Related papers: Modeling contact formation between atomic-sized go…
Despite its fundamental importance for nano physics and chemistry and potential device applications, the relationship between atomic structure and electronic transport in molecular nanostructures is not well understood. Thus the…
We review data analysis techniques that can be used to study temporal correlations among conductance traces in break junction measurements. We show that temporal histograms are a simple but efficient tool to check the temporal homogeneity…
Break junctions provide tip-shaped contact electrodes that are fundamental components of nano and molecular electronics. However, the fabrication of break junctions remains notoriously time-consuming and difficult to parallelize. Here we…
The current miniaturization of electronic devices raises many questions about the properties of various materials at nanometre-scales. Recent molecular dynamics computer simulations have shown that small finite nanowires of gold exist as…
Metallic colloids are frequently used in industry and provide understanding of science at microns to nanometers scales along with their applicability for various technologically important applications. Present investigations deal…
The simulation and analysis of the thermal stability of nanoparticles, a stepping stone towards their application in technological devices, require fast and accurate force fields, in conjunction with effective characterisation methods. In…
The dynamic deformation upon stretching of Ni nanowires as those formed with mechanically controllable break junctions or with a scanning tunneling microscope is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Molecular dynamics simulations…
In this paper we study the formation of nanodrops on curved surfaces (both convex and concave) by means of molecular dynamics simulations, where the particles interact via a Lennard-Jones potential. We find that the contact angle is not…
Gold nanoparticle assemblies show a strong plasmonic response due to the combined effects of the individual nanoparticles' plasmon modes. Increasing the number of nanoparticles in structured assemblies leads to significant shifts in the…
Simulation results for head-on collisions of equal-sized spherical polymer nanodroplets using molecular dynamics are presented. Elastic behavior of an initial compressed phase for the colliding droplets is analyzed. Deformations and contact…
The conductance of a molecular junction is commonly determined by either charge-transfer-doping, where alignment of the Fermi energy to the molecular levels is achieved, or tunnelling through the tails of molecular resonances within the…
The calculation of electronic conductance of nano-scale junctions from first principles is a long standing problem in molecular electronics. Here we demonstrate excellent agreement with experiments for the transport properties of the…
We study contact effects on electron transport across a molecular wire sandwiched between two semi-infinite (carbon) nanotube leads as a model for nanoelectrodes. Employing the Landauer scattering matrix approach we find that the…
We study in detail, by experimental measurements, atomistic simulations and DFT transport calculations, the process of formation and the resulting electronic properties of atomic-sized contacts made of Au, Ag and Cu. Our novel approaches to…
Recent experiments showed that the last, single channel conductance step in monatomic gold contacts exhibits significant fluctuations as a function of stretching. From simulations of a stretched gold nanowire linked to deformable tips, we…
Dynamic evolution of the connective neck in Al and Pb mechanically controllable break junctions was studied during continuous approach of electrodes at bias voltages V_b up to a few hundred mV. A high level of power dissipation (10^-4 -…
Gold atomic point contacts are prototype systems to evidence ballistic electron transport. The typical dimension of the nanojunction being smaller than the electron-phonon interaction length, even at room temperature, electrons transfer…
Purely mechanically induced mass transport between diamond and transition metals are investigated using transition thin metal film-deposited AFM tip scratching and in situ TEM scratching test. Due to the weak strength of the transition…
We review the development of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography as a method for investigating structural dynamics for nanoscale materials and interfaces. Its sensitivity and resolution are demonstrated in the studies of surface melting…
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study contact between a rigid, nonadhesive, spherical tip with radius of order 30nm and a flat elastic substrate covered with a fluid monolayer of adsorbed chain molecules. Previous studies of bare…