More Like this

1. Extensive Benchmarking of DFT+U Calculations for Predicting Band Gaps

   https://doi.org/10.3390/app11052395  

   Kirchner-Hall, Nicole E. ; Zhao, Wayne ; Xiong, Yihuang ; Timrov, Iurii ; Dabo, Ismaila ( March 2021 , Applied Sciences)

   Accurate computational predictions of band gaps are of practical importance to the modeling and development of semiconductor technologies, such as (opto)electronic devices and photoelectrochemical cells. Among available electronic-structure methods, density-functional theory (DFT) with the Hubbard U correction (DFT+U) applied to band edge states is a computationally tractable approach to improve the accuracy of band gap predictions beyond that of DFT calculations based on (semi)local functionals. At variance with DFT approximations, which are not intended to describe optical band gaps and other excited-state properties, DFT+U can be interpreted as an approximate spectral-potential method when U is determined by imposing the piecewise linearity of the total energy with respect to electronic occupations in the Hubbard manifold (thus removing self-interaction errors in this subspace), thereby providing a (heuristic) justification for using DFT+U to predict band gaps. However, it is still frequent in the literature to determine the Hubbard U parameters semiempirically by tuning their values to reproduce experimental band gaps, which ultimately alters the description of other total-energy characteristics. Here, we present an extensive assessment of DFT+U band gaps computed using self-consistent ab initio U parameters obtained from density-functional perturbation theory to impose the aforementioned piecewise linearity of the total energy. The studymore »is carried out on 20 compounds containing transition-metal or p-block (group III-IV) elements, including oxides, nitrides, sulfides, oxynitrides, and oxysulfides. By comparing DFT+U results obtained using nonorthogonalized and orthogonalized atomic orbitals as Hubbard projectors, we find that the predicted band gaps are extremely sensitive to the type of projector functions and that the orthogonalized projectors give the most accurate band gaps, in satisfactory agreement with experimental data. This work demonstrates that DFT+U may serve as a useful method for high-throughput workflows that require reliable band gap predictions at moderate computational cost.« less
2. Origin of pressure-induced band gap tuning in tin halide perovskites

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0MA00731E  

   Coduri, Mauro ; Shiell, Thomas B. ; Strobel, Timothy A. ; Mahata, Arup ; Cova, Federico ; Mosconi, Edoardo ; De Angelis, Filippo ; Malavasi, Lorenzo ( November 2020 , Materials Advances)

   Structural and optical high-pressure study of FASnBr 3 (FA = formamidinium) revealed a cubic to orthorhombic phase transition near 1.4 GPa accompanied by a huge band gap red-shift from 2.4 to 1.6 eV, which is followed by a blue-shift of ∼0.2 eV upon further pressure increase. DFT calculations indicate that the variation in band gap is related to changes in Sn–Br bond length alternation, with an equalization of such difference predicted at high pressure. Extending the calculations to analogous lead-free systems provides a unifying mechanistic picture of pressure-induced band gap tuning in tin halide perovskites, which is correlated to the variation of specific structural parameters. These results represent a solid guide to predict and modulate the pressure-response of metal halide perovskites based on the knowledge of their structural properties at ambient pressure.
3. Pressure-induced tuning of lattice distortion in a high-entropy oxide

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-019-0216-2  

   Cheng, Benyuan ; Lou, Hongbo ; Sarkar, Abhishek ; Zeng, Zhidan ; Zhang, Fei ; Chen, Xiehang ; Tan, Lijie ; Prakapenka, Vitali ; Greenberg, Eran ; Wen, Jianguo ; et al ( September 2019 , Communications Chemistry)

   As a new class of multi-principal component oxides with high chemical disorder, high-entropy oxides (HEOs) have attracted much attention. The stability and tunability of their structure and properties are of great interest and importance, but remain unclear. By using in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, and ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, here we show the existence of lattice distortion in the crystalline (Ce_0.2La_0.2Pr_0.2Sm_0.2Y_0.2)O_2−δHEO according to the deviation of bond angles from the ideal values, and discover a pressure-induced continuous tuning of lattice distortion (bond angles) and band gap. As continuous bending of bond angles, pressure eventually induces breakdown of the long-range connectivity of lattice and causes amorphization. The amorphous state can be partially recovered upon decompression, forming glass–nanoceramic composite HEO. These results reveal the unexpected flexibility of the structure and properties of HEOs, which could promote the fundamental understanding and applications of HEOs.
4. Dynamical stabilization in delafossite nitrides for solar energy conversion

