scholarly journals Hard and soft materials: Putting consistent van der Waals density functionals to work

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl M. Frostenson ◽  
Erik Jedvik Granhed ◽  
Vivekanand Shukla ◽  
Pär A. T Olsson ◽  
Elsebeth Schröder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Matter ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Tool Chain ◽  
Magnetic Elements ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Temperature Transformation ◽  
Consistent Formulation ◽  
Stability Modeling

Abstract We present the idea and illustrate potential benefits of having a tool chain of closely related regular, unscreened and screened hybrid exchange-correlation (XC) functionals, all within the consistent formulation of the van der Waals density functional (vdW-DF) method [JPCM 32, 393001 (2020)]. Use of this chain of nonempirical XC functionals allows us to map when the inclusion of truly nonlocal exchange and of truly nonlocal correlation is important. Here we begin the mapping by addressing hard and soft material challenges: magnetic elements, perovskites, and biomolecular problems. We also predict the structure and polarization for a ferroelectric polymer. To facilitate this work and future broader explorations, we present a stress formulation for spin vdW-DF and illustrate the use of a simple stability-modeling scheme. The modeling supplements DFT (with a specific XC functional) by asserting whether the finding of a soft mode (an imaginary-frequency vibrational mode, ubiquitous in perovskites and soft matter) implies an actual DFT-based prediction of a low-temperature transformation.

scholarly journals Van der Waals Density Functional Theory vdW-DFq for Semihard Materials

Crystals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Peng ◽  
Guangyu Wang ◽  
Gui-Rong Liu ◽  
Suvranu De
Keyword(s):  
Density Functional Theory ◽  
Energetic Materials ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Energetic Material ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Molecular Crystals ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Dispersion Force ◽  
Electronic Charge ◽  
Functional Theory

There are a large number of materials with mild stiffness, which are not as soft as tissues and not as strong as metals. These semihard materials include energetic materials, molecular crystals, layered materials, and van der Waals crystals. The integrity and mechanical stability are mainly determined by the interactions between instantaneously induced dipoles, the so called London dispersion force or van der Waals force. It is challenging to accurately model the structural and mechanical properties of these semihard materials in the frame of density functional theory where the non-local correlation functionals are not well known. Here, we propose a van der Waals density functional named vdW-DFq to accurately model the density and geometry of semihard materials. Using β -cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine as a prototype, we adjust the enhancement factor of the exchange energy functional with generalized gradient approximations. We find this method to be simple and robust over a wide tuning range when calibrating the functional on-demand with experimental data. With a calibrated value q = 1.05 , the proposed vdW-DFq method shows good performance in predicting the geometries of 11 common energetic material molecular crystals and three typical layered van der Waals crystals. This success could be attributed to the similar electronic charge density gradients, suggesting a wide use in modeling semihard materials. This method could be useful in developing non-empirical density functional theories for semihard and soft materials.

Efficient Prediction of Structural and Electronic Properties of Hybrid 2D Materials Using DFT and Machine Learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif Tawfik ◽  
Olexandr Isayev ◽  
Catherine Stampfl ◽  
Joseph Shapter ◽  
David Winkler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Band Gap ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
2D Materials ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Interlayer Distance ◽  
Computational Screening ◽  
Wide Range

Materials constructed from different van der Waals two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures offer a wide range of benefits, but these systems have been little studied because of their experimental and computational complextiy, and because of the very large number of possible combinations of 2D building blocks. The simulation of the interface between two different 2D materials is computationally challenging due to the lattice mismatch problem, which sometimes necessitates the creation of very large simulation cells for performing density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. Here we use a combination of DFT, linear regression and machine learning techniques in order to rapidly determine the interlayer distance between two different 2D heterostructures that are stacked in a bilayer heterostructure, as well as the band gap of the bilayer. Our work provides an excellent proof of concept by quickly and accurately predicting a structural property (the interlayer distance) and an electronic property (the band gap) for a large number of hybrid 2D materials. This work paves the way for rapid computational screening of the vast parameter space of van der Waals heterostructures to identify new hybrid materials with useful and interesting properties.

