Jinyang Xi

Tunable Band Gap Photoluminescence from Atomically Thin Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Alloys

Band gap engineering of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials is the key to their applications in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, and photonics. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that in the 2D system, by alloying two materials with different band gaps (MoS2 and WS2), tunable band gap can be obtained in the 2D alloys (Mo(1-x)W(x)S(2) monolayers, x = 0-1). Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy has revealed random arrangement of Mo and W atoms in the Mo(1-x)W(x)S(2) monolayer alloys. Photoluminescence characterization has shown tunable band gap emission continuously tuned from 1.82 eV (reached at x = 0.20) to 1.99 eV (reached at x = 1). Further, density functional theory calculations have been carried out to understand the composition-dependent electronic structures of Mo(1-x)W(x)S(2) monolayer alloys.

First-principles prediction of charge mobility in carbon and organic nanomaterials

We summarize our recent progresses in developing first-principles methods for predicting the intrinsic charge mobility in carbon and organic nanomaterials, within the framework of Boltzmann transport theory and relaxation time approximation. The electron-phonon couplings are described by Bardeen and Shockleys deformation potential theory, namely delocalized electrons scattered by longitudinal acoustic phonons as modeled by uniform lattice dilation. We have applied such methodology to calculating the charge carrier mobilities of graphene and graphdiyne, both sheets and nanoribbons, as well as closely packed organic crystals. The intrinsic charge carrier mobilities for graphene sheet and naphthalene are calculated to be 3 × 10(5) and ∼60 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) respectively at room temperature, in reasonable agreement with previous studies. We also present some new theoretical results for the recently discovered organic electronic materials, diacene-fused thienothiophenes, for which the charge carrier mobilities are predicted to be around 100 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1).

Carrier Mobility in Graphyne Should Be Even Larger than That in Graphene: A Theoretical Prediction

We show here that the carrier mobility in the novel sp-sp(2) hybridization planar 6,6,12-graphyne sheet should be even larger than that in the graphene sheet. Both graphyne and graphene exhibit a Dirac cone structure near the Fermi surface. However, due to the sp-sp(2) hybridization forming the triple bonds in graphyne, the electron-phonon scattering is reduced compared with that of graphene. The carrier mobility is calculated at the first-principles level by using the Boltzmann transport equation coupled with the deformation potential theory. The intrinsic mobility of the 6,6,12-graphyne is 4.29 × 10(5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for holes and 5.41 × 10(5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for electrons at room temperature, which is found to be larger than that of graphene (∼ 3 × 10(5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)).

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Charge Transport in CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskites Predicted from First-Principles

Both intrinsic and extrinsic charge transport properties of methylammonium lead triiodide perovskites are investigated from first-principles. The weak electron-phonon couplings are revealed, with the largest deformation potential (~ 5 eV) comparable to that of single layer graphene. The intrinsic mobility limited by the acoustic phonon scattering is as high as a few thousands cm2 V−1 s−1 with the hole mobility larger than the electron mobility. At the impurity density of 1018 cm−3, the charged impurity scattering starts to dominate and lowers the electron mobility to 101 cm2 V−1 s−1 and the hole mobility to 72.2 cm2 V−1 s−1. The high intrinsic mobility warrants the long and balanced diffusion length of charge carriers. With the control of impurities or defects as well as charge traps in these perovskites, enhanced efficiencies of solar cells with simplified device structures are promised.

Unravelling Doping Effects on PEDOT at the Molecular Level: From Geometry to Thermoelectric Transport Properties

