arXiv subjects

Isaac M. Felix

Publications and source records attributed to Isaac M. Felix.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Topology as a Design Variable for Multiproperty Engineering in Synthesized 4-5-6-8 Carbon Nanoribbons

Nonbenzenoid carbon frameworks expand low-dimensional material design via controlled asymmetry. Here, we show the experimentally realized 4-5-6-8 carbon nanoribbon establishes a topology-driven paradigm for multiproperty engineering, not just a graphene variant. Using hybrid DFT, tight-binding, and molecular dynamics in a multiscale framework, we demonstrate the symmetry-broken lattice stabilizes hierarchical bonds within standard energy ranges. This geometry produces a robust semiconducting state (hybrid gap >1 eV) and enables strain as a controllable modulation parameter. A tight-binding Hamiltonian fitted only at equilibrium accurately captures strain-dependent band evolution, proving the essential physics is topology-dominated. Mechanical analysis reveals high stiffness with fracture governed by the largest polygons, showing asymmetry redistributes stress without compromising integrity. Intrinsic phonon scattering suppresses thermal conductance, enabling favorable thermoelectric performance without extrinsic disorder. Optical response confirms non-equivalent ring connectivity reorganizes interband transitions, promoting strong visible absorption and efficient photocarrier generation. These results position topology as a governing parameter coupling elasticity, electronics, thermal transport, and optics, establishing the 4-5-6-8 nanoribbon as a unified platform for predictive design of multifunctional carbon materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

A Comparative Study of Structural Representations for 2D Materials: Insights from Dynamic Collision Fingerprint and Matminer

In materials science, the selection of structural descriptors for machine learning protocols strongly influences predictive performance and the degree of physical interpretability that can be achieved from the derived models. Although more complex descriptors may improve numerical accuracy, they often represent extra computational load, also reducing transparency into the underlying structural information. A framework called the Dynamic Collision Fingerprint (DCF) was recently proposed with the goal of producing concise, physically significant representations, generating descriptors via dynamical probing of atomic structures. In this work, we benchmark DCF using a dataset composed of 120 two-dimensional carbon allotropes and compare its performance with the widely considered Matminer library. The analysis employs three regression models, linear regression, decision tree, and XGBoost, evaluated over train and test partitions ranging from 10\% to 90\% and repeated over multiple random seeds in order to characterize statistical variability. The obtained results demonstrate that DCF easily matches Matminer in terms of predicting accuracy across all learning algorithms. However, it accomplishes this using descriptors that are significantly lower dimensional, pointing to manageable computing costs. Moreover, compared to the rather technical Matminer descriptions, the DCF exhibits considerably clearer physical interpretability. These findings suggest that DCF is a significant substitute for high-dimensional descriptor libraries as structural representation since it is both computationally flexible and physically grounded.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Computational Characterization of the Recently Synthesized Pristine and Porous 12-Atom-Wide Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon

Recently synthesized Porous 12-Atom-Wide Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons Nano Lett. 2024, 24, 10718-10723 exhibit tunable properties through periodic porosity, enabling precise control over their electronic, optical, thermal, and mechanical behavior. This work presents a comprehensive theoretical characterization of pristine and porous 12-AGNRs based on density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. DFT calculations reveal substantial electronic modifications, including band gap widening and the emergence of localized states. Analyzed within the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) framework, optical properties highlight strong excitonic effects and significant absorption shifts. Thermal transport simulations indicate a pronounced reduction in conductivity due to enhanced phonon scattering at nanopores. At the same time, MD-based mechanical analysis shows decreased stiffness and strength while maintaining structural integrity. Despite these modifications, porous 12-AGNRs remain mechanically and thermally stable. These findings establish porosity engineering as a powerful strategy for tailoring graphene nanoribbons' functional properties, reinforcing their potential for nanoelectronic, optoelectronic, and thermal management applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Irida-Graphene Phonon Thermal Transport via Non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Recently, a new 2D carbon allotrope called Irida-Graphene (Irida-G) was proposed. Irida-G consists of a flat sheet topologically arranged into 3-6-8 carbon rings exhibiting metallic and non-magnetic properties. In this study, we investigated the thermal transport properties of Irida-G using classical reactive molecular dynamics simulations. The findings indicate that Irida-G has an intrinsic thermal conductivity of approximately 215 W/mK at room temperature, significantly lower than that of pristine graphene. This decrease is due to characteristic phonon scattering within Irida-G's porous structure. Additionally, the phonon group velocities and vibrational density of states for Irida-G were analyzed, revealing reduced average phonon group velocities compared to graphene. The thermal conductivity of Irida-G is isotropic and shows significant size effects, transitioning from ballistic to diffusive heat transport regimes as the system length increases. These results suggest that while Irida-G has lower thermal conductivity than graphene, it still holds potential for specific thermal management applications, sharing characteristics with other two-dimensional materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Hydrogen atom/molecule adsorption on 2D metallic porphyrin: A first-principles study

Hydrogen is a promising element for applications in new energy sources like fuel cells. One key issue for such applications is storing hydrogen. And, to improve storage capacity, understanding the interaction mechanism between hydrogen and possible storage materials is critical. This work uses DFT simulations to comprehensively investigate the adsorption mechanism of H/H$_2$ on the 2D metallic porphyrins with one transition metal in its center. Our results suggest that the mechanism for adsorption of H (H$_2$) is chemisorption (physisorption). The maximum adsorption energy for atomic hydrogen was $-3.7$ eV for 2D porphyrins embedded with vanadium or chromium atoms. Our results also revealed charge transfer of up $-0.43$ e to chemisorbed H atoms. In contrast, the maximum adsorption energy calculated for molecular hydrogen was $-122.5$ meV for 2D porphyrins embedded with scandium atoms. Furthermore, charge transfer was minimal for physisorption. Finally, we also determined that uniaxial strain has a minimal effect on the adsorption properties of 2D metallic porphyrins.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Suppression of coherent thermal transport in quasiperiodic graphene-hBN superlattice ribbons

Nanostructured superlattices are promising materials for novel electronic devices due to their adjustable physical properties. Periodic superlattices facilitate coherent phonon thermal transport due to constructive wave interference at the boundaries between the materials. However, it is possible to induce a crossover from coherent to incoherent transport regimes by adjusting the superlattice period. We have recently observed such crossover in periodic graphene-boron nitride nanoribbons as the length of individual domains was increased. In general, transport properties are dominated by translational symmetry and the presence of unconventional symmetries leads to unusual transport characteristics. Here we perform non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to investigate phonon heat transport in graphene-hBN superlattices following the Fibonacci quasiperiodic sequence, which lie between periodic and disordered structures. Our simulations show that the quasiperiodicity can suppress coherent phonon thermal transport in these superlattices. This behavior is related to the increasing number of interfaces per unit cell as the Fibonacci generation increases, hindering phonon coherence along the superlattice. The suppression of coherent thermal transport in graphene-hBN superlattices enables a higher degree of control on heat conduction at the nanoscale, and shows potential for application in the design of novel thermal management devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