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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Akgenc, B.; Mortazavi, B.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Nguyen, C.V. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Embedding of atoms into the nanopore sites of the C₆N₆ and C₆N₈ porous carbon nitride monolayers with tunable electronic properties Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Chem Chem Phys  
  Volume 22 Issue 11 Pages 6418-6433  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Using first-principles calculations, we study the effect of embedding various atoms into the nanopore sites of both C6N6 and C6N8 monolayers. Our results indicate that the embedded atoms significantly affect the electronic and magnetic properties of C6N6 and C6N8 monolayers and lead to extraordinary and multifarious electronic properties, such as metallic, half-metallic, spin-glass semiconductor and dilute-magnetic semiconductor behaviour. Our results reveal that the H atom concentration dramatically affects the C6N6 monolayer. On increasing the H coverage, the impurity states also increase due to H atoms around the Fermi-level. C6N6 shows metallic character when the H atom concentration reaches 6.25%. Moreover, the effect of charge on the electronic properties of both Cr@C6N6 and C@C6N8 is also studied. Cr@C6N6 is a ferromagnetic metal with a magnetic moment of 2.40 mu(B), and when 0.2 electrons are added and removed, it remains a ferromagnetic metal with a magnetic moment of 2.57 and 2.77 mu(B), respectively. Interestingly, one can observe a semi-metal, in which the VBM and CBM in both spin channels touch each other near the Fermi-level. C@C6N8 is a semiconductor with a nontrivial band gap. When 0.2 electrons are removed, it remains metallic, and under excess electronic charge, it exhibits half-metallic behaviour.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000523409400037 Publication Date 2020-02-20  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1463-9076; 1463-9084 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.3 Times cited 17 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.3; 2020 IF: 4.123  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:168617 Serial 6504  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Faraji, M.; Yagmurcukardes, M.; Fadlallah, M.M.; Jappor, H.R.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Feghhi, S.A.H. doi  openurl
  Title A Dirac-semimetal two-dimensional BeN4 : thickness-dependent electronic and optical properties Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Applied Physics Letters Abbreviated Journal Appl Phys Lett  
  Volume 118 Issue 20 Pages 203103  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Motivated by the recent experimental realization of a two-dimensional (2D) BeN4 monolayer, in this study we investigate the structural, dynamical, electronic, and optical properties of a monolayer and few-layer BeN4 using first-principles calculations. The calculated phonon band dispersion reveals the dynamical stability of a free-standing BeN4 layer, while the cohesive energy indicates the energetic feasibility of the material. Electronic band dispersions show that monolayer BeN4 is a semi-metal whose conduction and valence bands touch each other at the Sigma point. Our results reveal that increasing the layer number from single to six-layers tunes the electronic nature of BeN4. While monolayer and bilayer structures display a semi-metallic behavior, structures thicker than that of three-layers exhibit a metallic nature. Moreover, the optical parameters calculated for monolayer and bilayer structures reveal that the bilayer can absorb visible light in the ultraviolet and visible regions better than the monolayer structure. Our study investigates the electronic properties of Dirac-semimetal BeN4 that can be an important candidate for applications in nanoelectronic and optoelectronic. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000691329900002 Publication Date 2021-05-20  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-6951; 1077-3118 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.411 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.411  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181725 Serial 6980  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Ghergherehchi, M. pdf  url
doi  isbn
openurl 
  Title Strain, electric-field and functionalization induced widely tunable electronic properties in MoS2/BC3, /C3N and / C3N4 van der Waals heterostructures Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Nanotechnology (Bristol. Print) Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 295202 pp  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract In this paper, the effect of BC3, C3N and C3N4BC(3) and MoS2/C(3)N4 heterostructures are direct semiconductors with band gaps of 0.4 and 1.74 eV, respectively, while MoS2/C3N is a metal. Furthermore, the influence of strain and electric field on the electronic structure of these van der Waals heterostructures is investigated. The MoS2/BC3 heterostructure, for strains larger than -4%, transforms it into a metal where the metallic character is maintained for strains larger than -6%. The band gap decreases with increasing strain to 0.35 eV (at +2%), while for strain (>+6%) a direct-indirect band gap transition is predicted to occur. For the MoS2/C3N heterostructure, the metallic character persists for all strains considered. On applying an electric field, the electronic properties of MoS2/C3N4 are modified and its band gap decreases as the electric field increases. Interestingly, the band gap reaches 30 meV at +0.8 V/angstrom, and with increase above +0.8 V/angstrom, a semiconductor-to-metal transition occurs. Furthermore, we investigated effects of semi- and full-hydrogenation of MoS2/C3N and we found that it leads to a metallic and semiconducting character, respectively.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000532366000001 Publication Date 2020-04-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN 0957-4484 Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited 19 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work has supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT)(NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). ; Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:169523 Serial 6444  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Shayesteh, S.F. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title A first-principles study of the effects of atom impurities, defects, strain, electric field and layer thickness on the electronic and magnetic properties of the C2N nanosheet Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 157 Issue 157 Pages 371-384  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Using the first-principles calculations, we explore the structural and novel electronic/optical properties of the C2N nanosheet. To this goal, we systematically investigate the affect of layer thickness, electrical field and strain on the electronic properties of the C2N nanosheet. By increasing the thickness of C2N, we observed that the band gap decreases. Moreover, by applying an electrical field to bilayer C2N, the band gap decreases and a semiconductor-to-metal transition can occur. Our results also confirm that uniaxial and biaxial strain can effectively alter the band gap of C2N monolayer. Furthermore, we show that the electronic and magnetic properties of C2N can be modified by the adsorption and substitution of various atoms. Depending on the species of embedded atoms, they may induce semiconductor (O, C, Si and Be), metal (S, N, P, Na, K, Mg and Ca), dilute-magnetic semiconductor (H, F, B), or ferro-magnetic-metal (Cl, Li) character in C2N monolayer. It was also found that the inclusion of hydrogen or oxygen impurities and nitrogen vacancies, can induce magnetism in the C2N monolayer. These extensive calculations can be useful to guide future studies to modify the electronic/optical properties of two-dimensional materials. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000502548500044 Publication Date 2019-10-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 10.9 Times cited 49 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). We are thankful for comments by Meysam Baghery Tagani from department of physics in University of Guilan and Bohayra Mortazavi from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Hannover, Germany. ; Approved Most recent IF: 10.9; 2020 IF: 6.337  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:165024 Serial 6283  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Naseri, M.; Fadlallah, M.M.; Faraji, M.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Gogova, D.; Feghhi, S.A.H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Effect of electric field and vertical strain on the electro-optical properties of the MoSi2N4 bilayer : a first-principles calculation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys  
