The Green's Function Density Functional Tight-Binding (gDFTB) Method for Molecular Electronic Conduction

Nonadiabatic dynamics near metal surface with periodic drivings: A Floquet surface hopping algorithm

We develop a Floquet surface hopping approach to deal with nonadiabatic dynamics of molecules near metal surfaces subjected to time-periodic drivings from strong light-matter interactions. The method is based on a Floquet classical master equation (FCME) derived from a Floquet quantum master equation (FQME), followed by a Wigner transformation to treat nuclear motion classically. We then propose different trajectory surface hopping algorithms to solve the FCME. We find that a Floquet averaged surface hopping with electron density (FaSH-density) algorithm works the best as benchmarked with the FQME, capturing both the fast oscillations due to the driving and the correct steady-state observables. This method will be very useful to study strong light-matter interactions with a manifold of electronic states.

First-Principles Nonequilibrium Green's Function Approach to Energy Conversion in Nanoscale Optoelectronics

Understanding photon-electron conversion on the nanoscale is essential for future innovations in nano-optoelectronics. In this article, based on nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism, we develop a quantum-mechanical method for modeling energy conversion in nanoscale optoelectronic devices. The method allows us to study photoinduced charge transport and electroluminescence processes in realistic devices. First, we investigate the electroluminescence properties of a two-level model with two different treatments of inelastic scatterings. We show the regime where self-consistency between electron and photon is important for correct description of the inelastic scatterings. The method is then applied to model single-molecule junctions based on the density-functional tight-binding approach. The predicted emission spectra are found to be in very good agreement with experimental measurements. For nanostructured materials, the method is further applied to study the photoresponse of a two-dimensional graphene/graphite-C₃N₄ heterojunction photovoltaic device. The simulations demonstrate clearly the impact of atomistic details on the optoelectronic properties of nanodevices. This work provides a practical theoretical framework that can be applied to model and design realistic nanodevices.

DFTB+, a software package for efficient approximate density functional theory based atomistic simulations

DFTB+ is a versatile community developed open source software package offering fast and efficient methods for carrying out atomistic quantum mechanical simulations. By implementing various methods approximating density functional theory (DFT), such as the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) and the extended tight binding method, it enables simulations of large systems and long timescales with reasonable accuracy while being considerably faster for typical simulations than the respective ab initio methods. Based on the DFTB framework, it additionally offers approximated versions of various DFT extensions including hybrid functionals, time dependent formalism for treating excited systems, electron transport using non-equilibrium Green's functions, and many more. DFTB+ can be used as a user-friendly standalone application in addition to being embedded into other software packages as a library or acting as a calculation-server accessed by socket communication. We give an overview of the recently developed capabilities of the DFTB+ code, demonstrating with a few use case examples, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the various features, and also discuss on-going developments and possible future perspectives.

Density-functional tight-binding approach for metal clusters, nanoparticles, surfaces and bulk: application to silver and gold

Density-functional based tight-binding (DFTB) is an efficient quantum mechanical method that can describe a variety of systems, going from organic and inorganic compounds to metallic and hybrid materials. The present topical review addresses the ability and performance of DFTB to investigate energetic, structural, spectroscopic and dynamical properties of gold and silver materials. After a brief overview of the theoretical basis of DFTB, its parametrization and its transferability, we report its past and recent applications to gold and silver systems, including small clusters, nanoparticles, bulk and surfaces, bare and interacting with various organic and inorganic compounds. The range of applications covered by those studies goes from plasmonics and molecular electronics, to energy conversion and surface chemistry. Finally, perspectives of DFTB in the field of gold and silver surfaces and NPs are outlined.

Putting David Craig’s Legacy to Work in Nanotechnology and Biotechnology

David Craig (1919–2015) left us with a lasting legacy concerning basic understanding of chemical spectroscopy and bonding. This is expressed in terms of some of the recent achievements of my own research career, with a focus on integration of Craig’s theories with those of Noel Hush to solve fundamental problems in photosynthesis, molecular electronics (particularly in regard to the molecules synthesized by Maxwell Crossley), and self-assembled monolayer structure and function. Reviewed in particular is the relation of Craig’s legacy to: the 50-year struggle to assign the visible absorption spectrum of arguably the world’s most significant chromophore, chlorophyll; general theories for chemical bonding and structure extending Hush’s adiabatic theory of electron-transfer processes; inelastic electron-tunnelling spectroscopy (IETS); chemical quantum entanglement and the Penrose–Hameroff model for quantum consciousness; synthetic design strategies for NMR quantum computing; Gibbs free-energy measurements and calculations for formation and polymorphism of organic self-assembled monolayers on graphite surfaces from organic solution; and understanding the basic chemical processes involved in the formation of gold surfaces and nanoparticles protected by sulfur-bound ligands, ligands whose form is that of Au0-thiyl rather than its commonly believed AuI-thiolate tautomer.

