arXiv subjects

Cristiano F. Woellner

Publications and source records attributed to Cristiano F. Woellner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Mechanical Response of Pentadiamond: A DFT and Molecular Dynamics Study

Pentadiamond is a recently proposed new carbon allotrope consisting of a network of pentagonal rings where both sp$^2$ and sp$^3$ hybridization are present. In this work we investigated the mechanical and electronic properties, as well as, the thermal stability of pentadiamond using DFT and fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We also investigated its properties beyond the elastic regime for three different deformation modes: compression, tensile and shear. The behavior of pentadiamond under compressive deformation showed strong fluctuations in the atomic positions which are responsible for the strain softening at strains beyond the linear regime, which characterizes the plastic flow. As we increase temperature, as expected, Young's modulus values decrease, but this variation (up to 300 K) is smaller than 10\% (from 347.5 to 313.6 GPa), but the fracture strain is very sensitive, varying from $\sim$44\% at 1K to $\sim$5\% at 300K.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

A DFT Investigation of the Electronic and Optical Properties of Pentadiamond

Recently, a new carbon 3D carbon allotrope named pentadiamond was proposed. Pentadiamond is composed of carbon atoms in mixed sp$^2$ and sp$^3$-like hybridization. In this work, we have carried out a detailed investigation of the electronic and optical properties of pentadiamond structure using first-principles (DFT) methods. Our results show that pentadiamond has an indirect bandgap semiconductor of $2.50$ eV with GGA-PBE and $3.31$ eV with HSE06. Its static dielectric constant is $4.70$ and the static refractive index is $2.16$. Pentadiamond presents low reflectivity, almost 40$\%$, for all-optical spectrum, making it a good structure to be used as a UV collector. Also, pentadiamond exhibits optical activity in the UV range where other carbon allotropes, such as diamond and 8-tetra(2,2) tubulane show no activity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Thiophene-Tetrathia-Annulene monolayer (TTA-2D): A new 2D semiconductor material with indirect bandgap

We propose a new 2D semiconductor material (TTA-2D) based on the molecular structure of Thiophene-Tetrathia-Annulene (TTA). The TTA-2D structural, electronic, and optical properties were investigated using \textit{ab initio} methods. Our results show that TTA-2D is a small indirect bandgap semiconductor ($0.6$ eV). A semiconductor-metal transition can be induced by applying a uniaxial strain. Our results also show that TTA-2D is thermally stable up to $T=1000$ K. TTA-2D absorbs in a large spectral range, from infrared to ultraviolet regions. Values of refractive index and reflectivity show that TTA-2D reflects only $10\%$ of the incident light in the visible region. These results suggest that TTA-2D is a promising material for solar cell applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Mechanical Properties of Diamond Schwarzites: From Molecular Dynamics Simulations to 3D Printing

Schwarzites are porous crystalline structures with Gaussian negative curvature. In this work, we investigated the mechanical behavior and energy absorption properties of two carbon-based diamond schwarzites (D688 and D8bal). We carried out fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The optimized MD atomic models were used to generate macro-scale models for 3D-printing (PolyLactic Acid (PLA) polymer filaments) through Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). Mechanical properties under uniaxial compression were investigated for both the atomic models and the 3D-printed ones. Mechanical testings were performed on the 3D-printed schwarzites where the deformation mechanisms were found to be similar to those observed in MD simulations. These results are suggestive of a scale-independent mechanical behavior that is dominated by structural topology. The structures exhibit high specific energy absorption and crush force efficiency ~0.8, which suggest that the 3D-printed diamond schwarzites are good candidates as energy-absorbing materials.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

On the Structural Stability and Optical Properties of Germanium-based Schwarzites: A Density Functional Theory Investigation

Since graphene was synthesized the interest for building new 2D and 3D structures based on the carbon allotropes has been growing every day. One of these 3D structures is know as carbon schwarzites. Schwarzites consist of carbon nanostructures possessing the shape of Triply-Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS), which is characterized by a negative Gaussian curvature introduced by the presence of carbon rings with more than six atoms. Some examples of schwarzite families include: primitive (P), gyroid (G) and diamond (D). Previous studies considering different element species of schwarzites have investigated the mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. In this work, we investigated the stability of germanium (Ge) schwarzites using density functional theory with GGA exchange-correlation functional. We chose one structure of each family (P8bal), (G688) and (D688). It was observed that regions usually flat in carbon schwarzites acquires buckled configurations as previously observed on silicene and germanene monolayers. The investigated structures presented a semiconducting bandgap ranging from $0.13$ to $0.27$ eV. We also performed calculations of optical properties within the linear regime, where it was shown that Ge schwarzites structures absorb light from infrared to ultra-violet frequencies. Therefore, our results open new perspectives of materials that can be used in optelectronics devices application.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Carbon Schwarzites Behavior Under Ballistic Impacts