  Volume 129 Issue 15 Pages 155103  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Recently, a two-dimensional (2D) MoSi 2N 4 (MSN) structure has been successfully synthesized [Hong et al., Science 369(6504), 670-674 (2020)]. Motivated by this result, we investigate the structural, electronic, and optical properties of MSN monolayer (MSN-1L) and bilayer (MSN-2L) under the applied electric field (E-field) and strain using density functional theory calculations. We find that the MSN-2L is a semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of 1.60 (1.80)eV using Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (HSE06). The bandgap of MSN-2L decreases as the E-field increases from 0.1 to 0.6V/angstrom and for larger E-field up to 1.0V/angstrom the bilayer becomes metallic. As the vertical strain increases, the bandgap decreases; more interestingly, a semiconductor to a metal phase transition is observed at a strain of 12 %. Furthermore, the optical response of the MSN-2L is in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The absorption edge exhibits a blue shift by applying an E-field or a vertical compressive strain. The obtained interesting properties suggest MSN-2L as a promising material in electro-mechanical and UV opto-mechanical devices.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000640620400003 Publication Date 2021-04-15  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-8979; 1089-7550 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.068  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:178233 Serial 6981  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Peeters, F.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Dirac half-metallicity of thin PdCl₃ nanosheets : investigation of the effects of external fields, surface adsorption and defect engineering on the electronic and magnetic properties Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Scientific Reports Abbreviated Journal Sci Rep-Uk  
  Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 213-215  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract PdCl3 belongs to a novel class of Dirac materials with Dirac spin-gapless semiconducting characteristics. In this paper based, on first-principles calculations, we have systematically investigated the effect of adatom adsorption, vacancy defects, electric field, strain, edge states and layer thickness on the electronic and magnetic properties of PdCl3 (palladium trichloride). Our results show that when spin-orbital coupling is included, PdCl3 exhibits the quantum anomalous Hall effect with a non-trivial band gap of 24 meV. With increasing number of layers, from monolayer to bulk, a transition occurs from a Dirac half-metal to a ferromagnetic metal. On application of a perpendicular electrical field to bilayer PdCl3, we find that the energy band gap decreases with increasing field. Uniaxial and biaxial strain, significantly modifies the electronic structure depending on the strain type and magnitude. Adsorption of adatom and topological defects have a dramatic effect on the electronic and magnetic properties of PdCl3. In particular, the structure can become a metal (Na), half-metal (Be, Ca, Al, Ti, V, Cr, Fe and Cu with, respective, 0.72, 9.71, 7.14, 6.90, 9.71, 4.33 and 9.5 μB magnetic moments), ferromagnetic-metal (Sc, Mn and Co with 4.55, 7.93 and 2.0 μB), spin-glass semiconductor (Mg, Ni with 3.30 and 8.63 μB), and dilute-magnetic semiconductor (Li, K and Zn with 9.0, 9.0 and 5.80 μB magnetic moment, respectively). Single Pd and double Pd + Cl vacancies in PdCl3 display dilute-magnetic semiconductor characteristics, while with a single Cl vacancy, the material becomes a half-metal. The calculated optical properties of PdCl3 suggest it could be a good candidate for microelectronic and optoelectronics devices.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000562795700001 Publication Date 2020-01-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2045-2322 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.6 Times cited 29 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl). We are thankful for comments by Sevil Sarikurt from the department of physics in Dokuz Eylul University. In addition, we acknowledge OpenMX team for OpenMX code. ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.6; 2020 IF: 4.259  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:169751 Serial 6483  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Peeters, F.M. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title The electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of monolayer PbTe and the tunability of the electronic structure by external fields and defects Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Physica Status Solidi B-Basic Solid State Physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Status Solidi B  
  Volume Issue Pages 2000182-12  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract First‐principles calculations, within the framework of density functional theory, are used to investigate the structural, electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of monolayer PbTe. The effect of layer thickness, electric field, strain, and vacancy defects on the electronic and magnetic properties is systematically studied. The results show that the bandgap decreases as the layer thickness increases from monolayer to bulk. With application of an electric field on bilayer PbTe, the bandgap decreases from 70 meV (0.2 V Å⁻¹) to 50 meV (1 V Å⁻¹) when including spin–orbit coupling (SOC). Application of uniaxial strain induces a direct‐to‐indirect bandgap transition for strain greater than +6%. In addition, the bandgap decreases under compressive biaxial strain (with SOC). The effect of vacancy defects on the electronic properties of PbTe is also investigated. Such vacancy defects turn PbTe into a ferromagnetic metal (single vacancy Pb) with a magnetic moment of 1.3 μB, and into an indirect semiconductor with bandgap of 1.2 eV (single Te vacancy) and 1.5 eV (double Pb + Te vacancy). In addition, with change of the Te vacancy concentration, a bandgap of 0.38 eV (5.55%), 0.43 eV (8.33%), and 0.46 eV (11.11%) is predicted.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000527679200001 Publication Date 2020-04-23  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0370-1972 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.6 Times cited 40 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). In addition, this work was supported by the FLAG-ERA project 2DTRANS TMD and the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl). The authors are thankful for comments by Mohan Verma from the Computational Nanoionics Research Lab, Department of Applied Physics, Bhilai, India and to Francesco Buonocore from ENEA, Casaccia Research Centre, Rome, Italy. ; Approved Most recent IF: 1.6; 2020 IF: 1.674  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:168730 Serial 6502  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Stampfl, C.; Shayesteh, S.F.; Peeters, F.M. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Exploiting the novel electronic and magnetic structure of C3Nvia functionalization and conformation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication Advanced Electronic Materials Abbreviated Journal Adv Electron Mater  
