No Arabic abstract
Utilizing the strengths of nitrogen doped graphene quantum dot (N-GQD) as a substrate, here in, we have shown that one can stabilize the catalytically more active planar Au 20 (P-Au 20 ) compared to the thermodynamically more stable tetrahedral structure (T-Au 20 ) on an N-GQD. Clearly, this simple route avoids the usage of traditional transition metal oxide substrates which have been suggested and used for stabilizing the planar structure for a long time. Considering the experimental success in the synthesis of N-GQDs and in the stabilization of Au nanoparticles on N-doped graphene, we expect our proposed method to stabilize planar structure will be realized experimentally and will be useful for industrial level applications.
We propose, on the basis of our first principles density functional based calculations, a new isomer of graphane, in which the C-H bonds of a hexagon alternate in 3-up, 3-down fashion on either side of the sheet. This 2D puckered structure called stirrup has got a comparable stability with the previously discovered chair and boat conformers of graphane. The physico-chemical properties of this third conformer are found to be similar to the other two conformers of graphane with an insulating direct band gap of 3.1 eV at the {Gamma} point. Any other alternative hydrogenation of the graphene sheet disrupts its symmetric puckered geometry and turns out to be energetically less favorable.
The conversion of graphene into diamond is a new way for preparing ultrathin diamond film without pressure. Herein, we investigated the transformation mechanism of surface-hydrogenated bilayer graphene (SHBG) into surface-hydrogenated single-layer diamond (SHSLD) crystal, inserting fifteen kinds of single metal atoms without any pressure, by using the systematical first-principles calculations. Compared with the configuration without metal atom, SHBG can be transformed into SHSLD spontaneously in thermodynamics under the action of single metal atom, and its formation energy can even decrease from 0.82 eV to -5.79 eV under the action of Hf atom. According to our results, the outer electron orbits and atomic radius of metal atom are two important factors that affect the conversion. For the phase transition to occur, the metal atom needs to have enough empty d orbitals, and the radius of the metal atom is in the range of 0.136-0.159 nm. Through further analysis, we find that the p orbitals of carbon atoms and d orbital of metal atom in SHBG will be strongly hybridized, thereby promoting the conversion. The results supply important significance to experimentally prepare diamond without pressure through hydrogenated graphene.
We report the synthesis of single and bi layer graphene films by low pressure chemical vapor deposition technique on Cu and Au substrates. The as grown films were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The large lateral area graphene deposited on Cu can easily be transferred on Si SiO2. In the case of Au substrate both the adsorption and diffusion-precipitation leads to the growth of graphene.
Two-dimensional alloys of carbon and nitrogen represent an urgent interest due to prospective applications in nanomechanical and optoelectronic devices. Stability of these chemical structures must be understood as a function of their composition. The present study employs hybrid density functional theory and reactive molecular dynamics simulations to get insights regarding how many nitrogen atoms can be incorporated into the graphene sheet without destroying it. We conclude that (1) C:N=56:28 structure and all nitrogen-poorer structures maintain stability at 1000 K; (2) stability suffers from N-N bonds; (3) distribution of electron density heavily depends on the structural pattern in the N-doped graphene. Our calculations support experimental efforts on the production of highly N-doped graphene and tuning mechanical and optoelectronic properties of graphene.
The electronic properties of pure and As-doped Si nanowires with radii up to 9.53 nm are studied using large scale density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We show that, for the undoped nanowires, the DFT bandgap reduces with increasing diameter and converges to its bulk value, a trend in agreement with experimental data. Moreover, we show that the atoms closest to the surface of the nanowire contribute less to the states near the band edges, when compared with atoms close to the centre; this is shown to be due to differences in Si-Si atomic distances, as well as surface passivation effects. When considering As-doped Si nanowires we show that dopant placement within the nanowire plays an important role in deciding electronic properties. We show that a low velocity band is introduced by As doping, in the gap, but close to the conduction band edge. The dopant location affects the curvature of this band, with the curvature reducing when the dopant is placed closer to the center. We also show that asymmetry of dopant location with the nanowire leads to splitting of the valence band edge.