Nicholas P. Brawand

Tuning colloidal quantum dot band edge positions through solution-phase surface chemistry modification

Band edge positions of semiconductors determine their functionality in many optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaics, photoelectrochemical cells and light emitting diodes. Here we show that band edge positions of lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, specifically quantum dots (QDs), can be tuned over 2.0 eV through surface chemistry modification. We achieved this remarkable control through the development of simple, robust and scalable solution-phase ligand exchange methods, which completely replace native ligands with functionalized cinnamate ligands, allowing for well-defined, highly tunable chemical systems. By combining experiments and ab initio simulations, we establish clear relationships between QD surface chemistry and the band edge positions of ligand/QD hybrid systems. We find that in addition to ligand dipole, inter-QD ligand shell inter-digitization contributes to the band edge shifts. We expect that our established relationships and principles can help guide future optimization of functional organic/inorganic hybrid nanostructures for diverse optoelectronic applications.

Performance and Self-Consistency of the Generalized Dielectric Dependent Hybrid Functional

We analyze the performance of the recently proposed screened exchange constant functional (SX) ( Brawand et al. Phys. Rev. X 2016 , 6 , 041002 ) on the GW100 test set, and we discuss results obtained at different levels of self-consistency. The SX functional is a generalization of dielectric dependent hybrid functionals to finite systems; it is nonempirical and depends on the average screening of the exchange interaction. We compare results for ionization potentials obtained with SX to those of CCSD(T) calculations and experiments, and we find excellent agreement, on par with recent state of the art methods based on many body perturbation theory. Applying SX perturbatively to correct PBE eigenvalues yields improved results in most cases, except for ionic molecules, for which wave function self-consistency is instead crucial. Calculations where wave functions and the screened exchange constant (αSX) are determined self-consistently, and those where αSX is fixed to the value determined within PBE, yield results of comparable accuracy. Perturbative G0W0 corrections of eigenvalues obtained with self-consistent αSX are small on average, for all molecules in the GW100 test set.

Charge Transport in Nanostructured Materials: Implementation and Verification of Constrained Density Functional Theory

The in silico design of novel complex materials for energy conversion requires accurate, ab initio simulation of charge transport. In this work, we present an implementation of constrained density functional theory (CDFT) for the calculation of parameters for charge transport in the hopping regime. We verify our implementation against literature results for molecular systems, and we discuss the dependence of results on numerical parameters and the choice of localization potentials. In addition, we compare CDFT results with those of other commonly used methods for simulating charge transport between nanoscale building blocks. We show that some of these methods give unphysical results for thermally disordered configurations, while CDFT proves to be a viable and robust approach.

Group IV clathrates: synthesis, optoelectonic properties, and photovoltaic applications

Group IV clathrates are a unique class of guest/framework type compounds that are considered potential candidates for a wide range of applications (superconductors to semiconductors). To date, most of the research on group IV clathrates has focused heavily on thermoelectric applications. Recently, these materials have attracted attention as a result of their direct, wide band gaps for possible use in photovoltaic applications. Additionally, framework alloying has been shown to result in tunable band gaps. In this review, we discuss the current work and future opportunities concerning the synthesis and optical characterization of group IV clathrates for optoelectronics applications.

Optical Absorbance Enhancement in PbS QD/Cinnamate Ligand Complexes

We studied the optical absorption enhancement in colloidal suspensions of PbS quantum dots (QD) upon ligand exchange from oleate to a series of cinnamate ligands. By combining experiments and ab initio simulations, we elucidate physical parameters that govern the optical absorption enhancement. We find that, within the cinnamate/PbS QD system, the optical absorption enhancement scales linearly with the electronic gap of the ligand, indicating that the ligand/QD coupling occurs equally efficient between the QD and ligand HOMO and their respective LUMO levels. Disruption of the conjugation that connects the aromatic ring and its substituents to the QD core causes a reduction of the electronic coupling. Our results further support the notion that the ligand/QD complex should be considered as a distinct chemical system with emergent behavior rather than a QD core with ligands whose sole purpose is to passivate surface dangling bonds and prevent agglomeration.