  Volume 5 Issue 5 Pages 1900459  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract 2D polyaniline, C3N, is of recent high interest due to its unusual properties and potential use in various technological applications. In this work, through systematic first-principles calculations, the atomic, electronic, and magnetic structure of C3N and the changes induced due to functionalization by the adsorption of hydrogen, oxygen, and fluorine, for different coverages and sites, as well as on formation of nanoribbons including the effect of adsorbed hydrogen and oxygen, and the effect of strain, are investigated. Among other interesting phenomena, for hydrogen adsorption, a semiconductor-to-topological insulator transition, where two Dirac-points appear around the Fermi level, as well as ferromagnetic ordering for both hydrogen and oxygen functionalization, is identified. Considering C3N nanoribbons, adsorption of H leads to significant changes in the electronic properties, such as transforming the structures from semiconductor to metallic. Furthermore, investigating the effect of strain on the physical properties, it is found that the band gap can be significantly altered and controlled. The present findings predict that a wide variation in the magnetic and electronic structure of C3N can be achieved by adatom functionalization and conformation indicating its high potential for use in various technological applications, ranging from catalysis, energy storage, and nanoelectronic devices.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000486528200001 Publication Date 2019-09-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2199-160x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.193 Times cited 39 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the FLAG-ERA project 2DTRANS and the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl). In addition, we acknowledge the OpenMX team for OpenMX code. ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.193  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:162790 Serial 5414  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Van Nguyen, C.; Stampfl, C.; Akgenc, B.; Ghergherehchi, M. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Oxygen vacancies in the single layer of Ti₂CO₂ MXene: effects of gating voltage, mechanical strain, and atomic impurities Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Physica Status Solidi B-Basic Solid State Physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Status Solidi B  
  Volume Issue Pages 2000343-2000349  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Herein, using first-principles calculations the structural and electronic properties of the Ti(2)CO(2)MXene monolayer with and without oxygen vacancies are systematically investigated with different defect concentrations and patterns, including partial, linear, local, and hexagonal types. The Ti(2)CO(2)monolayer is found to be a semiconductor with a bandgap of 0.35 eV. The introduction of oxygen vacancies tends to increase the bandgap and leads to electronic phase transitions from nonmagnetic semiconductors to half-metals. Moreover, the semiconducting characteristic of O-vacancy Ti(2)CO(2)can be adjusted via electric fields, strain, and F-atom substitution. In particular, an electric field can be used to alter the nonmagnetic semiconductor of O-vacancy Ti(2)CO(2)into a magnetic one or into a half-metal, whereas the electronic phase transition from a semiconductor to metal can be achieved by applying strain and F-atom substitution. The results provide a useful guide for practical applications of O-vacancy Ti(2)CO(2)monolayers in nanoelectronic and spinstronic nanodevices.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000571060800001 Publication Date 2020-09-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0370-1972 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.6 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). ; Approved Most recent IF: 1.6; 2020 IF: 1.674  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:171948 Serial 6576  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Yagmurcukardes, M.; Akgenc, B.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Mortazavi, B. url  doi
openurl 
  Title First-principles investigation of electronic, mechanical and thermoelectric properties of graphene-like XBi (X = Si, Ge, Sn) monolayers Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Chem Chem Phys  
  Volume 23 Issue 21 Pages 12471-12478  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Research progress on single layer group III monochalcogenides has been increasing rapidly owing to their interesting physics. Herein, we investigate the dynamically stable single layer forms of XBi (X = Ge, Si or Sn) using density functional theory calculations. Phonon band dispersion calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal the dynamical and thermal stability of the considered monolayers. Raman spectra calculations indicate the existence of 5 Raman active phonon modes, 3 of which are prominent and can be observed in possible Raman measurements. The electronic band structures of the XBi single layers were investigated with and without the effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Our results show that XBi single layers show semiconducting properties with narrow band gap values without SOC. However, only single layer SiBi is an indirect band gap semiconductor, while GeBi and SnBi exhibit metallic behaviors when adding spin-orbit coupling effects. In addition, the calculated linear elastic parameters indicate the soft nature of the predicted monolayers. Moreover, our predictions for the thermoelectric properties of single layer XBi reveal that SiBi is a good thermoelectric material with increasing temperature. Overall, it is proposed that single layer XBi structures can be alternative, stable 2D single layers with varying electronic and thermoelectric properties.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000653851100001 Publication Date 2021-04-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1463-9076; 1463-9084 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.123 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.123  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:179007 Serial 6992  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Yagmurcukardes, M.; Akgenc, B.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Nguyen, C. doi  openurl
  Title Van der Waals heterostructures of MoS₂ and Janus MoSSe monolayers on graphitic boron-carbon-nitride (BC₃, C₃N, C₃N₄ and C₄N₃) nanosheets: a first-principles study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-10  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract In this work, we extensively investigate the structural and electronic properties of van der Waals heterostructures (HTs) constructed by MoS${2}$/$BC3$, MoS${2}$/$C3N$, MoS${2}$/$C3N4$, MoS${2}$/$C4N3$ and those using Janus MoSSe instead of MoS$2$ by performing density functional theory calculations. The electronic band structure calculations and the corresponding partial density of states reveal that the significant changes are driven by quite strong layer-layer interaction between the constitutive layers. Our results show that although all monolayers are semiconductors as free-standing layers, the MoS${2}$/$C3N$ and MoS${2}$/$C4N3$ bilayer HTs display metallic behavior as a consequence of transfer of charge carriers between two constituent layers. In addition, it is found that in MoSSe/$C3N$ bilayer HT, the degree of metallicity is affected by the interface chalcogen atom type when Se atoms are facing to $C3N$ layer, the overlap of the bands around the Fermi level is smaller. Moreover, the half-metallic magnetic $C4N3$ is shown to form magnetic half-metallic trilayer HT with MoS$2$ independent of the stacking sequence, i.e. whether it is sandwiched or two $C4N3$ layer encapsulate MoS$2$ layer. We further analyze the trilayer HTs in which MoS$2$ is encapsulated by two different monolayers and it is revealed that at least with one magnetic monolayer, it is possible to construct a magnetic trilayer. While the trilayer of $C4N3$/MoS${2}$/$BC3$ and $C4N3$/MoS${2}$/$C3N4$ exhibit half-metallic characteristics, $C4N3$/MoS${_2}$/$C3$N possesses a magnetic metallic ground state. Overall, our results reveal that holly structures of BCN crystals are suitable for heterostructure formation even over van der Waals type interaction which significantly changes electronic nature of the constituent layers.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000543344800001 Publication Date 2020-04-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.4 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.4; 2020 IF: 2.588  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:169754 Serial 6651  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Yagmurcukardes, M.; Shahrokhi, M.; Ghergherehchi, M. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Electro-optical properties of monolayer and bilayer boron-doped C₃N: Tunable electronic structure via strain engineering and electric field Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 168 Issue Pages 220-229  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract In this work, the structural, electronic and optical properties of monolayer and bilayer of boron doped C3N are investigated by means of density functional theory-based first-principles calculations. Our results show that with increasing the B dopant concentration from 3.1% to 12.5% in the hexagonal pattern, an indirect-to-direct band gap (0.8 eV) transition occurs. Furthermore, we study the effect of electric field and strain on the B doped C3N bilayer (B-C3N@2L). It is shown that by increasing E-field strength from 0.1 to 0.6V/angstrom, the band gap displays almost a linear decreasing trend, while for the > 0.6V/angstrom, we find dual narrow band gap with of 50 meV (in parallel E-field) and 0.4 eV (in antiparallel E-field). Our results reveal that in-plane and out-of-plane strains can modulate the band gap and band edge positions of the B-C3N@2L. Overall, we predict that B-C3N@2L is a new platform for the study of novel physical properties in layered two-dimensional materials (2DM) which may provide new opportunities to realize high-speed low-dissipation devices. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000565900900008 Publication Date 2020-07-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 10.9 Times cited 21 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). M. Yagmurcukardes acknowledges Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-VI) by a postdoctoral fellowship. ; Approved Most recent IF: 10.9; 2020 IF: 6.337  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:171914 Serial 6500  