Schwarzites are 3D crystalline porous materials exhibiting the shape of Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS). They possess negative Gaussian curvature, created by the presence of rings with more than six sp2-hybridized carbon atoms. Recently, new routes to their synthesis have been proposed. Due to its foam-like structure, schwarzites are interesting for mechanical energy absorption applications. In this work, we investigate through fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics the mechanical response under ballistic impacts of four structures from primitive (P) and gyroid (G) families (two structures within each family). The two structures in the same family differ mainly by the ratio of hexagons to octagons, where this ratio increases the 'flatness' of the structures. Although the penetration depth values are higher in the 'flatter' structures (P8bal and G8bal), the absorbed kinetic energy by them is considerably higher, which yields them a better energy-absorption performance.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Mechanical Properties of a Diamond Schwarzite: From Atomistic Models to 3D-Printed Structures

Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS) possess locally minimized surface area under the constraint of periodic boundary conditions. Different families of surfaces were obtained with different topologies satisfying such conditions. Examples of such families include Primitive (P), Gyroid (G) and Diamond (D) surfaces. From a purely mathematical subject, TPMS have been recently found in materials science as optimal geometries for structural applications. Proposed by Mackay and Terrones in 1991, schwarzites are 3D crystalline porous carbon nanocrystals exhibiting the shape of TPMS. Although their complex topology poses serious limitations on their synthesis with conventional nanoscale fabrication methods, such as Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), TPMS can be fabricated by Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques, such as 3D Printing. In this work, we used an optimized atomic model of a schwarzite structure from the D family (D8bal) to generate a surface mesh that was subsequently used for 3D-printing through Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). This D schwarzite was 3D-printed with thermoplastic PolyLactic Acid (PLA) polymer filaments. Mechanical properties under uniaxial compression were investigated for both the atomic model and the 3D-printed one. Fully atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were also carried out to investigate the uniaxial compression behavior of the D8bal atomic model. Mechanical testings were performed on the 3D-printed schwarzite where the deformation mechanisms were found to be similar to those observed in MD simulations. These results are suggestive of a scale-independent mechanical behavior that is dominated by structural topology.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Mechanical and Energy-absorption Properties of Schwarzites

We investigated through fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, the mechanical behavior (compressive and tensile) and energy absorption properties of two families (primitive (P688 and P8bal) and gyroid (G688 and G8bal)) of carbon-based schwarzites. Our results show that all schwarzites can be compressed (with almost total elastic recovery) without fracture to more than 50%, one of them can be even remarkably compressed up to 80%. One of the structures (G8bal) presents negative Poisson's ratio value (auxetic behavior). The crush force efficiency, the stroke efficiency and the specific energy absorption (SEA) values show that schwarzites can be effective energy absorber materials. Although the same level of deformation without fracture observed in the compressive case is not observed for the tensile case, it is still very high (30-40%). The fracture dynamics show extensive structural reconstructions with the formation of linear atomic chains (LACs).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Mechanical Properties of Protomene: A Molecular Dynamics Investigation

Recently, a new class of carbon allotrope called protomene was proposed. This new structure is composed of sp2 and sp3 carbon-bonds. Topologically, protomene can be considered as an sp3 carbon structure (~80% of this bond type) doped by sp2 carbons. First-principles simulations have shown that protomene presents an electronic bandgap of ~3.4 eV. However, up to now, its mechanical properties have not been investigated. In this work, we have investigated protomene mechanical behavior under tensile strain through fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations using the ReaxFF force field, as available in the LAMMPS code. At room temperature, our results show that the protomene is very stable and the obtained ultimate strength and ultimate stress indicates an anisotropic behavior. The highest ultimate strength was obtained for the x-direction, with a value of ~110 GPa. As for the ultimate strain, the highest one was for the z-direction (~25% of strain) before protomene mechanical fracture.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

On the mechanical properties of novamene: a fully atomistic molecular dynamics and DFT investigation

We have investigated through fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics and DFT simulations, the mechanical properties and fracture dynamics of novamene, a new 3D carbon allotrope structure recently proposed. Our results showed that novamene is an anisotropic structure with relation to tensile deformation. Although novamente shares some mechanical features with other carbon allotropes, it also exhibits distinct ones, such as, extensive structural reconstructions (self-healing effect). Novamene presents ultimate strength (~ 100 GPa) values lower than other carbon allotropes, but it has the highest ultimate strain along the z-direction (~ 22.5%). Although the Young's modulus (~ 600 GPa) and ultimate strength values are smaller than for other carbon allotropes, they still outperform other materials, such as for example silicon, steel or titanium alloys. With relation to the fracture dynamics, novamene is again anisotropic with the fracture/crack propagation originating from deformed heptagons and pentagons for x and y directions and broken sp3 bonds connecting structural planes. Another interesting feature is the formation of multiple and long carbon linear chains in the final fracture stages.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Structural and Thermal Stability of Graphyne and Graphdiyne Nanoscroll Structures

