| 1. |
- Dou, Maofeng, 1982-
(författare)
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First principles study of oxide semiconductors for solar energy applications
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objectives of this thesis are to understand the electronic structures of oxides and oxynitrides for photocatalytic water splitting, examine the Casimir interaction between oxides, and explore possible approach to bridge the Casimir force and material properties for advanced material research. The studies were performed in the framework of the density functional theory, many-body perturbation theory, i.e, the GW approximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation, as well as the Casimir-Lifshitz approach.The thesis consists of two sets of results. In the first part (papers I-VI), the electronic structures of oxynitrides, i.e., ZnO-GaN and ZnO-InN, with different compositions and local structures have been studied. The oxynitrides reduce the band-gap energies significantly compared to the binary counterparts, enabling the oxynitrides to act as visible light active photocatalysts. Formation of cluster--like structures further reduces the band-gap and delocalizes the valence bands, benefiting higher optical absorption. Furthermore, the energy levels between oxynitride and water were aligned using a surface model adapted from semiconductor heterostructure.In the second part (papers V-IX), the electronic structures of oxides as well as the Casimir interactions have been examined. In particular, we investigated the differences of optical and electronic properties between SnO2 and TiO2 polymorphs in terms of band-edge characters and electron-phonon coupling. In addition, we synthesized a mesoporous material possessing two types of pore structures (one is hexagonal ordered with pore diameter of 2.60 nm and the other is disordered with pore diameter of 3.85 nm). The pore framework contains four-coordinated titanium and oxygen vacancies, verified by both experimental measurements and density-functional theory calculations. Utilizing the predicted properties of the materials, we studied the Casimir interactions. A stable equilibrium of Casimir force is achieved in planar geometry containing a thin film and porous substrates. Both the force and equilibrium distance are tuned through modification of the material properties, for instance, optical properties and porosity. Furthermore, we adapted this concept to study the interactions between gas bubbles and porous SiO2 in water. A transition from repulsion to attraction is predicted, which highlights that the bubbles may interact differently at different surface regions.
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| 2. |
- Elgammal, Karim, 1986-
(författare)
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Density Functional Theory Calculations for Graphene-based Gas Sensor Technology
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Nowadays, electronic devices span a diverse pool of applications, especially when getting smaller and smaller satisfying the more than Moore paradigm. To further develop this, studies focusing on material design toward electronic devices are crucial. Accordingly, we present a theoretical study investigating the possibility of graphene as a promising material for such electronic devices design. We focus on graphene and graphene-based sensors. Graphene is known to have outstanding electronic and mechanical properties making it a game changer in the electronic design in the so-called 'post-silicon' industry. It is stronger than steel yet the thinnest material ever known while overstepping copper regarding electronic conductivity.In this thesis, we perform first-principle ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations of graphene in different sensing ambient conditions, which allows fast, accurate and efficient investigations of the electronic structure properties. Principally, we centre our attention on the arising interactions between the adsorbates on top of the graphene sheet and the underlying substrates' surface defects. The combined effect of the impurity bands arising from these defects and the adsorbates reveals a doping influence within the graphene sheet. This doping behaviour is responsible for different equilibrium distances and binding energies for different adsorbate types as well as substrates. Moreover, we briefly investigate the same effect on double layered graphene under the same ambient conditions.We extend the studies to involve various types of substrates with different surface conditions and different adhesion nature to graphene. We take into consideration the governing van der Waals interactions in describing the electronic structure properties taking place at the graphene sheet interfacing both with the substrates below and the adsorbates above. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of passivating such action of graphene sensing towards adsorbates to inhibit the graphene's sensing action as devices passivation becomes a necessity for the ultimate purpose of achieving more than Moore applications. Which in turn result in the optimal integration of graphene-based devices with different other devices functionalities on the same resultant chip.In summary, graphene, by means of first-principle calculations verification, shows a promising behaviour in the sensor functionality enabling more than Moore applications for further advances.
