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Vertically stacked atomic layers from different layered crystals can be held together by van der Waals forces, which can be used for building novel heterostructures, offering a platform for developing a new generation of atomically thin,…
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class of synthetic chemical compounds widely used as coatings to lower surface energies. Yet the microscopic mechanisms of their weak interaction with water and organic compounds remain poorly…
In this review, we address the issue of the electrostatic complexation between charged-neutral diblock copolymers and oppositely charged nanocolloids. We show that nanocolloids such as surfactant micelles and iron oxide magnetic…
Magnetic nanoparticles in a colloidal solution self-assemble in various aligned structures, which has a profound influence on the flow behavior. However, the precise role of the microstructure in the development of the rheological response…
Fluorinated surfactants are widely utilized in various applications, including firefighting foams, coatings, and lubricants. Their wide utility is due to their unique properties, such as their ability to effectively lower…
Perovskite-organic tandem solar cells (P-O TSCs) hold great promise for next-generation thin-film photovoltaics, with steadily improving power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, the development of optimal interconnecting layers (ICLs)…
Large scale, homogeneous quasi-free standing monolayer graphene is obtained on cubic silicon carbide, i.e. the 3C-SiC(111) surface, which represents an appealing and cost effective platform for graphene growth. The quasi-free monolayer is…
During the last 3 years, our group has investigated extensively the complexation mechanism between neutral-polyelectrolyte block copolymers with oppositely charged species. These species are surfactant micelles, multivalent counterions and…
We use density functional theory and Monte Carlo lattice simulations to investigate the structure of ZrO$_{2}$ monolayers on Si(001). Recently, we have reported on the experimental growth of amorphous ZrO$_{2}$ monolayers on silicon and…
Many recent advances in our understanding of two-dimensional (2D) electron systems stem from van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. The assembly process relies on the weak bonding across interfaces between layered vdW compounds, making it…
Incorporating a monolayer of WS$_2$ via interface engineering enhances the overall physical properties of a FAPbI3 perovskite based heterostructure. FAPbI$_3$/WS$_2$/TiO$_2$/ITO and FAPbI$_3$/TiO$_2$/ITO heterostructures were analyzed by…
Two new thiol compounds with {\sigma}-{\pi}-{\sigma} structure were synthesized and self-assembled on gold substrates. The morphology and the structural characterization of SAMs assessed by infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, XPS,…
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have recently emerged as a new generation of porous polymers combining molecular functionality with the robustness and structural definition of crystalline solids. Drawing on the recent development of…
A simple method based on UV/ozone treatment is proposed to control the surface energy of dense grafted silane layers for orientating block copolymer mesophases. Our method allows one to tune the surface energy down to a fraction of a mN/m.…
Electrochemical devices such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) may greatly benefit from the implementation of nanoengineered thin-film multifunctional layers providing, alongside enhanced electrochemical activity, improved mechanical, and…
Systematic ab initio structure prediction was applied for the first time to predict low energy surface reconstructions by employing the minima hopping method on the \alpha-boron (111) surface. Novel reconstruction geometries were identified…
Certain surfactant monolayers at the water-air interface have been found to undergo, at a critical surface pressure, a dynamic instability involving multiple long folds of micron width. We exploit the sharp monolayer translations…
Honeycomb structures of group IV elements can host massless Dirac fermions with non-trivial Berry phases. Their potential for electronic applications has attracted great interest and spurred a broad search for new Dirac materials especially…
We investigate the adsorption of a Ni monolayer on the $\beta$-SiC(001) surface by means of highly precise first-principles all-electron FLAPW calculations. Total energy calculations for the Si- and C-terminated surfaces reveal high Ni-SiC…