Thermodynamic Stability of Hexagonal and Rhombohedral Bn at Cvd Conditions from Van der Waals Corrected First Principles Calculations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Pedersen ◽  
Björn Alling ◽  
Hans Högberg ◽  
Annop Ektarawong
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Thermodynamic Stability ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
First Principles Calculations ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
The Stability

Thin films of boron nitride (BN), particularly the sp<sup>2</sup>-hybridized polytypes hexagonal BN (h-BN) and rhombohedral BN (r-BN) are interesting for several electronic applications given band gaps in the UV. They are typically deposited close to thermal equilibrium by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperatures and pressures in the regions 1400-1800 K and 1000-10000 Pa, respectively. In this letter, we use van der Waals corrected density functional theory and thermodynamic stability calculations to determine the stability of r-BN and compare it to that of h-BN as well as to cubic BN and wurtzitic BN. We find that r-BN is the stable sp<sup>2</sup>-hybridized phase at CVD conditions, while h-BN is metastable. Thus, our calculations suggest that thin films of h-BN must be deposited far from thermal equilibrium.

uMBD: A Materials-Ready Dispersion Correction that Uniformly Treats Metallic, Ionic, Covalent, and van der Waals Bonding

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minho Kim ◽  
won june kim ◽  
Tim Gould ◽  
Eok Kyun Lee ◽  
Sébastien Lebègue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Principles ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Electrode Materials ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Dft Method ◽  
Dispersion Correction ◽  
Computational Overhead ◽  
System A ◽  
Battery Design

<p>Materials design increasingly relies on first-principles calculations for screening important candidates and for understanding quantum mechanisms. Density functional theory (DFT) is by far the most popular first-principles approach due to its efficiency and accuracy. However, to accurately predict structures and thermodynamics, DFT must be paired with a van der Waals (vdW) dispersion correction. Therefore, such corrections have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. Despite significant successes in organic molecules, no existing model can adequately cover the full range of common materials, from metals to ionic solids, hampering the applications of DFT for modern problems such as battery design. Here, we introduce a universally optimized vdW-corrected DFT method that demonstrates an unbiased reliability for predicting molecular, layered, ionic, metallic, and hybrid materials without incurring a large computational overhead. We use our method to accurately predict the intercalation potentials of layered electrode materials of a Li-ion battery system – a problem for which the existing state-of-the-art methods fail. Thus, we envisage broad use of our method in the design of chemo-physical processes of new materials.</p>

scholarly journals First-Principles Study of a MoS2-PbS van der Waals Heterostructure Inspired by Naturally Occurring Merelaniite

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1649
Author(s):  
Gemechis D. Degaga ◽  
Sumandeep Kaur ◽  
Ravindra Pandey ◽  
John A. Jaszczak
Keyword(s):  
Density Functional ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Hole Mobility ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Mos2 Monolayer ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Weak Interlayer ◽  
Bulk Structure ◽  
P Type ◽  
Interlayer Bonding

Vertically stacked, layered van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures offer the possibility to design materials, within a range of chemistries and structures, to possess tailored properties. Inspired by the naturally occurring mineral merelaniite, this paper studies a vdW heterostructure composed of a MoS2 monolayer and a PbS bilayer, using density functional theory. A commensurate 2D heterostructure film and the corresponding 3D periodic bulk structure are compared. The results find such a heterostructure to be stable and possess p-type semiconducting characteristics. Due to the heterostructure’s weak interlayer bonding, its carrier mobility is essentially governed by the constituent layers; the hole mobility is governed by the PbS bilayer, whereas the electron mobility is governed by the MoS2 monolayer. Furthermore, we estimate the hole mobility to be relatively high (~106 cm2V−1s−1), which can be useful for ultra-fast devices at the nanoscale.

scholarly journals Efficient charge separation and visible-light response in bilayer HfS2-based van der Waals heterostructures

RSC Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (34) ◽  
pp. 18889-18895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Wang ◽  
Xukai Luo ◽  
Junli Chang ◽  
Xiaorui Chen ◽  
Hongkuan Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Charge Separation ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Light Response ◽  
Hybrid Density Functional Theory ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Visible Light Response ◽  
Efficient Charge ◽  
Hybrid Density Functional ◽  
Photocatalytic Applications

In this work, we employ hybrid density functional theory to investigate HfS2-based van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions for highly efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications.

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