Graphynes and graphdiynes are generic names for families of two-dimensional carbon allotropes, where acetylenic groups connect benzenoid-like hexagonal rings, with the co-existence of sp and sp2 hybridized carbon atoms. The main differences between graphynes and graphdiynes are the number of acetylenic groups (one and two for graphynes and graphdiynes, respectively). Similarly to graphene nanoscrolls, graphyne and graphdiynes nanoscrolls are nanosized membranes rolled up into papyrus-like structures. In this work we investigated through fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations the structural and thermal (up to 1000K) stability of alpha,beta,gamma-graphyne and alpha,beta,gamma-graphdiyne scrolls. Our results show that stable nanoscrolls can be formed for all the structures investigated here, although they are less stable than corresponding graphene scrolls. This can be explained as a consequence of the higher graphyne/graphdiyne structural porosity in relation to graphene, which results in decreased π-π stacking interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Mechanical Properties of Ultralow Density Graphene Oxide/Polydimethylsiloxane Foams

Low-density, highly porous graphene/graphene oxide (GO) based-foams have shown high performance in energy absorption applications, even under high compressive deformations. In general, foams are very effective as energy dissipative materials and have been widely used in many areas such as automotive, aerospace and biomedical industries. In the case of graphene-based foams, the good mechanical properties are mainly attributed to the intrinsic graphene and/or GO electronic and mechanical properties. Despite the attractive physical properties of graphene/GO based-foams, their structural and thermal stabilities are still a problem for some applications. For instance, they are easily degraded when placed in flowing solutions, either by the collapsing of their layers or just by structural disintegration into small pieces. Recently, a new and scalable synthetic approach to produce low-density 3D macroscopic GO structure interconnected with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymeric chains (pGO) was proposed. A controlled amount of PDMS is infused into the freeze-dried foam resulting into a very rigid structure with improved mechanical properties, such as tensile plasticity and toughness. The PDMS wets the graphene oxide sheets and acts like a glue bonding PDMS and GO sheets. In order to obtain further insights on mechanisms behind the enhanced mechanical pGO response we carried out fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based on MD results, we build up a structural model that can explain the experimentally observed mechanical behavior.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2018

Mechanical Properties of Schwarzites - A Fully Atomistic Reactive Molecular Dynamics Investigation

Schwarzites are crystalline, 3D porous structures with stable negative curvature formed of sp2-hybridized carbon atoms. These structures present topologies with tunable porous size and shape and unusual mechanical properties. In this work, we have investigated the mechanical behavior under compressive strains and energy absorption of four different Schwarzites, through reactive molecular dynamics simulations, using the ReaxFF force field as available in the LAMMPS code. We considered two Schwarzites families, the so-called Gyroid and Primitive and two structures from each family. Our results also show they exhibit remarkable resilience under mechanical compression. They can be reduced to half of their original size before structural failure (fracture) occurs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Structural Transformations of Carbon and Boron Nitride Nanoscrolls at High Impact Collisions

The behavior of nanostructures under high strain-rate conditions has been object of theoretical and experimental investigations in recent years. For instance, it has been shown that carbon and boron nitride nanotubes can be unzipped into nanoribbons at high velocity impacts. However, the response of many nanostructures to high strain-rate conditions is still not completely understood. In this work we have investigated through fully atomistic reactive (ReaxFF) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations the mechanical behavior of carbon (CNS) and boron nitride nanoscrolls (BNS) colliding against solid targets at high velocities,. CNS (BNS) nanoscrolls are graphene (boron nitride) membranes rolled up into papyrus-like structures. Their open-ended topology leads to unique properties not found in close-ended analogues, such as nanotubes. Our results show that the collision products are mainly determined by impact velocities and by two impact angles, which define the position of the scroll (i) axis and (ii) open edge relative to the target. Our MD results showed that for appropriate velocities and orientations large-scale deformations and nanoscroll fracture can occur. We also observed unscrolling (scrolls going back to quasi-planar membranes), scroll unzipping into nanoribbons, and significant reconstruction due to breaking and/or formation of new chemical bonds. For particular edge orientations and velocities, conversion from open to close-ended topology is also possible, due to the fusion of nanoscroll walls.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Insights on the mechanism of water-alcohol separation in multilayer graphene oxide membranes: entropic versus enthalpic factors

