The visualization of accurate colour information using quantum dots has been explored for decades, and commercial products employing environmentally friendly materials are currently available as backlights. However, next-generation electroluminescent displays based on quantum dots require the development of an efficient and stable cadmium-free blue-light-emitting device, which has remained a challenge because of the inferior photophysical properties of blue-light-emitting materials. Here we present the synthesis of ZnSe-based blue-light-emitting quantum dots with a quantum yield of unity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermoelectric device is a promising next-generation energy solution owing to its capability to transform waste heat into useful electric energy, which can be realized in materials with high electric conductivities and low thermal conductivities. A recently synthesized silicon allotrope of Si features highly anisotropic crystal structure with nanometer-sized regular pores. Here, based on first-principles study without any empirical parameter we show that the slightly doped Si can provide an order-of-magnitude enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit at room temperature, compared with the cubic diamond phase of silicon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe study the variations of electron-phonon coupling and their spectroscopic consequences in response to the sliding of two layers in bilayer graphene using first-principles calculations and a model Hamiltonian. Our study shows that the long wavelength optical phonon modes change in a sensitive and unusual way depending on the symmetry as well as the parity of sliding atomic structures and that, accordingly, Raman- and infrared-active optical phonon modes behave differently upon the direction and size of the sliding. The renormalization of phonon modes by the interlayer electronic coupling is shown to be crucial to explain their anomalous behavior upon the sliding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing the first principles calculations, we show that mechanically tunable electronic energy gap is realizable in bilayer graphene if different homogeneous strains are applied to the two layers. It is shown that the size of the energy gap can be simply controlled by adjusting the strength and direction of these strains. We also show that the effect originates from the occurrence of strain-induced pseudoscalar potentials in graphene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectronic and magnetic properties of alkali and alkaline-earth metal doped graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are studied by the pseudopotential density functional method. Strong site dependence is observed in metal adsorption on GNRs, and the adsorbed metal atoms are found to spontaneously form atomic chains in a particular form of GNRs. Such doped GNRs exhibit intriguing magnetic properties such as hysteresis and spin compensation as metal atoms switch from one edge to another at alternating gate voltages.
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