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Author (up) Bafekry, A.; Yagmurcukardes, M.; Shahrokhi, M.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Kim, D.; Mortazavi, B. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Electro-optical and mechanical properties of Zinc antimonide (ZnSb) monolayer and bilayer : a first-principles study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Applied Surface Science Abbreviated Journal Appl Surf Sci  
  Volume 540 Issue 1 Pages 148289  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Latest synthesis of ZnSb monolayer, encouraged us to conduct density functional theory (DFT) simulations in order to study the structural, magnetic, electronic/optical and mechanical features of the sp2-hybridized honeycomb ZnSb monolayer (ML-ZnSb) and bilayer (BL-ZnSb). Our structural optimizations reveal that ML-ZnSb is an anisotropic hexagonal structure while BL-ZnSb is composed of shifted ZnSb layers which are covalently binded. ML-ZnSb is found to be a ferromagnetic metal, in contrast BL-ZnSb has a non-magnetic indirect band gap semiconducting ground state. For the in-plane polarization, first absorption peak of ML-ZnSb and BL-ZnSb confirm the absorbance of the light within the infrared domain wand visible range, respectively. Moreover, our results reveal that the layer-layer chemical bonding in BL-ZnSb significantly enhances the mechanical response of ML-ZnSb whose in-plane stiness is the smallest among all 2D materials (2DM). Notably, the strong in-plane anisotropy of ML-ZnSb in its stiness reduces in BL-ZnSb.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000599883200005 Publication Date 2020-11-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0169-4332 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.387 Times cited 1 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2B2011989). Computational resources were provided by the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC). M.Y. is supported by the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl) by a postdoctoral fellowship. B.M. and X. Z. appreciate the funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germanys Excellence Strategy within the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD (EXC 2122, Project ID 390833453). ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.387  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:174956 Serial 6688  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (up) Bagherpour, A.; Baral, P.; Colla, M.-S.; Orekhov, A.; Idrissi, H.; Haye, E.; Pardoen, T.; Lucas, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Tailoring Mechanical Properties of a-C:H:Cr Coatings Type A1 Journal Article
  Year 2023 Publication Coatings Abbreviated Journal Coatings  
  Volume 13 Issue 12 Pages 2084  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) ;  
  Abstract The development of coatings with tunable performances is critical to meet a wide range of technological applications each one with different requirements. Using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, scientists can create hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings doped with metal (a-C:H:Me) with a broad range of mechanical properties, varying from those resembling polymers to ones resembling diamond. These diverse properties, without clear relations between the different families, make the material selection and optimization difficult but also very rich. An innovative approach is proposed here based on projected performance indices related to fracture energy, strength, and stiffness in order to classify and optimize a-C:H:Me coatings. Four different a-C:H:Cr coatings deposited by PECVD with Ar/C2H2 discharge under different bias voltage and pressures are investigated. A path is found to produce coatings with a selective critical energy release rate between 5–125 J/m2 without compromising yield strength (1.6–2.7 GPa) and elastic limit (≈0.05). Finally, fine-tuned coatings are categorized to meet desired applications under different testing conditions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001136013600001 Publication Date 2023-12-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2079-6412 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Walloon region under the PDR FNRS, C 62/5—PDR/OL 33677636 ; Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research, CDR—J.0113.20 ; National Fund for Scientific Reaserch; Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:202390 Serial 8982  
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Author (up) Bagiński, M.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Altantzis, T.; Tupikowska, M.; Vetter, A.; Tomczyk, E.; Suryadharma, R.N.S.; Pawlak, M.; Andruszkiewicz, A.; Górecka, E.; Pociecha, D.; Rockstuhl, C.; Bals, S.; Lewandowski, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Understanding and Controlling the Crystallization Process in Reconfigurable Plasmonic Superlattices Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Acs Nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume Issue Pages acsnano.0c09746  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract The crystallization of nanomaterials is a primary source of solid-state, photonic structures. Thus, a detailed understanding of this process is of paramount importance for the successful application of photonic nanomaterials in emerging optoelectronic technologies. While colloidal crystallization has been thoroughly studied, for example, with advanced in situ electron microscopy methods, the noncolloidal crystallization (freezing) of nanoparticles (NPs) remains so far unexplored. To fill this gap, in this work, we present proof-of principle experiments decoding a crystallization of reconfigurable assemblies of NPs at a solid state. The chosen material corresponds to an excellent testing bed, as it enables both in situ and ex situ investigation using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical spectroscopy in visible and ultraviolet range (UV−vis) techniques. In particular, ensemble measurements with small-angle XRD highlighted the dependence of the correlation length in the NPs assemblies on the number of heating/cooling cycles and the rate of cooling. Ex situ TEM imaging further supported these results by revealing a dependence of domain size and structure on the sample preparation route and by showing we can control the domain size over 2 orders of magnitude. The application of HAADF-STEM tomography, combined with in situ thermal control, provided three-dimensional single-particle level information on the positional order evolution within assemblies. This combination of real and reciprocal space provides insightful information on the anisotropic, reversibly reconfigurable assemblies of NPs. TEM measurements also highlighted the importance of interfaces in the polydomain structure of nanoparticle solids, allowing us to understand experimentally observed differences in UV−vis extinction spectra of the differently prepared crystallites. Overall, the obtained results show that the combination of in situ heating HAADF-STEM tomography with XRD and ex situ TEM techniques is a powerful approach to study nanoparticle freezing processes and to reveal the crucial impact of disorder in the solid-state aggregates of NPs on their plasmonic properties.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000634569100101 Publication Date 2021-02-23  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 10 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyzszego, 0112/DIA/2019/48 ; European Commission, 731019 E171000009 (EUSMI) ; Narodowe Centrum Nauki, 2016/21/N/ST5/03356 ; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, RO 3640/12-1 ; Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, First TEAM2016–2/15 ; European Research Council, 815128 (REALNANO) ; sygma; Approved Most recent IF: 13.942  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:175872 Serial 6673  