Experimental evidences have shown that graphene oxide (GO) can be impermeable to liquids, vapors and gases, while it allows a fast permeation of water molecules. The understanding of filtration mechanisms came mostly from studies dedicated to water desalination, while very few works have been dedicated to distilling alcohols. In this work, we have investigated the molecular level mechanism underlying the alcohol/water separation inside GO membranes. A series of molecular dynamics and Grand-Canonical Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to probe the ethanol/water and methanol/water separation through GO membranes composed of multiple layered graphene-based sheets with different interlayer distance values and number of oxygen-containing functional groups. Our results show that the size exclusion and membrane affinities are not sufficient to explain the selectivity. Besides that, the favorable water molecular arrangement inside GO 2D-channels forming a robust H-bond network and the fast water diffusion are crucial for an effective separation mechanism. In other words, the separation phenomenon is not only governed by affinities with the membrane (enthalpic mechanisms) but mainly by the geometry and size factors (entropic mechanisms). We verified that the 2D geometry channel with optimal interlayer distance are key factors for designing more efficient alcohol-water separation membranes. Our findings are consistent with the available experimental data and contribute to clarify important aspects of the separation behavior of confined alcohol/water in GO membranes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Synthesis, characterization and computational simulation of graphene nanoplatelets stabilized in poly(styrene sulfonate) sodium salt

The production of large area interfaces and the use of scalable methods to build-up designed nanostructures generating advanced functional properties are of high interest for many materials science applications. Nevertheless, large area coverage remains a major problem for pristine graphene and here we present a hybrid, composite graphene-like material soluble in water, which can be exploited in many areas, such as energy storage, electrodes fabrication, selective membranes and biosensing. Graphene oxide (GO) was produced by the traditional Hummers method being further reduced in the presence of poly(styrene sulfonate) sodium salt (PSS), thus creating stable reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoplateles wrapped by PSS (GPSS). Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out of further clarify the interactions between PSS molecules and rGO nanoplatelets, with calculations supported by FTIR analysis. The intermolecular forces between rGO nanoplatelets and PSS lead to the formation of a hybrid material (GPSS) stabilized by van der Waals forces, allowing the fabrication of high quality layer-by-layer (LbL) films with polyalillamine hydrochloride (PAH). Raman and electrical characterizations corroborated the successful modifications in the electronic structures from GO to GPSS after the chemical treatment, resulting in (PAH/GPSS) LbL films four orders of magnitude more conductive than (PAH/GO).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Mechanical and Thermal Stability of Graphyne and Graphdiyne Nanoscrolls

Graphynes and graphdiynes are carbon 2D allotrope structures presenting both sp2 and sp hybridized atoms. These materials have been theoretically predicted but due to intrinsic difficulties in their synthesis, only recently some of these structures have been experimentally realized. Graphyne nanoscrolls are structures obtained by rolling up graphyne sheets into papyrus-like structures. In this work we have investigated, through fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations, the dynamics of nanoscroll formation for a series of graphyne (α, \b{eta}, and δ types) structures. We have also investigated their thermal stability for a temperature range of 200-1000K. Our results show that stable nanoscrolls can be formed for all structures considered here. Their stability depends on a critical value of the ratio between width and height of the graphyne sheets. Our findings also show that these structures are structurally less stable then graphene-based nanoscrolls. This can be explained by the graphyne higher structural porosity which results in a decreased pi-pi stacking interactions

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Water Permeation through Layered Graphene-based Membranes: A Fully Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Investigation

Graphene-based membranes have been investigated as promising candidates for water filtration and gas separation applications. Experimental evidences have shown that graphene oxide can be impermeable to liquids, vapors and gases, while allowing a fast permeation of water molecules. This phenomenon has been attributed to the formation of a network of nano capillaries that allow nearly frictionless water flow while blocking other molecules by steric hindrance effects. It is supposed that water molecules are transported through the percolated two-dimensional channels formed between graphene-based sheets. Although these channels allow fast water permeation in such materials, the flow rates are strongly dependent on how the membranes are fabricated. Also, some fundamental issues regarding the nanoscale mechanisms of water permeation are still not fully understood and their interpretation remains controversial. In this work, we have investigated the dynamics of water permeation through pristine graphene and graphene oxide model membranes. We have carried out fully atomistic classical molecular dynamics simulations of systems composed of multiple layered graphene-based sheets into contact with a water reservoir under controlled thermodynamics conditions (e. g., by varying temperature and pressure values). We have systematically analyzed how the transport dynamics of the confined nanofluids depend on the interlayer distances and the role of the oxide functional groups. Our results show the water flux is much more effective for graphene than for graphene oxide membranes. These results are attributed to the H-bonds formation between oxide functional groups and water, which traps the water molecules and precludes ultrafast water transport through the nanochannels.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