Stability and bandgap of semiconductor clusters

Periodically-ordered one and two dimensional CdTe QD superstructures: a path forward in photovoltaics

By using the state-of-the-art theoretical method, we herein explore the potentiality of covalently linked periodically-ordered 1D chain, 2D hexagonal and square ordered superstructures of CdTe QDs in photovoltaics.

Exploring Exemplary Optoelectronic and Charge Transport Properties of KCuX(X=Se,Te)

We report the electronic structure, optical and charge transport properties of the unexplored ternary Zintl phases KCuX(X=Se,Te) from the first principles calculations employing the full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave (FLAPW) method with the Tran Blaha modified Becke-Johnson (TBmBJ) potential. It is demonstrated that the materials are direct band gap (1.13, 1.38 eV) semiconductors with covalent bonding between Cu and (Se/Te). The calculated low effective mass and high carrier mobility (over 10⁵ cm²/V.s) accentuate that KCuX have good carrier transport and the materials may have possible applications in solar cell absorbers and nanoelectronic devices. Absorption spectra indicates that the ternary crystals are UV-A light absorbers and could be useful in photovoltaic and photodetector applications. A study on the effect of pressure (till 5 GPa) is carried out in order to further explore the materials for their electronic band gaps and charge transport properties as they are proposed to be useful in future contemporary electronic devices. It is observed that pressure enhances the intrinsic carrier mobility and thermal stability of KCuX, indicating that the materials can withstand robust external conditions.

Modelling nano-clusters and nucleation

We review the growing role of computational techniques in modelling the structures and properties of nano-particulate oxides and sulphides. We describe the main methods employed, including those based on both electronic structure and interatomic potential approaches. Particular attention is paid to the techniques used in searching for global minima in the energy landscape defined by the nano-particle cluster. We summarise applications to the widely studied ZnO and ZnS systems, to silica nanochemistry and to group IV oxides including TiO(2). We also consider the special case of silica cluster chemistry in solution and its importance in understanding the hydrothermal synthesis of microporous materials. The work summarised, together with related experimental studies, demonstrates a rich and varied nano-cluster chemistry for these materials.

Theoretical Studies of Structural, Energetic, and Electronic Properties of Clusters

Size in combination with low symmetry makes theoretical studies of the properties of clusters a challenge. This is in particular the case when the studies also shall identify the structures of the lowest total energy. We discuss here various methods for calculating the structural, energetic, and electronic properties of nanoparticles, emphasizing that the computational method always should be chosen carefully according to the scientific questions that shall be addressed. Therefore, different approximate methods for calculating the total energy of a given structure are discussed, including the embedded-atom method and a parameterized density-functional method. Moreover, different approaches for choosing/determining the structures are presented, including an Aufbau/Abbau method and genetic algorithms. In order to illustrate the approaches we present results from calculations on metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles as well as on nanostructured HAlO.

Size-dependent properties of ZnmSn clusters: A density-functional tight-binding study

We present the results of our theoretical calculations on structural and electronic properties of ligand-free Zn(n)S(n) [with n ranging from 4 to 104 (0.8-2.0-nm diameter)] clusters as a function of size of the clusters. We have optimized the structure whereby our initial structures are spherical parts of either zinc-blende or wurtzite structure. We have also considered some hollow bubblelike structures. The calculations are performed by using a parametrized linear combination of atomic orbitals-density-functional theory-local-density approximation-tight-binding method. We have focused on the variation of radial distribution function, Mulliken populations, electronic energy levels, band gap, and stability as a function of size for both zinc-blende and wurtzite-derived ZnS clusters. We have also reported the results of some nonstoichiometric Zn(m)S(n) (with m+n=47, 99, 177) clusters of zinc-blende modification.