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Author (up) Bahrami, F.; Hammad, M.; Fivel, M.; Huet, B.; D'Haese, C.; Ding, L.; Nysten, B.; Idrissi, H.; Raskin, J.P.; Pardoen, T. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Single layer graphene controlled surface and bulk indentation plasticity in copper Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication International Journal Of Plasticity Abbreviated Journal Int J Plasticity  
  Volume 138 Issue Pages 102936  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The impact of graphene reinforcement on the mechanical properties of metals has been a subject of intense investigation over the last decade in surface applications to mitigate the impact of tribological loadings or for strengthening purposes when dispersed into a bulk material. Here, the effect on the plastic indentation response of a single graphene layer grown on copper is analyzed for two configurations: one with graphene at the surface, the other with graphene sandwiched under a 100 nm thick copper cap layer. Nanoindentation under both displacement and load control conditions show both earlier and shorter pop-in excursions compared to systems without graphene. Atomic force microscopy reveals much smoother pile-ups with no slip traces in the presence of a surface graphene layer. The configuration with the intercalated graphene layer appears as an ideal elementary system to address bulk hardening mechanisms by indentation testing. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross-sections below indents show more diffuse and homogeneous dislocation activity in the presence of graphene. 3D dislocation dynamics simulations allow unraveling of the origin of these 3D complex phenomena and prove that the collective dislocation mechanisms are dominantly controlled by the strong back stress caused by the graphene barrier. These results provide a quantitative understanding of the impact of graphene on dislocation mechanisms for both surface and bulk applications, but with an impact that is not as large as anticipated from other studies or general literature claims.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000623869800001 Publication Date 2021-01-18  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0749-6419 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.702 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 5.702  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:176729 Serial 6735  
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Author (up) Bai, J.; Wang, J.T.-W.; Rubio, N.; Protti, A.; Heidari, H.; Elgogary, R.; Southern, P.; Al-Jamal, W.' T.; Sosabowski, J.; Shah, A.M.; Bals, S.; Pankhurst, Q.A.; Al-Jamal, K.T. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Triple-Modal Imaging of Magnetically-Targeted Nanocapsules in Solid TumoursIn Vivo Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Theranostics Abbreviated Journal Theranostics  
  Volume 6 Issue 6 Pages 342-356  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Triple-modal imaging magnetic nanocapsules, encapsulating hydrophobic superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, are formulated and used to magnetically target solid tumours after intravenous administration in tumour-bearing mice. The engineered magnetic polymeric nanocapsules m-NCs are ~200 nm in size with negative Zeta potential and shown to be spherical in shape. The loading efficiency of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the m-NC was ~100%. Up to ~3- and ~2.2-fold increase in tumour uptake at 1 and 24 h was achieved, when a static magnetic field was applied to the tumour for 1 hour. m-NCs, with multiple imaging probes (e.g. indocyanine green, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and indium-111), were capable of triple-modal imaging (fluorescence/magnetic resonance/nuclear imaging) in vivo. Using triple-modal imaging is to overcome the intrinsic limitations of single modality imaging and provides complementary information on the spatial distribution of the nanocarrier within the tumour. The significant findings of this study could open up new research perspectives in using novel magnetically-responsive nanomaterials in magnetic-drug targeting combined with multi-modal imaging.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000377797200005 Publication Date 2015-12-31  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1838-7640 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 8.712 Times cited 54 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors would like to thank Prof Robert Hider (King's College London) for useful discussion on the chemical functionalization of the polymers, Mr William Luckhurst (King's College London) on the technical help of AFM measurements and Mr Andrew Cakebread (King's College London) on his technical help of ICP-MS measurements. J.B. acknowledges funding from King's-China Scholarship Council (CSC). J.W. and N.R. acknowledge funding from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J008656/1) and Associated International Cancer Research (12-1054). K.T.AJ. acknowledges funding from EU FP7-ITN Marie-Curie Network programme RADDEL (290023). S.B. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council under the 7th Framework Program (FP7), ERC Starting Grant No. 335078 COLOURATOMS, and the Integrated Infrastructure Initiative No. 262348 European Soft Matter Infrastructure, ESMI.; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:can); Approved Most recent IF: 8.712  
  Call Number c:irua:130058 Serial 3995  
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Author (up) Bakalov, P.; Esfahani, D.N.; Covaci, L.; Peeters, F.M.; Tempere, J.; Locquet, J.-P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Electric-field-driven Mott metal-insulator transition in correlated thin films : an inhomogeneous dynamical mean-field theory approach Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Physical review : B : condensed matter and materials physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Rev B  
  Volume 93 Issue 93 Pages 165112  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Theory of quantum systems and complex systems; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Simulations are carried out based on the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) in order to investigate the properties of correlated thin films for various values of the chemical potential, temperature, interaction strength, and applied transverse electric field. Application of a sufficiently strong field to a thin film at half filling leads to the appearance of conducting regions near the surfaces of the film, whereas in doped slabs the application of a field leads to a conductivity enhancement on one side of the film and a gradual transition to the insulating state on the opposite side. In addition to the inhomogeneous DMFT, a local density approximation (LDA) is considered in which the particle density n, quasiparticle residue Z, and spectral weight at the Fermi level A(ω=0) of each layer are approximated by a homogeneous bulk environment. A systematic comparison between the two approaches reveals that the less expensive LDA results are in good agreement with the DMFT approach, except close to the metal-to-insulator transition points and in the layers immediately at the film surfaces. LDA values for n are overall more reliable than those for Z and A(ω=0). The hysteretic behavior (memory effect) characteristic of the bulk doping driven Mott transition persists in the slab.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Lancaster, Pa Editor  
  Language Wos 000373572700002 Publication Date 2016-04-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1098-0121; 1550-235x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.836 Times cited 5 Open Access  
  Notes ; This work was partially funded by the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO Belgium) under FWO Grant No. G.0520.10 and the joint FWF (Austria)-FWO Grant No. GOG6616N, and by the SITOGA FP7 project. Most of the calculations were performed on KU Leuven's ThinKing HPC cluster provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government-department EWI. ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.836  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:132872 Serial 4167  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Nucleation rates from small scale atomistic simulations and transition state theory Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Chemical Physics Abbreviated Journal J Chem Phys  