Tailoring highly conductive graphene nanoribbons from small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a computational study

Pyrene, the smallest two-dimensional mesh of aromatic rings, with various terminal thiol substitutions, has been considered as a potential molecular interconnect. Charge transport through two terminal devices has been modeled using density functional theory (with and without self interaction correction) and the non-equilibrium Green's function method. A tetra-substituted pyrene, with dual thiol terminal groups at opposite ends, has been identified as an excellent candidate, owing to its high conductance, virtually independent of bias voltage. The two possible extensions of its motif generate two series of graphene nanoribbons, with zigzag and armchair edges and with semimetallic and semiconducting electron band structure, respectively. The effects related to the wire length and the bias voltage on the charge transport have been investigated for both sets. The conductance of the nanoribbons with a zigzag edge does not show either length or voltage dependence, owing to an almost perfect electron transmission with a continuum of conducting channels. In contrast, for the armchair nanoribbons a slow exponential attenuation of the conductance with the length has been found, due to their semiconducting nature.

Influence of the number of anchoring groups on the electronic and mechanical properties of benzene-, anthracene- and pentacene-based molecular devices

One of the central issues of molecular electronics (ME) is the study of the molecule-metal electrode contacts, and their implications for the conductivity, charge-transport mechanism, and mechanical stability. In fact, stochastic on/off switching (blinking) reported in STM experiments is a major problem of single-molecule devices, and challenges the stability and reliability of these systems. Surprisingly, the ambiguous STM results all originate from devices that bind to the metallic electrode through a one-atom connection. In the present work, DFT is employed to study and compare the properties of a set of simple acenes that bind to metallic electrodes with an increasing number of connections, in order to determine whether the increasing numbers of anchoring groups have a direct repercussion on the stability of these systems. The conductivities of the three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are calculated, as well as their transmission spectra and current profiles. The thermal and mechanical stability of these systems is studied by pulling and pushing the metal-molecule connection. The results show that molecules with more than one connection per electrode exhibit greater electrical efficiency and current stability.

Switching behavior of carbon chains bridging graphene nanoribbons: effects of uniaxial strain

Recently, several experiments demonstrated the stability of chain-like carbon nanowires bridged between graphene nanoribbons, paving the way for potential applications in nanodevices. On the basis of density functional tight-binding calculations, we demonstrated switching for chains terminated with a five-membered ring under an applied strain, serving as a model for morphological changes in realistic materials. Electron transport calculations showed an increase of up to 100% in the output current, achieved at a reverse bias voltage of -2 V and an applied strain of just 1.5%. Structural analysis suggested that the switching is driven by conformational changes, where in our case is triggered by the formation and annihilation of a five-membered ring at the interface of the chain-graphene edge. In addition, we showed that a five-membered ring can easily be formed at the interface under a source-drain bias or through a gate voltage. This mechanism can serve as an explanation of experimentally observed conductance for the materials.

Inelastic electron tunnelling in saturated molecules with different functional groups: correlations and symmetry considerations from a computational study

The inelastic electron tunnelling (IET) spectra of a series of molecules with the commonest functional groups are evaluated computationally. It is found that ether, secondary amine and thioether groups do not leave any characteristic signatures on the IET spectrum (in comparison with simple alkanes) and they cannot be used as 'tracers' for the tunnelling path of the electron. In contrast, carbonyl and ester groups modify the appearance of the IET spectrum considerably. The series of computations was also used to validate, for the case of saturated molecules, the propensity rules for IET spectroscopy proposed in the literature. It is found that totally symmetric vibrations give the largest contribution to the spectrum and that there is no correlation between IET and infrared or Raman absorption intensities.