Jamie M. Booth

Solvent induced ordered-supramolecular assembly of highly branched protoporphyrin IX derivative

Protoporphyrin IX species bearing highly branched alkyl chains were self-assembled into well-defined nanostructures such as rod-like in CHCl3–cylcohexane (1:9, v/v) and a honeycomb-like morphology in a polar solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The rod-like morphologies observed in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) suggest that the lamellar phase self-organises into multilamellar vesicles. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate molecular arrangements resulting from longitudinal and transverse stacking of the porphyrin head groups in the lamellar structure. The typical nanostructures were derived from a high level of cooperativity between the porphyrin cores via π–σ interactions and supported by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. The nanostructures were characterised by means of UV–vis, fluorescence, AFM, TEM and XRD analysis. Our methodology confirms the potential of protoporphyrin IX derivatives in supramolecular chemistry.

Correlating the energetics and atomic motions of the metal-insulator transition of m1 vanadium dioxide

Materials that undergo reversible metal-insulator transitions are obvious candidates for new generations of devices. For such potential to be realised, the underlying microscopic mechanisms of such transitions must be fully determined. In this work we probe the correlation between the energy landscape and electronic structure of the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide and the atomic motions occurring using first principles calculations and high resolution X-ray diffraction. Calculations find an energy barrier between the high and low temperature phases corresponding to contraction followed by expansion of the distances between vanadium atoms on neighbouring sub-lattices. X-ray diffraction reveals anisotropic strain broadening in the low temperature structure’s crystal planes, however only for those with spacings affected by this compression/expansion. GW calculations reveal that traversing this barrier destabilises the bonding/anti-bonding splitting of the low temperature phase. This precise atomic description of the origin of the energy barrier separating the two structures will facilitate more precise control over the transition characteristics for new applications and devices.

Hubbard physics in the PAW GW approximation

It is demonstrated that the signatures of the Hubbard Model in the strongly interacting regime can be simulated by modifying the screening in the limit of zero wavevector in Projector-Augmented Wave GW calculations for systems without significant nesting. This modification, when applied to the Mott insulator CuO, results in the opening of the Mott gap by the splitting of states at the Fermi level into upper and lower Hubbard bands, and exhibits a giant transfer of spectral weight upon electron doping. The method is also employed to clearly illustrate that the M1 and M2 forms of vanadium dioxide are fundamentally different types of insulator. Standard GW calculations are sufficient to open a gap in M1 VO2, which arise from the Peierls pairing filling the valence band, creating homopolar bonds. The valence band wavefunctions are stabilized with respect to the conduction band, reducing polarizability and pushing the conduction band eigenvalues to higher energy. The M2 structure, however, opens a gap from strong on-site interactions; it is a Mott insulator.