Structural, elastic, electronic, optical and anisotropy properties of newly quaternary Tl2HgGeSe4 via DFPT predictions associated to XPES and RS experiments.

In the present work, we report on theoretical studies of thermodynamic properties, structural and dynamic stabilities, dependence of unit-cell parameters and elastic constants upon hydrostatic pressure, charge carrier effective masses, electronic and optical properties, contributions of interband transitions in the Brillouin zone of the novel TlHgGeSe crystal. The theoretical calculations within the framework of the density-functional perturbation theory (DFPT) are carried out employing different approaches to gain the best correspondence to the experimental data. The present theoretical data indicate the dynamical stability of the title crystal and they reveal that, under hydrostatic pressure, it is much more compressible along the a-axis than along the c-axis.

Insights from Experiment and Theory on Peculiarities of the Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of the TlHgGeSe Crystal.

TlHgGeSe crystal was successfully, for the first time, synthesized by the Bridgman-Stockbarger technology, and its electronic structure and peculiarities of optical constants were investigated using both experimental and theoretical techniques. The present X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the TlHgGeSe crystal reveals small moisture sensitivity at ambient conditions and that the essential covalent constituent of the chemical bonding characterizes it. The latter suggestion was supported theoretically by ab initio calculations.

Electronic and optical properties of thiogermanate AgGaGeS: theory and experiment.

The electronic and optical properties of an AgGaGeS crystal were studied by first-principles calculations, where the full-potential augmented plane-wave plus local orbital (APW+lo) method was used together with exchange-correlation pseudopotential described by PBE, PBE+, and TB-mBJ+ approaches. To verify the correctness of the present theoretical calculations, we have measured for the AgGaGeS crystal the XPS valence-band spectrum and the X-ray emission bands representing the energy distribution of the electronic states with the biggest contributions in the valence-band region and compared them on a general energy scale with the theoretical results. Such a comparison indicates that, the calculations within the TB-mBJ+ approach reproduce the electron-band structure peculiarities (density of states - DOS) of the AgGaGeS crystal which are in fairly good agreement with the experimental data based on measurements of XPS and appropriate X-ray emission spectra.

Mexican-hat dispersions and high carrier mobility of γ-SnX (X = O, S, Se, Te) single-layers: a first-principles investigation.

The shape of energy dispersions near the band-edges plays a decisive role in the transport properties, especially the carrier mobility, of semiconductors. In this work, we design and investigate the γ phase of tin monoxide and monochalcogenides γ-SnX (X = O, S, Se, and Te) through first-principles simulations. γ-SnX is found to be dynamically stable with phonon dispersions containing only positive phonon frequencies.

First-principles study on the structural properties of 2D MXene SnSiGeN and its electronic properties under the effects of strain and an external electric field.

The MXene SnSiGeN monolayer as a new member of the MoSiN family was proposed for the first time, and its structural and electronic properties were explored by applying first-principles calculations with both PBE and hybrid HSE06 approaches. The layered hexagonal honeycomb structure of SnSiGeN was determined to be stable under dynamical effects or at room temperature of 300 K, with a rather high cohesive energy of 7.0 eV.

Searching for better X-ray and γ-ray photodetectors: structure-composition properties of the TlPbBr I quaternary system.

Developing X-ray and γ-ray detectors with stable operation at ambient temperature and high energy resolution is an open challenge. Here, we present an approach to search for new detector materials, combining binary photodetector compounds. More specifically, we explore quaternary TlPbBr I compositions, relying on materials synergy between TlBr, TlI, and PbI photodetectors.

Novel Janus GaInX (X = S, Se, Te) single-layers: first-principles prediction on structural, electronic, and transport properties.

In this paper, the structural, electronic, and transport properties of Janus GaInX (X = S, Se, Te) single-layers are investigated by a first-principles calculations. All three structures of GaInX are examined to be stable based on the analysis of their phonon dispersions, cohesive energy, and Born's criteria for mechanical stability. At the ground state, The Janus GaInX is a semiconductor in which its bandgap decreases as the chalcogen element X moves from S to Te.

Optical and electronic properties of lithium thiogallate (LiGaS): experiment and theory.

We report the relation between the optical properties and electronic structure of lithium thiogallate (LiGaS) by performing XPS and XES measurements and theoretical calculations. According to the XPS measurements, the LiGaS crystals grown by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method possess promising optical qualities, low hygroscopicity and high stability upon middle-energy Ar-ion irradiation. The difference in the LiGaS band gaps obtained by theoretical calculations and experimental measurements was, for the first time, reduced down to 0.

Insight into the photophysics of strong dual emission (blue & green) producing graphene quantum dot clusters and their application towards selective and sensitive detection of trace level Fe and Cr ions.

Graphene-nanostructured systems, such as graphene quantum dots (GQDs), are well known for their interesting light-emitting characteristics and are being applied to a variety of luminescence-based applications. The emission properties of GQDs are complex. Therefore, understanding the science of the photophysics of coupled quantum systems (like quantum clusters) is still challenging.

Theoretical and experimental study on the electronic and optical properties of KRbPbBr: a promising laser host material.

The data on the electronic structure and optical properties of bromide KRbPbBr achieved by first-principle calculations and verified by X-ray spectroscopy measurements are reported. The kinetic energy, the Coulomb potential induced by the exchange hole, spin-orbital effects, and Coulomb repulsion were taken into account by applying the Tran and Blaha modified Becke-Johnson function (TB-mBJ), Hubbard U parameter, and spin-orbital coupling effect (SOC) in the TB-mBJ + U + SOC technique. The band gap was for the first time defined to be 3.

Low-Temperature Reduction of Graphene Oxide: Electrical Conductance and Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy.

Graphene oxide (GO) films were formed by drop-casting method and were studied by FTIR spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy (mRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), four-points probe method, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning Kelvin probe force (SKPFM) microscopy after low-temperature annealing at ambient conditions. It was shown that in temperature range from 50 to 250 °C the electrical resistivity of the GO films decreases by seven orders of magnitude and is governed by two processes with activation energies of 6.22 and 1.

Graphene Quantum Dot Solid Sheets: Strong blue-light-emitting & photocurrent-producing band-gap-opened nanostructures.

Graphene has been studied intensively in opto-electronics, and its transport properties are well established. However, efforts to induce intrinsic optical properties are still in progress. Herein, we report the production of micron-sized sheets by interconnecting graphene quantum dots (GQDs), which are termed 'GQD solid sheets', with intrinsic absorption and emission properties.

Manifestation of Anomalous Weak Space-Charge-Density Acentricity for a TlHgBr Single Crystal.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations within the concept of the MBJ+U+SO (modified Becke-Johnson potential + U + spin orbit) approach were performed for a TlHgBr single crystal for the first time assuming weak noncentrosymmetry (space group P4nc). Excellent agreement was achieved between the calculated and experimental band-gap-energy magnitudes as well as the density of electronic states measured by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method. It is a very principal result because usually the DFT calculations underestimate the energy-gap values.