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta07536k  

   Szymanski, N. J. ; Walters, L. N. ; Hellman, O. ; Gall, D. ; Khare, S. V. ( October 2018 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A)

   Delafossite structured ternary nitrides, ABN 2 , have been of recent experimental investigation for applications such as tandem solar and photoelectrochemical cells. We present a thorough first principles computational investigation of their stability, electronic structure, and optical properties. Nine compounds, where A = Cu, Ag, Au and B = V, Nb, Ta, were studied. For three of these compounds, CuTaN 2 , CuNbN 2 , and AgTaN 2 , our computations agree well with experimental results. Optimized lattice parameters, formation energies, and mechanical properties have been computed using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Phonon density of states computed at zero-temperature shows that all compounds are dynamically unstable at low temperatures. Including finite-temperature anharmonic effects stabilizes all compounds at 300 K, with the exception of AgVN 2 . Analysis of Crystal Orbital Hamiltonian Populations (COHP) provides insight into the bonding and antibonding characters of A–N and B–N pairs. Instability at low temperatures can be attributed to strong A–N antibonding character near the Fermi energy. B–N bonding is found to be crucial in maintaining stability of the structure. AgVN 2 is the only compound to display significant B–N antibonding below the Fermi energy, as well as the strongest degree of A–N antibonding,more »both of which provide explanation for the sustained instability of this compound up to 900 K. Hybrid functional calculations of electronic and optical properties show that real static dielectric constants in the semiconductors are related to corresponding band gaps through the Moss relation. CuTaN 2 , CuNbN 2 , AgTaN 2 , AgNbN 2 , AgVN 2 , AuTaN 2 , and AuNbN 2 exhibit indirect electronic band gaps while CuVN 2 and AuVN 2 are metallic. Imaginary parts of the dielectric function are characterized by d–d interband transitions in the semiconductors and d–d intraband transitions in the metals. Four compounds, CuTaN 2 , CuNbN 2 , AgTaN 2 , and AgNbN 2 , are predicted to exhibit large light absorption in the range of 1.0 to 1.7 eV, therefore making these materials good candidates for solar-energy conversion applications. Two compounds, AuTaN 2 and AuNbN 2 , have band gaps and absorption onsets near the ideal range for obtaining high solar-cell conversion efficiency, suggesting that these compounds could become potential candidates as absorber materials in tandem solar cells or for band-gap engineering by alloying.« less
5. Band Gap Tuning of Films of Undoped ZnO Nanocrystals by Removal of Surface Groups

   https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12030565  

   Zhang, Chengjian ; Tu, Qiaomiao ; Francis, Lorraine F. ; Kortshagen, Uwe R. ( February 2022 , Nanomaterials)

   Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices such as flat-panel displays and solar cells. A significant optical property of TCOs is their band gap, which determines the spectral range of the transparency of the material. In this study, a tunable band gap range from 3.35 eV to 3.53 eV is achieved for zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystals (NCs) films synthesized by nonthermal plasmas through the removal of surface groups using atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating of Al2O3 and intense pulsed light (IPL) photo-doping. The Al2O3 coating is found to be necessary for band gap tuning, as it protects ZnO NCs from interactions with the ambient and prevents the formation of electron traps. With respect to the solar spectrum, the 0.18 eV band gap shift would allow ~4.1% more photons to pass through the transparent layer, for instance, into a CH3NH3PbX3 solar cell beneath. The mechanism of band gap tuning via photo-doping appears to be related to a combination of the Burstein–Moss (BM) and band gap renormalization (BGN) effects due to the significant number of electrons released from trap states after the removal of hydroxyl groups. The BM effect shifts the conduction band edge and enlarges the band gap,more »while the BGN effect narrows the band gap.« less