Tuning carrier concentration via chemical doping is the most successful strategy to optimize the thermoelectric figure of merit. Nevertheless, how the dopants affect charge transport is not completely understood. Here we unravel the doping effects by explicitly including the scattering of charge carriers with dopants on thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOT, which is a p-type thermoelectric material with the highest figure of merit reported. We corroborate that the PEDOT exhibits a distinct transition from the aromatic to quinoid-like structure of backbone, and a semiconductor-to-metal transition with an increase in the level of doping. We identify a close-to-unity charge transfer from PEDOT to the dopant, and find that the ionized impurity scattering dominates over the acoustic phonon scattering in the doped PEDOT. By incorporating both scattering mechanisms, the doped PEDOT exhibits mobility, Seebeck coefficient and power factors in very good agreement with the experimental data, and the lightly doped PEDOT exhibits thermoelectric properties superior to the heavily doped one. We reveal that the thermoelectric transport is highly anisotropic in ordered crystals, and suggest to utilize large power factors in the direction of polymer backbone and low lattice thermal conductivity in the stacking and lamellar directions, which is viable in chain-oriented amorphous nanofibers.

Tunable Electronic Properties of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Alloys: A First-Principles Prediction.

We investigated the composition-dependent electronic properties of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide alloys (WxMo1-xS2) based on first-principles calculations by applying the supercell method and effective band structure approximation. It was found that hole effective mass decreases linearly with increasing W composition, and electron effective mass of alloys is always larger than that of their binary constituents. The different behaviors of electrons and holes in alloys are attributed to the fact that metal d-orbitals have different contributions to conduction bands of MoS2 and WS2 but almost identical contributions to valence bands. We examined the conduction polarity of WxMo1-xS2 monolayer alloys with four metal electrode materials (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pd). It suggests the main carrier type for transport in transistors could change from electrons to holes as W composition increases if high work function metal contacts were used. The tunable electronic properties of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide alloys make them attractive for electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Electronic properties and charge carrier mobilities of graphynes and graphdiynes from first principles

The sp1 + sp2 hybridized carbon allotropes, graphynes (GYs) and graphdiynes (GDYs), have attracted increased attention, and researches from both theoretical and experimental communities are emerging. Theoretical calculations show that the electronic properties of GYs and GDYs can be tuned by straining, cutting into nanoribbons with different widths and edge morphology, and applying external electric fields. Due to their unique electronic properties, GYs and GDYs exhibit charge carrier mobility as high as ∼104–105 cm2 V−1 second−1 at room temperature based on the first‐principle calculations and the Boltzmann transport equation. Interestingly, the charge carrier mobility in 6,6,12‐GY with double Dirac cone structure is found to be even larger than that in graphene at room temperature. Through an in‐depth description of electron–phonon couplings by density functional perturbation theory, it is suggested that the intrinsic charge carrier transport in these carbon allotropes is dominated by the longitudinal acoustic phonon scatterings over a wide range of temperatures, although scatterings with optical phonon modes cannot be neglected at high temperatures. The unique electronic properties of GYs and GDYs make them highly promising for applications in next generation nanoelectronics. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2015, 5:215–227. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1213

Electron-phonon couplings and carrier mobility in graphynes sheet calculated using the Wannier-interpolation approach

Electron-phonon couplings and charge transport properties of α- and γ-graphyne nanosheets were investigated from first-principles calculations by using the density-functional perturbation theory and the Boltzmann transport equation. Wannier function-based interpolation techniques were applied to obtain the ultra-dense electron-phonon coupling matrix elements. Due to the localization feature in Wannier space, the interpolation based on truncated space is found to be accurate. We demonstrated that the intrinsic electron-phonon scatterings in these two-dimensional carbon materials are dominated by low-energy longitudinal-acoustic phonon scatterings over a wide range of temperatures. In contrast, the high-frequency optical phonons play appreciable roles only at high temperature regimes. The electron mobilities of α- and γ-graphynes are predicted to be ∼10(4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at room temperature.

Intrinsic Charge Transport in Stanene: Roles of Bucklings and Electron-Phonon Couplings

The intrinsic charge transport of stanene is investigated by using density function theory and density function perturbation theory coupled with Boltzmann transport equations from first principles. The accurate Wannier interpolations are applied to calculate the charge carrier scatterings with all branches of phonons with dispersion contribution. The intrinsic carrier mobilities are predicted to be 2~3

Interface electronic structures of reversible double-docking self-assembled monolayers on an Au(111) surface

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