Stabilizing Polar Domains in MAPbBr via the Hydrostatic Pressure-Induced Liquid Crystal-like Transition.

Pressure-induced phases of MAPbBr were investigated at room temperature in the range of 0-2.8 GPa by molecular dynamics. Two structural transitions at 0.

Heteroleptic Cu(I) bis-diimine complexes as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs): on some factors affecting intramolecular charge transfer.

A set of eight heteroleptic bis-diimine copper dye complexes with two different ancillary ligands (functionalised 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dmp) and functionalised 6,6'-diphenyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dpbpy)) are investigated for their potential use as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), using first principles density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent DFT (TDDFT). A detailed analysis of the structural properties, projected density of electronic states and Kohn-Sham energy levels, and optical absorption spectra in the UV-visible region reveals that substituting the thiophene group in the ancillary ligand, and enhancing conjugation in the anchoring ligand, lead to increase in the light harvesting efficiency (LHE). However, a natural transition orbital (NTO) analysis, shows that the nature of charge transfer depends mainly on the nature of the parent ancillary group and is not significantly affected by the structural modifications.

Pressure induced topochemical polymerization of solid acrylamide facilitated by anisotropic response of the hydrogen bond network.

The pressure induced polymerization of molecular solids is an appealing route to obtain pure, crystalline polymers without the need for radical initiators. Here, we report a detailed density functional theory (DFT) study of the structural and chemical changes that occur in defect free solid acrylamide, a hydrogen bonded crystal, when it is subjected to hydrostatic pressures. While our calculations are able to reproduce experimentally measured pressure dependent spectroscopic features in the 0-20 GPa range, our atomistic analysis predicts polymerization in acrylamide at a pressure of ∼23 GPa at 0 K albeit through large enthalpy barriers.

Quantum dots as an electron or hole acceptor: on some factors affecting charge transfer in dye-quantum dot composites.

We report a density functional theory (DFT)/time dependent DFT (TDDFT) computational investigation on some factors affecting the nature of charge transfer in CdS quantum dots (QDs) of two different sizes attached to one or two units of dyes among three species viz., coumarine (C343), fluorescein (FLU) and NKX-2388 (NKX). The direction and nature of charge transfers have been ascertained from natural transition orbital analysis.

Electronic, magnetic and spectroscopic properties of doped Mn A WO (A = Co, Cu, Ni and Fe) multiferroic: an experimental and DFT study.

The influence of dopants (Co, Cu, Fe and Ni) on the optical, electronic and magnetic properties of multiferroic MnWO was studied using Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), magnetization measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The evolution of Raman spectra with different elemental substitutions at the Mn site was also studied, where the peak width increased with doping of higher mass elements (Co, Cu, Fe and Ni). UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy on polycrystalline Mn A WO (A  =  Co, Cu, Fe and Ni) (0  ⩽  [Formula: see text]  ⩽  0.

Trapping of Li(+) Ions by [ThFn](4-n) Clusters Leading to Oscillating Maxwell-Stefan Diffusivity in the Molten Salt LiF-ThF4.

A molten salt mixture of lithium fluoride and thorium fluoride (LiF-ThF4) serves as a fuel as well as a coolant in the most sophisticated molten salt reactor (MSR). Here, we report for the first time dynamic correlations, Onsager coefficients, Maxwell-Stefan (MS) diffusivities, and the concentration dependence of density and enthalpy of the molten salt mixture LiF-ThF4 at 1200 K in the composition range of 2-45% ThF4 and also at eutectic composition in the temperature range of 1123-1600 K using Green-Kubo formalism and equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. We have observed an interesting oscillating pattern for the MS diffusivity for the cation-cation pair, in which ĐLi-Th oscillates between positive and negative values with the amplitude of the oscillation reducing as the system becomes rich in ThF4.

Room temperature d (0) ferromagnetism in hole doped Y2O3: widening the choice of host to tailor DMS.

Transition metal-free-ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) is of much current interest in view of the search for more efficient DMS materials for spintronics applications. Our DFT results predict for the first time, that impurities from group1A (Li(+), Na(+), K(+)) doped on Y2O3 can induce a magnetic signature with a magnetic moment around 2.0 μ B per defect at hole concentrations around 1.

Density functional investigation and some optical experiments on dye-sensitized quantum dots.

Dye-sensitized quantum dots (QDs) are promising candidates for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here, we report steady state (absorption and photoluminescence) optical measurements on several sizes of CdS QDs ligated with Coumarin 343 dye (C-343) and two different solvents, viz., chloroform and toluene.

Electron states in semiconductor quantum dots.

In this work, the electronic structures of quantum dots (QDs) of nine direct band gap semiconductor materials belonging to the group II-VI and III-V families are investigated, within the empirical tight-binding framework, in the effective bond orbital model. This methodology is shown to accurately describe these systems, yielding, at the same time, qualitative insights into their electronic properties. Various features of the bulk band structure such as band-gaps, band curvature, and band widths around symmetry points affect the quantum confinement of electrons and holes.

Understanding the antioxidant behavior of some vitamin molecules: a first-principles density functional approach.

The structures, energetics, vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials, electron affinities, and global reactivity descriptors of antioxidant vitamins (both water- and fat-soluble) in neutral, positively charged, and negatively charged states were investigated theoretically. We worked within the framework of first-principles density functional theory (DFT), using the B3LYP functional and both localized (6-311G+(d,p) and plane-wave basis sets. Solvent effects were modeled via the polarizable continuum model (PCM), using the integral equation formalism variant (IEFPCM).

Chemical reactivity analysis of deoxyribonucleosides and deoxyribonucleoside analogues (NRTIs): a first-principles density functional approach.

The structures, energetics, as well as several important chemical parameters, of antiretroviral drugs - nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) - and natural deoxyribonucleosides in both neutral, and positively and negatively charged states, are investigated. These studies are carried out within the frame work of first-principles density-functional theory (DFT), using the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr (BLYP) generalized gradient corrections to the local spin density approximation exchange and correlation energy, norm-conserving pseudopotentials and a plane-wave expansion of Kohn-Sham orbitals. Conceptual DFT is used to determine global and local chemical reactivity parameters.

Structure of the B2 phase in the Ti-25Al-25Zr alloy: a density functional study.

We report a first-principles density functional theory study of the B2 phase structure in the Ti-25Al-25Zr alloy. Several structural models with different site occupancies have been investigated. In the ideal B2 phase, the Zr atom is found to preferentially occupy the Ti site.

Mobility of a single alkali metal atom on fullerene C60: first principles molecular dynamical study.

The dynamical behavior of a single K or Na alkali metal atom on the surface of a C(60) molecule is investigated via Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations in a temperature range up to 300 K. These provide direct evidence for the heteroatom motion, postulated earlier in pioneering experiments, and show that an alkali metal atom can move both on the surface and radially outward from the surface, resulting in a dynamics ranging from diffusive to free orbital motion, on time-scales of up to a few picoseconds.

Capacity of nano-reactors of AOT micro-emulsions to form and sustain ultra small semiconductor quantum dots.

Microemulsions (MEs) are increasingly being used as nano-reactors for the formation and synthesis of nanoparticles or quantum dots (QDs). In this paper, we study the capacity of aqueous nanoreactors of AOT microemulsions for the formation of ultrasmall semiconductor QDs by fixing w = ([H2O]/[AOT]) and varying the concentration of CdS up to 100 mM. The CdS QDs in the MEs are evaluated using UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, and light scattering.