Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Nanomaterials

Fall 2015

Course summary:

This graduate-level course is taught jointly by Dr. Mohseni. The course aims to introduce the basic concepts and unique structural, electronic and magnetic properties of low-dimensional materials. An undergraduate level knowledge of solid states physics is required.

We cover two types of nanomaterials: Nanoclusters, and Layered 2D crystals. The most commonly used experimental and theoretical techniques to address the rich physics of such materials at a nano-scale will also be explored.

Evaluation:

Exercises, quizzes and final exam: 50%
Projects: 50%

Projects:

Each student is required to provide a term-paper either as a written essay (a few pages) or oral presentation to the class. This aims to motivate the students to explore a subject related to the course in details, and develop their writing and/or oral presenting skills.
You may choose one of the suggested topics from the following list, or any subject of your interest. You may also do a practical project (e.g. atomic simulations). In either case, notify the instructor about your choice not later than Aban 17.

Some possible topics for the term-paper projects:

Nanomesh
Metallic glasses
Molecular electronics
Quantum confinement
Low-energy silicon clusters
Melting of metallic clusters
Intrinsic ripples in graphene
Scanning quantum dot microscopy
Quantum Hall effect with ultracold atoms
Quantum Hall effect in graphene
Band gap engineering of graphene
Jellium model of metallic clusters
Magnetic properties of iron clusters
Magnetic properties of graphene nano-ribbons
Magnetic properties of TM substituted graphene
Energy landscape of fullerene materials
Stability of atomic clusters and magic numbers
Thermal fluctuations of free standing atomic membranes
Computational methods for studying electronic properties
Numerical optimization methods for structure prediction
Bi-metallic clusters (structural, electronic and/or magnetic properties)

References:

Structure And Properties of Atomic Nanoclusters, Julio A. Alonso (Imperial College Press)
Structural properties of nanoclusters: Energetic, thermodynamic, and kinetic effects Rev. Mod. Phys. 77, 371 (pdf)
Nanoclusters: A Bridge Across Disciplines, Purusottam Jena, Albert Welford Castleman (Elsevier)
Isomerism and structural fluxionality in the Au26 and Au₂₆^- nanoclusters, ACS Nano 8, 7413 (pdf)
Graphene, Fundamentals and emergent applications, Jamie H. Warner, Fransizka Schäffel,Mark H. Rümmeli, and Alicja Bachmatiuki (Elsevier)
The electronic properties of graphene, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 109 (pdf)
Graphene, A New Paradigm in Condensed Matter and Device Physics, E. L. Wolf (Oxford University Press)
Novel Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Two‐Dimensional Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides, Adv. Func. Mat. 27, 2185
Modern Methods of Crystal Structure Prediction, Artem R. Oganov (Wiley)

Computer coursework:

Visualizing Atomic Structures: Find the atomic coordinates of a gold cluster, convert it to .xyz format, and visualize it using packages like v_sim, VESTA, VMD, Avogadro, etc. Send a perspective image to the instructor by email.
Constructing carbon nanotubes: Construct a few SWCNTs with different chiral angles and diameters in .xyz format (there exist several on-line tools to do so!). Use a package like those in the previous exercise to visualize the structures. Send the xyz files along with snapshots of their visualization (specify the chiral vector) by email to the instructor.