Related papers: Sc20C60: A Volleyballene
Two-dimensional (2D) group V elemental materials have attracted widespread attention due to their nonzero band gap while displaying high electron mobility. Using first-principles calculations, we propose a series of new elemental bilayers…
The recent experimental fabrication of monolayer and few-layer C60 polymers paves the way for synthesizing two-dimensional cluster-assembled materials. Compared to atoms with the SO(3) symmetry, clusters as superatoms (e.g., C60) have an…
We have studied the shock-induced phase transition from fullerite to a dense amorphous carbon phase by tight-binding molecular dynamics. For increasing hydrostatic pressures P, the C60-cages are found to polymerise at P<10 GPa, to break at…
We determined the structures of silicon clusters in the 11-14 atom size range using the tight-binding molecular dynamics method. These calculations reveal that \Si{11} is an icosahedron with one missing cap, \Si{12} is a complete…
Exploring the chemistry of materials at high pressures has lead to the discovery of previously unknown exotic compounds. Here, we systematically search for all thermodynamically stable Sr-C compounds under pressure (up to 100 GPa) using the…
Conventionally, the Ih symmetry of fullerene C60 is accepted which is supported by numerous calculations. However, this conclusion results from the consideration of the molecule electron system, of its odd electrons in particular, in a…
Tight-binding molecular dynamics simulated annealing technique is employed to search for the ground state geometries of silicon clusters containing 11-17 atoms. These studies revealed that layer formation is the dominant growth pattern in…
We searched the Spitzer Space Telescope data archive for Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), that show the characteristic 17.4 and um features due to C60, also known as buckminsterfullerene. Out of 338 objects with Spitzer/IRS data, we found…
We investigate the properties of clusters formed from two connected $\mathrm{Ge_{m}}$ cage-like clusters, such as experimentally synthesized $\mathrm{Au_3Ge_{18}^{5-}}$, using first-principles DFT methods. We focus particularly on…
We use ab initio density functional calculations to study the stability, elastic properties and electronic structure of sp2 carbon minimal surfaces with negative Gaussian curvature, called schwarzites. We focus on two systems with cubic…
Besides buckminsterfullerene (C60), other fullerenes and their derivatives may also reside in space. In this work, we study the formation and photo-dissociation processes of astronomically relevant fullerene/anthracene (C14H10) cluster…
The Skyrme model is a classical field theory which has topological soliton solutions. These solitons are candidates for describing nuclei, with an identification between the numbers of solitons and nucleons. We have computed numerically,…
We present the detection of fullerenes C60 and C70 in the star-forming region IC 348 of the Perseus molecular cloud. Mid-IR vibrational transitions of C60 and C70 in emission are found in Spitzer IRS spectra of individual stars (LRLL 1, 2,…
The main goal of this thesis is to unveil some questions related to the formation of complex fullerene-based molecules in space, with the aim of resolving some key problems in astrophysics. The unexpected detections of fullerenes and…
It is well known that pressure causes profound changes in the properties of atoms and chemical bonding, leading to the formation of many unusual materials. Here we systematically explore all stable calcium carbides at pressures from ambient…
High-resolution infrared studies of laser ablation products from carbon-selenium targets have revealed a new vibrational band at 2057 cm$^{-1}$ that is identified as the vibrational fundamental of the SeC$_3$Se cluster. Because of the rich…
The models of endofullerenes C60 and C82 with silver atom or diatomic silver are calculated with ab initio SCF Hartree-Fock methods including the full geometry optimization. Ag@C60 is a bound system with positive binding energy while…
To understand the phenomenon of fullerene growth during its synthesis, an attempt is made to model a minimum energy growth route using a semi-empirical quantum mechanics code. C2 addition leading to C60 was modelled and three main routes,…
Fullerene peapods, that is carbon nanotubes encapsulating fullerene molecules, can offer enhanced functionality with respect to empty nanotubes. However, the present incomplete understanding of how a nanotube is affected by entrapped…
Since the first laboratory synthesis of C$_{60}$ in 1985, fullerene-related species have been proposed to interpret various astronomical features. After more than 25 years' efforts, several circumstellar and interstellar features have been…