  Volume 155 Issue 14 Pages 144111  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The evaluation of nucleation rates from molecular dynamics trajectories is hampered by the slow nucleation time scale and impact of finite size effects. Here, we show that accurate nucleation rates can be obtained in a very general fashion relying only on the free energy barrier, transition state theory, and a simple dynamical correction for diffusive recrossing. In this setup, the time scale problem is overcome by using enhanced sampling methods, in casu metadynamics, whereas the impact of finite size effects can be naturally circumvented by reconstructing the free energy surface from an appropriate ensemble. Approximations from classical nucleation theory are avoided. We demonstrate the accuracy of the approach by calculating macroscopic rates of droplet nucleation from argon vapor, spanning 16 orders of magnitude and in excellent agreement with literature results, all from simulations of very small (512 atom) systems.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000755502100008 Publication Date 2021-09-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-9606 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.965 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.965  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:184937 Serial 8320  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (up) Bal, K.M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Reweighted Jarzynski sampling : acceleration of rare events and free energy calculation with a bias potential learned from nonequilibrium work Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Chemical Theory And Computation Abbreviated Journal J Chem Theory Comput  
  Volume 17 Issue 11 Pages 6766-6774  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We introduce a simple enhanced sampling approach for the calculation of free energy differences and barriers along a one-dimensional reaction coordinate. First, a small number of short nonequilibrium simulations are carried out along the reaction coordinate, and the Jarzynski equality is used to learn an approximate free energy surface from the nonequilibrium work distribution. This free energy estimate is represented in a compact form as an artificial neural network and used as an external bias potential to accelerate rare events in a subsequent molecular dynamics simulation. The final free energy estimate is then obtained by reweighting the equilibrium probability distribution of the reaction coordinate sampled under the influence of the external bias. We apply our reweighted Jarzynski sampling recipe to four processes of varying scales and complexities.spanning chemical reaction in the gas phase, pair association in solution, and droplet nucleation in supersaturated vapor. In all cases, we find reweighted Jarzynski sampling to be a very efficient strategy, resulting in rapid convergence of the free energy to high precision.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000718183600008 Publication Date 2021-10-29  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1549-9618 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.245 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 5.245  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:184676 Serial 8479  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Ensemble-Based Molecular Simulation of Chemical Reactions under Vibrational Nonequilibrium Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry Letters Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem Lett  
  Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 401-406  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We present an approach to incorporate the effect of vibrational nonequilibrium in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A perturbed canonical ensemble, in which selected modes are excited to higher temperature while all others remain equilibrated at low temperature, is simulated by applying a specifically tailored bias potential. Our method can be readily applied to any (classical or quantum mechanical) MD setup at virtually no additional computational cost and allows the study of reactions of vibrationally excited molecules in nonequilibrium environments such as plasmas. In combination with enhanced sampling methods, the vibrational efficacy and mode selectivity of vibrationally stimulated reactions can then be quantified in terms of chemically relevant observables, such as reaction rates and apparent free energy barriers. We first validate our method for the prototypical hydrogen exchange reaction and then show how it can capture the effect of vibrational excitation on a symmetric SN2 reaction and radical addition on CO2.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000508473400008 Publication Date 2020-01-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1948-7185 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.7 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Universiteit Antwerpen; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 12ZI420N ; Departement Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie van de Vlaamse Overheid; K.M.B. was funded as a junior postdoctoral fellow of the FWO (Research Foundation − Flanders), Grant 12ZI420N, and through a TOP-BOF research project of the University of Antwerp. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government− department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 5.7; 2020 IF: 9.353  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:165587 Serial 5442  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Cautereels, J.; Blockhuys, F. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Structures and spectroscopic properties of sulfur-nitrogen-pnictogen chains : R2P-N=S=N-PR2 and R2P-N=S=N-AsR2 Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Journal of molecular structure Abbreviated Journal J Mol Struct  
  Volume 1132 Issue Pages 102-108  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The conformational and configurational preferences of Me2PNSNPMe2 (3) and Me2PNSNAsMe2 (4) have been identified using quantum chemical calculations at the DFT/B3LYP/6-311+G* level of theory. An approach in which energetic, structural (geometries and bond orders), electronic (analysis of the electron density) and spectroscopic properties are combined leads to the conclusion that these sulfur-nitrogen-pnictogen chains share many of the properties of their chalcogen-nitrogen analogues but that the through-space intramolecular interactions favouring the Z,Z configuration are even weaker than in these latter compounds. The results of this analysis also lead to an unambiguous assignment of the variable-temperature 31P and 15N NMR spectra of these compounds and their structures both in solution and in the solid state.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000393254400015 Publication Date 2016-08-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-2860 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 1.753 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 03.10.2019  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 1.753  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:145533 Serial 4726  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Fukuhara, S.; Shibuta, Y.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Free energy barriers from biased molecular dynamics simulations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal Of Chemical Physics Abbreviated Journal J Chem Phys  
