Abstract: The interaction between evaporated Pt and pristine or oxygen-plasma-treated multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is investigated. Pt is found to nucleate at defect sites, whether initially present or introduced by oxygen plasma treatment. The plasma treatment induces a uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles at the CNT surface. The absence of additional features in the C 1s core level spectrum indicates that no mixed PtC phase is formed. The formation of COPt bonds at the cluster-CNT interface is suggested to reduce the electronic interaction between Pt nanoparticles and the CNT surface.

Abstract: The interaction of silicene, the silicon counterpart of graphene, with (0001) ZnS surfaces is investigated theoretically, using first-principles simulations. The charge transfer occurring at the silicene/(0001) ZnS interface leads to the opening of an indirect energy band gap of about 0.7 eV in silicene. Remarkably, the nature (indirect or direct) and magnitude of the energy band gap of silicene can be controlled by an external electric field: the energy gap is predicted to become direct for electric fields larger than about 0.5 V angstrom(-1), and the direct energy gap decreases approximately linearly with the applied electric field. The predicted electric field tunable energy band gap of the silicene/(0001) ZnS interface is very promising for its potential use in nanoelectronic devices.

Abstract: The in-plane stiffness (C), Poisson's ratio (nu), Young's modulus and ultimate strength (sigma) along two different crystallographic orientations are calculated for the single layer crystals: MoS2, HfS2 and TiS3 in 1H, 1T and monoclinic phases. We find that MoS2 and HfS2 have isotropic in-plane stiffnesses of 124.24 N m(-1) and 79.86 N m(-1), respectively. While for TiS3 the in-plane stiffness is highly anisotropic due to its monoclinic structure, with C-x = 83.33 N m(-1) and C-y = 133.56 N m(-1) (x and y are parallel to its longer and shorter in-plane lattice vectors.). HfS2 which is in the 1T phase has the smallest anisotropy in its ultimate strength, whereas TiS3 in the monoclinic phase has the largest. Along the armchair direction MoS2 has the largest sigma of 23.48 GPa, whereas along y TiS3 has the largest sigma of 18.32 GPa. We have further analyzed the band gap response of these materials under uniaxial tensile strain, and find that they exhibit different behavior. Along both armchair and zigzag directions, the band gap of MoS2 (HfS2) decreases (increases) as strain increases, and the response is almost isotropic. For TiS3, the band gap decreases when strain is along x, while if strain is along y, the band gap increases first and then decreases beyond a threshold strain value. The different characteristics observed in these sulphides with different structures shed light on the relationship between the structure and properties, which is useful for applications in nanotechnology.

Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted growing interest due to their potential use in the next generation of nanoelectronic and optoelectronic applications. On the basis of first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we first investigate the electronic and mechanical properties of single layer boron phosphide (h-BP). Our calculations show that h-BP is a mechanically stable 2D material with a direct band gap of 0.9 eV at the K-point, promising for both electronic and optoelectronic applications. We next investigate the electron transport properties of a p-n junction constructed from single layer boron phosphide (h-BP) using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The n-and p-type doping of BP are achieved by substitutional doping of B with C and P with Si, respectively. C(Si) substitutional doping creates donor (acceptor) states close to the conduction (valence) band edge of BP, which are essential to construct an efficient p-n junction. By modifying the structure and doping concentration, it is possible to tune the electronic and transport properties of the p-n junction which exhibits not only diode characteristics with a large current rectification but also negative differential resistance (NDR). The degree of NDR can be easily tuned via device engineering.