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| 3. |
- Elgammal, Karim, 1986-
(författare)
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Density Functional Theory Calculations of Graphene based Humidity and Carbon Dioxide Sensors
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Graphene has many interesting physical properties which makes it useful for plenty of applications. In this work we investigate the possibility of using graphene as a carbon dioxide and humidity sensor. Carbon dioxide and water adsorbates are modeled on top of the surface of a graphene sheet, which themselves lie on one of two types of silica substrates or sapphire substrate. We evaluate the changes in the electronic and structural properties of the graphene sheet in the presence of the described adsorbates as well as the accompanying substrate. We perform the study using ab-initio calculations based on density functional theory (DFT), that allows fast, accurate and efficient investigations. In particular, we focus our attention on investigating the effects of defects in the substrate and how it influences the properties of the graphene sheet. The defects of the substrate contribute with impurity bands leading to doping effects on the graphene sheet, which in turn together with the presence of the adsorbates result in changes of the electronic charge distribution in the system. We provide charge density difference plots to visualize these changes and also determine the relaxed minimum distances of the adsorbates from the graphene sheet together with the respective minimum energy configurations. We also include the density of states, Löwdin charges and work functions for further investigations.
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| 4. |
- Mirsakiyeva, Amina, 1989-
(författare)
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Quantum Mechanical Calculations of Thermoelectrical Polymers and Organic Molecules
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The subject of the present licentiate thesis is density functional theorybased electronic structure calculations of organic thermoelectric materials and novel organic molecules. We used the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics method in order to investigate the electronic structure of “green energy” and “greenchemistry” compounds.First, we have investigated the electronic structure of the poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and its derivatives - the best studied and successfully implemented by industry organic thermoelectric material. Its transparency, low toxicity and high stability in the oxidized state are combined withan ability to produce electrical current when applying a temperature gradient. This makes PEDOT a perfect “organic metal” and a first candidate for organic thermoelectrogenerators - devices that can produce “green energy” from a temperature difference. The average structures found in these quantum dynamical simulations agree well with earlier static electronic structure studies. The energy gap of two, four and six unit oligomers of PEDOT was calculated and was found to lie in the range of previous theoretical studies. We have also calculatedthe point-charge distributions along the polymer backbone in order to investigate the polaron formed by doping agents of PEDOT. Our analysis allowed us to predict possible localization of the charge in the center of the polymer chain. However, further calculations of the twelve unit PEDOT and its selenium and tellurium derivatives will provide more information. First-principles calculations for the tellurium derivative of PEDOT are here presented for the first time.The second part of our investigation concerns theoretical calculations of novel piperidine-containing acetylene glycols. These molecules were newly synthesized by our experimental collaborators and are expected to provideplant growth stimulation properties, the same as its diacetylene analogs. We performed quantum mechanical calculations of four compounds, presented ananalysis of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals and collected detailed information on point-charges for further parametrization of novel molecules for future computational studies. According to these results, the low production yield found in the experiments cannot be attributed to chemical instability in these novel compounds.
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| 5. |
- Lambrix, Patrick, Professor, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Big Semantic Data Processing in the Materials Design Domain
- 2018
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Ingår i: Encyclopedia of Big Data Technologies. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319639628
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To speed up the progress in the field of materials design, a number of challenges related to big data need to be addressed. This entry discusses these challenges and shows the semantic technologies that alleviate the problems related to variety, variability, and veracity.
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| 6. |
- Lambrix, Patrick, Professor, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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FAIR Big Data in the Materials Design Domain
- 2022
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Ingår i: Encyclopedia of Big Data Technologies. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319639628 - 9783319639628 - 9783319775241
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To speed up the progress in the field of materials design, a number of challenges related to big data need to be addressed. This entry discusses these challenges and shows the semantic technologies that alleviate the problems related to Variety, Variability, Veracity and FAIRness.
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| 7. |
- Magnell, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Conditions, in Engineering Education
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 18 th International CDIO Conference, hosted by Reykjavik University, Reykjavik Iceland, June13-15, 2022.. - : Chalmers University of Technology.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In engineering education, as well as in the society at large, there is an increasing focus on sustainability and sustainable development. The CDIO Standards and the CDIO Syllabus has been substantially updated to meet and drive these changes. Progressive engineering programs have by now made substantial progress in integrating environmental aspects of sustainability and sustainable development into the curriculum. However, the integration of social aspects is generally considered to be more difficult and is therefore lagging behind. This explorative research paper provides insights in efforts to integrate elements of gender equality, diversity and equal conditions (GDE) in three courses on bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral level. The focus is on the development and implementation of reflective assignments, where a theoretical framework is used for characterizing different levels of reflection. The work has been performed by use of an action research approach that has involved close dialogue and collaboration between researchers, pedagogic developers, teachers, students, and education leaders. The paper hereby contributes with multiple perspectives on GDE integration, and significant challenges are discussed. The paper also contributes with concrete examples of reflective assignments, learning activities, and literature that can be useful also in other contexts.