  Volume 153 Issue 11 Pages 114118  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Atomistic simulation methods for the quantification of free energies are in wide use. These methods operate by sampling the probability density of a system along a small set of suitable collective variables (CVs), which is, in turn, expressed in the form of a free energy surface (FES). This definition of the FES can capture the relative stability of metastable states but not that of the transition state because the barrier height is not invariant to the choice of CVs. Free energy barriers therefore cannot be consistently computed from the FES. Here, we present a simple approach to calculate the gauge correction necessary to eliminate this inconsistency. Using our procedure, the standard FES as well as its gauge-corrected counterpart can be obtained by reweighing the same simulated trajectory at little additional cost. We apply the method to a number of systems—a particle solvated in a Lennard-Jones fluid, a Diels–Alder reaction, and crystallization of liquid sodium—to demonstrate its ability to produce consistent free energy barriers that correctly capture the kinetics of chemical or physical transformations, and discuss the additional demands it puts on the chosen CVs. Because the FES can be converged at relatively short (sub-ns) time scales, a free energy-based description of reaction kinetics is a particularly attractive option to study chemical processes at more expensive quantum mechanical levels of theory.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000574665600004 Publication Date 2020-09-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-9606 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.4 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 19H02415 18J22727 ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 12ZI420N ; This work was supported, in part, by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (Grant No. 19H02415) and Grant-in-Aid for a JSPS Research Fellow (Grant No. 18J22727) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan. K.M.B. was funded as a junior postdoctoral fellow of the FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders), Grant No. 12ZI420N. S.F. was supported by JSPS through the Program for Leading Graduate Schools (MERIT). The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the HPC core facility CalcUA of the Universiteit Antwerpen, and VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government. The authors are grateful to Pablo Piaggi for making the pair entropy CV code publicly available. Approved Most recent IF: 4.4; 2020 IF: 2.965  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:172456 Serial 6420  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Huygh, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Effect of plasma-induced surface charging on catalytic processes: application to CO2activation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T  
  Volume 27 Issue 2 Pages 024001  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Understanding the nature and effect of the multitude of plasma–surface interactions in plasma catalysis is a crucial requirement for further process development and improvement. A particularly intriguing and rather unique property of a plasma-catalytic setup is the ability of the plasma to modify the electronic structure, and hence chemical properties, of the catalyst through charging, i.e. the absorption of excess electrons. In this work, we develop a quantum chemical model based on density functional theory to study excess negative surface charges in a heterogeneous catalyst exposed to a plasma. This method is specifically applied to investigate plasma-catalytic CO2 activation on supported M/Al2O3 (M=Ti, Ni, Cu) single atom catalysts. We find that (1) the presence of a negative surface charge dramatically improves the reductive power of the catalyst, strongly promoting the splitting of CO2 to CO and oxygen, and (2) the relative activity of the investigated transition metals is also changed upon charging, suggesting that controlled surface charging is a powerful additional parameter to tune catalyst activity and selectivity. These results strongly point to plasma-induced surface charging of the catalyst as an important factor contributing to the plasma-catalyst synergistic effects frequently reported for plasma catalysis.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000424520100001 Publication Date 2018-02-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 19 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes KMB is funded as PhD fellow (aspirant) of the FWO-Flanders (Research Foundation—Flanders), Grant 11V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government— department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:149285 Serial 4813  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title On the time scale associated with Monte Carlo simulations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication The journal of chemical physics Abbreviated Journal J Chem Phys  
  Volume 141 Issue 20 Pages 204104  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Uniform-acceptance force-bias Monte Carlo (fbMC) methods have been shown to be a powerful technique to access longer timescales in atomistic simulations allowing, for example, phase transitions and growth. Recently, a new fbMC method, the time-stamped force-bias Monte Carlo (tfMC) method, was derived with inclusion of an estimated effective timescale; this timescale, however, does not seem able to explain some of the successes the method. In this contribution, we therefore explicitly quantify the effective timescale tfMC is able to access for a variety of systems, namely a simple single-particle, one-dimensional model system, the Lennard-Jones liquid, an adatom on the Cu(100) surface, a silicon crystal with point defects and a highly defected graphene sheet, in order to gain new insights into the mechanisms by which tfMC operates. It is found that considerable boosts, up to three orders of magnitude compared to molecular dynamics, can be achieved for solid state systems by lowering of the apparent activation barrier of occurring processes, while not requiring any system-specific input or modifications of the method. We furthermore address the pitfalls of using the method as a replacement or complement of molecular dynamics simulations, its ability to explicitly describe correct dynamics and reaction mechanisms, and the association of timescales to MC simulations in general.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication New York, N.Y. Editor  
  Language Wos 000345641400005 Publication Date 2014-11-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-9606;1089-7690; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.965 Times cited 26 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.965; 2014 IF: 2.952  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:120667 Serial 2459  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Merging Metadynamics into Hyperdynamics: Accelerated Molecular Simulations Reaching Time Scales from Microseconds to Seconds Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of chemical theory and computation Abbreviated Journal J Chem Theory Comput  
  Volume 11 Issue 11 Pages 4545-4554  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The hyperdynamics method is a powerful tool to simulate slow processes at the atomic level. However, the construction of an optimal hyperdynamics potential is a task that is far from trivial. Here, we propose a generally applicable implementation of the hyperdynamics algorithm, borrowing two concepts from metadynamics. First, the use of a collective variable (CV) to represent the accelerated dynamics gives the method a very large flexibility and simplicity. Second, a metadynamics procedure can be used to construct a suitable history-dependent bias potential on-the-fly, effectively turning the algorithm into a self-learning accelerated molecular dynamics method. This collective variable-driven hyperdynamics (CVHD) method has a modular design: both the local system properties on which the bias is based, as well as the characteristics of the biasing method itself, can be chosen to match the needs of the considered system. As a result, system-specific details are abstracted from the biasing algorithm itself, making it extremely versatile and transparent. The method is tested on three model systems: diffusion on the Cu(001) surface and nickel-catalyzed methane decomposition, as examples of reactive processes with a bond-length-based CV, and the folding of a long polymer-like chain, using a set of dihedral angles as a CV. Boost factors up to 109, corresponding to a time scale of seconds, could be obtained while still accurately reproducing correct dynamics.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000362921700004 Publication Date 2015-09-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1549-9618 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.245 Times cited 41 Open Access  
  Notes K.M.B. is funded as Ph.D. fellow (aspirant) of the FWOFlanders (Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders), Grant No. 11 V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) and the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp (CalcUA), funded by the Hercules Foundation and the Flemish Government−Department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 5.245; 2015 IF: 5.498  
