure of free Brownian particles in a field of force. Mobility and diffusivity are then independent of the applied field. Here the explicit solution for the stationary state and the time-integrated conditional probability will be given in one dimension. This suffices to determine mobility and diffusivity. Assuming = 1, these quantities become independent of the field and the band structure, if the latter is nonperiodic, though the distribution still depends on it. This property even holds in three dimensions fork-independent viscosity tensors. Field-dependent mobility and diffusivity are obtained for ak-dependent viscosity or = 1 and periodic band structures. The latter is demonstrated for the caseE-cosk, which is also related to the noise problem in Josephson junctions.     

Methods for calculating the desorption rate of an isolated molecule from a surface: Water on MgO(0 0 1)

We present two types of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation for calculating the desorption rate of molecules from a surface. In the first, the molecules move freely between two surfaces, and the desorption rate is obtained either by counting the number of desorption events in a given time, or by looking at the average density of the molecules as a function of distance from the surface and then applying transition state theory (TST). In the second, the potential of mean force (PMF) for a molecule is determined as a function of distance from the surface and the desorption rate is obtained by means of TST. The methods are applied to water on the MgO(0 0 1) surface at low coverage. Classical potentials are used so that long simulations can be performed, to minimise statistical errors. The two sets of MD simulations agree well at high temperatures. The PMF method reproduces the 0 K adsorption energy of the molecule to within 5 meV, and finds that the well depth of the PMF is not linear with temperature. This implies the prefactor frequency f in the Polanyi-Wigner equation is a function of temperature, increasing at lower temperatures due to the reduction of the available configuration space associated with an adsorbed molecule compared with a free molecule.