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| 8. |
- Mirsakiyeva, Amina, 1989-
(författare)
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Electronic and optical properties of conducting polymers from quantum mechanical computations
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Conductive polymers are also known as "organic metals" due to their semiconducting properties. They are found in a wide range of applications in the field of organic electronics. However, the growing number of experimental works is not widely supported with theoretical calculations. Hence, the field of conductive polymers is experiencing lack of understanding of mechanisms occurring in the polymers. In this PhD thesis, the aim is to increase understanding of conductive polymers by performing theoretical calculations. The polymers poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) together with its selenium (PEDOS) and tellurium (PEDOTe) derivatives, poly(p-phenylene) (PPP) and naphthobischalcogenadiazoles (NXz) were studied. Several computational methods were applied for analysis of mentioned structures, including density functional theory (DFT), tight-binding modelling (TB), and Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) calculations. The combination of CPMD and DFT calculations was applied to investigate the PEDOT, PEDOS and PEDOTe. The polymers were studied using four different functionals in order to investigate the full picture of structural changes, electronic and optical properties. Temperature effects were studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Wide statistics for structural and molecular orbitals analysis were collected. The TB method was employed for PPP. The formation and motion of the excitations, polarons and bipolarons, along the polymer backbone was investigated in presence of electric and magnetic fields. The influence of non-magnetic and magnetic impurities was determined. The extended π-conjugated structures of NXz were computed using B3LYP and ωB97XD functionals in combination with the 6-31+G(d) basis set. Here, the structural changes caused by polaron formation were analyzed. The combined analysis of densities of states and absorption spectra was used for understanding of the charge transition.
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| 9. |
- Odell, Anders, 1979-
(författare)
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Quantum transport and geometric integration for molecular systems
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Molecular electronics is envisioned as a possible next step in device miniaturization. It is usually taken to mean the design and manufacturing of electronic devices and applications where organic molecules work as the fundamental functioning unit. It involves the measurement and manipulation of electronic response and transport in molecules attached to conducting leads. Organic molecules have the advantages over conventional solid state electronics of inherent small sizes, endless chemical diversity and ambient temperature low cost manufacturing. In this thesis we investigate the switching and conducting properties of photoswitching dithienylethene derivatives. Such molecules change their conformation in solution when acted upon by light. Photochromic molecules are attractive candidates for use in molecular electronics because of the switching between different states with different conducting properties. The possibility of optically controlling the conductance of the molecule attached to conducting leads may lead to new device implementations. The switching reaction is investigated with potential energy calculations for different values of the reaction coordinate between the closed and the open isomer. The electronic and atomic structure calculations are performed with Density Functional Theory (DFT). The potential energy barrier separating the open and closed isomer is investigated, as well as the nature of the excited states involved in the switching. The conducting properties of the molecule inserted between gold, silver and nickel leads is calculated within the Non Equilibrium Green Function theory (NEGF). The molecule is found to be a good conductor in both conformations, with the low-bias current for the closed one being about 20 times larger than that of the open in the case of gold contacts, and over 30 times larger in the case of silver contacts. For the Ni leads the current for the closed isomer is almost 40 times larger than that of the open. Importantly, the current-voltage characteristics away from the linear response is largely determined by molecular orbital re-hybridization in an electric field, in close analogy to what happens for Mn12 molecules. However in the case of dithienylethene attached to Au and Ag such a mechanism is effective also in conditions of strong electronic coupling to the electrodes. In reality these molecules are in constant motion, and the dynamical properties has to be considered. In this thesis such a line of work is initiated. In order to facilitate efficient and stable dynamical simulations of molecular systems the extended Lagrangian formulation of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics have been implemented in two different codes. The extended Lagrangian framework enables the geometric integration of both the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom. This provides highly efficient simulations that are stable and energy conserving even under incomplete and approximate self-consistent field (SCF) convergence. In the density functional theory code FreeON, different symplectic integrators up to the 6th order have been adapted and optimized. It is shown how the accuracy can be significantly improved compared to a conventional Verlet integration at the same level of computational cost, in particular for the case of very high accuracy requirements. Geometric integration schemes, including a weak dissipation to remove numerical noise, are developed and implemented in the self-consistent tight-binding code LATTE. We find that the inclusion of dissipation in the symplectic integration methods gives an efficient damping of numerical noise or perturbations that otherwise may accumulate from finite arithmetics in a perfect reversible dynamics. The modification of the integration breakes symplecticity and introduces a global energy drift. The systematic driftin energy and the broken symplecticity can be kept arbitrarily small without significant perturbations of the molecular trajectories.
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| 10. |
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