arXiv subjects

Susan B. Sinnott

Publications and source records attributed to Susan B. Sinnott.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Topology-Scaling Identification of Layered Solids and Stable Exfoliated 2D Materials

The Materials Project crystal structure database has been searched for materials possessing layered motifs in their crystal structures using a topology-scaling algorithm. The algorithm identifies and measures the sizes of bonded atomic clusters in a structure's unit cell, and determines their scaling with cell size. The search yielded 826 stable layered materials, which are considered as candidates for the formation of two-dimensional monolayers via exfoliation. Density-functional theory calculates the exfoliation energy of each material and 681 monolayers are found to exhibit exfoliation energies below those of certain already-extant two-dimensional materials, indicating the possibility of exfoliating them from bulk phases. The crystal structures of these two-dimensional materials provide templates for future theoretical searches of stable two-dimensional materials. The optimized structures and other data for all 826 monolayers are provided at https://materialsweb.org .

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

MPInterfaces: A Materials Project based Python Tool for High-Throughput Computational Screening of Interfacial Systems

A Materials Project based open-source Python tool, MPInterfaces, has been developed to automate the high-throughput computational screening and study of interfacial systems. The framework encompasses creation and manipulation of interface structures for solid/solid hetero-structures, solid/implicit solvents systems, nanoparticle/ligands systems; and the creation of simple system-agnostic workflows for in depth computational analysis using density-functional theory or empirical energy models. The package leverages existing open-source high-throughput tools and extends their capabilities towards the understanding of interfacial systems. We describe the various algorithms and methods implemented in the package. Using several test cases, we demonstrate how the package enables high-throughput computational screening of advanced materials, directly contributing to the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), which aims to accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of new materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Behavior of molecules and molecular ions near a field emitter

The cold emission of particles from surfaces under intense electric fields is a process which underpins a variety of applications including atom probe tomography (APT), an analytical microscopy technique with near-atomic spatial resolution. Increasingly relying on fast laser pulsing to trigger the emission, APT experiments often incorporate the detection of molecular ions emitted from the specimen, in particular from covalently or ionically bonded materials. Notably, it has been proposed that neutral molecules can also be emitted during this process. However, this remains a contentious issue. To investigate the validity of this hypothesis, a careful review of the literature is combined with the development of new methods to treat experimental APT data, the modelling of ion trajectories, and the application of density-functional theory (DFT) simulations to derive molecular ion energetics. It is shown that the direct thermal emission of neutral molecules is extremely unlikely. However, neutrals can still be formed in the course of an APT experiment by dissociation of metastable molecular ions.

physics.ins-det↗