  Call Number c:irua:128183 Serial 3991  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Direct observation of realistic-temperature fuel combustion mechanisms in atomistic simulations Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Chemical science Abbreviated Journal Chem Sci  
  Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages 5280-5286  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Atomistic simulations can in principle provide an unbiased description of all mechanisms, intermediates, and products of complex chemical processes. However, due to the severe time scale limitation of conventional simulation techniques, unrealistically high simulation temperatures are usually applied, which are a poor approximation of most practically relevant low-temperature applications. In this work, we demonstrate the direct observation at the atomic scale of the pyrolysis and oxidation of n-dodecane at temperatures as low as 700 K through the use of a novel simulation technique, collective variable-driven hyperdynamics (CVHD). A simulated timescale of up to 39 seconds is reached. Product compositions and dominant mechanisms are found to be strongly temperature-dependent, and are consistent with experiments and kinetic models. These simulations provide a first atomic-level look at the full dynamics of the complicated fuel combustion process at industrially relevant temperatures and time scales, unattainable by conventional molecular dynamics simulations.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000380893900059 Publication Date 2016-05-05  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2041-6520 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 8.668 Times cited 22 Open Access  
  Notes K. M. B. is funded as PhD fellow (aspirant) of the FWO-Flanders (Fund for Scientic Research-Flanders), Grant 11V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) and the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp (CalcUA), funded by the Hercules Foundation and the Flemish Government – department EWI. The authors would also like to thank S. Banerjee for assisting with the interpretation of the experimental results. Approved Most recent IF: 8.668  
  Call Number c:irua:134577 c:irua:135670 Serial 4105  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Modelling molecular adsorption on charged or polarized surfaces: a critical flaw in common approaches Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Physical chemistry, chemical physics Abbreviated Journal Phys Chem Chem Phys  
  Volume 20 Issue 13 Pages 8456-8459  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A number of recent computational material design studies based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations have put forward a new class of materials with electrically switchable chemical characteristics that can be exploited in the development of tunable gas storage and electrocatalytic applications. We find systematic flaws in almost every computational study of gas adsorption on polarized or charged surfaces, stemming from an improper and unreproducible treatment of periodicity, leading to very large errors of up to 3 eV in some cases. Two simple corrective procedures that lead to consistent results are proposed, constituting a crucial course correction to the research in the field.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000428779700007 Publication Date 2018-03-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1463-9076 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.123 Times cited 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes K. M. B. is funded as PhD fellow (aspirant) of the FWO-Flanders (Research Foundation – Flanders), Grant 11V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Approved Most recent IF: 4.123  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:150357 Serial 4916  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Overcoming Old Scaling Relations and Establishing New Correlations in Catalytic Surface Chemistry: Combined Effect of Charging and Doping Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 123 Issue 10 Pages 6141-6147  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Optimization of catalytic materials for a given application is greatly constrained by linear scaling relations. Recently, however, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to reversibly modulate the chemisorption of molecules on nanomaterials by charging (i.e., injection or removal of electrons) and hence reversibly and selectively modify catalytic activity beyond structure−activity correlations. The fundamental physical relation between the properties of the material, the charging process, and the chemisorption energy, however, remains unclear, and a systematic exploration and optimization of charge-switchable sorbent materials is not yet possible. Using hybrid DFT calculations of CO2 chemisorption on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets with several types of defects and dopants, we here reveal the existence of fundamental correlations between the electron affinity of a material and charge-induced chemisorption, show how defect engineering can be used to modulate the strength and efficiency of the adsorption process, and demonstrate that excess electrons stabilize many topological defects. We then show how these insights could be exploited in the development of new electrocatalytic materials and the synthesis of doped nanomaterials. Moreover, we demonstrate that calculated chemical properties of charged materials are highly sensitive to the employed computational methodology because of the self-interaction error, which underlines the theoretical challenge posed by such systems.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000461537400035 Publication Date 2019-03-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 5 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 21.02.2020  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 11V8915N ; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @UA @ admin @ c:irua:158117 Serial 5160  
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Author (up) Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Quantifying the impact of vibrational nonequilibrium in plasma catalysis: insights from a molecular dynamics model of dissociative chemisorption Type A1 Journal Article;plasma catalysis
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 54 Issue 39 Pages 394004  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;plasma catalysis; vibrational nonequilibrium; dissociative chemisorption; free energy barriers; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract The rate, selectivity and efficiency of plasma-based conversion processes is strongly affected by nonequilibrium phenomena. High concentrations of vibrationally excited molecules are such a plasma-induced effect. It is frequently assumed that vibrationally excited molecules are important in plasma catalysis because their presence lowers the apparent activation energy of dissociative chemisorption reactions and thus increases the conversion rate. A detailed atomic-level understanding of vibrationally stimulated catalytic reactions in the context of plasma catalysis is however lacking. Here, we couple a recently developed statistical model of a plasma-induced vibrational nonequilibrium to molecular dynamics simulations, enhanced sampling methods, and machine learning techniques. We quantify the impact of a vibrational nonequilibrium on the dissociative chemisorption barrier of H2 and CH4 on nickel catalysts over a wide range of vibrational temperatures. We investigate the effect of surface structure and compare the role of different vibrational modes of methane in the dissociation process. For low vibrational temperatures, very high vibrational efficacies are found, and energy in bend vibrations appears to dominate the dissociation of methane. The relative impact of vibrational nonequilibrium is much higher on terrace sites than on surface steps. We then show how our simulations can help to interpret recent experimental results, and suggest new paths to a better understanding of plasma catalysis.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000674464100001 Publication Date 2021-09-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 12ZI420N ; K M B was funded as a junior postdoctoral fellow of the FWO (Research Foundation—Flanders), Grant 12ZI420N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the HPC core facility CalcUA of the Universiteit Antwerpen, and VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government. HLDA calculations were performed with a script provided by G Piccini. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:179830 Serial 6808  
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